Duncan X Rowan - 5 1/2 Weeks

The pups are 6 weeks tomorrow!

Everyone is doing great. They are really enjoying their outside time and coming along nicely with their baby housebreaking routine - they are already mostly pottying outside so long as I can get them out as soon as I hear them waking up from their many naps. Tonight they came in after their supper and were up again whining at 10PM - they wanted to go OUT!


We have also managed to get them to start following us indoors and outdoors, so less carrying than this past week! Much easier on my back and quicker, too!


Puppies will get their first shots soon and will be wormed one more time. They are eating regular food three times a day and now nursing only once or twice a day, when Rowan is feeling uncomfortable. I suspect puppies having teeth is a major contributing factor to Rowan wanting to wean them!


We are trying to expose the pups to as many new things as we can. This week I took a bucket into the puppy yard to water some flowers and they all were fairly sure the bucket was WAY TOO SCARY. Once it was empty I tossed it into their yard and left it for them to investigate. You can see how they did with it in this photo of Banks and in their latest video:

Duncan X Rowan - 4 1/2 Week Video

New Video!

Four Weeks - Rainy Day Update

Puppies have been doing very well outdoors. Now that they are getting around better, they are beginnning to enjoy the grass and learning about toys and new smells and how to play together.

They have also started on regular food which we try to feed outdoors so they can potty afterwards OUTDOORS! Yesterday was so nice they spent most of the day outside and there was no pooping indoors at all!

However, this morning was drizzly but still fairly warm. I put the pups outdoors under the eaves of the porch so they could attempt to potty outside before their breakfast. A few brave souls ventured out into the wet grass and drizzle to potty. Soon, of course, they were all huddled under the protective eave and I opened their gate to let them onto the covered porch to eat. One by one they followed me onto the porch and discovered their meal. Soon the bowl was empty and the pups were exploring the porch.

There were many new things to see: a few toys, furniture (ooh! wicker!), a broom, rugs of different textures, a bucket full of scrub brushes and garden tools, the grill... One puppy managed to knock over the broom but nobody seemed to mind. Soon they were all examining the handle and attacking the bristles... Someone found a plastic piece of who-knows-what and proudly carried it off to show the others.

The pups are very curious and every day is a new adventure. However, at this age their stamina is limited and after about 15 minutes they were all huddled under a table, looking cold and sleepy.

One by one, I called them into the laundry room. Each puppy managed to brave the BIG 5" doorjamb into the house. Keeping in mind the pups are only about 6" at the shoulder right now, it was quite the climb! The pups each are learning to respond to my voice and follow my fingers. As each pup made the big climb he or she was scooped up, given a smoosh and put into the box. This apparently was NOT part of their plan! Soon they were all at the front of the box, yelling for their lawyers and wanting BACK OUT!

All is peaceful now. They are piled up under their heat lamp, sleeping off their breakfast and getting warm and dry again.

Pointer Puppy Video - 4 Weeks

They are now 4 weeks old and really beginning to enjoy being outdoors. They are all doing great. They have learned to use the newspapers and keep their blanket clean. They will be starting on soaked kibble and goat's milk this weekend as they are getting so big! Their teeth have come in and Rowan is being very tolerant about it, but it is now time to begin learning to chew kibble and eat without mom. They were wormed again this week - more gagging and smacking of lips over the strange taste! PUps all weigh about 5 lbs now, except the little girl, who is catching up. She now weighs 4 lbs, which is pretty good since for quite some time they were all TWICE her size!

This next video is a bit long - sorry for those folks whose computers are choking on the file, but I wanted to get a little bit of every puppy in this! Hope you enjoy it!

PUppy Video #3

I cannot promise a video every few days, but I have another for your enjoyment.

First an update. Pups are all doing well, continuing to grow and learning new things every day. They have been outdoors twice now and were somewhat braver on the second trip out. As they are still only awake for 10-15 minutes at a stretch, all adventures dissolve into naptime...

Pups have been wormed once so far, due again next week. It is pretty funny to see them standing and sitting about the box, all coughing and gagging on this new taste. Even the adults seem to gag on the wormer (which apparently tastes like butterscotch). It must be the slightly sticky texture.

As a treat, in preparation for their introduction to real food, I placed a plate in the box today which was smeared with yogurt (just vanilla). I dipped each little nose into the plate, and soon they were all sitting around, licking their lips humming with pleasure. I went to answer the phone, and when I came back 5 minutes later, the plate was licked clean and the pups were working on each other. I let Rowan back in and she finished up the cleaning.

Since I caught several of them standing elbow deep in Rowan's food bowl the yesterday, I think they will be quite pleased when it's time for food. Rowan was a bit annoyed that three little heads and six little feet were taking up most of her bowl, (altho she just growled and pushed in between them to eat) so I've gone back to feeding her OUTSIDE the box. They have also had a few sips from the water bucket clipped inside teh box - so they are learning that not all good things come from Mom. I'm not, however, in a hurry to start them on food so long as they are still gaining steadily and Rowan is maintaining her weight (albeit with about 12+ cups of food per day plus goat's milk and eggs). Once they begin on real food, often the dam is less willing to help keep the box clean and my job gets quite a bit more arduous.

Here they are, after their nap, wide awake and full of vinegar:

Puppies First Outside Adventure...

This is a video of the pups' first time outside. They are 2 1/2 weeks old. They were a bit sleepy as they had just eaten. Keep watch for Grammy Scarlett, who pretty much hogged the limelight...

Our First Showdog

So, we wanted a pointer. We found a nice breeder in Massachusetts (Taunton Bay Pointers) and they casually mention that she is show quality.

We really have no idea what this means. We just know that Morgan's pretty, we love her, and Tammy wants to spend as much time with her dog as possible.

So, we do what all new people should do:

• We register her with AKC
• We contact our local all-breed club (there are lists of these on the AKC website)
• We sign up for show handling classes

This goes pretty well, except we don't really understand what "socializing" means. Our dog loves us and our family, and is really not happy with people she DOESN'T know. Fortunately, our handling instructor is a genius. She encourages us. She sends us to obedience classes to build confidence. Our dog begins to learn about the world and about showing. She becomes outgoing and learns how to work on the lead, and how to stand for examination. She learns to let people touch her, hold her head and look at her teeth. She learns to free-stack. She is VERY good at this. She will move all her feet to the right places and put up her cute little ears and look perfect.

By now she is about 18 months old. So, we go to a match. A practice show. She is the only pointer, so she gets a first place and a "Best of Breed" ribbon. Then she wins the sporting group! She beats all the other sporting dogs there. We are on our way, we think!

So we enter some shows. Some of the people are friendly and helpful (Thanks, Pam & John Mohr, for being kind to a newbie!) Some are reserved, and some are just rude. We ignore the rude people and have fun with our dog. We get a lot of reserve wins. We're still awkward and learning.

But finally, at a small show in New Jersey, we win! A whole two points! That's it, we are now officially hooked!