There they are, from left to right, puppy number one, number three and number two, napping after breakfast this morning.

Plans for today include time with Jan (our puppy care provider) while I’m in town, connecting with quail, time in the pool, and we’re planning to do a practice ride in the car (in crates) to prep them for their upcoming trip to the vet for their wellness checks.

And here’s the face that got us into all this – Chev, sitting with me on the sofa the other day. The look of Griffons change as they develop. Their coats and furnishings develop over time. We love the puppies and we love the big dogs.

In this final week before the boy puppies will depart to live away from their mom (and us,) we notice how capable they are. They are confident, alert, curious, coordinated, affectionate, sociable, they eat dog food, drink water, carry interesting objects in their mouths, respond when we call them (most of the time) and give us clues (some of the time) when they need to poop or pee. They’ve been introduced to pheasant, quail and pigeons and have responded with great interest, as expected.

They now whiz through the doggy door, sometimes carrying toys from outdoors to inside and vice versa. They continue to take deep naps throughout the day but those naps have longer and livelier awake periods in between. They’ve been introduced to the crate and we’ll be putting collars on them this week when we go to the vet for their wellness check-ups. The changes in 8 weeks are incredible and it’s been a pleasure to be part of their growth.

We just learned that there is a beautiful 12 week old male puppy (with a strong pedigree) from Finley’s sister (that was bred in Iowa) that is available for an active family that hunts and has time and space to welcome a puppy into their family’s life. For information call Biff 612 382-3060.

Just a lazy Sunday morning here, with puppies snoozing in the shade and and gnawing on chew toys. They’ve also been in the pool, and lunch will be dished up in about an hour. They can eat the big dogs’ food now, almost like the big dogs do. We use Red Paw, a small-sized kibble that they first ate ground and soaked with goats’ milk, then left whole but softened with milk or chicken broth. Now they can eat the dog food straight out of the bag, although we soften even the big dogs’ meals with some warm water and have been doing that for the puppies, too.

Biff knows and trusts the biochemist that formulated “Redpaw” for his sled dogs, and this high performance dog food has worked well for our sporting dogs, too. Here’s a link to the Red Paw website: http://redpawdogfood.com/

Note: We don’t receive anything from Redpaw for endorsing their product.

Our dogs get PowerEdge 32K

The puppies’ curiosity is constant. They notice everything novel and, with determination, go to check out whatever has captured their attention. This includes electrical cords, branches with leaves attached, flying pigeons, found rocks, dropped paper toweling, shoe laces and clothing hanging within reach. It’s a reminder that puppy-proofing a house is important, knowing that they won’t be misbehaving intentionally when they get into things that are unsafe. They are just so dang curious and get to know things by mouthing them.

Biff and I have been curious why the puppies, since day one in the barn, have gravitated to the space under the “gate” in the fence (photo above) to hang out and play. They can shimmy underneath it and they hang out in that space more than any other spot outside. Similarly, they play under the table and chairs inside the barn, a similar “under” kind of space.

Today’s charming photos don’t match the title of today’s post, because I have no photos of the many times that I intervene when the puppies are trying to chew on me or each other too roughly. I insert a knotted rope, mini Kong toy, crinkle dog or stuffed dragon between what I don’t want them chewing and the acceptable substitute, telling them, “No, chew this.” And it works, especially when the object offered squeaks. They are easily redirected but that doesn’t mean they don’t need the message multiple times during the times I’ve called wild rumpus.

A local family of Griffon enthusiasts stopped by yesterday to see the puppies and meet our big dogs, another opportunity for the puppies to socialize. They will be 7 weeks old tomorrow and I’ve gotta say the time has gone really quickly since that night they were whelped. There’s just one week left until families will come for them. Note: I’m heading down to Chicago tomorrow for a funeral and won’t be able to post again until Sunday.

Here’s a peek at the action from after-breakfast this morning. The puppies’ bladder capacity has developed enough to let them race around outside their kennel space. They investigated the nightlight, the fan, Biff’s shoes, the trash can and they found the space behind the sofa to crawl through.

Biff is like an indulgent grandparent when he goes to the store. He came back with three balls of varying sizes yesterday and the puppies played with all of them.

No surprise – The puppies love being outdoors. They fall asleep outside, we feed them outside and they opt to play outside, even when the doggy door is open and they have access to their indoor space.

I brought them each inside, however, for their first baths today. I set up the sink with a wet piece of polar fleece (for traction) and a new squeak toy as entertainment. I used just a few drops of shampoo and warm water on a cloth and soaked them from the neck down and then used another cloth with clear water to rinse them. They tolerated it pretty well and seemed to like the towel rub-downs afterwards.

Although the puppies sometimes quietly share the chew toys, they also have been playing more aggressively with them. At 6 weeks old + they are all faster, more coordinated and their energy is boundless when they’re awake. Their teeth have come in and it’s been interesting to see how quickly they respond (back off) when a sibling winces from the play getting “too rough.”  They are sweet siblings with each other most of the time, piling together to sleep.