Pups getting the hang of it
Today Annie got to show off her stuff to an interested family. She did great and I was very impressed by her easy going nature. Now if we can just figure out this Kong obsession! Really, though, she was friendly, open and happy to let them interact with her. I couldn’t have asked for more.
The puppies have really gotten the hang of eating, as the photos show. They just put their heads down and lap it up. It’s funny, but they lap for a bit and then get distracted and wander off. But if you put them back to the bowl they react like, “Say! Where’d this come from? Food! Yahoo!” and start lapping again, only to get distracted and wander off again. They have mastered the ins and outs of climbing the board that separates their bedding area and now when I enter the room it isn’t unusual to see one or two pups out wandering around, exploring the space. However, the room (more…)
New teeth and play area
After wondering for a day why Annie’s teats seemed excessively full (yes, you are supposed to check them daily for obvious reasons) I realized the pup’s teeth must have come in and sure enough, all their little razor sharp teeth have erupted! No wonder she is less eager to nurse them. So last night for the first time in their lives I supplemented their diet with formula. They cried and cried. No one likes to grow up I guess. But a few caught on perfectly and lapped up the formula like they had been doing it for ages. I will introduce it again tonight and once a day for a bit. They are still unsteady on their feet so they can’t really manage eating (more…)
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…
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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