The pups are growing up in leaps and bounds. All four of them are taking well to paper training as well as crate training. They voluntarily go into their crate to sleep and manage to make it to the paper about 85% of the time.
This past Friday, the puppies had their first car ride and outing into the world. They accompanied me to the DogGone Ballistic Flyball tournament setup for a few hours. They were suitably passed around from one pair of arms to the next, made a mess in the ex-pen and then proceeded to escape the ex-pen while I cleaned it in order to go exploring the Curling Club. All in all, a successful evening.
Here are some Week 5 pics of the furkids taken yesterday.
Nala
Nala is turning out to be a wonderful girl. She's a very happy go lucky puppy, who like the "lion King" character that she is named after, loves to pin her brothers to the ground. And pin them again. She's a very accomplished wrestler! She's a generally laid back sort who can be convinced to play without too much encouragement from her siblings. She loves to cuddle and be petted but hates to be held on her back. She's showing good tug drive and loves her toys. She's also very photogenic. Amanda, Moth is going to love his new baby sister when he gets to meet her in a few weeks.
Pumbaa
Pumbaa is the most laid back of the four pups. He's quite happy to sit in your lap and be petted for hours on end. His favorite pastime, other than eating, is trying to get back at Nala for pinning him. He's demonstrating good tug drive but prefers attention. And food. Pumbaa Bear as we've come to call him is going to be a great family dog and a very nice first sport dog. Sorry Tom, you're outvoted on this one. :-)
Rafiki
Rafiki is small but mighty. This is a really neat pup. He is the most outgoing, friendly, and confident of the four pups. He's very curious about the world around him and is usually the first one to go exploring. He enjoys playing with his siblings but will choose to interact with people instead of his siblings or the other dogs in the house. He is very people-oriented. He's got great tug and toy drive. This is going to be a really nice sport dog. And yes, he's going to have prick ears. Probably in about a week...
Simba
Simba is my personal favorite of the four pups. He is a cuddler. He likes nothing better than to be held and snuggled. Although not quite as outgoing as his brother Rafiki, Simba is a very drivey puppy. He's usually leading the shark attack. Like Rafiki, he is more people-oriented and prefers people over his siblings or the other dogs in the house. Though he'll get into a good wrestling match when enticed, he tends to be the pup playing off on his own with a toy that he's carefully selected. I expect that like Rafiki, Simba will grow up to be a really nice sport dog.
