They change so much everyday and by this time next week they will weigh a few pounds more and their skin will seem like it's 3 times too large for their body.
The naughty factor has jumped from 'You silly baby' to 'You naughty little sh*t!!' The switch gets flipped at about 6 1/2 weeks and they turn into ankle biting monsters.
I learned, through years of litters, that if you don't move they can't 'see' you or they lose interest quickly. I feel like Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park sometimes. If I move I end up with little teeth embedded in my socks, shoes or pants. And they don 't let go. They just hang on as you walk.
I've almost gone ass over tea kettle a couple times either trying to avoid the teeth or trying to extricate a pant leg from the tiny jaws. One is simple enough to shake loose ... avoiding stepping on 4 others while 3 hang onto your clothes is much much harder. They have also learned to work together for a common goal. It's cute but can and does result in more destruction more quickly ... is it really only a week til they head to their new homes ... ? Phew.
And then other times he surprises me with how gentle he can be. 
He seemed to enjoy the attention. Perhaps it occurred to him these are dogs. I'm not sure what he thought they were but if today if they are dogs that is good enough for me. 
I'm glad to see he is making friends with Archer who I hope will be his wing man in the future. My goal is to have Archer and Raimi as best friends and Leeloo as their girlfriend. Thankfully dogs typically don't get jealous of relationships like that ... until she comes into heat. 
Of course, Raimi's undying love for me is never far away. Even in the throes of battle Raimi looks to me with adoring eyes. Or he's pleading for help - either way it's pretty cute. 
The Boy is vanquished. 
She doesn't let them nurse and jumps back or pushes their heads away with her mouth. Like so: 
She is actually very gentle about it even though it doesn't look like it. As soon as she puts her mouth around their head or neck it's like she's pushed their off button. They automatically go limp. One day I'll name a puppy Data. 
She bears the ebarrassing burden of wearing a shirt when she spends time with the puppies but its a cool shirt - it has three shakers on it. One says 'Salt', one says 'Pepper' and one says 'Dog Hair'. Definitely haute couture for Halo and sadly true for most of my meals. 
It's good to get her out with them. They learn so much from her and she now seems to enjoy their company what with them not hanging off her boobies every time she sees them. 
At this point I think she actually, finally, enjoys their company. They are fun to interact with, they respond to her invitations of play and she seems to want to be around them. Go figure.
Leeloo, as usual, is the life of the party. Halo has started to play a little with her instead of looking at her like the weirdo she is. 
At long last the mother bond is apparent in Halo. The Momma who finally appears to like, and want to be around, her own kids. 
Someone is channeling show dog energy already. Archer is practicing for a few months from now - not sure what his hurry is ... but I like his enthusiasm! 
Actually, everyone in the litter is impressively maturing. All of the puppies typically stop to stand four square, a dog that stands naturally four square is generally viewed as a sound animal. 
Another theory is that a dog who is not the hurry up and go type, one always busy, moving, doing, chasing and playing is a sounder dog. The theory is that a dog who is constantly on the go lacks the ability to stand still because they are unsound. 
I'm not sure I buy that. This idea does not allow for temperamental difference between animals. Rosie, from my first litter, drove me mad with her constant naughtiness and it was not through poor structure given her recent wins in the ring (a major in Utah today - Go Rosie! ). She is a very sound dog but she made me insane. 
If no one stands out what does that mean? It either means that you have an exceptional litter, hard to choose the best or you have a mediocre litter. 
I like to see a well rounded litter with no singular dog standing out from the rest. There is almost always a dog who catches your eye even in a top shelf litter, in this case it's Archer, but that is based upon my own preferences as a breeder bound by my parameters of type, movement, structure, temperament and sex. It does not mean he is actually the best dog. Best is in the eye of the beholder.
In the last litters all of the puppies were consistent quality throughout. Each puppy showed very similar faults and virtues - that made it easy to spot the genetics for which Halo was prepotent and the ones for which the sire was prepotent. This litter still shows Halo's prepotency but also the influence of Zuli, their sire in the differences I see from the last puppies. It's handy to know what to expect but genetics can throw you a curve ball. 
It's a balancing act to find somewhere to meet in the middle. And life, as we learn, is all about balance. Unfortunately sometimes we get a little high centered ... 
including me, and of course vying for the sunbeam is of paramount importance. I'm quite sure Halo thought she had it fair and square but Leeloo, as we have come to learn, doesn't play by the rules. 