The big move

The big move happened over the weekend. These adorable puppies have outgrown the whelping box and are now in the puppy yard "spreading their wings." They love it out there! At first is was pretty cold for them, but they have adjusted and are doing great. They have been out there for a few days and are already getting the hang of things. They know when the door creaks opens to come running out of the igloo and look for a person- people either have food or lots of love, either will do in their eyes. They are learning that when I sweep out the "trough" where they eat that food will be in it soon. They still love to eat- probably always will. Little "Pip", who is gaining fast on his brothers, ended up in the trough at one point, sort of high centered! I had to go to his rescue. He is quite the character. The girls in the group seem to know that they are the only girls- more like "tom-boys" at this stage. They are tough girls! All the puppies have wonderful personalities. They will start to show their true colors now that they have more room to roam. But I suspect that they won't be too different from each other. With a mother as kind as Macy and a dad like sweet Sam- they are just full of goofy love!

-Last night in house-

-Hello play pen-

(Pip in Trough)

(Sassy)

(Battie)

The days have been warming up a little. We will start our walks into the snow covered world by the end of the week. Those should be some fun photo's.

Puppy Soup

I can't get over how CUTE the faces on these puppies are. Am I bias? ;-) It's hard not to fall in love with a Labrador puppy face! This week we have entered into the world of REAL puppy food. Now that everyone has their eyes open and their teeth are coming in, the next step is puppy food. I soak the kibbles in hot water until they are super mushy, then I put them in the blender and liquefy. Presto- Puppy Soup! It doesn't take long for them to "dive" right in. As you can see by the photo's, they aren't shy. After everyone is nice and messy, I send Macy in to do the clean up work. She is really good at it! Then they top off with milk (half the time Macy doesn't even get to sit down before they are on her), and then a little nap.

I have given more"nicknames" to some of the puppies- "Pip", short for "Pip-squeak" is the LSCM (left shoulder chocolate male- means he has nail polish on his left shoulder. This helps me tell them apart until they are older and more identifiable. At the moment, he is the smallest in the litter. That often changes once they start eating solid food, so we will see. He does get "alone" time with mom so that he doesn't get push out of the way by other puppies like Gary Glutton. ;-) The black girl in the group is "Sassy". She is super cute and knows it! I love her attitude. And "Battie" is the chocolate girl. Her face reminds me of a bat for some reason- little scrunched up nose.

I have noticed that the puppies are getting long legs, so the grow spurts have started. They have nice thick coats, chubby heads, and fat tails! Macy is such a good mom. She is OK with the other dogs coming to say "Hi" to the puppies, but keeps a watchful eye on them. Macy, Ryder, and Flute got into a fun game of "who has the ball" in the snow. They love the snow! Another week and the puppies will be playing in it too!

It's all a blur...

The puppies and I have been playing Peek-a-boo for a few days as their eyes have been opening very slowly. It's one of my favorite times in the puppy milestones. With their eyes opening they start to play with each other and when I talk to them, they will wag their tails at me- a true Labrador! It's still all a little blurry for them, but know to look in the direction a sound is coming from. They are all very happy puppies. As soon as I feel teeth, I will start them on puppy food- soaked and pureed. It is a fun and messy thing to watch.

Another exciting thing that happens at this time is that I get to return to sleeping in my own bed! ;-) It has been two nights of pure Heaven.

Although Macy is being an excellent mom, I can see that she is a little bored. I keep telling her how cold it is outside and that she should be thanking me for letting her sleep in the house. During the day I have been letting her go out with the other girls to look for mice a few times a day. She just loves to hunt for mice.

I am in love with the faces on these puppies, particularly the black males. Can't wait to have them grow up a bit more.

"Our First Play Time"