April 30, 2016 Pupdate

Whew!  We are ALL worn out today.   No wonder as it has been another busy day here.

Since we have some canine teeth poking through and Tamara won't be here all day tomorrow, we did NOT wait for Mila to hurl for the puppies or everyone to have canines to do the first non-MamaMila food.  So I mixed ground beef and goat milk kefir and a little probiotic and warmed it up.  Dog Cindi came to play/help so after the initial greetings of the old dogs and a little puppy cuddling, we were ready.

They decided that they had to man cameras instead of getting their fingers/hands into the lovely concoction so the pups and I went at it alone.  Most of them were asleep which makes it a little easier for me to start.  I dipped it onto my fingers and put it near mouths and puppies commenced licking.  The second puppy bypassed my fingers at first and went straight into the dish.  After her sister was also eating from the dish as well, I added another puppy.  And another, and so on until they were all lapping the stinky stuff up.  Some of them had an initial preference for eating it from a sibling's coat but they all got VERY bulgy little tummies.  I invariably make too much the first time (it's hard to get the perfect consistency) so MamaMila finished it up for me.  She also cleaned it up from the blankies and the puppy faces.  They all took the opportunity to top off their tanks (which had to be very full already) while she cleaned up.

They had a little play and a little rest and we took our first trip outside.  It wasn't hot today and it was actually drizzling rain so we got a twofer.  We each carried 2 puppies and put 3 of them in the play house (on a dry blanky I just took out there) and 3 in the castle sandbox (on another blanky).  Eventually, they all wandered around exploring the deck area.  Some of them were mostly following their mother and some of them were busily exploring.  We were getting wet and cold so we got them all in the playhouse (one was handed in through the window but I'll make certain she knows where they door it) and I cuddled them a few minutes to make sure everyone was warm and snuggly and them we took them inside. 

When they went to sleep after that adventure, I put them in the pool with their fleece to change out the linens.  They mostly stayed asleep but Cindi needed to cuddle a couple of them at various times (SHE needed to cuddle but they were happy enough to oblige).  Then I started the next round of puppy laundry and prepared the bathing area.

At this age, I bathe them in the laundry sink (next to the running washing machine so another first - except I think I've carried most of them in their at various times.  BUT the clock restarts at 4 weeks so we're doing it anyway).  Then I gave them each their first bath.  Tamara took pictures but fortunately didn't videotape it because, as with so many puppy activities, there is an accompanying song.  One of them didn't want to sit IN the water but was fine with it being poured over and another couple wanted to completely lounge in the water.  They were all good about being rinsed - eventually, I use the sprinkly stream out of the faucet (more like a real shower will eventually be).  There is one that I predict will be very interested in playing with the water from the hose when we start that.

Each puppy was 'wrung out' - each leg, undercarriage, ears and tail just like a big dog - and then snuggled up in a nice warm towel like a little puppy burrito.  Then it was handed over to Aunt Cindi for warm cuddling.  After puppy number 3, we had to move her from the couch to the puppy pen.  After number 6, I held the puppy burrito.  We snuggled nose to nose for a nice long time, until MIla insisted that she needed to take a little free range walk around the yard.  We did not encounter the geese and their brood of goslings she has seen at least a couple of times today. Apparently we have not had the dogs at the pond nearly enough this spring because they nested and hatched eggs.  With any luck the coyotes, foxes and hawks will take care of them or they will move off before water time for us.  They need to stay in the woods or pond and not poop all over the yard, dock and area by the pond.  But alas, being wildlife, they are untrained...

After the trip outside in my wet clothes, I needed a warm bath so I went to warm up and have a little nap while the pupsters rested.  They've had a few playtimes but Mila actually laid in the pen with them for quite a while this evening (they were all sleeping, too). I can't figure out it she liked the clean puppy smell or if she wanted to get her scent back on them.

We held a weight watchers meeting before Tamara went up to bed - only Trillium hasn't passed the 5 lb mark and we now have over 33 lbs of puppies.  I think we've gotten the hang of weighing them on the bathroom scale but it weighs in increments of 2/10 of a lb.  At this weight, that's probably precise enough.  I posted all of the pictures and a couple of videos to the facebook page - and I put a link to it on the sidebar.  Here it is again:

www.facebook.com/Mila2016.puppies.allyn

it worked for me so please try it and let me know if it doesn't work.  I also had to copy pictures and videos off of my ipad again and delete because I used up so much of the space.  I've cleared off plenty so we're good to go again.  There's LOTS to do in the coming weeks.  The little sponges need to soak up all kinds of lessons.

I almost forgot that we put the Totofit disk in the pen this evening.  It's gotten a little usage but not much yet.  It's been a big day, there's always tomorrow.  We are going to work on the not starting a day until full daylight again tomorrow - as long as they play quietly in the sleepy area, like they do at 2:30am, it'll be fine.

Puppy breath to all! Nighty, nighty, nighty

April 29, 2016 4 WEEKS OLD!

I cannot believe they've been here 4 weeks.  They are quicky becoming little sponges and they are so close to being ready for us to start helping feed them.  When we feed them, too we can start rewarding quickly.  I need to make my plan of things I want Tamara to teach them with a clicker ;-). I am not at all adept at using a clicker, and I don't have a chance at shaping (requires more vision than I have).  When they are good at eating, I can work on the magic word and whistle.  (Can you tell I find all of this exciting?)

We've pretty well gotten into a midmorning linen change routine.  I go to bed for a few hours after Tamara gets up (I've been getting better about sleeping beside the puppy pen instead of staying up all night long) And when I come back down between 9-10, we've generally had morning poops and when they start dropping off to sleep, we put them in the pool and I switch the stuff out.  Fewer of them were cooperative today so they got to take a few short turns out 'at large'. They regard it more as an opportunity to be 'at MamaMila' though.

LeAnne and Cindi came this afternoon so we could hold a photo shoot. We did get the pictures taken but we haven't quite figured out how to get them into a usable format (we easily got them onto my laptop but it's Windows and Tamara is used to Mac.  I'm going to attempt to get them onto her MAC tonight since she turned voiceover on for me). Technology is great - we need a teenager in the Village to do all of this stuff for us. ;-)

We did a little grooming practice, too.  Full on baths will probably happen after they have their first feeding frenzy (we are waiting for MamaMila to puke for them or canines to erupt - whichever comes first). Update, I felt the points of upper canines on multiple puppies tonight so I think it'll be tomorrow.  It'll be interesting to see if she hurls for them.  Especially since her mother isn't here to do it if she doesn't.

Today's big development is tugging blankets, carrying toys and doing the kill shake.  Against all odds, they continue to become cuter and cuter.  And they give kisses.  If there is anything more adorable than 4 week old puppies hurrying over to sit in front of the humans so they can be greeted, I'm hard pressed to figure out what it is.  

Tonight's weight watchers meeting demonstrated one of the hazards of puppies that like people.  We thought since they were sleeping, we could do it in the puppy castle as Dog Cindi calls it.  But once Tamara went in, they all woke up and headed over to help.  They ARE PWDs even if they are baby PWDs.  After comparing the process to herding cats or squirrels, we gave up for a little while and let the pupsters go to sleep.  It took a little romp and a little topping off by the Mama for them to go back to sleep.  While they drifted off, we fed the old dogs and then tried again.  MamaMila offered to help but we managed to dissuade her.  We still need to find something better to put them in on the kitchen scale, I had a new amazon box today but it's a little big yet.  They are starting to get pretty good at sitting for attention, we may be able to use that in a few days.  I can't believe that the 3 'smaller' ones are almost 5 lbs (2 are within tenths of an ounce and Trillium is 2 oz away). Obviously, it is all relative.

I'm going to go see if I can make headway with pictures before it's time for Mila's nighttime snack, after which  I plan to nap on the ottobenbed beside puppies until 7.  I think I can still go to sleep at that point and I'd liek to start brainwashing the puppies that mornings don't start really early so if I can get enough rest doing shift change/good morning a little later than 6, it'll be nice.  It'll probably end up being a daylight wakeup call in the next few weeks but it's worth a shot to get it later.  Puppy breath to all! Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 28, 2016 Pupdate

The morning started off with a linen change in the puppy pen.  They did very well yesterday and through the night but this morning while I slept and Tamara had to watch them, they staged Poopapalooza.  So we put the pupsters in the pool and Tamara guarded them while I took up all of the bedding and pads.  I cleaned the rubber and re-made the area.  Then we gave the pupsters sponge baths (well, we did the first 2 together, after that I cuddled pupsters - I mean encouraged them to pee in the potty area - while Tamara cleaned the others)

They also greeted her this morning by hanging off of her pants legs.  This is before they have teeth so they are going to be very fun very soon. ;-)

We put the pvc contraption over the Totofit equipment for today's items of interest.  They made good use of all of it but they also had a lot of interaction with each other.  They'll learn to be much more gentle when they get a mouthful of little needle teeth.

Shortly thereafter, the MSU and I brought up the outdoor puppy play equipment.  As we were bringing it up, it proceeded to rain.  I planned to mow the dog yard this afternoon and have Tamara bring the puppies outside one by one to hear the noise.  Since it was apparenlty going to rain on and off, the MSU mowed it while I was changing clothes/sanitizing myself so I could touch puppies.  I don't think it will stop growing so there will be more chances ;-). 

I disinfected the outdoor stuff between showers and cuddled puppies some between that.  It was important that I continue their training on sleeping while humans hold them.

More dog show noise cd playing today and loud music on the tv.  They hear the vacuum every day so that isn't much of a big deal.

They definitely come to see people when we approach the pen and they wag their little tails.  They run (at times more gracefully than others) to see us and at other puppies, too.

The weight watchers meetings are a challenge.  The bathroom scale was giving bizarre readings so we used the kitchen scale again.  The kitchen scale confirmed that the puppies hadn't actually lost 2 lbs.  I guess I will have to look for another container that fits the kitchen scale to hold the pupsters.  They are definitely too big for the shoebox.

I had to stop writing this, copy pictures off and then delete any because my ipad said it was almost out of memory.  Pictures and videos of puppies were the big users of memory so we should be good again.

We have a big day planned tomorrow.  Hopefully, more of it will be spent holding puppies.  One can never spend too much time cuddling puppies ;-). Puppy breath to all!  Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 27, 2016 Pupdate

The wee ones had a pretty good night.  I slept a little beside them but with the weather fronts coming and going, my sinuses weren't too happy.  We did have several bouts of rain and thunder so the pupsters expereinced more of that.  They seemed oblivious.

They did very well in the night about potty time - we have a few carpet grade poops in the potty area, too.  Not bad for puppies still on a liquid diet.

We've noticed a 'pattern' in their sleep/playtime schedule.  The BIG awake/playtime seems to be around noon.  They have several smaller sessions where they wrestle around a little/play hungry hungry hippo/chew on each other but that's the one where they are almost all awake and BUSY for a little while.  So in the naptime before that, I put that day's new envirmonmental stimulants in the pen.

Today it's the PVC cube/adventure thing.  I tired to put it in an area where it can be passive (they hear the noise, the dangling items touch them as the walk through, etc.) or interactive (they mouth/paw at the items.  For an extra lure, I put one of the MamaMila approved ropes in the middle.

The pupsters did not disaapoint.  Tamara was in with them while I tried to take notes for this ;-). She tried to take pictures but there was also a lot of attempting to encourage pottying in the preferred area.  That's mostly only possible when they first wake up because they just don't have that much notice that they are about to need to pee.  We can't constantly interrupt their adventuring every time someone gives a potential potty sniff or sit (hard to tell a sit from a squat at this age) or it rather defeats the purpose of the environmental enrichment.  So you we get what we get and really praise attempts to get to the potty area.

Things puppies did (names are withheld to protect the guilty - and also because it is pretty hard to tell which is which now that the hair keeps covering the collars.  As teeth come in, they will probably all be streaking most of the time anyway so nobody gets their jaw caught in another puppies collar.  I have made these collars in such a way that they can't inadvertently be tightened but they don't loosen from everywhere either (you can't really have both):

Mouthed at the pvc 'organ pipes' (random length - do you know how hard my OCD wants to make me put them in ascending or descending order?)

Knocked into the empty water bucket with the loose carabiner (for extra noise - because we didn't already have enough.  I think I might start wearing ear protection)

Chewed on the rope - they've been very interested in rope (large and small) today

Played with the bait rope in the middle - including picking it up and trying to give a little kill shake

Pulled/knocked down one of the small metal pie pans.

Wrestled at Tamara's feet

Played with the paint brushes

Knocked at the carabiner on the empty metal bucket with paws

played with the stool

I need to remember to hang a piece of fabric from it one of these days.  I think tomorrow I may put the TotoFit equipment and my home rigged table in the center of the cube.  (I have horrified visions of puppies using the added height to vault up onto the top rails of the cube - pretty certain they aren't big enough for that quite yet but eventually...)

Weight watchers is slightly less dramatic since the scale only weighs in increments of 2/10ths of a lbs but they range from 4.6lbs to 5.4lbs and are pretty much a bell curve distribution.

Mama Mila is producing more than the pupsters are consuming so I need to do some cleaning tonight.  I guess that's what happens when you use Moo as one of her nicknames ;-)

Puppy breath to all!  Niighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 26, 2016 Pupdate

We had a pretty quiet night. MamaMila fed the babies a couple of times and slept with me some of the time.  She alternated between cuddling with me and moving over to the couch when she'd get too warm.

After her 2 am feeding, Mila fed the puppies and they had abbreviated playtime with the few toys I leave in the sleepytime area.  They made it over to potty and then cuddled back up for some much needed rest.  Hey, it's hard work being THAT adorable and managing to find ways to be even more so.  I don't know how they do it, I'm exhausted just observing it each day.

Apparently, I need to update the cast of characters on the sidebar of the blog.  I've been incredibly lazy this time and type the post in Notes on my ipad and just email it to the blog.  At least 2 problems with that: 1 if there is a spellchecker in notes, I don't know where it is so I don't have to listen back through for typos and 2 I don't remember how to change those things.  I remember a note where I updated it last time and vaguely recall that it is somewhere in the template or such.  Maybe I'll get industrious and update it.  But don't wait for it with wormy breath.

Uncle Jack is a little stiff today (he'll be 14 in less than a month) and he's been playing a lot at night and sleeping during the day (he stays up with me) but I think I'll try to encourage him to stretch more, too.  It'd be nice if he stopped running into things but since the puppy pen is rather centrally located, that's easier said than done.

As of 3 am, our thunderstorm is MIA.  On the one hand, at least we didn't lose power again but I was all prepared for the pupsters to hear a good storm.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is a good time of year for storms so we will have some later.  I also just reminded myself that I was going to go to sleep after I did this feeding.  Perhaps, I should stop typing and work on that goal.

They had another adventurous day of sleeping and playing and eating.  Again, I neglected to take notes during the day so I'll have to do this from memory.  Mila was feeding the puppies at 6 am when Tamara came down to take over.  She had fed them a couple of times during hte night before that, too and they had been doing pretty well at making it over to the potty area.

Pooping is still a work in process especially when they are playing (they do pretty well during sleepy time though). Rome wasn't built in a day, it's a process, yada yada yada ;-). But they are making progress.

I brought out the Totofit roller thing today and we played with that a little.  I then put it between the wedge and the 'table'.  First I put the cooling mat on it but since none of them seemed to be too warm, we switched for the yoga mat.  The puppies had big fun climbing up and down and at least one of them used it as a launch to leap (as much as a puppy can leap).

During one of their naps, we put some of the items on the 'adventure box' and we'll put it in with them during the big awake time tomorrow.  I'm sure there will be some photo documentation ;-). I missed one of their playtimes today while the air conditioner repair man was here.  Fortunately, MamaMila didn't care about him being out there.  We did turn the music channel up before he came just in case.  What she has taken exception to is certain percussion on the music channel (a couple of different times on the Latin channel) and my reflection in one of the doors (thinking back, it may've coincided with percussion on the tv but I'm not certain).  She calmed down pretty quickly - much easier than Bela.

We had some heavy rains and some decent thunderstorms today but none of the dogs (big or little) reacted to that.

We had to have a double weight watchers meeting tonight.  We used the bathroom scale and then we re-weighed them on the kitchen scale so that we could compare the 2 (I may, perhaps, be a little OCD about things) and then go forward with using the bathroom scale in future days.  They are just too big to reasonably fit in a container that will go on the scale.

After the weight watchers meeting, I redid their linens while Tamara wrangled puppies.  One of the great pleasures of redoing the pen is that it's clean to lie down in there and have a cuddle with the pupsters.  I let Tamara take a turn, too.

I'm going to cuddle with the puppies and then feed and cuddle the big dogs and MAYBE nap beside them a little more tonight. Puppy breath to all!  Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 25, 2014 pupdate

The big news today is we have teeth!  They didn't have teeth this morning but this afternoon, they do.  Right now, they are just little points sticking through the gum on the bottom towards the back of their mouths.  Most of them have one on each side, I suspect the others will have them in the morning.  And then we'll get uppers and canines and incisors.  

With the arrival of teeth, I'm preparing myself to start sharing the load of feeding them with Mila.  She hasn't regurgitated for them yet and SDB is still in quarantine at Colleen's so she can't tell me either.  I've never had to make this decision on my own, hopefully Mila will make it for me soon, too.  I'll have to try to go back and read the old blog posts to see when it happened in the other litters.

I re-arranged the room and their area again last night (I can't remember if I talked about that or not).  I needed to move the taller gate to a location accesible to Mila since they were figuring out the lower gate.  So now we have two options for entry.  I'm leaving the hight one open and I think Mila is enjoying jumping it.  If the puppies are in the way, we can open the other one for her.  And when they are sleeping, neither gate goes directly into the sleeping area so she has plenty of room (she has good proprioception - important in performance venues AND motherhood - but I like to make it as convenient as possible).  I LOVE that we put casters on the furniture out here - it makes it so much easier to move around to accommodate the puppies.

We've started the potty training more in earnest tonight.  Since I didn't have the mess of worming medicine tonight (preventative since pregnancy/whelping puts enough stress on the dam's system to let any parasites that her body managed to keep contained from developing before to perhaps make it past her defenses and therefore get passed on to puppies), I did the linen change and pen dividing before she went to bed tonight.  Because she was here to keep the puppies from escaping while I worked on their area, we could do them singly and I could encourage them to use the potty spot before they went to sleep.  All but one of them did but another one did a second pee out of the designated area.  Not a bad start.  Tomorrow, we'll have to wait until they've woken and pottied before we move the divider.  We'll also need to move them into the smaller area when they are asleep so they can get to the potty spot easier when they wake up again.  On top of that, we'll monitor them closely when they play to try to help them get to the right spot.  We'll still have times they miss but they'll catch on.  I'm back to spending a big chunk of my day cooing 'gooooood potteee' over and over again.

They enjoyed all of their toys but they are collpasing the box.  We may have to sacrifice one of the side flaps at times so we can put it next to the pen for stability.  I've been soaking the new items for the 'adventure box' in vinegar this evening since LeAnne brought them this afternoon.  They are brand new but I don't trust anything (have you read the visitor protocol on the sidebar?) when it comes to puppies.

LeAnne and Cindi helped Great Aunt B have a little swim in the pond as PT, then they cleaned up (and I bathed B) and they visited puppies.  Cindi and I did the 2 person version of nail trims.  I've been doing them and Tamara has been doing them so we didn't get much off but it's more about the process.  They were all awake but we didn't have any issues.  We did only do their front paws - we are leaving the back a little longer so they can get better traction as they move around.  We won't let them get long and when they are really steady on their feet, we'll keep them shorter again.  I think we may also be ready for me to occasionally use the file.  They aren't big enough to dremel but I'm starting to think we'll have to wet their feet to get the hair out of the way enough to get to the nails soon.  

Hmm, what else happened today?  Six puppies were absolutely as cute as they could be and then they managed to become even cuter.  They were very sweet and a little bit rotten and they ate, and played (with each other, toys, us and their mama's ears and flag).  They took several big naps and I snuck quite a few cuddles.  I don't have to sneak puppy breath because they are quite cooperative with sharing it.  They've also all grown. I think they gained a cumulative pound.  I think this may be our last weight watchers meeting on the kitchen scale.  They don't fit in a container that we can balance on it so I'll have to bring the bathroom scale down.

They are so very, very cute when they do their great big yawns.  It reminds me of a lion roaring - they really open their mouths WIDE.  It's just one more thing that makes me anxious to put them into little lion butts ;-)

I think that is all for now.  Even if it is not, I have a load of laundry to move to the dryer in case I need it tomorrow, a mama dog (and Uncle Jack) to feed, and puppies to cuddle before I try to get a little sleep beside the puppy pen.  They are quite addictive little monsters.  I almost can't wait until they get those little needle teeth (but appreciate that they don't have them yet when they are chewing on my toes, fingers, face, etc.). Puppy breath to all!  Nighty, Nighty, Nighty (and yes, I've started singing the 3 songs when I lie down beside them.  It is never too early for puppy brainwashing!

April 24, 2016 Pupdate

The pupsters had a pretty quiet Saturday night.  They did do a bar crawl every time they found an open bar though.  But they slept it off every time.  I'm tempted to call at least one puppy Otis (from Andy Griffith) because they drink themself into a stupor and then wobble off to sleep it off.  Of course, they are all much cuter than Otis.

MamaMila is fascinated by some of the toys that make odd noises.  When the ball rolls around and makes Tube of Gloom noises (I don't recall whether it was Tube of Gloom or Doom but it may be an obscure reference even if I get the name correct), she comes into the pen to check on it.  The puppies swarm her then and most of them manage to get a little drink of 2 while she stands.  Sometimes, she sits so they can reach. Unless she has gone in with the intention of feeding them, she rarely lays down in the pen.  She does that several times a day and 3-4 times during the night (10pm-6am is my current definition of night) and they are thriving so no need to worry.  Other than not doing poop duty, she's a very good Mama.

They really enjoyed the cardboard box today.  We let them have it for 2 awake sessions and a full litter nap (as opposed to the random puppy sleeping while several others play).  The second full litter nap, I gently encouraged them out of the box and we took the box out. They went in and out all of the flaps/cutouts and played with the bird ring and the crinkle bat tied to the braided fleece tug.  They are pretty funny biting/tugging on that without any teeth.  In true PWD fashion, they use their feet, too.

Play sessions are fast and furious and then they all fall asleep.  Some of them just flop over where they land and some seek out the perfect location (the perfect location seems to be one wher they can get as many appendages sticking out the ex pen as possible.

Today we made the poor puppies suffer through 70s music.  Yesterday was 'dance' music.  And the ever (un)popular Dog Show Noise CD (again, it is unpopular to me, they don't care). The longer, uncollapsed cat tunnel made its inaugural appearance this evening.  I had the shorter one in there but it is easily collapsed (and used as a bed).  They only had one play session after I put it in there and it wasn't a big one but they investigated it, chewed on it a little and went in and out.  I suspect when it comes out again tomorrow they'll be all over it.  They've certainly gotten the hang of the TotoFit wedge and the moving box (we've had to refold some of the flaps to reinforce it since they've started ganging up on it).

We have 26.25 lbs of pure puppy cuteness these days.  Every one has crossed the 4 lbs mark.  Good job Mila and puppies!  We'll be starting to feed them, too before long.  Puppy breath to all!  Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 23, 2016 Pupdate

Its been another adventurous day in the puppy pen today.  I ended up staying up all night working on catching up on the puppy laundry and redoing the puppy pen.  When I changed out the bedding, I expanded their area.  It will have some more expansion and tweaking in the next few weeks but it is mainly in the configuration it will remain for the next few weeks.

I expanded the width and the length but I set it up so that I can put up a divider (right now it is the ferret ex pen fencing that was the front barrier).  They are making great strides (bear in mind they are 3 week old puppies so heading in that direction when they need to go is a great stride) towards using the potty area.  At least 2 of them went there to poop today.  It was quite an impressive feat and we celebrated appropriately. 

We also started a box city for them.  Right now, they only have the one box but it will kind of habitrail with more.  So far, of 101 things to do in a box, none of them has been potty  ;-)(I'm sure it will happen though.)

New noisy and quiet toys have been added and the float line trainer attached to the side of the pen.  I assembled the 'adventure box' and LeAnne shopped for some new items to hang on it this year.  I'll still use the dangling PVC but I needed new pie pans and other noisy/obnoxious items.  Speaking of noisy and obnoxious items, we played the dog show CD twice today and mowed the grass in the dog yard.  I'm not certain they heard that that but better for them to get accustomed to it gradually, before too long, they'll be out on the deck during the mowing.

They were nice and sleepy (most of them) for the weight watchers meeting tonight.  There is always one (not the same one) slightly out of sync with the sleeping schedule each day.  Today, that puppy used the awake last time to attempt to play with other puppies, played with the float line and people, and sat beside the scale while the subsequent puppies were weighed.  It was one of the cutest thing EVER.  No interference but just sat there and occasionally waved at Tamara.  I must say it is MUCH easier to scribe than gather/weigh/record/switch puppy alone.  I do think I am going to have to find yet another larger container soon.  The new scale goes up to 11 lbs but I think their size, as opposed to their weight, will require utilitzing the bathroom scale.  It weighs in increments of 2/10ths of a lb but they'll be heavy enough that that's close enough for government work.

'Uncle Jack'  and MamaMila got showers and blown dry this afternoon, too.  They don't actually need to be blown dry every time but I think it's good for the puppies to expereince the dryer at a distance before they start havign turns.  It's almost time for the puppies to have their first real baths (towel drying not blow dryer), and little lion butts and trips outside (and cuddles, lots and lots of kisses and cuddles).  Oh, the places they will go!  It's exciting just to think about.  

I think tonight, I will lie down on the ottobenbed and SLEEP after I feed the big dogs.  This was a rather rough day for me, amazing how much difference sleeping from 4-6am makes a big difference in my day.  So Puppy Breath to All!  Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 22, 2016 3 weeks old!

Good morning, good morning, the little dogs said.  And good noon, good afternoon, good evening and good night.  They're pretty much happy to greet all of their waking moments.  We're pretty happy to greet them as well.  They are so stinking cute and become more so every time I encounter them.

Dog CIndi came today and we had the 3 week photo shoot.  I dstracted MamaMila with the treat n train.  It worked better than throwing her chickens.

I added the vtech piano toy and they seem to like to make it sing.  For further excitement, the washing machine died, midcycle.  Apparently, it didn't feel that it needed to wash any more puppy laundry.

The puppies got to experience their first thunderstorm tonight.  They weren't too impressed, just snoozed right on through it.  And then the electricity went out.  They remained unfazed.  Good puppies!  

Apparently, the cable is out along with the power so we have no internet service.  I'm not certain when this will be posted now.

4 out of 6 puppies weigh over 4 lbs (about 4.25 lbs each) and the other 2 are still gaining nicely.  Mila's calories were increased today, too.  It seems that we are keeping up with her need as she is keeping up with theirs.  It will be interesting to see if she regurgitates for them like the rest of her family does (or if her mama is back, if she does.)

They are getting more stable on their feet and getting more coordinated in their attempts to play.  We've started praising for peeing in the potty area even if we placed them there and we also praise if the get pretty close ot it under their own power.  Pooping is not quite as far along yet but they are just 3 weeks old so we'll keep working on it.

I need to go cuddle with puppies and work on the laundry backlog.  Puppy breath to all, Nighty Nighty Nighty

April 21, 2016 Pupdate

Today's new environmental enrichment for the puppies included playing the Dog Show noise CD, hearing the Treat n Train dispense kibble for the MamaMila - she looked at the dog show noise a little at first and we wanted to make sure everything was happy, happy, happy for the pupster so we let her train.  I'd forgotten just how much NOISE is in that CD, perhaps I need the human version of a Treat N Train.  I've also begun the walks outside - meaning that occasionally, when I am carrying a puppy and MamaMila doesn't mind, I carry it outside (eyes shielded from the sunshine just in case) for a moment or 2.  We also go into different rooms of the house but not in the same trip.  We want everything to be eustress.

Then this evening, I heard that MTV was playing a marathon of Prince videos.  Unfortunately, my cable provider seems to have given up all fo the viacom channels (in 2014 and I just now missed it.). I tried putting it on the 80s music channel and ti happened to be Purple Rain but the next song wasn't by Prince.  We listened a while anyway because we like 80s music and they interspersed a lot of songs by Prince (when did he stop being the artist formerly known as Prince?).  I'll subject them to less good genres - like the 70's. ;-) as well but we'll start off with the good stuff.  And an added benefit is they'll get to hear me singing along with some of these songs.  It's all an important part of puppy deveolpment.

We've had the wedge in and out of the pen several times today.  They don't seem to seek it our nor avoid it.  One puppy does really like the blanket hanging over the back of the pen though.  Another likes her mama's ears.  They all seem to be into mouthing sibling's legs or muzzles.  And sticking their nose into another's mouth.  I suspect some of those will change VERY quickly when they begin to get teeth.

The weight watcher's meeting went pretty well.  Tamara did them while I scribed.  They were mostly sleeping when we started but when she was finishing up with the second to last, the last one came over to the front of the pen for her turn.  I am pretty certain that we can safely claim that they are definitely wagging their tails for interaction.

And after that, one of the puppies really and trule played with her.  Started off after her hand and she got one of the toys and the puppy was really trying to get the toy while wagging the tail.  Real, live purpsoeful movements to interact with people (and each other) are SOO cute.

They are also making valiant efforts to go over toward the potty area to pee.  They don't always make it and, sometimes, they have their body in the right spot but pee off the edge.  Since they aren't quite 3 weeks old yet aned the Mama is still cleaning pee part of the time, I'm quite satisfied with their progress.

Tomorrow's adventure's should include the 3 week old photo shoot.  Who knows what else we will get into - you'll have to tune in to find out.  There have been numerous times today Tamara said that she wished she had her camera ready to take pictures or videos but we are too busy interacting with the pupsters to stop and take pictures (we do have priorities - and it's 'whatever is best for the puppies'. ) Their development is absolutely fascinating!  And, against all odds, they managed to become cuter today!  I suspect they'll manage to do it again tomorrow, too.

Puppy Breath to All! Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 20, 2016 Pupdate

I'll just go ahead and get this out of the way now:  Somehow, the puppies have managed to become even cuter.  I don't know how they could be any cuter but I suspect they'll find a way tomorrow.

The pupsters are officially aware of each other and people.  They stilll sleep a lot, as they should, but when they are awake it is not all about eating.  In true PWD fashion, they mouth pretty much everything.  It's absolutely adorable.  It will be somewhat less cute in the nexxt few weeks when they have mouths full of little needle teeth but I suspect I will still be thrilled with them.  They grab each other's tails or feet, sometimes they chew their own feet.  And they will chew on our fingers/ears/faces/clothes when they can reach (provided they are awake.)

They continue to practice relaxing while being held/petter/cuddled by a human and I caught myself crooning 'Eeeezeee, eeeeezeee' to one I was holding today when she was waking up and beginning to flail about.  She actually relaxed so I gave her another quick cuddle and returned her to the pen.

We put the Totofit wedge in the pen some again today.  At this point, we don't really expect them to use it as eequipment, it is just something new in the environment to help strengthen their little bodies.  They are plenty strong already.  I wonder if I will ever cease to be amazed by how quickly they develop (I hope not).  It seems like they change from one naptime to another.  I'm wondering if they recognize one person from another. They mostly see me and Tamara but the MSU interacts with them as well.  He started Men in Hats training with them Monday evening.  

When I changed the beeding today, I tried using linens with the best traction.  It may not be the prettiest in the pictures but A: I don't really see the pictures and B: It's all about what is best for the puppies anyway. And good traction is better for them.  I slid Jack's cooling mat underneath one of the blankets so they might get some of the benefit of it. They move on and off of it and so does Mila when she is in there. 

They appear to have started having days where they have a large weight gain and then fairly small the next day.  They also get kind of chunkier and then grow during a nap.  Since their collars continue to need loosening and they are all active and nursing well, I'm going to take it in stride (while I document the weights/gains and do all kinds of comparisons.  Fortunately, I get tired of doing electronic things and go back to cuddle puppies pretty quickly.). All puppies are in the 3.5-3.75 lb range and it's pure sweetness.

Puppy breath to all!  Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 19, 2016 Pupdate

There's a whole lot of cuteness going on here!  The puppies are growing and growing.  I went to sleep beside them on the ottobenbed at about 3:45 am and I slept mostly soundly until Tamara came down to take over.  I plan to start a littler earlier tonight as we've spent the day moving Mila's mealtimes forward.  As many calories as she needs to eat each day, we can't change it very quickly or she won't be hungry enough to eat.

When I came back down at 10ish, they were busy being awesome puppies.  It's been a lovely day but when the sun came out, it would get too warm and we'd have to close the windows and use the a/c.  Mila and the pupsters run warm.  When they fussed until I put them on the bare floor as opposed to the pads, I slid part of Jack's old canine cooler mat in their pen.  They seemed to enjoy the cool but it offers no traction so they mostly slithered on and off of it as needed.  After they were all cooled off, I removed it.

The humans added some new items of interest for them today. I put in the fitness wedge today.  Since they don't eat food yet, the only lures we have are curiosity and human hands (they like to come to hands - and faces but its a little harder to arrange that).  We have the bumpy side up so they have a little more traction and, at the very least, some of them think it is just right as a pillow.  I think Tamara mayve gotten some pictures of it.  I also added a couple of very small soft chewy type toys that won't hold up a day after they begin to cut their teeth.  I think I'll take the wedge out for the night to minimize the chance of needing to clean poop off of it.  I'm tired enough of cleaning it off of the chickens that I snuck them out one at a time and hid them from MIla.  She doesn't like us to put them in the bucket to clean them (they aren't as easy to sponge bathe as puppies are) and they tend to squawk when scrubbed so I'm minimizing the exposure for now.  So far, she hasn't looked for them but I put them where she can't smell them, this isn't my first rodeo ;-) 

They continue to pack on the ounces.  Mila is feeding them quite well and spending more time out of the pen.  She actually got in the bed with me for a little while and she had a nice chew on a split antler today.  Eventually, she took it on the cooling mat and and the dog bed (hardly anyone uses the bed).  

We managed to catch them sleeping for the weight watchers meeting and it was amazingly easy to conduct.  Other than Jack wanting us to throw his toy while we were attempting ot hold the meeting anyway.  He even resorted to dropping it in on them ;-)

Pigment is coming in nicely on noses, eye rims and lips.  It's hard for me to get used to things like that with all of that white but they are working on being good little goth puppies ;-). I'll try not to make them creatures of the night - although I'd much rather them stay up late than to get up early.  Hopefully, they'll be mostly malleable to the schedule preferred by their new humans.  For now, they are on my schedule so I'm going to get in some cuddles before I feed the Mama and try to go Nighty Nighty Nighty.  Puppy breath to all!

April 18, 2016 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning the little dogs say! Everybody has eyes (they don't see vey well yet but they have all opened their eyes). Overnight it seems they have become tiny little dogs.  They already sleep with appendages sticking through the ex pen (it took what a day and a half) and some of them bark.  Additionally, (Wild) Phlox howled - more than once today.  One of the others howled with her in the pen shortly after she was put back, too.  It was absolutely adorable.

They've also starting mouthing things (they have no teeth whatsoever -- not even any I can feel under their gums yet).  There is a definite difference between how they mouth around when they are looking to nurse and this.  Trillium even likes to play with the blanky hanging over the back 'wall' of the pen.

Weight watchers went fairly well tonight, as long as we could keep Mila from being too involved.  The pupsters continue to gain weight nicely - 2 are arleady at 3.5 lbs, one is at 3/10th of an ounce shy of that and the other 3 are closing in on it.  Grow, grow, grow.

Tomorrow we will begin to add things to the pen.  At this point, they are going to be things easy to wash (I am NOT a fan of trying to wash poop off of those chickens and Mila doesn't like her chickens in the bucket of water) or well supervised.  It will mostly be thing they just stumble upon for now since the Mama is the only one feeding them and they are too little to tug ;-). I did add the alfalfa feed pellets to the potty area and when we can catch them, we put them in the right spot.  If we aren't fast enough on poop, we just try to stick a paper towel underneath to catch it so we don't have to get it off of the pads.  I might be able to get more than one day out of the sheet underneath the pads if we are vigilant.

Training continues in resting/relaxing when cuddling or being petted by a human.  Puppy Yoga is finished, on to new adventures (which continue to include clipping nails daily at least.  So far, I have not quicked any again.  I'm not certain about Tamara but she hasn't mentioned it if she did.)

I skipped my evening nap (I put away laundry and changed beds instead) in hopes of sleeping beside the puppies.  If I am not still awake at 4am , Tamara will sleep until her alarm goes off at 6 And I will go to bed for a few hours.  If I am, I will call and wake her up and I wil go to bed for hopefully, 6-7 hours. Normally, I get 8.5-9 but with puppies, I drop to 6 or less (when she was back home the most I got was 4.5 in any 24 hours period.  Too many puppy things to think about.  I need to stop thinking about it now because I'm starting to plan again and that's not conducive to rest.  MamaMila's nex meal is scheduled at 3 but I'm sure I can get her to make it earlier if I am ready to rest.  I'll get the ottobenbed into position so I'll be ready.  In the meantime, I'm going to do a little cleaning and a little puppy cuddling - not necessarily in that order.  Puppy breath to all, Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

April 17, 2016 Pupdate

It was a pretty preaceful night in the puppy pen.  The MamaMila stays in with the puppies all night - I can get her to come out for hte 3am feeding but she spends all night in with them.  I'm not certain why because she comes out more during the daytime.  She's the Mama so she can pretty well do what she wants (except dig up the bedding in the puppy area.  I am too much acclimated to the night shift with them and didn't even begin to get sleepy until 4:30.  I did eventually sleep beside them for a few hours.

We have 4 puppies with their eyes definitely open.  They don't see well (I wonder how much they see in comparison with me) but it will improve.  The other 2 have a good start on eyes so will probably be another day or 2.  I'm sure Tamara will be able to report on them better than I can.

Tamara came back this afternoon.  As we like it for all of our dogs, Mila was very happy to see her but she didn't seem to miss her when she was gone.  It takes some effort to keep the dogs in that frame of mind (playdates/sleepovers with other people, leaving them home with and without the other dogs on occasion, etc) but it is SO much easier ont he dogs in the event they need to be without their humans.  Speaking of which, Grandma SDB is at Colleen and HER Jeremy's house for the weekend to play and romp.  2 of her sons live there and they play agility with her in addition to walks.  She wasn't doing too much for the puppies at this age and Mila is pretty well settled in so SDB is having a mini-break before she needs to help with rearing the puppies.  As with Tamara and Mila, I miss her more than she misses me but that's better for the dog.  She'll be happy to see me when she comes home so it's all good.

There are now pictures (a LOT of them from the 2 week photo shoot, someone may thin them down but maybe not) on the Mila Griffin Puppies Facebook page.  Now that their eyes are opening, they are going to be doing even more adorable things.  It's always exciting.  I'm starting puppy brainwashing tomorrow.  I already set up the potty area, tomorrow I'll add the alfalfa feed pellets so they get used to going on the scent of grass.  Since they are PWD puppies, I use the feed in the potty area because they WILL eat some on occasion and I won't have to worry about it being bad for them,  That will wait for them to get teeth though.

Mila is eating well, thankfully because we are up to needing 4,500 calories per day.  (Not as bad as when her Mama was feeding her and 9 littermates and needed over 6,000 a day - we were shoving food at her round the clock).    According to my spreadsheet (hey, when I had vision, I was a CPA - I like spreadsheets), she is meeting her daily goals. ;-)

Speaking of eating well, every puppy is now over 3 lbs.  The weight watchers meeting was a little challenging - especially since MamaMila (does that give anyone else an earworm of the Abba song?) wanted to 'help' but it was much easier with 2 of us and some patience.  The total cumulative increase is impressive as are the individual ones (I wasn't kidding about the spreadsheets.  I did however give up on trying to figure out how to use Numbers on my ipad and went back to Excel on my laptop.  I may need to attempt to learn it when I am not busy with puppies AND sleep deprived).  Maybe I'll make a graph for y'all (contain your excitement, I may not get to it). 

We've had gorgeous weather, that also makes me excited for when the pupsters are ready to go outside.  Puppies are exciting, adorable and sweet, even if they are a LOT of work to make sure they get the best possible start in life.  I'm going to get a few cuddles before I feed the big dogs (I may try to move her back to the previous schedule since I wont' be doing it on my own every day now but only if she can still eat enough).  Puppy breath to all, Nighty, Nighty, Nighty!

April 16, 2016 Pupdate

The pupsters have transitioned out of the pool prior to anyone going over the wall.  I finally woke up enough to have some energy around 10:30 (pm). I am either becoming a modified Vampire feedign on puppy breath and super sugary 'hot dog' doughnuts or I am just on puppy nighttime schedule. I do adjust to staying up really late and sleeping later much easier than I can go to bed/get up ridiculously early (I can sleep in daylight but if it's still dark in the am when I get up, I am not worth much). Pretty sure I have too much vision to qualify as non24 and it works out ok the vast majority of the time so I'll go with it.  In the dead of night, I steamed the floor and the additional puppy floor layer and arranged the new puppy area (same place just slightly different setup. I modify as needed to keep the puppies contained in an approrpiate size area as they develop.  

The Pupsters seem happy, they can navigate and find the Mama when she is in there and sleep when she is not - sometimes when she is and they are sleeping it off.  I think Allium was warmer than he found completely comfortable in the pool.  Especially when MamaMIla slept in there all night long with them.  There wasn't enough room for him to get a cool spot.  If I took him out and let him lay directly on the floor, he'd sprawl out for a few minutes and then snooze on his side.  Not certain why Mila stays in there all night long (she comes out during hte day) at this point but she gets to make a lot (most) of the mommying decisions and I make those decisions work.  

LeAnne came this am to sit with puppies so I could get a little sleep.  Jack cuddled with her and Mila guarded her puppies from perceived intruders (my MIL came to clean and Mila wasn't too happy with her until I was down here and then she wanted her to say hi.  Feeding her cookies was also acceptable at that point.  Before that, LeAnne put up the ex pen wall between the puppies and the door into that rest of the house.  She hung blankets on that to recreate the great wall of puppyhiding and that made MIla happier.  

I haven't been very successful with the weight watchers meetings.  The puppies go to one ond of the shoebox and basically flip it so they can go merrily along their way (to their Mama who is being helpful in true water dog fashion).  I tried them one night on the grooming table but she kept trying to join us.  I thought she was after the puppies but then I remembered, I am also rewarding her for getting up on the table to lie down in preparation for nail trimming.  That's not one of her favorite things so cooperative care is helpful.  She really loves the probiotic paste (will try to lick it out of the puppies' mouths) so I give it to her for getting on the table and 'melting'.  Whatever the reason, it is more diffcult that way and now that they have the flip and run trick, the grooming table is out.

I created a facebook page for the puppy pictures and updates.  That way whichever Villager takes the picture, they can still upload them to be viewable without having to remember to tag everyone.  Hopefully, we'll get it arranged in a somewhat logical manner for ease of use. 

I think the Pupsters are pretty used to puppy yoga.  We won't be doing it for too much longer anyway but I find it very endearing that they yawn for me when I start it.  (Easier to sniff puppy breath and swipe some probiotic in there).

And the middle 4: Trillium, Snowdrops, Allium, and WItch Hazel have the shiny corner of the eye opening happening.  MayApple and Wild Phlox are getting there but not quite yet.  They all walk around on occasion (not crawl, they actually support their weight on their legs and move around purposefully - usually somewhat obviously following their noses). Cuter and cuter I tell you.  I'm going to go huff some puppy breath and cuddle before I attempt to sleep beside the puppies.  This evening, I practiced that by napping while the MSU sat here and was officially in charge.  Quite the Saturday party for us ;-).  Puppy breath to all and Nighty, Nighty, Nighty (maybe)

April 15, 2016 Pupdate. 2 weeks old!

The pupsters are starting to get eyes!  LeAnne looked closely at them today and they are all getting little slits where their eyes will be and some of them are opening enough in the corner that you can see the little reflections/light/shininess.  I don't really know how to describe it for people with vision but it's not something I want to take close photos of because I don't want to take a chance on damaging developing eyes.

It's been a beautiful day here today.  We had the doors open most of the day - until it became so hot that i had to turn on the a/c.

Grand dam SammieDoodlebug went to play with 2 of her sons and HER Jeeremy today.  Mila didn't seem to miss her too badly so she is staying a couple of days.  It's been too long since SDB got to go play.  If Mila or I need help with the puppies, she can hurry back home but it seems to be under control at the moment.

We did their 2 week old photo shoot today - here is a preview:

 

I figured since Mila is convinced that those are 2 more of her babies (and babies that I will allow her to move and carry around), they should be included in the photoshoot.  

I held a partial weight watchers meeting early today on the 2 that I couldn't get good weights one.  I can't bring myself to record either partial result but I am confident that everyone is gaining nicely.  Since none of the second half of the collars fit anymore, and I've had to loosen the paracord ones I've made- plus they are strong little buggers, pretty certain they are thriving.  Hopefully, they will cooperate enough this evening to do a full meeting and record weights.

Obviously, my shcedule is way off so I figured I would post early rather than risk not posting today.

I 'slept' by the puppy pool last night.  Given that my schedule is somewhat skewed, I didn't even get sleepy until after 4 am.  And then, between the puppy noises and them crawling over the chickens, I woke up a lot.  So if I am even less coherent than usual, it's puppy brain.

And now for our regularly scheduled programming:  These puppies are VERY VERY cute.  Absoultely adorable.  And apparently, I have trained the raor well enough that it was difficult to get non-roaring pictures ;-). I love that.  Such good babies.  They have little eyebrows/eyelashes now in addition to the little whiskers.  And of course, the hair on their feet keeps getting longer (and more in the way of clipping toenails.)

I think I'll try to take a little nap while the pupsters, Mila and Jack are napping, too.  Puppy breath to all!