Party Pooper!!  Poor Trinity has at last called an end to this particular party!!  The teeth, the claws, their voracious eating – it was all just too much!!  Can’t say I really blame her cause it is pretty much chaos with 10 of them and looks REALLY uncomfortable.   She likes to play with them but not feed them!!  On the bright side, all of the pups have gorgeous teeth- no over or under bites, incisors scissoring properly.

They are eating their puppy chow very well now – not nearly as messy as it used to be!   Their dinner party consists of a big stainless steel puppy donut ring that is elevated up off the ground to help them swallow easier and NOT walk in their food. 

Talk about a party crasher ! - This week they had another dreaded toe nail trim although they have pretty much given up on resisting our efforts on that!!   Also, they were wormed with the yummy tasting yellow stuff (yuck) for the second time.   The first puppy vaccines (ouch) have arrived and so have the microchips (BIG ouch!) so that will be the next project on their health list.  It is best if we wait until they are completely weaned to give them their first vaccines so that there is no maternal interference with the immune system.   AKC registration papers are here too.  At 7 weeks old they have their final vet check where my vet will check all body parts and fill out a very detailed check list.  You will receive a copy of the check list with all your puppy’s other information.  Did you get that 3-ring binder yet?  Your going to need it!!

The Party Animals are now in the BIG puppy play pen where they can romp around, play with each other, and terrorize their toys.  They have grown a lot again and are enjoying the opportunity to run and jump and chase each other.  Because it has been so hot, I added a baby pool to their playground – Pool Party!!  They are not quite sure if they like the pool or not.  Time will tell.

They are very good about only going potty in the grass pretty much always in the same area.  Before arrival time, be sure to  select WHERE the bathroom is going to be in YOUR yard, be sure to CARRY them to that spot the very first time you get home with them and that will help you get started on the right foot at your home.  If you go out the same door, say the same thing and carry the puppy to the designated spot and then reward them with your voice, hands and eyes when they accomplish their goal, they will house break very quickly.  Puppies tend to be about as house broke as their families are!!!

The Birthday Bunch are very very nice puppies!  (not predjudiced at all!) There are very minor differences in size, coat color and the amount of black masks they have.   The easiest way to tell them apart is obviously gender and the amount of white on their chests and feet.   They have all continued to develop into their own uniques selves.  They really show who they are becoming when I took these last pictures! 

It’s our Party, so we’ll cry if we want to, cry if we want t!!! You would cry to if it happened to you!!

Females:

Bow – very dark red, very heavy mask, nice ridge plus a bonus cowlick on the top of her head!!, big, good teeth, LF sock, squiggly lines on chest, small bump in tail tip.  Very chill, happy camper, very expressive, tends to observe before committing

Card – deep mahogany red, medium mask, 3 cowlick/crown ridge, good teeth, minimal white on feet, tornado spots on chest.  Playful, Goofy, kind, lap lover, a watcher

Confetti –  red, medium mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, petite, minimal white on any feet, medium spot on chest, tiny break in muscle wall - but not herniated, spunky, fun, adventurous, full of herself, a leader

Cupcake –golden red, heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, white on all four feet, huge spot on chest.  Very curious, lap lover, loves attention, gentle

Ribbon – red, heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, big, 2 white socks on front, little bit on back, medium spots on chest.  Loves life, go getter, up for adventure, whatever you want to do, I want to be with you doing it!

Sprinkles – red, heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, lF white sock, less on other 3 feet, big spot on chest.  Super happy and loves attention, a sweetie, squeezable

Wish – red, heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, big, white lF sock, big spots on chest, one the shape of a heart. Easy going, eager to please, playful, happy, fun

Males:

Balloon – red, medium mask, 3 cowlick/crown ridge, good teeth, white sock on front, little bit on back, big spot on chest both testicles down. Easy going, quiet, gentle, laid back, don’t worry be happy attitude!

Candle – red, medium mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, LF sock, minimal white on other feet, big spot on chest, neither testicle down. Big, happy go lucky galoot, nothing gets him too excited.

Gift – very dark red, very heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, white socks on all four feet, medium spot on chest, one testicle down. Eager to please, curious, attentive, very confident, doesn’t miss a trick

The Sun is up, the Grass is green, the Sky is Blue, and the Party Pups have moved into the great outdoors!!  What must it be like to enter a new world that was beyond the box/room you were born in?!  It must be amazing and, by the way the pups act the first few times they are out, SCARY!!  The grass tickles tummies, the sun is hot, what is shade exactly? and what are all those noises?  I have to give them credit, they adapt a whole lot quicker than I would!!

They are PUPPIES!!  They party and play, and run around batting and chewing on each other relentlessly!!.  An impressive array of stuffed animals, and really cool noisy toys have been added to their indoor playroom so that they can start figuring out that there are other toys to be chewed on besides each other and their long suffering mother!!  The party is getting noisy as they can bark, growl, whine, and howl with the best of them!  There is never a dull moment until they have partied themselves into oblivion/sleep.  They can and do sleep with the same amount of intensity!  It just makes you smile to pick a Party Pup up while they are sleeping and they are just limp - completely partied out!!

Trinity is not only getting pretty sick of them in general, but she is also beginning to have trouble keeping up on their refreshment demands.  Soooo…. puppy food is on their agenda twice daily now!!  Another amazing introduction into their world, but they took to eating like they had been enjoying if for years!!  Nice pudgy little tummies are so darn cute!!  This is the beginning of the weaning process which will continue for another week or so.  By then Trinity will REALLY be sick of them!!

The teeth thing has been a real game changer for Trinity!!  As if toenails weren’t bad enough!! All of them have very, very nice perfectly emerging bites and scissors.  They are SHARP and the Party Animals don’t really know how to use them with great proficiency just yet. Hence Trinity’s growing disillusion with motherhood!!

Another new addition to their world – potty training!!  It is remarkable how puppies instinctively know that they do not go to the bathroom where they eat and sleep.   So now they have designated places to go potty and the vast majority of the time that’s where they GO!!  Sure makes cleaning up after their ‘party’ a lot easier and keeps them a lot cleaner!!   

Healthwize, they continue to be on point.  Another annoying toe nail trim, and they got dewormed for the first of three times!!  Yummy!  Still no dermoids, so that is of no concern now.  All is well, but I will continue to keep a close watch on how they grow, change and become who they are, and I will always share what I see!!

Introductions to the Party Animals is in order!!  They are becoming their own little selves and will continue to grow and change every day!!  Let’s PARTY!!

Females:

Bow – very dark red, very heavy mask, 1 crown ridge but the 2^nd one is on the top of her head!!, good teeth, LF sock, squiggly lines on chest.  Independent, go with the flow, easy going, happy camper

Card – deeper red, medium mask, 3 cowlick/crown ridge, good teeth, minimal white on feet, tornado spots on chest.  Playful, spunky, but likes her hugs and kisses too

Confetti –  red, medium mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, minimal white on any feet, medium spot on chest.  Curious, adventurous, full of herself

Cupcake –golden red, heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, white on all four feet, huge spot on chest.  Lap lover, loves attention, gentle

Ribbon – red, heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, 2 white socks on front, little bit on back, medium spots on chest.  Loves life, always busy, last to lay down for nap

Sprinkles – red, heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, lF white sock, less on other 3 feet, big spot on chest.  Super happy and loves attention, a sweetie

Wish – red, heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, white lF sock, big spots on chest, one the shape of a heart. Easy going, laid back, happy

Males:

Balloon – lite red, medium mask, 3 cowlick/crown ridge, good teeth, white sock on front, little bit on back, big spot on chest. Easy going, laid back, happy go lucky galoot

Candle – red, medium mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, LF sock, minimal white on other feet, big spot on chest.  Happy, happy, happy, quiet, gentle, easy to be around.

Gift – very dark red, very heavy mask, perfect ridge, good teeth, white socks on all four feet, medium spot on chest.  Go getter, rowdy, adventurous, curious, snuggles too!

It is amazing to me how much these puppies change in only 10 days!!  You would think that after 20 + years I would have gotten used to how quickly they grow.  Considering that they start at anywhere between 16-20 oz and go home at 8 weeks weighing between 16-20 POUNDS, that is quite the ‘feed conversion”!  They doubled in size again, their eyes are open, their ears flopped down, and they have even started to GI Joe crawl around their whelping box. 

Their eyes start out tightly sealed. Once they begin to open, they are quite blue, but cloudy and squinty, so I doubt they see much.  Within days, their eyes begin to change color to deep amber, dark brown and all shades between. They can definitely see!

They are born with their ears tight against their head and swollen shut so they can not hear nor get ‘stuff’ in them.  Once the swelling goes away, the “leather’ of their ears flips down and boy can they hear!!  This is about the same time they discover their voices and become quite vocal.  There is lots of crying, yipping and complaining when a ‘faucet’ is being fought over!!  Just in the last few days, they have begun to ‘trill’.  It is an odd mix of growl, bark and whine!  Really, really cute but lasts no more than a few days and then they really can bark and growl!  It is fun to watch them learn that those sounds are coming from themselves or their litter mates!!

Learning to play is also such a lot of fun to watch!!  They start out chewing on each others ears, tails, toes, and nose. They fall into each other a lot and roll around batting their feet at each other trilling away!  They have turned into PUPPIES!!  Trinity remains infinitely patient even when the pups use her as a chew toy as well.

Toe nails and therefore the hated toe nail trims have begun.  Trinity REALLY appreciates the dulling of all those little daggers.  The trims remain a nearly weekly event, very much NOT appreciated by the puppies.  It actually gets easier as they get bigger because there is more puppy to hold onto as they squirm through the process!

The Super Puppy training program has ended. Now we just play with them!  Tickling tummies, snuggling and kissing are a daily occurrence.  Even this young, they love the ‘ridgeback rub’ that will be one of their favorite things all of their lives.

Trinity’s gift to them is her endless supply of milk and her willingness to continue to clean them so aggressively!  Her greatest gift to us is her willingness to continue to clean them so aggressively!  Even this young, they are puppy pooping machines!!