August 13 pupdate

Good morning, good morning the happy dogs say. Rowdy didn’t wake me up this am but Jack did at almost 7am. Jack is the designated barker for Jill so he may well have been performing that service for Rowdy as well. Especially since none of the big dogs showed any signs of needing to go outside. Rowdy didn’t seem to have any trouble making it out to potty though and he hadn’t had to go in his crate so all was well.
Jill had to remind him how to behave a couple of times this morning but SammieDoodle actually played with him. He needs reminded that it is not quite appropriate to use teeth when you are giving kisses. He tries to sneak in a nibble or two when he is giving kisses but not nearly as much today as yesterday – thanks to the girls. He and the SammieDoodlebug have played some this morning and he has cuddled with me some too. He ate his breakfast and then had naptime.
I eventually had naptime too and he was quiet. Generally, he gives a little bark if I leave him in the ex pen and leave the room – especially if the big dogs go too. But he didn’t when I went up to nap (but the big dogs stayed down here.)
Dog Cindi (she’s not just Indy’s Cindi now she’s Mirabella and Indy’s Cindi) came this evening and we worked on baby lions. We got butts done and we did B’s muzzle with the clippers but Rowdy was a combination of scissors and clippers on his muzzle. He is a work in progress but we got a lot of hair off of his face. We’ll keep working on it so hopefully he tolerates the clippers on his muzzle a little better. He is great for having his butt done. MiraBella was much better about having her muzzle done if I kissed her the whole time. What a sacrifice for me - because you know I just don’t normally kiss puppies ;-)
CarreraBoo (fka purple Brownie) passed her AKC Star puppy exam this week and she was only 13 weeks old when she did it. Amy says they have some work to do to be ready for the CGC but she’s not old enough for that yet anyway ;-) What a good puppy! I should get to see her next weekend when they come down for some water practice before our trial.
Speaking of the trials, I hope SammieDoodlebug stays in the game. She’s doing really well in practice and we have been building some extra drive for her line by letting her carry it to the boat and retrieving it for her meals. Jack is happy to be getting to play with us again but we haven’t started letting him jump from the boat or board the boat yet.
Rowdy went to bed a little earlier tonight. He was pretty tired from his day. I hope that doesn’t mean he’s going to want to get up way early tomorrow. I’m shooting for sleeping until almost 7. For now though, I am going to get ready for bed and then I’ll do last call. Nighty, nighty, nighty to you all

August 12 Rowdy Pupdate

Happy 14 week birthday to the babydogs tonight. And luckily for me, Rowdy (fka Limey) is here! I get to keep him for 10 days while his people are on vacation at a place that (gasp) doesn’t allow dogs.
He’s currently napping in the ex pen after some playing, retrieving, chewing and dinner (not necessarily in that order.) So far, he hasn’t had any accidents in the house and has been willing to potty every time I’ve taken him out. What a good boy. Aside from a little barking for attention, he’s doing very well. Once I gave him a bone to chew on, he quit barking for attention.
His mother and sister had to remind him how to appropriately greet grown up dogs (or at least the queen and princess.) They sound AWFUL when they do that but they never have to put a tooth on anyone. I think Jill tested him – she got out a chewing toy and when he showed interest (read that as he went running right up into her face) she yelled at him. He took off running into the other room and got in Sammie’s crate and waited for me to come rescue him. At which point he checked to make sure there wasn’t’ anything good in any of the other crates ;-) After he came back in, SammieDoodle apparently decided to demonstrate the appropriate way to show interest in what the other dogs have and Jill gave it right to her. Neither Jill nor Sammie actually wanted it. Sammie continued the lesson when Rowdy wanted Jack’s toy (Jack just turns his head and if that doesn’t work, he tells me about it.) Poor Jack was the only one that actually wanted his toy.
Rowdy and I practiced some sits and downs and then played some retrieving games. He doesn’t sit beside me very well but he has a slight concept of waiting until released to retrieve the tossed/thrown toy. He goes flying after it and when he gets there, he pounces and barks, then flies back to put it in my hand. What a good boy.
His mama says that he gets up very early (5:30 early) so we’ll see how late he sleeps here. I hope it’s later than that. Maybe if I make it good and dark in the dogs’ room, he’ll sleep later. Guess we’ll find out. For now: Nighty, nighty, nighty.

August 3 Pupdate

I have an empty nest ;-( The last puppy left here Sunday and flew to her new home in Los Angeles, CA yesterday. Cary (now Ethan) left on Saturday and is in the Columbus, OH area. I miss them all very much and have gone through almost the whole box of fudgesicles.
I’ve been cleaning up their stuff and took down the ex pen inside and the ‘security’ fencing outside but that’s not nearly as much fun as setting things up for the puppies. I don’t have it all done yet either as I’ve had to spend some time moping.

Bagby (fka Royal) is doing well in his new home and his mom commented on what a little gentleman he is. That’s a nice tribute to his sire as he was often referred to as a gentleman. He’s swimming, playing and training and loving with his new family. He starts some official training soon. In the meantime, he’s meeting other dogs and people and being ‘home schooled.’ He seems to be a hit with his new family and fitting in with the extended family dogs and is helping out by gathering up things they ‘lost’ (including the terrier’s collar) and putting them under the shrubbery for safekeeping.

Pink (no new name yet) flew home to LA yesterday and did very well with that. She is learning to fit in as a California girl. She is quite the hit with her new family – especially the boys who didn’t know they were getting a dog until they arrived to pick her up and I asked if they were here to meet their new puppy. He apparently had a stunned expression on his face but was quite happy to meet her. He’s already talking about them needing another one later to keep her company. It is SO far away from us but it’s only a couple of hours from my sister’s new home. I guess that’s all the more reason to schedule a visit (especially since my sister has found the dog friendly beach near her house.)

Carrera (fka Purple brownie) is living large in VA with her new family and older ‘brother’ Salazar. I think she is making him a better dog and is by all accounts adorable. Her mom keeps us updated on Facebook and via email and is supposed to come for a water practice weekend soon as well as bring her to the water trial in PA. I look forward to seeing her again (and again and again.) That little girl is a spitfire and very pretty. Maybe she’ll end up doing conformation as well… She's supposed to be her daddy's girl but I think she regard them as 'her people.' Shades of her mother all over again.

Ethan (fka Cary Blue and Baby Blue) is adjusting to his new life and playing with his new PWD sister in OH. Apparently, she is thrilled that they finally have a dog that will play with her. The older dogs have explained the house rules and for now, he is complying. He’s supposed to get to meet the horse soon and I will be waiting to hear how that goes. I am trying to talk his new mom into bringing the PWDs to our water practice in the Columbus area this weekend so I can visit with him.

MiraBella (fka the green brownie) is in and out with Indy’s (Dog) Cindi so I don’t have to miss her as much. I am trying really hard not to love on her too much while she bonds with her new family but it’s very hard. She is so cute when she comes back and just fits right in. She has a lot of her mother, Jill, in her which means she also reminds us of SammieDoodlebug. She can swing her whole butt when she sashays around in greeting. She also made her first kill this morning – a baby bird. Apparently, she’s the only one in the group that doesn’t have a good leave it yet and when everybody else stopped for the little one learning to fly; she pounced on it and got it. Debbie (our friend with border collies who is doing MiraBella’s daycare) had to pry the dead little bird out of her happy PWD jaws. She’s doing well with sit, down, spins, barking on command, and touching a target. She’s may be developing a BC stare as well ;-)

And finally Rowdy (fka Limey) is making himself at home in Cincinnati. He’s started puppy classes this week but was already doing well with sit and down without a hand signal or lure and housetraining. And like the other puppies, he is retrieving. His mom is working on his release at the end of the delivery to hand. He was still a handsome puppy when he was here a couple of weeks ago for grooming and swimming and I’ll get to see a lot more of him when his family goes on a pre-scheduled vacation and he stays here. I’m very much looking forward to that.

Jack is supposed to get to start easing back into activity Thursday and he is looking forward to that. Jill and SammieDoodlebug got pretty big haircuts but are still in versions of the lion trim. As a matter of fact, all of the puppies are still in lions, at least for now ;-) SammieDoodlebug is starting to get more water practice and Jill is considering whether she might not like to become a real water dog as well. We’ll still love her whatever she decides. We need to ramp up the hunt for the best baby Daddy for Doodlebug puppies now. If only they didn’t leave, I’d really enjoy breeding.

Guess I’ll go do last call and nighty, nighty, nighty with the big dogs.

July 25 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning the little dogs say. We got up at 6 to go out to potty and play in the ‘coolish’ time of day. I’ve also been watering the grass in the dog yard to encourage it to grow. It’s really enjoying this hot weather as long as we water it. In a year or two, it may take over the whole dog yard. The only problem is it turns brown in the winter so it will have to be ‘overseeded’ every year or I’ll have depressing brown grass too much of the year.
Turns out I probably didn’t need to water the grass today because it stormed this afternoon right before Cindi got here. MiraBella had puppy class after Indy had obedience class and then we were going to do some more water practice but we ended up only getting to do puppy toenails and letting my MeeMaw (that’s my grandmother) meet MiraBella. MeeMaw hadn’t seen and brown PWDs in person (I don’t think she’s seen any curlies either since we don’t have any.)
I finally figured out how to get the flip to use its program on my new computer but I don’t remember how I did it (on the old one, I just had to plug it in but on this one I had to pick something.) I hope it remembers to do it on its own next time. Hopefully, there will be video from the Movers and Shakers Sothern Splash water trials on Youtube by the time you read this.
MeeMaw’s chair is right in front of the puppy’s room. She may not have a great view of the tv but she has a prime puppy viewing spot and they are entertaining her. Maybe she’ll help me sing them to sleep since they are songs she used to sing to us. Nighty, nighty, nighty…

June 24 Pupdate

My goodness, what a day. Since the Blog is going to be a little more erratic as we have less time with the puppies, you may want to have it email you when it gets updated. I have been trying that out and so far, it works.

Cary’s plans have changed while his new family is potentially welcoming a new grandchild into the world. Hopefully all is going/has gone well with that. As a result we get to enjoy him for at least an extra day (I haven’t heard when they are coming for him yet so I haven’t had to hit the Fudgesicles.)

Indy’s Cindi and MiraBella (and Indy) came over and we took the old puppies to the pond for some training. It took a little while to get ready because the boats had to be pumped out and I couldn’t find the section of hose that puts the water into the pond. We finally gave up and Cindi just held it so that the water shot out into the pond. I made sure that the electric source battery thing (thanks Roger for introducing us to that) didn’t get wet.

We are trying to overcome SammieDoodlebug’s thrird dog syndrome and get her back into the game. I think we are making progress and she came happily off of the boat when called AND did the same when I called her into the water. She anticipated once but I think if we work on it in a pleasant manner, we’ll be ok. We decided that part of her problem is getting bored with doing the same exercises every time so we are including some from Working (she’s known the apprentice ones for 2 years now) and even Courier - Including jumping to ‘nothing’. She doesn’t jump like Indy but she leaves the boat with enthusiasm and purpose so that’s fine with me.

Indy started practicing his Courier exercises and can do the boat to boat exercises without me even calling him until he gets to my boat. He is making good progess with going to the shore and getting his float line, too. I sent them home with a hard Courier ball and a rope to get started. We had toyed with the idea of him using an inflatable ball but since we had ‘the incident’ with one getting punctured at trial and going flat (with Jack) we seem to have settled on a hard ball.



After the practice, we brought the puppies up to play, too. We put life jackets on 2 of them (we only have 2 that size so I put it on the 2 that tend to get sunk by one of the others. I’m not naming names but it’s the littlest one here.) They had a great time and swam along with the big dogs and the people. They ran in and out of the water and played on the hillside some too. Eventually, SammieDoodle took them on a little excursion up the road into the woods. She seemed to keep them with her and they all came back together so only Cindi worried much.

They seemed to have a good time and managed to stay cooler than we did. I never thought I’d be happy to get into the pond.

I’m ready to take a bath and head for nighty, nighty, nighty.

July 23 Pupdate

It’s been a fun filled day here today. While I was washing my hair this morning, Jack alarm barked for me to come downstairs. (This is actually different than Jack’s bark that he just wants me to come back) so I came down to see what was going on. Pink! was running around the rubber room. Apparently, she can now come over the little ex pen so after I finished my hair, I rebuilt the puppy pen with the taller ex pen.


Then Rowdy (fka Limey) came for a visit. We let him play with Pink! and Cary for a little while before we worked on his hair. He was living up to his name at first so we let Jill and then SammieDoodle speak to him about how to behave and the puppies had a much better time playing. It is still amazing to me how the littlest puppy can tell the biggest puppy how they want to play and because they want to play, he respects that. Rowdy is much bigger than Pink and Cary at this point.

After the other puppies helped tire him out a little, we worked on grooming. He was pretty good on the table for getting his butt shaved but we didn’t try to do his muzzle, just scissored a tad around his eyes.

Then the puppies went swimming in the pond. They all just swam for the joy of swimming and would go out past the people. Then they’d play on the bank and hillside and come back for more swimming. I think a good time was had by all – at least until the bath time. Then there was minimal whining and some singing by Cary. He really enjoys being held wrapped in the towel (or not wrapped in the towel for that matter.)

Rowdy is doing well with his sits and downs and the other 2 puppies are doing very well with their retrieving of ‘live’ objects to hand. I haven’t started on ‘dead’ retrieves with them.

Jack finished up his course of steroids so if he can just maintain his range of motion for 2 weeks on continued exercise restriction, he can go back to having a life. If not, we’ll have to look into other possible causes.

For now, we’re going nighty, nighty, nighty.

11 weeks old

I can't believe the puppies are 11 weeks old tonight.  4 of them are spending their birthdays in their new homes and 2 (Pink! and Cary) are still here.  Cary is supposed to go to his new home on Saturday and Pink is supposed to be here until the 29th.  I don't know what I am going to do without them.

We had a great time at the water trial.  We took Pink and Cary and Indy's Cindi's MiraBella and Amy brought Carrera so we had a passel of puppies with us.  It made for an interesting time getting them out to potty (we carried them out) but they were very good and quiet for the most part.  They'd settle down quickly when we turned out the lights so we did that rather early (not that we weren't tired enough to do that anyway.)

The puppies were very good in the ex pen corral we made for them at the water trial and they got lots more socialization.  We had a few volunteers to help us wrangle while they swam, too.

On Sunday, they got their little muzzles shaved.  Some of them took it better than others.  Cary whined a little but held still, MiraBella was about the funniest because she would fuss until she got  a kiss but would immediately start again when the clippers touched her.  All in all, they had a good first expereince with it.

Indy and Cindi got his Working Water Dog title; that's 2 titles this July for him.  SammieDoodlebug decided that I was trying to trick her after the boat ride and wouldn't come off the platform so she did not get her Apprentice Title.  We're working on it; I really hope to get her enthusiasm back.

Pink! and Cary have been working on sits and downs and walking along with me (and sitting on both sides of a door) and retrieving.  They are doing well but they can't retrieve if I have treats.  They can only do that for the joy of doing it again.

One of my favorite things to do with them these days is to sit on the edge of the wheelchair ramp deck and then lie down.  The puppies cuddle and climb all over me and generally remember to be gentle.  It's awfully sweet.

It's almost time to get them ready for nighty, nighty, nighty...

July 15 Pupdate

July 15 Pupdate


We had a partial reunion this morning. Casrrera (fka Purple) and her new brother Salazar came to hang out in our room while their mom changed ot a room that hoefully, had a/c. She seemed to get right back into the group and then climbued up on top of the crate – repeatedly.

She rode over to the water site with us as well so her mom didn’t have to bring the crate back down to the car. We kept her in the ex pen corral with the other 3 puppies at the water trial site. They were very good and played and napped and hung out like good dogs.

It’s kind of fun to have that many of them together again. We even took them swimming a couple of times. They enjoyed that but that’s not a lot of surprise. The pond was really warm so It was kind of like swimming in the bathtub.

Carrera is spending the night with us since Salazar had such a big day and needed some help relaxing. The puppies are all chewing on some cow tails the Dog Cindi borught. That quieted the puppies down last night as well. Smart of dog Cindi, huh.

We are just waiting for it to get dark so we can do last call and go to bed. We’ll be up early anyway, we might as well get some rest tonight. So Nighty, Nighty, Nighty to all. Maybe we’ll get to write again tomorrow.

Rowdy's (fka Limey)pupdate

And now for an update on the adventures of Rowdy:
Rowdy (formerly known as Limey) came home to Cincinnati on the 4th of July and did very well on the 3 hour ride home. The first couple of nights he needed a trip or 2 outside to potty in the middle of the night, but has been sleeping through for the last several nights. I usually do the last potty call between 10:30 and 10:45. After singing a lullaby or 2 I settle him in his crate for nighty, nighty, nighty. He's awake between 5:30 and 6:00 which is OK because we are early risers. The next hour and a half is raucous play time....much chasing Blackjack, wrestling with toys and zoom, zoom, zoom all around the house. Poor Blackjack isn't sure what to make of him. Blackjack is an 11 year old neutered male PWD who has always thought that every human and other dog is his friend. Even when confronted with an aggressive dog, his tail still wags madly and he has no idea he's in danger. I believe he was born without the instinct to defend himself. He has been letting Rowdy chase and bite him without correction. I started rewarding Blackjack for barking at Rowdy, but he still hasn't been able to get the puppy to back off. I have to intervene and give the old guy a break.

Rowdy settles back down for a rest by about 7:30. I have set up an ex-pen attached to his crate in the kitchen. This gives him plenty of space to play quietly, and keeps him out of trouble!!! He is pretty quiet all day and is content to nap and play in the ex-pen unless he needs to go out to potty. Thanks to Cristi and Jill he knows that outside is for potty. We've had several accidents in the house, but they occur when he's playing and suddenly HAS TO GO. That's OK - he's a smart little guy and it won't last forever. For the most part, the weather in the Cincinnati area has been hot and sunny since bringing Rowdy home. We've been swimming in the pool with both dogs. Rowdy has been doing some short swims toward the steps and has gotten better at both swimming and getting out of the pool. His swimming has gotten more relaxed. Sunday we put him on a surf board type float and pushed him gently around the pool for a few minutes. I want him to get used to the sensation of floating so he's ready to ride on a boat for water work.

By late afternoon/early evening he's ready for another session of zoom, zoom and play. We have discovered that a paper shopping bag with handles is a great toy and he can stay busy attacking and shredding it for a long time. This was discovered when he grabbed the handle of a bag I had set on the floor for a moment. He dragged the bag and its contents around the family room while I chased him. Thankfully, I have a shelf full of various sized shopping bags (you never know when you're going to need a good shopping bag). The ones from Pottery Barn Kids are the best so far, but any store's paper bag will do as long as it has those twisted paper handles....good for dragging and chewing. Speaking of chewing, the biggest challenge has been keeping things out of his mouth while he's outside. True to PWD form, he wants to eat everything....plants, rocks, bits of branches and tree bark. I spend most of our time outside fishing things out of his mouth. The first day home I went online and looked up all of my indoor and outdoor plants for poison potential. Who knew that geraniums and philodendron could be toxic to dogs?? I don't have much of a green thumb and only grow plants that are almost impossible to kill. Thus, the philodendron inside and geraniums in my patio pots outside. All of them had to be moved.

Anyway, I hope I haven't bored anyone too much. "Allyn all" he is a sweet and beautiful little boy. I am looking forward to years of companionship, water work, agility........... Here’s hoping he and all of his little siblings grow into wonderful big PWDs.

July 13 Pupdate

The remaining puppies are doing well. They are very quiet in the night and I have been getting up around 6 but not from hearing them. They are staying quiet at least that long. I haven’t been waiting to see when they do start to fuss, I just get up anyway. That way we can go outside before it gets too miserably hot. It is easier to keep just 2 of them cool when we are out in the heat of the day but I still miss the others.

We are getting some much needed rain today and the puppies and I have enjoyed some of it. They are truly little PWDs and rain is just another form of water after all.

Now that the litter is almost ‘done,’ I have figured out all kinds of extra things to do with the blog. I have discovered how to allow other authors so they can guest blog (which is how we got the Carrera update earlier today) and alledgedly, I can schedule posts or email them in (this will be the test of a scheduled post but the test I emailed hasn’t shown up yet.) I think I even found where to have blogger tell me when something is posted (which will help me know if the scheduled post has gone through.)

Pink! and Cary are going with MiraBella and the rest of us to the NC water trial tomorrow. The old dogs, Jack and Jill, are staying home but the “old puppies’ SammieDoodlebug and Indy are entered. Carrera is going to meet us there with her new brother who is also entered. It is going to be hard to get along without Jack but he is still on severely restricted activity so he needs to stay home to stay calm enough.

The puppies are snoozing so I’d better go get some stuff done before last call. We’ll be busy busy busy in the am. Nighty, nighty, nighty to all.

Carrera

Sunday July 11th:

So we start on our journey home, Carrera (purple) was pretty quiet. We stopped at a Wendy's as I was starving and decided I'd risk an awful stomach ache as they have a drive-through and I can pay with a credit card there. She got sick at that point, just a little though and I wiped it up as best I could.

We stopped at the first rest stop in VA to see if she wanted to pee, but she wanted nothing to do with being a leash and even less to do with walking. I tried for a bit calling her, but she seemed to be totally disinterested so I put her back in the car and we continued on. (Salazar did water a bush there so all was not lost). There was an awful accident on 81 where traffic came to a complete standstill before Staunton. I called Matt and he routed me onto RT11 which is some 2 lane country road. Seems it was a good idea as tractor trailers were doing it too. Matt said the backup was over 8 miles and wasn't moving at all. I never saw what happened, but it slowed me down a lot.

We stopped at another rest stop and true to form, she refused again to do anything. I grabbed a hazelnut latte at McDonalds and could hear her get sick again :( Looked like just a little bit of foam. Seems she is like Salazar and does okay as long as you are moving, but doesn't like slowing down. We got home at 930pm and my mom came over to help the transition. Both dogs had dinner, Carrera ate with Matt out on the deck and Salazar ate inside with my mom and me. She seems to enjoy her expanded region of grass to run around. There is a slope to our yard so she would run up and down.

Playing ref between her and Salazar, trying to pay 200% attention to Salazar, and still watch her is challenging. He is pretty jealous. She poo'd and peed before bed like a good girl. Salazar was allowed to sleep in our bed last night to show him he's higher on the totem pole and he seemed to appreciate it. Carrera cried a minute or two but hushed down quickly and was quiet until Matt's alarm went off at 5am. I took her out promptly as I'm sure she was awake and she peed right away, good girl.

We went back to bed, her in her crate, Salazar and me in the big bed and Matt going to work. At 630 we got up, I tried to feed them on different sides of a baby gate but not visible to each other and failed. So I took her outside and fed her and then put her in the crate and sat with Salazar. We then went outside and played for a while, he is still getting used to her. I then put him inside and walked around with her to see if she had to pee. Now she's in her crate napping and Z is passed out at my feet.

Good pup pups. She seems to be eating the TOW Salmon okay. She gets distracted easily though and we do some hand feeding to make sure she eats. This morning I was feeding her and having her sit. She did very well riding in the crate and didn't fuss. I'm assuming she peed in her crate and got sick as the bedding was damp. My mom brought over some dry bedding for her last night. She should be getting used to my voice as well, the trip was long and who doesn't sing along with "Don't stop believing..." lol

How are the others?

Monday: July 12th

The video shows her retreiving a tennis ball. Salazar and I were outside picking up poo so Matt worked with her alone. She also enjoyed playing with the pugs and was much more vocal and outgoing.

Alright, now to see if this works!

Amy, Matt, Salazar and Carrera

July 12 Pupdate

July 12 Pupdate

I’m a little behind on my blogging (too many Fudgesicles?) but I’ll try to do better. With a new computer (Wed) and a water trial, I’m not sure how successful I will be but keep checking.

Bagby (fka Royal) and Carrera (fka Purple) left with their new people on Sunday. By all accounts they made it home safely and are settling in well. I will post Carrera’s report since I can’t figure out how to allow guest bloggers.

Rowdy is settling in to his new home and playing more with his new older brother and swimming n the pool. He is supposed to come visit next Monday for some playing and grooming. He was the only one not here to get his behind re-lionized on Sunday. His mom is going to send us a guest blog soon, too.

Since MiraBella (fka Green) went back home with Cindi Sunday night, I am down to 2 puppies here. Needless to say, I’ve had to have a lot of Fudgesicles.

Cary and Pink! are dong fine without the others and are enjoying each others company for the most part. They have the occasional little puppy spat but since there aren’t other puppies to play with, they definitely make up quickly. I have also noticed that they are learning more and more about right and wrong ways to use teeth.

Cary has been asking for more tummy rubs in the last couple of days – maybe because he is less likely to get stepped on by another puppy in the process. He sits by the ex pen until he is sure you are coming and then he flops over to have his tummy rubbed. Very cute!

Pink! is very cute and still seems quite fearless. She hasn’t come over the top of the crate like Carrera did but she’s right in on any action. She can move the little crate by pulling on the rug I have under it. I am pretty certain it weighs more than she does but that’s no deterrent.

So far, the defenses in the dog yard have held. I hesitate to say that because the puppies always break out after I do...

Nighty, nighty, nighty to all.

July 10 Pupdate

July 10 Pupdate
Computer trouble last night kept me from getting the pupdate out and I’ve been busy today. It did rain yesterday which was very nice and it cooled down a little and we had lower humidity today, I think. We had nice weather for water practice and then puppy playtime afterward.

I gave the puppies baths this morning and they all stood in the shower like big dogs. They are awfully good puppies. They were also very good for getting their little butts re-lionized. Haven’t tackled any muzzles yet, we don’t want to push our luck too far ;-) Besides Indy’s Cindi and Indy had to go finish his Rally Advanced title. BellaBoo stayed here while they did that. Cindi reported that Bella slept until 8:30 this am! What a good girl she was. The puppies here got up much earlier than that but I didn’t take them back out to potty at 1’ish. Maybe it’d be worth it to switch over to that.

Jill didn’t feed the puppies at all today. Yesterday we had a replay of how to eat raw chicken for the puppies. She didn’t care that I had given them their own – shi insisted on sharing hers and then monitoring them. They were a lot better at it this time. They even managed to eat part of the bone until I took it away.

The new reinforcements in the dog yard worked until this evening when Indy went over the fence. Carrera and someone else (a black one but I didn’t retrieve them so I don’t know which one) made a break for it after we had been outside for a while so we brought all of the puppies back in.

I am trying to finish getting everything together for Carrrera and Bagby to leave for their new homes tomorrow. I will really miss those little guys and will only have 2 here to console me. Pink will be here until the end of the month and plans have changed for Cary. I won’t know when he’s leaving until I know who his new owners will be. For now, I need to go cuddle these babies for a last nighty, nighty, nighty time.

July 8 Pupdate

9 weeks ago tonight, the 6 little pupsters were born. It’s really hard to believe how far they’ve come in such a short time. One of them has already left us. One is in and out. 2 more are leaving this weekend. This is the part I hate ;-(

Dare I say, I finally have them contained in the dog yard now. I finally had to set up a couple of sections of the new ex pens to block off the whole gate area. The puppies are not very pleased with that arrangement. They apparently really enjoyed bush surfing.

Cary asked to go potty this evening and Bruce happened to be watering the dog yard so he got to play in the sprinklers. He was having big fun with that so I took the others out with him. They certainly enjoy having pond water sprayed in their faces. No accounting for taste, I guess.

We had another scorching hot day today so it was short trips out to potty. It might rain tomorrow – we are hoping it rains a lot and cools down a little. The puppies and I are willing to go out in the rain – it’s a lot better than pond water being sprayed in your face.

Happy birthday little pups!

July 7

It’s going to be another really hot day. The pupsters and I went out early this morning to inspect the new containment efforts. They appeared to be sufficient so I cam in to start cleaning out their ‘room.’ I did it last night with them locked in the crate and they were quite vocal. There’s nothing like washing a floor with 5 PWD puppies barking in your ear. They seemed to know when there wasn’t a chance of getting out and felt free to bark and make lots of racket. When I was finishing up, they seemed to realize they were going to get released and “assumed the position.” Individually, I try to get them to sit before I let them out – at the very least they have to be quiet.

But, as usual, I digress. When I came back inside to clean up, 3 of the puppies made their escape ;-( So I had to bring them back inside until I could figure out how they were getting out. Bagby(Royal) was doing the potty dance so I took him out whlie Bruce was watering the yard (sprinkler system is not automated yet so he has to turn the zones on and off.) Carrera then wanted to go and he started watering the dog yard while she and I were out there. She thought that was BIG fun especially when I had to pull a couple of the heads up. I am not nearly as fond of getting pond water sprayed on me as the puppies are. Eventually, I brought Pink! outside and she showed me the last flaw (hopefully) in the defenses. They are going over the little piece of fencing I put up to keep Jill from going through the bushes. They don’t need to go through the bushes, they go ON the bushes. They just surf over the tops until they get to the edge and proceed down to the ground. I guess we need less thick bushes or a taller section of fence there. So the yard got some water, the puppies had fun and I found another project.

I took my nap this morning while the puppies had morning siesta. They didn’t seem to miss me.

This evening Indy’s Cindi came by to pick up Bela and we dremeled the toenails on the big and little dogs. They were very good for it but they were rather interested in the grinder. I managed to keep their little noses and tongues off of the business end and they have nice short nails again at least for now.

The new defenses held this evening and no one but Indy escaped. He got tired of waiting and being chased by puppies so he went over the puppy fencing. I am surprised he didn’t break the fence post again but fortunately, he did not. He took a quick trip to the pond and then came back for us to let him in the gate. It was hard to keep the puppies from dashing out when we removed the defenses. Little MiraBela went home with Indy’s Cindi so I am down to 4 puppies tonight. She’ll be back this weekend though.

All are quiet now so I need to get them ready for nighty, nighty, nighty. It gets daylight awfully early these days.

July 6 Pupdate

The little pupsters were quiet until 6ish this morning. I realized part of why when I came down and 3 little black dogs were sitting in the ex pen instead of the crate. The 2 little brown girls, Bela and Carrera, were safely locked into the other but were being quiet, too. Neither of them had any potty troubles though. One of the other puppies had peed on the paper during the night. At least the crate door I didn’t get latched was the one into the ex pen and they weren’t out in the rubber room.

They routinely escape from the back yard now, I spent a large part of the evening reinforcing and staking down orange fencing – they leap on it like a hammock and then wriggle under the bottom when it gives and then climb out the other fence. Indy broke one of the temporary posts over the weekend so it was even easier for them to get out. I think I have it fixed now but we won’t know until in the morning when I let them out.


They are pretty lively for almost 2 hours in the morning now before they need to settle in for naps. I’ve been crating some of them during nap time, together and alone and there is minimal fussing if any. Sometimes the fussing is more from the puppies outside the crate than the one in it.

They have discovered the full joys of shredding paper. They’ve enjoyed playing with it for quite some time but they have elevated itto a new level. Not satisfied to tear up the loose piece I give them so I can deal with the potty station, they have been shredding the one that I fold all around the plastic potty pan. Instead of using a crate pan, I got a Ugopet and I put alfalfa pellets (the rabbit food that still smells like grass) underneath the grid. I then cover that with the paper so they don’t fling alfalfa pellets all over the house. They have been lying there shredding the paper around the edges where it is folded under. Maybe I should wrap their chew toys in paper to make them more interesting ;-)

I managed to get a nap in this afternoon while they were having afternoon siestas. Since the decent weather is early in the am, I have been staying up and letting them play when we get up in the mornings and then doing last call late enough that they don’t have to potty in their crates during the night. It’s counterproductive to crate training if I don’t get them out in time. The big dogs don’t even show interest in getting up with them when I take the puppies through their room on the way outside, they understand sleeping until a decent hour.

Jill is still nursing them a couple of times a day but she has stopped trying to clean up after them. I think she is just nursing them as a formality to keep her influence with them. They are quite intrigued by Jack who doesn’t like them jumping and chewing on him. He generally just avoids them but for some reason, they make a beeline for him. Since he isn’t allowed to jump or run, I have to make sure I keep them away from him.

I think it’s time for nighty, nighty, nighty for the little dogs and me, too. Bruce is going to be sad to see them puppies go, too – he’ll have to go back to doing last call ;-)

July 5 Pupdate

The puppies have had a few naps and are rejuvenated but I am wiped out. It was very hot today and we took them up to the pond. I figured the heat would encourage more water activity and it did but they mostly did it wading.
They were quite happy hanging out under the dock where Carrera jumped another frog and playing at the water’s edge before I took them on boat rides and then let them swim to shore after one. Royal jumped off of the boat while we were further out than I was comfortable with him swimming (and went completely underwater before righting himself and starting to swim) so I scooped him back up onto the boat platform. He rode like a good boy until we were close enough for me to let him swim in.

They eventually ventured up to play under the forsythia and privet bushes for quite a while. It was a little difficult for us to keep an accurate count of puppies in there but we didn’t lose anyone. They had big fun running in and out and around at each other and the occasional big dog that would come through. Indy’s Cindi was happy that no one found anything to eat.

I sat down to post the blog while I was down here to do last call with the dogs and puppies and Carrera decided to show me her new trick. She climbs up the open crate door and on top of the wire crate to shop in the toys that I put away for the night. I grabbed her off and moved the toys but she has figured out how to do it and did it twice more and the next time, I impeded her progress but obviously didn’t dampen her spirit. She’s closed in a crate for the night with her sister but I am going to have to figure out a way to stop that behavior. Even if she doesn’t get hurt, she’s taking years off of my life worrying about her. She’s certainly a smart little athletic thing.

I’d better go nighty, nighty, nighty since I am keeping the puppies from settling all of the way down to sleep by having the lights on. We have progressed to them going to bed at a sort of time instead of when they are already asleep so I need to keep the routine the same. I had to adjust the timing because of Carrera’s antics. My goodness, she is going to be something ;-)

July 4 Pupdate

And now there are only 4 here ;-( Rowdy (fka Limey) has gone to his new home in Cincinnati. He had a nice trip home and has settled right in so far. I hope he has a quiet night but probably not as much as they hope he does ;-)
I still miss him a lot. I am trying to console myself with the fact that the puppies are making their new people happy and will get lots of attention but I’m still having to hit the Fudgesicles hard.

Indy’s Cindi (now also Bela’s Cindi) brought Bela and Cary along with Indy for the afternoon/evening. We had a great water practice with SammieDoodlebug and then Indy before taking the puppies up to the pond. It was much more of a let them gambole around than organized swim and whlie none of them ended up swimming much on their own, we had a lot of up and down the bank and wading and playing. The unmown grass on the hillside is a BIG draw and lots of fun.
Cary found a partial crawdad (I didn’t think we had them in the pond, maybe one of the birds brought and dropped it?) and Bela helped him eat it. I think she may have gotten the lion’s share - it’s a bitch thing. Carrera (fka Purple) played under the dock and enjoyed jumping frogs.
Pink was quite full of herself and even played in the sand pile enough to get a really sandy behind. We heard some fireworks in the distance several time while we were out playing but the puppies didn’t seem to take any notice of it. That’s a good sign. Indy’s Cindi said they had some in the distance at her house last night but the puppies were too sacked out to even notice.
All day long,I thought of things they were doing that I wanted to include in the blog but now I am so tired that I can’t remember most of them. Must be a sign of old age. My computer is also having fits so I think I’ll post this and shut it down. If I think of any of the other things, I’ll put them in another blog.
Nighty, nighty, nighty

July 3 Pupdate

The puppies definitely know the routine in the mornings. So do the big dogs. The puppies need to get outside earlier than the big dogs so they wait patiently as the puppies run out (right past Jack’s crate) into the yard to potty. On rare occasions, one of them has to pee before getting off the decking but that washes away. They run and play and poop – not necessarily in that order. This morning, I had to remember that I only needed 5 poops before I fixed their breakfasts. (If I’m not right there, I don’t know that everyone goes or how it is or any of those other important facts in a dog’s life.)

Jill feeds them when I let her out. She is sleeping in her crate all night but she likes to check on them at last call. She is still such a good mother, she feeds them before she walks the plank. The big dogs are getting up a lot earlier than they usually do so she can probably hold it with no problem but she does go as soon as they have eaten. Then I give them their oatmeal mixture or moistened kibble. They don’t show as much interest in dog food so I try to give it to them on the occasional morning since they seem hungrier in the morning.

This morning I gave them each a blueberry. I was eating them and gave one to each of the big dogs so I decided to include the puppies. Jack will eat whatever I tell him to eat (very handy if he needs to take a pill), Jill is slightly pickier when she doesn’t have puppies and SammieDoodle will see what Jack does with a new food. The puppies’ each took their blueberry and eventually ate them but they played with them a little.

When the puppies had their morning nap, I tried to take a nap and squelch a budding headache (my head only hurts on days that end in Y.) It took a lot longer than I planned but the puppies were quiet. Fortunately, their lunch wasn’t late ;-) Shortly after their lunch, Indy’s Cindi brought (Mira)Bella and Indy back for a visit. Bela (we are having a minor dispute about how many l’s are prettier) just joined right back in with the gang although there was a lot of sniffing going on. We took Indy up to the pond for some water practice and then we le the puppies out to play some more.

Limey got to do some more swimming but in the pool. It was VERY cold (the new filtration is connected but the heat isn’t on yet) but it bothered me a lot more than him. He caught right on to how to climb out the steps and wasn’t afraid but we kept him from falling/jumping in on his own. Since it was so cold, we stopped after him. He is leaving tomorrow instead of waiting until Tuesday so I wanted to make sure he got exposed to the pool swimming. The others can wait ;-)

Bela took Cary home with her for a sleepover. Puppy class is in the middle of the afternoon tomorrow so I won’t be able to go but Debbie (of the swimming border collies) is going to work him in puppy class. I checked on them and they had big fun and were snoozing. The plan is for them to sleep in separate crates but plans sometimes change ;-) Limey will sleep alone tonight but with a view of his siblings. He’ll sleep with his new mom’s shirt again tonight so he’ll be a little more used to the scent of their house. He’ll take his crate pad from here so he’ll have this familiar scent as well. And all I’ll have is fudgesicles (and his siblings who will eventually leave me as well.)

The 4 puppies here tonight are acting like they are ready to go out for last call so I’m going to get things ready for bedtime. Nighty, nighty, nighty…

July 2 Pupdate

Well, it’s all downhill from here. The first puppy went home tonight. She’ll be back and forth all weekend but it’s still sad to have her go. Indy’s Cindi took the Green girl, now known as MiraBella (probably more Bella though.) none of the other puppies have asked where she went and Indy’s Cindi says she’s doing well so far.

The puppies had a nice long playtime outside this morning. They didn’t do any escaping but I did have to rescue the water shoes that have been sitting out there to dry. I cleaned their room inside while they ran and played and gamboled around. They generally seemed to have a good time but I haven’t known them not to have a good time much ;-)

They are getting pretty nippy at times. SammieDoodle and Jill are helping them with that but they also do a lot of telling each other what is too much to use those teeth on each other. I appreciate that.

Limey picked out his new person today. She and her dog came to meet him and he took right to them. While we were visiting, Maya’s (the green girl from the last litter) people stopped by on their way back home from the Greenbrier trail. Unfortunately, Maya didn’t get to come but the puppies were happy to play with the girls. What seemed very telling was that Limey kept choosing to lay at her feet. Often, the puppies will keep coming back to me when other people are around so I often try to stay out of their reach. But this time, we were all right there and he just kept hanging out with her. He also seemed to get along well with the older dog (also named BlackJack.)

Eventually, we brought the puppies back inside to have a siesta and took her BlackJack to the pond to see if he had any interest in swimming. Armed with milkbones (they float) and a couple of dummies, he and I went into the pond. He swam but not very easily so we put the lifejacket on him. He had a pretty good time after that and would swim for the dummy as much or more than the cookies. He was waiting for me to throw it again instead of waiting for the cookie for bringing me the dummy. And he wasn’t trying to leave the water to go to his mom on the shore. It was nice to have a nearly 11 year old doing what he was bred to do – even if it hasn’t been his favorite thing in the past.

When I let our big dogs out, (Jack is supposed to be on walking sedately/crate rest while his neck is healing so they were crated while the company was here) Jill had to be let into the puppy pen so she could nurse the babies. They were only too happy to oblige.

Limey (new call name not definite yet) is going to stay here until Tuesday afternoon so he’s not the first to leave and so he doesn’t have to face any fireworks alone. They haven’t minded the ones they’ve heard here but there’s no point in pushing it by combining leaving home with fireworks.

I better get them ready for bed and go drown my sorrows in fudgesicles. Maybe someone should tell them to be horrible little puppies so I would look forward to them leaving but I’m not sure they could be that bad. They all have that sweet little PWD face that makes you forgive all anyway ;-)

A little less puppy breath to send your way tonight… Nighty, nighty, nighty

July 1 Pupdate

Sorry this is late but I had a nasty headache I couldn’t shake last night. Cindi was going to guest blog for me but she apparently couldn’t get logged on.

The pupsters are 8 weeks old now. I can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it. They are starting to show that they are growing up a little though. Jill and SammieDoodle are making them toe the line more and more and they are much more inquisitive and ready to explore.

Several times today. they looked like we routinely duct tape them up. I have been picking it out of their hair over and over. Where are they getting duct tape you ask, they are pulling it up from the seams on their floor. It’s the same color as the rubber but they found it anyway. Just more proof that they are indeed PWDs.

We took some of the puppies to the vet with Jack yesterday for a ridealong and to get cookies from the vet techs/vets. I left Limey and Purple in separate crates while we did that. They could still see each other but I am pretty sure they spent the time napping as they were still pretty quiet when Bruce got home and let them out into their area. I’m not sure what they were doing when we got home since Cindi let them out but I didn’t hear them fussing.

They had a nice picnic dinner and romp in the cooler evening air. (They weren’t cold Tamara – they weren’t even wet.) They did keep trying to get to one of the sprinkler heads (Bruce had been watering the yard) but eventually they were distracted by getting out of the fence. They started going through the gate so I had to put the little ex pen in front of that. They can climb over that so it has to be pushed very close to the gate. After that, they found the one spot along the burning bushes where we hadn’t put ex pen inside of the fence and climbed up and through. They stayed around the area but it was hard to keep up with all of them. Eventually, they started winding down and we brought them inside for the night. I had to go to try to deal with my headache so Bruce eventually did last call. I didn’t sing Happy birthday to them at their birth times but I think they’ve forgiven me. I didn’t hear them screaming about it and they were happy to see me this am (and I wasn’t even carrying the food bowl.)

June 30 Pupdate

The pupsters and I are all back home safe and sound. They had a nice trip to Columbus and weren’t too bad for their CERF exams. They were the worst I’ve ever known them to behave on a table for their conformation evaluation, though. Fortunately, they aren’t graded on table behavior ;-) Now I have to decide who to send where and let them start going to their new homes. Where did the time go? (Boy, I sound old don't I?)

The puppies were good on the drive out and back but we did stop and re-separate them on the way home. We had 3 in each crate and in one crate they were playing pretty loudly. Rearranging them settled it right down. None of them got sick or had a pottying accident in the crate.

I think they had a good time at the Trostle’s house. They met even more people – but they’ve never met a stranger – and discovered the joys of mulch. I don’t like mulch so we don’t have any which I am sure added to the appeal. Everyone trying to keep them out of it made it into a game. It didn’t appear to be as much fun when I would clean it out of their mouths but it was worth trying again and again.

They’ve settled right back in to life at home and proceeded to get out of the fencing time and again this evening. I took part of it down because I took it with us and they are enjoying that. At this point they still tend to hang out right at the fence so I am not too worried but I’ll have to fix it soon or they’ll get even braver.

I think swimming in the pool might be on tomorrow’s agenda for them. Jack has to go to the vet so we’ll see. I do have some individual crate time planned for them tomorrow as well. If I do it when it’s naptime, it will go easier for all of us. I also do it beside the other puppies in crates so it’s not as scary.

Since the temperament test is over and they already showed their desire to retrieve now I can reward it. Pink and I were playing with a monkey paw and she was retrieving it to my hand and then playing a little tug. Wonder if any of them would retrieve a dead toy for me? Maybe there’ll be time to find out before they are all gone. Actually, most of them aren’t leaving this weekend so we’ll get to play some ;-)

I need to get everybody- especially me – ready for bedtime so we’re going to say nighty, nighty, nighty now.

June 29 Guest blog/Tamara

Hello all,
I'd like to tell you all that the puppies are just horrible, horrible, horrible little puppies (so Cristi and I could split them between us) but you wouldn't believe a word of it.
Cristi had me put a hat on so Green could come to the backyard and greet me all by herself. Oh my!! It's really a good thing I didn't put my earrings in because she would have had to stay. She was into my lap and climbing all over me immediately, as were the rest of them when they came to join the fun. Too darn bad these pupadoos have had no socialization! Lori came and joined us for puppy fun bringing pizza for dinner. We made a big puppy corral with x-pens, set up the picnic benches beside the corral so we could have puppy theater with dinner. Doesn't get any better then that!
It was about 10:30 'til we got everyone settled in. Didn't hear a word out of pups until almost 6:00. Cristi and I ferried them out to the corral for potty and then breakfast. Cristi thought I was being quite funny when I thought they should go in after breakfast because it was cold and wet out there! Well, I WAS cold! They all went to sleep for awhile before the big day began. Caren Murray came around 8 a.m. to evaluate for conformation. It was interesting, however I knew who she would like best. That being said she had a glowing report for all of them. After Caren was done they had some lunch and sleepy time before the temperament testing. Kim Hanson arrived just after noon. I found it fascinating to watch. However, I will let Cristi talk about it and I will say that my first impression of them stuck. After all the testing was done they got to meet and greet the neighbor children (6 little girls) and their moms. It was rather a wild time. Imagine puppies and little girls running every which way. We brought the boat to the fenced back yard and tried to get a picture of them in the boat. YIKES!! Talk about chaos! We fed them one more time before they loaded up and went home...:-(( They will be tired little adorable puppies at least until they get back home. I loved each and everyone one....that will have to take care of my puppy lust for a little while at least. Nighty, night little pupadoos..
Tamara

June 27 Pupdate

What a busy day with the cutest sweetest puppies in the world. They were very good to wait for me to come down to let them out this am. I had given them a bigger nighttime space since I knew I needed to wash my hair this am and I was exhausted. When I came down, we only had one poop and it was in the designated spot ;-) We immediately went outside and they pottied and played and I hurried in to provide their maid service. The best laid plans though… Bruce went outside via the front door to do something and that made Jilly give her little alarm bark. The puppies all go in their crate when she or Doodlebug sound the alarm. They decided they needed to come and get in the crate so I let them inside and put them in Jack’s crate while I finished up.

They had a nice nap and then we had company. We took them out front for the first time en masse loose. I did set up an ex pen but we let people help try to wrangle them. I think big fun was had by all even though it was horribly hot. We kept the puppies cool with the water hose and pool and we cooled ourselves off with the hose some, too.

When they were worn out, we took them back in the house and took Indy, Jack and Turley (Jill’s half sister) up to the pond for some retrieving. Jill and SammieDoodle stayed in the house because Jill isn’t all that accepting of other dogs while she has puppies and SammieDoodle and her brother are convinced that she is coming into heat. I don’t know if she’s faking or not but we aren’t taking any chances with them. Those 3 had quite a good time retrieving bumpers and balls from the water. I think the children enjoyed throwing the objects to be tretrieved as well.

After a nice nap, we put the puppies in Indy’s Cindi’s van and went gallivanting. They did a little fussing in the car for a while but then settled down for a nice quiet ride. They had their first temperament evaluation; they have another on Tuesday. I’m not giving any details of this one until after the other one just to make sure we don’t contaminate the findings of the second one.

We didn’t get home until almost 9pm and the puppies were very quiet on the way. They livened up when we got home and got them into the dog yard. We brought them in when they figured out that we had cannibalized some of the ex pen that was helping contain them. They like to fling themselves into the orange construction fencing that I strung to keep them from going through the bigger fencing. Most of the time they can sort of hang in it like it’s a puppy hammock but when they hit it just right, they can get under it. Debra is right, they are like those dinosaurs from Jurassic Park that constantly and systematically check the fences.

They had some bites (that’s code for eating around here –another holdover from my nephew and nieces) and then got really lively before they started sacking out. Now that we have them to bed, I think we’ll do the same.

Indy’s Cindi is staying here tonight so that we can get an early enough start tomorrow and so she can see them at their rowdy best very early in the morning. Maybe she can distract them enough to keep them outside while I clean their room. We shall see.

You may not hear from me until we get home from our trip to get CERFs and conformation/temperament evaluations. Imagine all of the productive things you will have to do since you don’t have this to waste your time… ;-) Good night all.

June 26 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning the little dogs said. They really enjoy the early morning playtime in the cool air. This morning we practiced sitting for sardines sort of as a group. They were all out there together so they would horn in on each other’s turn. I did practice down with a few puppies but I don’t know which ones they were. I was busy keeping track of puppies. None of them went through the fence so that was a good trip outside.

Jill has pretty much stopped cleaning up poop but they almost always go outside. I am not sure which is more significant. She still goes in to clean up pee and if they make a mess with the food. She also still nurses them at least 4 times a day. She and Doodlebug are teaching them how to behave and Doodlebug also plays with them.

I gave each of the puppies 1 french fry today to see what they’d do with it. I think they all eventually ate some if not all of 1. None of them took it and rolled on it like SammieDoodle does if she doesn’t know it’s food. There weren’t any altercations over them but there was a little running around with French fries.

After an abbreviated afternoon playtime (the puppies decided it was hot and they wanted back in the a/c) we took the big dogs up to the pond. I decided against taking the puppies up today since they had an immune assault day yesterday. None of them show any adverse reaction but I’m giving myself an extra day just in case. When we got back I washed the big dogs while the puppies played outside with Indy’s Cindi.

I brushed the big dogs on the grooming table in front of the puppies’ room today and the puppies kept asking to get up on the table. I can’t believe how jealous they already are. After I brushed each one of the little ones, I tried stacking them. I was amazed by how much they cooperated and I didn’t even use food. So before I fed them tonight, I asked Indy’s Cindi if she wanted to try to stack them with string cheese. They were great for her too. So I took pictures and we put them on Picasa. We hope to get better ones next week with someone who can see and a decent camera but these should show you that the babies can stand there like big dogs.

I let Cindi give them their dinner. They seemed to enjoy it – it had the requisite meat in it. They don’t get too excited if there isn’t meat in the mixture but they eat everything if there is. They had a big play session which Bruce had just gotten home to see so he and Indy’s Cindi talked about what they were doing. They were quite active little things and very amusing. They kept each other (and the people) quite entertained. I can’t tell you how much I am going to miss each and every one of these puppies. It makes me miss all of the old puppies, too ;-( Bruce is going to have to make sure there are plenty of fudgesicles in the freezers.

For now, I am on potty patrol and working on a little training. (I have been remarkably restrained about not teaching them to retrieve since that’s on the temperament evaluation but I have thought about it many times.) I am making sure that I verbally reward them for every potty in the right spot (outside or on the paper covered potty tray with the alfalfa pellets underneath.) Cary now also asks to go out to poop. I have noticed that when they ask to go outside, if they really need to go potty the strain to be put down as soon as we get to the edge of the deck. If they were crying wolfe (or really just wanted some cuddle time) they are happy to be carried around. I do always get a courtesy pee outside though so it’s not too bad.

I need to go provide their turn down service and get myself ready for tomorrow. We have a big day planned and I have to gather up their stuff. Then on Monday, it’s off to Columbus for us. So we’re going to say Nighty, nighty, nighty to all of you and send sweet little puppy kisses to you all.

June 25 Pupdate

Thanks to Indy’s Cindi for posting an update this morning while I was having computer issues. I don’t know why it wouldn’t let me post yesterday but hopefully, it’s better now. That does remind me to warn ya’ll that we are taking the puppies to Columbus for CERFs and evaluations next Monday and Tuesday so I may not be able to post the blog until we get home. I know you’ll all just be lost without my daily ramblings about the puppies. Get yourself some fudgesicles to get you through a day or 2 without puppies ;-)

Big Big day here today. We got up and had our yard time while the maid cleaned up our room. Then we had a nice appetizer from the milk bar and then a healthy breakfast. After a healthy breakfast of meaty oatmeal (they prefer not to have a meal without meat. I think they may take after their mother,) we had baths like the big dogs. All of this in time to have a little nap before getting loaded into a crate in the car for a trip to the vet at 8am. Who’d have thunk I’d be up and accomplishing that much that early in the day?

They wore their new ‘big dog’ collars. Some of them aren’t even on the tightest fitting. Rotten puppies growing up like that. The puppies whined a little in the car but fortunately we didn’t have any potty accidents. We did have one puke on the way home but it was well contained by the towel so they didn’t need baths again.

They were a big hit at the vet office even though their little feet never hit the floor. Pink was a little nervous her 2nd time on the table but I held her a minute and she calmed back down. They were in and out and in and out for weights, exam, prep for chips, chips and then vaccine. I had printed off labels for each puppy to help things move along more smoothly so we were done in slightly over an hour. The vet saw some other patients while the puppies got were prepped for the chipping. Our vet has the spot shaved and scrubbed before inserting the chip. On the upside, they did get to see someone in a surgical mask - I hadn’t thought of that one but now I think maybe I’ll have Bruce wear the respirator for them.

We didn’t have time to try to find a policeman to stop us but we did pass a train and it blew it’s whistle. When we got home, Jack told them the story about when he took me on the train to Arlington, VA. They were duly impressed. Jill and Sammie were going to tell them their travels stories but the puppies needed naps. Maybe later ;-)

The puppies slept from the time we got home (10:30ish until almost 3 pm) and then had some goat milk after the trip outside to potty. They played some and went back to sleep before 4.

The vet could find both testicles in the normal position on all 3 boys. I’ve been finding them for a while but I like someone else to be able to do it, too (I think it might be a breeder thing.) When he looked at their bites, I said “teeth” because that’s what I tell them when I am messing around with their mouths. On the first one, he said ‘yes they have lots of teeth” so I explained it to him. By the last couple of puppies, he remembered to say “teeth” and they didn’t fight with him about looking at their bites.

The puppies had a picnic dinner tonight. They ate and played and ate some more and played some more and they pottied outside. They were generally good puppies until they found a way out. They’ve had some big fun inside where it’s cooler anyway. I guess they slept off anything that happened to them at the vet by now ;-) They are having a cage match worthy of one of those wrestling shows.

I don’t think I’ve said it today. They are AWFULLY cute puppies. Absolutely engaging to watch them play – Bruce is absorbed by it tonight, too. He’s narrating some for me so I actually know who is doing what. That’s a nice change but I enjoy it either way.

We’ll let you know what tomorrow brings.. tomorrow. Until then, sweet puppy breath to you.

7 weeks old

The babydogs are 7 weeks old tonight. I can’t believe how time flies. Another week and they’ll be old enough to start leaving me ;-( I won’t be ready for them to start leaving though.

They found a dead little bird that had flown into one of the sliding glass doors and broken its neck. They do NOT have a drop it or a leave it command – the new owners will have to work on that – so I had quite a time getting it away from them. It was a little thing, I think from one of the nests in the burning bushes along the driveway and their yard. I tried to throw it up on the hill where I generally fling the poop but it was too much like a shuttlecock and fell on the driveway. Glad I had a glove on for flinging and reflinging the poor little dead bird.

Indy’s Cindi and her parents came over this evening to help socialize the puppies. Her mom brought a cane and pretended to use it. The puppies were not at all put off by that, in fact, they seemed to think it might be the greatest toy ever. I wonder if I put the tunnel and the cane out which would be more popular. I suspect they would take the cane into the tunnel.

Cindi and I did toenails on the little ones last night, too. They are getting too big to hold and do it with all of that foot hair. They don’t try to fight getting their nails clipped, it’s just awkward with them getting so big. We may try to Dremel them this weekend.

They have found new ways to terrify me. Instead of just going up and down the 2 steps from the decking, they leap off the top one and go running OR just turn around and climb back up to do it again. None of them have gotten out of the reinforced yard but they do like to hang out under the steps. I tried putting a board up to stop that but unless I mount it permanently, they can move it. Since their mother can still get under the other steps, I’m not too worried. I can always pull them over if I need to get someone out. When I call for them and the rest come running, the one underneath pops its head out and then crawls on out. (It reminds me a little of the time the cat went through the ball return on the pool table and came up out of the far corner pocket.)

Royal asked to go outside to go poop this afternoon. That’s another good sign. All of them are quite willing to go when I get them out there but these are the ones that are actually asking to go out instead of looking around for a spot on the inside potty zone. They all pitch a hissy to get out of the nighttime zone to go potty in the mornings, though. Other than the fact that that means I get up even earlier, it’s a good thing ;-)

Getting up early means I need to be ready to get to sleep soon so I’m going to go give the puppies their turndown service and enjoy some cuddle time before we say Good Night Moon.

Cristi having computer issues

Due to technical difficulty with her computer Cristi was not able to blog last night, She is at vets with puppies getting chips and shots and will blog later. I had a good time last night. My parents and I visited for the babies seven week birthday. Pink was infatuated with my Mother so Cristi and I had to rescue Mom from the puppy. (Mom, love her heart is not a dog person) but Dad is so he really enjoyed them. Mom did too, but likes her toes not bitten or licked. Anyway they are adorable and very athletic. Purple girl had the zoomies and was quite cute playing in the tunnel by herself. We did puppy toenails and cuddles and as always enjoyed my time with them. Anyway Cristi will update her blog later today.

June 23 pupdate

The puppies got to play in the rain some today. While they were out for their morning ‘yard time’ it started raining and I let them enjoy that a little. They were pretty damp when they came in and altogether wet on their little undersides from the grass. (Perhaps we should mow?) After they came in, I took the big dogs out to play and we got rained on, too.

Cary got the first earned single bath today. Up until now, their baths have been because ‘it’s time’ or we took them to the pond but today, Carolina Blue earned his devil nickname. When I took him outside alone, he went under the steps and played. With the rain, there was some dirt that turned nice and muddy and it was all over his feet and tummy. During his bath (in the laundry sink, I need to give them showers soon for the experience) he was very well behaved but kept choosing to arrange himself so that the faucet poured right down on his head.

I forgot to close gate to the ex pen when I took the phone up to Bruce today and came right back downstairs to a puppy coming over the wall. They definitely are an athletic bunch.

When Green Bela asked to go out to potty this evening (I am getting much more adept at reading her signals so she doesn’t have to yell to me) we went ahead and took all of them out. It was still warm but not miserable and the puppies had big fun. They played with balls, ropes, dummies, etc and carried them up and down the stairs (too bad they left them all in the yard though. I am really thinking of going renegade on not working on retrieves until after the temperament evaluation) They played chase and tug and king/queen of the mountain. And discovered the eternal truth of water dog puppies, if the water bowl is big enough there will be puppies in it.

They have been on 10 different surfaces wet and dry and another 3 just dry plus mud which only comes in wet ;-) We are also up to 32 unduplicated visitors since they turned 4 weeks old. I think we are on target for most of our goals. I have been carefully screening their tv viewing as well. Last night they had to watch a car race and some loud sporting event. I went upstairs so I didn’t have to listen to it – it’s a good thing I am not a puppy ;-) Today they had to watch some public television, too. They are going to be pretty well informed puppies ;-)

Limey did something that I meant to report but it’s escaping me at the moment. Maybe typing this will jog my memory – if not, maybe rereading it later will.

All of them have discovered their roots – literally. They were digging into the roots of the grass on the little back where they play king of the hill and having enjoying the roots. They seemed to have a little grass as well. I guess I need to make sure they are getting enough green stuff in their diets. With the big dogs, if they don’t think they are getting enough, they go out and graze.

They are having a little semi quiet play time now. A couple of them are playing with the float line trainer (Brownies), another couple are in the cat ring and two are playing with the rubber chicken. Wonder who will get to sleep in the lazy susan until bedtime? It seems to be a favored choice of theirs. I think it has outgrown it’s usefulness as something to unexpectedly shift beneath their footing. They spin it now and nap in it. Maybe if I put it under the climbing spot…

Time to start the nighttime rituals. Nighty, nighty, nighty to all. Enjoy the waning puppy breath dreams…

June 22 Pupdate

It’s sleepy time down south but a couple of the little ones are still playing with/in the water bucket. They all had a big SIMULTANEOUS case of the zoomies a little while ago. That creates quite a cacophony in the house ;-) I am glad we got DVR (I highly recommend it for housetraining your puppy as well. You can always pause whatever drivel happens to be on and then skip a few commercials later.)

Purple Bela is now streaking with Royal T. She was trying to chew on her ribbon and it worried me so I just removed it. I can tell her from the others when I would be close enough to check the ribbon anyway. She may be the smallest but she gives as good as she gets with the other puppies. She and Pink! have almost figured out how to climb so I am working on nipping that in the bud. I had to get back up and change the divider last night because Pink! had gone over it. Now if Jill needs to feed them in the night, I’ll have to let her in or them out.

I still cannot get over how cute these puppies are. I am enamored of all of them and they have such endearing ways (for the most part anyway.)

The Brownies seem to want to try to earn their camping merit badges. They threw the I need to go out hissy fit and then didn’t want to come in. At least they didn’t appear to be fazed by the dark and the shadows from the floodlights. I was thinking earlier I was going to have to make sure they all went out in the dark and I guess they read my mind. Now that I have brought them back in, Purple Bela is crying that she wants to go back out. Cary just went over to comfort her and that quieted her for a moment but now she’s run over here and is trying to climb the ex pen. She got up a few rungs but not over, I think I may have to start making sure she gently falls or I’ll have another Indy on my hands. She can sure pitch a hissy when she is so inclined. Cary keeps trying to comfort her. Purple Bela is craving affection this evening. She wanted me to hold her and then she wanted Bruce to hold her after he got home. She quieted down until he put her back in the pen.


They do seem to take notice when one of the big dogs barks while in the crate. They don’t seem to notice or care if they bark when the doorbell rings but when Sammie or Jack bark during ‘quiet time’ they all look in that direction and run the that side of the ex pen.

Today, we practiced sitting for a treat. I didn’t use the clicker – I don’t have enough hands for that. Maybe I will see if I can lure a down tomorrow.

Well, apparently I didn’t nip that learning to climb quite quickly enough because just had a puppy climb out. I need to reinforce the night time enclosure. At least Jack will tell me if someone gets out in the night.

June 21 Pupdate

Jill is absolutely amazing. I knew she was a great dam but she still surprises me. Today, she was bound and determined to share her chicken quarter with the puppies. She snuck it into the ex pen and let them have it. After they played with it and acted like little piranhas (all 6 puppies were on the chicken, pulling and yanking, etc) I picked it up an held it for her to eat. She tried to “bury” a piece of it in their ex pen but I had her eat it. The next thing I knew she was back in their room and they had a piece of chicken. She has monitored their every minute with it. She usually just goes in to clean up or nurse but she has spent an hour in there just watching them and mediating disputes. Every puppy has gotten a turn and while none of them actually ate much of it, they are definitely figuring out how it’s done. Cary was the last puppy still working on it and when he went to sleep, too (the others sacked out earlier) she ate it and came out of the pen.

We had a big storm this evening so I couldn’t take the puppies out. There were really high winds and a fair amount of thunder and lightning before it finally rained and rained. Green Bela still absolutely insisted on being taken out to poop though. I’m not sure how long she would wait while voicing her urgent need to have some attention but since I am encouraging her behavior, I’m not going to try to find out.

They had their evening meal with almost no goat milk added into the mixture and scarfed it down. Since they and their mother think they are ready for chicken, I went even thicker with dinner. Breakfast will still have a fair amount of milk in the oatmeal mixture. Just like big dogs, they now have a water bucket hanging in their ex pen. I don’t put much in it because sometimes it gets pretty banged around during play – either with it or each other and it is just collateral damage. They are working on sitting for meals but it’s a little hit of miss waiting for all 6 to do that at once and me to catch it. I work on it individually some too so we can be more successful.

I need to bring their grooming table back in so we practice standing on it a little every day, too.

I finally got all of the videos from the water loaded onto YouTube and Amy posted pictures she took this weekend, too. So you have something to do since the blog is rather short today ;-)

June 20 Pupdate

The puppies were awake before dawn but stayed pretty quiet. I think I am only hearing them because I am sleeping in the downstairs bedroom. At least that’s what I hope.

They got some good last minute cuddles before all of the little girls left. My nephew played some loud video game with all kinds of sound effects in it. We turned it up to where it was so loud that I, his mother and even he thought it was too loud but the puppies didn’t seem to care. The only thing we’ve ever seen them react to happened later in the day. I gave SammieDoodle a water bottle (she likes to take the lid and the label off) but Indy grabbed it (he likes them as well) and was crackling it really near the ex pen. They all ran into the crate but came back out. One of them took a little longer to get ok with it so I put one in their pen. They discovered the joy of killing a bottle in moments.

After we did some water practice in the pond with the big dogs and the visiting dog, we took the puppies up to the pond. We drove them up 2 at a time and took them swimming. They all waited until their chins hit the water before they started swimming but everyone did fine. Only Purple Bela and Royal T went back in on their own but none of them were particularly worried. Limey scared me half to death because he started toward shore and then turned around and swam towards the middle. We got him turned back around. Indy’s Cindi took video and I finally got it loaded on Youtube. (That’s why the blog wasn’t on until the morning of the 21st)

We had a weight watchers meeting today. It took 3 sighted people to get weights on them so I don’t feel so inept. They are big wriggly, walking puppies with better things to do than hang out on that scale. They are good sized puppies now in the 7 to 9 pound range. Limey was the biggest at 9; Cary was next at 8.4; Green Bela and Royal T came in at 8.2 and pink and purple were the little girls at 7. I am happy with the gains and everybody seems plenty healthy and active. Matter of fact, I had bought a little lifejacket for them to wear until they get bigger but it’s already too little for them.

We reinforced the fence in the back yard with ex pen so now we only have to really closely monitor the back part with the orange fencing. We haven’t had any new escapees but they’ve all checked it out. They are all very good to come when called so it’s not too bad but I don’t take them all out at once if I am alone. Maybe if I put bells on them…

Milestone as far as I am concerned – we haven’t had a puppy poop inside in 2 days. In the case of Green Bela, it is her decision. She pitches a hissy fit at the entrance of the pen until she is taken outside. She can wait a few minutes, too while we idiotic people figure out what she wants. Since they all ask for attention, it takes a minute to figure out the difference.

Another milestone, we are working on sitting to get picked up or petted. It doesn’t keep them from mouthing people and their clothes so we have to be ready with the redirection toys, too. They are getting more and sharper teeth all of the time and are learning from each other and the other dogs how to use them. I hope they learn how not to use them too before long ;-)

Tune in tomorrow – although it probably won’t be as exciting as today was. I need to rest.

June 19 Pupdate

The puppies were up at the crack of long before dawn this morning (in this case known as 5:10). I don’t intend to continue to encourage that behavior but I got up and took care of them then this am. I think perhaps they have been waking up then but have had the run of the whole ex pen area whereas last night, I closed them into a smaller sleep/potty space so they couldn’t play quietly in their room until a reasonable hour. We’ll see if they do better tomorrow am.

They’ve had a nice day of several trips to play outside which gave them some time to practice their problem solving skills. That’s a nice way of saying they are all working on escaping often. Pink figured out she needed to go up higher where the holes in the temporary fencing are bigger and did so to play in the burning bushes. The orange construction fencing I strung up to help contain them has become a plaything for them. They are developing into real PWDs.

I took them out early this am and they got to play in the cooler weather. It’s nice when we don’t have to spend so much of the time making sure they aren’t going to be too hot. They had a nice breakfast Al Fresco and ate really well. I am not even attempting portion control at this stage of the game - I just want them to eat their fill. They wander in and out having some bites but they rarely just stand there and eat and eat. They still nurse that way though.

My sister connected the video game system to our tv and the girls took turns exposing the puppies to that. The puppies seemed neither impressed nor distressed and slept through most of it. I think we’ll see if my nephew can be persuaded to play a loud boy type game for them.

We had a visit from Amy and Matt and took Salazar (their PWD) and the big dogs up to the pond for some water play and training after they spent some time with the puppies. Indy’s Cindi came over and played with us, too. They all watched the puppies while I washed our dogs. Purple decided that she was going under the decking so new barriers have been temporarily constructed. This must be Purple’s day to be the scout. I am pretty sure they have a schedule of the rotation but they keep it secret from us. If we knew whose turn it was, we could prepare ;-)

They didn’t eat all of their dinner. They were too busy mostly. They would come and eat some and then play a little and come back to eat more. I suspect they will make up for it at last call.

The puppies are all sleeping together in the crate for the most part. During the daytime though, you can almost always find on of them in the cat scratching post ring and another in the tunnel. It’s not the same puppy each time so maybe that’s part of the rotation as well.

We have another visit planned for tomorrow so I’d better get myself and the puppies ready for another day. Until tomorrow: Good night Moon.

June 18 Pupdate

Another exciting day in puppyville. I was awake before 6 am again this morning. The puppies weren’t making any noise but I came down to take them out. There were a couple of poops before I got them outside but Jill took care of those for me. It was nice and cool at that time of the night (I refuse to pretend that a day starts at that hour) so they played and played. They came back in and had some breakfast and then JillyBean topped them off. That triggered their age related narcolepsy but a lot of things trigger that.

I put more videos on youtube today that Indy’s Cindi took last night. I still have at least a couple of them to put on and hopefully we will get some more tomorrow. Since they were about to go over the wall, it was time to do some remodeling of their ‘room.’

My sister watched the pupsters while I expanded their indoor world so here is her report:
I babysat the puppies in the back yard today while Cristi redid their indoor pen. And they ran all over the back yard. And 2 worked and worked until they figured out how to escape from the fence. They didn't go far before I caught them but it was like one held up the fence for the other to follow and escape too. ;-) I had to keep cooling them in water and cooling them in water. It took awhile but I finally got them all to nap on the wet blanket in front of the fan in the shade per Cristi's instructions. They are 6 weeks old now and I felt like I was on an episode of Jon and Kate plus 8 for awhile. ;-) At least the 3 big dogs had gone inside with Cristi.

We brought them back inside and put them in Jack’s crate while I finished up but 2 of them convinced Aunt Debra that they needed cuddled (Limey and Carolina Blue.) Cary wouldn’t settle down so she took him out to potty while I put Limey in the new room. He immediately went into the crate (other than going into Jack’s on a detour into their space, they haven’t seen a crate until now) and settled in to have a nap. Cary did have to pee so when he came back in, he went in there, too.

They’ve been awake and asleep a couple times since then and they are now all but one sleeping in that crate. The last puppy is sleeping in the doorway of the crate. I took a couple of pictures of the 4 asleep in Jack’s crate and some of them sleeping outside on the wet sheet in front of the fan while Debra was puppysitting. I’ll get them on Picasa soon.

Green Bela was doing the whimper dream thing during this evening’s nap and Carolina Blue got up and moved over to cuddle with her. They are pretty sweet to each other when they aren’t pulling on each others’ tails.

I was going to have people help me with a weight watchers meeting tonight but they have all gone to bed and I am headed there soon myself. I would try to do it myself since the pupkins are all sleepy but the scale is pretty loud. Maybe tomorrow. I do know that everybody keeps commenting on how much bigger they are than the last time they were here. I need to consult my list and see what surfaces we still need to have them on. Time is flying by, I’d hate for them to miss anything. But for now, we are all going to get some rest and rejuvenate for tomorrow. They like to have a good night for a pleasant tomorrow and they do seem to wake up very pleasant; ready to greet the day with a song and a smile. I’ll try to make tomorrow another good day for them and I’ll try to do a better job of reporting. Maybe I can get some of the company to do some guest blogging. Until tomorrow…. Nighty, nighty, nighty.

June 17 Pupdate

The babydogs are 6 weeks old tonight. Right now they are sleeping really hard. I still cannot get over how much difference there is between asleep and awake. They were such live wires out in the dog yard this evening. I think we have some definite potential as agility dogs and for water work. We haven’t worked on obedience yet ;-)

Indy’s Cindi and Frances came over to help socialize the puppies and play, play, play. The pupadoos had had dinner and a little snooze so they were happy to play. Up and down off of the decking at full speed – they do not always bother going over to the edge where it is not much of a drop. They played with each other, the people, the toys, the big dogs and everything else they encountered. There is an area in toward the back edge of the yard that is pretty steep where the pool addition is. They really enjoy going up and down that section. Since the yard gradually slopes up to the dam, it is not all steep there but they really enjoy going up and down as steep as they can manage even though it takes some work.

And all 6 puppies took the outside time as an opportunity to poop out in the grass. Indiy’s Cindi was flinging the puppy poop (I don’t bag it, I use disposable gloves and fling it up on the hillside where only the wildlife generally goes) and reported that it was all good poop. To dog people, such things matter and are a source of much conversation. So far, none of them seem to be walking poopers like the last litter. This is a source of great joy to us.

After one of their daytime meals, Green Bela was pitching an absolute hissy fit - standing on her hind legs at the gate, crying and fussing like they occasionally do when you walk by and they want to be picked up or otherwise played with but nobody was near her. She kept it up for a few moments so I went over and picked her up and took her outside just in case. Sure enough, the little bitch wanted to go outside to potty. She immediately did an abbreviated potty dance and pooped. I can’t believe puppies this young are already doing that. They aren’t nearly as fastidious about peeing yet but that happens a lot more often.

The change in puppy breath has definitely brought on some lessons in how to interact from Jill and Doodlebug. SammieDoodle is more likely to play with them (sometimes under Jill’s supervision but not always as Jill seems to trust her – and me - to know what to do) but she does require a new minimum level of behavior from them. They respond immediately by dropping to the ground and sometimes rolling over but the Doodlebug isn’t asking for that as much as Jill does. Of course, they aren’t really trying to nurse on Sammie like they are Jill.

Bruce did some calling of the magic word with me while they ate this evening. I want them to hear it from a lot of different voices so it helps to imprint on them. Unfortunately, I think it is breaking the magic word for SammieDoodle a little. Jack still tries to come running whenever he hears it but Sammie has decided she’s not being called. I’ll have to reinforce it for her by herself some and definitely after she leaves. Let this be a lesson to any of you future puppy owners reading this not to use it without heavy reinforcement unless in an emergency (and then reinforce it as soon as possible and work on it more before the next emergency.) Fortunately, we haven’t had any emergencies with the Doodlebug lately.

If we have a weight watchers meeting, it will be after the blog is already posted. It may not happen until tomorrow. Another day has flown by and they are another day closer to leaving me. Where are those fudgesicles? I am going to need a lot of them, I can already tell. It’s a little early to cry myself to sleep about it so I’ll just go take care of puppy bedtime prep and sleep puppy breath dreams. Puppy breath dreams to all of you as well.

June 16 Pupdate

I am starting this early today in hopes that it will be more coherent than yesterday’s. Last night I was trying to write it with the movie blaring for the puppies and people and I couldn’t hear JAWS or myself think.

We had nice BIG thunderstorms last night and the night before so the pupadoos are getting some good exposure to that kind of thing. I heard the pupkins playing down here at 5 something am (aka the crack of long before dawn.) They weren’t loud enough to wake me, I was semi awake because Bruce was getting ready to go to the Greenbrier for his practice round.

This morning after they had some breakfast at 6 am, I took them outside one by one. I started with Pink! because she was asking to be picked up. I carried her out into the yard and she immediately found a good spot and peed. Then she wandered around with me and found just the right spot to poop. We walked around a little more and then I let her follow me in to the house. I traded her in for another puppy; repeating the process until they had all been out. Everybody peed out there and all but the Brownies pooped on the first trip. GreenBela was still a poop nazi even after the second trip. She didn’t poop in the pen either though so she’s still being a good girl. At this stage, I am still not calling this housetraining. We are just developing and reinforcing their preference not to have to live in a soiled environment. Later, we’ll reinforce MY preference for the same ;-) She did go out around 9 and poop; I think she is just on a different schedule.

My niece hit the puppy pen first thing this am and enjoyed getting mobbed by them. They all certainly like people. Cary (Carolina Blue’s other nickname) was playing with a blanket at first and didn’t notice her come in so he was the last one to the party. The little prince shows promise as a hair stylist. He was “helping” Haley with her hair while she was in there.

We had a nice visit with more kids including an 18 month old who did some good screaming. The puppies were completely unfazed but Jack was worried about her a lot. We thought about pinching her to get her to do a little more screaming but decided that wasn’t necessary ;-)

This afternoon, we took the puppies out into the dog yard after I made sure they couldn’t get under the wheelchair ramp or out of the ‘fencing.’ My niece and nephew helped me watch them and took some video with the new flip. With any luck, I’ll get them on Youtube and the link on this page. Since so far, the videos have been taken by me or my niece, you never know what you’ll see but hopefully there will occasionally be at least one puppy. They had BIG fun and surprised (and scared) me by going up the 2 steps to the decking of the wheelchair ramp. They cavorted all over the yard and deck and had some lunch in the pool. My nephew squirted them with the water crayon gun. It was not quite as unbearably hot today but it’s not cool enough to just be out there with no precautions for the puppies.

The girls helped me holler the magic word while the puppies ate their last meal tonight. I need to start using the whistle as well. They absolutely LOVE the cat scratching post ring. I tied a toy to the top of it today to add some interest but it doesn’t really need much. They’ve also been playing with a tennis ball, water dummies and were really tugging hard on the float line training rope that I tied on the side of the ex pen today. And of course, the paper in the pen is always a big hit.

Tomorrow night they will be 6 weeks old. Where in the world did all of the time go? Their puppy breath has changed a little and Jill (and Sammie) have started requiring slightly different behavior. The pupsters have decided that they REALLY want to do what Jack is doing a lot of the time. Jack is not too thrilled with that idea, especially when they are stealing his monkey paw or ball or chasing after him. He won’t correct them but he will try to avoid them getting to him (to the extent that he still gets to interact with the humans) and then tell us if they are bothering him. Such a good dog!

Maybe we’ll have a weight watchers to report about tomorrow. The weather looks like it will be cooperative for a trip up to the pond this weekend and we should manage to get some real practice in for the big dogs. For now, we are all going to go nighty, nighty, nighty.