Week 2 - 6/19/2016

Week 2 brings the beginning of fun for the puppies. All of their eyes are now open and they can walk around (sort of). So that means they actually acknowledge each other and us as well! They try to jump and lunge and play bow with us and they growl and bark at each other and the toys. It's really cute to hear a little two pound puppy bark for the first time! And it's really funny to scratch them behind their backs and they growl at us. They attempt to 'chew' on us with their gums... I always like to tell them how ferocious they are when they do it. Of course as soon as those teeth start to come in that part of play will need to be redirected to the toys! :)

What is really neat to see with this litter versus previous ones is how they will interact now that we have two dogs. With their eyes and ears open it seems they understand the difference between their mom (Kyra), bringer of milk, and Zazu, the other dog that seems fun to crawl over. They don't cry for food when Zazu nudges them like they did when their eyes were closed. They actually try to climb and play on her without trying to find the milk bar, yet they make PLENTY of noice when Kyra is nearby. This will be a fun relationship to watch as they get older and are more able to actually keep up with Zazu. She doesn't realize it now, but those fun 'toys' will be able to gang up on her. She won't last long when it's 10 to 1!

The pups have enjoyed some outdoor adventures in the evening when it's still not 'too hot' outside. We got them a nice dog pen to keep them contained when we're not around to run in 10 different directions (it's shaded and has misters too). Of course the temperature keeps rising so our outdoor adventures won't be as long as we'd like, but once they're more mobile we'll have to dunk them in the pond and let them loose to burn some energy.

I don't think my small kitchen can handle the 10 dogs plus Zazu playing! Keep watching the Puppy Cam to see their fun (but short) 10 minute play sessions. Those will gradually increase as they get older but if we see our puppies awake, we tend to drop whatever we're doing to run over and play with them for 10 minutes before napping time takes over.

The Chicken Nugget litter (as always in order of appearance):