Borzoi Flight!

I think the last post about the puppies first steps in the grass makes a great lead in to this one.  We took Pali to his very first lure coursing practice with the Hawaii Lure Coursing Club this past saturday.  He was a natural, not surprisingly.  We didn't bring a camera (darn), but fortunately, someone else there did have a camera and shared some pictures with us...

  (picture credits to HLCC's Kelsie Christine Polston) 

Puppies in the grass!

Here is the video that goes along with the preceeding post.  The pups were unbelievably cute discovering the fun of playing on the grass.  They were all rather timid about it at first, and then Tasha (formerly known as Kidney) darted out and they all followed.  The rest is history.  The pups love their outdoor playpen!

Today we said goodbye to our little trailblazer, Tasha.  It was tough - I shed a few tears, but I have nothing but confidence in Tasha's new owners.  I know she is going to have a wonderful life out there on the Big Island and I am looking forward to future visits to see how she's grown.  Good luck Jane and Vince ...enjoy your new baby!

7+ weeks old!

I added some more pictures to Puppy Album II and I have a ton more to upload as well.  So much has been going on.  Today I set up a pen on the grass in our backyard.  The puppies first time playing in the grass was priceless.  (I have videos and pictures to share.)  Yesterday they spent some time in the dog kennel on the other side of the yard - that was their first real introduction to being outside, but today was the real deal, feet in the grass experience.  I want them to experience as many new things, smells, sounds, sights, etc as possible so that they are prepared to face the challenge of leaving the comfort of all they've ever known as home. 

 Pali II, so excited!

 Tasha (formerly known as "Kidney")

 Garbanzo

 Lima

 Soy

 Lentil

spots and a blondie 

 Adzuki (left) and Jelly (right)

 the gang

 Cocoa (foreground)

 Cocoa

Hana and her brood

and the rest of the photos in Puppy Album II ...

Post feeding fun frenzy!

This is what happens after lunch...!

More pictures!

I just can't get enough of these baby pictures.  They are just so cute - and as I know our time with these puppies is coming closer to an end, I suppose I'm extra committed to capturing the memories in photos right now.  A few more photos from today: Some of the pups were asleep in their crate/den so I didn't get shots of everybody, but a few were out and about in the puppy pen...

Lentil

Lentil (who now looks more like his daddy, Pali II's namesake, then Pali II does!)

Cocoa

Pali II

6 Weeks!

The puppies turned 6 weeks old yesterday!  It’s amazing how time flies.  The weeks are just zipping by and I’m happy to report that all is well in puppyland.  Several of the pups have been spoken for by outer island folks.  I can’t believe we haven’t found any new homes on Oahu yet!  Oh well, it will make our island hops that much more fun if we get to visit the outer island pups after they’ve grown J  I’m hoping we can all stay in touch and grow a community of borzoi lovers & owners, giving each other advice, sharing stories, pictures, etc.  I’d like to keep the blog going even after the pups leave us...

Here’s another set of pics.  As always, I’ll copy them over into the Puppy Album and individual Puppy Pages...(Adzuki, Cocoa, Garbanzo, Jelly, Kidney, Lentil, Lima, Pali II, Soy)

Lentil says hello!

Jelly

Lima

5 1/2 weeks!

I have been too busy and too tired to blog lately, but finally had some spare time today to organize some pictures and an update.  The pups are just wonderful.  They are growing so much - eating solid foods, playing, bouncing off the walls of their pen, and just generally being lovable and charming.  Little personalities are budding and showing through.  The babies are about 5 1/2 weeks old now.  Amazing. 

We've re-done the puppy room - took out the whelping box, set up a sleepy/play area and a potty area.  The pups are learning to go potty in the right place, and clean-up has become much easier.  Thank goodness!

Feeding has evolved quite a bit too...the pups are now eating a mixture of ground-up kibble, puppy formula/2nd Step formula, and water.  They LOVE the new food - mowing it down with great enthusiasm. 

Cocoa and Kidney both have new homes lined up...  Cocoa's destined for Maui and Kidney is going to the Big Island.  There are a few other pup/potential owner matches that are almost set as well.  It's going to be so sad saying goodbye to these babies.  They have captured our hearts. 

A few pictures and videos from today...

Jelly

Jelly

Cocoa

Kidney on her new bed

Garbanzo, it's almost sleepytime

Kidney - hamming it up for the camera

Soy

Cocoa

Kidney - being silly again

Lima looking sheepish

Cocoa

Cocoa

Kidney

Kidney

Lentil

Adzuki

Lentil and Kidney having a drink of water, Soy fell asleep in the process

Lentil - he's the most doll-like puppy ever!

 Lentil

 Lentil

Lentil

Silly Kidney

Silly Lentil

Another video of our little munchkins...

❦

One month...

The puppies are now a month (and a few days) old!  It's amazing how much has happened since they were born.  It's a bit of a blur, but so many milestones have been reached.  This morning we fed all nine puppies at once. They are eating out of bowls, a mixture now of Esbilac milk-replacer with 2nd Step to thicken it up.  The pups LOVE the 2nd Step addition!  We sure don't miss bottle feeding!

All of the pups have received de-worming treatment twice so far, and all have had their first parvovirus vaccination.  I know if may sound young to start, but we obtained a breed-specific recommendation on the vaccinations, straight from the DVM who developed the (NeoTech) vaccines, which are specially formulated to be capable of inducing immunity in younger puppies.  We plan three rounds of NeoPar to protect against parvo, and two rounds of NeoVac to protect against distemper-adenovirus.  By the time these pups go to their new homes, they will have strong immunity!

The pup's teeth are coming in, and they are starting to play with toys and play rough-and-tumble with eachother.  I have loads of videos that I will get around to editing and uploading soon (I hope). 

Colors are still gradually changing.  Garbanzo is lightening up, Pali II and Lentil are becoming hard to tell apart as Lentil is gaining weight and his color is lightening up to closely match Pali II's.  Adzuki's markings are really striking - he's got little light colored eyebrow areas that really bring out his eyes.  Soy is lightening up a bit too, as are Cocoa's legs.  Kidney is still our little red stunner, and Lima's tortoise shell pattern is oh so pretty.  Pali II's white muzzle and freckles are just too cute.  Sigh...such beautiful babies.

I have another new batch of photos to share...here are some highlights... 

Garbanzo

Kidney

Pali II

Kidney's got Pali-II's tail!

Cocoa

Soy

Pali II

Adzuki

I've posted the rest of the pictures from today in Puppy Album II and on the puppies' individual pages.

Aloha!