Ohmer's Westside Beagles: Puppies are 6 1/2 weeks old...

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well and getting excited about getting closer to bringing puppies home! I've been busy taking care of babies and am already working on making sure everything is in order for when the puppies leave. Top on the list has been making sure the puppies get plenty of socialization. Top experts recommend that puppies should meet at least 100 people between the ages of 3 and 12 weeks. These meetings should be positive interactions with people of both sexes and all ages. This is one reason why we encourage you to come out to visit - you help us socialize the puppies, even as we get to know you better. However, since the puppies need to meet many more people, I have also been taking the puppies on excursions outside of the house and property. I avoid places like the dog park and busy times at Petsmart (where puppies never touch the ground) due to the unknown health history of the dogs that go there, but my family members' homes, Home Depot, and Tractor Supply have been good low risk places to expose the puppies to a lot of people.

As I'm sure you can imagine, no matter where we go, the puppies are a hit. This past weekend at Home Depot, I made it about 20 feet inside the door before the puppies and I were surrounded with eager visitors. The puppies handled it all in stride! On Tuesday I took the puppies in for their first vet visit, where they all got good check ups and impressed the vet with how brave and outgoing they were. After our trip to the vet, we visited my sister's house, which made my little niece dance and squeal with glee! (Of course, then she cried when she found out she couldn't keep one!) Everywhere we've gone, I've been so proud of how quickly the puppies have adjusted to their environment and the people in it.

So now that we are at 6 1/2 weeks, I'm sure you are anxious to find out who Dave and I have selected. After much careful consideration, we have decided to keep the girls with the turquoise (formerly green) collar and the purple collar. I will work with each of you over the next week to help you select which of the remaining puppies would best suit your family and lifestyle. Please let me know if you would like to come out to visit again. In the meantime, here are some pictures to enjoy and to tide you over for now.