Pups continue to play dominance games and the adults join the playing field - the pups learn not to get stepped on! Motor skills improve as the pups master their bodies! Another pup leaves the pack while another pup awaits a special ride home!
Date(s): 7/29 thru 8/4. Album by RatpiT Kennels. Photos by T. Baker & R. Heller. 1 - 21 of 131 Total. 595 Visits.
1 Its hard to see the action... Ruby is taunting Nova, and 72 day old Nova has been chasing her!
2 Play bows! Nova jinks off to the side to dance around Ruby. Ruby continues to taunt her with a "neener neener!"
3 Boyz don't care! The boys are not so interested in Ruby's game- they have other fish to fry in the form of their brothers!
4 Will NO ONE chase me? Ruby, you win ALL the time, OK? Even so, the pups will chase her when they are wound up!
5 Bennie.... A head on shot of Bennie coming at me.
6 That Boy Elroy... He has a devious plan and is hiding in the bush!
7 He's winding up! And Astro doesn't suspect a thing!
8 Blam! Astro is sideswiped!
9 Three is company! Nova is in on the action now...
10 Crashing in mid air! Pups are into the 11th week, and strong dominant and subordinant behaviors are coming into play; pups are constantly wrestling and sparring as they work out and reinforce positions in the pup pack. Elroy is not the most dominant pup in the pack, but he has his moments when he gets going!
11 Still? Xena has all but weaned the pups but Sonja is slower to draw the line. Do you suppose she thinks that the pups are much too small and that they need more food to grow? ("Drink, drink -you are way too small, you must grow bigger to make good pitbulls...")
12 Roll call! 1 of 11 Each day Xena rolls the pups. She starts with the brattiest and rolls him until she is satisfied that he is properly repentant; the process can take a bit! Here she has Bennie down...
13 2 of 11 "You will stay down until I say it is OK.."
14 3 of 11 "OK, ma!"
15 4 of 11 Liar!
16 5 of 11 "Didn't I tell you to stay down?" Xena puts him down again..
17 6 of 11 The look in her eye "Don't mess with me, boy - I'm your momma..."
18 7 of 11 "She won't save you..." Bennie has come to me to get picked up, but I am not going to come between Bennie and a much needed lesson! Many pups - and small breed dogs especially - will try to have a person pick them up and rescue them. When the people pick them up, they tell the dog via body lingo that they are their champion - and oftentimes the smaller dogs learn they can sass a larger dog and get away with it. This can set the dog up for dog/dog aggression, with the smaller dog instigating conflicts and running to be picked and saved by the human! Small breed pups must be treated like big breed pups else they miss out on the lessons of doggy etiquette!
