To make up for last week’s appalling dearth of cute candid photos, today I took a whole bunch of action shots of the pups playing like wild animals out in the yard during a brief break in the rain. My camera is not a fancy digital SLR really suited for action photos but it still managed to do a decent job of it, and I’ve added a new album to the litter’s photo gallery.
I cannot believe the puppies are already 7 weeks old and in just a few short weeks will be heading off to their new homes. I enjoy every second of raising a litter and will really miss the little buggers when they’re gone. They are getting so big and so active now, really interacting with their environment with wild abandon, always making me laugh with their crazy antics. They are out in my smaller side yard three times a day for their meals, potty breaks and playtime, and then get at least one longer play session in the big yard. Branwen would absolutely love to play with them in the yard but she is just too exuberant and rough with them outside, so her playtime with the puppies is strictly restricted to in the house and for the most part I’ve only allowed Lark out with them in the yard. But the last few days I’ve left Kestrel out with them too. Interestingly, she shows absolutely no interest in playing with them in the house, but she loves interacting with them in the yard, and unlike Branwen, is amazingly gentle with them. I guess it is good that they have an indoor friend and an outdoor friend. 
This week’s video was actually shot at the beginning of the week, when they puppies were about 6.5 weeks old, but it has been yet another busy week and it took me a few days to get it uploaded from the camera and onto youtube. It features the puppies playing in the yard: running around, chasing the lure, and generally wreaking havoc, and believe it or not, all in a light rain, which you really can’t see in the video. The puppies are pretty immune to the rain at this point, which is a good thing because otherwise they’d never get out to play. Unfortunately, they do eventually turn into real whippets who disdain the rain and are quite sure it will cause them to melt. Enjoy this brief immunity while it lasts…
