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!

Salsa!

I created a new youtube slide show of the pups with photos taken between 5 1/2 and 6 weeks with them playing outside. The photos are high rez but the slide shows are blurred so if anyone has a tip on what I am doing wrong, please write me! Here are some photos at 5 1/2 weeks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DF6XedudPw&feature=channel

You can also find the slide show on my website where there are more pup photos too:

http://www.intervalechinooks.net/

6 weeks old - and getting huge!

So here we are at 6 weeks - and what an amazing amount of changes the puppies are going through! They've had a busy week, getting outside to play every day and meeting lots of friends and family. Emma has also decided that she is truly done with nursing, and honestly I just can't blame her. The pups got a good 6 weeks of nursing, and are thoroughly enjoying their solid diet, so no concerns there. Not only did they enjoy some chicken wings in the beginning of the week, but had rib bones a couple of days as well! They have been enjoying ground chicken and duck with their meals, and will be trying some beef, buffalo, and pheasant this week, and maybe some fish even! This weeks also marks weigh in times - and I had to weigh them twice because I couldn't believe how big they're getting! So, this week the weights are...

Pink 6lb 6oz Lavender 7lb Royal 6lb 6oz

Light Blue 7lb 6oz Yellow 6lb 4oz Orange 7lb 4oz

Green 7lb 5oz Black 7lb

Light Blue striking a pose for the camera!
Ms. Pink checking out the kids playing...

and Yellow snuggled up with sister Lavender after a fun filled day!

Mmmm Ribs!!

The pups had another go at raw meaty bones today - in the form of beef ribs! They were all excited about the treat, and settled in to work on the bones with no prompting! In the picture above, Black and Orange are sharing nicely, while Light Blue gets a short rib all to himself!

Yellow and Pink were being nice sisters sharing a long bone!
And here Light Blue and Green are being good brothers and sharing too! (not to be outdone by the girls, of course!)

And after all that hard work, Yellow passed out with her human mommy, nose down!

The pups are such a joy right now, and so very playful and curious with each other and their surroundings. And this week marks some big weight gains as well - after finally pinning them down Tuesday night for some weights, here's the breakdown: Pink is at 5lb 3oz; Lavender is at 4lb 8oz; Royal is at 5lb 5oz; Light Blue is at 5lb 3oz; Yellow is at 4lb 7oz; Orange is at 5lb 8oz; Green is at 5lb 8oz; and Black is at 5lb 3oz. So Green is no longer the heaviest pup, tying for first place with Orange, and we have a 3-way tie with Pink, Light Blue and Black for 3rd place. Overall the pups gained an average of a pound again this week!

If I were King

How would you like to have eight Chinook puppies for playmates and you were only six? Check out these photos from today of Asher with Emma's pups. The puppies absolutely love to chase and six year old boys love to run - a perfect playtime match!

5 weeks old - and chicken wings for lunch!

So this week marks 5 weeks old for the pups! And how much they have grown - just a week ago they barely had teeth, and now they have little razors in there! And what was gangly flopping around is now coordinated running! And they're even almost too big for their outdoor transport device :) Except that they're now too big for me to get an accurate weight - the scale I currently have only goes up to 5 pounds, and all but 2 of the pups are over that it seems. Once I am able to figure out how to get a better weight, I'll share those numbers as well!

Check out that coordination - Royal running full gallop towards his littermates! And the ears!!!

Little Yellow is still the smallest of the litter, but catching up nicely - about 1/2 pound shy of 5 pounds this week! The added protein and introduction to more solids seems to have helped her!








And today marks their first introduction to chicken wings - they had no problem at all figuring out what to do with them! I hadn't expected anyone to have the jaw strength to actually crack the bones, but Royal and Orange proved me wrong! They were so excited to chow down - and each went to their own little corner (see Lavender hiding in the outdoor pen below!). Of course, once Royal finished his (after I scooped up the bigger bones, of course!), he went after his littermates' delicacies. They have been getting cooked chicken added to their gruel since yesterday, and will start to get ground raw chicken and duck added during this week, eventually weaning them off of the baby cereal and entirely onto whole foods. So far so good - a very happy gaggle of puppies!!

4 weeks old!

So the pups are 4 weeks old now (well, more like 4 1/2 weeks now!) and I'm finally getting around to updating their weights and pictures - well, more appropriately, they finally slowed down enough for me to take their weights and pictures! What an amazing week from 3-4 they have had! They are running around with much more coordination now, and they have TEETH! Emma has decided that she'd like to start weaning (and who can blame her, with 8 sets of sharp teeth coming at her like a pack of sharks). So starting this past Sunday, I increased their solid foods from once to three times a day. This week, in addition to the baby cereal mix they were eating last week, they are being introduced to some chicken, rice, veggies and fruits (baby-food style). So far so good, and they are eating and growing like champs!
So, without further adieu - here are the big babies :)

Green (left) weighs in at 4lb 12oz this week (though it was hard to tell, as he was almost too big for the scale!). Yellow (right) weighs in at 3lb 6oz (still the smallest, but gaining nicely)

Royal (getting kisses from Auntie Luna) weighs in at 4lb 1oz this week.

Lavender (right), working with Light Blue here to take down Luna (gracious auntie), weighs in at 3lb 8 oz this week.

Orange weighs in at 4lb 10oz this week, and is giving the boys a run for their money!

Pink weighs in at 4lb 7oz this week.

Black shows off his athletic skills, and weighs in at 4lb 5oz.

Light Blue chills out in the grass, and weighs in at 4lb 8oz.

Stay tuned for next week - when the pups will be introduced to their first chicken wing!

Pups are on YouTube!

The pups are four weeks! Yesterday I visited and took photos while they enjoyed a nice spring day in their yard, eating, running, playing and sleeping. (Did I leave something out? :) They are very interested in the sounds in their neigborhood! Pink is going to make a good retriever as she was playing with a stick dropping it and picking it up again, while all the others were puppy napping.

You can see how the Riverstone pups are spending their growing up time on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpKA5Egprpc

Here's a few photos of the puppies on the move - last week they teetered around learning to use their legs, and now look at them motor!