November 15th - Attacking Auntie Lolo Now that the Big Dogs are mobile, they get playtime with the adult dogs.  Though they sleep in a small pen in the kitchen and have playtimes in the kitchen or outdoors in between rainstorms, they love the evenings when we all gather in the family room.  With two young adult dogs in the house -- Lolo and Taga -- who are very gentle, the pups are learning about playing with their "pack." Lolo enjoys supervising the pups and gently wrestling with them but sometimes the pups take advantage of her good nature and patience.  Here, Lolo was attempting to chew a bone that she had captured when Taaku wasn't looking.  But the Big Dogs were not going to let her enjoy her treasure in peace.	1.  The Big Dogs love Lolo but Lolo has her eye on a bone that Taaku has just abandoned.
2.  Lolo moves to the fleece dog bed, checking around to see if Taaku is coming right back.  Both Taaku and Taga (and just about every other dog in the world) can easily take bones away from Lolo no matter how often I try to prevent it.	3.  Lolo now has her bone but Scotty Joe thinks he should help her with it.
4.  More pups come out from under the loveseat to see just what that is in Lolo's mouth	5.  The onslaught continues; no peace for Lolo.
6. Donald J chews on her hind foot while the other pups go for Lolo's tail.	7.  Ha ha, we won.  Lolo has abandoned the dog bed and bones to the Big Dogs.
8.  Peace reigns when Taaku agrees to nurse.  The pups are so big now that she can only nurse a few at a time instead of the whole litter	9.  The evening ends with sleeping angels.  Top right is Scotty Joe, bottom right is Boulder the Bold, bottom left is Donald J, top left is Rockin' Rochelle.
And so another day ends for the Big Dogs, snoozing away on Rain Mountain.

Now that the Big Dogs are mobile, they get playtime with the older dogs, their half brother Taataga who's now 18 months old and their cousin Lolo who turned two in September.  Lolo and Taga are gentle with the pups and allow the babies all sorts of liberties.  It's not unusual to see the pups gang up on the one of the older dogs, such as in the photos above where they are all chewing on various parts of Lolo's body while she's trying to enjoy a bone.  Yet Taga and Lolo take whatever the pups dish out.  If they get tired of the attention, they simply leave and go to some part of the house that the babies don't have access to.  I never hear a growl out of any of the older dogs.  If I did that dog would not be allowed to socialize with the pups.

Since Carie Taylor is here at least a few times a week, her dogs have also been introduced to the pups.  They had very limited access to the babies while the pups were still in the whelping box.  Taaku was comfortable with Carie's older dogs coming into the room and looking into the whelping box but her younger dogs were kept at a distance until just recently.  Just the day after the above photos were taken, Carie's girl Chili, who's pregnant herself, was the "victim" of the pups; five of them were climbing all over her chewing on various parts of her body to the point that both Carie and I encouraged Chili to get up and move.  Her patience with the pups was impressive.  Conversely Katsuk, who's already had one litter herself, prefers to not hang out with the babies when she visits here.   Her patience with her own babies is legendary ; where she has endless tolerance and love for her own babies she's just not crazy about those of other females but she is too well mannered to ever growl at or hurt a pup.  Carie is also taking care of a 9-month old Irish Water Spaniel named Orion; the Big Dogs are fascinated with his curly brown hair and Orion is playful enough that he enjoys it when they chew on his legs.

Having so many other dogs to play with is just another piece of socializing pups and a beneficial one at that.  The Big Dogs (as in the Big Dog Litter) are learning all about how to deal with other dogs than just their dam and members of their immediate home pack.  During the next three weeks this is the biggest lesson they'll learn.  Pups who are removed from their litter and dam at this age tend to have problems dealing with other dogs later in life and frequently will end up being aggressive.  They need to learn the limits of just how rough they can be in play.  That's why if a pup nips you, the best route to take is to yelp as if you were a littermate.  When a pup this age hears the littermate he's playing with yelp, he learns that he bit too hard and that it hurts, probably because just two minutes earlier he too was nipped too hard during a wrestling match.  Taking a pup out of this environment now, where he has his littermates, dam (who won't nurse if they nip her in the process), and pack members to learn from and dumping that pup in the middle of an environment where there are no other dogs will impede their learning process.  Yes, I do have to be careful that they aren't exposed to any diseases since they haven't had any vaccinations yet so I'm careful that the dogs they do encounter are current on all their vaccinations and health in addition to being good with pups.

I mentioned above that the pups don't have access to the whole house.  Right now their world is still small.  Now that they've graduated from the whelping box, they sleep at night and take naps in a small portable "x-pen" where normally my kitchen table would sit.  The floor of my whole kitchen is covered with newspapers so they can more room to play when they're awake.  Luckily they're still young enough that though they have bouts of intense energy, those are followed by nice long naps.  In the evenings and when I take breaks from work during the day, they now get to play in the family room too.  I keep a close eye on them when they're playing there as it's where I keep books, a loveseat and my leather armchair, comfy beds for the adult dogs, and numerous things that puppies could get into such as electrical cords, a fireplace, and other such items.  Pups can get into and frequently destroy things you'd never expect.  My 1996 Snowflake Litter managed to eat a perfectly good 35 mm camera and I can't count the number of books I have with nibbled covers nor the number that have been completely ripped to shreds.  Even after raising a dozen litters, each new one finds something new to get into.  Better safe than sorry.

For the duration I've also taken up my rugs in the kitchen and family room.  It's so much easier to keep things clean now that I have Pergot floors throughout these rooms!  The couple throw rugs that are still down are machine washable and trust me, they get washed often, sometimes every day.  The pups are learning good potty habits.  They don't like to soil their bed and most mornings the papers in their overnight pen are poo-free though sometimes damp.  Though they're still far too young to be house trained, I leverage this natural tendency to get them off on the right foot for future house training.  Hence newspapers everywhere.  As I said, their whole pen and the kitchen floor are covered and papers are scattered around the family room too.  Some of them are beginning to think before they let loose and will find a paper to go on.  Of course if they even have a single foot on the paper, they think all is well.  I'll continue to encourage their using the papers until they leave home.  I make no attempt to completely house train them now as they just are too darned young.  Their neurological systems are not yet developed enough that there is any lag time between the urge to go and the "gotta go NOW" stage.  They won't hit the point where they really have good control until they're about 16 weeks old.  I'll keep encouraging their natural instincts and build the habit of using newspapers until they do leave though and hopefully that will make it easier for their new owners to finish the house training job.

They've also started to go outside albeit between the fierce rain and wind storms Seattle is known for during the month of November.  The puppy coats they have now will keep them warm enough but don't shed water like an adult coat does.  So where cold weather is fine -- they are sled dogs after all -- rain is not good for them at this age.  Whenever we have a few hours without rain, I try to get them out.  The very first time is quite scary for them since it's cold, bazillions of new smells and sounds and the light is so bright despite our overcast skies.  But since their food pans were waiting, a good meal distracted them at first and it was followed by the adult dogs joining us.  Taaku nursed the crew (they are now big enough that she usually nurses them while she's standing up) and Lolo and Taga were great about comforting any of the pups that were scared.  It only took a few trips out the backdoor and now they are very willing to follow the adult dogs out every time I open it.  They don't stay out for long right now but each venture into the great outdoors is longer than the last.  Friday they were out for a full 45 minutes before they were crying at the back door to come in.

A couple last comments before I get on with my weekend chores.  The wonderful aroma of puppy can't be avoided sometimes.  If you visit a breeder with a litter of pups, don't be surprised if you catch a light whiff of something that isn't flowers in bloom.  Of course it shouldn't stink to high heaven either.  I battle to keep the "eau du chien" under control by using some of the new orange cleaners on the floors where the puppies romp and I invested in some nicely scented candles.  I became a fan of aromatherapy as an aid to relaxation and pain control (the scent of lavender has been proven to reduce the pain during dental procedures) and I find that it helps with pups.  In the evening I use lavender, orange, and sandalwood which are relaxing scents; relaxed pups will go to sleep earlier and sleep longer and deeper.  The added benefit is that it it does mask some of that wonderful scent of puppy poo without taking away the delicious scent of puppy breath.  If I feel overwhelmed by the mess they are capable of making, all I need to do is pick up one of the little wigglers and I instantly get a lick on my nose.  I don't know what it is that makes us all fall in love with puppy breath but it works.  And hopefully when you visit here, you can think about the puppy breath and not that big trash bag that's full of poopy newspapers.

Events & Activities -- Days 35 through 44 Now that the pups are fully mobile, we have more and more visitors.  I love having kids over to visit as kids and pups just seem to go together.  Madison (left) is the perfect child to help out with pups since she has a very special grandma, Pam Chambers, who's also a Chinook breeder.  Maddy has been in charge of socializing all the Springcreek pups ever since she could first lie on the floor next to a pup.  Here, Maddy shares a hug with Tonya Teddy a few days before Thanksgiving when Pam heeded my frantic call for another x-pen. The pups also get to visit with their Moonsong (canine) cousins when Carie Taylor comes by for a visit.  Since we live close to each other, are former roommates, both have multiple Chinooks, and Carie lives with my former college roommate, we see each other a few times a week so it is totally normal to have her dogs bouncing around my house and we joke that our dogs think of each other as one combined big pack.	Maddy holding Tonya Teddy
Cruiser introduces himself to cousin Jiggles, Boulder checks Jiggles out from a safe perch under the couch	Tonya tries to sweet talk poor Chili who is herself pregnant and due to deliver within the next 2 weeks
Chili seemed to be a prime target for the pups' love and attention.  Here Boulder tries to win her attentions. At one point the pups were tackling Chili to the point that Carie and I tried to convince her to get up and move! I suppose it's good practice for her own upcoming litter.
Ernie (front) and Rochelle (on her back) try to convince Taaku (just out of camera range) to break down and let them nurse.  She now only feeds them morning, before bed, and perhaps once during the day.
	November 26th -- Let it Snow! Sunday of Thanksgiving Weekend brought our first snow of the season here at sea level.  Hopefully this bodes well for our upcoming sledding season.  It also meant that the pups got their first taste of snow and taste it they did.  Early in the day it was quite wet but as it got colder the pups dared to get off the backstep and explore. At left, Scotty Joe checks out how the lavender in the herb bed is faring.  Below, Donald J, Cruiser, and Ernie checked out exactly just what flavor the snow was..  Below left, Donald J paused a moment to contemplate the flakes.  Hopefully by this time next year, all seven will be wearing harnesses and galloping across the snow.