Here are a few photos of the Puppies adventuring outside the whelping house for the first time. Only 5 of the 7 were brave enough to take on this new adventure. Now all are participating in the outings. This wired pen section is a great way to keep the puppies clean, teach them to do their business outside their sleeping quarters and to teach them the feeling of different surfaces. This type of pen keeps the pups healthy and helps prevents diseases before they are old enough to be vaccinated. All the stool & urine pass right through the wire bottom for hygienic purposes and also makes for easy clean up. 
The Puppies are in their 5th week now and are eating normal food now along with the supplementation from the mother. This week Cobalt will be removed during the day & returned in the evening for 5 days. After that the puppies should be completely weaned from their mother. Their are some new photos on the "Puppies" page taken right after eating. They love to get totally into their food leaving a big clean up job for Cobalt. Cobalt is a good Mother teaching the Pups to go outside to urinate & defecate. As well as teaching them to eat solids by letting them share her food. During the daily play times with the Pups, I am getting to see their individual personalities and now staring to name them. It is difficult with the males as they pretty well all look alike with the only difference is the amount of white on their rear paws.
The weather here is a little more pleasant with some cooler temperatures. However, we still experience periods of high humidity.
Most of the fly problems are gone & the adult dogs are enjoying the peace & tranquillity. Amazingly they were not really affected by the heat & humidity. Of coarse the kennel is close to the lake and surrounded by the forest which offers plenty of shade.
Until next week.......

These images were caught around mid night on the 21st of July using a Mino Flip Video Camera and extracting still photos from it. As you can see, it was a violent electrical storm that developed into a heavy rain. This was the second such storm in two nights. We have had a hot/humid week here and these storms were the result.
The pups are growing fast and are far more active & robust in their play. The "Puppies Page" shows the Pups starting to experiment with normal food. As of this morning , they are all diving in the dishes to get their share, much to the serine of Cobalt. After the meal, Cobalt has a big job cleaning up the Puppies as they have plenty of food on them.
The adult dogs are handling the heat better than me. They don't seem to be affected at all by the weather. They are eating well and are well hydrated and then more active in the early evening when it cools down.
The heat wave is supposed to break this coming week and I am looking foreword to the cooler temperatures.
Until next week......

Here Halona (Of Happy Fortune {Native American}) looks out & seems to be contemplating the big world outside her whelping box. 
The litter this time was my "H" litter and I decided to give the puppies Native American Names. As it turned out, the 25th of June was also the anniversary for the last great Native American battle. In the Little Big Horn of South Dakota, the combined forces of the Plains Sioux & the Cheyenne defeated the US 7th Army led by General George Armstrong Custer commonly referred to as "Custer's Last Stand". Ironically, I had no knowledge of the significance of this date when I decided to name my pups in honour of Native Americans.
The puppies are now three weeks old and changing rapidly. They have opened their eyes now, are walking more and thus exploring more. They are staring to show their individual personalities and will be named suitably. It is fun trying to match names to their individual personality! The pups are playing more and have even ventured outside the whelping box. They are also starting to teeth. How quickly they change, even their muzzle's are extending.
The dogs in the kennel keep renovating their housing areas and love to chase the Butterflies they get to close. When the temperatures cool down in the evening, they get more interactive & play with each other.
The weather here this week has been beautiful with warm/hot sunny days and cooler nights. We have been blessed here with some nice cooling winds.
The Back Flies are finally gone , only to be replaced by the House Flies. These flies love to bite the ears of the dogs. I was introduced to a new product (SWAT) by Denis that keeps the flies off the dogs ears.
It has been a great week here in the Northern Forest!
Until next week.........

At two week's of age the puppies are beginning to get up on all four paws and starting to walk. This week their eyes also opened. However, when ever I went out to take a photo, they were all sleeping! Soon they will be active enough to get some good photos. I have updated several video's of the puppies on YOUTUBE ( if interested go to the "Links" section and click on the YOUTUBE site) The puppies are all doing great and Cobalt is a very good Mother and a little protective of her babies.
It was a warm week here with two major thunder/lightning storms this week, one on Wednesday & one on Friday Evening. The one on Friday was a little ominous with a clash of a cold front with a hot front. This was definitely tornado conditions. Luckily, We received only strong winds & heavy downpour of rain. We did need the rain as the forest was getting dry. However, along with the wet/humid weather, the mosquito population has exploded. The good news is the Black Flies are gone.
The adult dogs are still doing renovations to the sand around/under their houses requiring daily repairs, only to be re-renovated the next day.
Until next week......

It was a beautiful Summer week here with some rain, lots of sunshine and warm days with cooler nights. One couldn't ask for better weather!
On Tuesday, I went out early in the morning for my first kayak adventure of the season. It was on a beautiful mirrored lake with no wind. It was calm & relaxing to slowly paddle on the lake, stopping occasionally to take in the peace and watch the Loon swimming close by & then diving under the water to resurface  several metres away. 
Cobalt & her puppies are doing well  with the puppies growing rapidly. They have doubled their size in a week. They are all looking great and feel very solid. They are little more active now; however, their main activities are "eating & sleeping". Once their eyes open they will get far more adventurous.
Cobalt is a very good Mother and doing a great job of looking after her brood.
She is a little protective of her puppies & other than me, she won't let others touch them. Poor Cobalt always looks like a deer caught in the headlamps of a vehicle when she gets her photo taken. She is eating well and like her pups, she is carrying a good weight. (New photos on the Puppies Page)
The dogs in the kennel have now gotten used to the puppies and are paying them little attention when they whimper. However, with the warmer weather, they are doing a lot of digging under their houses to enjoy the cooler sand.
Until next week.......