[CandJHarris]

Scarlett and Sophie went for their first vet visit today. The vet thinks they're somewhere between 5 and 6 weeks old, so they're a little older than hubby's "friend" said they were. The vet also confirmed what I suspected...they're likely full of round worms, so he gave me 3 doses of wormer for each of them to give over the next 3 days. We just treated them a few minutes ago, so I'm really not looking forward to this evening if you know what I mean.

Today was their first day getting food without milk or water and they're eating like little pigs. Their little bellies are still bloated because of the wormies, but their ribs and hips are not nearly as prominent as they were on Monday.

Their personalities are really starting to come out too. Scarlett (the red girl) is a lot more vocal and outgoing than her sister. If my daughter walks away from her she starts crying like she thinks she's never coming back. She's a bit more submissive than Sophie as well and always ends up on the bottom during their play fights.

Sophie is the quieter of the two. She's more apt to be laid back on the couch while Scarlett's getting into anything and everything she can get her little teeth into. Sophie is also a little more shy and takes a little longer to warm up to new situations, but once she's comfortable she's a little firecracker. She's a real snuggler, too and loves curling up on my chest for a nap.

They've been outside in the yard with us for the last hour or so since having their lunch and meds running around and burning some energy. They got new collars today too so they can start getting used to them.

And of course an update isn't complete without pictures:

 

[nfedyk]

Oh they are just adorable.

 

[JulieK1967]

Oh, they're just DARLING!!

 

[CandJHarris]

It turns out the vet was right on with his guess of a roundworm infestation. After their third dose of meds today I'm hoping they're completely cleaned out of their system. It's no wonder they were eating like insane little piggies...the wormies were eating all their food! I'm going to try and weigh them when I get home to see if there's any difference. They were 5.8 and 6.2 pounds at the vets office on Friday. They are finally starting to look like normal puppies though, and their ribs and hips are a lot less prominent. It always amazes me what just a few days of good food can do for a pup.

Now the hard part is going to be deciding which one is going to stay with us permanently. There are different things about each of them that we like, and I know that Sophie will probably be harder to place because of her color, but I know that we still need to make our choice based on which girl's personality will fit best with our family. We're leaning toward Scarlett at this point just because she appears to be the more dog submissive of the two. Our extended family is full of dogs of all breeds, genders, and sizes and even though we'll be socializing like crazy, I feel like a more submissive personality would be better suited for our situation.

Any advice on how to make sure we make the best choice? I feel like it's going to be so hard to decide just because we're kind of getting attached to them both and are biased. It's not like visiting a litter and having a breeder there to make recommendations for us.

 

[Abbylynn]

No recommendations. Blu Boy and Leeo being littermates were complete total opposites! I could never part with either. Lol! I loved both personalities! Good luck in choosing.

They are precious!

 

[CandJHarris]

The girls are really growing! I weighed them earlier today and Sophie is up to 8.6 and Scarlett is 8.1 pounds. I think part of the reason may be that hubby feeds them a bit too much. I can't quite get him to grasp the idea that they don't need as much TOWT as they would if they were on the yucky stuff he used to buy his dogs. Thankfully these girls aren't ones that continue to gorge themselves and stop when they've had enough.

And speaking of food, we ran out this morning, so they girls got to go on their first outing to the local Tractor Supply. Before you freak out, my daughter held them through the whole trip, and although dogs are allowed, I've never seen any other dogs there besides my own, so I felt like it was safe to take them there. I was a little disappointed with the reaction of the clerk though. She was all "ooh" and "aah" over them until she asked what breed they are. When I told her they were pitbulls she literally took a step back and her whole demeanor changed. It was ridiculous. I just smiled, paid for my bag of food, and left. When we got in the car I told my daughter that the old huzzy better get used to it because I plan on making weekly trips with our girl from here on out. It's now my mission to change this lady's attitude on the breed since it's obvious she'd in need of some education

 

[CptJack]

The girls are really growing! I weighed them earlier today and Sophie is up to 8.6 and Scarlett is 8.1 pounds. I think part of the reason may be that hubby feeds them a bit too much. I can't quite get him to grasp the idea that they don't need as much TOWT as they would if they were on the yucky stuff he used to buy his dogs. Thankfully these girls aren't ones that continue to gorge themselves and stop when they've had enough.

And speaking of food, we ran out this morning, so they girls got to go on their first outing to the local Tractor Supply. Before you freak out, my daughter held them through the whole trip, and although dogs are allowed, I've never seen any other dogs there besides my own, so I felt like it was safe to take them there. I was a little disappointed with the reaction of the clerk though. She was all "ooh" and "aah" over them until she asked what breed they are. When I told her they were pitbulls she literally took a step back and her whole demeanor changed. It was ridiculous. I just smiled, paid for my bag of food, and left. When we got in the car I told my daughter that the old huzzy better get used to it because I plan on making weekly trips with our girl from here on out. It's now my mission to change this lady's attitude on the breed since it's obvious she'd in need of some education

I love, love, love pits - and I rather wish people would stop generalizing the heck out of dog breeds. I understand when you're searching for a dog that will fit your life that breed comes into play - because it's a hypothetical dog, and you're trying to figure out which one is most likely to have traits that you like. But when you are faced with an actual animal, behaving in an actual way, the breed characteristics, never mind the stupid bias, should not override what's being exhibited in front of your face by an individual.

 

[brandiw]

What adorable little puppies!

 

[CandJHarris]

By the vets estimate, Scarlett and Sophie should be about 7 weeks old now. They are definitely keeping us busy and are into EVERYTHING. My daughter absolutely adores them both but she told me today that she'll be glad when there is only one to keep up with, lol. I introduced the clicker today (and bologna...they are definitely fans of bologna, lol) and can't wait to really jump on training. They are both SO smart and and have such a curious nature that I think they will really do well with the clicker. We weighed the girls today too and they are both 9.6 pounds so they are definitely healthy and growing. And of course an update isn't complete without pictures

 

[Rescued]

Im in raleigh and i wish i could take one they remind me exactly of my christmas foster girls, 4 week old pit mixes, both girls, one brown and one black. the brown one was more submissive and the black much more energetic....sounds just like clones of yours

that wasnt much help, but they sure are cute!

 

[CptJack]

They look *SO* good, now. You have done a great job - and I bet you are ready to get one of them out of there *G*. Though I'm sure you'll miss her like crazy, too.

 

[Abbylynn]

They are adorable and growing like little weeds. I would have a hard time choosing .... good luck. I love the sweet look in the little black pups eyes. For some reason ... they just spell loyal and inquisitive. Lol!

 

[CandJHarris]

Last night Scarlett was napping beside me on the couch and I was rubbing her tummy when I noticed a bump just above her girlie parts. It is about the size of the end of my pinkie finger and is quite hard. At first it looked like it could be an ingrown hair, but now I'm pretty sure it's a cyst. It's too low down to be an umbilical hernia. I'm hoping to get her to the vet Saturday for her first set of shots, so I'll get them to look at it then, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it over the next few days.

 

[Abbylynn]

For sure! Let us know what the vet says. She is quite young to be having cysts isn't she? Maybe it is normal and myself not being familiarized with tons of pups anymore just don't realize it.

 

[CandJHarris]

I had the same thought Abbylynn. After looking at it more closely it looks like it could have been an in-grown hair, but I really don't know. I'll definitely let you know what the vet has to say. Hopefully it's nothing major.

 

[CandJHarris]

The bump on Scarlett's belly seems to be going down, so it may have been an ingrown hair after all. It's a lot smaller and not nearly as hard as it was yesterday so I'm not so worried about it now. I'll still get the vet to look at it on Saturday though.

We're making strides with housebreaking I'm happy to say. The only puddle that was made today was on the rug in front of the door and Sophie went to the door earlier so we took her out and sure enough she had some business to do. I'm totally amazed by how smart they are sometimes. Today was day two of clicker training and they're catching on with that as well. All I did with our first session was load the clicker to get them excited about the sound. Today I bumped it up to start working on "Watch Me." Once I got three or four solid eye contacts from each of them we did a jackpot and wrapped it up for the day. If they stay as food motivated as they are now training is going to be a breeze.

One more thing that absolutely amazed me when I got home today is that my daughter found the doggy nail polish and Scarlett laid there and let her paint all her nails - hot, hot pink! She was awake for the fronts and fell asleep while she was painting the backs. I've been working on handling their feet and gave them their first nail trim the other night and they were little champs.

Anyway, here's a very squirmy Scarlett with her super fierce hot pink nails:

ETA ~ I swear I'm not trying to punch her in the face...I was trying to hold her paw still and was able to get the other one in the shot while she was trying to get the one in my hand away from me, lol.

 

[CandJHarris]

Well, we're down to one puppy I had been in contact with a pit rescue who I was working with to arrange transport for Sophie to a foster home in Chapel Hill when I got a Facebook message from a friend asking if we still had her, so I cancelled everything with the rescue and he came to pick her up this afternoon. He's had pitbulls before, plans to keep her inside, already has a vet appointment set for her in the morning, and will be getting her spayed as soon as she's old enough. I managed to let her go without crying, so I'm really proud of myself.

There was also another development while I was at work today. My husband and daughter decided that Scarlett just wasn't a fitting name for puppy number two, so my daughter and I came up with a new name for her. Scarlett is now Lola. I don't think she's really had a chance to miss her sister yet. She's been snuggling with my daughter for the last couple of hours. We're going to start daily training with her tomorrow, and I printed the 10 requirements for the CGC test today so we can have a solid goal in mind for her. There aren't really any decent trainers around here since we're in the boonies, so I'll be helping the kids do her training. I'm also brushing up on NILIF since I've had such great results with it in the past.