Mama dog gets a bath

curled up pupsWell, today was SO hot that I figured if I bathed Sandy? Daisy? Angie? (still haven’t found a name right for her) outside she wouldn’t mind the cold water and she’d dry off in a snap. Plus I figured she’d like the time outside. Boy was she freaked out by the water! It could be that it was spraying at her from the hose (I tried to be gentle but there isn’t that gentle a way for one to spray another with a hose) or that it was cold, or that she’s never had a bath or a hose bath before – I’m not sure which it is. But once she realized that all I was doing was hosing her down and that she couldn’t get away from me, she submitted. It sort of was humbling to me, how dogs let us submit our will on them rather easily. Now I know what I was doing was for her own good and she ultimately seemed to really enjoy being clean (you know how dogs do that rubbing thing on the carpet once they’re clean? She was rubbing herself along the garage door!!) but it sort of hit me how I could have been doing anything to her and she would eventually give in. How trusting, and how sad that so many people betray that trust. It just really hit me today for some reason.

pups and shoeBut anyway, hopefully she will be ok with her next bath and hopefully I didn’t teach her to be deathly afraid of them…I think not as, like I said, she clearly got into it after a bit. And it is nice to have her clean!! Birth is a yucky business and that first week continues to be a bit yucky. Add to that her bout of whipworm and the poop that goes a long with that, and her pups crawling all over her and THEIR loose stool and… well, you get the picture. The dog needed a bath.

I keep hearing from Chloe‘s pups’ families and it seems things are going well. They are discussing their 9 week vet visit and most of the pups are about 12 pounds! Most are sleeping through the night and most are biting, a lot. I keep telling them, but I doubt they believe me, that this group of pups wasn’t even all that mouthy! Annie‘s pups, from this past winter, now THAT was a mouthy group. I’d sit on the floor and they’d come at me like piranha! It was sort of scary. But they’ve all worked out their issues and I believe this group will too. Biting is just like anything, it is a training issue as well as an energy issue. Make sure the pup understands it isn’t allowed, EVER, and make sure they are tired out doing something else.

So, hopefully I’ve have some video tonight of the pups nursing. The puppies start out kneading and kneading and sucking and sucking without very much payoff. Then suddenly their bodies go rigid, their tails unfurl, and they start gulping, each with their own little happy sound. My friend Maria saw it today and said it sounded like music, and I guess it did.

June 24, 2009 • Tags: , , , , , , • Posted in: advice, behavior, dog ownership, fostering dogs, health, observations, pups, story update, training

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