The all important “walkabouts” are keeping the puppies (AND ME) adventuring and learning every day!!  They follow me around while I walk thru the trees, and grass, and flowers, and horses, and bushes, and berry patches, and don’t forget the 100 year old outhouse!!  It is very insightful to just watch them explore, see how they think their way thru obstacles or challenges, and how they view the world they are living in now – am I confident, am I courageous, am I a watcher/thinker, am I just a happy go lucky big galoot etc……  I am sure I look like the ‘pied piper of puppies’ as they trail around after me.   These ‘training’ sessions, whether they know it or not, are also a very useful means of wearing the little monsters (I mean DARLINGS!) out.   Never forget, a tired puppy is a good puppy!
 
Friday they all went to the vet for their final vet check before going home.  They got weighed and then prodded and poked all over their little bodies.  These giant pups at birth are still heavier than your average 7 week old Ridgeback!!  Maximus was 19 pounds, Pascal was 16.6, Flynn Eugene was 15.8 and little Rapunzel was a normal 14 pounds.  Great news - all hearts, lungs and belly buttons look great!!  Next, the mean old vet poked them with a giant needle that had their microchip in it!!  OUCH!!!  Now they are permanently identified right between their shoulder blades.  You will want your vet to scan for it every time you see them, just in case the chip tries to migrate on you.  This weekend they had their last set of pictures, wormed for the last time, trimmed their toe nails for the last time, and vaccinated them with their first set of puppy vaccinations.  All this great health information will be included in their ‘going home’ packet, along with their AKC registration papers, microchips papers, and the Grandma June training advice on every topic puppy related.  READ IT !!
 
TODAY is kind of the BIGGEST day of my life!!
 
Rapunzel – flawless female, liver red with a minimal mask, perfect teeth, long pencil ridge with two crowns and a large fan, very little white anywhere, just a tiny spot on her chest.  She is the smallest pup in the litter with the biggest swag!!  She also has lots of curiosity, confidence, courage and…snuggles.  She likes to follow me on new adventures.
 
Flynn Eugene – flawless male, very dark red with heaviest mask, perfect teeth, long perfect ridge with both crowns in a large fan, small spot on chest, no white on toes.  He is a people lover, willing to please and loves attention.  He is a watcher, very observant, curious and interested in new things.  He is a little more reserved and likes to hang out with his people.
 
Pascal – flawless male, fiery red with a medium mask, perfect teeth, long ridge with two tight crowns in a tight fan, medium spot on chest, with the largest white on toes.  Spunky, adventurous, playful, expressive, action seeker, loves to play, loves to explore.
 
Maximus –flawless male, dark red, medium masked, perfect teeth, long perfect ridge with both crowns in a big fan, small spot on chest with small white on toes.  Big happy go lucky galoot.  Very laid back, and easy going.  Kind, gentle, quiet lap lover with don’t worry - be happy attitude..
 
 

I could go running, and racing, and chasing, and leaping, and bounding, heart pounding, and splashing, and reeling, and finally feeling - That's when my life begins!!!!
 
The Tangled pups are outside learning how to be puppies!!!  They love to wrestle, growl, bite and pile on for a nap!!  We have lots and lots of toys to help with that biting thing, but the poor toys suffer so!!  During the day the pups are in the ‘big puppy play pen’ now which is much larger and shares a fence line with their adult relatives.  The world for them is a really, really, big and amazing place that they are discovering.
 
Trinity is pretty sick of her Tangled pups!!  She likes playing with them, but she never lays down to feed them anymore.  They have a tendency to use those very sharp teeth to hang off her to nurse.  I gotta tell ya, it looks really awful, and by the long suffering look on Trinity’s face, it is really awful!!!  To help her out, they get fed yummy puppy chow 3 times a day.  Trinity feeds them only once a day so that it is not too painful for her to cut down on her milk supply.  Weaning is pretty much a completed process!!
 
This week the pups got another dose of the yummy tasting, wormer stuff.   Puppies tend to put every thing in their mouths no matter how disgusting, so worming them every 3-4 weeks is a very good idea.  Toe nail trimming is still doable, but they are much squirmier and clearly do NOT think this is a necessary process. Dremelling their toe nails in the future might be something you will want to consider.  You will need to start young so it is easier to convince the pups that dremelling is not going to kill them.  They quickly got the hang of using the appropriate place to go potty.  90% of the time they go where they should.  Hopefully, this will make house training go much faster and easier.  All you have to do is decide WHERE the bathroom will be at your house, before they come home, and carry the pup to that spot for at least the first week so that the puppy knows where the bathroom is.
 
Grandma has been taking the pups on daily ‘walkabouts’ so that they can really romp around and get good and tired before bedtime.  They enjoy the changes in the scenery and I enjoy watching them become their own little selves.  Now they will really begin to develop their own unique personalities!  They each respond differently and adjust differently to changes in their environment.  Tractors, cars, bugs, grass, horses, and bizarre sounds help them become accustomed to life on the outside!!
 
I am NEVER going back!!
 
Rapunzel – flawless female, liver red with a minimal mask, perfect teeth, long pencil ridge with two crowns and a large fan, very little white anywhere.  She is the smallest pup in the litter and the only female. She has lots of curiosity, confidence, courage, and swag.  She likes to follow me on new adventures.
 
Flynn Eugene – flawless male, very dark red with heaviest mask, perfect teeth, long ridge with two tight crowns in a tight fan, small spot on chest, no white on toes.  He is a people lover, willing to please and loves attention.  He is a watcher, very observant, and tends to be more reserved.
 
Pascal – flawless male, dark red with a medium mask, perfect teeth, long perfect ridge with both crowns in a large fan, small spot on chest with the most white on his toes.  Spunky, adventurous, playful, expressive, action seeker.
 
Maximus –flawless male, dark fiery red, medium masked, perfect teeth, long perfect ridge with two crowns in a big fan, small spot on chest with small white on toes.  Big happy go lucky galoot.  Very laid back, and easy going.  Kind, gentle, don’t worry, be happy attitude.
 

WHO KNEW that there was another great big huge world just on the other side of the whelping box?!!  The Tangled pups are very happy and curious about the world they are just beginning to explore when going on “rides” around the house with their human family.  They have seen themselves in mirrors, sat on laps, couches and beds, met their big dog family members, and looked out the windows at an even BIGGER world!  A few times they have gotten to GO outside into that big world.   WHO KNEW what grass is and how it prickles chubby tummies?
 
WHO KNEW how noisy the Tangled pups could become?!  Their ‘trills’ have turned into actual barks, whines, and growls!!  They love playing with each other and trying out their new voices in countless ways.  The love to run and jump, bat at each other, hide from each other, and attack each other, all with pathetic coordination, but really cute anyway!!
 
WHO KNEW how fantastic teeth are?  The pups have sprung teeth this week and boy they know how to use them.  This week they are learning how hard they can bite without getting into trouble by hurting each other, momma Trinity, and even their humans.  Trinity is quick to discipline them if they bite her to hard on the nose, toes or ears, and the teeth have really put a damper on her nursing enthusiasm!!
 
WHO KNEW how yummy puppy food is?   As part of the weaning process, and to give Trinity some help, we started supplementing the Tangled pups with shreded chicken mixed with puppy chow.   The pups love it, but what a mess they make!  Fortunately, Trin is more than happy to clean them up with more of those thorough but somewhat annoying tongue baths.  It will take about 2 weeks to completely wean the pups, and wean Trinity comfortably as well.  Every week, Trinity will spend less and less time feeding the pups and even laying with the pups, so that they get used to their new environments without relying on her to show them the way. WHO KNEW! That courage and confidence are the first personality traits to develop. 
 
WHO KNEW how much cleaner the whelping box could be once the pups have figured out what the litter box is and how to use it?  Puppies instinctually do not want to potty where they sleep and play so will always move away from their bed or playground to go.  We added the very low litter box with sawdust pellets in it for the pups to use which they took to easily and quickly.  This concept will really help the crate training and housebreaking process go quicker and easier once they are in their new homes.
 
 
WHO KNEW who the Tangled Litter would become?!
 
 
Rapunzel – Flawless female, golden red with a minimal mask, perfect teeth, perfect, long pencil ridge with two crowns and a large fan, very little white anywhere. The only little girl in the family. She is loving, gentle, and snuggly, but is feisty enough to fight for her share and not let her big brothers in push her around.
 
Flynn Eugene – flawless male, very dark red with heaviest mask, perfect teeth, long ridge with two tight crowns in a tight fan, small spot on chest, no white on his toes.  He is a people lover, focused on getting attention and can be quite vocal!
 
Pascal – flawless male, dark red with a medium mask, perfect teeth, long perfect ridge with both crowns in a large fan, small spot on chest with the most white on his toes.  Courageous, confident, independent, easy going.
 
Maximus – biggest, flawless male, dark fiery red, medium masked, perfect teeth, long perfect ridge with two crowns in a big fan, small spot on chest with small white on toes.  Laid back, easy going galoot, happy happy go lucky brute.