13 March 2005
… a thing called new food

It has been two days now since we started introducing additional food to the puppies. The time has come for the puppies to fight the innate reflex to suckle and start eating other foods in addition to their mothers milk.

To understand this and put it into action takes some time. Some catch on faster than others. It all depends on how much of an “eager eater” a puppy is. You start with a minced meat meal after the puppies have slept for some time and wake up hungry.

The first couple of times, the food is usually sucked off of the finger eagerly. Of course, we are talking about minute portions here. Just enough to give the puppies an idea of the new taste and to give their digestive systems a chance to adjust to the new food slowly. Getting full is not the objective at that stage.

After that, the first somewhat larger portion follows, in our case served from small glass bowls in the comfort of my lap. Feeding them individually in this manner ensures that I can keep track of how much each puppy eats and how he is coping with the new situation.

However, afterwards the immediate surroundings look more like a battlefield than a dinner table. It takes lots of practice to change that!

The following pictures serve as a good opportunity to introduce each puppy individually:

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Orange Female:
Having been the first puppy that was born in our kennel she is very special to us. Additionally, she was and still is the heaviest puppy. Her nickname is “Big Bertha” . Needless to say, she doesn’t mind eating the new food at all.

Yellow Female:
She is acting like a pro. Either she has been practicing without our knowledge or is proof that greatness can indeed be achieved in one day.

Green Male:
He was and still is the heaviest male. He already goes on small excursions and was the first puppy to “get lost” in the puppy box on the second day when all others had only one thing in mind: Snuggling up to Mommy. He is another pup who did not have the slightest problems with this new experience.

Purple Male:
He and his light blue brother have been the lightest puppies of the litter. However, he has recently managed to eat his way to the Champions League . As you can tell he is not taking any prisoners here either. His main objective is to get something in his stomach.

Female Neon Yellow:
She has been one of the strongest puppies from the start. She too has no problems with this new task. After she was finished, the bowl was squeaky clean.

White Female:
She was not at all interested in that „new junk“ and could not be persuaded to eat anything but “Mamas good stuff”. During the previous days, she sampled only very hesitantly.  Oh well, with time …
There is something very special about her too though: She was the first one who opened her eyes yesterday! Her siblings have yet to do that! We are very curious to see who’s next.

This cutie is the light blue male.
He overslept and completely missed his turn! I guess it was too cosy and comfy in my lap so that the digestive fluids lost the struggle. After having slept in my lap for a while, he simply continued doing the same in the puppy box.

Red Female:
She is very enthusiastic about this, concentrates well and eats as much as she can get.

Dark Blue Male:
This little fellow ate with lightning speed! Way too fast for us! We did not even get a chance to take a picture. After that, he got himself some dessert from Mommy and passed out completely.