Yay! The mama didn’t wake us up at 5am. Actually, I didn’t get up until after 7 and one puppy had come out of the crate, pottied and was quietly playing with a toy. When Deja slid out of bed (that seems to be his preferred method, he didn’t fall out), they noticed and started watching me. They were NOT quiet when they could tell I was getting up. I greeted everyone which helped for a moment but not long enough.
I sprinkled in some kibble bites (right now, I’m the treat dispenser) but that didn’t distract them long (they only ate part of it) so I grabbed my coat (I need to keep long pants in/by the ottobenbed until I start sleeping upstairs), their food and we headed outside. 6 out of 7 were at the crate door, 1 was at the potty fence gate that opened once before. A few of them squirreled (I don’t know what caught their attention but they came running when I called again) and we made it outside without any pottying on the floor. I hope I’m not jinxing that because we’ve gone so far without any pit stops on the way through the room. We did have some potties in the alfalfa pellet area last night - good puppies.
It was in the low 40s and windy outside and they were perfectly happy to eat, run amok, and play. I left the door open (a little wasteful but the radiant heat in the floor means it didn’t make the room freezing) so I could monitor them while I grabbed the poop from the pans then I was using that already dirty glove to clean up the yard. We had 7 puppy poops in the grass or river rock area, again Good puppies! Some of them, being good little Portuguese Water Dogs ‘helped’; generally by sinking their needle teeth into my nice thick buffalo wool socks and being dragged around until I could get the gloves off to extricate them. (Another reminder about the long pants). The mama opened the bar while I was doing that and 4 of them chose to follow me rather than have a little more breakfast. I was rather surprised by that turn of events.
They paid no attention to me putting my hood up and when a gust of wind blew the cleaning bucket that I put on the railing to dry over, they ran to see what new toy has fallen from the sky. I was getting chilly and hadn’t taken my medication so I brought them back inside after about half an hour. They are pretty good at following me but only 5 could get into the crate (because I sprinkled some bites through it and they stoppped to eat those bites instead of going on through to the pen, I can’t blame them) so I had to lift the other 2 over the gate.
Apparently, I need to rearrange ONE more time. I’m going to shrink the pen potty area a little and switch the crate with the low gate ex pen so we have 2 ways in - one of which they can follow me. I generally have a good memory but I change things so many times with puppies (and we have more new ex pen again this time, thanks Aunt/Grandma CIndi!) I didn’t get that part right. I think I’m going to add the other 3 door crate, too so we are ready to contain with access to the potty pen at night. I may just use Deja’s huge one because the doors are removable (so I don’t have to secure them during the day while the puppies are free to move through it) but the big door is hard to put on so I may use the 36 inch with the end doors that swing in or out. I wish they still made those crates but I’m glad I bought several while they did.
They are playing fairly nicely while we listen to train sounds on the Echo dot. It might even be worth buying one that has a battery (this one was free with something we bought a couple of years ago and I just now took it out of the box) so it’s easier to move around (the noises need to come from different places for them to learn to tune them out). I’ll still use the CDs with the noises but this has a LOT of choices I can choose when I want. Apparently, I’ve been living under a rock. And to think I only got it out because it makes a dancing bear go (I haven’t set that up yet. We’ve had a lot of other choices of moving/soind making toys).
Aunt Grandma Cindi came while we were outside so I left her in charge of keeping BOP from getting the pupsters while I changed out their linens and then carried stuff to her vehicle. The puppies were still playing when we loaded them in to the crates in the van (their mama had to ride loose because we couldn’t fit all 7 into the same crate now)and headed on their first tour. We went to Cindi’s mom’s house where the babies met 6 new people and had a little lunch and then on to Cindi’s house where they met 8 more. They were happy see everyone adn were pretty good riders although it took a few minutes for all of them to settle down on the first leg of the sojourn. They were very good for the other legs although there is evidence that one of them probably hurled once but we didn’t hear it. If they did, someone ate the evidence except for a wet spot on the pad in the crate.
Once home, Cindi guarded them while I brought in the paraphernalia and then we brought them into the house because we were tired of being cold. The puppies fussed a moment or two about being made to come inside but they adjusted pretty well. We took a few minutes to dremel their nails and they were all very good for it. Cindi even got sucked in to sitting around holding sleeping puppy
We’ve had a quiet evening thus far, I planned to nap right after feeding them dinner but I’ve been recording the day’s events instead. (And cuddling puppies and big dogs). We’re going to settle in and say nighty, nightym nighty. Puppy breath to all
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