Author: Grace and Joy Golden Retrievers

The other day we got most of our puppies together for a family reunion. Riley and Macy were there, along with 13 of their puppies and several dog siblings. People and pooches came from as far as Reno, Berkeley and Redding!

It was wonderful to watch the dogs play together, while the humans got to know each other and compared notes. There is a little variety in color and size, but each of our dogs have the sweet golden personality.

We enjoyed a potluck lunch at the dog park and snapped a few pictures. It’s not easy to corral that many dogs and try to get them to look towards the camera. We might need a professional dog wrangler for the next reunion.

Almost all of the puppies have home now and we are starting to get our our lives back now.

Here’s a little video I put together recapping the joy of this litter. Enjoy!

We had a very successful trip to the vet today. No health concerns at all, and lots of positive comments from the vet who has shown dogs for over 50 years. The pups also got their first set of shots. A few were restless in the car, but they were all on their best behavior once we got there. I’m so proud of this beautiful bunch!

The pups are now 7 weeks old and are definitely a lively bunch. They are 100% weaned now and are weighing in at 10 to 12.5 lbs. It seems like in the past few days their legs stretched out and they’re aren’t the chubby little balls they were before.

Since they start going home next Saturday, this will be my last set of Sunday photos. These pictures were taken by the lovely and talented Lori Gambill, Thanks Lori!

 

The pups and I have been working on manding for a while, and as you can see from this picture, we are making good progress. Manding is simply when the puppy sits and looks at you when it wants something, rather than jumping all over you or whining. It is not the same as a sit command, it is more like a polite voice for the puppy to show that it wants something. We teach this simply by giving treats and attention to those that are sitting and looking, and ignoring the rest. They learn it fast.

I encourage our puppy families to continue reinforcing this when they ake them home. A 15 pound puppy jumping for joy to see you is cute. An 80 pound dog jumping at you is annoying and dangerous.

Here’s an article if you’d like to learn more: https://dignblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/manding-giving-puppy-a-voice/

It was an interesting night as our power went out for a few hours just as I was about to weigh the pups, give them deworming medication and take their pictures. These pics were taken while my house was dark. 🙂

Since most of our pups have their new names now, I will share them with you now. What a bunch of active, happy pups.

The puppies are 6 weeks old today and about 9-10 lbs. The puppies are curious about everything at the stage so it can be a challenge to keep them out of trouble, especially with the rain we’ve been getting. (When it rains they’re confined to indoors or the small covered portion of our deck.)

This group of pups have been doing great with the mats and trays we use for a potty area. This makes me so happy because it makes my life so much easier.

The fun thing about this stage is that we can start rewarding them with treats, and thus shape their behavior. I reinforce good behavior and manners, and ignore things we don’t like to see.

The’ve started getting car rides, and exposure to all kinds of random objects, experiences and sounds. The more things they experience over the coming weeks, the better. Two more weeks until they start going home and I feel like I have so much to do. I know it’s all going to be over before I know it.

I thought it would be fun to have some outside action shots for this week’s pictures. The puppies cooperated pretty well.

Amber

The pups are five weeks old and have really packed on the pounds. Our smallest (Violet) is 6 lbs and largest (Greyson) is 7.5 lbs. They are a sweet, cuddly lot and just starting to get into mischief. But who could be mad at these little faces?