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Puppy Eyes Start to Open
Plump puppies are happy puppies.
The puppies are GROWING! They are getting bigger and fluffier every day. Their eyes began opening two days ago and now they are nearly all the way open on all of them. And as a result they can see who they are bumping into and I am beginning to see the beginnings of playing!! One of the games is to bark so loud that they knock themselves over – a very fun game as they will do it again and again. (Remember, the ears open shortly after the eyes so that is likely why – they are trying out their new voices and startling themselves at the same time). Another game is “bite your brother” which two will do at the same time to each other with their little 2 week old puppy growls up full volume! And the last game is “wag the tail” (no surprise there, it must be genetic!) which I have seen most of them doing today for the first time. I swear, these 8 are way cuter than the other litters I’ve had (I suspect I will say this again with the next litter).
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Learning the ropes
Annie’s tail bandage is holding, so the chronic happy tail is no longer bloodying up the walls of my basement. The one from the vet dropped off almost immediately, but mine has held for two whole days!!
Annie continues to be a joy, learning many commands. So far she sits on command, drops her Kong (!) to the word “drop,” knows her name and comes when called. The only problem is that she doesn’t seem to really understand the whole entire concept of not eliminating in the house. But she is learning. She clearly knows when I am NOT happy with her, and slinks around with her happy tail way down between her legs and goes and hides in her crate. All this just because I said in an old lady shaming sort of voice, “OH Annie! What have you Done??” when she pooped near the door while I wasn’t watching.
144 Puppy Toes!
Pups are worth the work!
Today’s big event was nail clipping!! Fun fun. I got around to nearly all of them, which is a lot of toes if you think of it…5 on each front foot, 4 on each back makes 18 each pup x 8 = 144 toes. Yikes! Don’t ever break it down like that, it seems overwhelming. Like, for example, I’ve done at minimum 2 loads of laundry a day since the pups were born so that makes 28 loads of laundry in two weeks. With about 6 more weeks to go that means I’ll have at minimum 84 more loads to do until these guys leave…and that doesn’t include MY household’s laundry, just puppy bedding!!! Like I said, don’t break it down. Best if you take it one day at a time, one growth milestone at a time, one warm, wet, wuffily nuzzle at a time…
Chronic Happy Tail
Since Annie has been with us, the tip of her tail has been a topic of conversation. When she wags, it whips around and smarts quite a lot when hit by it. As she has grown more comfortable in our home, she wags more and more to the point where the tip of her tail bleeds. Upon closer examination, it seemed as though a piece of bone was exposed, which we thought was why it hurt so to be whacked by it. Odd, though, that it didn’t seem to phase Annie a bit when she smacked it on a wall or similar object. She never seemed to lick it, or show any signs of protectiveness of her tail. So we began to think perhaps the wound caused nerve damage?
Kristin called the vet to have her examined. When she returned she said Annie suffered from “chronic happy tail“, to which we all laughed. But in fact, that is exactly what the vet wrote on Annie’s chart! Seems that she had developed a callus that needed to be trimmed and bandaged to heal properly. So that’s where we are – our foster dog has chronic happy tail.
Puppy Pictures on Day 13
Some of the pups are showing signs of soon opening their eyes! Once they have their vision and hearing the real fun begins. They will be romping around, learning to walk and to play, and they will become much more photogenic. For now, they lay around and sleep a lot. So here are photos taken today, Saturday November 29, 2008 – they are 13 days old…
(click for larger, un-cropped photos)
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Annie Gets Her Groove Back
Just a week removed from whelping her 8 pups, our foster dog Annie is getting her groove back! She loves to play, especially with her Kong bones. She has two plug type and one bone-shaped Kong and loves chewing and fetching. We have been increasing her play more and more and she tells us when she’s had enough by plopping down and chewing. Its’ good to see this dog come into her own. We can no longer see her ribs and hip bones. She has a graceful prance to her stride and sure loves to play. You go, Annie!
