High Altitude, High Quality

Growing Like Weeds

Posted by Brenda Hedden on Saturday, November 1, 2014
It is so much more fun sitting and playing with the pups, than at the computer writing about them.  They are all very social and bound from one end of the pen to the other.  We still have the litters separated, but right next to each other and I don't think my home will ever smell the same again.  Hard as I try, I just cannot keep up with 15 little love bugs.  Today, we may try all puppies together with close observation.  Asia's are a week older and substantially larger than Java's, as a week makes a huge difference.  Even families who have come each week to visit them, notice the substantial growth from the previous week.

There are so many stories to share, but I have had so many owners make a puppy decision based on one unique story, that I tend not to share specifics, as a single story does not represent a personality. Here is a week in a nutshell:  Fuschia was rambunctious all week, but seems to have mellowed substantially.  I think she loved the new food we upgraded them to, as they now have more teeth.  She and Licorice took a bath yesterday and did well.  Licorice swam in mid air during his bath, which was very cute.  They both cuddled with me as I dried them and loved the warm heat from silent dryer.  Pumpkin was always quiet, but now loves to tumble around with her siblings, which is wonderful to see.  Licorice has really taken to the kennel in their pen.  He loves to sleep in it.  The door is off and it just serves as a den for the pups.  Snowflake is very similar to Pumpkin in personality and has really blossomed in the past week.  She plays a lot more with all of the pups and tried her hardest to get on top of the kennel.  Sky, Chartreuse and Violet are difficult to tell apart.  Markings are very similar and personalities are identical.  They are all very loving and hang out crawling on my legs when I am sitting with them.  Yesterday, Violet and Chartreuse could not fall asleep, so we played for about half an hour after the others drifted off.  Sparkle has been my shadow for weeks, but yesterday, she was wound for sound.  I picked her up and held her for about 20 minutes, much to her chagrin, but she mellowed and licked my face and was back to the old Sparkle again.  I think I got her right after a meal, which makes them all active for while.  Sunshine has been wonderful in Java's pen.  She was the smallest in her litter so we put her with the smaller ones and she is so good.  They love to all play and chase.  She has a very calm personality.  In Java's litter, Rosebud is adorable and she and Rainbow are much more active this week.  Rosebud follows me around and cannot wait for someone to crawl in and play.  Rainbow found her vocal chords yesterday and howled like a wolf after breakfast.  My husband asked me what I was doing to her and I laughed that I have not heard her make a sound, and she just sang most of the day.  Hope this is a passing trait.....Teal and Navy Blue are just adorable.  They are very calm puppies, love to play with their toys and their siblings.  Both are very similar in personality.  They love to explore when out of the pen.  Chocolate is back with his own siblings.  He was so much bigger than the rest that we put him in with the bigger pups, but a week of development makes a big difference.  He is six weeks in size, but five weeks in play development and fits better with his siblings.  Daisy is adorable and was the first one in her litter to sit like a puppy.  She is stunning and has a regal look to her when she is at attention.  Java loves to lay next to her puppies and lick their faces after they have eaten.

The pups are now 6 1/2 weeks old and 5 1/2 weeks old and love to try to nurse, but moms are drying up.  They cannot keep up with the food volume and tend to give up around this age, so we take over with chicken, hamburger, ground kibble and still goat milk.  We will wean Asia's pups in a few days and let Java's have goat milk for another 10 days or so.  We nurse and milk longer than others I think, as pups will go to their new homes with just a week-10 days of weaning.

Asia's have now figured out how to pull up piddle pads, so life is eventful.  Although they have wonderful toys, for some reason they go for the piddle pads and LOVE the ripping sound the tape makes when they pull them up.  All of the pups still sleep more than they are awake, and try as I might to change the piddle pads when they sleep, they awaken to visit me when I am cleaning.  I generally roll up the old and try to lay down the new, but they are everywhere.  Chewing on me, the tape, pulling the pads and taking off with them.  I try not to use a baby gate to separate them while I am cleaning, but after a few taped paws to the tarp on the floor, I generally need to finish what I started before they can access that end of their pen.  Their pens are behind my kitchen, which is why I like to keep them very clean.  They extend down to our back entry, so they are a part of our lives all day long and get used to the smells and noises of life in our home.





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