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Today was so very busy - the pups gave me little time to do anything "non-dog". It was all-pup-all-the-time. Talked to new prospective homes and will be meeting with
one later this week. By that time, the pups will have moved from the kitchen/breakfast room to the puppy-condo downstairs. I think this is a really rapid growth phase, as
they are a bit 'owly' and irritable ... and STARVING all the time. They woke up at 5:20am, and thus far they have had two "grind meals", one practice stack-session
(which involves 'baiting' with raw ground sirloin and string cheese), and they have nursed three times since waking ............. it is only 1pm. We shall see tomorrow if they
have truly 'gained'. Their play drive continues to present and they are vocally opinionated - yap, snarl, whine, bark, growl, and talk all have specific meanings and I like
to watch them actually communicate with each other and then TRY to do the same with me - THINKING I know exactly what they are saying/wanting. They will actually get
frustrated, like a child, when I do not know what they are trying to 'say'. Sheesh ... I'm not Dr. Doolittle!! I like their interaction with people and their confidence. While
they all have different personalitites, they are all consistent and predictable.

WEIGHTS
Holy Cow
Purple Collar BB         5 # 9            oz
Pink Collar BB             5 # 5.5        oz
Lt Blue Collar BB        5 # 4            oz
Orange Collar RB       5 # 9            oz
Yellow Collar BB        5 # 0            oz
Black Collar RD          5 # 5.5         oz
Navy Collar BD           5 # 14.5       oz
Red Collar RB             5 # 2.5         oz
Green Collar BD         5 # 1.5        oz

Today is the last day of the Daily Photo Journal for the Divine Nine, since they will be ONE MONTHS OLD tomorrow. I will journal, take photos and some video
throughout today as so much is changing every day that they grow and learn and begin to experience more and more of life. Their personalities and behaviors have
been consistent since they were just a few days old. While their spirits are more colorful now, they remain predictable, and parallel to my early & continued observation.
To begin my reintroduction to a more normal home life routine, I chose last night to be the night that I would officially 'graduate' out of the whelping bo. haha. i did not go
far ... just to the living room sofa. Albeit that is only 20-30 feet away ... alas, my head was NOT in with the pups all night. I did not get much sleep, because I wanted to
be ready if needed and was listening for "the call". Gives sleeping with one eye open a whole new meaning. It was hard not to run to them each time I heard a peep ...
but I waited until I heard the true "CALL". By that time, it was 5:20am. WOW - they went into the whelping box at 10:45pm and woke at 5:20am ... a total of 6.5 hours -
wahoo! AMAZING. I let them out of the whelping box, they FLEW to the middle of the kitchen floor and immediately began the, "WE WANT BREAKFAST ... WE WANT
BREAKFAST" chant. I had it ready to feed ... and feed they did. When they were done, I weighed them and did the clean up while they played and pottied. Then I
cleaned some more :) and abot that time misty was done with her breakfast and outside time and came into the kitchen, climbed into the fresh whelping box. They
squeel with delight when she comes to them to feed or play... this time was no different. She played with them and teased them with toys ... showing them how LOUD
they can be when flung across the room to chase ... then she let them nurse until they fell back to sleep. She left the whelping box to move to a dog bed I laid on the
kitchen floor. Louis ... oh dear sweet Louis ... he quietly and clumsily (he is not very graceful when his belly is stuffed full - haha), climbed out of the whelping box ...
waking NO ONE and snuck over to be with Misty. She was pleased to have some one on one with him. Now, they are all resting. These are PERFECT PUPPIES !!

MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2009

When the 'lunch bell rang', all the puppies awoke and stumbled all over each other to "get to the
grind". They are GREAT little eaters ... well, maybe "little" isn't the best of descriptors, given
their growth over the past couple of days. Today, they learned to drink water from a bowl, as
well. Given the moisture content of the food and the fact they still nurse from misty, liquid has
not been an issue. Nevertheless, I felt introduction and availability is appropriate at this stage. It
became more of a game that a life necessity - especially when their ears would dip into the water
- they would shake it off causing a true sprinkling on everyone else! :)

The pups are eating grind 2 times/day, chicken backs once/ day,
nursing as allowed by Misty.
drinking water from bowl (left) ... chowing down, (right)

While I had hoped the last day of this webpage would have more
excitement to offer, it was just another day of eating sleeping,
playing, weighing, exercise routines (bio-sensory and neuro-stim),
bathing, and LOTS of clean-up. I was the only none home today,
so I was limited in abilities to get photos of many events ...
hands-on with the pups is FAR more important than
photographing seperately. Nevertheless, I will have assisitance
tomorrow evening and will start the Divine Nine's 'second month'
with some photo documentation of things I could not do myself.
Fun "Divine Nine" video's can be seen soon on
www.YouTube.com, by searching for videos by katoba13

The adventure continues with "month two" at:
T he Divine Nine

I hope you have enjoyed watching the puppies grow throughout their first month. There have been many photos - alot of them repetitive and similar, but each with a
special something. I hope at least one of them brought you a smile and a touch of joy. This litter is truly DIVINE!!!!
The sequential web page, appropriately named: "The Divine Nine", will show weights, stack photos, and final placement information. It will include 'special photos of the
pups on their agility equipment, in the puppy-palace, exploring the outdoors, experiencing their bio-sensory program and Neuro stimulation exercises as larger pups,
socialization adventures & fun field trips. Stay tuned for the REAL fun !! Thank you for your interest in these puppies. ~ Kathy Babbitt
p.s. For those who ask regularly:"As of today, I am no longer sleeping 'in' the whelping box ... I am now on the sofa, not more than 30 feet far away! :)