Moch tried her first agility trial this weekend.  She is really great at agility when we are in class, she has the contacts figured out and pays great attention - she is smarter than I am and fixes the mis-cues that I give.  The trial turned out to be a little too exciting, though.  Our silly girl had a blast; she just tucked her little tail and ran as fast as she could, big circles around the course, doing whatever she wanted to do.  She jumped in the laps of pole setters and tried to give the judge kisses; she did the A frame a couple of times just because it looked like fun, and she went up then off the side of the teeter.  Crazy girl was having so much fun that it took a while to catch her.  We definitely have a lot to learn, but she loved every second of it, so we'll still call it a win.

Puppies who will be traveling to new homes outside of Colorado can leave after they are 10 weeks old.  While they are still with us during that time, we continue to reinforce crate training and start introducing potty training.  Puppies can usually have a decent grasp of potty training by week 10 - it's mostly about timing and positive reinforcement.  We also continue introducing obstacles and challenges, helping puppies continue to develop adaptability.  Puppies who will be flying to their new home start getting used to travel kennels and longer drives so they will be comfortable and relaxed on their flights.  We ONLY ship dogs in-cabin with approved flight nannies, or via approved puppy transport companies.  

Puppies start getting ready to go to their new homes in week 8.  They continue to learn manners and how to interact with other dogs by playing with their littermates.  This week is important for puppies to continue learning bite inhibition and manners from the adult dogs and their siblings.  It's also a great time to continue exposing them to new experiences.  We show them how to walk and climb over different types of surfaces and introduce obstacles to continue to help them learn adaptability and confidence.

Week seven continues a busy time for puppy development.  They are learning how to behave from the adult dogs and their littermates.  They have very little fear so are learning a lot by exploring and playing.  We expose them to as many new experiences and new people as we safely can to help them develop confidence and adaptability and help them get ready for their new homes. 

How are they already 6 weeks old?  The time goes by so quickly.  The puppies are fully transitioned to hard food and they have mastered the dog door.  They love to play outside and like to chase and climb on and play with the big dogs. They wrestle and play with each other which teaches them social skills and how to get along with other dogs.

Our sweet Hiccup is 4 years old today!  He is the cutest, sweetest, funniest little guy and we are so lucky to have him.  This boy was imported from Serbia and his previous owner just couldn't give him much attention.  We are really glad he ended up here!  Our happy little ball-obsessed boy is so much fun.

The puppies are growing up so fast!  They get play time outside almost every day now and have learned how to escape their indoor puppy pen (when we open the door).  They are starting to learn how to get in and out of the dog door, and Mom Kimber or Big Sister Mocha sometimes hold the door open for them to help them figure it out.  They are learning how to get up and down very small stairs and they really like to play in the grass with the big dogs.

These little cuties are a year old today!  They are all in the most happy, loving homes and have amazing families.  We love that we get updates from their families and love to see how happy and fun they are.  This litter is from Kimber and Hiccup.  Left to right in the puppy picture are Doc, Luna, Bug, Samson, Max and Penelope.  Four of these puppies get to go to work with their people.  Doc's family owns a store in Silverton, CO and he gets to hang our there with them.  Luna gets to ride motorcycles with her dad and go with him to his tattoo studio.  Bug gets to go to work with her mom at a vets office - and she loves to go camping and hiking and fishing on their days off.  Samson is a private little guy, but super cute all grown up.  Max gets to go on hikes and loves to swim in the lake, his people are retired and he gets to spend all day every day with them.  And Penelope's person works from home and she has dog and cat siblings plus human and grand-human siblings all right nearby that she loves to play with.  Getting to hear from all of these sweeties and knowing they are so happy and loved - that's why we do this!!  

Four weeks old and growing fast!  Puppies completely have their legs under them and walk and tumble and run around everywhere.  They like to wrestle with each other and we use strips of washcloths with a knot tied in it for chew toys.  They are starting to get teeth so mom feeds them less and less, and they have started eating puppy mush from a round bowl which is a very funny and seriously messy event! 

Puppies are three weeks old now!  They are using their back legs much more and it's adorable to watch them toddle around and try to pounce.  They can see and hear better now and are starting to become more social with us and each other.  They play and wrestle with each other and will make noises when we talk to them.  They are finding their little voices and trying out barking, yelping, growling, and even the cutest little howls you've ever heard.

Oh No!  Kimber went outside last night at abut 11 for one last bathroom break before bed and while she was ut there, she got skunked!  I'm not sure if the skunk was in our yard or outside the fence, but she took a full-on spray.  I had no idea so opened the door for her to come back in and she brought ALLLLL the smell in with her.  Then she proceeded to rub herself on the carpet, couch, blankets, pillows, and everywhere else she could reach while I froze for a minute trying to figure out what to do.  

Hiccup likes to watch TV - especially if there are balls or other animals on the screen.  He lets everyone know when there are dogs to watch on the TV.  Kimber doesn't care much but Mocha REALLLLY wants to play with the TV dogs.  Sometimes we will watch agility on the TV and she moves around and follows closely when the dogs are running.  If the TV dogs run off the screen, all three of our adults will run outside trying to find them.  These silly pups keep us very entertained!