This will be the last week that the boys spend together as a litter, since the first one will be going home with his new family next weekend.  I have decided who I will be keeping (more about him later) and most of the other boys have names.  The boys continue to be really brave about checking out new things.  This week we put an Avidog Adventure Box into the pen (plans to build these are available at www.avidog.com).  They really could have been introduced to this a few weeks ago, but Dave got a little behind on building it since he has been taking down the wreckage of the deck.  Right away they started checking it out.  They even seemed to enjoy banging on the cans to make noise.  The boys have also enjoyed some off lead walks and playtime around our property, with lots of high value treats for checking in with me and coming when called.  I find that since most puppies (yes, even PBGVs) are trustworthy off leash at an early age it is good to give them some practice at being off leash, even if this has to be restricted later on when they reach adolescence.

Our new addition is the really dark puppy from the litter.  I chose him mainly based on structure and breed type because I would have been happy with the drive and temperament of any of these pups.  This week I have started doing some individual training with him, following the Susan Garrett Recallers 5.0 Program.  He is very food motivated, which I love and has a pretty good attention span for a hound baby.  His full name will be Clancy’s Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but we will call him Gromit, after the fabulous cartoon dog who passes his time knitting when he’s not saving his owner from misadventures.  This is Gromit wearing his harness and leash for the first time.

And here is a stacked photo of his at about 4 weeks.