The puppies are 4 weeks old today

UPDATE: Regarding puppies available - Tabby has decided she is keeping Watson and Hunter is keeping Exhaust Pipe.  I had wanted Houdini but decided I will let him go to a good home so that we are not overwhelmed with dogs!  So that means Sherlock, Houdini, and Bongle are available.  Note that Sherlock is a girl, and the other two are boys.

The puppies are growing fast!  They are 4 weeks old today.  Yesterday the kids and I set up a new area for them on our enclosed porch, because the puppies kept jumping out of the little kiddie pool they were in.

 Our new design is pretty crazy - it is made of 3 folding closet doors we had taken off closets in our home, arranged in a triangle.  It's very sturdy though and is working.  Dixie is able to jump in and out.

Last week, Tabby did a photo shoot with each puppy.  Here are some of the pictures she took:

Sherlock

Houdini

Bongle

Exhaust Pipe

Watson

I am laughing as I type those names ...  Funny thing is I think Exhaust Pipe is the sweetest puppy of all.

It seemed to Tabby and I that Dixie was starting to be a lazy mama, shirking her mama duties because we were seeing her running around in the yard so much.  Plus she isn't getting in with her puppies as much.  Of course we know nothing about puppies and are learning as we go.  So I googled it.

Turns out, Dixie knows way way more than we do.  Tabby and I learned that mama dogs naturally began to wean their puppies between 3-4 weeks old.  They'll even stand up in the middle of nursing and all the puppies will fall off.

I find animals so amazing.  God put these instincts in them and they know exactly what to do and when! Why does it tend to be different with people?  Why do we often find it hard to follow our instincts?  I guess because we spend to much time reading or listening to other people with opinions about how we should be doing things.  It does make me wonder, if we did not have outside influences, would we more naturally "know what to do?"  At least with our children?  I'm shaking my head because it's hard for me to imagine.  I turn to books for information and answers all the time.  And I pray for wisdom every day.  Often many times a day.

"who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?" - Job 35:11

Last week we learned to deworm the puppies.  I read a hint to soak a little piece of bread in the liquid dewormer and they would love it.  Hmmmm.  Didn't work.  So we used a syringe.  (First we weighed the puppies to see how much to feed them.  They were all 5 pounds.)

We are halfway to the date that the puppies will be available for adoption.  (They will be FREE.)         Tabby is keeping Watson.  Hunter may keep Exhaust Pipe.  Frank told me I could keep Houdini, but since all these animals are getting so expensive, I would be fine with someone adopting her to a good home.  So I guess we'll just see what kind of response we get.

If you think you might be interested in one of these little cuties, then just let us know!  Again - we do not know what kind of dog the father is.  If you have an idea, based on pictures, we'd love to hear from you.

Solomon says the dogs are very kissable!

 

 "And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony." - Colossians 3:14 (New Living Translation)