How can anything grow this much in 2 weeks!!  The feed conversion on these little guys is amazing.  Maybe that is why they are always so hot!!

They have turned into a puppy in every way.  They love to run and chase, conduct sneak attacks, and bark, growl and chew on each other.  I have added toys to their lives to give each other and poor LuLu a break.  Speaking of which, LuLu has snapped the cover shut on the Bookends due to the arrival of teeth!!  They are eating their puppy chow so well that they really don’t need to torture LuLu anymore.  She very much still likes to play with her puppies, but she is good at staying in constant motion so they can’t attack her.

Grandma tortured them with another round of toenail trimming and yummy de-wormer.  Today they had the first of three puppy vaccinations called a DHPPL.  Ouch!  They were also microchipped for permanent identification. BIG OUCH!!  The nice vet goes over them with a fine tooth comb to note any possible health concerns.  You will receive a copy of this check list for your records.

The litter box training has gone REALLY well.  The Bookends rarely DON’T use the litter box so that helps keep them clean and dry.  Before your puppy comes home you will need to decide where the bathroom is at your house so you can carry your puppy to that spot for a few weeks while they learn to be house trained.  Remember your puppy will be as house trained as YOU are!!

Their own unique personalities are beginning to show.  What fun they are!!  They will continue to change for a while yet as they become who they are!!

Meet the Bookends!!

MALES:

Hamlet – deep dark red, minimal mask, Ridgeless, big spot on chest, minimal white on all four feet, good teeth, big boy!  Very outgoing and friendly. Always up for adventure.

MacBeth – dark red, medium mask, nice ridge with slightly off set crowns, tiny hernia, minimal white on all four feet, medium spot on chest, good teeth, big boy!!! The BIG easy, happy go lucky, eager to please

FEMALES:

Heidi – dark red, minimal mask, nice ridge, minimal white on all four feet, medium, spot on chest, good teeth, big girl.   Expressive, spunky, silly, adventurous, fun

Eloise – dark red, medium mask, nice ridge, white on front feet, medium spot with two long squiggly belly spots, good teeth, faint Grade 1 murmur, big girl. Silly, sassy, playful, goofy, happy

Cinderella – dark red, minimal mask, off set crowns in good ridge, no white on feet, big spot on chest, good teeth, medium size. Kind, gentle, sweet, don’t worry/be happy attitude

Coraline – dark red, dark mask, off set crowns in ridge, tiny white on all feet, tiny spots on chest, good teeth, medium size. Confident, curious, fun, likes to hug

Madeline – dark red, medium mask, good ridge, white on all four feet, medium spot on chest, tiny hernia,good teeth, big girl. Spunky, full of herself, go getter, action seeker.

Pandora – dark red, minimal mask, good ridge, minimal white on all four feet, big spot on chest, good teeth, medium size.   Gentle, quiet, lap lover, so willing to please, curious

Junie B – medium red, minimal mask, Ridgeless, no white on feet, small spot on chest, good teeth, concerning Grade 3 heart murmur, little girl. Silly, sassy, playful, goofy, happy

A good book has no ending.  Robert Frost  

The Bookends have cracked open their covers and have become PUPPIES!!  Running, hopping, growling, barking and playing puppies!!  Every day they are cuter and cuter if that is possible. What a difference 10 days makes!!

They have doubled in size again due to their insatiable appetites.  Poor LuLu is starting to wear the ‘long suffering’ look I know so well.  Her enthusiasm for laying with the little heathens (I mean darlings!) is beginning to wane.  Lately, she has begun to stand to let them nurse.  I gotta tell you, that looks just awful.  By the look on her face, I think it is!!  She is getting a bit thin despite the 16 cups of high fat puppy chow she eats a day, meaning she has reached the limits of her ability to keep up with their never ending milk demand.  To help her out, the pups got introduced to milk replacer.  They took to eating the warm, full of fat, milk like they had been drinking out of bowl all of their lives!  Sometimes, the learning curve of licking rather than sucking is much longer and well much wetter!! 

This week they were annoyed by another toe nail trim which was also much appreciated by LuLu.  The appearance of teeth just poking thru has added another type of torture – see again ‘long suffering’ above!! New this week was the first of three de-wormings with that yummy tasting yellow stuff that gets squirted into their mouths.  Puppies tend to be wormy because they put endless amounts of disgusting things in their mouths.  A monthly worming is a MUST in their first year.

They have become their own little selves now. All are a deep dark red, some with a lighter mask than others.  Some have lots of white on their toes and chests, some almost none.  If you like the white, you should enjoy it now because there will be less of it as they age.  Typically, they also get darker red as they age. Their ridges have ‘unfuzzed’ so it is easy now to tell exactly what they look like – other than the obvious missing ones!

Litter themes?  What is the point of that?  Long ago, I felt that it was WAY more fun to have a litter theme so that when we talk about each pup we know for sure who we are talking about.  Plus, it makes taking their pictures so much funner!  (is that a word?  It should be!!)  You can name your puppy any thing you want when you get them home, however they are required to have KKR (Kina Kabamba Ridgebacks which means ‘great family’ in Swahili) at the beginning of their name which identifies which family or breeder they came from.  It is very fun for me to hear what name you have chosen for them, but I can tell you that for the rest of their lives I will remember them by their litter name as well!!  Enjoy getting to know the Bookend Litter!!  I chose that theme because the first born was ridgeless and the last born was ridgeless – BOOKENDS!!