Kiko sets for Naga?!

Kiko has been reserved, and we were informed that she will be flying to Naga on Thursday, 5 July 2007. She may find the weather there to her liking. We believe that we found the appropriate person to take care of her.


This night's food treat of ground beef with their regular dog food will be the start of the last few times that they will be eating, then playing together in a while. She is scheduled to start the move this coming Wednesday evening, just before her Bicol trip. We do wish to get updates on her. Probably even get to visit on the way to more distant parts of the Bicol region.

For now, they continue to enjoy the extra virgin coconut oil treatment, usually coming after or at the start of grooming at the table to make them behave.

In any event, the pups are scheduled to have their final "six-in-one" vaccine tomorrow along with their rabies shot for the year. They will be three months old tomorrow.

Rough!

Beyond two and a half months the KKK play mode seems to increase in "violence". It is very tempting to stop them but that may run against their nature, having no clear idea as to how they would react in the long term with continued "correction" by separation, we just leave them alone.

The main consideration for trying to stop them is the amount of bruising or wounds that they accumulate after their extended play. There are wounds. . . It is play. You would know if it isn't. At the very least, someone will have a limp after the skirmish if it were.





Kazu giving Kiko a friendly smile.






Interestingly, all of them are silent when they do this play that easily lasts more than thirty minutes. Even the most vocal of them, Kiko, is silent throughout the biting, shoving, jumping, twisting, turning, and running. In between, you see that posturing, similar to a cat's, as if to attack a prey.

This sort of play was started very early. Almost as soon as they started walking. It is just that as time passes, the intensity of their usual activity increases. It is almost like mastering the maneuvers that they do.

At this point they are all heavier than Jimmu was when he was their age now. Jimmu was only about 20 lbs. at their age. That is how much Kiko weighs. Kazuko is about 26 lbs. and Koji is about 30 lbs. Considering that Jimmu now is somewhere 70-85 lbs. or so, it seems that they will be larger/heavier. Kiko's body type is very close to Jimmu's. In fact, they look almost exactly the same (at the same age) save for the color. Kazuko's and Koji's body are wider. It may be necessary to give them extra calcium (Kawu).

When the wounds get too numerous, there is a greater risk of having infections. The rain doesn't help either. The regular twice a day antibiotic of 1.5 ml facilitates the healing. It does act fast. Of course they love the bubble gum flavored variety. They actually think it's a treat! This treatment along with a wound cream (Sergeant's wound cream for dogs) does the job very well. Of course they still continue to rough each other, but I guess that is the point of having the simultaneous ingested and topical treatment - to allow them to continue their play.

We tried separating Kiko (just because she is the lightest) for a few hours at a time but notice that upon returning to them the intensity of the play seems to increase further. They probably miss each other. Again, the resulting bruises, of course, increases. With this experience, I think it better to let them be and do isolation only if the puppy shows a sign of weakness. It is good that all of them are full of vitality, making isolation unnecessary.

. . . And They're Up!

Both ears of Kazu and Kiko are already upright at just under 2.5 months of age. Kiko had her left ear up early in her seventh week, while Kazu had hers at week ten. Only Koji had a right ear up first.

The pups now drink soy milk. They seem to like it a lot. The brand, if I remember right, is "My Soy Milk". Good that it seems easier to obtain than regular lactose free milk, and currently cost a bit less too.

They consider Pet Tabs and virgin coconut oil as a daily treat. It is rather unfortunate that the local supply of puppy and dog biscuits from popular makers (Pedigree, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc.) seem to run short rather quickly.





Here Kazu seems to be inviting her sibling to play.
















As a result of puppy growth. . .


The red flowers surrounding the magnolia are all gone. . .











A bit of cooling after all those plant extraction activities. . .











A short rest period before more dirt. . .

Kazu seen here with her favorite toy (squeaky porcupine).

First Weeks

The pups had their eyes wide open on the 12th day. Their crawls became increasingly frequent, and the distance they cover gradually increased. This healthy exercise resulted in some gashing of their hind toes. They had to be treated with a daily dose of washing and extra virgin coconut oil. Initially there was some resistance. Later, they were able to realilze that the oil was edible. They quickly took to taking an extra dose (about a tablespoon) of extra virgin coconut oil as part of their daily diet. We found it to be more effective in treating skin irritations and inflammations than regular topical medicines. That is in addition to an antibiotic (cefalexin is better than the other kind) suspension (which had to be orange of bubble gum flavored - they hate cherry and the like flavors), which they took twice a day with a dose of 1.5 mL at each instance.


13 May 2007: Koji (Kazuko at back), training with collar. Starting to get used to having a leash when taking a walk.


At this time, all the pups are able to climb up and down the stairs by the garden.





They are able to hold a run for about three steps. More like posturing everytime they get to play with each other. It will only take another few days for them to have a fast controlled run.




13 May 2007: Kiko, able to munch something. . Either a treat or a magnolia petal.













13 May 2007: Kazu, demonstrating how they all drink from their parent's pail of water.



They have taken to dipping their front paws into water in pails, as if catching fish!








2 June 2007: Kazu by their whelping box.



At around the times this picture was taken, they are all pretty much as capable as their parents are when it comes to running and chewing things. They snatch the adult treats "Healthy Extras" (by Eukanuba - which we have been wrongly informed by local distributors as having been discontinued. . . Thanks to a friend who just happened to pass by New York City. Thanks Cristine!) from them; running to a convenient location where they may not be easily apprehended.




2 June 2007: Treats!














2 June 2007: . . . Appreciation!














3 June 2007: Kazu after the morning dose of vitamins.








At this time ( 10 June 2007), the pups had their third six-in-one shot (with corona virus). They will have their last for the year, in addition to anti-rabies, on 1 July 2007. That assures us that, at least for the year, the new caretaker(s) of Kiko and/or Koji will have less to worry about.