MANNERHEIM'S MEN of PEACE-Wk 6

Since 1967
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

for the love of dobermans

Untitled Document

Email Dr. Bobbi A. Kerlin

Month 1: Jun 12-Jul 9

Week: 1 2 3 4

Month 2: Jul 12-Aug 7

Week: 5 6 7 8

Month 3: Aug 8-Sept 3

Week: 9 10 11 12

Month 4: Sep 4-Oct 2

Weeks 13-16

Puppy Class Graduation

MANNERHEIM'S 'MEN' OF PEACE
Am/Can Ch. Mannerheim's Don Giovanni x Can Ch. Montwood's Classical Jazz, NA, NAJ

Week 6
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Gandhi wrestles with a big stick.

July 17 Day 36

This is the beginning of their sixth week and the boys have made big gains in their ability to master the stairs. They sometimes still try to jump and miss but when they eventually climb up they delight in their accomplishment. Dark blue made a point of climbing up the two steps to the porch and barking and batting at his brothers who tried to join him, ultimately knocking them off the top step. When they do get to the top step they delight in playing with the brush end of the broom which I now lay down flat so it won't fall on them and give them a scare. Most of my attempts to herd them into the adult potty 'pen' are lost on the boys. There's just too many exciting things to explore in the yard. But their poop is now well developed and big enough, though barely, to pick up with the pooper-scooper. In the last couple of days we've tried our best to begin potty training and for the most part have been fairly successful. They need to potty as soon as they wake and the challenge is to herd them outside before they potty. Were it not for the step down to the porch and the two below, it would be easier, but they're catching on. We do this seven or eight times a day and as they get bigger and more accomplished with the stairs it will be easier for them. Meal time is such a frenzy... once they decide they're hungry, or hear the food dishes clinking as I prepare the meal, they cry and clamber at the X-pen door in a state of frenzied anticipation that is appeased only when they get their food. It provides a great opportunity to begin teaching them to come!

White collar in the foreground and dark blue in the rear. Check out the nice 'fill' under the eyes in dark blue!

July 18 Day 37

While I was cleaning up this morning I decided to throw out one of Jazz' old blankets and put it on the back porch, planning to put it out in the garbage later. When the puppies came out for a play session they all started crawling around in it, chewing, playing tug-of-war, so I decided to put it on the lawn for them to play with. A few minutes later I was doing a head-count and came up with only six until I looked under the blanket and found little red collar nodding off. Then later, Gandhi went over and crawled under it with him. We'll have to watch and see if this was a one-time fluke occurrence or whether, like their dad, Perkins, they also like to cover themselves up with blankets when they sleep. Twice today Mr. Green voluntarily pottied in the adult potty area today! And White collar had a brief encounter with a suicidal butterfly who flew in too close and fluttered momentarily in front of him, but thankfully the little thing escaped unharmed.

The dog days of summer

July 19 Day 38

Today was one of those benchmarks -- the puppies learned how to fly -- first out of the X-pen when I unhitched it, and then out the door into the backyard. Some have the coordination the master the three steps to the patio, but they aren't consistent yet and a few still manage to shimmy or tumble part way down. Mr. Greenjeans goes almost instinctively to the adult potty pen and three or four others did today as well, but not consistently... it's... well... "wherever"! The sounds they have become acclimatized to include the washer, dryer, dishwasher, banging doors, squeaking doors, the hair dryer -- which gave them a bit of a start the first time they heard it because it has a pretty high pitch -- the vacuum, though not in the same room as that would be far too scary, and best of all, their food dishes which are both plastic and metal. Marj Brooks, in her article, Rule of Sevens, says that by the time a puppy is seven weeks old he/she should have, among other things, "eaten from 7 different containers: metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, china, pie plate, frying pan, etc." And while I agree with this idea in principle, I don't have 7 fry pans, and quite frankly, for the 30 or so odd seconds that the food actually remains in the dish after I put it down, I don't think these boys would care one hoot about what it's served on. "Chowing down" has just never been a problem. I suppose if you count licking the spilled munchies off the patio and rooting out the pieces that fall into the grass... well, I guess that's four surfaces they've eaten from to date.

Light Blue, aka Blue Moon

July 20 Day 39

Even now, half way into the sixth week, mum still offers the boys milk once and sometimes twice a day, although her supply is diminished because of the reduced feeding demands. She enjoys playing with them and it's interesting to watch her teach them 'no' when she doesn't want to feed them. At first, starting about a week ago, she would nudge them with her nose as if to turn them over and clean them, but with a much stronger sense of their legs, she could no longer 'knock' them over on their side or back. So sometimes she still tries to pin them into submission with her paw but they don't like that and so they leave her alone. They sometimes still chase her around in an effort to nurse, especially if it's before a regular meal, but all she does is jump up or spin out their way. Between that and getting 'pawed', they seem to get the message. Sometimes she just puts her muzzle around a puppy's head to say 'no'. She is amazingly gentle with them and never once has been rough with them. She has a wonderful nature that has been in full evidence as she's been raising these boys.

Gandhi Does (in) the Daisies

July 22 Day 41

Two events of significance today. Dark blue is now the designated "Escape Artist". Early this morning he managed to crawl over the top of the X-pen -- which forced a quick switch to the larger X-pen that is, I'm guessing, 36" tall. Needless to say, he hasn't managed to escape from that one. Yet. :-) You know all those stories friends tell you at the shows -- if you could just see him in the back yard... well, today, without a camera in hand, I missed the best shot yet. The boys had their afternoon nap and were ready to come out to potty before dinner and this time they managed to get down the stairs and onto the grass where all seven of them peed in unison. It was a sight to behold!!

July 23 Day 42

I outsmarted the boys today. After lunch I picked up all their food bowls, made clanking sounds with the dishes as if I had more food and successfully lured the little guys into the potty area where they dutifully did their thing. Having watched these boys play hard, I'm surprised that every male puppy doesn't come with a perforated penis -- you know, like those long, green, plastic lawn sprinklers that spout water every inch or so. The way they tug and pull, the boys should look like one of those sprinklers by now. And tomorrow, the boys get to meet Perkins' mum, Nikki, whose coming over to see how handsome they all are.