Another rainy day here. Good thing we have 7 little rays of sunshine to liven things up. I was up several times in the night/early hours and the puppies didn’t fuss in the contained area (2 crates and the potty area). I gave them access to the whole puppy pen before one of my trips up to the bathtub though.
I came back down not too long after daylight and took them outside. I decided to finally bite the bullet and clip off the wire ties and make the gate open out. It’s a whole lot less risk of pinching anybody’s toes this way. I accidentally wire tied the first piece in ‘backwards” when I installed it and I tried to get away without redoing it. It was just not going well so while AuntGrandma LeAnne was here, I fixed it.
The puppies played (and ate and napped and wrestled) outside a lot today. I was sunny this am and reasonably temperate (I wore shorts) but then it got windier, colder and commenced to rain. They remained unfaze by any of the changes.
We could hear people sighting in their deer rifles. It wasn’t close but those things are loud. The big dogs alerted at the first couple but did continue after I gave them the cue; the puppies went on about their puppy business without acknowledging that anything was happening.
Today, their puppy business consisted of (the same thing we do every night Pinky try to take over the world) taking the empty bottles out of the castle sandbox; find toys that have are soaking wet with rain and play with them; get me wet so that I change clothes repeatedly (until I finally got smart enough to put on neoprene pants and old scrubs over them to protect the neoprene from the puppies playing tug with my clothes); help me find poop; attacking unsuspecting (or fully aware, it doesn’t matter to them) siblings; being adorable; dismantling the activity box; playing with the big dogs; pulling up “loose” clumps of grass because the ground is very wet/muddy; generally just being as adorabale as the can be. They stop to greet people whenever anyone comes within their notice and they usually remember good manners. Good manners are a little harder to obtain if the human has one of their food dishes. Individually, they are much better. As a group, it’s harder for them to control their impulse - peer pressure I guess ;-)
Multiple times today, there was a puppy outside the fence; by the gate; asking to come back inside. The first time, everyone else had noticed so I couldn’t opent he gate to let it inside without having a whole stampede. Fortunately, the MSU was up at the buidling so he came down and handed it over. LeAnne and I searched and searched and put more wire ties on the ex pen at various areas of the fence only to have the puppy outside again. Finally, we noticed not long after the puppy had escaped and realized that it was squeezing through the space between the gate and the wall (where I’ve put a pool noodle in prior litters to stops such shenangians) but the puppy would immediately run all of the way around the outside of the fence to be let inside at the gate by the deck. Smart bad puppy! I put a couple of pieces of PVC there and that seems to have stopped that.
Aunt Grandma LeAnne took the old puppies (the parents, the GrandMater Gator and Great GrammieSammie) for a jaunt/romp since rifle season opens tomorrow and we will not be in the woods just in case. We gave up on trying to do anything but keep that puppy from escaping before the romp because the big dogs KNEW and they were excited. The puppies don’t seem concerned about the big dogs running in and out excitedly, one of the puppies was even trying to play with Caly in her almost frenzy. I finally took the new puppies out into the yard and held a section of ex pen so they weren’t on the deck underfoot. I also didn’t want any of them to go out the gate with the big ones. All of them come when we call now but ALL of them come when we call so that’s a little bit of pandemonium at gates and doorways.
While I was bathing the big dogs, the puppies were sleeping so AUnt Grandma LeAnne was reviewing a video of her calling the big dogs. The puppies do not care if it’s live or Memorex, they woke up and ran to her. That’ll teach her to play such things with sound (Deja still comes whenever we call the puppies or if I play a video of us calling puppies, Phoebe has wised up; SDB can’t hear it anymore)
It was raining pretty steadily after it started this afternoon so the puppies have had plenty of opportunity to get wet (or hang out in a dry area which was not the choice they made). Around 4:15, they were piled up on the elevated bed out in the rain - as opposed to the one that is mostly in the playhouse, (I’ve bought 3 smaller and smaller sizes with these puppies and can’t manage to get it to fit even though it technically should. This one might with more work but it’s a little harder with the assistance of 7 little PWDs)- so I brought them into the house. It went much better with the gate opening out but we still have a puppy or two distracted by the big dogs milling around. I need to get the big dogs stationed before I bring the pupsters inside but, as mentioned before, Deja still likes to come whenever we call ‘pup, pup, pup” (it’s convenient for calling the group) so I may just bring him in and open the taller gate for him to exit.
So far today, I’ve managed to keep good enough track/suck up being in the cold and wet so that all of the puppy poos have been outside. The puppies are happier that way, too. They’ve had a few hours of opera thanks to echo thing this evening so I think I’m going to nap until time for the midnight snack/lockdown. They are and, although I have plenty of things I could do, I’m tired from not resting much the last couple of nights (stupid weather). Nighty, nighty, nighty. Puppy breath to all!
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