and then there was one....

So this week marks the last puppy going off to her new home. We were lucky to have Lavender (aka Kenzie) with us for a couple extra weeks (well, Rhys was very happy to have a little playmate for a little longer!). This Tuesday, Kenzie joined her new family and will be living with her uncle Kody. She left our pack weighing in at 20 pounds!!! And Rhys wasn't too far behind at 19.5 pounds - and they're only 11 weeks old! They're nearly half their momma's size at only 11 weeks, it's mind boggling! So with only 1 pup at home, we are slowly adjusting to a smaller pack, and a little less hectic home time. Rhys is growing in leaps and bounds, and thoroughly enjoying every second of playtime with her momma and auntie - not to mention with Asher too! And of course there is the down time - as you can see below!

Hope everyone is settling in with their new families!!

...and then there were 2...

Wow, what a week! Here we are, down to only 2 pups in the house... it's been so hectic, and happy for so many new families :) As everyone goes home, the weights seem to be all stabilizing and getting close to each other - all in the 12-13 pound range (except for little yellow, who just finally broke over 10 pounds!). They seem to have all gone through a strange growth spurt this week too, and seem to be all gangly legs and feet!

Down to 5 - Light Blue (aka Jackson) left our pack on Saturday. Above, Auntie Luna is trying to teach the remaining 5 how to play properly. Then Orange (aka Maya) went to join her new human pack on Sunday. Above, she's getting some last minute snuggles from her brother and sister.
On Monday the 3 remainig pups enjoyed some time outside - and perked up when they heard me (probably thought I had some chow with me!)

On Sunday, the 4 pups got some sunshine naps in before Orange headed home.

On Tuesday Yellow - who will be staying with us and be named Rhys (celtic spelling of Reece, 'cuz she looks like a peanut butter cup :) - looked like such a big dog!

And she definitely loves her boy - follows him around, licks his face, snuggles in his lap... that is when she's not playing tug with Luna!

And then there were 6...

Another busy week, with lots of events for the pups! They got to meet their dad, Booker on Tuesday when Joan and Pete McMahon traveled from Ohio to meet their grandkids! The pups were excited and did a great job getting along with Booker and their half-sister, Aurora. Joan and Pete chose Mr. Black - to be named Basil - and began their new life with him Thursday.

The pups also got to meet their grandma, Ursa, and auntie Claire on Thursday, when Nancy came to bring home her own new addition - Ms. Pink - to be named Belle. The pups did wonderfully with their new family, and I am told that Belle fit right into her new pack. It was a busy and bittersweet week...

Ms. Pink (aka Belle) as she gets ready to go to her new home.
Mr. Black - aka Basil Hayden - as he gets ready to join his dad on the drive back to Ohio.

Mr. Green, chilling in the grass with a cool toy at the Stonington Fairgrounds.

Ms. Pink (I think - even I have a hard time identifying the pups from this angle!) totally zonked in Asher's lap after some fun romping around at the fairgrounds.

8 weeks - can you believe it?

Can you believe we're at week 8 already? It is hard to imagine that the pups will be going to their new families in the coming week! It will feel strange around here I'm sure! This week the pups were able to go on a couple field trips after doctor's visits, and meet lots of new people. Sunday marks weigh-in times for the pups as well - and how big they truly are is astounding to me! They were so tiny once :)

Pink - 11lb Lavender - 10lb 4oz Royal - 10lb 7oz

Light Blue - 13lb Yellow - 9lb 5oz Orange - 11lb

Green - 12lb Black - 11lb 5oz

Pink and Light Blue enjoying some wrestle time in the grass.
Orange enjoying a marrow bone - very yummy!

Black striking a pose for us in the overcast day!

Lavender showing her ears on the rise this week!

A Vist to the Doctor!

Well 7 weeks marks some big adventures for these little guys! On Tuesday, we packed everyone into Nancy's van for their first car ride - to the eye doctor! The pups did a really nice job of crating for the ride. It took them about five minutes to settle in the gigantic crate we had for them. They slept for the duration or quietly chewed on a pig ear that they shared. They even slept comfortably through our stop for a lunch break but we made sure to close the car doors v-e-r-y quietly. :)

We set up an xpen for the pupsters when we got to the vet's office, where the pups were greeted by some kids and office workers who happened by - the people pleasantly surprised to find a litter of 8 Chinook pups in their midst! We were extremely pleased to find that the pups waited to potty til they were placed in their xpen - Housetraining should come easy for this puppy pack!

The pups were very social and calm for their vet visit. We had all eight pups in the exam room at the same time for about an hour's visit. All the pups had run of the room at once, and they got the chance to explore and play and they had a great first time experience in a vet exam room. They had their little eyes dilated so Dr. Abrams could check them out - no retinal eye diseases in anyone! They promptly sacked out on the floor of the vet's office - no anxiety in this bunch!

(Photo courtesy of Dr. Ken Abrams)

In addition to their first car ride and vet office visit, they got to go on their first field trip! On the way home we stopped at the Stonington Fairgrounds for some meadow play. Their reward for a job well done was a romp at the fairgrounds where there are acres and acres of fields to play in. One thing that thrilled them was to snorfle in the thick spring grasses. The pups would burrow down, legs all stretch out and on their bellies, and squirm their way forward. Very cute to watch!

Check out the ears on Yellow as she plans to tackle her brother!

And a nice natural stack by Pink, while her sibs wrestle in the background!

Green had to show off his free stack as well, as he got ready to pounce on some unsuspecting sibling!

Still the calmest in the bunch, Black decided to pose next to some neat local fauna!

Adventurous sisters - Orange and Pink climbed up a large dirt pile without hesitation!

And Thursday we did it all again - this time to the doctor's office for health checks. Everyone did wonderful, not a shy or anxious puppy in the bunch! This time on the way home we stopped at Pachaug State Forest - for some water play and trail hiking. Pictures to come soon!

New photos are also up on: http://www.intervalechinooks.net/ChinookPuppies_2010.html

Rain and Tripe and Stairs, oh my!

Wow, what an amazing week! The pups look like dogs - and act like them too! We've had some wonky weather here in CT, but so far have been able to get outside with the pups every day - and some days for over 6 hours! They truly love their outside time and being able to lounge in the sun. Today we went out despite a lingering mist from the morning, and no one was bothered by the wet grass or paws! A bunch of confident adventurous pups indeed! As they are getting too big to be carried bucket-style anymore, I decided to let them have a go at the stairs today to head out. After a little prompting up the stairs, it was Orange and Black who made it to the top first, followed by a very eager Pink and Yellow, and the rest to follow shortly. Of course once they figured that part out, they wanted to do it again and again and again... Very cute!

This week they have been eating 4 times a day, and are certainly growing well! They have had the opportunity to taste all sorts of things this week - including carrots, broccoli, corn, peas, beets, spinach, pheasant, and today - tripe! (thank you Nancy!) Everything is eaten with gusto, not a picky eater in the bunch! They've even gotten to try some of the big dogs' treats - like MilkBones al fresco yesterday!

Asher was treated to a mini-dog pile yesterady - 5 pups in all curled on his lap :)
Future agility dogs? the girls were enjoying some board time outside today!

Not to be outdone, Green promptly ran up the board and to check out his surroundings.

Nancy set up a mini-tetherball for the pups to play with - and Pink was having fun chasing the ball around!

Of course, once everyone saw the tetherball match, they had to get in on it!

Asher had fun devising all sorts of things for the pups to do with the board - here Light Blue is walking the plank (but thoroughly enjoying it - his tail was wagging like crazy!)

This week also marked weigh ins for the pups - and I couldn't believe how big they got! Some serious gains were to be had this week - a testament to some good eats :)

Check out the nearly 3 pound gains on some of these beefy pups!

Pink - 9lb 6oz Lavender - 9ob 4oz Royal - 9lb 2oz

Light Blue - 10lb 20z Yellow - 9lb Orange - 9lb 4oz

Green - 10lb Black - 10lb

Auntie Luna Time!

The pups got some quality Auntie Luna time this week - how hysterical to watch 8 goofy puppy chase after her outside!

She truly is so patient with them!
Showing the pups how to play ;)

No Pink! Don't do it! (sorry, had to post this one, it's just too funny!)

And after all the play, some much needed nap time in the shade (Orange in the back and Yellow in the front!)

I can't wait to get weights on these guys this weekend - everyone is growing so fast and getting so big - the puppy transport device is getting heavy!