Bluestem Kennels

Today my kids and I decided that all of the puppies needed to walk in the forest.  Between coaxing and carrying, we got them all down the hill and moving on the path.  I can’t say that I blame the pups for being hesitant to hike.  Walking in the forest is no stroll in the park here, as the hills are steep and the trail is muddy with the thrice daily rainstorms we’ve been having.

Making their way

Sticking with mom

Making their way home

I wasn’t able to get any individual training done over the weekend, as I spent all of my dog time with the litter as a whole (and the house and family needed attention too).  I’ll get back at it tomorrow.

The litter did very well at the vet today, nobody peed or pooped on the floor, and nobody yelped, jumped or cried when they got their shots.  Everyone has a clean bill of health!

Practicing our crate skills for the journeys to new homes.

The weigh in was as follows (new home states in parentheses):

1. Alpha Male (Nevada) 8 lbs. 1/2 oz.

2. Alpha Female (Alabama) 8 lbs.

3. Male #3 (Minnesota)  7 lbs. 15.5 oz.

4. Male #2.2 (Rhode Island) 7 lbs. 15 oz.

5. Male #2.1 (Wyoming) 7 lbs. 13 1/2 oz.

6. Female #2.1 (Idaho) 7 lbs. 1 1/2 oz.

7. Female #2.2 (California) 6 lbs. 15 1/2 oz.

Examining the examination room

Today the puppies are five weeks old.  They are such little piglets, I have to feed them twice a day.  They barrel out of the kennel door to sniff the plants around the yard and roughhouse with each other.  I’m so excited when they respond to the whistle command to come back into the kennel.  They’ve been taking turns riding around in the crate while I run errands.  This week they are going to need more practice in the crate and being away from the litter and mom.  I hope that I can get Charles to thaw out one of his grouse wings so that we can play “wing on a rod” this week.

Dogging it down