Several of you have asked for updated pics of the puppies...so, here they are. They are now 11 weeks old and growing like weeds. Shadow, the black female is much larger than Saber but he is doing his best to catch up to her. Twice a day when Joel goes down to the chicken coop he let's them out of their 10'X10' pen and they eagerly follow him everywhere.......that is, they follow him
after they inspect the barn for any food the cats may have left behind. Oh, the curiosity of puppies! Of course we play with them several times a day in between those chicken coop trips.
The puppies follow Joel to the two large gates leading to the coop and then sit patiently while he feeds and waters the chickens. Well, sometimes they sit patiently.
They do end up playing "Tag, You're It" with one another once they lose sight of Joel. And the leaves piled up against the fence line make wonderful rustling noises when they run through them. How much fun is that?
Whenever the puppies are frolicking around the farm, the alpacas walk up to the fence to keep an eye on them. We're not sure if the alpacas are curious about them or if they are watching to make certain the little dickens stay out of trouble.
Trouble? Me? Never! Shadow is a little bit independent. Unlike her brother, she prefers to wander off when called. But just look at that adorable face.
Saber, on the other hand, is more than eager to run right up to us when called, especially when there are treats involved. Today they had their first lesson on walking with a leash. Um, not something they were especially pleased about. But they'll get the hang of it eventually.
Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you we had another mama hen hatch 3 more baby chicks. Can you see them under the chicken on the left? That makes 5 new chicks this summer, although one of the first chicks didn't make it. This hen struts up and down the chicken yard clucking to her babies, as proud as could be.
Once Joel finally finished taking care of the chickens these little guys decided to greet him at the gate again.
See what I mean? Saber is more than happy to run to Joel and receive his reward of a treat. Not Shadow, no way. Those leaves and twigs on the ground are much too interesting to obey such a simple command as "come".
Alright, so, eventually she did go to Joel and get her treat, too. Then it was off to another adventure. You can see the alpacas walking behind the pups to watch where they were off to next.
What lucky puppies to have so much free space to roam. One of their favorite places is up near my studio. They really like to hide under the studio where it's nice and cool. We can't always see them but we can hear them nipping at one another and then suddenly they will appear in the sunlight again, one always chasing the other. I'm so glad we decided to get two pups as they keep one another company and have so much playing together and tumbling over one another.
This is our first experience with "outside" dogs so we feel better knowing they have each other for companionship. AND, it keeps us from feeling guilty leaving them in their dog run and dog house instead of bringing them inside with us. Hey, two "inside" dogs is already enough for our little house.
While I was shooting these pics today I noticed some yellow leaves on the ground. Wouldn't you know that some of the trees are already starting to turn into Fall colors.
Pretty soon this tree will be totally covered in brilliant red leaves. Ah, Fall must be just around the corner. Yippee!
Covered in puppy kisses,
Debbie
