1. They are super cute, and I love each and every one of them!
2. They are doing great, and they are growing big and strong.
3. I am going to cry like a 5 year old girl when each of them leaves.
But, to be more specific, they are all between 6 and 8.5 pounds (Bright Green is the biggest, of course). I moved them to their play pen on their 4-week birthday, and they love the extra space. Their play pen is not only their living space, but I also use it as their sensory space for socialization. What does that mean? Well, it's very important to expose the puppies to lots of different things so they are not fearful as they get older. So, I have 4 different surfaces for them to walk on - a slippery tarp, a plastic pan, carpet, and their crate pad, where they all sleep. They have all sorts of toys - some plush toys, some chew toys, bully sticks, and some hard plastic balls they can push around. Every day, I find something new to show them - I'll wear a hat, or hold them with gloves, or drop a pan on the floor - anything that they may experience in their new homes. I vacuum next to their pen, I let them walk around one at a time with Grainger and River (who are both really good with the puppies) on the hardwood floors, and they have lots of visitors - of all ages. With the warm weather, we spend a couple hours outside on the grass every day. The sounds of airplanes overhead, cars starting and driving by, lawnmowers - and everything else - are so good for the puppies to experience. I've sort of made it a daily challenge to find something new for them. Today it was two big pool floaties that I waved around. They all wanted to chew them up. Yesterday, it was a big beach ball. It was a little intimidating at first, then, they took turns pushing it around with their noses. It's vital that each puppy owner continue this socialization process and expose their puppies to safe noises, safe animals, safe people, and other safe experiences. You want to make sure all experiences are positive and always supervised because one bad experience during this process can take a long time to overcome.
The puppies are weaned and are eating hard kibble that has been soaked in goats milk. They eat four times a day, and I can't even count how many times they do the opposite of eating. So, I do at least two loads of laundry a day. Being home with the puppies is great, and I play with them for hours and hours a day. I start my new job on Monday, April 30th, and then someone else will be feeding them lunch and playing with them while I'm at work. It will be a good "weaning" period for me to get ready for them to go to their new homes.
I'm really trying to narrow down which puppy will go to which home, but as I keep telling everyone, the evaluation is really necessary before being 100% sure, so I am narrowing it down to 2 or 3 puppies for each family. The evaluation will be the weekend of May 5th. Really looking forward to having Kristin, Judy, and Lisa here to help do the evaluation and to see the little darlings.
New pictures (and maybe even a video) to come tomorrow....