6 weeks old, seven superpups

So now I am in the home stretch, in two weeks the puppies will be ready for their new homes. I thought the hardest part was behind me but that was absolutely not true. As heartbreaking as it was to deal with sick and frail puppies, Seven bouncy six week old pups is craziness.

All the pups have discovered they can make lots of noises, including howls and whines. They all have their teeth and want to chew anything and everything. They knock over food bowls water bowls and want to cling to my pants legs. They want to be around me constantly and they hate being in the puppy room more than Wanda does, it is really neat to see their instant interest in people. Some of them (Stanley/Samson) will run to me across a room or follow me around the room. I am gonna try to teach them their names and to sit. All the info I have read said they are trainable now so we will see.

They all love toys and play tug with me and each other. I bring them all into the kitchen or living room and block it off for some puppy play time once or twice a day. I am gonna try to stick some individual time in as well but we will see if I can find it.  They want to eat any exposed cords and get under and behind everything. People say raising one puppy is rough but I'd say it would be a piece of cake. Just cleaning up the constant pee and poo can get a little mind numbing. I change my socks 3x a day!

I was able to have my Family over the other day and my 7 year old niece met all the pups. I think its great that they were exposed to a child and cats early in life, as well as another adult dog and men. All these things will make them more well rounded in the real world. And I can't wait to seem them find their forever homes.

They are on the website and people can apply for them so spread the word, you won't find better rescue pups. Here's the link: http://chicagocaninerescue.com/dogs.html

And now for the reason I get so many page views lately ADORABLE PICS!!!

Bandita- Such a goon loves to tug!

Captain- the sweetest young pup, very gentle.

Diamond- Our little mini pup still under 5 lbs

Henry Jones- definitely handsome, and fairly low key.

Samson- Class Clown.

Stanley- The sensitive Jock

Terese- Convinced she will be a lap dog.

Wanda- Outside finally! Will be ready for a new home in two weeks as well.

5 week old puppy parade

I am really starting to see clear personalities and character in each of the puppies. The amount of pee and poo everywhere is intense and they have started chewing on everything including my hands and toes ouch!, sometimes overwhelming but totally worth it.

 Wanda and the pups hit another bout of to be expected sickness this week as they were given de-wormer. Its all passed now and nothing life-threatening just horror movie icky.

Now that they have all stabilized once again, I can finally say we are in the clear. Seven perfectly healthy puppies will need seven healthy rescue homes in 3 weeks. It looks like our friends that wanted one of the crew have chosen Captain, so only six homes left to find.

Everyday we bring out the puppies for an hour in the living room so they can socialize with us play with more toys/Nikki. It is adorable to watch them drag stuffed animals bigger than them around, and try to pick up tennis balls. I have to be on constant watch though because they have found a true love with cords and sticking their heads in places where they get stuck.

They all recognize me when I come to the door and a lot of them want out of the puppy room all the time. They also lick faces and noses which is neat cause they want to bite everywhere else but some how they know to be gentle with my face :). They can start being trained next week I'm sure that will be a fun thing to attempt.

Wanda can go on walks now, I can tell she is so happy to get out of the house and she does surprising well on the leash. I call her a magic dog because when dogs are aggressive at fences with her she walks over to them and does what seems to be nothing but somehow it makes them stop barking and either retreat or turn friendly. She's a bomb diffusing dog! I've never seen anything like it, very cool.

I got to lead playgroups this week at CACC it was really exiciting to be in charge and decide what kind of dogs to play together, all-in-all 21 dogs got out to play in just 2 hours. I heard recently a half hour playgroup is equivalent to a one and a half hour walk so it was a good day.

Here's the most recent shots of the crew, it is getting much harder to take pics because they are either really active or asleep...

Bandita with a stuffless

Captain near his favorite object

diamond relaxing for three whole seconds

Samson being hilarious he is the class clown for sure

Henry Jones so Wiggly I had to keep one hand on him

Stanley, very cuddly, my personal fav right now

Terese doesn't know she is about to be tussled

Week Four of Puppy Kingdom, the dog beat goes on...

I have a house full of happy/healthy puppies. There are some sniffles here and there but no one is sick and everyone is growing,  even if its at very different rates. I still have some puppies that are twice the size as others but as long as they are eating and growing I'm happy!

The puppies can see now, and are playing with each other Nikki, their mom and people. They are all eating a mixture of warm water and dry food along with Wanda's milk. They have become more active and more friendly. Their little personalities are getting bigger and bigger, every day is some sort of surprise. The only downside is the constant poo and pee clean up and I mean constant. We had some friends over to look at the puppies for possible adoption. They fell in love with all of them and I am overjoyed that one of these wonderful darlings will end up with someone I know!

Although the puppies have taken up much of my time, I still have been doing some other rescue dog work at on the side. One friend had a foster dog who was attacking the dogs she owned and I went to her house to brainstorm some options to get her house back in order. It was great to spend some time with a fellow dog lover. I also continue to take photos of dogs to help out a rescue and consulted on another foster dog who has extreme fearful anxiety.

 I have been working with Wanda our "teen mom" on her listening skills and tricks. She also has decided digging up rose bushes sounds good so I'm on that like white on rice. I feel bad that she has to stay limited to the house and front yard I think the extra energy is causing some digging and extra chewing behavior I try to take it easy on her most of the time.

I had two days of playgroup training last week  and it really helped me work on my skills. Not only do I understand dog communication better, but I feel more confident that I can handle dog fights and altercations that might occur doing play groups. Mostly we should let dogs work out their differences and teach each other how to play and act appropriately. We only need to step in when the dogs are unable to correct each other or are in danger of injuring each other. I know by now I am boring family and friends to death with this stuff but I find it sooooo interesting and exciting!!!

I love helping as much as I can and sharing all the tricks of the trade I've learned. I realize that someday these skills will have to culminate to something but for now I like feeling like a minor doggie superhero.

And now for the pics....we did some fun stuff with the pups this week, some were up to the challenge of a photo shoot some said no way jose!

Captain- 

Finally not the runt has gained weight and caught up to the activity level of his brothers and sisters.

Bandita

The most chill pup of the group mostly sleeps/eats/licks noses.

Diamond

The newest runt but totally healthy, this little girl is definitely a scrapper.

Samson

A bundle of energy, has all his teeth and is not afraid to try them out, such a rough and rowdy buddy! 

Henry Jones

Is long haired and full of life, absolutely loves dry food/water mush, has bunny soft fur.

Stanley

Loves to play, always walks right up to me whenever I'm in the room smart and friendly.

Terese

Once super bouncy, now more mellow and cuddly. Once awkward looking now ADORABLE.

Wanda (black) Nikki (brown)

Taking the smallest of play breaks.

Puppies lollipops and candy canes and more puppies

So all the drama over here has calmed down a bit. We still have some pups that need hand feeding to gain weight but the illness is almost a hundred percent gone and they are growing strong and looking happy and healthy.

We really have to lock Wanda (mama dog) in the room because she won't really go there on her own, she's a really social people dog and does not like to be away from me and Nikki.

The puppies are getting, messier, louder, and starting to eat gruel made from dry food and warm water. Its very exciting to see them grew and I hope hope hope hope the hard part is over. On the flip side, it's really rough imagining them leaving my house. I love them so much and the crazy thought has crossed my mind that I should buy a farm and keep them all as my pack! They all are developing quirks and their own personalities, I get little peeks and the adult dogs they will become. I am happy they will get exposure to my cats and dog, I have to make sure I have some children over so they get that experience as well. They are gonna be fantastic dogs, why wouldn't I want to keep them all?

On the other hand, I have had to pass by lots of opportunities to foster and help other dogs because the house has to stay disease free for the pups. There will always be more dogs and not enough people to help them.
I am committed to having them here at least till they are adoptable and hopefully vaccinated, so this is the long haul. Here's your puppy fix for the week!

Bandita

Captain

Diamond

Samson

Henry Jones

Stanley

Terese