The only Black Friday I'll be seeing today are the color patches on the coats of this wild litter of puppies!  No need to go out shopping to be mobbed by a million people when I can get mobbed by possessed puppies!!!

The pups have had a number of visitors these past few days, including five new adults, a 10-year old girl, and three more Farmdogs, my daughter's female, Milly, Deb's boy, Han Solo, and Tonya's boy, Lego.  All the pups handled the newcomers just fine with no fearfulness -- immediate acceptance and willingness to play -- especially with the humans.  More human socialization to come before the weekend is over.

On Wednesday evening, Tonya came over for a photo shoot, and Tim, one of our Pawdemonium Flyball Family members came over to help -- TOTAL CHAOS!!!  Puppies everywhere!  There was no way we were going to be able to get a group shot of these pups sitting still.....little hellions! Anyway, we rigged up a "contained" photo studio, and Tonya got some nice shots, some of which will soon be shared.

In the meantime, I took a lot of early morning video, both yesterday and today, snippets of this and that.  For those of you out there watching this litter, below is your "puppy fix" for the holiday weekend!

Puppies are loose in the kitchen early morning...

At 5:00 AM each morning, I walk into the kitchen with 3 adult farmdogs following me to be let out into the yard.  I close the kitchen door and slide a board across in front of that door because the big dogs are able to open it with their dexterous paws. There are five VERY noisy puppies waiting for me to open the door to the puppy pen.  I let the big dogs outside and begin preparing all the canine breakfasts and a pot of coffee for me.  I quickly sweep the floor to ensure there is nothing for the pups to eat that they shouldn't, and then I go out to the garage to let the big dogs in.  After wiping everyone's feet, I bring the big dogs in and give them their breakfasts -- all the while there are five NOISY puppies peering through the pen and pouncing at the pen door begging to be released.  They will eventually learn to be more patient as they adjust to the ritual. 

Once the big dogs are fed..... I open the door to the puppy pen. Five "puppies gone wild" scamper out of the pen and begin exploring all the areas of our small kitchen, half of which currently looks like a kennel.  (We have moved the table out to make room for the puppy pen which is 6' x 6'.)  The weather has turned colder, but the oil heater in the kitchen heats it nicely and all is cozy warm.  The pups first rush their mother, Ruby, in hopes of a snack.  Ruby obliges, but is not as patient as she once was, now standing to nurse them briefly because she is not making as much milk as before and they are very efficient at draining her reserves.  The pups poke their noses into the adult dog's bowls looking for more breakfast -- they are sometimes met with a reprimand by one of their grandmothers telling them NO they may not lick their bowls.  These are good lessons.  Only Ruby is willing to share what is in her bowl. As I set down a puppy feeder bowl filled with Royal Canin Mother & Baby dog mixed with warm goat's milk, five hungry puppies form a circle around the bowl and begin lapping goat's milk and chewing on kibble bits.  Once they are finished, Ruby cleans the bowl.  Now, it's playtime! 

While pups and big dogs mingle and play, I clean the puppy pen (with a "green" cleaner), change bedding and replace soiled piddle pads.  Then, I pour myself my first cup of coffee and sit down on the floor to play with puppies.  As pups pile into my lap all wiggles and licks, I forget how early in the morning it is and just enjoy my moments with these lovely babies.  Puppies are the best medicine because they make you laugh and create a calmness within.

We play a little tug with some braided polar fleece, I roll a few small balls for them to chase and I give them the cardboard roll from the middle of the empty paper towel roll to chew on.  One can make puppy toys out of just about anything.  One by one, they eventually tire and make their way into a puppy pile and fall asleep.  I move them all back into their cozy bed for their morning nap.  It's now about 6 AM.  Perhaps tomorrow morning, I will try to catch some of this on video -- at least the release from the puppy pen.

More puppy fun...

The pups have evolved into yet another species altogether.....piranhas!!!!!  Their teeth have erupted and they are chewing on everything.  Ouch!!!  Below are a few videos I took very early this morning...

Wow!  A very exciting week in the pup's lives as they move into their 4th to 5th week of life.  First, proud "grandparents," Warren & Carla Ries, all the way from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, were able to travel out for a visit to see Frisco's pups. I have waited for Warren and Carla before announcing the names under which the pups will be registered as I wanted Warren to pick the male most like Frisco for one of the names.
You may recall that this litter is after the theme "On the Road" because of the long road trip Tonya and I made half way across the country for the mating.

In the photo above, left to right: (1) Flora's Echo Utah aka "Echo" (most like his sire, Frisco); (2) Flora's Wasatch Mountains Utah aka "Satch"; (3) Flora's Minnehaha County South Dakota aka "Minne"; (4) Flora's Winnemucca Nevada aka "Winne"; (5) Flora's Lake Tahoe California aka "Tahoe."

Next, the pups had their very first outing -- a visit to the "Posh and Dog Friendly" Cypress Hotel, a Kimpton hotel, to meet the "Farmdog Assembly" staying there for the Pat Hastings Seminar and also waiting to meet the pups.  We packed up mom and pups and drove over for the visit.  The pups behaved like typical Farmdogs, and the short journey and new environment did not seem to phase them at all.  The pups met folks from  Iowa, Virginia and Southern California.  Warren captured some video from this outing (below MVI_1814.MOV).

I've taken a lot of video below spanning the week, so grab yourself a bag of popcorn and something to drink and enjoy the show!

The pups were 4 weeks and 2 days old in the video below. 

You will notice a big difference in the activity level in the pups from 4 weeks +2 days above, and 4 weeks + 6 days below.

The video below is full of puppy play, including play with the pup's great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother, Flora, now almost 14 years old.

I finally had some time this evening to download the photos Tonya took on Saturday -- cuteness!!!  More photos are posted on the Frisco/Ruby page.

All pups weigh between 44-47 ounces now and their teeth are coming in and today was the pup's 2nd worming.    They are all interested in what mom is eating and I encourage them to take little tastes, but "mom's milk bar" is still the best.  So far, the pups most interested in lapping up a little puppy gruel are #2 (female), #4 (male) and #3 (female).  Pups #1 and #5 have taken tastes, but will not stay long at the puppy bowl, preferring to chase after mom for their meal.  Puppy #2 is quite independent.  All the pups are sweetness and cuteness in the extreme!

Auntie Tonya brought over some small tennis balls, and pups #1 and #3 were most interested.  I have placed a few toys in the pen, and pups #3, and #5 have discovered them.  Mostly, the pups like to play with each other, biting faces, tails, feet, ears, whatever is convenient.  The two girls like to hang out together and often form a "girl's puppy pile" while the three boys do the same.

They LOVE the doggie sleeping bags!!!!  Yes, just like human sleeping bags only for dogs.  They crawl into a bag and form one big cozy puppy pile.  I love to sit in the puppy pen -- the pups crawl into my lap and pile up!  They are quite the cuddly creatures and I just can't get enough!