breaking news

It's unbelievable that I haven't updated in 10 days with all that has changed with the pups! Where do I even begin...

We've started to wean the kiddos! We're about a week in & so far so good. The rescue told us to soak the puppy kibble in goats milk until it's an oatmeal consistency [which grosses me out] & feed it to the babes. They love it but we can tell that they aren't quite ready for us to start making it more solid because they have a hard time eating it when the mush starts to solidify. Lucky for us, Heidi is still cleaning up after them because they just seem to think our basement is their bathroom...I guess it kind of is. :)

All of the pups are becoming more independent & growing into their own personalities. It kind of cracks me up seeing them grow because they are all so different..updated pictures & descriptions below.

And the BREAKING NEWS...we've picked our pup! Read on to see which one it is.. ;) Here's how we chose 'them.' When we got Jackson, we weren't even living together so I found him, we went to see him, I chose him, I named him but we both fell in love. Needless to say, if we were going to keep a pup, it needed to be a LOT less about me. When the kids first arrived at our house, we each chose one that we liked off the bat based solely off how they looked [how I chose Jack]. The very interesting part is that we've gotten to see how the pups are [shy, vocal, cuddly, kissy, etc] & we both ended up loving completely different pups. We had our selection down to 2...1 male, 1 female. I didn't want to be the one to make the final decision but assured Brock that I would be happy with either..so while I was at work on Wednesday evening, he went out & purchased a collar for either a girl or boy, put it on our pup & surprised me with who our new family member was going to be...

MEET Ellie Kay Greenhagen aka Peanut. She's beyond cute, super sassy, incredibly kissy & ours!

Our runner up..Fluffy McFlufferson! He is polar opposite Ellie. He is really chill & laid-back. His personality reminds me a lot of our dog, Buck. Fluffer looks a lot like a little teddy bear & is pretty stocky. It was really cute, lastnight I was down cuddling them all [they all seriously sleep on my lap..yes, all 10 of them!] & I set him down on the blanket. A couple minutes later he rolled over to sleep on his back but when he tried to roll back over, he couldn't! Poor Fluffer! lol.

 Here's Big Girl - her & Ellie look a lot alike but Big Girl is a lot bigger than El & her coat is a lot more coarse & full . She is very vocal & loves attention. She is also loves to cuddle & is pretty calm.

Meet JJ aka Jack Junior. Seriously, he reminds us so much of Jack, it's kind of creepy! He's a pretty vocal little guy & loves companionship..he doesn't like being away from his brothers & sisters. He might be one of the cutest pups of the litter & has a brown meets carmel coat. He is also a huge lover & gives lots of kisses!

Both Brock & I loved Pitz to begin with! His coloring is the most similar to Heidi's but his markings remind us of ones that a Pitbull would have..hence, Pitz. This little guy is a total cuddler but also loves to play. Him & JJ play quite a bit together. He's kind of a little guy so I love to smother him with kisses on his cute little face!

Right off the bat, Brock was in love with Porkchop! Her markings [on her body] are very unique & quite beautiful. When Porkchop was a tiny pup, she was seriously so chunky but has since grown into her body & thinned out. She has such a great personality & is a lowkey lover. Often times I will be down playing with the pups & she will be sleeping on my lap or chillin out next to me. Super cute, she has a little white tip on her tail! :)

Rotty is by far the most vocal & one of the cutest pups in the litter. His markings are very much a Rottweiler's. He, too, loves companionship & doesn't like to be far from his siblings. When he was just nursing & even now when we go down to feed them, he's one of the first to chow. He is very cuddly & loves to be rubbed on his belly!

When the pups were first "crawling,' Seal seriously looked like a little seal pulling himself across the pool. He is all gray/silver & is just so handsome. He is very cautious & shy but loves to cuddle with his brothers & sisters. He's always the last one to eat & often times we will hand feed him just to make sure he's gotten enough.



 Tall Boy is just that..tall. He seriously towers over his tiny siblings like Ellie & Tiny Tim. He is very curious & assertive. It's really funny because you can always tell what he wants because he's trying to get it/do it. Tall Boy was the first one out of the pool...literally. He was the reason we took it out of the pen because the poor guy got stuck between the pen walls & the pool..good thing I was home to rescue him! :) His markings are kind of a reverse Rottweiler...he has tan where there should be black & black where there should be tan & his snout is a little longer than some of his siblings.

Tiny Tim just might be the runt. He is just a little guy! I love to snatch him out of the group to give him attention because he is pretty shy & easygoing & I hate to say it but I'd probaly forget to love on him alone if I didn't. I do find him, Pitz &/or JJ playing together quite a bit though. :)

 So that's the pack...REMEMBER, if you're interested in adopting any of them, please, please, please visit www.paws4cause.net!

On the Heidi front, well lets just say it's been an interesting journey with this cutie. I had to call the rescue to 'rescue' me from some anxiety...she's SUPER, SUPER skinny but eats about 8 cups of food a day & she was still spotting from the birth. Both of which were incredibly concerning..turns out it's completely normal & all we had to do was add some calcium [yogurt &/or cottage cheese] into her diet. Pheew! I've also received mixed reviews on whether we seperate her from the pups or not during the weaning process but after my therapy session, we're keeping them all together until they show us otherwise.

Heidi is doing a great job of teaching the pups boundaries..even though it sometimes scares the bajeebies out of me! For example, if any of the kiddos come near her when she's eating or drinking, she will bark at them & sometimes even nudge them. Most of the time it ends with a piercing shriek [I think that's the part that gets me] that sounds like she's severely injured them...again, this is supposed to be normal. I admit, I have a hard time just allowing this to happen but if it teaches the kids boundaries, I'll sit back & let nature takes it's course.

So to top it all off, we have 13 dogs right now...LONG story short, my dad guilted me in to watching his dog while he's in Wisconsin hunting. Needless to say, I wasn't happy but I made him pay me...so I guess it all works out in the end. But really - who's crazier now? The Greenhagens!

Well, that's it for now! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all enjoyed your time with your families!

13 dogs & counting,
Nicole