January 4th - The puppies are almost ready to go home. They are eating dry food and drinking water. They are super active and curious.
The vet check was on Thursday. We use Hillsdale Animal Hospital for wellness vet care. Everyone will get a health record to share with their new vet.

I wanted to take a moment and mention these special puppies and their names in honor of my father.
"Cutter" is a tool used to prune the bonsai.
"Maple" is for the Red Japaneese Maple that was a favorite of my fathers and what he was known most for.
"Serissa" was a favorite plant that he used for his Bonsai plants.
"Juniper" was another favorite plant he used often in his Bonsai creations.
This was a true passion of his. Thanks for letting me share this with you all.

Life with a new puppy is easier if you have the gear. Take a look here for some puppy supply recommendations.
Read up on some key doggie topics here.

Please be aware that your puppy should not go anywhere non-vaccinated pets could be until they are fully vaccinated. Discuss this with your vet during your puppy's first vet visit. Such places to avoid include pet stores, dog parks, puppy classes, rest stops, etc.

December 30th - The puppies are 5 weeks old now. They have a 6 week vet visit scheduled for Thursday. We use Hillsdale Animal Hospital. Everyone will go home with a puppy folder which includes a health record.
They are eating dry food exclusivly now. They will be weaned by Thursday. They have also started drinking water and getting the hang of the litter box too.

December 21st- The puppies have almost figured out how to get out of the whelping box. Wont be long before the door is closed and Phoenix is nursing on a schedule. I hate that too because she loves to just hang out with them. Here is a video of her and her babies. You can see how much she loves spending time with them.

They are eating wet puppy food twice a day. This week we will introduce water and dry food. They will be eating dry food only by the time they go home. We will also introduce a litter box this week. Check out this video of the puppies eating puppy food for the first time.

December 15th- The puppies so alert now. They love to lay with mom and gaze into her eyes. They chew on her ears and climb on her. Phoenix will lay with them for hours. They have toys to play with. We will introduce a litter box soon. Over the next few weeks they will make great progress on litter box training.
We started puppy food today. We will offer once a day for a few days and then to twice a day. They are eating Purina Pro Plan High Protein Chicken and Rice Formula Large Breed Dry Puppy Food. We soak the food in water and warm it until is is a mush. They will eat this food for a few weeks. We will slowly transition them to dry food.
Here is a video of them hanging out withh mom.

December 9th- Phoenix and her puppies are doing great. They are FAT! Their eyes are open and they can hear now. They are standing and starting to walk around. They spend the majority of their time sleeping and growing. Phoenix stays close and feeds them many times thru the day.
They have had their first deworming with panacure. They will be dewormed 3 times before going home. Food starts next weekend!

December 2nd- Phoenix had her puppies on November 21st. She and the puppies are doing well. Plenty of milk for those fat babies.
These puppies were born on the first aniversary of my father's passing. We always name the puppies with a name associated with a color. This time we added the Bonsai theme as well. This was a passion of my dads. Here is a video of him I would like to share. Love you dad!