Week 4 - 6/1/2014

Week 4 brings us halfway through the puppy journey! The pups are gaining more mobility and coordination so now they can take off in seven different directions in no time at all. They are in the midst of play fighting, trying to see who is top dog (it's a tie between Zazu and Kovu right now) and their cute little adorable faces continue to elicit awww's and kisses from their human grandma and grandpa (us!) every time we look at them.

Living in AZ, a summer litter for us is so much harder than a fall/winter litter like we had last time. We got so much more fun and energy burning time when we could spend most of the day outside with the pups. Now we do short outside adventures in the morning for breakfast and the evening for dinner (and the sun is down), but it comes with quite a lot of complaining from the wee ones! Whine Whine! (it's too hot out here) Whine Whine! (I wanna go inside now)... Hmmm sounds like someone we know *cough-Kyra-cough* who just can't be outside of her temperature controlled A/C! But they do need the outdoor socialization and exercise so we make do. There are umbrellas for shade, misters, and the pups favorite, dunking them in the pond neck down so they feel cool when they run around! Hey, we put up with the heat too just for them (otherwise we'd be inside too!).

Speaking of the pond, a few pups finally fell in all on their own. They saw grandpa in the shallow end of the pond cleaning the lily pads and plop! In went Kovu! He promptly swam past Jon to the edge in the shallow area so he could be pulled out. Then right behind him in went Kiara! She took a different route for safety, choosing to swim directly to grandpa standing in the pond instead of going to the edge! Smart girl, he would definitely help her out for sure. I don't think there's anything grandpa wouldn't do for this little sweetie. :) So other than these involuntary fall ins, the rest of wet puppies are due to us dunking them or naps under the misters. The other night they made sure to stand on the edge watching the koi and goldfish splashing around for food without getting too close. :)

The pups surprised us with the washing machine surface, none of them made a peep! The one time they were actually quiet. ;) They are tough little buggers. Next week brings the much anticpated Puppy Socializaton Party! During the party we ask friends, family and coworkers to come play with and socialize the pups. They are asked to bring one object the puppy may see in it's life to help desensitize them to it. It's a lot of fun for the pups as well as the people who visit. All of these pups are just too sweet. They are sooo sweet they just give us toothaches! :)

The Lion King litter (as always in order of appearance):