3 Weeks Old!

The puppies celebrate their 3 week birthday along with this little "pupply loving princess" below!  Kinley, or KK as we call her turned 4 today.  She love, love, loves her puppies!   The pups are becoming very alert now and are sitting up and walking around pretty well. Still very wobbly, but they are beginning to get to that playful stage where they will wrestle with each other, growl at each other, and poke their heads up whenever someone checks in on them.  We let them outside in the grass for a little while today and they mostly just lay around and whined about the new texture and surroundings. Pretty typical puppy reaction for 3 weeks old.  In the next week they will really start to gain their coordination, and will explore more and more every time we let them outside.  In about a week we'll also start them on wet food.  The fun stage is just beginning!

1 week old to 3 weeks old (left to right)

A few more pictures of the pups from the weekend. All three boys with the three kids below, and the two girls with Gracyn and myself.  You can see in the pictures they all have their eyes open and are getting a healthy dose of milk.  They are all starting to wobble around on all fours, and are probably at one of the best stages in my opinion.  They are unbelievably cute and cuddly!   No teeth, no claws, and no running away from you when you're trying to catch them!   I'll save that stage for about 7-8 weeks when they go home!  

2 Weeks Old.

It's hard to believe they are two weeks old already. So much has changed in a couple of weeks. When I got home from school the kids were excited to tell me that "Dukey's" eyes are starting to open. I would suspect by the time I get home today they will all have their eyes open! As you can see from the pictures below they fill out the Remington Express crate a little bit more at 2 weeks.  I can assure you there aren't anymore bodies in there, they are just about twice the size they were a week ago.  I think week 3 might be interesting if I try the same pose. 

Left:  1 week old                             Right: 2 weeks old

Left:  1 Week Old                       Right:  2 weeks old

The pups keep getting bigger and bigger by the day.  Today they got their first taste of the great outdoors while I changed carpet and cleaned the whelping box.  It was a beautiful Sunday morning and the kids didn't seem to mind being able letting them out. They aren't much for exploring at this stage in the game, but I'm guessing in the next week their eyes will start to open up and they will start hobbling around on all fours.

The Girls

The Boys

Boden and "Duke" relaxing!

Kinley doing her best puppy impression! 

Aunt Remi and Aunt Mags checking out what's happening in the whelping box.   This picture pretty much sums up how mild-mannered my females are.  Lilly is sitting on the outside watching without a worry or a care.

1 Week Old!

Here are a few pictures of the puppies at 1 week old today.  It's hard to believe its been a week ago already that we were watching these little rugrats being born in the wee hours of the night.   The kids have started to decide on some names as well.  So far for the boys they like; Duke, Gauge, and Ammo.  For the girls the names of choice are Macy and Birdie.  Kinley has claimed Birdie, Gracyn has claimed Macy, and Boden has claimed Duke.  The puppies once again had plenty of visitors today so if you were wondering if the puppies are going to be socialized when they go home, I would have to say, "most definitely!" 

Here are a few more pictures from tonight.  They are doing great and growing like weeds!  (Weeds on steroids, I might add....)  I can't get over how chunky they all are already.  They enjoy eating that's for sure!

 As you can see the 5 little ones are getting plenty of attention already! I had to childproof the shed door for the one on the left (Kinley).   The first thing she does in the morning is head out to see the puppies and any chance she gets she sneaks out! She is definitely a puppy lover!   The pups are doing great, and I can't believe how much they've grown so far.  I guess that's one plus of having a smaller litter.  Not much competition for food!  Today we'll clip their dew claws, but otherwise the puppies afternoon consists of a little eating, a lot of sleeping, and a whole lotta love from the kids. 

Puppies born!

 After a long wait the puppies were born in the early morning hours of August 10, 2016.   The labor went relatively smoothly and quickly on such a hot humid morning!   Lilly did great and has been a natural mother just like her mother was!  After the first puppy was born she figured out quite quickly what was going on and took over from there.  It's been a hectic few days from frantically working to finish the renovations in the whelping room, to having puppies, to heading off to the Iowa State Fair to watch my children do what they love to do.  I've been a little behind on getting pictures updated, so my plan is to make up for that in the next few days!   Hope you all enjoy the next few weeks as you watch the puppies grow and change, and of course get tons of attention!  The way I look at it 5 puppies (2 female, 3 males) will get plenty of love an attention!