Week 11 was a normal week for the pups in the longrun. The pups are running, wrestling with each other, standing under the water spray, and starting to fight and pick on each other. Over the labor day weekend husband went on a whirlwind trip to three dogtracks. He went to the track at Kenosha, Wisconsin, then to Dubuque, Iowa where we had a female greyhound in a small stakes race (she came in second), then to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and then back home. Wife stayed home and did all the work.

Each morning husband feeds the pups two pans of mixed food and checks the self-feeder for dry dogfood. All eight pups come running when he enters the gate. They jump on him, shake his pant leg, walk under his feet, and jump and bite his hands and head when he bends over with the feedpans. Husband had been wearing Bermuda shorts this summer. One trip into the puppy run and he has since been wearing regular jeans. The "H" female (the pup scared stiff during the electrical storm) is the one who grabs his pant leg and shakes it. The "D" male (the pup who bit him during tattooing) has been following and jumping on husband and is making big friends with him. After the pups eat, husband goes back to scoop poop in the 300' longrun. Well now, that is fun to watch. The pups bounce alongside him and under his feet. Husband does not do the "puppy shuffle" with style and grace. Some pups grab his pant legs, some run into the scoop pan and send the contents flying, some jump on the back of his legs. Husband tends to loose his balance and stagger a lot. This trip down the run and back is quality time between husband and the pups. Of course it is always play and petting time just before husband leaves the run.

It is interesting to watch the pups in the run when they play in the morning or evening. They are starting to "get at" each other. Every now and then one will squeal real loud. Two or three will gang up on one pup. They will surround a pup and bite and bark at that pup. Reactions vary. Some will fight back at the whole group. Some try to outrun the group. Some resist a little then stop and bury their head. They also do other things. They tend to chase each other around the doghouses. They play tag, one will chase after and catch one pup, then that pup will turn and chase the first pup. At times they run the fenceline against their buddy in the adjacent run, Gunner. They are big friends with Gunner, and in turn, Gunner spends a lot of time at the fenceline with the pups. Gunner will bark at the pups and start to run, thereby enticing the pups to follow him.

During the hot afternoons we turn on the water spray at the front of the longruns. Some of the spray lands in the baby-type swimmimg pool. Two or three of the pups will stand under the spray. Sometimes one will open its mouth and try to catch the water.

Some pups are starting to really outgrow the others. Obviously the males are getting much bigger than the females. They are developing different looks. One pup tends to hold his ears up in a bent over fashion. Some will hold their head to the side in a puzzled look. Some look inqusitive, some happy, some look more sure of themselves.

We received the Litter Registration Acknowledgment from the NGA last week. The next step in the NGA registration process will be to individually register each pup sometime before they go to the racetrack, in about a year.

During Week 12 the pups received their fifth vaccination shot (second 7 in 1 shot) and another worming. Their longrun was mowed and the water was changed in their swimming pool. Otherwise they slept, ate, played, ran the fenceline, and jumped on Dad a lot.

On Thursday we took our small pump and emptied the water from the puppy swimming pool. We filled the pool with clean water. We have seen four pups at one time in the pool. When a pup gets out, it shakes from head to toe and takes off running, around and around, and up and down the longrun getting other pups to chase it.

We mowed the 30' x 300' longrun with the riding lawnmower on Friday. We always mow as short as possible. Before we mowed we scooped the longrun, then we loaded the pups in the dogtrailer and parked them under a shade tree. After mowing, we sprayed RoundUp along the fenceline and around the doghouses. We did not have many weeds. The combination of short grass with no weeds prevents us from having flea and tick problems. After the RoundUp dryed we took the pups back to longrun. Boy did they run and play in the freshly cut grass. Some just laid down and rolled in the cuttings.

On Sunday we loaded the pups in the dogtrailer again and parked them under the shade tree. We put each pup in a separate hole in the dogtrailer. Mommy held each pup while Dad vaccinated them with their second 7 in 1 shot. We also wormed them and checked them for fleas and/or ticks. We then took the opportunity to pet each one separately while giving them a doggie bone. The "H" female was the most shy. Boy, some of the pups are big and heavy, especially for 3 month old pups. We are now feeding the pups a total of 13 pounds per day (approximately 1 part meat, 1 part tripe, 1 part milk solution, pinch of bonemeal). Plus the pups have a self feeder of dry dogfood available to them at all times.

The pups really enjoy Dad when he walks up and down the longrun or when he pets them before leaving the run. Of course Mommy is their favorite, they will always leave Dad and go to Mommy when she calls them. That is one way for Dad to get in the gate- have Mommy call them to the other end of the gate. When Dad does enter they all come running and jumping and pawing with their sharp little toenails. When Dad walks the longrun while scooping poop, he never talks to them. It would be an impossible task if they were "ganging" up on him. As it is, they run along under his feet, jump on him, grab a shoelace, bite his pant leg, and grab his pant pockets. After a little way down the run, Gunner starts barking at them from the other side of the fenceline. About four or five pups will take off running after Gunner. Adrianna has also started paying attention to the pups. One or two pups stick with Dad. One or two meander off to other distractions such as one of their toys, a bird, or to just simply lay down. As Dad walks back up the run, the pups seem to alternate tagging along with him. When Dad gets back to the front of the run they all come running. Dad sets the scoop pan on the outside of the fence and backs up to a doghouse. The pups all know it is play time. They jump, bite, shake, and run as Dad reaches down and rubs their ears, scratches their back, or shakes the skin on the back of their neck. Ahhh, to be ganged on by eight black pups, wagging their tails, twisting their bodies, pawing up as high as they can reach, barking, and jumping as hard as they can, is a true feeling of being needed. Some of them look at you as if it is the greatest thing in the world for you to pet them.

A horsefly got after one pup the other day. It scared the pup. The pup ran, jumped like a bucking horse, ran around in circles, and snapped at the fly like crazy. The fly left, but the pup kept watching up in the air for several minutes. The next day a horsefly got after Dad. It bit him so hard he thought it was a bee. It scared Dad. Dad ran, jumped like a bucking horse, and swatted at the fly like crazy. Dad kept watching the air. The horsefly landed on Dad's back and Mommy took great pleasure in hitting Dad on the back as hard as she could. The horesefly dropped to the ground as Dad staggered forward.

Week 13 was basically a normal week, we did start a training exercise. We mowed the grass in the longrun and changed the water in the swimming pool. We gave the pups their first doggie milkbones. We also tied a big rope off a pole and started dragging it on the ground to get the pups to chase and pull on it.

On Friday we loaded the pups in the dog trailer and parked them under the shade tree. Husband got on the riding lawn mower and mowed the longrun (he looks like a big ox in a kiddie car). Wife bailed out the swimming pool and filled it with fresh water. After mowing and changing water, we pulled the dogtrailer back to the run and unloaded the pups. Again, they ran and rolled in the freshly cut grass.

After feeding on Friday evening we gave the pups small doggie milkbones. It was fun. They would grab one through the fence and take off running. Some would crunch the milkbone and pieces would fall to the ground, other pups would run over and help eat the crumbs. Some pups ran off, dropped their milkbone, and came running back for more. Soon the whole front of the longrun was scattered with small milkbones.

Husband continues to feed the pups, change the water buckets, and scoop the poop. He enjoys the trip down the longrun and back while scooping the poop. One pup continues to bite at his pant leg. Once she bit him from behind, and a little high. Husband yelped as loud as any pup. Another pup loves to run and jump on him from the rear. Another loves to grab the scoop rake and try to pull it away from husband. When husband gets back to the front of the run, all the pups come running and jump on him. They are tall enough to reach above his pant waist. They dig into his side with their sharp little toenails. It is fun to watch husband jump, twist and dance trying to get loose from the sharp toenails.

On Monday, husband went to the puppy longrun and took a 5' pole with a 5' nylon cord on the end of it. He tied off a 1.5" soft cotton rope that was 3' long and frazzeled on the ends. After scooping poop, husband carried the pole and rope into the run. He carefully dropped the rope and started dragging it very slowly. The pups backed up and two or three pups ran from it. They would stand with their ears pinned back and bark at it. Finally the "D" male (the one who bit Dad during tattooing) nosed his way to the rope and grabbed it. The pup tugged at it. Dad pulled. The pup let go. Dad continued to drag it. The "D" pup grabbed it again. Two or three more pups joined in. Dad tugged and the pups tugged. Soon all the pups were tugging at the rope. They would let go. Dad would use the pole and drag it in a circle on the ground. The pups would chase it. The "D" pup was the most dominant. Pretty soon the pups were attacking the twirling rope. Dad was careful not to hit and scare any of the pups. He would stop the twirling motion and let the pups grab the rope. Several times they tugged at it like tug-of-war. This went on for about 10 minutes. Dad finally throwed the rope and pole out of the front of the longrun. It was interesting to watch the dogs in the adjacent longruns. They became excited and started running up and down the runs. Gunner and Adrianna in the adjacent run became very excited and were running and barking like crazy.

At this point in time, the "D" pup appears to be the most dominant, the most brave, and the most adventuresome. This does not mean he will be the best runner.

We had another thunder storm with pouring rain the other day. All pups did good, they went inside their igloo doghouses and waited out the storm.

......................

"On the Farm" By Shawnie and Sam Burdette, Image Rendering by Dan Schmidt based on photo of Rascal, Harley and Seamus, placed by Greyhound Placement Service of New Hampshire. These pups appeared in our 1996 Calendar