Puppies are now 5 weeks old and engage in biting and wrestling with each other  and then they collect in a heap and fall asleep for a huge nap.  The weather has been in the mid 70s and perfect for trips out to the dog runs.  The puppies enjoy the sounds and smells of the out doors.  Here they are drinking from the community bucket.

For our 5 week photos, we tried stacking the puppies on a grooming table.  We had pretty minimal success getting the puppies to actually stand in a stack so these photos do not really represent angulation or tail set.  I will be giving the puppies a bath quite soon and will trim some of the extra fluff from the rear to expose the rear angulation.  By next week they should be a bit more used to the grooming table and hopefully stand still for a second or more for photos.

Blue boy

Green boy

Orange girl

Purple girl

Yellow boy

Here is Ginevra at 8 days,
5 weeks,
and 9 weeks.  

 This shows the progression of the roan color from white, to dark roots and you can see on my website what she looked like at 3 months when I flew to Italy to pick her up and the following stages to her final dark brown/roan color at maturity.  As with any dog, the coat color changes a bit from time to time for a long time.  http://www.lagottaz.com

My brown dogs are always lighter when I first trim and darken as the guard hairs grow out.  Ginevra gets lighter hairs in the places that once were white.

4 Weeks!  The puppies are now developing personalities (and teeth).  What fun these little guys are.  Everything is new to them and I keep introducing different things so they will get used to a variety of noises, smells, sounds, shapes, etc.  They now come running over to me when I come near them.

They are celebrating the warm weather with a soccer ball in hopes of getting to go outside for some play in the fresh air.  At 5 weeks they get to go outside for some playtime.

Here are the boys, blue, then green and then yellow:

Here are the girls, orange first and then purple:

Always check my website for complete information about the Lagotto breed and about my dogs:
http://www.lagottoaz.com

Most recent photo of the puppies eating their second meal of solid foods.  It was very funny when I put the food into the larger play pen area,  as soon as I opened up the door of the smaller sleeping area, out came purple girl as fast as she could run.  She remembered that smell and liked it!  Here they all are eating out of little dishes.

Any guess what this is? 

 It is the north end of Ginevra going south.  The question is often asked, do they dig.  I guess this would answer the question.  

Doesn't she look sort of like an elephant or the Snuffaluffagus?  Two dark brown patches on her rump and her tail look like a funny face.

Any place to rest a weary head . . . . .

Orange girl sleeping with her head on her brother

Yellow boy fell asleep with his head on  the ball.  

First solid food for the babies today.  I got some frozen ground chicken that includes bones and organs with no other added foods.  I mixed the thawed chicken with goat milk into a mush.  I fed them one at a time for the "photo op" so the new owners can each have their own puppy photos.

Each of the babies loved the new food and didn't take any time to dive in.  They are such smart babies, they were very quick to get into the dish.  Not all babies quickly figure out the details of eating with head down instead of sideways or up to nurse on mom.  These puppies just took to the dish right away.

Orange girl was first and then purple girl.

Blue boy and then green boy followed by yellow boy

They finished all the food.  Tomorrow, I will feed them out of a large dish all together.  They often crawl into those bowls.

Chicks, cake and confetti, oh my!  Must be another birthday.  3 weeks old and they are already starting to use the litterpan.  Such smart babies.

 Blue boy

 Green boy

Yellow Boy

Orange girl

Purple girl

I gave Vando a haircut today.  Take a look at how much I cut off.  2/3 of a 20 gallon waste basket!  His hair was about 3" long.  I had to blow it out to cut it, so not many curls in this sampling.

I used a 3/4" clipper blade on most of his body, 5/8" on front and back profile.  Here is a close up of how fabulous his curl is.  This is how he looks with only 3/4" of hair.  I scissor the legs, tail and head.

I did not show his head as I didn't trim it yet.  I am going to make another short video on clipping his ears and trimming the eyes.

If you haven't already seen it, check my website for a cute family photo taken on day one.  My they change so quickly!  Click on the right sidebar that says "puppies".
http://www.lagottoaz.com

Here is a little video I made on Easter Sunday.  I am still a bit video-editing challenged so I just got it finished.  This little guy had just started to get up on his feet and I had my phone handy.  They are so cute.

Today we moved the babies out of the quiet of the extra bedroom and into the center of the house.  We put covers up around the sides of the pen so mom and babies can get used to the noise and other dogs a little bit at a time.

 2 weeks on Easter Sunday!  4 of the babies have "peepers" or eyes either partially or fully opened.  I couldn't use a flash for these photos because of the fragile little eyes.  First photo is blue boy.

  

Green boy.  The stuffed toy is a sort of pink dog with rabbit ears.  I hope the puppies don't get confused identities from this creature.

Yellow boy.  His skin has some darker pigment so I can't tell yet if he will keep any white in his fur.  Some places still appear to have pink skin, but we shall see.

Orange girl is above and purple girl is below.  Orange was the first to open eyes.  Most of the puppies are able to sit now.  They are practicing walking and it is pretty funny.  I will get a video of them when I can catch them at it.

The puppies continue to grow and get stronger.  They are starting to get up on their legs as they scoot around the whelping box.

Many thanks to friend Faith for making and decorating our "photo box" for the pups.  The little birthday cake is about 3" high, so you can get an idea about the size of the puppies.  None have hit the 2 pound mark yet, but I expect by Sunday they will be there, or very close.

Sleeping through the party!  They don't qualify as party animals yet, do they?  1 week birthday for blue, green and yellow boys.  Photos taken Sunday evening.

Happy 1 week birthday girls!  These were taken on Sunday evening.  All the puppies are gaining weight and have doubled their birth size.