Let Me Flip for You !

Well, our little Sea Monsters, I mean Guppies, J are completely weaned from Momma. This past week or so they mostly just grew!!!! and ATE!! -- lots of eating!!!! Go Go still likes to play with them but they continue to try to nurse her of course and she finds that very annoying! Lately, she has discovered that if she lays on the golf cart seat, she can observe them and watch them but she doesn't have to DEAL with them!!!! They wear themselves out trying to figure out how to get to Momma, which is also a good thing - a tired puppy is a GOOD puppy!!!

All have perfect teeth and they KNOW how to use them! They are really into abusing their toys!!! I try to give them something new and interesting to play with every day or so. Actually, that is about all the longer the toys last!!! Kongs and ropes are the best, and at this age they really do well with cat toys. They like all the little bells and whistles and fuzzy things!!

Coming up is a BIG week!! They will get their first puppy shot (OUCH!), wormed for the THIRD time(yuck!), and are microchipped for permanent identification (BIG OUCH!!). Considering the size of the microchip needle, it is pretty impressive how well our little Swimmers take it!!! No crying!!! It helps that we rather quickly give them the good tasting wormer!!! Don’t ask me how I KNOW that it is good tasting!!! My vet goes over them with a fine tooth comb, making notations about EVERY body part so that there are no surprises for you or your vet later on. You will receive a copy of the Check List to show your vet along with all their other health information. They like going to the vet because everyone takes their turn holding and playing with them so they get lots of attention and treats.

I also hold the "Puppy Assessment Party" where my breeder friends from various breeds, some who are AKC judges, all with fresh eyes, come over to 'assess' the litter and decide who will be the show pups for sure!!! We stack them up to look at structure, play with them to temperament test, and then let them trot around to look at movement. Did you know that a puppy at 8 weeks (not 7 and not 9 weeks!) is more structurally balanced and correct then they will be again until they are full grown two YEARS later!!??? We like to think the assessments make our 'educated guesses' at least a little more scientific!!!! Plus it is just FUN!!!

Getting to know who each of these little Sea Monkeys are has been great fun. SOON they will find their Happy Place!!

Nemo – Pet Male, one crown ridge, big, dark red, dark black mask, big star on chest, almost no white on toes. Friendly, people oriented, happy, outgoing.

Dory – Perfect Female, livernose, feminine, dainty, big spot on chest, little bit of white on all four feet. Sweet, gentle, loving, fun.

Bubbles – Perfect Female, big, medium red, medium mask, big star on chest, no white on feet. Outgoing, independent, confident, full of herself.

Squirt – Pet Female, short ridge, big medium red, medium mask, tiny spot on chest, none on feet. Fun, playful, curious, eager to please.

JUST KEEP SWIMMING!

Go Go is their Momma’s name and GO GO GO is the name of the game!! The Finding Nemo swimmers go go go for about 1/2 hour and then they crash hard for about 2 hours!!!! This schedule is actually very normal for puppies thru about 6 months. Even as adults, most dogs sleep/rest/lounge around looking like they are asleep, about 18-20 hours a day!! They have relaxation down to an art form!

Go Go is pretty well sick of them!! Poor girl. She only feeds them twice a day and that is only because I make her. I think the emergence of teeth added to the already present claws has just put her over the top. Fortunately, the Swimmers are all eating their milk replacer puppy mush very well, and Go Go is still happy to clean them up!!!! This is the age when weaning starts so that by the time they are 6 weeks old, they are pretty much weaned from momma. This timing rather nicely coincides with a FULL set of TEETH that they know how to use!!!!

Another toenail trim and a second worming (yuck!) but they actually like both as they are too little to realize they are being tortured!! That will come later!! J All the bellybuttons look good, all the dew claws have healed up nicely, still no dermoids – a very very healthy foursome!!

For Thanksgiving, the puppies got moved to the big puppy pen where they have a separate kennel to sleep in, which leads into the giant litter box filled with compressed saw dust pellets (very absorbent AND biodegradable!), and finally the play pen with different TOYS every day to keep them learning! The idea is that they are learning to like their crate/kennel and that there is an appropriate place to sleep, eat, play and poo. Additionally, this setup REALLY helps keep their sleeping and play area much cleaner and teaches them that they need to go potty in the same place all the time. I’m doing everything I can to help you with that housebreaking project coming up!!!

It was so gorgeous here on Thanksgiving – 60 degrees! – that I let the Swimmers go outside for the first time in their life . They had a GREAT time even though the grass was sort of stiff and poked them in their fat little tummies. Lots of tummy rubs, hopping, jumping and running, and then power naps. They’re really starting to develop their own unique little personalities and becoming their own unique little selves.

I’m trying to teach them to “Gimmee some FIN!” This age is sooo much fun!!!

I CAN HEAR THE OCEAN !

The Ocean = the CHILL, the THRILL, the KRILL, the TRILL ! Trill? Why yes, the Sea Monsters, I mean Darlings, have found their voices and it is TRILLING!!! I can’t really describe it, but apparently it is part of their metamorphosis into PUPPIES! I know that from trilling it is a very quick jump to their rather pathetic attempts at barking and growling. They don’t know where those sounds come from either, but it is really fun to watch them try to figure it out!!!

They have been trying out their ‘fins’ and are making some serious waves around their pool. Not nearly as many belly flops, nor BIG splashes as they used to! They really have become aware of each other and enjoy chewing on each other’s ears, tails and toes. Sometimes they even chew on Momma’s ears! but GoGo is very patient with them.

I have often noted that Ridgeback puppies really DO go thru a metamorphosis! They start as little mice at birth, by a week they look like fat little rats, by two weeks they kind of look like baby wallabys, and finally at 3 weeks we have PUPPIES!! By four weeks they have turned into POO shooters and by 8 weeks the darlings have turned into Monsters!! Yikes!

GoGo is a GREAT mom with LOTS of milk so the “Nemo-ites” are as chubby as ever and have graciously been sharing the bounty. They have started drinking milk out of the puppy ‘donut” which is just a big stainless steel ring that keeps the puppies from tipping over, and walking thru, their food dish. It takes some practice to learn how to drink out of a puppy donut, but they get better at it every day. Thank goodness Go Go is willing to clean them up! What a mess! Every day from now until 6 weeks I will be feeding them more frequently and with more milk, then we add the puppy food to soak into puppy mush, then less time every day with momma, and the final goal being weaned at 6 weeks. Momma is getting a little sick of the puppies and does appreciates the separate bed I made for her where she can get away for awhile. Another weekly toenail trim HELPS a lot!!! All those daggers!!! OUCH!!

The little swimmers also got wormed for the first time – YUCK!!! Actually, they like it! It is a thick yellow fluid that I give to them orally using a syringe. Tastes like bananas – don’t ask me why I know that, but I seriously doubt that I will ever have worms! They will be wormed at 3, 5 & 8 weeks.

Meet the Finders !!

Nemo/ Aqua – Pet Male, one crown ridge
Dory/ Tan – Perfect Female, livernose
Bubbles/ Sea Green – Perfect Female
Squirt/ Mauve – Pet Female, short ridge