April 9th

The boys have definitely taken to the wide world of the backyard.  There are times I can barely persuade them to come inside unless I tempt them with food.  I am so very grateful to the big dogs for their help.  The pups worship not only their mom Lolo but also Taaku and dad Taga.  Lolo can spend hours playing with them and she never gets irritated with them EXCEPT when they try to nurse.  Once they got teeth, she cut them off quite abruptly.  She can only be so strict though so still will let them have a slurp in the morning while I'm fixing their breakfast and at night before bed, or if any pup gets upset or frightened.  They are slowly getting to the point where their cumulative weight is almost the same as Lolo's so sometimes she has to do quite dramatic dances to get away from them if they all gang up on her, demanding she nurse.

Taga is very good with the pups too, something that I' can't say about all intact male dogs I've met.  The only problem Taga has with them is when they notice and become obsessed with that one (ahem, ah) "protruding" piece of his anatomy on his stomach, if you get my drift.  From the vantage point of pups, this looks a lot like a teat.  Taga is not amused if they try to suckle on his anatomy.  But all he does is leave the area.  In the house I have strategically placed toddler gates, one of which is low enough for the adult dogs to jump over.  I like to make sure that the adult dogs always can get away from the pups if they want to.

Taaku is the greatest grandmother dog I could ever hope for.  She will put up with them no matter what.  Frequently she will have pups piled all over her body and a few others chewing on her tail.  I think that she likes Lolo's pups even better than her own since she gets all the fun and none of the responsibility.  When Lolo was first weaning them, Taaku even let them nurse on her despite having no milk.  At one point I though she might be lactating a bit since they did seem to enjoy nursing from her for a day or two.  Strange as it sounds, many females, spayed or intact, can start to produce milk if puppies try to nurse.

The pups enjoy this small garden and sadly for the plants there, it's their favorite playground.	Taga has a bone in the junipers that Harry wants to see.	Rover chews on Taaku's tail while Lolo "mouth wrestles" with William and Taga digs a hole.
Mom and Dad with William, Harry and Spot.	Lolo looks on while the pups practice digging holes.	The pups adore and worship Taataga

Fred tries to get up the courage to jump down from the wall but Lem has figured out how to walk around.

April 12th

Though Lolo spends less time taking care of the pups, I'm now spending every waking not-work-for-pay moment keeping up with them.  What goes in must come out.  Luckily though with a few days of good weather that let me leave the back door open (though had me bundled into multiple sweaters), they got the hang of pooping outside.  They even got the hang of crying at the back door sometimes to get out.  Mind you, that doesn't mean my house is clean.  There are still newspapers everywhere and there are regular fragrant gifts left on them.  Pups seem to think that one foot on the newspapers means they are hitting the right spot.  Newspapers also are fun to tear up and drag around.

Taaku and Lolo spend even more time playing with the babies.  I think Lolo wanted pups so she'd finally have a playmate that she could lord over.  She's still the lowest adult dog on the food chain here but she does get to be higher than the pups and it's been great for her confidence.  Lolo has always been too reserved to be the official greeter -- Taaku and Taga compete for that job -- and what with the leg she broke a year ago, she's not able to keep up with the team for long.  But she's a darned good mom.

Carie Taylor was kind enough to help me one evening with individual portraits.  These were taken when the boys were 6 weeks, 5 days old.  Enjoy.

Fred	Harry
Lem	Rover
Spot's coat is so shiny the camera caught the reflective light	William

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Week 7 - Evaluations

April 15th

Fred will go to a home where he's left intact for further evaluation and possible breeding later.  He's a long legged pup like his dad so will probably go through a gangly period, also like his dad.  His registered name of Rain Mountain Omak of Tonasket, pays tribute to his dad, PR Rain Mountain Tonasket Legacy, and his grandsire, PR Rain Mountain Tonasket Thunder.

Though his light colored coat is a fault in the show ring, Harry has outstanding structure and will go to a home where he too will be kept intact for future evaluation and possible breeding.  His name of Rain Mountain Skookum Tumtum means "brave heart" in Chinook.  Skookum is a word still in common use here in the Northwest.

Lem HATED being up on the table even with the rug over it and Melissa offering a variety of treats.  We gave up and let him stand naturally.  Lem will got to a wonderful new home in New Mexico where he'll be a valuable family pet and in charge of raising three-year-old and six-year-old children.  Chinooks are typically very good with Children and Lem is very cuddly.  His registered name, Rain Mountain Kawkawak, means "yellow gold" in Chinook.

Rover is also a stunning example of Chinook conformation despite his color being a fault in the show ring.  He's joining the Air Force I guess you could say since he'll be living with a gentleman who's on Active Duty in Texas.  his registered name is Rain Mountain Inupiaq Medved.  Medved means "bear" in Serbian.

Spot has good conformation and a stunning personality.  He loves to sit in my lap when I watch TV or read and he's always happy.  Like his brother Lem, he'll have the tough job of raising small children who are now eight and four.  His registered name of Rain Mountain Klah Klahanie means "wide open outdoors," and he does love being outside except when it's raining.

William -- now Rain Mountain Tonasket Quimbo -- will be traveling to New England where he'll join the active Chinook community there.  William will be strutting his stuff in the show ring and hopefully will be used for breeding in the future.  His black color will produce pups that are rich chestnut and sable tawny if he's bred to females that are the typical tawny color.  The "Tonasket" in his name is in honor of his dad and grandpa and "Quimbo" was the name of a famous black and tan lead dog of Arthur Walden.