Hanging out in the van

With the last litter, I wished I had acclimated the puppies to the car sooner.

So today, even though the weather has been ridiculous, we warmed up the van and hung out in our driveway.

Some puppies were easier going about it than others. Pluto, for example, just started doing his thing right away, while Comet will need some extra support to get comfortable.

All in all it was a good experience. Each puppy, besides Comet, eventually warmed up to the van enough to lick cream cheese off our fingers.

Another big change is that I've added a crate to the puppy pen, and everyone is now sleeping in it. This seemed to make crate training easier for the new puppy families last litter.

Climbing out of the weaning pen

The puppies turned four weeks old on Saturday. Here's what they've been up to:

Getting teeth.

Lots of snuggles one-on-one with the kids (and adults).

Playing with each other.

Exploring new things placed in their area.

Lapping up water.

Watching me vacuum.

Several puppies came over to watch me use the shop vac. Peace was so interested she got her snout sucked in a little. She was unharmed, but unpleasantly surprised.

Climbing out of their pen with assistance.

Going forward:

I want to trim their nails again this week, and transition them to more solid food meals. I've started to introduce the puppy call, but this week they should be getting more familiar and more interested.

Their eight week vet check and vaccines visit has been scheduled for February 10th, which means I've pushed back their go home day to Sunday, February 11th.

I also want to bring them into the van, if the weather allows. It's been pretty cold the last few days!

How does "Pick of the Litter" work, anyway?

The puppies have tasted their first solid food!

Butter has been waking me in the mornings to sit with her while she nurses. Which is super cute, if also super annoying.

And now I want to talk about how pick of the litter works at Sundered Oak.

Our family is keeping one puppy this time, and we're PRETTY sure we're know which one.

And we already have one person on the list to choose their puppy, which will be a girl.

At four weeks, the puppies' personalities start to show themselves. And at about 5 weeks, we'll start letting the people on the wait-list pick their puppies, in order of holding fees received. Puppies will continue to live with us until they are eight weeks old, at which time, you can take your puppy home!

Once we receive a holding fee, we will let you know which pick you have. We cannot guarantee any particular puppy or gender of puppy in advance of official picks.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions about this process!