… to Grandma’s house we go.
The puppies were packed up and taken for a long car ride to my parent’s house Saturday. Its a 50 - 60 minute ride one way along mostly bumpy town and county roads with some freeway speeds towards the end. All the pups handled it quite well with just a little whining to start off which was pretty much ignored.
Pup playing tug
All the Poodle Puppies had their paw hair clipped today. That was the first time experiencing a clipper. It’s a lightweight battery powered Arco. Mostly did it just so they get started with the grooming routine and hear the noise and feel the vibration of a clipper. Plus the hair was getting in the way of clipping their nails. The puppies have been having their nails clipped every second or third day with a human finger nail clipper. Momma’s belly would be all scratched up otherwise.
The pups’ development is coming along right on schedule. Today is the first day I can say their hearing is well developed. When I clapped they all stopped dead in their tracks and looked in my direction. Previously, they would sort of respond to a noise but we weren’t sure. Eyesight continues to develop and within the next couple of days I bet they’ll be tracking a ball rolling past. They are getting much more interactive with each other, mostly mouthing but with some pawing. A couple of the pups are trying to climb up the whelping box wall to look outside.
Puppies are starting to open their eyes and trying to walk. Not all the puppies’ eyes were open with some only having small slits showing. The pups that do have eyes open fully can’t see much of anything. Here’s a youtube video of the puppies wandering around in the whelping box.
All the puppies went for a little adventure - one at a time out to sniff the living room rug this morning. Their little heads were bobbing like a bobble-head toy with their nose kind of bouncing to the ground taking in the new scent. I only have them out there about 10 seconds or so just enough for them to exercise the ol’ olfactory organ.
I was so lucky to catch up with Andrea Nepras and her Poodle girl, Eve, at the big four day indoor AKC Agility Trial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past week. It was so nice to see her - Andrea and Eve, although Eve does get quite a more excited when I bend down to pet her. Eve is a “Klara - Mick” puppy which makes her Orchid’s full litter mate.
Eve and Orchid have opposite issues in Agility. Eve is racking up the Standard legs (qualifying scores) and Orchid is cruising along in the Jumpers ring. That’s a little surprising to me because Eve is a bit more driven and all-out personality-wise than Orchid so I would’ve predicted Eve liking a wide-open Jumpers course as opposed to a Standard course with contacts. That’s a tribute to Andrea’s training skills.
The nice photo of Eve was taken at the WAG Agility Trial by Scott Persky - “Photos by Toto”. Aside from taking great action pictures, Scott runs an awesome Cairn Terrier. They’re from McHenry, Illinois.
One little, two little, three little Poodles
four little, five little, six little Poodles
seven little, eight little, nine little Poodles
TEN little Poodle Pups!
Late breaking news! Another female pup arrived - 2 1/2 hours after the “last” one. That makes seven females and four males.
While brushing out Orchid tonight, I couldn’t help but notice Orchid’s chubby belly. She’s past her ‘morning sickness’ stage and eating normally and acting like her playful self. I’ll have to teach her some nose games to keep her active but without too much exertion.
My good Poodle friend from Green Bay has a nice litter of puppies. The sire is by Woody, owned by Jaci Bowman. Shoot me an email for contact info.
Klara double Q’d in her last three Agility trials! That put her over the top for her MX title. MX = Master Agility Excellent. Klara and I really liked the Jack Cadalso courses - really flowing with subtle off course traps. Lots of fast times for the dogs that qualified.
What a wonderful day at the K-9 Agility trail! Klara showed her old form with some good times and best of all a Double Q. She did this despite some shaky handling by me. What a good girl!
Klara got to see one of her puppies today, too. Eve and Andrea was at the trial. Eve is Klara’s “fushia” girl puppy. It sure seemed like they instantly recognized each other! They had fun jumping and romping on one another. What fun!
The puppies have just about doubled their weight in one week. They’re much stronger which is noticeable when they’re crawling around the whelping box. The blue boy puppy is still the smallest but he’s been gaining weight steadily. The yellow boy puppy is the porker and always seems to be nursing. Still can’t figure out any personality traits at all, even though we try. 
Two pups snuggling