We just learned that there is a beautiful 12 week old male puppy (with a strong pedigree) from Finley’s sister (that was bred in Iowa) that is available for an active family that hunts and has time and space to welcome a puppy into their family’s life. For information call Biff 612 382-3060.

Just a lazy Sunday morning here, with puppies snoozing in the shade and and gnawing on chew toys. They’ve also been in the pool, and lunch will be dished up in about an hour. They can eat the big dogs’ food now, almost like the big dogs do. We use Red Paw, a small-sized kibble that they first ate ground and soaked with goats’ milk, then left whole but softened with milk or chicken broth. Now they can eat the dog food straight out of the bag, although we soften even the big dogs’ meals with some warm water and have been doing that for the puppies, too.

Biff knows and trusts the biochemist that formulated “Redpaw” for his sled dogs, and this high performance dog food has worked well for our sporting dogs, too. Here’s a link to the Red Paw website: http://redpawdogfood.com/

Note: We don’t receive anything from Redpaw for endorsing their product.

Our dogs get PowerEdge 32K

The puppies’ curiosity is constant. They notice everything novel and, with determination, go to check out whatever has captured their attention. This includes electrical cords, branches with leaves attached, flying pigeons, found rocks, dropped paper toweling, shoe laces and clothing hanging within reach. It’s a reminder that puppy-proofing a house is important, knowing that they won’t be misbehaving intentionally when they get into things that are unsafe. They are just so dang curious and get to know things by mouthing them.

Biff and I have been curious why the puppies, since day one in the barn, have gravitated to the space under the “gate” in the fence (photo above) to hang out and play. They can shimmy underneath it and they hang out in that space more than any other spot outside. Similarly, they play under the table and chairs inside the barn, a similar “under” kind of space.

Today’s charming photos don’t match the title of today’s post, because I have no photos of the many times that I intervene when the puppies are trying to chew on me or each other too roughly. I insert a knotted rope, mini Kong toy, crinkle dog or stuffed dragon between what I don’t want them chewing and the acceptable substitute, telling them, “No, chew this.” And it works, especially when the object offered squeaks. They are easily redirected but that doesn’t mean they don’t need the message multiple times during the times I’ve called wild rumpus.

A local family of Griffon enthusiasts stopped by yesterday to see the puppies and meet our big dogs, another opportunity for the puppies to socialize. They will be 7 weeks old tomorrow and I’ve gotta say the time has gone really quickly since that night they were whelped. There’s just one week left until families will come for them. Note: I’m heading down to Chicago tomorrow for a funeral and won’t be able to post again until Sunday.

Here’s a peek at the action from after-breakfast this morning. The puppies’ bladder capacity has developed enough to let them race around outside their kennel space. They investigated the nightlight, the fan, Biff’s shoes, the trash can and they found the space behind the sofa to crawl through.

Biff is like an indulgent grandparent when he goes to the store. He came back with three balls of varying sizes yesterday and the puppies played with all of them.

No surprise – The puppies love being outdoors. They fall asleep outside, we feed them outside and they opt to play outside, even when the doggy door is open and they have access to their indoor space.

I brought them each inside, however, for their first baths today. I set up the sink with a wet piece of polar fleece (for traction) and a new squeak toy as entertainment. I used just a few drops of shampoo and warm water on a cloth and soaked them from the neck down and then used another cloth with clear water to rinse them. They tolerated it pretty well and seemed to like the towel rub-downs afterwards.

Although the puppies sometimes quietly share the chew toys, they also have been playing more aggressively with them. At 6 weeks old + they are all faster, more coordinated and their energy is boundless when they’re awake. Their teeth have come in and it’s been interesting to see how quickly they respond (back off) when a sibling winces from the play getting “too rough.”  They are sweet siblings with each other most of the time, piling together to sleep.

The scrappy play increases as the puppies grow. They continue to wrestle with each other and mouth each others’ body parts. They play the most with the toys that make sounds (that’s a “crinkle” dog in the lower left corner of the shot above.) In fact, a favorite “toy” is an empty water bottle that crunches and can be carried around in their mouths.

While Biff was changing the “pee pads” around 2 in the morning last night, the puppies, who were outside their kennel space, all climbed this set of stairs and looked down at him from the landing. They all made their way down, needing only a little encouragement.

Wirehaired Pointing Griffons are known as versatile hunters. They point and retrieve upland game and waterfowl… and in some places rabbits! Their love of water is an important characteristic for hunters who go out for ducks and geese as well as pheasant, woodcock, quail and grouse. To that end, we make sure that the puppies have positive first experiences with water, something that’s easy to accomplish with a kiddy pool set on a slight hill, a small amount of water and their natural curiosity. (Biff put a piece of polar fleece in the wet end for extra traction.)

Today all three of the puppies investigated and got into the pool, starting on the dry side and they all made their way into water that covered their paws. A couple of them also drank the water.