The pups have changed a ton in the last couple of days. They are way more independent now and roam the yard a lot more freely. They chase anything that moves so your feet are pretty much fair game at this point. It used to be you could take a few steps and they would give up the chase, but now they pretty follow no matter how far you go. They are definately starting to show personalities more and more each day. I am able to pick out the aggressors and the more laid back ones. I have a couple little girls that pretty much climb in and out of their little pen and roam the patio whenever they want. At times I catch them in the act on the other side by Belle and Remi and other times I know they were out because of the messes they left behind. They haven't quite learned to clean up after themselves yet and I think I will leave that part up to you. They are also starting to show some sign of the pointing instinct. When they hear a noise or see another pup coming a couple of them will freeze until they figure out what the noise is or their sibling gets close enough to attack. I got one pretty good picture of that. They are playful, playful, playful right now. They love getting their bellies rubbed and wrestling with their brothers and sisters.

Well, the pups all checked out on Wednesday and everything is well. The vet said they look great and they varied in weight from 4.5 to 7.1 pounds. We gave them their shots and kennel cough and they will get another round before they go home. I'll try get a vaccination schedule posted on one of my pages to make it an easy reference for you when the pups go home. Wednesday evening I took Belle and Remi swimming so I took a couple of the pups with me. They enjoyed the new scenery and one of them even ended up in the water (but only because he rolled down the bank after Remi knocked him over) It really didn't bother him much though. The pups had their first new owner visit yesterday afternoon as well. Jack Christiansen came down to take a look at the pups and get an idea of which one to choose next week when he takes the first little girl home. It was a pretty tough day, the warm weather made them lazy so they weren't real active, but another week of developing and a trip down in the morning will cure the laziness. This morning I cleaned and let them run for about an hour and a half. They are getting to be more and more work, but I do enjoy it. If I didn't I wouldn't keep doing it every year. Every time you walk out side they attack your shoes strings and you have to be careful not to step on any of them.

Just a quick update before we head to bed! The weather is great so the pups have been getting a lot of outside time. Yesterday and Sunday they played outside for a few hours throughout the day and even played so much in the hot sun they tried to find a nice cool place to nap. They were panting pretty good by the time they decided it was time to take a nap. Their were a lot of kids over after school to play with the pups since it was so nice. They are definately getting socialized and used to the human touch. They are also getting tougher to clean up after and keep tabs on when they are outside. Tomorrow they go in for their 5 week check up and shots so I will keep you updated with how everything turns out.

Here are a few more pics for everyone to enjoy. The pups got a lot of playing time outside and were panting pretty good b/c of the heat and humidity. The one little girl found one of Remi's toys and was dragging it around the yard like it was a dummy so it was pretty fun to watch. If any of the other pups would try get it she would run away from them. I went in to get the camera and came back out and found that Remi had reclaimed her toy, but I got it back to the little "light green" girl and she did it all over again so I was able to snap a few pictures today. This afternoon the "baby blue" girl was out of the whelping box I put her back in and out she jumped out again. Whenever they hear the door open most of them perk up and they stick their little paws on the top of the box with their heads poking out to try and see whats going on. They also whine and cry a lot and try their best to get out! Sometime this week I am going to open the box up and give them about 50 more square foot to roam in the box. Its getting a little more cramped in there for all of them and this will give them more of a chance to roam around more and then they will all lay on the steps and wait for someone can come out so they can attack their feet.

The pups are getting better looking by the day, and changing so much. We had our first escape artist yesterday. One of the females got out of the whelping box twice yesterday, so it wont be long until the rest of them follow in her footsteps. Maddy and I painted their nails this morning so I can start taking mental notes about what types of things they do. I can tell a couple of them apart just by looking, but they are all so close we need a little something more to help keep them apart. Some use collars, but I have found in the past that they never seem to stay on. I let them out this morning before church for about an hour while they were fed and I cleaned the whelping box. In only 2 weeks from today a good majority of them will be going home and then you can have your fun with them. They absolutely love their feeding time as you can tell from the picture. Three pups to a plate and they are pretty intense when the food comes out. Their little tails go straight out and they get down to business. There are a couple hogs that seem to cover the whole plate with their body so the others can't get at the food, but they all get their portions. Belle is feeding them less so I have been pushing the puppy food the last couple days. I gave them a little hard food this morning and they loved that about as much as the wet food.

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days now. My computer had some issues so I was waiting on a friend of mine to come by and take a look at it, so for now he dropped me a loner so I can keep everybody posted. The pups have changed a ton since I lasted posted. They have been out in the yard everyday since I first let them out, and they are getting fast! They are checking things out more and more and they love to play with your feet and/or whatever else they can get ahold of! They respond pretty well to me when I call for them and clap my hands they come running to see what all the excitement is about. They are starting to enjoy doing their own thing more and more and aren't concerned so much with what all their brothers and sisters are doing. They are a starting to growl and bark in a playful tone with each other and me and are so much fun to just sit and watch. I snapped a couple pictures of a them peeking their heads up over the top of the whelping box. A few of them are getting ever so close to pulling themselves over the side and climbing out. They get themselves pulled up with their back legs hanging but don't quite have enough strength to make it all the way over. It will only be a matter of time before one of them gets lucky and uses his/her brothers and sisters as a step ladder to make it the rest of the way over. When that day comes I will open up the front of the box and give them some more room to roam and start marking them with nail polish. They are getting to the point where their personalilies are starting to show so I am going to do that in the next couple days so I can keep track of what pup does what. They also had their first exposure to real food. At 4.5 weeks they are ready to start eating some wet food and give Belle somewhat of a break from nursing. They also were introduced to water earlier this week. They drink some and they play with it a lot. They stick their paws in and occasionally tip it over. Anyway they are all doing great and getting closer and closer to meeting their new families.

The pups are starting to get in the fun stage now, and they are more and more playful everyday. They are sleeping less and less and whenever you go out there they need to wake up and see whats going on. It is going to be a pretty nice day today, so I am going to try get them outside for a while and see how they like they grass. I'm sure they'll whine and cry a little bit but its good to get them accustomed to something different. Its hard to believe they are just about 4 weeks already and in less than a month will start going home. The first three picks of the females are coming on June 6 which is a Sunday so those of you picking after that can start thinking about when you want to come down. If anyone is wanting to see the pups and spend time before they come and pick them up, the next couple weekends would be a good chance since they are getting more and more active and showing more personality all the time.

My brother was home this weekend with his wife Nicki and Gunner so we took them out yesterday and worked with some birds. Gunner is a black male out of Belle's very first litter, and is pretty much a stud!!! He has a nose on him that you wouldn't believe and slams his points. There is an APLA event in a couple weeks in SD that I would like to take Gunner to. Gunner is a CP already so he'd be running for his APR so we bought some quail and did some work with the dogs. They weren't the best flying birds in the world, but it was great to get Belle, Remi, and Gunner on the birds again. They loved it, and Jeremy and I had our fair share of fun shooting some birds again. Gunner had some real nice points and if Jeremy thinks he will handle for me I am going to take him to get his APR title. He is going to be gone that weekend. I'd like to take Rems but I don't thinks she's quite ready for the game. The way Belle was pointing she would do well, but I with all the pups It doesn't work so well. Anyway it was fun to get the dogs on some birds again.

So much has changed and lots of updates since I last posted. As you can see the puppies are definately getting cuter and cuter by the minute and are now in the cute stage. Their eyes are opened and not glassy anymore and they are a lot more active. They still sleep a lot, but they get around really good now. They are all doing great and none are lagging behind thats for sure. I set them outside of the box tonite as I was changing carpets and cleaning and they peed everywhere and didn't just lay around like they did last week. They were checking things out, and hopefully in the next week if we get some nice weather we can take them outside and see how like the grass. There's a whole world outside their whelping box they have never seen before so it will be exciting to get them more and more accustomed to the "real world" as they get older and older. My nieces Laney and Maryn came and saw the puppies on saturday. I'm pretty sure a day doesn't go by that they don't ask to come see the puppies, but I told the Lanester I would put a picture of on the computer so she's pretty excited about it. They love the puppies and give them lots of love when they come. Maryn is the younger one, and she absolutely loves the puppies and Belle and Remi. Whenever she is over she goes straight to the door to the patio b/c thats where the dogs are and looks out the window and does her little moans and groans (she's got her own little language) Like I said she loves the puppies but we gotta keep an eye on her, she's kind of a terror and might try eat one if we're not looking. Haha jk!! It sure is helpful that all my relatives live close and they can see the pups whenever they want, it is also great for the pups to get used to the human interaction and touch. It's one of the things that helps socialize them so well so when they get to their new homes and around children they know how to act. I have a couple videos I'll try upload so you can see for yourself how active and well they move.