Remy x Kwill 4 weeks old!

      We are now coming to the fun part of puppy rearing! This week we have seen more playing, growling and even a little domination starting as puppies begin to see how far they can push their limits and explore their environment!
       It was bound to happen.... the first escapees out of the whelping box and around the room...they tried to make a break for it, but Liz heard all the commotion and before all had escaped she rounded them up and secured them back into the whelping box! She then added the higher piece to the door, making escape impossible at this time.  Ms Dip was observed trying to walk with all fours on top of the "pig rail" that goes around the inside of the box. She kept sliding off as she was adding the 4th foot. She tried at least 3 times before she gave in. We knew they would be agile, but these pups were just coming up to their 4 week mark!

                                       

Eating is going well and all have good appetites. No one is really trying to body surf the food anymore, but I have a suspicion that it is almost time to dig out the official puppy saucer bowl as room around the plate is becoming a premium. They are starting to circle a few times before they can find a space to slip in. 

                                          

                                        

                                                       



Little Cuties! Dash, Snap and Dip!

 

Twist and Snap!



       Kwill is spending about 1-2 hours away from the pups when they eat or there wouldn't be any food for them! She thinks everything put in the box is for her, including the core from the toilet paper rolls I gave the puppies to play with. At this age, the cardboard is soft enough for puppies tiny teeth and they aren't really big enough to tear it apart or eat it...of course I forgot to tell Liz I had given it to them so you can imagine her surprise when she found Twist chewing on the corner of one.      





 



Kwill and Zoom



  

                                                       I wonder where Flip and Zip are????

                           Oh, There's Zip, but that is Dip taking a cat nap! Where could Flip be????

She was one of the first out of the box...... 

(to be continued)

 

The Puppies Heritage



"Kody"

        This is Kody. A-CH Treasure Tyme Kodak Moment DNA-VP ASCA/AKC CD. He is Remy's dad and Kwill's Grandfather on her sire's side. This litter is a line breeding on him. It's kind of hard to see because of the lighting in the photo is all washed out, but he has the same markings on his head as "Twist" Kwill's red merle girl.



Twist- 2 weeks old

More pictures of Kody.... My favorites! Kody was out of Keepsakes No Kidding X CH Starstuff's Foolish Behavior CDX. He was 2005 ASCA Award of Merit Altered #8 (in 3 months of showing). 2005 Nationals Altered Premier. 2005 Invitational Altered 6th place. Multiple ASCA Altered BOB /BOS winner. Kody had the cleanest down and back and very nice balanced sidegait. He had 2 litters total of 10 puppies. He produced 3 CH out of 3 dogs that competed. They all finished easily. One puppy is finishing her CDX. He trained and played in agility for fun, although never competed and he was training in utility, competing in Open when I realized he really didn't enjoy it. He was so smart that when a sheep he was working jumped up in the air and came down on his head, he refused to go back in the arena with them..."don't you know mom...they fall from the sky!" (Kody 1998-2011) I am Thankful to Lori Anglemyer, Treasure Tyme Aussies for letting him spend his lifetime with me.



3 weeks old and can you say Attitude?

           This has been the first busy week in the life of the pups. The past three weeks have consisted of picking up, petting, snuggling and kisses from humans...milk, baths warmth and lots of love from Momma Kwill.

       The first new adventure was introduction to food! Puppy "gruel", or what ever you want to call the soft warm puppy food that can be lapped up easily. We add all Natural Yogurt for the probiotics. (All our dogs love yogurt! They think it is the best thing kept in the fridge.) I always serve the early meals on plates as the puppies are still looking for something to suck on. They usually spend the first couple feedings with their mouths on the rims of the plates. I move the food close to the rim and they quickly learn it's easier to eat it on the plate. First puppy to eat...Zoom, but he did spend a lot of time at the rim. Dip was the second. No one would have any doubt if I told you Twist went to the plate after a few minutes all on her own and started eating! She was also first to try body surfing the food! After about the 3rd meal all puppies had taken a stroll onto the plate. They make quite a mess but Kwill is a super cleaner! Not a trace of puppy food mess is left after she is done!

        Puppies had their nails done this week. I was right thinking they were going to be super movers! Liz had to hold them while I did the clipping. I also tested them for touch sensitivity on their paws. They seemed to be pretty tolerant of any thing being done to their feet. No one really objected about the nail clipping and most were cooperative.

It's amazing how cooperative they become when all 4 feet are off the ground! Puppy worming also went well. We use Nemex 2 for puppies and mom. They are all gaining weight, with Twist and Dash being the   "chunky monkeys" this week!  

                                                                               This week puppies no longer wobble, but actually walk and are starting to climb on anything and everything...what's that in the way?...up and over...never around. They are also begining to play with each other. Today Snap and Flip were having a great time biting each other on the mouths, heads and then Snap started to paw at Flip! It is so cute...where is a camera when you need one?? Oh, I see I get the camera and come back and you are all ready for a nap!

    

Attitude?? Are you taking to me??? (Dash)

                Now that all the health basics are covered I want to address the "attitude" in this litter. It is    common knowledge in the dog kingdom that Ms Kwill thinks she is all that! I am not sure if it is genetic or she is teaching them, but these puppies are starting to show us, they think "they are all that and more"! They are very vocal about letting us know if they approve or not or if they want attention. They are also starting to come to the front of the puppy box to get petted. When I call "puppy, puppy" in that high pitched sing song voice Liz uses, they all wake right up, heads go up and they start getting up and walking to me. I  am not sure, but I am begining to suspect that Liz is training them when I am at work or sleeping. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will soon be seeing "little fronts" and free stacking!
    Liz and I think this litter may have more attitude than any other litter we have had...
    



           I am not going to credit Kwill for all the attitude as Remy certainly has some too, but his is more easy going and playful. He has a great sense of humor and can turn anything, including his water bucket into a toy! He is also one of those "bouncing aussies" even at 9!

Next week we are going to the ASC of MI Spring Fling! So in between bathing dogs and caring for all, we will try to get individual pictures again. They will be 4 weeks old and should be a handful to photograph! I need to pick up a new lithium rechargable battery and a larger memory card for my camera. I can't seem to remember the 'safe place, so I wouldn't loose it' that I put the larger memory card and spare battery! It sure wasn't the logical place such as the camera bag!
   

      If you have any interest in a puppy please contact myself or Liz as we will have a few puppies available.  janine    http://arcoirisaustralianshepherds.com/

Remy & Kwill Puppies 2 weeks old!

"TWIST"
Red Merle Girl




"TWIST"

Red Merle Girl



   Puppies are 2 weeks old now and we are beginning to see little glimpses of personalities as they bark, growl, and move about as Madonna would say "Express yourself"!

   I Love, Love little "puppy growls". To me they sound like a cat purring loudly. They have found

their little voices. Last week's whines of discontent, when they couldn't find a nipple has turned to barks, growls, chirps and other squeaks as they experiment with sounds!



"SNAP"
Blue Merle Girl





"SNAP"
Blue Merle Girl



        The past couple days eyes are opening or opened (closed for the camera) and they are wobbly making their way around up on 4 feet! Our expert wobblers or first on their feet "Zoom", for the boys and "Dip" for the girls! But to be fair they were all up and going so fast they could all be over-achievers! I would expect nothing less from this cross.



"DIP"
Blue Merle Girl



"DIP"
Blue Merle Girl



  

     Both Blue merle girls, "Dip" and "Snap" have what we call the "Kwillie Factor"! They have Kwills head, which is incredibly cute! We can't wait to see if they look like 2 blue "Kwillies" when they grow up!



"FLIP"
Red Merle Girl



"FLIP"
Red Merle Girl



                    



"TIP"
Black Tri Boy



          Kwill has finally decided that it okay to leave the puppies in the whelping box alone once in a while. She has been sneaking out and sleeping on the couch. She has a great view of the whelping box and can sleep with one eye open. The only other dog in the room with her is the ancient border collie, Brownie and as long as no one steals her current bone or antler, she could care less about the puppies. 

"TIP"
Black Tri Boy   



        When Kwill first started getting out of her whelping box that is surrounded by a 4 ft x-pen. I heard a lot of banging in the middle of the night. When I got to the pen, she was already out. We thought maybe she was able to lift it up off the hardwood floors and sneak out.

 

"ZIP"
Blue Merle Boy



"ZIP"
Blue Merle Boy



"DASH"
Black Tri Boy

 Imagine our surprise the next night when I caught her climbing up over the top of it!! Looking for a smart, agile puppy?? Talk with me or Liz!

"DASH"
Black Tri Boy





   Plans this week for the little ones is their first worming and nails need to be clipped. I use a human finger nail clipper and usually have no problem doing them myself. Something tells me I will need Liz to hold these little wiggle butts so they don't launch themselves into space while I try to clip and hold at the same time!



"ZOOM"
Blue Merle Boy



"ZOOM"
Blue Merle Boy

 

     Next week should be loads of fun to take pictures! Three weeks old usually means "There is no way I can stay still when I have just learned to wobble fast and I don't like cheese, Thank You!" Instead of the usual 2- 4 or in a couple puppies cases >8 attempts to take a picture, they will all take at least 8 attempts and that will be the more cooperative ones! Afterall, there is a whole new world out there to explore...from here on out we think it will be a blast!

See you next week!

janine & Liz

http://arcoirisaustralianshepherds.com/

  

 

Pictures of Kwill and Remy's litter!



"The Girls"





"The Boys"



        We had a nice quiet weekend and got to spend a lot of time "playing" with the new puppies. "Playing" with week old puppies in our house consists of massages, belly rubs and lots of kisses! All the puppies are gaining weight nicely. One of the black boys is quickly becoming the little piglet in the litter! The other black boy is staying on the smaller side, but still gaining weight nicely. All the blues are about the same size and the red merle girls are still "the chunky monkeys!" What I like best about this time is how the colors develop, the copper trim starts to come in and those merling spots, flecks  and dots start to appear. I caught the big black boy trying to stand on Saturday morning. He was up on his front legs and was rocking back and forth trying to get his back legs underneath him. Liz said the bigger blue boy was trying to do the same thing the day before. It is interesting to watch them develop and see which ones are the "over achievers" in the litter. This weekend we have three photos, girls, boys and everybody! We have a theme...the "action litter" since the Dr Justin Sellon http://www.drweldys.com/ said this was the most active litter he had ever seen  when docking tails at 36 hours old.

  Kwill is a great mom, keeping them clean and well fed. She is so happy, she glows!

"The Whole Litter"

       Next weekend we will have individual pictures and names so it is easier to identify each one as we post about them instead of refering to them as "big blue boy". In the meantime, please check back for a mid-week update!!

We should also have a new updated website anyday now!!!

Janine & Liz

http://arcoirisaustralianshepherds.com/