They are growing!

Pups are becoming little dogs!!!

Discovering the world, playing, started eating goat's milk pudding, etc Personalities are really starting to show too. Startle response strong, but very quick recovery in all.
Aspen was a day or so behind the others, and now seems to be ahead-he is Very sweet and reminds me of his big brother, Skid-not just in looks, but also personality. He also has a very solid front, built like a little linebacker. Not very reactive, he seems pretty unfazed by life so far.

Ash is one of the most investigative still and has very good body awareness and balance already. I put puppy plank down and they were off and running. He is also very handsome and would be one of my picks right now for performance potential. He seems to be very aware, but also have a resilient temperament, at least right now.

Cedar is a sweety, more middle of the road puppy-doesn't have anything to prove, plays but is more of a watcher than doer right now. He is definitely a thinker and problem solver, but right now his brothers are much bolder than he is. Pictured here, he is falling alseep after this AM of much activity!

Lily Rose is similar in personality to Cedar, but a little bit bolder. They are both the first to fall asleep. Lily likes to crawl into your lap and snooze. She was one of the first to figure out making the wiggly giggly ball move.She is holding her own with four brothers!

And then there's Moss......when I was little I read a book called "Bertram The Bad" (still have a copy). That is Moss as pictured above admiring himself in the mirror. He is bold, busy, very aware of movement and attracted to it, a bit of a troublemaker, first to do everything and on a mission! He is more independant than the other pups, and very confident he is the top dog in the litter :-) So, that's the pup-date......

P-UPDATE!

It's official, ears opened on all pups as of Friday afternoon at 16 days. Funny, because on a few, their eyes are still not totally open. Of course we had a huge thunder & lightning storm to herald the event. Luckily, Fflur cares less about storms, so no worried vibes and they are too young to know, anyway. Played loud country music to counter tempo the rumbles. They don't seem to have very strong startle responses yet-a good thing...
Have been letting some of the crew visit for a few minutes each. Crash who normally thinks puppies are aliens, seems interested in his turn and asked to see them in the AM. Wicked gives them her usual bumble-bee tail greeting and then gets to work flipping and cleaning them. Reve thinks they are her pups and Declan loves all pups! He helped socialize the first litter. Clayton is very careful with them, as he stepped on one and he got worried because it squeaked.
The coolest part of it, is to see the pups already know that the "visitors" are not the Momma and wag their tails when they touch noses. Will update pictures today..

SUMMER SOLSTICE!

6/21 AM: PUPS just woke up & motoring...Lily Rose in foreground, Cedar back left, Ash middle, Moss right and Aspen on far right, closer to Lily

It's a beautiful, crisp morning in NH. The sun is out..yeah!!! birds are singing and life is good! Pups are doing great. Moss' eyes are the most open, but they are all mouthing at eachother and aware of when things are different-even if shadowy. Moss also already able to see toys and grabbing at ones if you move them in front of him-showing good mouth/eye coordination :-)
They have been out on slippery surfaces, they still are finding their feet, but doing pretty well at the weeble walking now. Ash is the most investigative right now...or maybe just has his Daddy's rocket boosters... Lily Rose is a moosh, not in a rush to do anything, bigger than a couple of her brothers...will be interesting to see how they change over the next week.

The wee ones....

The wee babies are starting to become little dogs. They are all up and about, so eyes opening soon and ears a few days after. Bought them their own radio, to get used to the vibration before they can actually hear. Left my environmental sound machine with cool cricket noises, thunder, etc, when I moved ..oh well.

Because they are Border Collies which means they are born overachievers... I swear they are already showing social responses, like wagging their tails or stretching and pushing into your hand (not rooting/nursing behavior) when touched. I think the puppy development gurus, Scott & Fuller determined closer to four weeks as when social gestures are readily displayed. I'm sure Skinner would have something to say about it being an already conditioned response to stimuli...anyway, way too analytical..

They are just very cute, whether they are brilliant or not. Fflur is an incredibly good mom. She allowed Reve and "Grandma" Halo, my Aussies to visit today. Halo loves babies and spent ten minutes cleaning them all. Fflur then of course had to re-clean them....overachiever......

PUP UPDATE!!!

The pups are growing and fatter by the day....sorry it has been a busy week and trying to get pictures & update the site, etc takes awhile... they still are in the "spuds with fur" stage anyway. Personalities are starting to come out a little-see them interacting and aware of eachother more.

Ash is the most mobile and body aware/coordinated-already up on his wobbly feet and navigates any new area. Took ten day old pictures this AM-eyes should be fully open in the next few days. Aspen & Lily Rose are the snugglers-settle right into your hands. Moss also, although he seems to already be trying to "see" what is going on around him. Cedar is halfway between the others-investigates, then settles. None seem overly stressed with the sensory handling and environmental changes. A few stress yawns here and there, but no flailing or worried vocalizing. They are so cute, can't stand it!

Is it Spring? Weather is so rainy....

Pups are all doing well, just uploaded two day old pictures to the web site-easier than trying to add here...link is below
http://talismanaussies.com/newpups.htm

For you that are visiting or other new bloggers, feel free to post!!!! I am kind of liking this, I see why people are so into it. I think to see your words blasted across the universe, instead of just writing in a journal, must create some sense of instant gratification? I know that in the grand scheme of things writing about dogs & pups...does not rate with Darfur, world peace or a solution to global warming...but for other dog nuts out there...I know you know....
I am still writing my daily notes on the pups development, reactions, etc but this is kind of like creating an online collage without the permanency of a web page... I need spell check though.

PUPS BORN!

Pups were born early on the 7th. Five total-four boys (two red merles, two dark red) & one girl(red merle). Fflur went out to play frisbee a few hours later...so needless to say, she is doing very well. They are very solid pups, and Fflur is a great mom. The pups are already pushing up onto their front legs and lifting their heads to orient/air scent...pretty cool for just 24 hours old.

Puppies are on the way.....

6/07/07: Fflur is in labor!!! We took a drive last night, I read it helps to stimulate contractions and an hour after getting home, it did! Picture below with Iris that just bloomed, taken right before.

New Blog

Okay...so I never thought I would end up a blogger..but I really need to practice typing and with Fflur (Border Collie of impending motherhood fame) the beauty about to deliver, figured it was good way to keep people up on the pups. I also love run-on sentences, so stream of conscious writing appeals to me! No pups yet, but will be posting new pictures, etc when they get arrive...
D