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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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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Day ten update
Annie is becoming a part of our family like our summer mama, Sweetie, never could. Sweetie was so sick the entire time we had her, only really getting over her giardia and coccidea near the end of her time with us.
Annie loves to chew her Kongs. She loves you to throw them and she loves to chase them and then to chew chew chew them. She is surprisingly good with all people. Even though her pups are only 10 days old today she allowed my friend Cathy into her puppy room to look at her babies! This is unheard of. Of course Cathy knows dogs and loves bully breeds so that was probably part of it. But Annie has been friendly to anyone she’s met. If she gets a sniff first then she is all tail and butt wags! She especially loves all the kids she’s met, showing immediate friendliness toward them. She loves to run, she walks well on a leash and she loves cuddling. When it is her time for a forever family, she will make someone a great companion.
About the puppies – they are 10 days old so their eyes are ready to open any day now. They are still all closed but I suspect that soon they will open. The ears follow a few days later. Once eyes and ears are open puppies get really noisy! These puppies are getting really big, but there are two who are smaller then the rest. I’d call them the “runts” but they are thriving along with the rest of the litter.
Mommy instincts kick in
sleeping puppies
Annie is finally looking like a normal dog. Her ribs are receding and her hip bones don’t stick out any more. And her pups are getting FAT! Good for her! When they were born you could see all of their ribs. But now, three days later they look fat and happy – just like pups born to healthy moms. It is amazing how little it takes to help these doggie families along. She’s been with us just two weeks and already her health troubles are becoming a thing of the past. For anyone who wonders if they can help these sorts of dogs, don’t question it – the question is absolutely, yes you can. It takes so very little – just clean water, nutritious food, a warm bed, a clean place to live and medical care if necessary. Just stuff you’d provide for your own dogs. Please, if your heart moves you, help out in any way you can. Ok, public service announcement over.
Annie is also becoming more trusting. She greets me with wags and allows me to pet her. This morning, for the first time since I met her, she put her head into me and just relaxed as I scratched her neck and head. It was good to see her opening up. She also seems happy to see my son. But she is wary of people she hasn’t met before.
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Annie’s Pups: Day 3
I decided that enough is enough and that I had to change that dirty bedding she’d been nursing on for the last 24 hours. Normally I like to change the bedding twice a day but since she has seemed more shy around me I wanted to give her some space. But it was getting gross so when Mike pottied her tonight I quickly changed the soiled bedding for fresh and got a good look at the pups.
Looks like we have 7 males and one female! And three with stubby little tails! Australian shepherds?? Time will tell. At this age all pups from all breeds look alike. Their size and breed characteristics don’t start to show until a few weeks later. All seem to be getting enough milk and are quieter now, telling me that they are feeling happy and full. Good work Annie. She is doing well too, still skinny but looking better than she did last week when she came to us.
