Whether or not that statement is true depends on personal opinion; however, since June 2012, I've always had more than two dogs. This April brought 10 more dogs into my life, and it was a wonderful experience (and a great summer job!). But all things must come to an end sooner or later, and, in a way, I'm very thankful for that. Raising puppies this year took some multitasking, but I knew it wasn't permanent, and I enjoyed it while it lasted. And I plan to do it again in the near future, Lord willing.
So, here is the final update of all my puppies. They have all found wonderful homes and happy families!
These are the puppies who haven't gone to their respective homes, yet. Only the first one doesn't have a home; the others are just waiting for their owners to pick them up. The last one (in the set of pictures) is going home in a couple hours, hopefully. I know I will miss them all, but they all have great homes, and perhaps I'll get to see some of them again someday. Sarah's puppy, Jaeryn, is learning to live in the house, now. She's quite active compared to some of the others, but she's a quick learner.
Hopefully my next couple puppy updates will include pictures of the puppies who are in their new homes!
**The names in quotes are only my nicknames for them. Those without quotes are the names their owners have picked.
Male. Nicknamed "Red Boy", "Tobias", or "Mordecai".
Male. Named "Blue".
Female. Nicknamed "Runty".
Male. Nicknamed "White Ribbon". :P
Thank you to Sarah S for taking pictures for me! It was quite the challenge this time, as the puppies do not stay still for one moment. They've been nursing once a day for the last week, but this morning Kijah refused to feed them, so I think this will be their complete break from nursing. It's good because they will be going to their homes within the next two weeks.
The puppies continue to grow. They are so affectionate to people, and they bark and whine when they want attention. Kijah is starting to wean them, and they continue to eat wet puppy food. We've put all 10 of them on the lawn and they chase you around and grab your clothing at all possible opportunities. These are their four week pictures. They are five weeks, now, but I haven't had a chance to take many more, yet. I think four puppies will have homes, so far (counting my sister's), but I'm still awaiting people's final decisions. The first six puppies are the girls, and the last four are the boys!
There you have it! Ten more puppy pictures. Many people have asked me why I used different color ribbons on them all. The first time I did it was because I was weighing them and wanted to remember which puppies I had already weighed. However, I kept them on, and then kept the colors the same (as they grew) because it helped me out with learning their personalities.
So here is puppy update number three! This video was shot by my dad about a week ago, so the puppies have grown quite a bit since then. They are now eating solid food once a day, and they are fairly steady while walking around. They've begun to bark and whine, and Kijah is starting to enjoy time without them. ;)
Kijah's puppies are now two weeks old. Many of them now have their eyes open or are showing signs of it. They are quite active, crawling around searching for Kijah. Three of them (all at different times) have even managed to climb out of the whelping box and onto the ground--no idea how that happened. They still nurse frequently, though not as often as a week ago. And they are sleeping through the night now waking only about 3-4 times a night, instead of every 30-60 minutes. There are six females and four males. Several of them have a faint white "star" on their forehead from Toby.
The puppies have had many visitors already, and Kijah is getting better at handling "intruders". She still does not like Bella (our other dog) around at all, but she doesn't mind human visitors as much. :) Some of the puppies have been sitting up (like what a dog does when you tell it to "sit") and some of them make the occasional bark, instead of the normal puppy cries. So over all, they are gaining weight and growing quickly. I just gave them their first deworming dose this morning, which they'll have again at 8 weeks, and perhaps in between, too.
Two weeks old! Photo credit: Sarah Stroink
These are not posted in birth order, as I didn't record that. Some puppies were nice and sat still, and others had a mind of their own and wiggled all around. Even puppies have different personalities. ;)
Puppy #1
Puppy #2: This one is Sarah's favorite. ;) Isn't she cute? :D
She's the darkest female, and she has the brightest white star on her head from Toby.
Puppy #3
Puppy #4
Puppy #5: This is the only one who has a straight ridge of hair that runs up her nose.
Puppy #6
Puppy #7
Puppy #8 (and me): This one's my favorite of the litter.
He's also one of the two biggest and darkest males. I think he'll turn out the color of Toby.
No, I don't intend to keep him. ;) My dad calls him Tobias (after Toby). :)
Puppy #9: This is the squeaky little princess.
She's the runt of the litter, but she's growing well.
Puppy #10: This is the other big male. He's almost a white color.
Remember the puppy poll post I did two years ago? Well, that puppy, Kijah, has had 10 beautiful puppies so far this morning, starting around 6am until about 10am (though she might have more). It's gone very well, and it will be so exciting to watch them grow up. Kijah is a very happy, exhausted, and a bit obsessive mother (in a good way!), and she did a fabulous job with each of them. There is a wide range of color from dark brown to beige. I like the dark ones best. ;) They're quite active, and they all sound like little seals. I'm sure you'll see more pictures here and there, but I'd just thought I'd post a few now. :) Enjoy!
