11/26/17 - 6.5 Weeks Old - Yabba Dabba Doo

  I said “OUT, OUT!” Yes, it is that time when the little monsters, I mean DARLINGS’, are ready to go to their new homes. They think Go, Go, Go is a great idea and love it when I release the hounds and let them play like wild things!!! Remember a tired puppy is a good puppy!! They are having a great time, and it is my opportunity to just watch them, play with them, and begin the training process. Keep in mind, your puppy will learn whatever you teach them…. Or don’t!! sooo…. If your puppy doesn’t do something right whose fault is that? Uhuh……..

Litterbox training as always is sooooo the way to go with puppies. I use compressed pellets that one would use to start their fireplace. They absorb wet, and keep their bedroom much cleaner, plus they smell like pine!! Always a plus there!! They learned very quickly to use the litterbox, and they will learn to go outside quickly at your house to. Just pick the spot, carry them to it for the first week, wait while they go (but don’t watch!!) and move away from the potty spot to go play in the rest of the yard when puppy is done. EASY!!!

Twist was so torn on this whole weaning the puppies thing. She loves her puppies so much and loved laying with them, but… those teeth!!! She finally had enough and realized that the time had come. I’m sure as a first time momma, she didn’t know where this whole thing was going to go!!! The teeth and the pups hanging off of her was probably a good motivational force!!

The pups had another toenail trim, their 3rd deworming, got their first of three DHPPL (Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvo. Parainfluenza, Leptospirosis) and were microchipped for permanent Identification. vet filled out their Puppy Checklist while we were there so that every possible body part has been noted. You will receive a copy of the checklist to show to your vet along with all their other heath records.

When Your With the Flintstones:

MALES:

BamBam – dark red, heavy mask, good ridge with slightly off set crowns, good teeth, faint Grade 1 heart murmur, solid red/ tiny white spot, big boy, Happy go lucky, playful and full of himself

Fred - dark red, heavy mask, good ridge, good teeth, white on back feet, medium spot, big boy. Confident, curious, outgoing, go getter

Barney – medium red, dark mask, good ridge, head crown, good teeth, white on all four feet, big spot, big boy. The big EASY, laid back, funny and goof

 

FEMALES:

Betty – dark red, heavy mask, good ridge, head crown, good teeth, white on all four feet, big spot. Eager to please, playful, bright, active

Wilma –dark red, medium mask, good ridge with slightly offset crowns, tiny overbite, slight umbilical bulge – not through body wall, white on all four feet, big spot on chest. Cuddler, loves attention, thinks all people are for kissing

Pebbles – dark red, heavy mask, good ridge, good teeth, solid red, no white, big girl. Confident, fun, adventurous, lots of spit and vinegar

Dino – dark red, heavy mask, good ridge, good teeth, slight umbilical bulge – not through body wall, no white on feet, medium spot, smallest girl. Tender, gentle, sweet, kind, loves people

Where’s your get up and go? It got up and WENT !!!!

11/8/17 - 4 Weeks Old - When You're With the Flintstones

They are so sweet and cute and so much fun to watch as they begin to explore their world.  They love playing with each other- lots of rolling, falling, play bowing, and chewing on each others ears, noses and toes.   And those little wagging tails are ever a challenge to figure out!!!  They do know how to WAG them, though I don’t think they have any control over whether they wag or not!!!  Their trilling has turned into pathetic little attempts at barking and growling which is so cute.   Momma Twist is one of their favorite targets too.  She is ever patient with them and very very tolerant.   They are learning to play with me as well and figuring out that “Grandma June” means good things are going to happen!

What a time of BIG changes!  I began supplementing them with artificial milk as Momma Twist is starting to run short on milk along with enthusiasm!!!    Their early attempts at eating out of a bowl mostly resembles ‘snorkeling’.   Thankfully, they get better at it every day and best of all, Twist is more than happy to clean them up.   What a mess!!! 

Even their weekly toenail trim is not enough to convince Twist to lay down to feed them anymore.  She either sits or just stands to feed them and is more than happy to leave just as soon as she is done feeding them.  She spends less and less time with them – I guess weaning has begun.  It is about a two week process with minor changes every few days so that both the puppies and Twist adjust easily.  This week they got wormed for the first time with that YUMMY banana tasting yellow stuff.  Don’t ask me why I know it tastes like bananas!!  Stuff occurs!

The litter box has become a part of their lives and they are learning how to use it.  Puppies instinctively move away from where they sleep or play to go to the bathroom.  By using a litter box, they are learning that there is an appropriate place to go potty.   Hopefully, this will help them to learn NOT to go potty in their crates, nor in their house and go outside where ever you teach them the bathroom IS!!!

Meet the Flintstones!!!   All are ridged and all are dark red wheatens, some with a hint of black tipped hair.  Ridgebacks come in three colors: red wheaten, wheaten and light wheaten.  There are many shades within each color which is sometimes subjective!!  Wheaten means the hair is lighter at the skin and gets darker as it gets to the tip of the hair. There is not a lot of white on the Flintstones – a few white toes, a spot on the chest.  All have dark masks - some medium, some full.  Unlike the white that tends to fade by adulthood, the dark mask will not be going away!!

They’re a modern Ridgeback family!!

10/29/17 - 2.5 Weeks Old - Twist Twitch

What a difference 10 days makes!!   The pups eyes have opened -  squinty, cloudy, very blue eyes that probably don’t see much except light but that will change very fast like everything “puppy’!  Puppies are always born with blue eyes that slowly change to the color they will be the rest of their lives. Ridgeback eyes are supposed to be complementary to their coat color so slowly over the next few weeks the pup’s eyes will change into a color somewhere between deep amber and chocolate brown.

The pups can hear!  Just in the last few days they have developed a ‘startle’ response to unusual sounds such as food and water being poured into Momma’s stainless steel bowls.   

With hearing comes sound and the puppies have discovered their voices!! They have started to ‘trill’ which is sort of a cross between a bark, a growl, and a whine.  They only do it for a few days before they really do figure out how to do all of the above on purpose.  They are clearly surprised by the sounds and have no clue that they are the ones making the new strange sounds. 

Also new the last few days is the discovery of each other.  They have begun to play sometimes accidentally when they fall into each other, then roll and discover they are upside down underneath some body else’s mouth!!  Ears, tails, noses and toes are all fair game – even on Momma who is infinitely patient with their antics.  

On day 19, the Super dog program ended.  Now I just get to play with them however I want too!!  They love being held and they love being snuggled.  The don’t love quite so much the ridgeback rub that has to feel somewhat like being in a car wash, and they don’t love quite as much that Grandma insists on gently stroking their faces with her thumbs to give them the dog version of a kiss.

Twist does her share of annoying them too!!  The vigorous tongue lashing baths continue relentlessly.  I swear all that licking makes their ridges get all ‘fuzzy’ where you can’t really see the details for a week or so. Their belly buttons and dew claws have healed, so at least Twist finally leaves them alone.  Due to their voracious appetite they are annoyed when the faucets go dry before they are done.  However, the fact that they have doubled in size again this week, certainly contradicts their whining complaints.   The pups get revenge on Twist with their 56 sharp dagger like toenails digging in. Grandma evens the odds though with the weekly toenail trim!!

Have you guessed their litter theme yet?!