The puppies are pretty much grown up now, but they still act like puppies. They chew things up, they run around, they have accidents (well, Lizzie and Max are down to a few accidents a month, while Joey is still having a lot of "on purposes"). I skipped the eight-months write-up because I didn't think there would be much to show, but I've ended up with dozens of pictures anyway!
For several weeks after the puppies' spay/neuter surgeries the boys were still quite aggressive, so Lizzie had to have her playtime separately in Maxwell's big crate:
While the boys played in the playpen:
(They're playing with the West Paw toys I bought them for their 7-months birthday. They cost about $10 each, but they last for months.)
I finally got a picture of Joey stuffing himself up the leg of my pants:
(His next move is to bite at the other puppies through the fabric.)
He also still likes to play lying down:
The puppies' favorite toy, of course, is me. They use me like a jungle gym or a fort, and have battles all around me and on top of me and under my legs:
I decided to take some flash photos of one of their battles in order to see if I could get a good "arty" shot (or at least some clear ones):
And there it is!:
(Well... I think it's pretty cool!)
Not sure what was going on here:
One day my mom reminded me that I'd told her Ginger could come to visit after she (Ginger) and the puppies had healed from their surgeries. Ginger hadn't seen the puppies since they were about 12 weeks old, and the puppies didn't quite remember her at first:
See how trashed the room still is? I haven't gotten new carpet yet, so it's basically useless:
Hiding from Mommy:
I guess in a certain light she is kind of scary:
(Please disregard my mom in these pictures. I don't think she was too excited about being photographed.)
I added puppies to the room one by one:
They were scared but also curious!:
(Sorry about the spots--I'd forgotten that Maxwell had licked the camera lens.)
We took everybody outside to run around, and then I put everyone in the playpen, including Ginger:
Here the puppies are excited because my mom's about to give them some treats:
For a while this summer, the puppies were able to run around in the yard without getting into too much trouble:
Here the boys are peeing together (I wasn't going to put this picture online until my mom saw it and laughed her head off):
(Whatever Maxwell pees on, Joey pees on.)
Here they are lounging in the sun even though it was about 100 degrees outside. I let them have about five minutes because they LOVE it:
Here's a different day, probably an even hotter one, because they are in the shade and still hot:
The puppies get stir crazy on hot days when I won't let them stay out very long, so sometimes I let them run around in my messed up room:
(I tore up part of the carpet to see if the stains go all the way through to the slab. They don't, thank goodness.)
More dealing with summer stir-craziness--can you guess what I'm showing them?:
Joey and Max have a big rivalry/jealousy problem. If one is being held, he rubs it in the other's face:
Making faces:
Outdoor play:
You can see Lizzie's funny neck and chin here:
(She's my very own little doggie!)
Eating/rolling in rabbit poop:
(There's no more rabbit poo now, as I'll explain in a moment.)
He has his moods:
On September 1st, the puppies were in the yard, when we heard a ruckus in an overgrown corner. A momma bobcat and two babies climbed over the fence, ran across the front yard, and down to the creek. Here you can see the momma (left of the tree) and one of the babies disappearing into the grass (further to the left):
I'm pretty sure they ate the baby rabbit that grew up in our yard this summer. We used to see it every day, but we haven't seen it since the bobcats. So unfortunately I've had to quit letting the puppies run around in the yard. It's pretty horrible having to carry them out to the pen and stay with them, especially in this heat, and I hate that they're having to regress, training-wise.
Some good news: Joey got a big crate like Maxwell (still technically size small), and Lizzie moved into Joey's old "extra-small" crate (still a big step up from her pet carrier).
(On a side note, the vet's wife told me the puppies have some of the cleanest pet carriers she's ever seen. I haven't felt so proud of myself in maybe seven or eight years.)
More jealousy--Joey's arm is a blur because he's batting Maxwell away from the edge of the playpen:
Fun!:
"What's next, auntie?":
(They call me auntie now. That's how bad it's gotten.)
This month, the puppies moved up from puppy food to small breed adult food. Very exciting!:
One of many reasons I'm not pleased to still be carrying the puppies out for potties 12 times a day times three:
(Joey and Lizzie have learned to lie partly in the crook of my arm, but Maxwell insists on standing at attention. Ouch!)
Little mouse!:
Puppy brothers!:
Joey cracks me up:
Nine months birthday portraits:
Thank you for catching up with us!
