Pups Progress Report

I'm glad to be back on the blog.  I've actually missed it.  The puppies are doing great!  They are getting big and their puppinalities (my husband's new word for personalities) are really starting to come out.  Something is different about this litter, perhaps its because this is my second time around and I'm appreciating it more.  It's hard to believe we only have 3 1/2 weeks left with them.  The time has literally flown by.

That being said, my family and I are really falling in love with Violet and we are heavily contemplating keeping her.  That's why there are no recent pics of her posted.  There's something about her almost as if she's claiming us.  We'll be making that decision very soon. 

The puppies have been living outside for a week now and have totally taken over the house inside it.  I will get some pics posted of it soon.  Every morning when I (or my family) go out to see them, we greet them by calling out "puppies".  They all come running stumbling over each other in a race to be the first one to us.  It's so endearing.  We started them on puppy chow since their teeth are in and I think it goes without saying that they love it.  Of course they're still nursing and if they're like the last litter, will be until its time to go, which is really great for them.

We picked up some squeaky toys, a ball and a rope for them to play with.  They haven't figured out their uses and are startled when they step on the squeaky toys.  Playing to them is biting each other or pulling on a towel, blanket, pants, etc...They'll soon realize what fun dog toys bring and will have them worn out in no time. 

The biggest girl is Pink.  She is very sweet and a little shy.  She's been given extra attention so she learns she doesn't need to be bashful.  She's definitely not shy at feeding time though.  Pink is also the most laid back.  Her markings are beautiful (she's a fawn/brindle) almost tiger striped and her paws are huge (well they all are really).

Blue is almost as big as her, but I'm sure by 8 wks he'll be the largest just because he's male.  He has a short snout and broad head like his dad.  He's the protector of the litter putting himself in front of his sisters and scoping out everything.  He's probably the most playful too always romping around.  He loves attention and hams it up.  He is a darker brindle with more auburn in his coat.  I know in some pics he looks almost black, but he isn't.

Peach is often referred to as Star by my daughters because she has a very small patch of white on her chest.  She is full of love and whether your sitting outside or have her inside, she's right by your feet laying down waiting to be pet.  She's the talker out of the bunch, although not nearly as fussy like when she was younger.  Her coat is starting to show some fawn as I think you can see it in her recent pics.

Purple is the baby, the last born.  However, her siblings brute force doesn't hold her back as she'll push her way through them, over them, or under them.  Without question she's the most loving of them all.  She's is very adorable, a little princess and stands out with her sweetness.  If your sitting on the floor or ground she will climb on your lap to snuggle.  She's a dark brindle like her mother.

Oh, I almost forgot.  We've begun the potty training process.  Now the fun times begin, haha.  Actually, its been going well with some mistakes, but that's going to happen and there will be many more over the next few weeks.  I do use potty pads.  I know that some people find them useless, but they serve their purpose for me.  Also, we use a large piece of linoleum that is a godsend for the puppies play area inside.  This makes cleanup easy & I can roll up the linoleum and tuck it away when not in use.  While the puppies won't be completely housebroken when they're ready for their new homes, it will make things go much smoother for the new owner.  It's important if your looking to purchase a mastiff puppy from us or another breeder that you know what takes place (a breeder's involvement) from the time of birth to the time a puppy is ready to leave the littter, largely impacts what a buyer will be faced with (it's also partly why I'm doing the blog, so potiential buyers get a peek into what kind of breeders we are). 

I know some breeders don't work on potty training or a  few other things and some breeders  do nothing at all with their puppies.  Some breeders rely on the whelping pen for everything and some raise their litters outdoors giving them NO attention therefore, never needing to potty train them.  However unfortunate this may be, it happens.  Please don't misunderstand me, while our litter has been moved to the outdoor kennel ( around 3 1/2 wks old) its because they need more room than their birthing area, but they still spend a tremendous amount of time in our home.


Well that about wraps it up for the night.