11/25/2012 The End of the ERA (or it's all over but the crying)

               Yesterday was a big day here.  We had a puppy grooming part – well not just puppies, Indy and Bela got bathed as well.  Poor dogs didn’t even get to go around the hill and get truly dirty to earn their showers.  (It is rifle season for white tail deer here so better safe than sorry.  If someone will hunt on our land without permission in spite of the posted signs, who knows what they’d do so I don’t take any chances.) 

               LeAnne brought my shared custody puppy back and Colleen brought Armada so we had 4 here for a while.  SammieDoodlebug took the opportunity to open the bar for them, too.  Last call puppies, I’m closing the bar after Pink! leaves so I can start treating her ears.

               I gave the 4 puppies showers and then we did some grooming on big dogs.  SammieDoodlebug needed her butt shaved fairly desperately so dog Cindi and Colleen took care of that.  Then we did butts on Pink! and LemonyLimey Sprite and we Dremeled toenails on all 4 puppies.  Armada got a little clean up shaving, too. 

               Tamara and Roger came to pick up the Curly girl (LemonyLimey Sprite until they rename her) and we let the puppies play a little with Fergie (the new big sister to the puppy.)   Fergie may have wondered where the rest of them were (she really enjoyed playing with the puppies when we were there for evaluations and CERFs) but she was happy to play with the ones that were here.  Since they came by here on their way home from PA (not exactly on the way but shorter than separate trips,) they didn’t get to visit as long as we’d like.  Fortunately, for me anyway, we see each other a fair amount at shows, water practice, etc. I had to limit my Fudgesicle intake to one because the box was almost empty and Pink! was going today ;-(

               Armada got to hang out with us for a while so I sort of had 3 puppies until into the evening.  When it was bedtime, Calypso and Pink! were good girls and headed into their crates (for cookies) like little troupers. There was a minute or two of fussing and then they were quiet for the rest of the night.  They were happy to see me this morning.  I let the big dogs out first and I think that woke them up because they were awake when I got to them but they were obviously just waking up.  We went right outside (part of the beauty of crating puppies by the door in the pool room) and they peed like they are supposed to do.

               I didn’t steam the floor yesterday morning and with 5 full grown PWDs, a Boston Terrier (my sister’s dog who was visiting here with them for Thanksgiving) and some puppy playing, not to mention human traffic, it was ready.  So I changed out the stuff in the puppy pen, vacuumed, and steamed the floor so we’d be ready for the new day.  I hope I remember next time we have puppies how much easier it makes clean up when I put a sheet down.  I can just steam the floor and not have to do any scrubbing to get off the little pieces of dried up oats or meat.  Much easier on my fingernails, I must say.

               The little girls enjoyed playing outside while I did the floors and cleaning and I called them back inside for naptime.  They are very good at coming in when called (it doesn’t hurt that the cookie jar is on the way and they get a cookie for going in the pen.)  A cookie to them is one (or a half) piece of Moist and Meaty (used to be Gainesburger’s)  junky as  food but makes a decent treat for most dogs. It’s small, stinky, and soft and easy to use.  I usually give them one in the back of the crate (good things don’t happen near the door, move on back in there) and another on the opposite side of the pen for a sit.  (It’s a good thing I have monkey arms because I had to change out the ex pen for the 42 inch one after Sprite mastered coming over the side of the 36 inch one.  I waited as long as I could because I wanted people to be able to reach to pet sitting puppies over Thanksgiving. We made it through the holiday but not much longer.)

               After getting good reports on Sprite’s first night in her new home (another good experience, yay for crating alone before they leave,) Pink!’s new people came to pick her up.  Her new name is Duchess and she will be coming back here for Christmas.  As I went to eat my last fudgesicle, I found another full box.  I didn’t have to make do with that chocolate cake batter, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips and walnuts concoction.

               Tomorrow, I will start putting all of the whelping and baby puppy stuff away, rearrange puppy area to be set up for just one puppy and eat a whole lot more Fudgesicles.  I’ll also start working the Training Levels with Calypso.  She’s already got a really good default sit, a pretty good down, and is great on nose touches (targeting your hand with her nose.)  We were playing with rat on a stick this evening and she hopped right up on the couch with the ‘rat’ in her mouth.   “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!”  I should probably start chanting that now ;-)

               Nighty, nighty, nighty to all of our babies in their new homes.  I may end up tracking  Caly’s training on the blog but I don’t know yet.

Happy Thanksgiving

> I am woefully behind on the blog, I know. I'll try to catch up but I'm not on my computer so I don't recall when I last posted.
>
> Purple Panda Paws left yesterday and is now known as Waldo. He had a good long car ride and will have a long plane trip tomorrow. I hope it goes well for him. He's a sweet puppy. He kept trying to "help" his new owner look at the puppy binder - perfect little water dog instincts;-)
>
> I actually took a nap yersterday morning/afternoon while the the girls slept. I slept 2 hours, they slept a little longer but I was up early again. The puppies still here are doing very well in their crates at night. I went to bed early with plans to get up and take them out at 11:00 but apparently, they couldn't wait. After some vigorous play in the ex pen, she made one attempt to say she needed out and then jumped on the potty pan and pooped. According to all of the witnesses, it was fast and not a good poop (not carpet grade as Jim and Jennie term it) so maybe I couldn't have prevented it either.
>
> When I did awaken some time in the night (in the continuing saga of my tactile watch, the band that was jury rigged broke. It kept coming off and was lost in the puppy yard so I keep sending it where ever the MSU goes in hopes of getting the right kind and it completely broke on his last trip out. So now it's urgent or I start using talking ones throughout the night) they were still in the ex pen so I took them out and crated them.
>
> Doodlebug continues to feed the remaining puppies. I am going to make her stop after Pink! leaves Sunday. Turtle/Red -now known as Calypso will come home from her sleepover with her new mom Saturday and I'm not going to let her keep nursing her. On the up side, gluing her ears up in the ponytails and using the snood seems to have cleared them up. I'll probably use the good wash and have them checked again before I start using the meds now. At any rate, her hematoma is resolved so no need for the surgery.
>
> I hope Colleen wants to continue her grooming practice soon because Sammie's butt is very long. The puppies could use a re touch, too.
>
> Pink! And Lemony/Limey Sprite and I will play more tomorrow and may even practice leash walking with little girls. We'll have big fun. We'd better enjoy this while the weather is nice. I don't think it's supposed to last much longer.
> For now, I'm going to say nighty, nighty, nighty.
>

11/19/2012 Pupdate

It’s amazing how quiet it seems with only 3 puppies.  It’s also amazing how much noise they can still make when they try.

               We had our first puppy have a less than pleasant first flight.  He did some fussing on the airplane on the flight from Charleston to DC but did settle down for the second flight.  That was even more odd because he (Orange collar) was about the most laid back puppy we had.

               Reminder to new owners reading this:  the first vet visit is a happy time, exam only visit.  The puppies do NOT need a ‘puppy series’ of vaccines for weeks on end.  Their vaccination records are in the binder; they had their heartworm/wormer pill on 11/14, too.  If you need to use a combo vaccine (instead of separate parvo, distemper, etc.) do NOT get a 7 in 1.  Unless there is something going around horribly in your area, limit the combo to the core diseases (the ones that kill).  If you need to get Bordatella too (kennel cough) in order to go to puppy class, I don’t like the intranasal one.  There is an oral version and an injection.

               SammieDoodlebug woke me and the puppies up way too early yesterday morning by barking at the guys as they went up the driveway to go hunting (deer season opened here yesterday.)  Fortunately, the puppies went back to sleep so I tried to get a little more rest as well.  I have a lot of big plans to nap but don’t seem to manage.  At least they get naps.

               It was fairly nice and sunny eventually today so the pupsters got to play outside for a lot of the afternoon.  It takes a while for the frost to come off in the mornings (sometimes it’s close to noon) but it has been nice in the afternoons.  The puppies don’t think it is cold enough for them to stay inside even with the frost but when the water in the dish is frozen, I limit their time out there.

               Sleeping alone in crates is going well. There is a little fussing at first but that doesn’t start until they’ve eaten the pieces of kibble I sprinkle in the crates (I like them to go in under their own steam at least part of the time at this age.)

               For now, I guess we’ll say nighty, nighty, nighty to all.

11/18/12 Fewer and fewer

               Good morning, good morning the last half said.  This morning, my niece Haley helped me let them out of their crates to go outside and potty.  For some reason, the big dogs came out to ‘help’ so the puppies didn’t go right out the door.  We still managed NOT to have any potty accidents on the way, though.

               They had a healthy breakfast and a nap and then the puppy formerly known as TJ started his long trek home after a little visit/playtime with his new canine sister.  I hear he had a good day of travel, rode well, ate well, and played.  I hope he sleeps well.

               As he was leaving, Bruce was also heading out to get Tucker’s (fka Orange) new dad from the airport.  We had a nice visit (he’s from a major metropolitan area so our house and land is like a park.)   Had a little lunch, played with a little training, gave the puppy another shower after he took a header in some poop during which he fussed and squalled, and then he cuddled up with his new dad for a little while.  Too soon for me, they headed back out for the long trip home.  He had a short flight to DC but then a long layover.  I think he gets in at 11 or so.   I hope he flew as well as all of the others have.

               Colleen brought Armada (Dyson we even forget and call him Dyson a fair amount) to help me not have as much separation anxiety.  She got a little more grooming practice by finishing Jack’s butt and doing Jill’s.  Unfortunately for him, the milk bar wasn’t opened while he was here.  He did eat a huge dinner.  I forgot to decrease the amount for fewer puppies so they all got stuffed.  Eventually, his daddy was texting her to bring his puppy home so she had to leave.

               It’s very strange just to have 3 puppies left.  I’ve gotten good reports on the ones that are gone but I still miss them.  It’ll be lonely when I am down to just one part time.  I’m sure the big dogs will be happy to occupy my time, too.

               The ones of us still here say nighty, nighty, nighty.

11/17/2012 More leaving ;-(

               And tonight, I am down to 5 puppies.  Tomorrow, 2 more are leaving.  It seems so empty here, it’s amazing how much each little puppy can add to a household but I guess they are adding even more to their new homes.  I keep trying to think back to how wonderful it was when we brought ours home and console myself with that.

               We completely shot our poop record today.  I was out saying goodbye to Bluehemoth and the others woke up and apparently one or two needed to go.  It wasn’t difficult to clean up but my record is shot.  A lesson on staying focused, I guess.

               I also learned that if you have big crying days, Botox won’t prevent a headache.  Fortunately, it didn’t turn into a migraine but I didn’t feel well until much later today.

               Our timeshare puppy is visiting with LeAnne for a few days.  She had been going to leave tomorrow so she didn’t get a night in the crate alone yet.  I hope her other crating experiences help her through.  If not, she may be back for a day or two before she has another sleepover.  We had a lesson in sit, down and recalls before she left.  That girl is awfully smart.  None of them are exactly slouches but she is really into manipulating her environment (i.e. she will demand training.)

               We did a few butts and dremeled some toenails today.  The dremeling is one of the last new experiences they will all have here. They will have had their toenails trimmed with regular clippers, guillotine clippers, filed and dremeled; most of those things by me and other people so hopefully nails won’t be a problem for the puppies.

               My computer is having serious conniptions.  I was trying to get some of the puppy books ready last night and it made me uninstall programs before I could print. There is plenty of space on my D drive but too much on C and the only thing on C is programs.  I guess when I get bored, I have something to do.  I don’t know how much it really coincides with puppies but I at least notice problems more when I have them.

               The remaining puppies will be sleeping in the crates tonight. Tomorrow night, they will all be crated alone.  It’s kind of sad for me.  They don’t seem concerned.

               I’m going to go nighty, nighty nappy until it’s time for last call and crating.  I wonder if I will get any sleep tonight wondering how Lickety’s flight went.

Nov 15, 2012

               I don’t know how to title this post because it’s a sad day for me and a happy day for some new people and their new family dogs.

               Crating went well with just a little fussing at first.  I gated Doodlebug in the room with their crates

               She was not too pleased with that turn of events at about 4am.  I didn’t want her to wake the puppies and upset them so I woke them up and took them outside.  They were sound asleep and didn’t even stir quickly when I turned on the lights.  I easily got them outside and then let Doodlebug out.  She checked them and by the time I let the other 6 out, she opened the bar.  I fed them early so Camo could do some digesting before his big day of air travel.  When they came back inside, I gave them goat milk instead of water so he’d get some quickly digested nutrition just in case he gets airsick.  I hope he doesn’t have a rough day but it will be long.

               When they started back to sleep (it was still dark outside), I gave him his last bath here.  He was good but didn’t want to cuddle wrapped in a towel as long as I wanted to cuddle him wrapped in a towel.  I gave him a little probiotic paste and sprayed DAP in his Sherpa bag while he had a little siesta in the pen with his littermates.  They woke up more easily around 7ish – daylight does make a big difference but it was still cold out there so I made them come in.  We had a short play session and then started napping. 

               Bruce took Camo and his new people to the airport for their long trip home.  2 short flights and a long.  The one from Charleston, WV to DC will be a small plane.  It’s unlikely to be full so maybe they will have an extra seat to give him more room.  He has to arrange himself to fit in the bag (we practiced a little last night for treats).  I don’t see how there are dogs small enough to do stand in those.  Fortunately, it’s just one day.  I hate it when they leave and another one is going tonight. At least he will be nearby.  I’ll have to keep learning to stop counting at lower numbers.  Maybe I should always count down instead of up, then I could just start at a lower number. 

               We continue to well with outside pooping.  When possible, some of them strongly prefer to pee outside but they will use the potty pan/paper.  (They will also sleep in the potty pan.)

               I spent a lot of the day arranging for the puppies to be picked up by their new owners.  I think it is way too much like cutting your own switch.

               Colleen and Bobby came to get Armada and do his paperwork and stayed for a while so I didn’t have to start missing him as early.  I still miss him but he’ll come visit me Sunday.

               I heard from Camo (potentially Bodhi) and his new people and he made it to his new home after a full day of air travel (10 am to 9 pm is a full day.)  He had no potty accidents and didn’t get airsick and was a very nice, quiet traveler.

               It’s time to crate the babies and go Nighty, nighty, nighty.

Nov 14, 2012 Pupdate

               I sent a really short one from my phone last night as I was going to bed.  I’ll try to do a little better now.

               We had a busy day today.  It started with me getting up at 4ish to let the puppies out of the crates while they were quiet.  Normally, I would just open the doors so they would be open when they awoke but since the puppy formerly known as Turtle would climb up on them, I had to take them out of the pen.  The pupsters settled back down quietly and we all went back to sleep.

               The vet came and did the exam and health certificate for the puppy leaving tomorrow and I got things together for that.  Their flight was a few minutes late but not a lot and we visited all evening.  Bobby and Colleen came over to bring Armada (FKA Dyson) the toy with scents of home for his crate tonight.  We put all of the puppies in a tote and tried to take a group picture.  I know there were many attempts but I have no idea what the end results are like.

               Colleen and Bruce shaved the butts on the 2 boys leaving tomorrow and we Dremeled toenails on those 2 boys, too.  Both were very good for both procedures.  I left their nails a little long in anticipation of the first dremeling.  We’ll try to do the others shortly before they go as well.

               I crated Camo and Armada Dyson individually in the pool room with their new people scent items and crated TJ and Peppy together out there.  There was a little fussing for a few minutes after I sang the 3 songs and said nighty, nighty, nighty but they stopped quickly.  It helps when you start with tired puppies, I am sure.  Eventually, we all went to bed but I gate Doodlebug out of the rubber room. 

               And then we all went nighty, nighty, nighty

Wed Nov 14 pupdate

It's been a busy day getting ready for puppies to leave. Camo heads out in the morning for the long flight home to Calgary with his new family.
I'll post more tomorrow. For now, I'm going to go nighty, nighty, nighty.

Cristi Fogus Wetherholt
Allyn Portuguese Water Dogs
Sent from my IPhone

November 10-13, 2012 Weekend Travels

I am home now and have full internet access here but I have sent a few updates from my phone so I am all out of whack.  This will be a recap of the blur I remember.  I am MUCH less functional away from home.

               We continued our no inside pooping streak at Tamara’s.  There were only a couple of little spots of pee in their pen area.  I did NOT try to do any individual crate training.  That’s just a little more than anyone should expect of the hospitality of friends.

               Tamara and Roger are wonderful hosts to all of us and our big bunch of puppies.  I’m sure it’s quite the upheaval for them.  Fergie, however, has been in dog heaven.  She played and played and played with the puppies every chance she got.  She was very, very good with them and really had BIG fun.  The little girls from next door were very good with the puppies as well.

               Before we headed over for CERFs, we have met 44 NEW people (as in an unduplicated census) since they turned 4 weeks old.  I suspect they will meet some more there.

               I wonder if it is too soon to call them as non-walking poopers.  Among the big things I hope they get from their sire is his ears and not being walking poopers.

               We had good results with the temperament and conformation evaluations but they are all busy puppies.  They were pretty good for their CERFs aside from wanting everyone in the waiting room to interact with them.  People seemed surprised and enthralled with the great bug crate with 10 PWD puppies talking to them.  Poor Tamara and Dog Cindi were filling out forms as fast as they could but 11 of those forms take a long time.  We got good results though so I can now officially not worry about that for a while.

               The puppies were remarkably quiet on the trip up and back.  Considering the amount of noise they are making right now, that may have been miraculous.  2 puppies threw up on the way up and back but we have no idea which ones or if it was the same ones.  We only know it was definitely 2 because they were in 2 crates.  They didn’t seem the worse for the wear and on the way up, it may have helped that they had consumed some grass in the yard (I know because I cleaned up the puke.)

               Our no inside pooping streak ended last night when we were all sitting right here.  The puppies were being pretty loud after being cooped up most of the day (rain in the morning, then CERFs, then evaluations, then the drive home) so I will assume that the potty screams blended in to the general noise level.

               I also had to let them out at 4:30 am.  That turned out to be their mother’s doing. She was fussing and then they were fussing so I came downstairs to let them out.  She proceeded to nurse them and then everybody came back inside and went back to sleep.  I guess we missed their midnight snack from Mama last night because we had been letting puppies interact with the new sibling of one of them and she was crated for that.  I won’t make that mistake again.  If we aren’t going to let her check on them before sleep, she won’t sleep in the same room they do.  The crating all alone begins tonight.  They’ve been crated separately within the pen but it’s going to be different tonight. I hope we all go nighty, nighty, nighty and have a good night for a pleasant tomorrow. 

 

Sat in Columbus

Its bedtime and the pupsters are quieting down for the night. Turning off the light and then singing the songs works wonders.
We figured out the wifi just before bedtime so maybe I can post from my computer tomorrow.
Hoping to continue our outside poops only record. During the day, we've only had outside pees, too. Go Pupsters!
Had evaluations today thanks to Caren Murray! Have more tomorrow. Which reminds me, we've met our 40 people now. The others are gravy until they go to their new homes and start again ;-)
I'm going nighty, nighty, nighty now while all is quiet.

Cristi Fogus Wetherholt
Allyn Portuguese Water Dogs
Sent from my IPhone

On the road

It's bedtime. The pupsters were remarkably good travelers-no screaming, just a little whining and evidence of a little puking found after we arrived.
They played in the ex pen in the yard, had some dinner and more playing/naps inside. Dog Cindi and LeAnne took them out individually and they all peed but not a lot of poops. I am afraid that will end our streak but traveling is a hard time to potty train 10. Maybe we'll get lucky.
They need baths again - and toenails and butt shaves - maybe we can clean them up tomorrow.
There is a thunderstorm here tonight. Yay! They haven't heard many things like that.
I'm going to join in nighty, nighty, nighty time now. Hope they make it to 7 am at least

Nov 9 8 Weeks Old!

               The puppies are 8 weeks old and we have a road trip and a big weekend planned.  Tonight, we’ll be at Aunt Tamara’s 3 hours away.  Wish us luck for that trip.  I hope they can be somewhat quiet.  If they are, maybe I’ll get a 3 hour nap.  I could use one.

               I was so tired when I did last call last night (I had just about fallen asleep right before) that I didn’t go out in the freezing cold and count poops.  (I came back inside and gave the big dogs their midnight snack.)  I got the pupsters settled and went to bed and almost immediately was drifting off to sleep when I suddenly had a panicked thought that I had only counted 8 puppies and 2 more were outside.  So I jumped up and ran down to count puppies (there were 10 by the way).  I woke all of them up and had to sing the songs again.  Poor babies.  They were quiet pretty quickly so I guess they went back to sleep.  I did.

               They (well actually their mother) woke me up when it was light but not quite 7am.  Since I hadn’t counted poops, I figured we’d better get outside.  That was the right choice judging by the poopfest we had out there.  I should have fixed their breakfast last night like I usually do because they were hungry.  I’ll be cutting back on the nighttime meal.

               I’m packing up the pupsters and all of their paraphernalia (not in that order) and we are about to head out the door.  There may be more pupdates this weekend if I can manage while we are traveling.  May have to wait until we return…

                                                           

November 8, 2012 Pupdate

               The puppies went to bed at 11pm last night and didn’t get up until 7 this morning.  I don’t know for certain that they slept but they were quiet.  I was awake from 5am but didn’t get up until daylight since they weren’t throwing a fit.

               I gave the big dogs chicken for breakfast early this morning.  I didn’t pay quite enough attention to locking Jill in her crate.  The next thing I knew Jill was carrying hers to the puppy pen and realizing they weren’t there, took it out the dog door.  She gave it a few crunches and handed it right over to the puppies who appreciated a little extra breakfast.  If I give them kibble, they’ll eat until they are full (or maybe bored) but when they have real food, they’ll eat until it’s gone.  One of them was out in yard pooping when I took breakfast out and they gobbled it up so fast that I picked up one bowl so there was some left when he finished.  Little carnivores, just like their mother.

               They came back in pretty well for their early morning nap – there was a hard frost and I didn’t want them to stay out there.  Since I’ve been giving them some treats, they will go in and eat the rest of them off of the floor of the crate or pen.  I got 9 out of 10 through the gates.

               I had to cut up some meat for the dogs today and I was going to let them stay out in the yard but then plans changed.  I let them out and came back inside to check email.  All of a sudden, I hear the dog door and a slight commotion in the deck room.  All of the big dogs had been in the rubber room with me so it wasn’t one of them.  And then here comes a puppy trotting in nice as you please.  He didn’t even follow one of the big dogs through it, he had come entirely on his own.  I knew it would eventually happen but I really thought it would be following a big dog.  The others were settling down for a nap so I brought them all inside after I fed them lunch (they had fish, yum they said.  Or they would’ve said had they not been so busy gobbling it down).  This time, I got 10 out of 10 in through the gates but I dropped some food in the water dish which might be irresistible.  I finally had to close off the dog door since they know how to come through it.

               I was really sleepy when I did last call for them and I didn’t count poops.  I hope that doesn’t ruin our record.  Nighty,nighty, nighty anyway.

November 7, 2012 Pupdate

Good morning! Good morning! the little dogs said.  They went to bed at 11pm last night, I settled them in, turned off the light and sang the 3 bedtime songs.  They settled right down and didn’t get up until 6:30ish (daylight is my deciding factor.)  I came downstairs and took them outside and they all made it out of the house and even off the deck before the pottying started.  They must’ve been holding it because we immediately got 6 poos.  We had a couple of pees in the paper pan but that’s not bad at this age with this many of them.  I have noticed that when I am around, I can tell when they are about to pee so it shouldn’t be too difficult with vigilance to housetrain them individually.

               After time for a healthy breakfast, they came back in pretty well this morning, it was as cold as predicted but I still wanted them to come back in for the first morning nap.  When they woke up after that nap, I let them outside to play.

               They were happy to be outside and found all manner of things to amuse themselves.  Someone managed to poop on the teeter.  I have no idea which puppy and can’t decide if that’s a good thing in terms of balance (it’s on the middle so they couldn’t have done it on the ground) or awful because it’s on the equipment.  I’m going to assume it’s not a huge agility training problem yet ;-)

               Speaking of agility, the puppies’ baby daddy finished his Novice Fast agility title last weekend. 

               We got a good AKC registration number.  Another set of numbers in my head, this one seemed easier to learn than the last one.  They are also now microchipped.  I won’t try to learn all of theirs by heart though ;-)  The girls didn’t make a peep.  One puppy whined a little but one puppy had rhino skin and gave a little squeal for a second.  Poor baby but it stopped immediately. They all ate string cheese and thought that made it worthwhile.

               I had color coded the microchip packages before the vet arrived so I will be able to keep track of which puppies chip is which.  They were outside so I brought them inside individually and put them in the pen after the chip was inserted.  After her turn, Turtle insisted she wasn’t done yet and climbed up on the small crate in the pen to try to reach us.  I shouldn’t have put the table that near the pen, I guess.  Anyway, after she repeated that performance (much like CarreraBoo from the last litter), I took that crate out and will only replace it at bedtimes.

               After reading about puppies that grab stuff and run away, I have noticed today that these puppies don’t try to run away from me with anything (they do run away from each other.)  They grab stuff and come running.  They also don’t always drop what they have when I call them, they bring it with them.  I’m sure that’s partially because I don’t often leave contraband within their reach but I think I might start rewarding it.  I think it’s probably something that would be good to be reinforced.

               They have no qualms about having metal objects in their mouths.  I let them play with the spoons and the play with the bowls.  I think maybe I’ll put some of the metal dumbbells in with them.  We’ll see if they like obedience articles as much as they like water articles. They are so cute getting the bumpers out of the toy basket and dragging the float line all over creation.

               So far, my new defenses have held and none of them have gotten out of the yard.  They have been playing with the garden hose though.  I couldn’t figure out what they were doing over there and then they all had wet muzzles.  They had managed to turn the nozzle a little and were drinking /playing in it.  I’d try to be annoyed if I didn’t like that so much.  I will have to remember to turn it completely off at the spigot in the future.

               They’ve been outside to play in the dark.  I will let them play out in the dark in the evening but I don’t want them in the habit of getting up before daylight.  I wonder if they’ll understand the distinction.  Anyway, they aren’t at all bothered by the dark even if I turn the light off.  Turtle had been standing on her hind legs at the door to the ex pen screaming her head off.  Since they are quite good at sitting politely for petting, I thought maybe she needed out.  I took her outside and she promptly ran out into the grass and pooped.  Since all of the others were pretty lively when we went back inside, I took them all out.

               When it was time for them to come back in, I had my 5 year old nephew who was visiting stand at the far corner and call them into the pen.  We got 9 out of 10 in through the gates for that.  I closed the door behind them and lifted the last puppy over the side.

               I’m going to go listen to television until it’s time for last call and then we’ll all go nighty, nighty, nighty.

November 6, 2012

               Another day with no puppy poos in the house!  Yay for us!  I go to bed exhausted and I’ve been busy all day long but all I can think of that I’ve accomplished during the day is having kept all of the puppies alive and growing for another day. 

               We are continuing to do well with no pooping in the house.  With 10 of them, it is considerably harder not to have peeing (especially during the night) but they are doing well with not going in the sleeping parts of the pen.

               I was awake this morning before 6 am and I heard puppies stirring but I did not come down and let them up/outside until daylight (6:30ish).  I figure if their new people want them to get up earlier, they’ll adjust faster to starting the day early than if they get used to getting up to eat before daylight.  I listened intently for “I need to potty noises” but we made it until after daylight and I took them outside.  It’s an exciting life I lead when the thrill of my day is no puppies pooing inside.

               I did go vote today and while the puppies were sleeping under the supervision of their Mimi and Didi.  It was the short morning nap so they had woken up while we were gone (we didn’t have to wait in line and we vote a mile and a half away but I did have to wait for the machine that talks and it takes longer to vote with it.)  They managed to get them outside and back in – in spite of me not having shown them how the pen is situated (doors on crate and ex pen are beside each other but open in opposite directions.  The puppies didn’t really want to come back inside but it was colder than I felt comfortable with them staying outside.  They had a big playfest and then the big morning nap.

               I took advantage of their nap and took one of my own.  Promptly at noon, they woke me up with the we need to go outside noises so out we went.  It was sunny and warm by then so I let them play outside.  They had a picnic lunch and got into everything they could.  During one of their naps in the playhouse, I tried to figure out how they are getting out of the fence and put a stop to that.  I’d like to figure out how to stop them from pulling up the rubber edging in the corner or the yard but no luck on that one yet.

               When I put their pen back together today, I put the vetch toy back in with them.  I also put the last susan back.  They were very happy to have those items in there again.  I’m glad the vetch toy turns off.  For further amusement, I suspended a toy inside of one of the little crates.  They’ve played pretty hard with that – I was afraid one puppy was stuck, he was on his back with his front suspended by his teeth in the toy but he was just playing and swinging.

               For now, we are going to get ready and say Nighty, nighty, nighty to all.

November 5, 2012 Pupdate

               Good morning, good morning the little dogs say!  This morning they were starting to say it at about 6:30. But it made it down and got them outside before we had any indoor poops.  I kind of wondered because after I did last call and they came back inside, they got their second wind and played and played and played.

               There was a hard frost out there but they didn’t mind.  I guess all of that hair coupled with the high activity level was enough to keep them warm.  After a while, I carried Dyson in my jacket but that was to keep me warm, he was just nice enough to cooperate. 

               The puppies have shown interest in Cooper who isn’t quite sure what to do with that many of them.  He was quite interested in eating their leftovers but wasn’t happy about sharing when they wanted to be social eaters.  I stopped him but it was a good thing for him that the Mama’s Mama wasn’t out there. 

               The smaller crates are quite a big hit with the puppies.  For the first morning nap, 4 puppies were in one which seemed a little too crowded for me to close the door.  During the second morning nap, I closed it on the 2 that were in there.  They woke up enough to notice but were sleepy enough that it wasn’t a big deal. 

               So far none of the puppies are walking poopers.  It would be nice if that didn’t continue into this generation.  I know Doodlebug and Indy got it from their father who got it from his mother but I’m not sure how far back it can be traced ;-) 

               I moved some of the play equipment into the grass from the deck this morning so they could experience it in different places.  I also put the raised bed into the playhouse in case they wanted a spot up off the deck. I put clean warm, dry blankets out there each morning or more often if it’s raining so they can be warmer if they want.  Sometimes they use them, sometimes they don’t.  The bed hasn’t been needed yet.

               Some of the monsters have discovered the seam in the flat rubber edging under the far corner of the fence so I had to take some of the larger rocks from the landscaping to try to limit that.  Teamwork and 10 puppies make it hard to stop something.  I may have to put a stepping stone or cinder block out there if they don’t’ stop.  I could try fencing it off but it slopes a fair amount up there so that’s not ideal.

               As true Water Dogs, they love the watering can.  I keep having to collect it and put it back together.

               They are also about to start coming through the dog door.  I guess I’ll need to ex pen that off, too.  I had to put one around the bottom of the 2 steps on the deck to keep them from coming up them to play.  I had gated off the top and that worked until people were using the steps and moving the pen at the top.  Apparently, they can see and learn  fairly well ;-)

               They’ve been playing with MiMi and DiDi who are good sports in true grandparent fashion.  They wore old clothes in case the swarm of shark toothed hairy monsters get them.  So far, I think they have only torn Colleen’s clothes but I havent’ checked mine that closely.  I know they can untie people’s shoe strings very well.  (I rarely wear shoes that tie, esp not in the house so they learned that on other people.)

               Do you have any idea how difficult it is to hear what you are typing or posting with 10 little Water Dogs playing near you?  I’m going to give up and post this for tonight.

 

November 4, 2012

Since the time changed last night, I tried to figure out the best way to adjust the puppies.  I was very tired last night so I decided to try feeding them at the early end of the normal time and getting up earlier this morning so I could go back to bed when they napped.  That worked fine from the puppies’ perspective but I didn’t do a very good job of napping. 

               They want to be outside as much as I will let them.  I guess they do have a lot more room outside to run and romp than in the pen.  I gave them chicken wings for the first time today.  Since they aren’t quite ready to just eat that yet, I gave them 3 to share.  There was some cooperation, some attempts at keeping it away from others, and some chicken actually consumed.  Camo was pretty good at it so I got a drumstick and held it for him to start eating.  Several puppies eventually got in on that and they ate most of them down to the bone.  A little of the bone from the wings were eaten, too.  I let the big dogs out to finish off the bones which renewed the interest of the puppies.  GrandDam Jill immediately gave her piece back to them.  I’m not certain what happened to the last piece but I am certain it will be eaten if it hasn’t already.

               They had a photoshoot today, too.  Some of them are pictures being held and some were during the chicken wing escapade.

               2 new people and another dog were added to the list today.  The dog is more of an adolescent, he is about 8 months old and is a mini Aussie so that’s a new experience.  They didn’t play together yet, mostly the puppies swarmed him and he let them with a lot of mutual sniffing.  I suspect tomorrow, he’ll succumb to the impulse to play, especially if there are a couple loose with him at a time instead of 10.

               We didn’t have a real weight watchers meeting but we did weigh Cooper (mini Aussie), Bluehemoth, Dyson and Pink just for comparisons.  Cooper only has Bluehemoth by a couple of lbs right now.  Pink isn’t far behind.  Dyson is doing well at almost 7 lbs.

               Individual puppies are spending some time alone in the small crates with the door closed.  They also have some time with the door open.  So far, there hasn’t been a huge mutiny but the crates are still inside the pen with everybody else.  The situation may be different when the crate is in a different room.  We’ll work it on a rotating basis.

               I need to start having the prospective families get an old towel or t-shirt ready by letting all of the members of the family wear it or sleep with it and then seal it up and send it to me.  When I know which puppy is going to which home, I’ll put the item in the crate with the puppy to get used to the scent.  That way, when they go home, they’ll have the blankie from here as well as the one with the new smell to make the transition more smooth.

               I’m going to do last call and say nighty, nighty, nighty for tonight.  So far all poops (and most pees) today have been outside.  Yay for us!

November 3, 2012 Pupdate

               Good morning, good morning the little dogs say!  We didn’t keep our perfect record last night, we came back inside when someone still needed to poop.  Only one and it wasn’t a big mess so we were ok.  We had breakfast and potty time outside but then Dog Cindi and I loaded up half of the puppies and drove up to do the first round of evaluations.  Bruce brought the second half when we were getting close to done.  There was another poop between when I brought them in and when he loaded them up but they weren’t being monitored like hawks.  We are so far back on track for after lunch and dinner but we may be a little off schedule.

               The puppies were very quiet in the car, Bruce reported the same.  Each load had one puppy puke after we got off the interstate and onto the curvy road.  Just a little whining and then the odor.  They didn’t roll in it or anything, it was a pretty easy cleanup.  Bruce managed not to hurl between the puking and unloading the puppies (probably not 3 minutes but still.)

               Apparently, we had a slight failure to communicate because Bruce called as he was starting to pull out of the driveway to see if we had taken 6 puppies.  I thought it was clear at all times that we were taking 5 but he only loaded 4 in the car.  I couldn’t talk because the puppy being tested would have heard me and everybody assumed he was just teasing us.  I finally got someone to take me to where they couldn’t hear me to take the phone but by then he had come back into the house and looked again.  He found the puppy sound asleep under the pool in the pen.  It WAS prime naptime after all. It took about 10 years off my life though.  I was afraid someone had unlatched one of the gates and a puppy had gotten loose.  Of course my imagination goes straight to it having chewed on an electric cord (about the only thing that could hurt a puppy in here but they may be able to get through/under the gates into the other rooms.

               Evaluations gave some good information, no huge surprises on this one.  We had some sleepy puppies though.  We’ll do another version next weekend along with the conformation evaluations and CERF exams.  I guess I might have to stop calling them CERFs since OFA is maintaining a database now and people may switch over.  I’ll try to start calling it an Ophthalmology exam but CERF is easier to type ;-)

               After the evaluations, we all played in the yard.  The puppies had  high old time and got to play with 3 of Debbie’s Border Collies (not all of them).  I think they may have wondered where their flags were but otherwise played with them.  Nike (the oldest one) really liked them but Laser of them was scared of them in mass quantities.  Swift liked them fine but she likes to be the chaser instead of the chasee.  The puppies Mama and grandmamma have already been explaining good dog manners so they knew just how to react.  They were exuberant but respectful (as 7 week old puppies should be anyway) and very engaging.

               The puppies did fine for the trip home, nice and quiet and no puking.  We fed them lunch and they did a little pottying and piled up for a nap in the playhouse.  The puppies had some more visitors this afternoon/evening bringing the unduplicated census of new people met after 4 weeks old up to 32.  We have at least 2 more tomorrow, hopefully 4.

               We gain an hour tonight.  I wonder how long it will take to adjust the puppies over to the new time.  I’ll try feeding them later tonight so maybe we can sleep a little later in the morning.  Otherwise, I’ll have to try to sneak in nap when they take theirs maybe.

               Dinner was served in the playhouse in the pouring rain and dark.  It was also kind of cold.  I was the one most affected.  They puppies ate voraciously, then went out to play and potty.  We brought them in to finish the play when it appeared the poopfest was over.  They are doing better about coming into the pen, only 2 rogue puppies.  I go to the other side and call them and Bruce closes the doors. Then we grab the stragglers and put them in over the side.  I think I will try to plan better tomorrow and put a little high value something in the far corner to help lure them into place.  Pouring water in to a dish might work for these puppies.

               I’m going to crash until it is time for last call and midnight snack.  We’ll say nighty, nighty, nighty in advance.

 

November 2, 2012 Happy Birthday GrandDam Jill

               JillyBean, or the Mama’s Mama as she is currently being referred to around here, turned 10 years old today!  I sang to her many times and she got to sleep in the bed last night.

               Another day of no pooping in the house started around 7 am (it wasn’t quite daylight yet) with going outside and eating breakfast.  They ate and played and pottied.  I changed out the pee papers and straightened up their pen and eventually dragged them back inside for their morning nap.

               While they napped, I took the big dogs out to play and to earn their showers.  Jilly seemed to have a good birthday romp – and I sang Happy Birthday to her on the outing as well.  She found lots of grass to eat and something stinky to adorn herself.  We followed that with showers and then it was time to take the puppies outside again.  Keeping the poops from 10 puppies outside requires a lot of time and attention.

               Most of the day is a blur.  If I can remember more, I will write it later but it’s been a madhouse here tonight.  Dog Cindi came this evening and I gave Indy and Bela showers and then I washed all of the puppies and we blew them dry.  They look and smell adorable.  Right now, we have 15 clean, dry Portuguese Water Dogs in the house.  I’m pretty sure that’s some kind of a record in this state.

               For now, we are going to say Nighty, nighty, nighty.  We have another early day tomorrow.

November 1, 2012 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning the little dogs say.  Since the MamaBug didn’t have access to the pupsters during the night, we got some goat milk when she came down to feed the Mamabug.

               We went outside to potty and have breakfast while That Lady redid our pen.  She made the walls higher so we can’t get out.  It was kind of cool and drizzling rain but we didn’t mind.  Eventually, we did go cuddle up in the playhouse where she had put a blanket for us until she was done and then she brought us all in.

               After that, we figured out that when we wake up, we should go to the door of the pen to get taken outside.  We’ve been outside 4 or 5 times today including when Colleen and Bobby got here after dark.  We’ve only had one poop inside since yesterday afternoon.

               We played in, on and around the tunnel and just generally had a big old time.  Since she put some paper on the glass door, we haven’t been running into it anymore.

               Granddam Jill shared her chewed up chunk of meat today.  That Lady thought she was going to hide her food or throw up for us again but she just chewed it up and somehow got it through both pens.

               What is the opposite of hand shy?  Whatever it is, we are it.  Whenever a hand appears, we are right there, right now.

               Aunt Colleen and Uncle Bobby came by tonight to see us, hold us and take our pictures.  They also brought some puppy crates and a puppy teeter.  That Lady is going to clean them up tomorrow and then we’ll get to use them.  Unfortunately, there was too much fun being had to leave time for our photo shoot tonight.  We’ll have to reschedule.

Aunt Colleen got some pieces of meat and a clicker from That Lady and played with us.  We did some sitting and Dyson got to play with the rat on a stick because he was more awake than any of the rest of us.  He did lots of chasing and pouncing to get it.  He also got to play tug with Jack’s monkey paw.

               That Man and Uncle Bobby shot some pool in the garage while most of us slept.  It was kind of loud but we didn’t care.

               We didn’t get any Trick or Treaters whatever those are.  All we know about that is Dog Cindi couldn’t  come play with us tonight because she had to stay home and give stuff to Trick or Treaters.

               Tomorrow is Granddam Jill’s birthday.  She will hit the double digits.  And we found out this evening that we are going to be first cousins in a few more weeks.  That Lady was very excited to hear that.  We have no idea what it means but she kept talking it.

               We had nighttime bites and went out to potty.  There were 10 poops so it must be time to go nighty, nighty, nighty.

October 31, 2012 Pupdate

               Happy Birthday Grandsire Griffin!  I hope you enjoyed your cones. 

And Happy Howloween!  Bluehemoth is ready for that holiday but I don’t know if any of the other puppies will howl.  I doubt we will encounter any trick or treaters, one year we got 3 and the little boy asked if we were giving out oxygen after walking up the driveway.  They moved it to tomorrow night but I don’t think we will get any.  Maybe some visitors later will wear their Halloween costumes for us.

               I put the garden fencing and ex pen up so the puppies can’t go through real fence.  Lemony helped me with that because she wanted to go outside to poop while everyone else was napping.  She ran around a lot but also kept close track of where I was.

               Since the yard was prepared (ok, I need a bungee on one end of the ex pen and I need to take the baby gate out with me when I go to keep them from going through the gate on the hillside end but it should take them a few trips outside before they breach those defenses), I took them outside to eat lunch, play and potty – not necessarily in that order.  They did a lot of playing, a little pottying and a little eating when they could find the time.  It’s not very warm and part of the time it was drizzling rain but they were all having a high old time.  They were pretty good to try to come inside when I called but we need to work on re-entering the pen.  I either need a second person or an automatic crate door.  I just go into the crate and call them and they come running.  Problem is, I can’t reach to close the door behind the puppies.  Maybe I’ll tie a string to it and pull it closed but I worry about catching a puppy part.  I’ll work it out or I’ll start using the walk through door on the ex pen.  Or I could get coordinated and send Doodlebug through the crate so they’ll follow and then I can close the door.  I’ll have to try to remember to do that next time.

               I also needed to put something on the bottom part of the glass storm door to help them realize they can’t go through it.  They’ll go around it with a little prompting but they forget the next time.  Since I keep forgetting to put something on the door, I’m not going to blame it on their intelligence.  They are catching on to keeping noses and toeses out of the way when I say “door, door, door, door.”

All of the snow is gone from the yard.  The puppy pool that was on the deck was almost full of rain/melted snow so we got quite a bit.  I bet the boats are full, the gray one may have tipped again.  I kept thinking we might get to take the puppies up there but the weather didn’t cooperate.  We need to get them out with the tractor and turn them over for the winter.  Boo! Hiss!

Jill didn’t see me feed the puppies lunch since the puppies dined al fresco.  She shared hers with them on the nice clean sheet I had over their floor.  They appreciated it a lot more than I did but I can’t blame her for taking care of the family.   They are awfully good dogs.

The gate to the puppy pen is now closed.  Camo was so very NOT. HAPPY. (bold, underline, increase font size into flashing neon and it’s still an understatement) in the ex pen this evening.  I took him outside and that suited him just fine. When we came back inside, he did not want to be in the pen.  He was screaming his head off (or my head off at least, it’s loud and piercing) and trying to climb out.  He made it out the gate before I closed it.  He almost made it out the corner a few times but not quite.  I was going to help him not make it but didn’t need to yet.  I guess that tomorrow, I‘ll be changing it out for the higher ex pen.

Lemony decided to join him in his quest and it is well known in puppy land that screaming at the top of your lungs while you attempt something increases your chance of success.  Eventually, I went over and picked him up (after he sat politely, they are getting good at that, I hardly ever have to help them by scratching their chests anymore) and held him in my lap.  That satisfied him but Lemony was still a bundle of energy when I picked her up.  She wanted to run around with the big dogs and especially to help Jack with his monkey paw.  After a few minutes of that, it was dinner time.

I guess tomorrow we will see how good I am at gauging the potty times since I can’t leave the door open for Doodlebug to come and go at will.  She will likely tell me when they are going to poop but it’s be better if I could get them all outside.  We probably won’t do that at the midnight feeding tonight or tomorrow but we’ll see.  I think the weather is supposed to improve a little so I might not mind being outside in the dark at midnight.  It’s not bad at all in spring (or at least that is how I remember it now.)

We are going to say Nighty, nighty,nighty and send puppy breath dreams to all.

October 30, 2012 Cable and Power back

               The power is out.  We have the generator running so we have some lights but the cable keeps going out, too.  No cable means no phone or internet access.  The cell phone access is tied to the M-cell which requires the cable, too.  So right now, all we have is the alarm phone which doesn’t have long distance service.

               What I find really frustrating is that I wasted the time that I had with access on trying to report the outage to the power company – it took 3 tries and they made me listen to their long spiel every time before I could try to enter our info from the automated system.  And then when I finally got it to accept the information, I was interrupted by a political call.  This afternoon, I finally called the cable company and there is allegedly a crew en route to restore service.  I’m not holding my breath.

               The dogs and puppies take it all in stride.  I do not like not having internet access but I am ok with the things we can run with the generator.

               After they had their lunch, I took them outside in the snow in pairs.  I carried them out into the snow and then slowly walked a few steps away.  They all held still for a moment and then started eating snow.  If they didn’t come with me fairly quickly, I called and then they came.  A couple of the puppies were careful at first but then they got their snow legs and were generally rambunctious.  They’d play with my feet (apparently the snow on my shoes was very tasty); with each other; the snow and the occasional leaf.  One puppy put his head under the snow and tunneled.  It was really cute.  Panda Paws was ready to come inside before his sister was so I held him while she continued to play a little more.  Bruce had come outside and she was very interested in him.  She always goes flying to meet him.

               As they came back inside, (they were supposed to be tired and ready for a nap but apparently they didn’t all get the memo) I put them into the crate.  When they were all in, I cleaned their floor, potty pan etc. and put paper all over the floor.  They didn’t all go to sleep at once but there wasn’t quite the volume there is when they are all awake and want out.  Since we are limiting the outings outside, I brought in a few more things to enrich their lives.  They have the puppy pool and the raised bed again but they have already pulled the water bucket down.  I need to get Bruce to hang one of Jack’s bottles for them.   They’ve been awake and enjoying all of those additions, especially the pool – they’ve been in it and under it, crazy puppies.

               I finally got pink paper so I can get started on the puppy books when there is enough power to run the printer and computer.  

               The puppies definitely recognize my voice and the “pup, pup” or “puppy, puppy, puppy” call.  I keep making the mistake of using it when I want to call one puppy and I get 10 of them flying to greet me.  Even when they seem to be in a dead sleep.  I reward them all because how were they supposed to know the difference but I kick myself.  I did it once this morning when I had 2 puppies out of the pen but in the same room and again when the third one was getting up from a nap. I had taken the first 2 outside to let them pee and he was heading over to the potty pan.  I was on the other side of the pen so I called him and the rest of them woke up and came running as well.  Obviously, I did not get them outside for that set of pees. ;-)

               I think they are probably catching on to the emergency word and whistle, too but we are still very much in the imprinting phase of that.

               They just had a big dinner and all acted like they were still starving so I stood there and fed them more off of a spoon.  Spoiled much?  I’ll think of it as training since we worked on sitting, taking turns, and eating nicely off a spoon.  The puppies are now having a bug play session.

               The power just came back on and so did the cable (phone, internet, etc.)  Dog Cindi’s cable is still out.  I’m going to post this now just in case something goes out again. 

October 30, 2012

Our power is out.  Primary phone is cable so we can’t call out.  No cell service without M-cell (which requires the cable modem to work.)  Depending on what is going on with the cable, we might get the wi-fi going with the generator.

There is snow on the ground so I guess the puppies will get to experience that today but probably just a few at a time so I can make sure nobody gets too cold.

Puppies are playing and generally having big fun.

 

October 29, 2012 Pupdate

               Good morning, good morning the pupsters say.  Fortunately, they don’t start saying that until I am downstairs.  I suspect that will change once I start reducing their nighttime space to the crate and potty pan but for now, they are very polite.  Maybe, since it doesn’t get light until later, they won’t get up as early as springtime puppies.  I’m not really counting on that but it’s a nice thought.

               The puppies have decided that the Lazy Susan is great fun to spin.  At least 3 different puppies at different times sat beside it and spun it around and around.  Big O did that while he was on it, maybe he’s not all mellow.

               This morning, I gave them some different chewy things: a lamb ear and 2 pieces of windpipe (like Moo tubes.)  They chewed and played with them and generally drove the big dogs crazy by not just eating them.  I think it is more a function of being puppies than being a hoarder like their GrandDam Jill (she will carry hers around until the other dogs are finished and then start chewing.  As a result, Jill usually gets a much smaller chewy than the other dogs because that’s annoying.)

               I left the stool in the pen again and it is quite the popular item.  Lemony is often lounging with her front half draped across it but it is common for another puppy to try to dethrone her.  Turtle was the first one I noticed completely on it but Lemony has been up there too (within 4 minutes of Turtle) so I suspect they’ll be playing a lot of monarch of the stool.

               As of 11 am, we still have power.  It’s a lot cooler and drizzly/rainy outside today so I don’t know if the puppies will get to go out in a group.  I haven’t finished puppy proofing the fencing so they may only go on the deck if we do go out.

               Doodlebug’s ears seem a lot more clear but she has a hematoma on the end of one so I’ve been putting a snood on her to keep her from making it worse when she shakes her head.  Plus this way, none of the little needle teeth rip it open.  She likes wearing the snood just fine but it reminds me of a peasant woman with a kerchief on her head surrounded by her large brood of  children.  I consider myself lucky that except for one day, I’ve managed only to have to put one on Doodlebug.  (Jill and Doodlebug are both VERY into anything that they can wear.  When one is in season, it’s easier to put bitch britches on both of them than to fight the other one off while I do it.  I leave Doodlebug’s snood alone if Jill is around so she doesn’t demand one as well.)

               Today, I added the most favored PWD item to the pen.  Paper for the potty pan area.  I did have smaller pieces under the pad but this afternoon, I put down newspaper end roll pieces.  BIG BIG fun!  More proof that they are indeed PWDs.

               Doodlebug is mostly limiting her visits into the pen to cleanup times unless she is still going in during the night and feeding them.  She feeds them while she cleans up and she stands there for a while until they are done.  She is being a VERY good mother.  I’m glad she’s still cleaning up after them even though they are eating other food.  10 poops a few times a day will be a lot of cleanup duty.  There is already lot of pee (she only cleans that up if they go on the bare floor.)

               We didn’t go outside as a group today.  I barely went outside at all as a matter of fact.  It’s cold and wet and windy.  So NOT my kind of weather.  If we get any snow tomorrow, I’ll take the babies out to see that but otherwise, I don’t foresee a lot of outside time.

               Nighty, nighty, nighty to all.  Have a good night for a pleasant tomorrow.

10/29/12 Just in case

If the power goes out, I will not have access to the internet so I won’t be able to post to the blog.  I’ll try to keep it updated and then post them when it comes back.  Hopefully, we won’t lose power and it will be a moot point ;-)

 

October 28, 2012 Pupdate

I have no idea why yesterday’s post posted so early but it was easier to just add anything new to today’s than try to fix it.  Nothing big happened last night after it posted so I guess it was all ok.

               Things I have forgotten to mention in the past:  The day after Doodlebug threw up for the puppies, Jill threw up for the puppies so now they BOTH have to see them eat in order to forestall that.  Both will go in to clean up any food that they have left but thank goodness Jill isn’t nursing them.  Had she not been spayed, I suspect things would have been different in that regard. Jack hasn’t thrown up for anybody since the night Jill had Sammie’s litter and I hope to keep it that way.

               The puppies all love their uncle Jack.  He consistently drops his monkey paw into the pen hoping that one of us will throw it.  The puppies see him and know that a FUN thing is about to be given to them and rush over.  Some of them continue to try to reach him as he stands over the door, waiting and hoping to get it back.  Much of the time, he has to wait for the puppies to finish with it or get a new one.

               Thank goodness the proposed APHIS rule didn’t come about.  The AWA standards are how commercial breeders do things.  We wouldn’t have been allowed to let the puppies be in the same house as their grandma Jill or Jack (not to mention visits from Uncle Indy and Aunt Bela.)  That was just one of the MANY ways that those rules were not good for people who want dogs to be a part of their family.  I hope if they trot that out again, anyone who understands what goes into planning, whelping and raising a litter of puppies will oppose it and explain to all of their friends and family why it is so bad.  I’ll get back off of my soap box now.

               Since the babies have really started eating, I’ve been giving them water in their pen.  Like the little Water Dogs they are, they immediately play in it whether it’s in the bucket, dish or puppy feeding saucers so they don’t manage to keep it in there all of the time.  Since their food is still pretty moist and the MamaBug is still feeding them, I’m not too worried but we’ll have to work up to keeping water in the buckets for them to drink.  I may hang one of Jack’s bottles on the pen to help them get water but lessen the messes while they learn.  Jack always played in his bowl, digging every bit of water out onto the floor so he drinks out of big Lixit bottles. (He can drink out of a bucket too, there just isn’t one in his crate.)

               Since we were expecting visitors this morning, I didn’t wait for the puppies to go to sleep before I closed them in the crate before they were asleep.  They.  Were. NOT. Pleased.  And they made that quite clear.  For a long time.  Eventually most of them went to sleep but 3 of them did not and as soon as the crate door opened, they came out.  Within a couple of minutes, they were asleep.  I made a point not to know which ones they were.  We’ll try again tomorrow with a little better incentive to go in the crate awake and let me close the door for a moment.

               While they ate their lunch, the heard gunfire.  Nobody noticed at all while the screen door was closed so I opened it for a couple more shots.  They looked but more in an ‘that was an interesting noise’ way.  Then they went back to eating.  Good little pupsters.

               They and their mother have been wallering the ex pen all over the place so I reinforced the straight sides with some PVC.  In several spots, I tied it on with long strips of flannel and left the ends hanging for them.  Bruce said this evening that we had caught a lot of puppies on those trot lines.  Not only do they pull on them, they sleep on the ends they ‘catch’.

               Since you can’t start them too early and we did go swimming yesterday, I gave them a gear bag to play with today.  I put a toy in it and one of the monkey paws on it and they’ve pulled it all over the place.  A couple of them have been sleeping on it as well.

               I set the yellow stool that I use to give the dogs showers in the pen today.  It gives us a place to sit and they are fascinated with it.  I am smart enough not to put it close to the edge because they are very close to being able to climb up on it and from there they could easily go over the side.

               Bruce was supposed to watch football with the puppies today but he got sidetracked.  We did watch one of those fights where the people kick and whatever they want Thursday night.  It even had airhorns.  The puppies were unimpressed as was I.

               I’m not sure what fun adventures we may have tomorrow.  If we get the snow, I’ll have to take the puppies out to experience that.  It’s another form of water so they’ll probably think it’s pretty cool.  They may be annoyed that it covers their favorite prey – leaves.

               But for now, I think we will call it another day.      We will all yawn big so the puppy breath gets maximum velocity and say Good Night Moon!  Hope the Frankenstorm doesn’t cause big problems for anyone.  Nighty, Nighty, Nighty.

October 27. 2012 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning, the little dogs said.  They had a good night for a pleasant tomorrow and were ready for their next adventure.

               And an adventure it was.  They met 4 more new people today 2 men and 2 children.  The little boy was on marginally interested but did get in the pen with them a couple of times but the little girl was definitely into puppy love.  She was even a trouper when they were grabbing her long hair (I put it up after that to minimize hair grabbing.)

               The pool was in the high 80s so even though the water wasn’t perfectly clear (it had been low so we added some pond water), we took the puppies swimming.  Once again, nobody moved their legs until after their chins got wet but all but 2 swam really well right away.  Those two weren’t really swimming toward the step so much at first so their rears sank.  I put the itty bitty lifejacket on them and they did much better.  LeAnne noticed some of them using their tails as rudders to turn.  Bobby took video with the flip (some underwater) so I will try to get them onto Youtube before too long.

               TJ was the last puppy so we put the lifejacket on him and did some swim with handler playing with him.

               We also finished shaving baby lion butts again.  The puppies were much better and we used some cuddles and some cream cheese to accomplish the goal.  Dog Cindi did part of them and Colleen practiced her grooming on others.  Then she shaved half of Indy’s muzzle (Dog Cindi did the other half.)

               Bluehemoth demonstrated his preference to be with me many times today so he was passed around a lot and taken outside to play with other people as well.  That helped some.  I’ll have to make sure everyone gets plenty of other people interaction.  They all recognize and prefer me so I try to be away when they are playing with some people.

               The weather was ugly today so we didn’t go outside as a group.  A couple of puppies went here and there though.

               They ate well and didn’t potty on the sleeping fleece in the crate - they did potty in the crate but at the other corner.  The crate is at least 48 inches so that’s not a big deal, yet.

               And that was their big day today.  They are expecting more company tomorrow so we will get ready for nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath dreams to you all.

 

October 26 Six weeks old!

               Happy birthday to Uncle B.B.! 

               The puppies are 6 weeks old today.  I can breathe a huge sigh of relief that they are now old enough to get their distemper vaccine.  Since SammieDoodlebug’s titer was so low, chances are that they did not get any maternal antibodies for that in the colostrum.  They are good on parvo and adenovirus for a while yet but we got the distemper vaccinations today.  Yay, for one less worry.  The vet came to the house (I LOVE that they do house calls) examined each puppy (good hearts, healthy puppies) and gave the injections.  She found both testicles in the sack for all of the boys except Bluehemoth, he was trying to hide one but she found it.  I have found both of them down for all of the boys for a while now but they can suck them back up in for a while yet.  As long as they eventually come down, we’ll be good.

               Bluehemoth and Brain were playing tug of war with a metal food bowl.  That’s a good sign that they’ll pick up metal.  I’ll have to remember to start leaving spoons in their dishes, too.

               Lemony was pitching a hissy fit last night so I figured out she was doing her potty dance.  I took her outside and she immediately pooped.  What a good puppy!

               We enjoyed what appears to be the last of the good weather this afternoon.  I waited until after their post vaccination nap to take them out just in case anybody had a reaction at all (nobody seems to have) and we waited for Dog Cindi to come.  (We missed LeAnne, she had to stay at work. Poor LeAnne) Cindi hung out on the deck with the babies while I rearranged their pen for the umpteenth time.  I needed to do it while they were outside and the weather probably will not cooperate next week for that.  Now they have the big crate in there.  I took the two doors on the inside off so we don’t have to secure them, later I’ll put them on at night.  They’ll eventually start sleeping in small individual crates (not everybody at once, I don’t have 10 crates or space for them).

               When we brought them inside, we let them come in by themselves instead of carrying them.  Cindi helped them get in the door and I called them into the pen through the crate.  Once they got inside, they were quite good at coming to me.  I was sitting in the crate (I told you it was the big crate) and they came scrambling right to me.      Good puppies!

We also did the big dog’s toenails and reshaved Peppy’s lion butt.  He was awake last and hanging out with the people.  He stood so well on the table to be brushed that we decided to try it.  He was remarkably good and it was kind of amazing that we got so much hair off after 2 weeks.  We may work on the other ones tomorrow since it is not looking good for swimming in the pond and I don’t know if the pool is warm enough yet.  (Hey, if it’s not going to be in the pond – why should I go in the cold?)

They didn’t meet any new people today but they have already met 21 so we are well on our way to the goal.  I need to re check the surfaces list to see how we are coming on that.  But for now, we are going to call it a day and say Nighty, nighty, nighty to all.