Puppy pics, almost 4 weeks old

 Mork

Mindy practicing her Under

Puppy wrestle mania

 

 Silly Mindy

 Mindy the retriever

 Mindy with toy

 Mindy again

Mindy chewing on her brother

Puppy play

The pups have turned into real puppies.  Sleeping less, playing more.  They have finally found their feet, and are starting to run and bounce around, although still not very coordinated.  I have bumped the puppy pen out to full size, and added more toys.  The pups have had lots of outdoor time, and Mork is become more confident.  They are doing great about toileting outside when given the opportunity.  This morning, they had their first adventure playing outside of the pen indoors on the tile and laminate, and interacting with the other adult dogs.  Although Mork looks quite light, I expect him to be a honey gold like Juliette, but he may have more light feathers.  Mindy will likely be dark like Yuma and Bridget.  The best indication of adult color is the ear color of the pup.  As you can see below, Mork's ear color (top pic) is actually quite similar to Mindy's. 

First Outing

 Initial reaction to being outside for the first time

Becoming a bit more confident

 Mindy

 Mindy

 Mork

 Mork sniffing

 Mork howling

 Mork on point

 Mindy on the prowl

 Mindy playing with my foot

 Mindy checking out the plants

 Mork being Mama's boy

3 weeks old

 Mindy with toy

Mork checking out the piano

3 weeks old and these little butterballs continue to grow.  They gained 1 1/2 pounds last week, and weigh considerable more than Bridget's pups at this age.  Mindy weighed 5 lbs 8 oz and Mork weighed 5 lbs 10 oz.  I am finally convinced that both pups are Goldens, so CCI Zorba II wins the paternity prize.  They are now able to nurse with Juliette standing up and I rarely see her actually nurse them anymore.  Although they are obviously still getting plenty of chow.  They are also getting a couple of tsp of canned food twice a day, and will increase that to 3x a day this weekend.  They are enjoying their toys, but I need to constantly replenish the supply since Juliette steals the stuffed animals and carries them around the house.  This morning, the pups had their first big adventure - we went outside.  I took the pups out on the front lawn while it was still relatively cool.  Initially a bit overwhelmed, Mindy fairly quickly started exploring and appeared to have a grand time.  Mork was the wuss, stayed close to me or Mindy and even howled a few times.  Poor Juliette was not happy about her pups being away from her and watched closely from the living room window.

Many milestones

The pupsters now have their first baby teeth and they had their first bites of solid food today.  Took Mork a bit to figure out how to chew and swallow and not just suck.  But they both concur that canned food is good stuff.  I have added some plush toys to the puppy pen for environmental enrichment.  Although still not very coordinated, I caught Mindy looking over the low half gate.  The litter box is getting well used, especially if I help the pups over there when they start searching for a spot or just wake up from a nap.  The pups continue to enjoy human attention and tummy rubs are already popular.  Will get some more pics this weekend.

All senses are functioning

The pups are now able to hear.  After I got home from work, I tested by clapping and Mindy popped up her head.  Next developmental milestone will be getting their first baby teeth, probably in the coming week.  Usually I am feeding canned food by now, but these pups most certainly don't need any supplimental food yet.  Will probably offer a bit this weekend just to get their systems used to solids and start enriching their diets.  Even with limited rations, Juliette's milk is keeping the pupsters very well fed.  I just weighed the pair - Mindy weighed 4 lbs 14 oz and Mork 4 lbs 15 oz.  They have gained a full pound each since just last Friday morning.  I doubt that Juliette is going to see her chow increase by much, especially with the pups soon to be eating some solid food.

Success

Mork christened the litter box for the first time last night.  He had just woken up from a nap, and I lifted him into the litter box.  I had to support his back end since the newspaper is still too slippery for him, but he managed to get the job done.  Good puppy!  Mork is looking more fluffy again, still can't figure out who his daddy is.