Six Weeks of Fun

Finally, the weather has improved enough to give the pups some outdoor fun. It's a chance to learn new sights and smells, whether an oak leaf (great for playing keep away from your mates!) or a large rock. Each is a new experience for the puppies. It gives us a chance as well to evaluate each pups' level of confidence and curiosity.

You'll notice the purple coloring by the tail of the little guy on the left. It's made with a Sharpie pen and allows us to keep better track of each individual. A lab's coat (no pun intended) is naturally repellent and we must recolor with permanent market each puppy on a daily basis.

Puppy Chow Time

Four weeks old last Saturday and it's time to graduate to 'big dog' dining. Actually, nature took its course in making the decision. Mother Sedona went to nurse her puppies and the suckling of the pups stimulated her to regurgitate her food, which the pups quickly ate up! As in nature with wolves, birds, etc., this is a naturally occurring phenomenon. In our case, it signaled it was time to begin transitioning the puppies to regular dog food.

We feed our dogs Canidae brand dog food. We like this premium brand because its an all ages formulation, meaning dogs from puppy to senior can eat the same food. This eliminates the transition period that some puppies experience going from 'puppy chow' to adult formulation and eventually senior formulation. It's also one of the few dry foods in the marketplace that has high marks for quality and completeness.

So from here on, the pups do the daily dance around the feed bowl--ours is designed for feeding several at once. Most dive in paws first but eventually learn they don't have to stand in their food in order to eat!