At 9 tonight you will find me....

In front of the TV....

I normally don't watch alot of television as the kids seem to always be watching something but tonight the TV is of limits for them...

Desperate Housewives Season Premiere is on tonight. Do I compare myself to any of these ladies?? Certainly not... but I think it is well written and it is comic relief that I enjoy once a week. You never seem to see these ladies changing diapers, vacuuming or running carpool which to me is the typical housewife scenario. Even if I owned a dress like they are wearing, I would never have an occasion to wear it to!!!!

A really cool documentary...

AfterMath::: Population Zero

Normally I am not a documentary kind of person but this one really caught my interest. It is basically scientists predictions on how the earth would restore itself if all human life were extinct. It was really cool how they recreated cities from urban concrete jungles back into marshland and forests. Its really neat..

This is taken from the National Geographic website::

NEXT PRIME AIRING
Aftermath: Population Zero:: SUN OCT 5

What would happen if every single person on Earth simply disappeared? Gone. Not dead, just gone. This is the astounding story of a world we will never see. A world without people, where city streets are still populated by cars, but without drivers. Nobody to fix bridges, repair buildings or maintain power plants. After being controlled by humanity for millennia, nature reclaims the earth. But how would that work? How long would skyscrapers, nuclear power plants, and our homes last if abandoned? How would wild and domestic animals fare without us? Will the Eiffel Tower outlast the Statue of Liberty? Aftermath: Population Zero gives us a chance to see the impact of human beings by seeing how Earth would adapt without us.

Welcome Home!!!

I got a very excited sister on the phone the other night! She was thrilled that her son, my nephew was on Canadian soil! After serving in Afghanistan since February he has finished his tour and is home!!! I hope you guys have a wonderful reunion and homecoming next week when you all get together!
::Hugs from all of us here in Ontario XOXOXO::
Very happy to have you home safe and sound!!!
Thank you to everyone who kept him in their thoughts and prayers while he was over there. Please continue to have all the other troups that are over there in your thoughts as they continue their mission.

We want out!!!

How quickly they learn that being out of their pen is so much better than being in their pen. All the puppies love their play time out in the kitchen and outside but.....

Don't they realize that its the weekend??? The weekend to us humans means not having to get up early??? It means sleeping in?? Apparently not in their world...

:: 6:30 am both Saturday and Sunday they started...

::Starting crying to come out and wanting to play..... now if you are familiar with either Dave's or my schedule, we both work late so we are not morning people really....

::The puppies however seems totally oblivious to our schedule and seems insistent to maintain their own...

::YAWN...working on my 3rd cup of coffee...while the puppies have their play....

Ty..... 2 weeks later

Well we've had this boy 2 weeks now and WOW, he has really shook things up around here! He is a silly silly boy and is into everything! He has decided that he has to be with us at all times. He clears my gate and I will frequently find him curled up on the couch giving me a look that says "what do you want?"
He and Autumn have become good friends but he really pesters the others too much and they don't have much patience for him. The only BIG drawback of him playing so much with Autumn is that he has discovered its fun for him to pull on her hair. Which anyone who has ever shown a yorkie knows how important long hair is and any breakage or short hair can be detrimental!!
So we really have to carefully watch this 2 together!
He thinks the shepherds absolutely rock and loves to play with the big guys.

Totally spoiled and goes for lots of evening walks with the girls. We went one night with the shepherds and he had to be in front leading the big guys... he really is a little guy with a huge personality and attitude!
He has an appt next month to be neutered so there will be no mishaps there! We have already taught him to sit and are working on down and certainly other commands after that. He is incredibly smart and eager to please. House training is coming along but we have to be vigilent and let him out often. All in all he is a great little guy for Brittany and he is very pleased with her new puppy. He makes us laugh! Hard to believe he has only been here 2 weeks as he has settled in so nicely, I don't think there has been any looking back for this little guy.

Fun in the Sun!!

Well the puppies world just got a whole lot bigger!! This week the weather has been gorgeous so we have had lots of time for outdoor puppy play! The puppies love it! It is so fun to watch them explore and discover things for the first time. One was memerized by my laundry blowing in the wind. How they love to run in their wide open space!

Here is Maya and Lainey having a brawl!

Off they go to explore...
Another of Maya, taking in the sunshine...

Here is Sophie watching intently..

Lainey, daydreaming about puppy things...

Cruiser, taking a break after a big stroll....
Maya, thinkin my toes taste pretty good!
After a hard play, its time for a nap...
Sienna's babies all crashed...

Ava and Dexter were so busy running that I didn't get a good shot of them!

Just for fun..

Yesterday I thought I had gotten a good deal. I had some errands to run in town and while stopped at a red light I noticed that the gas station ahead had their gas at 109.9/litre. I thought wow...that is a good deal! So I stopped in a filled my van, (fyi) my van has not been totally filled in months. So I carried on still feeling good about my find, did my errands came home and wrote on facebook for people to grab gas at that price before they raised it again. Well a good buddy happened to comment that Canadian Tire on the other side of town was offering their gas at 108.9 and then with a coupon for .5 cents a litre off brought it down to 103.9!!!
So that really rained on my "gas parade" and then I felt really bummed that if I had gone to the other side of town would have seen the even "better deal"....oh well too late now...my van is full!
Got me to thinking though how the gas companies have really conditioned us to think that 109.9 is cheap and we should grab it before it goes up. Only a year or so ago we would have been in an uproar about paying 109.9 and now look at us. Only a couple of weeks ago I think I paid 138.9 on the assumption that hurricane Ike was going to disturb the oil fields in Texas. How totally unfair that an assumption can dictate the price we pay.
So I am curious... I am hoping that you will comment on my post and let me know what your gas prices are and where YOU are..just for curiousity sake and just for fun. What is the lowest you have paid recently and what is the highest? Should we as Canadians complain about our gas prices or are there other place/countries that have it worse than us?
Oh and BTW on the way home tonight I noticed that gas was back up to 119.9 so I did feel better knowing that I got a better deal!

Getting back into routine

So it seems that everyone has settled into a fall routine. The kids have been back in school for 3 weeks now and so far everything seems to be going well.
Casi is enjoying power pack which to us "old school" folks is like an enriched program, it helps the kids really set high goals for themselves and from what I've heard its a great program and is awsome for those going into university. She is not sure yet what she wants to do exactly. She is thinking something along the lines of radiation technologist or mri or something like that. She kind of as well think that a trade of some sort might be cool too? Honestly I can't see Cas getting all down and dirty fixin cars or being a welder or anything but if that is what her heart is telling her, then who am I to stand in her way? She has been told this year that she should try out for track as her gym teacher has told her she has wonderful form in the hurdles...so I guess track starts next semester so she seems keen to try that!
James has had his usual "hiccups" in school already. Not doing his homework and not being prepared for class...really now, he's in gr 11, you would think being prepared should come without thinking but apparently that is a challenge for him! I believe so far his marks are ok so lets just hope he buckles down. This has always been his issue for as long as I can remember getting him settled into a routine at school...looking at October before it finally comes! He says he wants to be a police officer so at least for now that is what he is looking to going into. He has checked out colleges and there seems to be a lot of colleges that offer police foundations and even some locally so that might be a good option for him. He says he would like to get a job at the CECC which is the mega jail in our area so that would give him awsome experience for what he wants to do. As you know the football team had to fold and he was disapointed about that but says he wants to try wrestling and rubgy next year and even might try hockey on his schools team!
Britt is adjusting to gr 7. She continues to do well but at the same time, her chatter does get her in trouble. She has to learn to be social outside the class room! She has tried out for soccer and so far so good, has made the team. She is not sure what she wants to do, but time is on her side and she has lots of it to decide yet!
Dave is still working nights, which he hates, not so much the job but the hours really bite..530pm to 530am...he does get lay off for the winter and has plans to do some logging again so I'm sure he will enjoy the change of pace! It is a pain having him sleep through the day and having to be so concious about making noise and keeping the dogs quiet, running for the phone if it rings etc...
Me, well I seem to fill my days with the puppies and housework and stuff. The puppies have reached a stage where they want to be out of their pens more than in. So it is so fun to sit on the floor and play with them...I loose time greatly doing this! Still working part time, there hasn't been a whole lot of call ins or vacation time to cover so I've just had my usual shifts. I have all my horses situated for the winter, the stallions together and the mares together. We put our 2 herds of sheep together to make one and decided that we were just going to have just a fall lamb, not one in the winter. We were just finding that it was too much with Dave working 60/hrs a week.
I have to do quite a bit of stuff before winter, the windows need to go on the barn, pool needs to be winterized, the trailer needs to be winterized. I have to worm the horses and there are several that need their hooves done! Even if i am not working....never seems to be a shortage of stuff to be done! I would like to do some painting in the house...but that can wait until it is crappier weather out there!
We are looking at some major purchases one of which I wasn't planning on doing. Dave went to add water to our outdoor wood stove and it looks to be that it is finished! There was more water pouring out of it than there was going in! This one will be ouchy....he is not sure he can fix it. Really it owes us nothing, we bought it 10 years ago used and it has done alot of burning. So we have to decide soon as the season is upon us! There have been some nippy nights already!
Also we had gotten a couple of quotes for windows, this one I was planning for. After fighting with these old windows for the past 4 years I am so ready for new ones. They have cut my fingers and broken nails not to mention it takes me about an hour to clean each one. I dread this job! So we'll see how we sit. I cannot say for certain either but every time i cut the grass i am thinking the lawnmower will not last much longer either! AGRH!!! Why does everything happen at once!
Anyway I have tonnes of puppy pictures to post so will get at that when I have a chance!

::Bummer::

I was really looking forward to watching a few football games this year! James joined his school's football team and was really enjoying playing. They had an away game 2 weeks ago and were scheduled to play at home this past week. I was going to watch and cheer him on!
Unfortunately the team had to fold because they didn't have enough players. I guess they started out with enough but a few lost interest and there were some injuries so they had to let the team go. So I am bummed...
I guess he plans to join the wrestling team and in the spring possibly the rugby team so hopefully then I will get some pictures to blog about.

Panic Mode!!

So the other day I was getting ready for work and 3 of the dogs were outside, Cole, Autumn and Ty. I could hear them playing and barking and had peeked out a couple of times but continued to get changed, hair up - that kind of thing. So I am about to leave and I let the dogs in and Ty came to the door and Cole came to the door.....no Autumn???
I stepped out on the deck and looked over the yard and didn't see her. I went a little further and noticed that my gate was open.....next panic set in.
I ran back through the house and threw my shoes on and raced outside and started calling her. I ran around the door run to see if she was anywhere near the fence and continued to call her. Dave who has just woken up from night shift came out to see what was going on and could see the panic and the terror in my face. I ran to the barn and nothing...raced up the driveway to look up the road and nothing...
At this point of course the absolute worst is going through my head, she's been hit by a car or been picked up by a passing car as these guys are highly sought after.
The shepherds were out as well so it could have been a possibility that they scared her off somewhere but I continued to call and still nothing...
I felt this crushing weight on my chest as I ran around hysterically calling for her and started sobbing. I know how quickly accidents can happen and because Autumn is my complete baby I knew I couldn't handle loosing her.
All of a sudden Dave was yelling that she was out in the pasture field with the horses. She was standing with Mia! I called her to come and she came with this bewildered look on her face. She was completely muddy and had burrs in her coat. All I could do was pick her up and sob into her fur. I am getting teary just writing this.
I just clung to her and sobbed and gave her kisses. I think I was hyperventilating too but I was just so relieved that she was ok.
I still had to go to work and looked a complete mess! My uniform was dirty from Autumn's paws and my face had makeup running down and my eyes were all bloodshot.
A quick change and face wash, make up touch up and I really had to go to work. I made it with minutes to spare. I was shakey and then felt completely exhausted. Even my co-workers looked at me and asked if I was ok. Which I guess I was, but if I could have not gone into work that day I would have preferred not to.
So long story short...Autumn is fine and I am reminded of how precious these little guys are to me. Faced with the prospect of having lost her sent me into such a feeling of despair...even for those few minutes. For any of you who don't have that connection with an animal...in my terms it would be like loosing a child in a playground and the panic feeling that you would have. I know she had a special guardian angel looking out for her as there was several elements there that day that could have easily harmed her.
That night when I came home from work, she got lots of extra lovin and of couse she snuggled up against me in bed which she always does. I hope to never have to experience that feeling again. Autumn is safe and cuddled up on my lap as I type right now...

What's one more???

Really now...what is one more?? In a household of multiple dogs one more just kinda blends right in??? This one doesn't really blend in with the yorkies but he is kinda cute! The story here is that Brittany wanted her OWN dog. She wanted a dog she could look after, sleep with her, the whole shebang. The only thing was she didn't want a yorkie...she wanted something different. I have put her off for a several months wanting to make sure that she was serious and understood the responsibility of having a dog. She has proved to me that she can be, looking after my dogs while I'm at work and more recently she doggie sat Shelby (a friends Jack Russell) completely on her own. So I figured she was ready. We thought seriously about it and thought it would be a wonderful idea to rescue a dog or to get one from someone who couldn't look after their dog or were moving etc. So we started our search, we looked on internet sites and found tonnes of puppies the result of backyard breeders and puppy mills I'm sure. We found jugs and buggs and poo mixes...all of which were really cute but considering the fact that I try to be a responsible breeder and do all the right things, I really didn't want to patronize a backyard breeder who just decided to put 2 dogs together with no thought at all except for dollar signs. I won't even go into detail of some of the ads we came across. People shoving their puppies out the door at 5 weeks old and putting fancy labels of "designer dogs" on their heintz 57 puppies. It was crazy! Anyway after lots of looking Brittany decided she liked the Jack Russell, I too thought it might be ok given they are smaller and they don't have alot of coat..(therefore, no grooming for me)! We found this little 13 week old male Jack Russell about an hour away from us. He had only been owned by his current owners for a short time and it wasn't working out with his family.
So here is "Ty" with Brittany, her new baby...

He is pretty cute and has energy to boot!! I'm sure he will shake things up around here!

The plan is to obviously have him neutered when he is old enough...not going to take any chances there! Also I do not want him to come into his "manhood" and be a rival for Cole. One dominant male in the house is quite enough!!!

Puppy Steps

Yep.... they are growing!!! It seems daily that the puppies are changing and maturing and doing just a little bit more than they were the day before. They are coming out of the pen more and more and venturing farther away from the security of their blanket. Paper training is in its very early stages but probably 25% of the time they will hit the paper. They are learning to play with the other yorkies in the house (Autumn loves it)!!

Going after Bailey, who was desperately trying to divert the attention away from the puppies and onto to herself...anyone who has ever met Bailey knows what I'm talkin about!

Love this shot!!! Absolute picture of health!!

They have started to eat a bit on their own, here they are stealing some yogurt that I had given to Sadie.

Crashed!!! After a big play on the floor, here is where I found them! Oh, how I love having puppies!!!

Remember...

Remembering September 11, 2001

A day that started out just like today,

The peaceful skyline of New York City before. We should all remember today and take a moment to think of those who lost their lives this day 7 years ago. I remember where I was 7 years ago, the kids had just gotten back into routine at school, a beautiful fall day. I had popped in to visit my mom and she was mentioning some explosion or something that happened in New York. How little we knew until the news reports started coming in. We watched in disbelief as the 2nd tower was struck. How incomprehendible that other human beings could inflict such terror and hatred upon its fellow man. I remember watching the news casts all day showing the planes crashing into the buildings and thinking what sort of people could do such terrible things. I don't think there are words that can describe the enormity of their actions, it is just too unexplainable why people would do such a thing. It changed the world, it changed how we feel, and it shook our calm exsistance into knowing exactly what hatred can do.
Without those majestic buildings...

We should never forget...


As the news broadcasts kept coming in, we were amazed at how Canadians helped and did their part, by helping the stranded air passengers that were grounded for days. All those planes coming across the Atlantic than needed to land somewhere. How proud I am to be Canadian and knowing that fellow Canadian opened their homes and gave of themselves at a time where there were some people of the world who showed exactly how evil they were. It was not about borders or race but merely human compassion and the goodness to love another man.


We remember the men and women on board the flights that crashed into the twin towers, the pentagon and aboard the downed flight headed for the white house. We remember the men and women inside the twin towers, the firefighters, the police officers, health workers and good samaritans all first on the scene who lost thier lives valiantly trying to save the lives of others...

God Bless You and we Salute you...

Happy Birthday Autumn!

Thought I would do some more blogging as my floor dries...ya I'm getting back into the swing of things today...still not too sure what was up with me??? PMS...maybe?? Anyway back in a mode of cleaning and getting things done!
Today is Autumn's birthday!!! I usually don't remember birthdays of theirs but hers is quite memorable in several ways. The date alone makes me remember.
Her delivery makes me remember. She was born by c/section along with her siblings. Avery's delivery was not progressing so off to the vets we went. The vet confirmed that something was not right and decided to do a c/section. Avery was shaved and iv was put in and anesthetic was given. Around the a previous c/section there was alot of scar tissue on the inside, when the vet finally got to her uterus, she found that all the puppies were stressed and all had meconium in their sacs. Long story short....there was the stress issue with the puppies and there was a mumified puppy in there as well that had died a few weeks before in utero. All the puppies were not doing well upon birth, she had 5 live puppies as well as the mumified baby...6 in total...an insane litter for a yorkie. We got the puppies breathing and all seemed to be going well until 1 by 1 they started gasping again. Within an hour of birth I lost 3 of the puppies and a girl (Autumn) was not looking so good either. They administered straight oxygen to her and she started pinking up again. After careful observation I was allowed to go home with 2 babies. I felt completely defeated and really sad for the puppies that I had lost. I felt sad for Avery and I felt sad that she would never know these babies of hers. Avery was spayed on the table which was my intention to do eventually anyway. This is the absolute worst part of breeding, people who think it is so easy to just put 2 dogs together and away they go are so wrong. Being a good breeder means you put your heart and soul into each litter starting with the planning, breeding, pregnancy, birth, post partum for mom and babies, and the nurturing of the puppies. When things go wrong it is devasting and I usually take it personally like I could or should have done something different.
However getting back to my story... the next few hours seemed to go ok and the puppies were nursing and I was monitoring their weight and it seemed like things were going to go ahead. Avery was doing ok too which was a relief.
By the time the puppies were about 18 hrs old I noticed the girl (Autumn) was not looking so good, she looked dehydrated and her weight had dropped a 1/4 oz...both not good signs. I started tubing her which is basically inserting a very tiny tube into their stomach...this is something that is not just as easy as reading a text book to learn. You can easily insert into their lungs and that is fatal. You have to go by intuition and experience to know when you've got it right. Anyway every 3 hrs I tubed Autumn. Her weight maintained for the next 12 hrs which made me optimistic. The other female was doing great by this point and gaining steadily. Autumn was looking better but I was still tubing her and she didn't seem to want to nurse..not sure if it was fading puppy syndrome or what but this is a very frustrating part of breeding. So for 5 days I tubed her every 3 hours, I had to go to work and came home on my breaks to feed her as no one dared to try at home. Finally at 5 days old she took hold of a nipple and I walked in to feed her and she was attached! What a beautiful sight! After that she never looked back. She was about half the size of her sister but quickly caught up and eventually passed her!
So in a sense, Autumn is my miracle baby! She is completely spoiled and I know this and I don't apologize for it! She has matured into a gorgeous girl, I love her temperment!
So here is a small peak at her photo album, I have lots more but you can see her as she grew.
Here she is at 3 weeks....I guess I didn't take birth pictures of her...
With her sister Carli Dawn...rocking with tissue paper...8 weeks old
Already a lap dog at 12 weeks...

Absolutely no fear, she would have crawled right in Reece's mouth if she could have reached...
Christmas time...3 & 1/2 months
5 months old...first top knot..

8 months old...
Autumn as she is today. Her head is completely cleared, she has a gorgeous blue steel coat and wonderful tan/gold. I love her eye rims. She had a perfect top line and nice movement. She is doing some training for the show ring. I hope to enter her in a couple of shows this fall and see what she does.
Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!

Kind of a slow week...

It seems like it has already been a long week. I am not totally sure why but on Monday I thought it was Wednesday and its been like that all week? I am almost apprehensive to say that I am getting bored? I don't believe I have been bored in months!!! I have got alot of stuff caught up that needed to be done so that is good. Today I even did up pedigrees for the puppies which is a time consuming job but hey at least now its done! Got some gardening done on my ever expansive jungles that are taking over out there, paperwork and bills sorted out which is always a good thing too. Did some dog bathing and housework but really the week seems like it is dragging on and I really don't know why? Do you ever find when you get out of synch then it is really hard to get yourself back in there? That is kind of where I am right now....I do have lots that I could be doing but seem to content to not to want to do anything? That make any sense?? Maybe its the kids being back in school is the reason??
Anyway there is always the puppies to play with and that is lots of fun. They are starting to bark and growl if they hear a noise that startles them. They are starting mouth at our hands and fingers. Sadie's babies are enjoying their plays out of the pen which I change the bedding.
This is Dexter getting a tummy rub...

Then rolling over the chew on my finger!

Here is all the puppies out of their pens this morning. Sadie's puppies were all over but Sienna's were totally bewildered. It was so funny to watch the 2 litters interact with each other. They just stood there and looked then barked. How awsome! You can see Sienna's piling up for comfort as they were getting scared! The first one of hers off the blanket to explore was Cruiser, I am really liking what I see so far in this boy! Sadie's are the ones that are more spread out and going off to explore.
I even made dog food this week. Bailey and Autumn are loving licking out the pan.

Bailey is right in there.....as bad a kids wanting to lick the beaters huh!!!
The only other thing I have been doing is running a free taxi service for the kids the past little while. Drop one off then pick one up and then back to pick up the other one....I truly believe they think my van runs on air. How I wish!!!

Sorry I don't have anything more exciting to blog about....just been a really slow typical week!

Duck Tales...

Well apparently they had alot of tales to tell me. This is the reception I got after collecting the eggs and locking the sheep in. They were literally right in front of me and I couldn't take a step without stepping right on them! They obviously wanted fed, which they do everytime I am at the barn. They will leave the pond when they notice me there...
I happened to have my camera in my pocket and snapped a few pictures while chuckling about their persistance.
Walking away disgusted after I wouldn't feed them again....telling more tales I'm sure. Can't forget the rooster. We have 2 that have been exiled from the hen house.

Why We Fight....

I wanted to put up this poem on my blog as well after reading it on my niece's blog last week. The poem has struck a cord within me since I read it. I thought of it again today as I watched the news at work on my supper break about another fallen soldier...just way too many that have fallen....
I continue to think and pray for my nephew's safe return later this month from Afganistan and still admire the work that these brave people are doing over there.

Sorry if you have already read the poem on Christy's blog but I thought it was too well written not to repost...

THE following poem, titled Why We Fight, was written in Afghanistan in 2006 by Cpl. Andrew Grenon of Windsor, Ont., one of three Canadian soldiers who died Wednesday during an ambush in the volatile Zhari district. It was released Thursday by members of Grenon's family.

Why We Fight

I've often asked myself why we are here. Why my government actually agreed to send troops to this God-forsaken place. There are no natural resources. No oil, gold, or silver. Just people.
People who have been at war for the last 40 plus years. People who want nothing more than their children to be safe. People who will do anything for money; even give their own life.
I look into the eyes of these people. I see hate, destruction and depression. I see love, warmth, kindness and appreciation.
Why do we fight? For in this country, there are monsters. Monsters we could easily fight on a different battlefield, at a different time. Monsters that could easily take the fight to us.
Surrounding these mud walls and huts is a country in turmoil. A country that is unable to rebuild itself. A country that cannot guarantee a bright future for its youth.
Why do we fight? Because, if we don't fight today, on THIS battlefield, then our children will be forced to face these monsters on our own battlefield.
I fight because I'm a soldier.
I fight because I'm ordered.
I fight, so my children won't have to.

Please continue to support our troups with your thoughts and prayers...

Growing like little piggies..er..yorkies!!!

Well here is another boastful post about my babies...ok I really can't help myself cause we are just so in love with these babies and are enjoying them so much! It is a lot of work though, I honestly don't know how people rear multiple litters. The dog laundry is insane!!! Socializing is SO important right from an early age but if you had alot of puppies I don' t know where I'd find them time! I make a point of handling them often even if it just for a quick kiss and off I go! Put your feet up and enjoy the newest pics of these lil darlings!!!

Sadie's litter @ 4 weeks...

Here we have a group shot. From l to r we have Ava, Dexter and Sophie. They were all a bit tired and ready to fall off to sleep. That was exactly my plan as to get them together when they are just awake is near impossible!

This one below is of Ava (left) and Sophie (right)...Dexter just couldn't hold out any longer and slipped behind for some zzzzz's. This week they got their ears, bums and nails trimmed. In hopes their ears will start to go up on their own, I like to have them up by 6 weeks or so, if not I continue to shave and tape them until the muscle is strong enough! They are up walking around now and more steady on their feet. They are starting to play and "mouth" each other. They will react to our voices and move towards it.

Their weights at 4 weeks are:

Dexter :: 1 lb 10.5 oz::

Ava :: 1 lb 4 oz::

Sophie :: 1 lb 8.5 oz::

All very, very good weights for sure!!!

Sienna's litter @ 3 weeks...

Another group shot, this time of the younger litter!! From l to r we have Maya, Lainey and Cruiser. They too were "dog tired" and just about to drop off to slumberland!!! This week as well seen them getting their ears, bums and nails trimmed. As you can see their eyes are now open, they just opened last weekend and they are already up on their feet but still quite unsteady yet and giving us little barks and growls. They have made some great gains too.

Their weights at 3 weeks are::

Maya :: 1 lb 1.5 oz::

Lainey :: 1 lb 2 oz::

Cruiser :: 15 oz::Everyone is doing so well! Momma's are looking great! I am feeding them my own homemade mixture of hamburger, rice, potatoes, zuchinni, other veggies, egg, garlic, and a holistic flour especially made for dogs! There really isn't anything in there that humans could not eat! When I make it in a big roaster, the kids come home and think I've made them meat loaf! The only other thing I put in there is a half a cup or so of Royal Canin puppy 33 food. Here is what the mixture looks like!

They love it! This week Sadie's litter will start on some food of their own. A rice pablum mixed with evaporated milk to get them eating on their own. I have already caught them sneaking a taste of their momma's food so its time! This too eases the burden on mom for not having to solely feed them.

If you're looking for individual pics, will post them on my website...