6/16
The kids are doing just great. They sleep in crates now because that helps them learn how to control their bladders. If they go to bed when I do, about 10:30, they sleep until 5 before they have to get up to go potty. Then they go back to sleep until breakfast time, which is about 6. They are doing very well on their house training. We just switched from ground kibble to whole kibble without incident. They figured out how to use the dog door all by themselves (smart little buggers). They can be whirling dervishes, but they are also very sweet and loving and just a joy to be around.

blue boy in the toy box

6/4
The Fab Four are doing just great. They are almost completely weaned (Elaine says 'whew'), and they are sleeping in crates at night.This helps them learn important lessons like how to hold it when they have to go and not just go anytime anywhere and how to sleep through the night. The first night in crates, they wanted to go out at 2:30 and then the second night, they wanted to go out at 3 am, so they are adding a few minutes to the time they wake up each night. During the day, we keep our front door open. Our yard is completely fenced, and we have no flying bugs, so we can do that. They are beginning to go outside to potty once in a while, so we are making progress on house training.

I will be out of town starting tomorrow until about June 14. I'm going to the Gordon Setter National with my good friend Linda Stebbins. I will be judging 59 puppies in sweepstakes at the GS National. Looking forward to it. However, it's a 27-hour drive, but we wanted to drive rather than fly since Linda is taking a dog. You can fly dogs, of course, but it's getting harder and harder to do that. Thank goodness the tornadoes in the middle of the country seem to be quieting down. I can get emails on my phone while I'm gone but am not good at typing with my thumbs so if I need to reply, the replies will be very brief.

Dave will be in charge of taking care of the puppies while I'm gone. Lord bless him, hope he survives.

We took some video of them today. Here it is.

Hasta La Vista. I

5/31
This is one of the best behaved and most affectionate litters we have ever had. We are enjoying them thoroughly.

5/27

The kids are now 5 weeks old.

Seems like IN-Tel somehow got into the hair gel and decided to style his hears.

IN-Tel and Blue Boy are practicing their big number for American Canine Idol, Soul Man by the Blues Brothers.

Green boy decided to ask the age-old question: How do you like my nostrils?

And Pinkie seems to have decided to pose for a Playboy Centerfold.
These kids are something else.

5/22

It's been a very cold spring here in Santa Fe with lows in the low 40s and highs in the 50s and 60s. I usually take puppies outside for the first time at 4 weeks of age. I took them out for the first time yesterday but had to wait until mid-day for it to be warm enough. They loved it! The sun was very bright and probably a little hard on their eyes, but they didn't seem to mind. They walked around and explored very happily. We have some photos of the field trip on our Photos of the Week page of our web page: http://www.setterenglish.com/index.asp?sPG=68

We had a visit from our friend Linda Stebbins yesterday. They loved her! Auntie Linda and Uncle Jack sent a huge pile of new toys, a new bed, a tug toy, and best of all, a baby tunnel! Pinkie immediately went into the tunnel, and she goes into it every chance she gets. A future agility star for sure.

Our adult dogs are very gentle with the puppies, especially their sweet Papa London. He just loves them. They have never had any reason to be afraid of a big dog so if they encounter big dogs in other contexts, we will have to keep them away until we find out if the big dog enjoys little munchkins or not.

They are now eating gruel consisting of ground-up puppy kibble, vanilla yogurt, Puppy Gold (a supplement), and whole milk three times a day. Their teeth have erupted, and though they are mouthing our hands, they haven't started biting hard yet, but we know that day is coming. We think they are a little rough on Elaine because she doesn't want to nurse them as much as she used to. I think in another week or two, she will be closing down the milk bar.

5/17

The London x Elaine kids are doing great. They are quite mobile. They scoot around for about 15 minutes and then totally crash and nap for a couple of hours to wake up for a new round of peeing, pooping, and playing. They had their first meal of gruel, consisting of ground-up puppy kibble, yogurt, and milk. They loved it! No finnicky eaters here!

5/13
Blogger has been down for the last day or so, so I apologize for not adding to this blog.
The kids had their toenails trimmed yesterday. They had the claws of grizzly bears, and Elaine was very happy that we did the trim. The kids are also eating some semi-solid food as of their three-week birthday -- Gerbers baby food (turkey, beef, and chicken) and Mountain High vanilla yogurt. Both are mild enough for puppies' first meals. I warm for a few seconds in the microwave (about 15 seconds) and administer to the puppies in a syringe. They say, "Mmmmm, tasty."

Pinkie and guest

Dave and blue boy

Jill and IN-Tel

Green boy

Daddy and daughter (London and Pinkie)