Week 6 - 9/13/2026

The Mighty 5 & Beyond litter turns 6! This was a week of them all getting bigger, braver, and starting to do all those things puppies do.

In the backyard, where we try to give them as much time as possible, they are all roaming further, are more comfortable exploring on their own, and have learned to dig, with some guidance from Maybird, in the dirt piles we conveniently have from an unfinished project his summer. The dirt pile is full of roots for finding, great for climbing up an over, rolling down, and digging into for a nice place to lie down. Some are even sporting a little dirt on their noses for their weekly portraits.

The poor trees and shrubs are getting trimmed, chewed, and gnawed on. We've given them all lots of sticks and branches to chew, and while some will, they seem to prefer the living material instead. We've made lots of obstacles out of rocks, roofing tiles, and buckets for them to climb on and explore. We try to change these every few days. 

We introduced water in various ways this week as well. We put an inch of water in a kiddie pool and placed the dogs in while we had peanut butter on our fingers. It was funny to see a dog not know what peanut butter was, but quickly learn that it is a tasty treat. The wet feet were not everyones favorite, but lots of love and petting was given to comfort them. Another day we placed a small plastic bowl in the water with a bit of kibble and weighed it down in the middle of the pool. Goblin (red) was the most comfortable standing in the water and eating. Bryce (magenta or pink in a few pics as we're having some collar failure) was also willing to get her feet wet for some food. Most of the others preferred to just watch and wait for meal on dry land.

The puppies all got a little wet as the yard sprinklers were going on at night as they went out for their bathroom break. Most seemed to not care too much, some even walking right up the sprinklers and getting good and damp. Lastly, a few puppies made full splashdowns in our pool. The pool has a very shallow shelf that is only 4 inches deep. We sat on that shelf and called to the puppies. Archie (blue) was the first to let himself off the edge and stand in the water. He made a quick retreat though. Bryce (magenta) was another that jumped off and she got almost completely wet as she landed. Dino (green) chose to jump off into a deeper section and got fully submerged and immediately rescued. Lastly big Cedar (orange) also got fully wet, and then sat in the sun, pouting, to dry off for a while. All of the pool play was closely monitored so no one went in unattended. We've now got the pool fully fenced off and unavailable, as about half the pups had started to explore on top of the pool cover and didn't seem to mind the waterbed like feel of the ground moving under their feet.

Play this week has included more running, tugging, and even some keep away. Goblin (red) had a leaf the other day and managed to get 4 of the other puppies chasing him around the small island with the rocks and spruce trees. Maybird has been playing with them even more and showing them how to engage in playful appropriate dog play.

Zion (white) and Canyon (brown or tan) like to chew on leaves and try and get around fences. Dino (green) and Spike (yellow) are always wrestling and trying to get their siblings to rough house with them. Cedar (orange) and Reef (purple) continue to sleep near, on, or intertwined with each other as they have since the first week. Archie (blue) and Goblin (red) are explorers and love to be outside. Bryce (magenta) is the most avid giver of kisses and the fastest runner of the bunch. She is fearless!

Puppies have continued their sound listening homework. We've also been putting them alone in rooms, on tables, and in other novel situations for short periods of time. We continue to switch around their feeding dish. And speaking of feeding, these nine are polishing off about 20 cups of water soaked kibble a day!

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