Photographing 7 week old puppies is...ahh...well, I will let some pictures speak for me!

The puppies are at such a fun age!  They are so curious, energetic, & simply adorable!  In spite of all their antics, I did get a few good pictures of them for their weekly update photo.

The puppies had a fabulous week full of new experiences & lots of sunshine!  They experienced (tolerated is a better word, perhaps) their first bath.  They smelled so wonderful after a bath in Life's Abundance Revitalizing Shampoo.  Their coats are thick & beautiful!  Here are Sasha & Pollyanna getting dried off after their baths.

The puppies also took a trip to the vet for their health check.  We were thrilled to have them all check out to be very healthy!  To top it off, they were super well-behaved while there.  No barking and very little whining (only when they had to wait their turns to come out of the crate for their check up).  And no accidents in the vet office!

This is my last weekly update for this litter since they will be headed off to their new homes next weekend.  I will wrap up with some snapshots from the week!  Thank-you so much for following my blog & for watching this litter grow up!  We feel very blessed to have the privilege of raising these cuddly little puppies!

The puppies really "came alive" this past week.  They are becoming very playful and energetic, but still need a good snooze every now & then (as seen above).  Don't miss Ranger right in the middle of his sisters sleeping on his back.  Taking the above photo woke up one puppy...

And here are the individual photo updates!

We've introduced the puppies to all kinds of new toys from soft stuffed animals to a hard Buffalo Bully stick.  (We, along with Jolly & Cooper, highly recommend Life's Abundance bully sticks for helping reduce tarter and maintaining dental health.)  Their teeth are coming in, and they are enjoying all the variety of chewing experiences, as well as occasionally declaring war on the newspaper in the potty area.  They like to attack it when I put new sheets of paper down, which make such delightful crinkly sounds!

They spent some time outside this week enjoying the beautiful June weather.  They are beginning to find their little voices to express their opinions, such as wanting to be fed and wanting to play.  One of the first puppies to discover barking was Ranger.  We were out in the yard with them, and JJ drove by on his tricycle.  Ranger left the pack barking at the new machine in protection of sisters - such a brave little guy!  The puppies do not bark very much at all, which I credit to Jolly's VERY quiet demeanor.  Cooper as well is not a barker, but Jolly is really not a barker.  As a puppy, we wanted her to bark to go out, but she's just quiet, which is uncharacteristic of the breed.

The puppies continue to eat more and more solid food.  We still add a bit of goat milk.  To give you an idea of the progression - we began with a 1/4 cup of food to 1 cup of milk for a feeding for all of them.  Now, we give them a 3/4 cup of food with 1/2 cup of milk per feeding.  We feed them 3 times a day.  Jolly will occasionally feed them as well, but not very often.

And I will wrap up again with a few snapshots...

Have a lovely weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

I'm beginning my post this week with my favorite picture from last week (shown above).  It is AJ with Charity and Starlight (one of our kittens) enjoying the summer sunshine.  We introduced the puppies to the kittens this week.  Their introduction can be summed up with the photo below.

Both parties seemed a bit bored and unfazed by the other.  The puppies aren't at the age where they are interested in chasing a kitten.  Yet.  But, I'm hoping the early introduction will give them a good tolerance and acceptance of felines.

And now...the photo updates!

The puppies continue to grow and change so quickly at this age.  The major event in their lives this past week was the introduction of food.  We start them on Life's Abundance Small & Medium Breed puppy food soaked in our own goat milk from our small herd of Nubians.  We chose goat milk because it is very gentle on their little digestive systems, and it is fresh and available from our homestead.  Goat milk has a reputation for being a universal milk that can be used to raise species of all kinds.  (Our goat milk has gone to others for raising things such as orphaned fawns & raccoons!)  As they grow, we lessen the amount of milk and increase the amount of food.  Below the puppies are enjoying their first meal.

And, of course, the puppies continue to be socialized with life in busy household.  They are constantly hearing the noises of the house - the washer, the baby crying, the radio, the blender, people talking, and on & on.  They are experiencing the hands of little children that don't always know exactly how to hold puppy.  As I've watched my children interact with puppies over the years, I've decided there is a balance when allowing young children to play with puppies.  On one hand, the child needs to learn to be gentle, and, on the other hand, the puppy needs to learn how to tolerate hands that don't always know the best way to hold them.  We have to be constantly monitoring our children as they handle the puppies.  As I think back, when we had our first litter of puppies here at Russell Homestead in 2014, AJ was 4 years old.  At age 4, we could not trust him to be alone with the puppies.  Now, at almost 7, he has earned our trust to play with them independently - a good experience for him and the puppies while his younger siblings are napping.

I will close with a few snapshots of enjoying the beautiful weather outside with the puppies.  If you can't tell, little MJ is just enthralled with these puppies.​

Thanks for stopping by & have a great weekend!