One month old!

It is hard to believe these are the babies that were born just a one month ago! I took them outside today and took many photographs but haven't yet had the chance to get them all uploaded. Here is a sampling ... with more to come quickly, I promise!

Three weeks old!

These photographs were taken yesterday afternoon, when we had a very warm and breezy day. This was the first time the puppies' feet have touched the ground out of doors. It was so fun to watch their reactions ... some snuffed the breeze, some immediately started off to explore and others just sat there, waiting to see what happened next. Although they are only barely three weeks of age, they are already playing, growling and wrestling, pottying in an area separate from where they sleep (most of the time), and have had their first taste of solid food. (Actually, they found a shank bone segment that Molly had been chewing on today and they all gathered around that and tugged on the gristle that encased it ... so funny ... their little teeth have to be all of a sixteenth of an inch long! I can tell they already have their Daddy's zest for life! They have been sleeping and eating to LOUD tapes of thunderstorms, dog show noise, rock and roll and country music. They're quite entertained with Rachel's French Horn, Piano and the banging of pots and pans. When someone knocks on the door and the other dogs run, barking, they all stand up and bark too! Talk about cute! Click on each puppy's photos for an enlarged version. Also, check out the puppy page on the website for additional photographs

Two and a half weeks

The puppies are growing so quickly! It is hard to believe that they are two and a half weeks old already! Their eyes have been opened for a few days now and they now recognize their mom by sight as well as scent. They have been up on all fours since before their eyes opened, staggering around, and now that they can see they're making clumsy attempts at play ... tugging on one another's ears and making little baby growls. Personalities are emerging. Strobe protests anything he doesn't think is fair quite vocally. Bahnsen growls. It is too cute.

If you're wondering about the names ... well, the puppies that hadn't yet named themselves needed names, and Ned suggested naming them after our favorite reformers and theologians, which is what we have done. They truly do seem to suit!

Puppy Breath

Tonight was the night. We all looked at one another and agreed: these puppies are about to burst wide open with cuteness! AND ... drum roll ... they have PUPPY BREATH! Their eyes are just on the verge of opening ... I think you can see it in some of the photos ... they're not so tight and furthermore, I can tell they're able to hear all sorts of things. Molly is just an EXCEPTIONAL mother. Patient, longsuffering, diligent. She keeps them clean and nursed and you never have to make her do so. We've clipped the puppies' baby toenails twice now as they were SHARP on Moll Doll's poor tummy! Enjoy the photos, more to come soon as their eyes open.

Past Puppies

I spent a few hours this week putting together this collage of the photographs people have sent me who bought puppies from Molly and Nike's litter last year. I really like how well it turned out! Enjoy!

Early Neurological Stimulation

A lot of you know that I am fascinated with exploring the degree to which a dog's future behavior and personality can be influenced through early intervention and environment. I really enjoy bold and confident dogs that are always up for the next adventure, but that are also smart, discerning, and who come with an "off" switch. I remember reading about duck imprinting years ago and finding that interesting, and the one time I raised a foal I couldn't wait until it was born so I could practice Dr. Robert M. Miller's imprinting techniques on it. Foal imprinting revolves around the belief that when a foal is born, it quickly forms impressions about the world. In the first few days after it is born, a foal will absorb a staggering amount ... some say up to 80% ... of what they need to survive and adapt successfully as an adult horse. Foal imprinting is a golden opportunity to expose a foal to many/most of the things it will encounter as an adult that we would like for it to accept as normal, i.e. clippers, blankets, tack, trailers, lawnmowers, cars, tractors, and the list can be as long and as creative as your imagination.

There is little doubt that a puppy's early experiences also have a profound affect upon the dog he is to become. Others, as well as myself, have long noted this. In his well known article, "Developing High Achievers" Dr. Carmen Battaglia notes that a dog's genetics accounts for approximately 35% of his performance whereas the remaining 65% is attributable to other factors such as training, management, nutrition, etc. Here at Apropos we follow Dr. Battaglia's program for developing high achievers between days 3 and 16 of the puppies' lives. We also do a lot with sound, with radio, banging pots and pans, thunderstorm noise CDs, etc. Once the puppies' eyes are opened, we change their environment to a public part of the house, and begin exposing them to different surfaces, smells, people, animals, places, etc. The older they are, the more we do, and the more frequently we do it. The theory is simple, to gradually build tolerance to stress so that the circumstances they'll encounter in their future daily lives will not be stressful, but rather, something they'll take in stride. This translates to "go anywhere, do everything" dogs that are exceptionally intelligent, and a joy to live with and to train. Above are some photographs of the puppies receiving neurological stimulation today.

Day two

Not a lot to report today, just that these little guys are growing like weeds and are very contented. The above photo shows all of the puppies with Molly, but that's just for show ... she's actually caring for them in two shifts, one of six and the other of five, as shown below. I cannot say enough about what a great mother she is, especially now that she is experienced enough to know what is going on. Her appetite is voracious ... she had three meals today! Please note that there are other photos on the puppy photo page on the website as well at: www.aproposaussies.com/puppypix.html

Introducing in birth order ....

Of course, I'm not a BIT prejudiced, lol, but this is a very nice litter. What surprises me about them the most is the degree to which they all seem to have Itty's body type ... for the most part they are cobby bodied and compact. They are so healthy, too ... were born with a padding of fat over their ribs and shiny, inky black coats. Truly, we are blessed and the next days and weeks are going to be busy, I know, but rewarding. Meet the puppies ... here they are in order of appearance ... enjoy!


This little girl weighed just over ten ounces and has a natural bob tail that won't need shortening. She is built like her Daddy, has rear white socks, a left front sock and a right front stocking. She has the cutest little symmetrical blaze and a little bit of white on her neck. Her tummy is white with a black spot in the middle.


This boy was on the larger size at 12 and a half ounces at birth. He's built more like Molly than most of the other puppies (longer bodied) and is VERY vigorous and strong. (We've been calling him Tarzan!) He has a small mismark where the white surrounds his right eye (it should be colored). He has a black tear drop on the top of his head and four white half stockings. He had a full length tail.


It seems like in every litter there is one puppy that has a personality that stands out from the rest from the beginning, and this little puppy is definitely that puppy in this litter. My husband has nicknamed her "Diva". She is quite vocal about what she does and doesn't like, lol. She was the largest puppy in the litter at birth at almost 14 ounces, and she had a full length tail. She has a white stocking on her right front leg, a half stocking on her left, and two rear socks. She has a tiny feathery blaze, a white nose and a LOT of attitude!


This fellow was almost eleven ounces at birth. He had a quarter length natural bob tail. He has his mother's spot of white on the back of his neck. His left front leg has a white sock and his right front leg has a half stocking. His nose is evenly white on both sides.


This is a mellow puppy. He was twelve ounces at birth and had a full length tail. He has a half collar to the right, front half stockings and rear socks. His blaze is neat and regular and he's just a really nice looking boy.


This little girl was no sooner born than she won my heart simply for looking like Itty! She was the smallest of all the puppies at birth at only 8 and a half ounces. She had a 1/2 natural bob tail, a neat white blaze, front stockings (the left one slightly longer), and rear socks. She has Itty's neat, compact body and truly does seem to be a female version of him!


This was the largest boy in the litter at 13 ounces. He had a 1/2 length natural bob tail and is very symmetrically marked with a full white collar, matching white stockings up front and matching socks in the rear. He has a small, even blaze. A most handsome puppy!


This sweetie weighed ten and a half ounces and had a full length tail. He has a narrow full white white collar and a narrow blaze. His left front leg has a half stocking and his right front leg has a sock. Both hind legs are socks. He also had one rear dewclaw.


This guy weighed ten ounces. He had a 1/2 bob tail and four white socks. He has a LOT more tan than any other puppy in the litter ... he will be a handsome young man when he gets a bit older! He also has a cresecnt of white on the back of his neck and a small blaze that goes down the center of his nose and veers to the right. Tan is already noticeable on his cheeks and legs.


I accidently forgot to transcribe what this fellow weighed and tossed the original paper, but he is a nice healthy boy! He was born with a full length tail. His front legs are half stockings and his rear are socks. He has a three quarter white collar to the right and a pretty blaze and white on his nose.


This handsome fellow weighed in at 12 ounces even. He had a 1/4 length natural bob tail. He has an even, short blaze and both of his front legs have stockings and both rear legs have socks. There is a crescent of white on his neck that tilts to a half collar on his right and he has an arrow on his neck that points up to his head. He had two rear dewclaws. He probably wouldn't be here but for my kindly vet who gave me a syringe of oxytocin to have on hand. After number ten was born Molly stopped laboring and seemed to think she was through, but I could still feel this little guy in there. Thank you, Dr. Darch!