6 Weeks Already!

It's hard to believe, but the puppies are already 6-weeks-old. They are much more energetic (which makes taking photos challenging), and very firm believers that if they see you, you should be playing with them. They love being able to play, and 'their humans' attention is their goal (which also makes any sort of video or photo challenging).

I spend most of my day either playing with the puppies, or cleaning up after them. They do not approve that some of my day I must spend doing things without them, such as cleaning my house, or bottle-feeding two young lambs, one of which is not stable enough on his feet to risk having the puppies play with so far.

I've taken the puppies outside on nice days, and they are not quite sure what to think. In the beginning, they stayed quite close to the door I'd carried them through, rather than coming over to me or their mother where we sat a little ways away.

After a bit though, they were starting to wander around and explore.

One of their favorite places to return to, was our wagon. I think they weren't used to so much direct sunlight, and enjoyed flopping down in the shade of the wagon.

They saw all sorts of strange creatures out in this new world they were discovering.

They enjoyed trying to chase after their parents too.

Their mama didn't mind too much, but their daddy wasn't so fond of puppies getting too close. He wasn't paying attention all the time though, and often they'd start following him, till he noticed and leapt away.

In following their parents, they found the small wading pool we turned into a pond for birds to use to bathe and drink out of. Their mama and daddy like using it as a place to get a drink, or occasionally flop down in to cool off. It didn't take the puppies long to imitate their parents.

I spent quite a bit of time making sure to fish the soggy puppies out of the pond and trying to dry them off, as the water was rather chilly. But they would simply make a bee-line right back. It wasn't long before I was as damp as the puppies. I tried reminding them of their dislike of baths, but apparently, like their parents, they see playing in water voluntarily completely differently from the absolute horrors of being given a bath.

As the puppies slowly wore themselves out, they became more interested in coming and cuddling with their human.

This coming week is supposed to be nice, so I plan to try putting out a wading pool with clean water out for them to play in, rather than the pond that their daddy keeps filling with dirt when he flops down in it (after rolling in the dirt).

They also had their first vet appointment yesterday. They got to meet new people, but I'm not sure if they think it was worth riding in the back of the car and having to get shots. The vet gave them a clean bill of health, and we returned home. The pups were quite pleased with the extra cuddles after their trip.