Week 5 - 9/5/2026

Two words to sum up the Mighty 5 & Beyonds' fifth week would be flourishing and exploring.

The puppies continue to grow in many senses of the word. Physically, their bodies are getting bigger and stronger, and continuing to evolve into forms that seem more and more like a dog each day, as opposed to the neonate form of a few weeks ago. They are eating LOTS and LOTS of mushy kibble lightly seasoned with goat milk. We have tried to move from lots of small meals whenever it seemed like they were hungry to fewer (4-5) larger meals spread out 3 to 5 hours. They are doing well with the transition, and from a human perspective, we're hoping the last 2 nights, where they woke us up just once between 11 and 6 becomes the norm.

Maybird will still nurse for short durations throughout the day, but in their inside enclosure, will typically just stand up, and stay for a few minutes. Nobody can blame her, it looks like a school of piranhas in there with the number of puppies, their teeth, and the intensity with which they are searching for a nipple. She has been playing more with the puppies outdoors. She is letting them climb on her, lick and chew gently on her ears and feet, but also trying to get them to play chase games with her. 

The puppies spent a lot of time in outdoor spaces this week. Partly due to the lovely weather, but also out of convenience as the amount of poop they are producing is prodigious and it is easier to clean up outside vs on the floor of their inside living space. Some puppies have even taken to barking and howling, when inside, if they need to poop. Which is great, though, when it is 5 at a time, it is a mad rush to get them out the door, too. 

Their outdoor play spaces have included grass, wood chips, hills of dirt, gravel and rock, pavers, and even some larger rocks to climb on and over. Being outside has allowed them to hear more and more sounds, too, such as motorcycles, sirens, bird calls, school children at recess outside our fence, delivery vehicles, and more. They've felt the wind, rain puddles, dew on the grass, and very gentle sprinkles of rain. The puppies are running, pouncing, playing kill games, and starting to engage more with the rope toys both for chewing and gentle tug-o-wars. All seem to enjoy being outside and fully comfortable napping in the shade when their energy needs a quick recharge.

It continues to be pretty easy to get people over to play with and handle the puppies. Most days, there is at least one set of visitors. We've had young children (<6), large families, older dog fans, and even an impromptu Friday night puppy party with nine 8th grade girls that saw the puppies in our back yard over a shared fence and we welcomed in. As one might imagine, this experience was replete with lots of shrieking, selfies, and a plethora of perfume and hair spray smells for the puppies to investigate.

The puppies continue to experience new surfaces, new sounds (both naturally and via YouTube desensitization playlists), new feeding arrangements, and lots of handling, eye contact, and being rolled onto their backs by humans.

The Utah Mighty 5 & Beyond litter (as always in order of appearance):