Mango and Storm’s Litter – Week Seven

Such a handsome bunch.

“Boot Camp”

Training exercises began very early in the morning as the sun worked its slow trajectory across the sky. The morning dew saturated the grass and the air was beginning to get thick with humidity. With breakfast out of the way, the crew was ready. They scrambled out of their dorm into their warm up jog following their team leader, Mango who was intent on not letting them catch up. The group worked through various manoeuvres which included “hand to hand” combat with sticks, rock climbing and agility training, however it would seem that the crowd favourite was digging a giant foxhole. They usually worked in pairs and before long, they had a hole that was large enough to accommodate two puppies. Rain or shine, this group was intent to repeat their ritual as often as possible each and every day and they appeared unfazed when the weather was less than ideal. On the days that it rained, they wore the mud on their faces like camouflage. When they were collected from the foxhole to return to the dorm, they resembled furry chocolate labs. Fortunately, these double-coated retrievers are the self-cleaning variety. Within thirty minutes, they miraculously looked as though they’d just had a bath.

Little more digging and we can all fit in!

 This week, the gang went on their first car ride to visit our friendly veterinarian for their check-ups. We’re not sure if they were aware of their destination, but they were all uncharacteristically quiet in the car. They continued their low key façade right through the appointment which they passed with flying colours causing the good doctor to comment on how-behaved they all were. Their “aunt” Sierra who also had a check-up that day rode shotgun in the car. She actually made more noise than the puppies by barking at them constantly to get their attention. Sierra is really just a kid at heart herself and she was anxious to get home as quickly as possible to be able to play with them.

This was also the week for temperament testing and it was no big surprise that this was a very happy and well-adjusted group. Despite being boys, they’re all very well-mannered and have been learning about potty training which they’ll do either on the shredded paper in their whelping box or outside on the lawn. Mango has been a stellar mom who has been on call 24/7, fed them right up to the end of their stay, watched over them, played with them and corrected them whenever necessary.

As our time together winds down, we reflect on all the love, laughter, happiness and kisses we’ve shared. These are memories we’ll treasure forever. As you go along your journey with your new families little ones, we wish you much love and safe travels.
That concludes this edition of “Puppy Tales”.  See you next litter!