Well, the time has come to start migrating these puppies from mom to puppy food. For the past few days, we've supplemented mom with milk replacer and the pups are now ready for us to blend in some puppy food with the replacer in a meal with the consistency of wallpaper paste (and, from the smell of it, I'd guess about as appetizing -- unless you're a puppy). Gradually, over the next week, we'll add more puppy food and actually reduce the number of meals until Juneau is free of the Piranhas and the puppies are able to eat, and digest, real food. The down side of that is, of course, that they will now be processing their food with a vengeance so the famous "Poop Events" will create a daily and nightly dance to keep them and the whelping box somewhat clean.

When we started supplementing the pups, we used small bowls of formula and fed each of them individually just to see which ones were mature enough to lap liquid from a bowl. Well, that test didn't last long: they were all ready, willing and we're now thinking the litter theme will be vacuum cleaners ! Once we knew they could lap on their own, we started putting the formula in a donut-shaped bowl for them to drain.



In their enthusiasm, they occasionally entered the bowl in order to get that last, gooey drop.



One of the things that has distinguished our recent litters is their willingness to vocalize their pleasure by howling -- usually accompanied by Grandma Cassidy and the Canine Chorus of the Garvie Household. Today, Professor Plum had his tryout for the Chorus and it looks (and sounds) as if he is eminently qualified.



This is also the time when the puppies are beginning to interact with their environment and themselves. Our whelping box has a "pig rail" about 4 inches off of the floor where we can stuff the pups when mom climbs in and out for feeding chores. All the pups have been investigating the rail with an eye on climbing up and walking it. Ms. Pink is truly the most agile of the lot and she's climbed it, walked it and, as you can see in this picture, she's even gotten to the point where she's comfortable enough to sleep on it.



This is the absolutely cutest stage of puppy development so I'll be sharing lots of photos over the next week or so. Hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy watching these kids grow -- and I do mean GROW! All are now over 5 pounds.

Jim