Off and away

I finally have gotten all the puppy stuff put away and the house cleaned up. So far, reports on the pupsters are encouraging and they all seem to be adjusting easily to life as an only puppy. Mama Hermione is currently vacationing with her family in Florida.

Rani is an ICAN girl. ICAN is the program that kindly provided stud service for this litter. Rani has been renamed Juliette by a Brownie troop who sponsored her with some of their Girl Scout cookie money. She has already attended a big ICAN fundraiser and is very much an assistance dog-in-training.

Yash is also with ICAN, currently living with a puppy starter who will foster him until he is old enough to go off to prison to be trained by an ICAN inmate handler.

Raja flew out to Colorado in the cabin, compliments of Frontier Airlines, to join up with a North Star Foundation puppy raising family. He has already been matched with a Colorado boy with special needs.

Dhruv, renamed Drew, is also with NorthStar, being puppy raised west of Indy. He has already attended his first St Patrick's day parade. Drew has been matched with a North Star client family in Indiana.

Ajay, renamed Notch, also flew out to Colorado, kindly escorted by a US Airways Pups in Flight volunteer, to join Canine Partners of the Rockies, the program from which his granddam Yuma came from. He will hopefully make a wonderful future service dog for someone with mobility challenges.

Aarushi is currently still looking for a pet home - she looks to be a bit too soft to enjoy life as a public access assistance dog. She is currently being fostered by my friend who is home during the day, so is getting off to a good start. UPDATE - Aarushi has found a wonderful pet home and has been rename Rosie.

Muskan, renamed Kumari "Mari", is being puppy started by a friend. This way, I will be able to let her grow up a bit more before deciding if she should be a working girl or breeding prospect. I wasn't going to keep a pup from this litter, but fell in love with this little red head girl.

Basanti, renamed Pearl, found a wonderful pet home. She was another pup who looked to be a bit too soft to enjoy life as an assistance dog.

THE END (for now)

Busy weekend

The pups had a very busy weekend. Despite it being in the 20's, the pups were very eager to outside, and vigorously played in the backyard, seemingly immune to the bitter cold. It was nice because they did some of their toileting outside, but at least once, they came back in looking like gold and brown retrievers, having discovered some mud to dig in. They entertained numerous visitors, and I was very pleased with how well they did with young children. Rani, the gate climber, is starting to look up and has discovered there is another level to explore and new ways to make mischief. This afternoon, I microchipped everyone. Despite this litter testing quite touch sensitive, they handled the microchip implantation with minimal fussing. Pups are currently eating over 12 cups of puppy kibble per day.

7 weeks old

Aarushi and Raja

Pups are seven weeks old and loving life. It is getting to be more and more of a challenge to keep this gang clean, fed and entertained. They have hosted a number of visitors today. The first was my co-worker who helped me do some standardized puppy temperament testing. No major surprises, but I will use that data, plus my general impressions of the pups, to select what assistance dog programs or pet homes they seem best suited for.

Yash in bed with a toy

The white stuffed bear continues to be a hit

All tuckered out

Lots of playing around

Ajay and his new teddy bear, a gift from Hermione's family

The pups had their first experience with snow, a bit brisk, but I figured they could handle it. They started out tentatively, but then had a grand time running around with the big dogs. Currently, I have a sound effects CD playing for the pups, which I will continue to play at increasing volume during the next couple of weeks. I heard back from Hermione's family that Hermione is adjusting to life without puppies just fine - no big surprise. With the mobile milk bar gone, the pups are eating 9+ cups of kibble per day.


Aarushi & Yuma

6 weeks old

Rani and Yuma


Yash, "king of the foot stool". The foot stool was removed from the puppy pen shortly after this pic since the pups were starting to take flying leaps off of it.


Dhruv and Aarushi in the pup hut. The hut also had to be removed from the pen since the pups were taking great joy in flattening it or hauling it off.

Crate "training" (Yash & Rani)

Pups are 6 weeks old and becoming a very active bunch. They are often awake and playing in the puppy pen and LOVE coming out. Earlier this week when it was warmer, they had a couple of outside adventures in the front yard. They handled the experience with confidence and curiosity - hoping for some decent weather next week. Hermione went home today, so the milk bar has officially closed. The pups still have adult dogs to interact with, and are eating and drinking well on their own. This litter is so different from previous litters in that human attention is more rewarding than food. All my other litters have taking eating very seriously. This litter wants attention first, and then will get around to leisurely eating - not a bad trait.

5 week puppy pics

Seems like outgoing Ajay got in many of the pics. Enjoy!


Boxes are great fun


Aarushi & Raja wrestling


Yash and Ajay with another box toy

Ajay with flannel belt tug toy

Practicing Up

Dhruv with toy

Ajay, checking out the big dog toys

Ajay playing with the mobile in the puppy pen

Pup in hut

Tunnel fun

Fun & Games

The pups are 5 weeks old, very interactive, and totally adorable. Pups currently weigh 6 lbs 2 oz (Aarushi and Dhruv) to 7 lbs 6 oz (Ajay). That means that together, they weigh nearly as much as Hermione. They are starting to have playtime outside the puppy pen, and are loving it. I brought out lots of new toys, including a small play tunnel. The pups have been busy entertaining visitors this weekend, and demonstrated out social and clever they are. Busy girl Aarushi plucked keys out of someone's pocket and tried to run off with them - trying out some assistance dog skills already. The puppy pen is going to need to get closed up tonight since Rani has demonstrated that she is now able to scale the higher step-over gate. With the past litter, it was the mobile milk bar that motivated the pups to try to jump out. With this litter, it is human attention that is the most rewarding temptation. This afternoon, new visitors came over, and Rani easily popped over the gate to say "hi". I have started the process of weaning the pups. Hermione is naturally spending less time with the pups, and the pups are eating and drinking well on their own. Poor Hermione is getting her rations gradually reduced, and she will no longer have access to the puppy pen at night (not sure that she has been going in much anyway). This weekend, the pups received their first vaccination (intranasal Bordetella/kennel cough). Hopefully next week will be warm enough for their first trip outside.