Saturday, August 29, 2009

Can You Stand It?

I'll let these pics speak for themselves. Still not sure about pit bulls? Well then I think you may have a heart of stone. :)

Action Shots!

Very rarely do pictures of the puppies speeding across the yard ever come out well, but they do manage to offer up some good, fairly in-focus, action shots every once in a while. Above we have Big George, the chubby gazelle. And below we have Peaches, our stalker puppy.

And this last one caught George in a heated moment with his toy fox.

Hello Marmite

There's a new fuzzy black lab puppy in our complex, Marmite. And if there's one thing that has more energy than an 8-week old puppy, like our foster kids, it's a 3-month old puppy! I let poor George out to run around with this fuzzball and he immediately rolled over and submitted out of sheer terror . . . which is great for his socialization, but nonetheless kind of sad.

Behind the safety of their play gate however, they were all quite brave and eager to say hello.

Side note: For those who don't visit Britain, Australia or New Zealand often, Marmite is very similar to Vegemite--a yeast product used to spread on toast that is without a doubt the most disgusting thing you'll ever try. But the Kiwis and Aussies love it.

Three Little Pitties, All in a Row

Gotta love it when they're distracted long enough to unintentionally pose for good pictures! Check out those snazzy collars. I'm also confident that The Good Dog Company should pay me some sort of commission for snapping photos that show off their products so well!

A Still Peach!

It's a miracle. I actually managed to snap a few close-up shots of a motionless Peaches. A true rarity! And she was even wearing her pretty pink collar.

Friday, August 28, 2009

And They Graduate to Collars!

Given that I live in Ann Arbor and am a Berkeley grad, I naturally bought our little fuzzbutts some earth friendly hemp/organic cotton blend collars for their first collar/leash experience. After much ado about the new foreign body attached to their necks (lots of kicking, scratching, and nibbling each others' necks), they finally settled in to their new garb. Peaches has a pink collar to match her pink nose. Georgie has a deep blue collar to compliment his green eyes and caramel fur. And Ralphie has an olive green collar to highlight his red coat.


They're quite the stylish bunch!


Above is Ralphie trying to eat a picture of my first cat (a white Persian named Howie) that was given to me by my grandmother when I was a year old. Hmm.

Sleepy Peach

I bought the puppies a new sleeping pad for their crate at Green Pawz in Ann Arbor today, and boy do they love it. Only one of them sleeps in the actual bed at a time now. The other two can be found sprawled out on the new mat, made entirely of recycled soda bottles!

Peaches was particularly pleased with it, sleeping spread eagle with her big pink belly and little tongue hanging out.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Wearin' Me Out

The troops are really wearing me out this week. House training and behavioral training are nonstop. Luckily, the pups got their vaccinations tonight along with some play time with the big dog brood over at Joanie's (Buster's founder), and they are down for the count! I had to drag them out of their car carrier because they were so passed out. Unfortunately the fuzzbutts also have a bit of conjunctivitis that makes their little puppy eyes look so tired and sad. But we should have that cleared up pretty quickly!

On a related note, Peaches snores like a buzz saw.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The Big Bully Baby, the Stalker, and the Loner

Character development continues, and the poop thickens:

We have Big George, the Big Bully and the Big Whiny Baby. He is either instigating or whining, most of the time. Luckily he's also good at gazing at you with his big puppy eyes and wrinkly face, all while sitting perfectly for pictures. I can never get Peaches to hold this still.


We have Peaches, the Stalker. She stalks everything, particularly her brothers. Not a play session goes by without her slowly creeping across the grass, ready to pounce on an unaware sibling trying to mind his own business. I'm assuming she is hoping to be known as more than just a pretty face, since I can never get her to hold still long enough to get a good head shot of her.

And we have Ralphie, the Loner. Happily doing his own thing, occasionally playing with others, but never making a peep other than the ferocious pint-sized growl that he offers up to his siblings when they try to mess with him. Yes, he is playing all by himself in the picture below.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A Parade of Visitors

The stream of neighbors coming to say hello to the puppy band wagon continues. Our neighbor, Courtney (above) gave George a good run for his money today. She got him to chase her all around the driveway until the fat little hippo looked like he might have a puppy-sized coronary. He had an absolute ball.

Another neighbor, Denise, has been bringing over her tiny little dog, Jewel, to say hello. The puppies are always fascinated by her and stand on their hind legs to get a closer look. Kitty continues to keep a close watch on our little brood as well.

Here's Courtney and Cheyanne having fun with George, Peaches, and Ralphie (respectively).


Puppy Butts, Anyone?

There is a particular area of interest in the dirt next to the tree in their play area. I can't get them to leave it alone.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sweet Georgie Boy

Well, Big George--with his big belly--has gone from being the rowdy bully of the bunch to a sweet, wrinkled-face baby who melts my heart every time he looks at me.

This fat, little guy is quite the needy baby, typically the first to cry and whine when he wants attention, but he's such a sweetheart when you pick him up, and it's hard to not indulge his every need.

Oh, Ralphie

Here are some good pics of Ralphie from the past two days. He continues to be the quietest and most independent of the bunch.

He's also the best about entertaining himself with his toys, which include mini tennis balls and a Marie Calendars pie tin which he absolutely loves sitting in and dragging around the grass.

Some Fun Pics

Here are a few fun ones of the pups:

I found Ralphie and Georgie sleeping on their backs like Siamese twins in their bed last night. Then I put Peaches back in the crate after some 1-on-1 time with me and she messed with them both until they woke up.
The pups are also quickly losing their patience with waiting in their "carry box" while I prep their crate and give them their antibiotics. Peaches and George always stand on their hind legs as I carry them in and out of the house. I'm guessing they're about 4 or 5 days away from being able to leap right out of it. They're growing like weeds.

These last ones are of the pups continuing their feline education experience with Kitty, who continues to lurk in the bushes around their play area and deliver a few quick taps to their heads when they get too curious.

George (above) managed to sneak in a kiss before getting bopped on the head. Meanwhile Peaches got the message before getting in too close.

Evenings of Freedom

Every evening after dinner, and a substantial amount of play time, I'll let the little boos run around the house for a bit.

Their three favorite things are chasing Hudson (our rottie/lab mix), inspecting shoes, and chewing on some errant pieces of wicker sticking out of a footstool in the living room. They LOVE this stool. They scoot their little bodies under it and defy my every attempt to get them to play with and chew on something else.