Road Trip!

I'm a terrible person! Three of the puppies got their first ever road trip today and I forgot my camera at home. Axel, Wilbur and Fanny rode up to Richfield and were fawned over by the firefighters, police officers, dispatchers, and almost everyone who works at city hall. Our next stop was the credit union where more of their adoring fans got to see the puppy show. They slept quietly in their crate while I attended a class. After a stop at great-grandma and great-grandpa's condo, and about 20 more sets of hands to pet them, they rode quietly back home.

With only a short nap to reenergize the bunch, Kristen and Mike did temperment testing for all seven. Even without studying, they all passed! Not too many surprises except for Axel being more dominant with them than he'd ever been with me. Hmmm...maybe he realized they will be his PARENTS in a few more weeks.

The pictures are thanks to Paul and Helen from their visit on Saturday.

Tomorrow morning we go to THE VET!

Pheasants forever

Just proof that they did like the pheasant wings. Olga grabbed it out of my hand and proudly paraded around the garage. All of the pups were excited by the scent, they truly are Labs.

we play hard, we sleep hard

Just like a small child, the pups wake up happy and ready for the day. They play, eat, drink, chew on shoe laces, take care of "business" and generally cause a ruckus. One by one they slowly drift off even while others are crawling all over them. Eventually they all quiet down...except for the snorers (Olga and Moose).

Before receiving their second dose of worming meds they were weighed:
Wilbur and Walker 9.1#
Moose 8.6#
Axel and Olga 8.5#
Fanny 7.7#
Lucy 7.4#
I knew Walker was getting chunky, I never dreamed she was as heavy as Wilbur!

shhhh, they're sleeping

Saturday was visitor day. We started with neighbors and their relatives (Jen fell in love with Moose!), then Bill and Kirsten (their Beau is Lizzy's brother), then Lisa, her mom Pat, and her son Chad, and finally Paul, Helen and Lynn. Gosh I hope I didn't miss anybody.
After many hours of handling and playing, the pups slept.

For you hunters...the pups got their first taste of pheasant wings yesterday. Rest assured, they all loved them! The light went on in their little heads, they know their mission in life.

Optical illusions

At first I was disappointed in all this morning's pictures. But after another look several neat illusions appeared. If you click on each picture it will enlarge on your screen and you can get a better look.

Breakfast anyone?

Doesn't this look tasty? There is nothing like a big dish of puppy mush to start the morning on the right paw.











Our family's favorite movie is Blazing Saddles so this quote may not make sense to most of you:


"Reach for it mister!"

Nose to nose

Reggie gets to know Lucy and Walker. Everything was OK with him as long as I held the pups, when I set them down he ran away.
We had lots of visitors today, Denny came down with Chipper and Champ (two more labs) this morning and Don, Rachel and Susanna ooh'd and aah'd this afternoon. Susanna loved up Olga and Fanny. I guess it was a "girls day." The boys were not neglected, they had the attention of our neighbor, Sammy.

Moose shows off a kibble of puppy food in the corner of his mouth.

Big, Big changes

Aside from the day they were born, this is undoubtly the day with the biggest changes for the litter. Lizzy has weaned them (her decision!) and they moved out into the kennels in the garage. Don't worry, the garage is heated and they have two heatlamps warming them...Great-grandma Lorraine would never allow them to be cold. They've seemed a bit stressed today and spent the afternoon sleeping in a pile again. But when supper arrived they were all back to their yippy little selves, shoving their way to the dishes. Wilbur even brought his pacifier along to the supper table.

Wilbur is challenging Moose for the alpha spot. Since he's quite a bit bigger, its likely he'll take the crown away from his chocolate brother.

Lizzy's spa night

Lizzy decided that today was the day to wean the puppies, she completely refused to nurse them at all. Instead she just growled at them. She's right on schedule, the pups will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. Not to worry, they are all eating the puppy food like maniacs. Today's weights:
Wilbur 7.9#, Axel 7.7#, Moose 6.7#, Lucy and Walker 6.5#, and Olga and Fanny 6.0#.

As a little perk she got a BATH and good brushing. Then she walked to the gates, bit the pups goodbye and ran off to play with Reggie.

toys, toys, toys

And yet they still prefer to chew on each other!

a pail of puppies

The pups are oh so helpful when I clean the floor. They grab a corner of the mop or the fresh newspaper and try to run away with it. With them confined in the bucket, my chores go smoothly.

Having the freedom to move and explore they like to look through the gate to see their mommy. Several new kong toys replaced the nylabones that Lizzy stole, but they still would rather chew on each other.

Axel and Lucy are amazed by the washing machine.

Kristen and Mike: the cake still tastes great!

Out of the box

What a lazy bunch this afternoon! They are officially out of the whelping box and have the run of the laundry room. And what did they all choose to do? SLEEP. They wouldn't even wake up and show off for the visitors! I had to send Lizzy in to rouse them all, then it was time to eat and play.

One of the toys is making a hit, the baby kong. Wilbur was the first to realize it was a chew toy.

Earlier in the day an alpha was declared...its Moose. He may not be the biggest, but he is the bossiest.

No...not staged!

I know nobody believes me about posing the pups for these pictures. The only way you'll believe me is by trying to pose them yourself and seeing that its IMPOSSIBLE. These are likely the last pictures taken in the whelping box, it was taken to the garage later in the morning.


Uncle Reggie has stolen the puppies' new nylabone for himself. You can see he has put on sympathy weight due to Lizzy's pregnancy. His diet started yesterday!

kids and pups...more cuteness

Thanks to Wayne for the pix, they are adorable.

Escapee

Imagine my surprise when I walked from the garage into the laundry room to find Lizzy had company outside of the box! Lucy is the first to escape the whelping box. She got some quality time with Lizzy curled up on the gray rug by the door. Yesterday I thought it was too early to take them out of the box, but I may have to do it soon to prevent more houdini events.

When they were born, the pups were about the length of my hand (from nose to butt). Four short weeks later they reach from fingertips to elbow.

Today's visitors...Wayne, Jack, Ellie, and Rob, frequent blog checkers! I'm glad you guys got to come and play with them. Did you have a good time with great-grandma?

Hardware Hank!

Obviously Moose and Olga are not ACE hardware fans.










One good looking little chocolate!











Have you ever seen a mouth this big?















Wilbur trying to assert some dominance.