The puppies continue to grow and become more and more playful every day. They are always enthusiastically happy to see me (or anyone else who comes to visit them). They are also eating only solid food now and are thoroughly enjoying it. I didn't have time this week to take individual pictures again, so I took this video instead. At the beginning is a clip from last Sunday afternoon when my two youngest siblings and a few of the children from church came over to see the puppies. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more the children or the puppies. Unfortunately, the audio in some of this video is even worse than some of my previous ones. I'm very sorry about that. Clearly I need to change the case on my phone if I'm going to keep using it to post video updates. Enjoy the video!
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Cleone's puppies turned 6 weeks old on Wednesday, and Flora's turned 5 weeks old at the same time. They have officially reached the most fun, playful stage of puppyhood. Their favorite parts of the day are visits with people - whether the people are myself and my husband, or visitors. We have had the opportunity to have various children (my siblings, my sister's children, and others from our church) come over, as well as a few adult visitors, and they love the opportunity to be petted and to chew on shoe laces, pants, and skirts. They are eating like little hogs, and they love to play in their water dish, dump it out, and drag it off when they are done drinking. (I finally swapped out the dish with a small bucket so they hopefully can't keep dumping it out as easily.) These puppies are all so fun and full of life that it's hard to choose any favorites among them, but if I had to choose, I think Rosie, Jolly, and Boone might be my favorites. I really like Silver Bell too - maybe partly because I've spent extra time with her and have a soft spot for the smaller puppies. It's really a tossup in my mind between her and Jolly - I like how friendly and, well, jolly, he is, but something about her more reserved, yet confident nature attracts me. The short of it is: they're all great pups. A few folks have contacted me with concerns for the puppies in this chilly weather we have been having, but I assure you all, there is really no need to worry about them. You see, dogs are social animals and they like to be together as a pack, and puppies in particular really like to stick together. When cool weather rolls in, they all sleep together in a pile, and the shared body heat keeps them all warm. (In fact, they are staying warmer than the big dogs these nights!) If the forecast continues very cold for this weekend, I will likely put their puppy heating pad (which is supposedly more or less indestructible) out in the kennel for them and cover the big dogs' crates with blankets to help retain heat, but for the most part, the dogs actually seem to enjoy cold weather. I also feed them as much as they want to eat so they have plenty of calories to burn to create warmth, and they do just fine. Here are the puppy pictures (taken yesterday with the help of my friend Yesi, who volunteered to carry each of the pups out into the yard to be photographed individually.) They are tricky to photograph at this age because their biggest goal in life is to run back to me to get petted, lick me, and chew on whatever part of me or my camera they can reach. Hence all the pictures of them running directly toward the camera. Enjoy! Cleone's litter: Boone (originally Jingle) has settled down a bit, though he is still one of the most outgoing pups in the litter. He loves to be with people and enjoys playing with the other puppies. He does not seem particularly dominant, but he's somewhere near the top of the pecking order, and he always manages to find a good spot at the "milk bar" whenever one of the mamas is around. Loki (originally Wenceslas) is just as mischievous as his name implies whenever there are shoelaces to be chewed, but he has a sweet, submissive nature. He is less exuberantly confident than most of his littermates, but he enjoys being petted and handled. Looks like he will have one blue eye and one possibly green eye, but green eyes are tricky - sometimes you can't tell what color it will actually be for quite awhile. Jolly has become the most enthusiastic, outgoing, and biggest puppy of the two litters. As you can see in the pictures, he was not interested in having his photo taken; he wanted to stay as close to anyone who would pet him as possible. Though he can be somewhat dominant toward other puppies, he is submissive to people, and readily rolls over to have his belly rubbed. He reminds me very much of Cleone. Sadly, Jolly has become available again through no fault of his own. If you are interested in him, please send me an email. Rosie (originally Holly) is as friendly as Jolly, but a little calmer. As you can see, she also did not want to sit still for her pictures because she wanted to be with us to get petted. She likes to lick and is very sweet and attentive. Snow has been one of the friendliest and most confident of Cleone's puppies right from the start. She is a big, healthy puppy, and she will be a wonderful companion for the right person. Sadly, the couple who were going to take her had to release her, due to an unexpected change in their living situation, so she is available. Millie is a little more laid-back and cautious than her more outgoing sister, Snow, but she thoroughly enjoys attention and loves it whenever a person comes out to see her and her siblings. I apologize for only taking these two pictures - I'm not sure how I managed to forget to take more. (Maybe I'll blame it on pregnancy brain!) Anyway, Millie is a good, middle-of-the-road kind of puppy, contented with her position somewhere in the middle of the pack. Flora's litter: Garmr (originally Frosty) is a chubby, happy, fairly calm puppy. He enjoys chewing on shoes (or anything else he can get his teeth into) and wrestling with his brothers, sisters, and "cousins" in the other litter. (The litters are not actually related, though.) Fat and happy are probably the best words to describe him, and it looks like he will be a stocky, medium drive dog like his father. Star is a happy, fairly calm pup. He likes to chew, bark, growl, and wrestle with the other puppies, but he is somewhere near the middle or bottom of the pack order. He seems to be a medium/low drive pup (for a Border collie, that is), and he should make a great family or personal companion. Maverick (originally Snowman) is Garmr's "twin" in almost every way. He is lighter in color, so they are easy to tell apart, but their personalities are very similar. He's a chunky, happy pup, and he will be a wonderful companion. Tannebaum has become one of the more confident, slightly dominant males in this litter. (They're all pretty laid-back, though, so it doesn't take much dominance to outdo his brothers!) He has also constituted himself the pack watchdog, and he likes to bark (minimally) at visitors and even sometimes at me. I guess he heard about his Doberman predecessors at his new home and decided he'd better start practicing if he's going to live up to their precedent! He is a very friendly, happy, and fun puppy. Kora (originally Tinsel) is one of the most striking pups in the litter, with her heavy "blush" and "eyeshadow." She is confident and friendly, but not overwhelmingly so, and while she won't stand too much trampling and roughhousing from the other pups, she doesn't (usually) seek out a tussle with them. Una (originally Mistletoe) is a happy, confident pup. She's still on the smaller side of her litter, but has just about caught up to the others. In spite of her size, she won't take sass from anyone and will happily engage in any playfight that comes her way. With people she is all joy and friendliness, and she seems to have a cheerful outlook on life. Silver Bell - how to describe her... Silver Bell is the smallest puppy in her litter and seems to have a very serious outlook on life (perhaps because it's so hard to find a good spot at the "milk bar.") She makes up for her size with her attitude, though. Unlike many smallish pups, she is very confident, outgoing, and curious. She doesn't wag her tail much, but she appreciates being petted. In fact, she reminds me very strongly of her mother, Flora, who is more of a one-person/family dog, though she is friendly to strangers as well. Flora is the type who will not wag her tail or seek out much attention from strangers, but who gives her whole heart to those she loves and who have gained her trust. When the right person comes along to train and raise Silver Bell, I think she will give them her whole self, just like Flora does to me. By the way, I am giving her extra time with her mama (by themselves in a crate) to help her gain a little weight. She's not unhealthy at all, nor is she skinny; she just could use a little extra to hopefully help her catch up to some of her littermates. Ziggy (originally Lebkuchen) is a beautiful, strikingly marked pup with grayish eyes (the eye color may change, though.) She tends to hang to the back of the pack and stay inside their doghouse sometimes, rather than joining in the rambunctious activity outside, but she is friendly nonetheless once she comes over to see me. She likes to curl up and sleep quite a bit, but sometimes she surprises me - like yesterday, when she somehow managed to climb into a 5 gallon bucket which I had left in the pen, thinking the pups couldn't get into it. Of course, once she was in, she desperately wanted out, but she couldn't get out until I discovered her shortly afterwards and set her free. Little rascal! I doubt she'll try that again, even if I had left the bucket in the pen (which I did not.)
She is the stockiest of Flora's females and will be an exceptionally pretty dog. Well folks, it happened again - I'm late and I missed a weekly update. I'm so sorry about that. Life got in the way of updating the website and y'all, but I assure you, the pups have been well cared for and loved. In fact, they had extra socialization last week because a couple of my sisters were here. Emaline helped me move Flora's litter into the big doghouse with Cleone's litter, and Anna Frances (age 8) helped too - mostly by handling the puppies and playing with them. My youngest brother came over briefly on Sunday because he really, really wanted to come see Jingle (now Boone.) The two litters have integrated well together. Flora's started off in the whelping box inside the dog house, but they quickly figured out how to climb out, and now both litters spend their days eating, sleeping, and playing together like one big, happy family. This works out great for the colder nights, as they all just bunch up together to sleep, and they stay toasty warm. I am working out a date for them to see my vet, but unfortunately that is always a little complicated because she lives 2+ hours away (in Orange City) and stays extremely busy. It sounds like the earliest she can see them will be around February 10th or 11th, so unfortunately that will delay pickup for the older pups by a couple of days. We'll get it sorted out and I will email you the details about pickups so we can start working out the schedule to fit everyone in on pickup day(s). Cleone's litter are all officially spoken for and most of them have new names now, so if some of the names in the video are unfamiliar, that's the reason. I decided to take a video of all the pups this time around instead of trying to take individual pictures, but I will be updating the Puppies page with the pictures Emaline took of some of them last week. I'm sorry the update isn't better this week; I'll try to do better. Life is just extremely busy right now, and I've been pretty tired. (For those of you who don't know yet, I am due to have our first baby in just over a month, so I'm moving much slower than usual.) Anyway, enjoy the video, and please forgive the shaky quality and the various rattles, creaks, thumps, and other annoying audio interruptions. (My phone case does strange things to videos and seems to amplify the least bump into an obnoxiously loud noise.) And as always, feel free to email me with any questions! Cleone's pups turned 3 weeks old, and Flora's pups turned 2 weeks old last Wednesday. I took new pictures of them all then, but have been unable to post this update until now. So I guess I'll just have to post a new update in a few days. Cleone's puppies are mobile, playful, and friendly now. They have figured out how to scramble out of their whelping box, and are enjoying being dogs - i.e. playing in the holes Cleone dug in the dirt floor of their pen. (As a side note: As some of you may or may not realize, I got married last December and my husband and I moved to a house on the outskirts of Gainesville. This means that I no longer have access to my cement-floored, enclosed 10' x 10' kennels or fenced dog run, and since we don't own the house, we can't really build or modify the infrastructure much. So the pups are being raised in clean and safe, but somewhat less than ideal housing conditions.) Anyway, at three weeks old, Cleone's litter's new favorite pastime is chewing on each other's ears and playing hide-and-seek around the whelping box. They have become much more friendly and will usually wake up and come toward me, tails wagging, when I go out to visit them. The two merles, Wenceslas and Merry, are both slightly less outgoing than their siblings. The two most friendly at this point are definitely Snow and Jingle (in that order.) Holly is a close second to them, then Jolly. I'm sure the other two will become a bit more friendly as time goes on. They aren't skittish or timid, they just aren't eager to come over for pets yet. The whole litter also just discovered their mama's food bowl and they enjoyed chowing down their first taste of Sport Dog Food yesterday afternoon. Flora's pups all opened their eyes by the time they reached the two week mark, and they are becoming more active. It's funny to hear them starting to try out their voices in little growls and barks in addition to their usual grunts and squeaks. They are highly talented in several activities: sleeping in one big, adorable pile of black, white, silver, and gray fur, scrambling over and under each other to reach the best places at the "milk bar," and - their newest talent - walking on slightly wobbly legs (instead of scooting everywhere on their bellies. They are becoming playful with each other, though learning to balance is still enough of an issue that it precludes much rough play. (After all, it's hard to tackle your brother and chew on his ear when you can barely walk without tumbling over.) I had my sister's three children here all day on Friday, and my 4 year old niece LOVED playing with the puppies. She especially enjoyed "mothering" them. I allowed her to bring several of them (one at a time) into the house, and she held them for hours, mostly tucked inside her sweater so that they "wouldn't be cold." All part of the socilization of the pups. :) Enjoy the pictures! I'm only posting one picture of each puppy here; the rest of the individual pictures are posted on the Puppies page. Cleone's puppies are 2 weeks old, and Flora's are one week old. They are all doing very well. There's not much to say about Flora's pups at this age, beyond saying that they are all chubby, happy, and growing well. Flora is being a good mama and taking excellent care of them. Cleone's puppies eyes just opened a couple of days ago, and they are starting to become more mobile. They will soon be playing with each other and showing their own personalities much more. I can see a little bit already, but it's too early to say much about them. None of them much appreciated having their pictures taken, but all three of the females settled down pretty quickly. Jingle and Jolly settled in, too, but Wenceslas was a little squirmier and noisier - at least for a short time longer than his brothers and sisters. It's really too early to know, though, how they will turn out. All in all, I am very happy with the litter. *Photo credit goes to my sister, Emaline, who visited today and was kind enough to photograph all 14 puppies. I think she did a good job! Cleone's pups Flora's pups Finally, I'm getting around to the puppy update! Lately it has felt like I either have time to adequately care for the pups or time to update everyone, but not both. So of course, I opted to take care of the pups. Today, though, it was time for pictures and an update. Special thanks to my sister Emaline for taking care of the puppies for a couple of days while I was out of town, and also for taking most of these pictures. She has been a huge help with these litters, in light of everything that's going on around here. Cleone's Litter Cleone's pups are becoming very active. They still spend a fair amount of time sleeping, but they are enjoying playing with each other, relaxing in front of their fan, and exploring the kennel. I finally let them out of the whelping box, and it was high time - they were beginning to scramble out on their own. Victoria is the most outgoing pup in the litter, and was the first to get out of the box, but the others followed quickly. Maud is very active, and when I put them all back in, she climbed out twice within a couple minutes. She seems to see quite well, at least out of one eye, and to hear okay as well. (I am not sure whether she has good vision in both eyes because one tends to be a bit squinty, but she was chasing my braid earlier when I was messing with one of the other pups, and seems to have no trouble finding her way around.) Berengaria and Cleopatra both have semi-retiring personalities at this point, but part of that could be because they are the smallest puppies and the others tend to push them around. They will grow out of it. Rylee (was Boadicea) is one of the noisier, but content and friendly ones, and Lexi (was Rowena) proved her determination by trying to escape through the wire front of the kennel and getting herself moderately stuck. (It is now fixed so she can't do that!) I plan to start them on milk and puppy chow tomorrow or Monday, so they will probably be a mess next time we take pictures, since they always like to swim in their dinner. But they will enjoy it. It's fun watching them grow and seeing how their personalities develop! Flora's Litter
There's really not much to say about Flora's puppies yet. Their eyes are almost all open, but they still spend about 90% of their time sleeping. Next week they will be much more active. They are all about equal in size. It's still too early to tell much about their personalities, but they sure are cute! Flora is being a good mama. She tried moving a few of them out of the kennel a couple of times, but she hasn't tried that for about a week now and seems to understand that they need to stay in the building. She is very dedicated and gentle with them, and is getting them off to a great start. |
AuthorMy name is Alayna Feldman. I have been greatly blessed and am thankful, first and foremost, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has saved me. I am also deeply thankful to my parents, who have raised me in a stable, safe, loving home and taught me about what is most important in life. Archives
February 2022
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