A belated birth announcement: puppies!
We're sorry for not telling you sooner. It was selfish of us.
Our 8 new golden babies are 4 weeks old now, and getting cuter by the day. At first they lived in a plastic kiddie pool in the living room. By 3 weeks they could climb out of the pool if they set their minds to it, so we really needed to find a better solution.
Sometimes they would stand up with their little paws on the edge of the pool and enjoy the breeze from the box fan. Do ya think they'll like car rides when they grow up?
We often found them out wandering about the living room, crying in little lost puppy voices.
We also found them napping happily behind the sofa or on the bottom bookshelf.
On Friday, hubby and I brought home an enormous box for them to stay in. We covered the bottom with layers of cardboard, to be removed layer by layer, each day. One end has newspaper and a pee pad to help them get started on paper training. We scoop out all the babies several times each day to nurse, and scoop them back into the box as soon as they start to sniff and wander about. So far, so good. The pee pads are getting heavy use. They really seem to get the idea! We hope to have them well-started on housebreaking by the time they go to their new homes.
Each day they go outside to play for a few hours. At first, I was worried that the chickens might pick on them. After all, our hens dwarf these little babies. As it turns out, the chickens are terrified of them, while the pups are dying to find out what chickens taste like.
They bark and growl already, and dream about running even though they can barely walk. They are beginning to nibble at their mama's food, but of course she doesn't mind. I imagine she's already wondering how soon she can wean them. Don't think poorly of her, though. For all her sighs and rolling eyes, she usually lets her pups nurse until we wean them for her. She just can't bring herself to say no. She's a softy at heart.
Is it mean that I'm counting down to the time that we can sell them? They're so sweet now, and they'll be even sweeter at 6 or 8 weeks, but then it's time for them to go. Somebody else gets to finish housebreaking these babies. I've got my own babies to tend to.
Related posts:
- Chickens on the brain
- At least 6 of mine are weaned…
- Birth stories: #1-4
- The plan
- Girl talk: weaning a baby
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Our black lab had a litter of 11 puppies! Wow! They were cute and smelly – we cleaned out their pen 2-3 times a day!
It was sad but relieving to see them all go to good homes!
Your puppies are sweet!
My 5yo dd says we should buy 2 of them, 1 boy and 1 girl. I asked her how much she thought they cost and she said “$1, maybe $2.” They are so cute! And think of all that puppy breath you get to be kissed with!
)
awww! they. are. adorable!! Wish we could come get one. My family lost their beloved retriever last month and I know would LOVE to have another one.
OMGosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wont one!!!
The most beautiful baby on there is the red-haired, brown-eyed one in the last picture! She is gorgeous!
So cute!
Our 4 year old wants a pet…if she saw these pictures the begging would begin. Except she is a little too smart and would immediately switch to asking politely with liberal use of the word please.
Dad tells her she can have fish…and name them dog.
But I suspect all bets are off when her little sister is a bit older!
Thank you, Lisa Beth. I have to confess that I wholeheartedly agree.
Mrs. Pear,
A fish named Dog – too funny!
How CUTE!!!
I heartedly agree with Lisa Beth. Can I have her?! 
I showed my mom the one with the books. Needless to say she was more interested in the Landmark books than the little one! (Yes, we homeschool
)
She also was curious to know what the blue ones are. They look like some must-haves!
I’d like to recommend that you look around some garage sales to find some super cheap baby cribs. Just leave off the legs and put the crib part on the ground.
I would love to say
“I’m in TX and I’d love to buy one!”
which is actually true, but I’m not allowed to have one at home, and I can’t afford both moving out and a puppy, so I suppose you’ll have to find another buyer.
The intent is good, not so much the execution. *g*
So cute! So… you raise purebred Golden Retrievers along with everything else???
Kimarie,
Yes! The momma has been the family dog for 4 years – she just moonlights as a breeder.
The girls also invested in a momma Yorkie for breeding about 2 years ago. Those pups are even cuter, if possible! Unfortunately it can be hard to tell when a small dog is in heat, so they’ve only managed to breed her once so far. On the bright side, the Yorkie does a great job of keeping the floors clean for us. She eats *anything*!
Ohhhh! They are SO CUTE!!! I have wanted a puppy for a long time now, and golden retrievers are my breed of choice. My parents say I have to wait till I move out… but as I’m getting married in 6ish months, that shouldn’t be too long! Getting a puppy this litter is probably pushing it, but maybe next litter. How often does mama have puppies?
Have I mentioned how CUTE those widdle puppies are??? *melts*