Starting to see the world

The pups continue to thrive and are developing rapidly.  Purple girl has her eyes 90% open, and multiple pups are starting to react visually to movement.  Eyes open at around 10 days of age is the youngest I can remember for my litters.  The pups are quite mobile, and it is amazing how fast they can move towards the milk bar, especially if Bridget returns from a stint away from the pups.  They are toileting on their own, and we have even seen pups purposely get up and move away from the puppy pack to toilet.  Instincts are strong to keep the "den" clean.  My other dogs have returned from dog sitters, and Bridget is being perfectly civil.  Last litter, she was not tolerant of the other dogs being around for the first week.  She has been more relaxed for this litter.  Bridget is already spending time away from the pups, sometimes an hour plus in the main part of the house (the pups are in my bedroom).  Last night, I pasteurized a gallon of goat milk, but still no need to bottle feed.  I am monitoring both weight gain and attitude.  If the weight gain drops and especially if the pups start getting fussy, we will begin some bottle feeding.  Bridget is eating 7 1/2 c of kibble per day and I plan to bump her up to 8 c this weekend.   The one perk of raising a litter, lots of chow - ever retriever's dream.