LET'S NOT FORGET WHO MADE THIS ALL POSSIBLE!

Here's Kelly Ann with a puppy toy that she commandeered.  Each new toy presented to the pups has to be checked by her ladyship to see if it passes muster! The best toys need to be testdriven by Mom!

Kelly bears an uncanny resemblance to her own mama, the wonderful Libby

ANOTHER MILESTONE

With the puppies enjoying supplemental feeding of puppy gruel, it's necessary to provide them with water. Their first of taste of aqua - what an adventure - a little bit like apple bobbing! Learning is such fun.

Of course the water bowl has an additional built-in feature;  it makes a wonderful chin-rest for an afternoon snooze!

PORTRAITS OF THE PUPS AT 26 DAYS

Grandma Suzanne put together this wonderful collage of the pups. The pic speaks for itself. Thanks Suz!

PUPPY MILESTONES

Puppy training starts early. Here's BlueBoy testing out the indoor plumbing:  We are amazed at how these little folk are already cottoning on to the puppy loo. At just 25 days of age, and already they are getting the idea.

Blue Boy gets an A+

Another big milestone was the puppies' first taste of real food - puppy gruel which consists of Biljac Large Breed puppy food, pulverized and mixed with goats milk and water.

Not exactly Creme Brule

SNUGGLES AND CUDDLES

As the pups grow and become stronger and more coordinated, they play harder.

After a romp, there's nothing like a cuddle with a sibling to make one feel safe and warm.

But sometimes all a girl needs is a snuggle with a fuzzy toy

IT'S A BIG WORLD AFTER ALL!

On Sunday, day 22, we expanded the whelping box with an X-Pen: The pups are reveling in the fact that their real estate doubled overnight and they now have a room with a view!

Hey what's out there?

ROOTS!

Having seen the portrait pics of the little ones, we thought you might find it interesting seeing a pic of Kelly Ann at the same age. Wasn't she precious?

And here she is four years later with her own little munchkins!

PORTRAITS OF THE PUPS AT 3 WEEKS

Red Girl at 3 weeks

Gold Boy at 3 weeks

Green Boy at 3 weeks

Pink Girl at 3 weeks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Boy at 3 weeks

 

 

 

 

And the goofiest shot of them all - Gold Boy who looks as if he's just cracking up:

Gold Boy - class clown

PUPPIES' DEVELOPMENTAL TIMELINE

As we marvel at the pups' development, we thought you would like to follow the 'Puppies Timeline'. Week 3 is characterized by a developmental surge:

Here's Green Boy playing with a toy,

and pups enjoying a rumble.

NATURE OR NURTURE

GRANDMA SPECIAL

Suzanne and I had a lot of fun this afternoon - just loving and cuddling with puppies. Could one ask for more?

Well, perhaps a little puppy breath!

TOPPING THE SCALES AT......

There's no doubt that the pups are thriving and gaining weight. But, we thought you might be interested in seeing just how the little ones are packing on the lbs.  You will notice that Gold Boy tops the scale at 3.8 lbs, not bad for the youngest in the litter. 

Here are our Bantam and Heavy weight contenders, with just 3.5 ounces separating them.

DAY 17: PUPPY INTERACTION BEGINS

Today the pups started interacting with each other in way that redefines 'cute'.  They are exploring their world and each other with new eyes, literally!. It is very special to watch. Of course, this new form of play takes its toll and the inevitable happens - blissful sleep:

From lying together like sardines in a can to being joined at the hip, well Ok, head

 Which ever way they do it, they are just precious:

All together:  AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!

SUPER DOG TRAINING

Here is Red Girl, super puppy in training! We thought you would be interested in the BioSensor exercises that each of our pups has undergone -  these started on day 3 and continued though to day 16.  In essence, each pup is exposed to a small amount of stress once a day, via five short, painfree exercises.

This controlled introduction to stress is designed to make the pups better able to cope with life's stresses down the road. Interestingly, these exercises were developed by the U.S. Military!

HEY, WHAT'S OUT THERE?

As the pups enter their 3rd week of life, we can't help but notice a huge change within the last 48 hours.  Our wee infant pups have suddenly become little golden puppies with eyes that can see their big world, which for the moment is their whelping box!

In fact, Blue Boy is our No. 1 Escape Artist - he managed to pull himself over the front rail of the box on Sunday night .  As an interim measure, we have erected a cardboard barrier along the front - later we will extend the box with an X-pen.  Here is Red Girl trying to cast an eagle eye outside of the box:

 

But in the end, somethings never change and home is where the Mama is.

 

BLOAT - WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Thanks to Claudia for alerting me to this handy reference guide for bloat.  Brownie's honour: Be Prepared!

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR GDV BLOAT

THE PUPS ARE TWO WEEKS OLD

The pups are already 14 days old - where has a fortnight gone?  They are thriving and gaining weight and wobble walking until their legs get tired.  We continue to be amazed by their development.  Here are some of the most recent pics:

A hodgepodge of pups

Afternoon Siesta for Pink Girl

 

Pups togetherness

Kelly Ann has unlimited patience with her little ones

Beating the heat on the chamois

Living the life of Gretna Green Boy!

Snuggling with Mum

Top and tailing blue boy

Green boy needs some Lancome for his wrinkles!

CPR DEMO FOR DOGS

One hopes that one will never have to do this, but just in case, here's a really good demo of CPR for dogs

PETS AMERICA.ORG

KELLY ADORES HER LITTLE ONES

Here's Kelly whispering sweet nothings in Gretna's Green Boy's ear. She has a great love for her puppies.

GETTING A DRINK AT 'CHEERS' WAS A WHOLE LOT EASIER!

It's hard work getting a drink at this pub!  Look at  those little legs working like pistons. And there's Maddie, Kelly's favourite toy, next to the pups.  She had Maddie close at hand throughout the whelping. When the contractions kicked in, you could bet your bottom dollar that Maddie was in her mouth. We weren't sure whether it was part comforter, part 'bite the bullet', or shades of both.  Even now, Maddie has to be in the whelping box at all times!

THE STORY BEHIND GRETNA GREEN

You may have wondered about the significance of our kennel name, Gretna Green Goldens.  We named our kennel for the small Scottish town of Gretna Green. Gretna Green is the marriage capital of the United Kingdom.  It's a very special little town, where pipers and horse drawn carriages are a common sight. It's utterly charming and decidedly twee. Honeymooning in Scotland has lots to recommend it!

GRETNA GREEN - WHERE MARRIAGE IS THE MAINSTAY OF THE ECONOMY!

THE PUPS ARE 10 DAYS OLD

It's hard to imagine that  the pups are 10 days old today. They are happy and thriving and just starting to pull themselves up on their little legs.  Soon crawling will be a thing of the past. Their eyes are just beginning to open a tad;  in a couple of days they will be able to see the big world that is their whelping box, as well as their beautiful Mama.

Here are the smiling gals - Big Red and Pinky.  What cute sisters!

The cute guys: Big Gold, Gretna Green and Boy Blue. These boys will break some hearts!

And let's not forget the most beautiful girl of them all, our beloved Kelly Ann, who truly does HAVE IT ALL:

IT'S LOVE ALL THE WAY

Here are some pics showing just how adorable these little goldie people are.  We spend hours marveling at their antics.  They are truly little miracles of nature:

 They revel in each other's company.

and,

But then there are those times when they just need a little 'me' time:

and,