03/18/25 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning the little dogs say.  Fortunately for me, they are also willing to potty and go back inside for a treat and a nap until we’ve had a chance to pipe in the sunshine.  It was really cold again this morning, thank goodness for the heater and the rechargeable hand warmers (thanks again Chris!)

After they found one of the dryer balls yesterday and had so much fun playing with it, I put the balls into the castle sandbox and they dove right in to them.  They are much more coordinated now and they can puncture them now, too.  The Big 3 had a lot of fun with the balls, too.  Lunch was foraged in there as well.

This afternoon, I brushed the big 3 and the puppies on the table on the patio.  I took the pupsters into the bathroom with us when I gave GrandPaw Deja his shower.  It’s a good thing he’s such a good sport (and loves puppies) because they didn’t wait until his was finished before they joined him.  It’s considerably more difficult to give a shower with more than one dog in there but I have experience.  After he was done (he still waited for his official routine of each numbered foot and his tail before shaking it off and coming out), I gave each puppy a shower.  I didn’t use shampoo because they weren’t great at staying out when it was another’s turn and I didn’t want anyone to be unrinsed and itchy but we did a full version without it.  Then we all went outside and they did wet dog zoomies before cuddling up for a nap.

Every time I went into the laundry room after that, multiple puppies crowded into the shower and I had to bribe them to come outside again afterward.  “It’s not a bug it’s a feature” (maybe that should’ve been the theme for the litter) so I did reward them in the shower and then lured them back out again.  It is awfully cute (have I mentioned how cute these puppies are? Somehow they still manage to get cuter every day). 

I tried better ex pen gating at the door to the crates.  As with everything I else I do, they are right there with me offering their assistance.  Gives a slightly different take on “look for the helpers” doesn’t it?  We’re going to see if the sandman needs any help now.  Nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath to all 

03/17/25 Pupdate

 Happy St Patrick’s Day.  I put their green linens in their castle to celebrate ;-). We didn’t find much in the way of green grass outside but they continue to enjoy the dormant bermuda in the dog yard (and on the patio and in the rubber room and everywhere else they and we track it). There are things budding out so the hillsides will be green soon.

The puppies notice the geese flying in and out of the pond.  It’s probably because GrandPaw Deja is waiting to start chasing the gander back into the pond when they start nesting.

It was cold and windy today so I had to bundle up but they had a high old time.  The wind blowing their toys around makes them extra interesting.  It also makes dried out leaves that blow out of the woods a lot of fun (but those are pretty fun anyway according to the pupsters)

We continue to train crate behavior.  But now we are working on entering crates with a little decorum and being willing to come back outside after being released.  They come out nicely in the mornings because they have to go potty but after a meal, they aren’t quite convinced that everyone is really done and coming outside. They are convinced that they could get rewarded again if they go back into the crate.  Or maybe if they go into a different crate.  Or maybe something they haven’t thought of doing with a crate yet…

At dinner time, I put the 6th bowl of food on top of the crates (there are 5 crates there) and as I was arranging the puppies in the crates, the last puppy just climbed up on top to eat there (see something new to do with a crate.). Smart puppies are a lot of fun but they are also exhausting ;-). Nighty, nighty, nighty. Puppy breath to all!

03/16/25 Pupdate

Happy 7th Birthday to GrandPaw Deja and his littermates!  Great Aunt Stella came for a little celebration.  Her idea of an appropriate celebration was to have Deja press THE Button so she could gather the treats.  I had to change sound on the big dogs’ button because the puppies kept looking for treats from theirs every time it was pressed.  They still knew the sound of the whirring as it turns to spew out the cookies but they quickly figured out which sound was going to deliver for them and stopped hopping up when the ‘other’ one sounded.  I’m glad that there are two options for the chime on it.

I introduced carrots to them today.  Cold carrots are good for teething puppies as long as they don’t chew them on something that can be stained orange. They enjoyed that a lot (but again, what don’t they enjoy)

Everyone also had a little ice cream for GrandPaw Deja’s birthday.  They licked it nicely (Auntie Elle likes to take hers out and eat it in a bite or two) as if they are civilized little puppies.

They are very interested in the nests that Aunt Elle is working on for her fake puppies.  I haven’t uncovered all of the places that MarmieCarmie tried to excavate for these puppies but Elle is utilizing the space under the half vari kennels I have on the patio for the puppies to nap in and the big 3 to perch on if they wanted to escape puppy teeth (but the puppies can now make it onto those).  She crawls in and digs up their beds and they hurry to follow her inside to ‘help.’ 

03/15/25 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning the little dogs say.  It’s fairly windy today but we haven’t gotten the predicted rain yet.  We tried to sow a little grass seed but who knows if it will come up or not.  With any luck, the bermuda will wake up soon, too.  Hopefully, the horrible winter didn’t kill it. Since it hadn’t rained, I watered the grass seed and they really enjoyed playing in the spray.

I rearranged their stuff in preparation for the winds.  As usual, moving things around makes them even more exciting.  The upside down picnic table makes a great teeter totter when they climb or jump into the benches.

 Feeding them individually in crates has created puppies quite insistent on getting in to the crates quite frequently.  I keep trying different gates in front of that door but they just accept the challenge so I’m not using that door unless absolutely necessary (preferably when they aren’t outside.). It’s also extremely difficult to get them to come back out after they’ve eaten. It’s not a bug it’s a feature, right?  Nighty, nighty, nighty. Puppy breath to all. 

03/14/25 Pupdate

I know there was an eclipse last night but all I actually saw of it was no moon until it was over and then the bright light again when it was over (I didn’t stay awake all night trying to see it, I just checked when I was awake.). The puppies were unimpressed throughout ;-)

The weather has vastly improved - FINALLY!  The puppies really don’t seem to care one way or the other btu I do.  Today was warm and sunny enough to finally play with the hose.  It’s a tossup whether that or the leaf blower is better.  They reaally love both of them.

For lunch, food was served in the dish in a little water in the wading pool.  As is usually the case, they were so excited to eat that they also knocked some of the kibble into the water so they also experienced how to eat treats in (and under) the water. 

03/13/25 Pupdate

 It was the best of times (Botox day); it was the worst of times (Billie fka Kat left for her new home)

    Aunt Dog Cindi came to be in charge of the puppies while we were gone.  We came home via DQ (there wasn’t time for Fudgesicles between Billie leaving and leaving for my appt) and brought her a treat, too.

So we had a 2 for 1 puppy experience:  they had a little ice cream AND the very beginnings of muzzle training (letting them lick something like ice cream from the bottom of a cup is how I like to start teaching a dog to wear a muzzle.)

I miss Kat but the first leg of her 3 day trip home went well.  I hope they make it to TX without too much trouble from the big storms.  I wonder if she’ll help them look at the lunar eclipse.  Nighty, nighty, nighty. Puppy breath to all 

03/12/25 Pupdate

We’ve been awfully busy having big big puppy fun.  The pupsters and the Big 3 are enjoying the people and Quinn.  I’m pretty certain the reverse holds true as well ;-)

   The weather has vastly improved, still chilly after dark but sunny and 80 today.  So we carped carp (but fortunately we didn’t actually encounter the carp 😉) and took the puppies to the pond while we had multiple people to facilitate.  All of the puppies had their 2 swims (the second a little further than the first); had some EXTREMELY yummy (at least to dogs, I’ve somehow managed to overcome the urge to have some myself so far 🤣) treats.  

   As expected, the water was COLD, even through my neoprene!  The puppies’ thick hair kept them a lot more protected from the cold water - they weren’t even completely soaked to the skin.  We still wrapped them up into a towel and snuggled them in the warm sunshine until the next one was ready and then put the mostly dry puppy into a crate together in the warm sunshine.  The water was too cold for me to be comfortable letting them run amok on the beach and free play in and out of the water so we came down and played in the sunshine in the yard.

Other than rinsing the pond water off of the puppies (I didn’t give full baths again), the rest of our evening’s been pretty normal routine.  Nighty nighty nighty.  Puppy breath to all 

03/11/25 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning the little (and big) dogs said.  The MSU had to leave earlyish to finally have his nerve ablation so the puppies and I started our day as well.  We were also waiting for Quinn and her people to arrive so we turned on the heaters and tried not to chill 😉).

   We had a lot of fun with the people and the big dogs.  We even had another visit from part of Great Aunt Stella’s family!

   I was too busy having fun with puppies and people and nursing a migraine (thank goodness Botox is Thursday!) to make it on the training club Zoom call.  

We did decide which puppy is going to live with Quinn: Kat R Waugh is moving to TX!  New name is in progress.

Tomorrow’s another big day!  Puppy breath to all. Nighty, nighty nighty! 

3/10/25 8 weeks old!

 How in this world did they get to be 8 weeks old already!?!  I’m not ready for them to grow up that much.  It is fascinating how much they are absorbing and advancing though.

   Not many things are as cute as the puppies running inside into their pen but them running into crates is close.  That’s a little harder because they don’t really try to go into an enpty crate- they just hurry into crates as fast as they can.  That works fine when it’s a large crate but the learning to sleep in crates ones are smaller so I have to do some readjusting.  🤣 It’s still adorable as is them running out to potty upon release.

   As predicted, this morning started much much to early.  To add insult to injury, the bright moon woke me an hour earlier than I’d planned to drag myself out of bed!  The puppies were good sports about starting our day early (but that’s par for the course)

   They had a light breakfast; pottied and ran amok a little before we loaded them up and drove, drove, drove.  There was a little fussing at the beginning but they were quiet the rest of the way.  At one point, we stopped for a human potty break but they weren’t stirring so we didn’t wake them.  But while we were inside, apparently MarmieCarmie stirred enough in her crate that the sensor detected her.  So the horn kept blowing.  Really loudly imo.  But they weren’t making a peep so we didn’t drag them out.

   They were a big hit at the eye exams, a crate full of puppies IS awfully cute so they drew a fair amount of attention.  They fussed a liitle (but very loudly)  while all crowded together waiting for their eyes to dilate but quieted when I shared bites of string cheese through the crate.

Great Uncle Trek also needed his share of cheese but they all had plenty.

We let them potty in the exercise pen outside before loading back up (with a little snack) into the crate for the long ride home.  The pupsters settled right in and rode quietly.

   On the way home, we took a detour to let Leslie do their conformation evaluations since she wasn’t going to be able to make it to our house that evening after all.

  We dropped Uncle Trekkie off at his home on the way to ours where the puppies FINALLY got to run amok!  And eat a real meal!

  Shortly thereafter, cousin Quinn and her people came to meet the babies (and let me have some Quinn visiting.  It’s been a LONG time since I’ve gotten to visit with her)

    I gave the poor stinky puppies (one sick puppy in a crate means they all need it) baths and Chris cuddled them in towels.  It’s a tough job…

   The puppies are all happy but I’m still somewhat motion sick.  Tomorrow’s another day of fun so I’m going to try to get some rest, too.   Nighty nighty nighty!  Puppy breath to all!

03/09/25 Pupdate

  I’m not sure why it’s so much better to be on this time but it certainly is for me!  It won’t be tomorrow when we have to leave really early to go get puppy cerfs (they aren’t called cerf now that they are ofa but I’m an old so…). There are no veterinary ophthalmolgists in this state or anywhere closer than 3 hours away so we’ll ride, ride, ride tomorrow.

    The weather was MUCH nicer today so it was rather enjoyable to be outside with them.  GrandPaw Deja’s Grandma LeAnne came and brought her Lagotto fro the puppies to meet and I could give the non puppies showers.  Cherry (the Lagotto) is not exactly interested in becoming a doting aunt so she went in the crate after a while (she likes to hang out in the crates a lot of the time when she is here anyway.  When it was time to leave, she still wanted to get back in the crate.). 

Their Grandma Lana came and brought toys and bubbles and another human to meet, too!  MarmieCarmie was more interested in the bubbles than the puppies were but they were also settling in for naps (on the cold stone patio in the shade instead of on any of the beds or blankets or at least in the sunshine). They had checked out the toys and run around playing with them, too.

We gave lion butts a start but we only did the 3 boys because they were going to have to go by the time I finally found the correct length blades. It’s not anything close to perfect but it is at least practice.  We did dremel everyone’s nails because, even though Ive been trimming them, they were sharp.  After that, we also did Cherry’s nails and they left, too.

The puppies had another nap and then shortly after dinner time, Uncle Trekkie arrived.  He LOVES puppies and they like him, too.  So far, he hasn’t marked any of these.  He’s spending the night so he can go with us to get his eye exam as well (he was hiking with his GSD girlfriend and missed his appt when we went last time). We all have to get up VERY early tomorrow for the ride there and home again and then we’ll meet more new people (plus their cousin Quinn). I’m going to guess that the pupsters are the least upset by the adjustment to the schedule ;-).  We’re going to call it a night early to hopefully be better prepared for the much too early time to arise.  Nighty, nighty, nighty. Puppy breath to all!

03/08/25 Pupdate

 I am over this weather.  The pupsters, as usual, do not mind it at all.  When we went out this morning it was sleeting.  Little tiny pieces so it wasn’t a danger but I felt the need to keep my hood up on my coat because it had also been raining.  They thought it was great to have unlimited unflavored Slush Puppy.  They also enjoy licking the ice in the water that has gathered outside - even when there is water in the dishes.  Maybe I shouldn’t have cracked the skim of ice for them while they were there.  But even summer puppies usually develop a taste for ice as some point.

This morning, not only did MarmieCarmie bring out all 3 of their unfinished lamb ears, she made an attempt to bring their The Button dispenser out to them.  I’m not certain what that was about but at least she didn’t break it.  I will have to put it in a more secure location if she’s going to do that.  I only found out when the puppies went into their castle and then came running back out after I pressed the button while I was closing the door.  They had to come looking for it out on the floor.

Breakfast was inside this morning and as usual, the service was much too slow.  They recognize so many signs that “things” are happening no matter how stealthy I attempt to be or how much I vary the routines.  Smart little buggers, not too much escapes their notice.  They’ve noticed since we started feeding them that the Big 3 going into crates means something exciting is happening for them.  I can’t even sneak the Big 3 into crates while the puppies are outside, they hear the crate doors and get excited (and 2 of them now come to check on my progress)

We have a party to attend tonight to celebrate the Good time change so we’re going to get ready for that.  It’ll be a late night for puppies (like they won’t just sleep when they are ready anyway 😉). Puppy breath to all and Nighty nighty nighty (eventually)

03/07/25 Pupdate

Good morning good morning the little dogs say!  While they were outside this morning, MarmieCarmie kept going back inside the house.  I thought she was after the lamb ears in their castle but we were having a poopathon and it’s easier if I get it as they do it instead of trying to find all of it later.  She was after their lamb ear but she brought it outside to them.  (Auntie Elle waited until the puppies weren’t chewing it and took it though.  Apparenlty, she thought they’d had  long enough)

2 puppies mastered the dog door this morning.  1 of them has been watching it a long time but couldn’t quite reach their back legs up high enough to get through it but the first one just appeared out in the pool room where the Big 3 were watching me prepare everyone’s breakfast.  I guess they came to see what was taking so long.  If these puppies review me on Yelp (or whatever the dog version is), it’ll say great food but the service is MUCH too slow!   It went in again when I went into the utility room to check the laundry.  After that, it was obviously not a one off and I’ll have to keep track or block the door.

As I was changing out their linens, the MSU was sitting outside with them.  The first puppy came in to watch the Big 3 watch me and eventually followed them back out through it.  What a smart puppy.  After that happened a couple of times, another one came in,too.  This it the one who has been trying but just wasn’t quite tall enough.  The MSU texted me that they had come inside, too.  So they watched and helped me some and went back out when there was something of interest to the Big 3 happening outside.  They’ve been in and out since.

They met a couple more people - we were starting to be afraid they weren’t going to get to come see them between the ice (our driveway) and floods (their roads) but they made it today.  And it was just as the pupsters were settling in for a big morning’s nap so they got to have cuddly puppies after the initial greetings (which reminds me, I think I need to file their nails again because they are sharp). So we sat near the heater and cuddled sleeping puppies.

As puppies are wont to do, they eventually woke up when it was almost time for lunch.  Most of them made it off of the patio to go pee (nobody has pooped on the patio since the second day of going outside and will only poop in the potty pan after extreme protests).  Also as puppies are wont to do, they eat as if they’ve never been fed and will never be fed again. (Their little tummies tell an obviously different story). They were also more impatent because not only did I have to get their dishes outside, we had to wait for the 2 adventurers to make their way back outside, too.  

The rest of the day they played and ran and chased one another and leaves and toys and napped.  I did some more grooming on the big dogs on the table outside with them so they could stay familiar with the sounds.  It’s not a great job (you get what you get when the Blindchick cuts your hair but they at least have somewhat neater butts and muzzles.  GrandpawDeja still has Clydesdale feet but we’ll probably wait for Dog Cindi Scissorhands’ hands to be better enough to tackle that.  He has the good hair so it’s not a problem to brush.  They really like playing in the hair and still consider the leaf blower to be one of the greatest toys in existence.

While the dog show noise cd played for them during a late afternoon nap, Auntie Elle decided that the barking dogs on it must be a threat somewhere so she’d run barking looking for them.  The MSU eventually went out to switch it to some other loud music (I hate loud so we usually do that while I’m not in the room).  In between stopping one and starting the other, he sang one of the 3 songs (4 when I remember to add Soft Kitty but it’s not ‘traditionally’ part of the bedtime routine 😉) to help the pupsters go back to Nighty nighty nappy..  

We took them out a little early because they humans were tired (I’m looking forward to the time change!) .  I’ll do last call in the night again (as long as they aren’t expecting to start their day before daylight, it doesn’t really matter if it’s midnight or 2 am as long as they don’t have a potty emergency). Nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath to all! 

03/06/25 Pupdate

These puppies are very very cute!  Smart and this far, pretty fearless.  The nasty weather moved back in yesterday evening and I do not appreciate that.  The puppies however apparently don’t care if it snows oats.  They are thrilled to go outside to play and play and take a nap.  If it weren’t for the hawks, I wouldn’t have to stay all of the way outside with them all of the time but I’m not certain that the puppies are that much bigger than a rabbit so I’m not risking it.  The propane heaters do make it more tolerable (I especially appreciate the one the MSU modified so it is lower.  I can feel some of that heat while sitting beside it)

Fortunuately, the puppies also love thundering back inside into their castle for the treats that fall from above.

They are much faster and more coordinated most of the time when they are racing around outside.  They can also run carrying much larger toys (or things that pass for toys with a puppy - pretty much everything is a toy to them). It’s always more fun to have another puppy chase you with it  so they sometimes have to run past a time or 2 to get another to notice the value of the “prize” but it almost always works.  That’s better than having puppies who won’t share though.

I didn’t have a chance to write during the day so although I knwo more happened, it’s undocumented for today.  Nighty nighty nighty. Puppy breath to all 

3/4/25 Pupdate

   Have I mentioned how utterly adorable these puppies are?  It bears repeating.  They are so cute waiting for us to pet them; let them out; let them in; pick them up; etc., etc.   Running amok in the yard chasing leaves or one another is also pretty darn cute.

   The vet came today to give their first vaccine (the nomograph results were to do the first at 7 weeks); microchips and an exam.  They were all little troopers and enjoyed meeting her.  They’ve yet to meet a atranger.   Having squirty cheese on the grooming table didn’t make them unhappy either ;-). The boys even let her feel both of their testicles in the right place.  Now that they have microchips and AKC registration numbers, I can complete the online forms for their CAER (fka CERF) exams.

   It’s been a nice day so we’ve spent most of it outside.  After puppy lunch, I brought out cushions and a yoga mat and placed them in the sunshine.  I was very popular lying there.  The big 3 love that game but did keep moving away for the little Sharptooths to get it out of their system.  I didn’t end up sleeping but it was a lot of fun.  I may’ve lost some hair though. 😉

   They’ve spent a fair amount of the afternoon covered in dead dry grass (it’s still dormant and I didn’t overseed this fall) from having BIG practicing to be Portuguese Waller Dogs.  I get it off and they speed off to do it again.  Their Auntie Elle is proud of their efforts (she’s very fond of making her own Ghillie suits). The big 3 are sporting some themselves because they’ve been zooming around together on occasion as well.  I usually put a halt to that quickly because the littles think it looks like a LOT of fun and try to join them.  The big 3 have pretty good proprioception and clear the pupsters but  that’s a lot of moving parts for me to worry about colliding.

   I tried to utilize one of their nap times this afternoon to start arranging things for their nighttime crates but they kept waking up and coming to help me.  I’ll need to gate that door too now.  I’ve been using it to sneak out with their food since they know we use the others and I think they’ve noticed.  It’s hard to sneak much past them so they know it is of interest.  I didn’t get it set up but we’re going to go Nighty, nighty, nighty in the crates in the pen again tonight anyway.  Puppy breath to all 

3/03/25 7 Weeks Old!

     If it’s the middle of the night and I get up, they’ll settle again pretty quickly with a nighty, nighty, nighty (without me singing the 3 songs) but if it’s getting close to daylight, they think it’s time to rise and shine.  So far they are mostly quiet while I bundle up (unless one of them needs to go poop) to get ready to go outside with them.  All of them even made it off of the patio before squatting to pee this morning!

   After they pottied and ran around, I let them forage in the castle sandbox for breakfast and put water in the bowls.  They played some more but I was still really cold so we pressed The Button and ran back into the castle.

   I tried to go back to bed but the Big 3 were rumpusing (and thoroughly enjoying it) and the pupsters were alternatively watching them and rumpusing as well.  Puppies ‘fence fighting’ is hilarious!  They started it when I put the big crate in their enclosure and they still do it fairly frequently.  It especially ramps up again when another crate is added or moved.

  We came inside a little after 7am and when I took them out again around 9, the water in the dishes had frozen.  No wonder I think it’s cold!  I made them take the rest of morning nap inside so I could be warmer.

   We’ve spent late morning and the afternoon outside and they’ve enjoyed that a lot!  It was allegedly going to be 50 today but if it made it, it certainly didn’t feel like it.

   I introduced them to chewies today: 1 lamb ear and 1 tendon treat (I needed to be able to keep track of them). They liked both but couldn’t make a lot of headway with the lamb ear.  Multiple puppies could work on the tendon so it was eventually mostly consumed so I gathered up both when the puppies went to sleep. They can work on the ear later or I can let one of the big dogs start it for them.

   They continue to adore the leaf blower.  I tried to use the broom today but they also love it.  To the point that I can’t use it without there being multiple puppies swarming it and rendering my efforts useless.

   MarmieCarmie still nurses them at least once during the night so I’m reluctant to start restricting them to crates the whole night but I’ll be starting that for at least a chunk of the night soon.  They tend to sleep in the open crates so it won’t be as difficult. Nighty nighty nighty Puppy breath to all 

3/2/25 Happy Birthday to Grandma Phoebe

We had temperament evaluations starting much too early (for the humans) so we had to get up and get ready.  The puppies were cooperative about having breakfast early and pottying; a little less thrilled with being placed in the crate in the van.

We made it with only some protestation and NO puking either direction.

When we came home afterward, it was well past lunch time so we had a picnic and they ran and ran and played until they were close to ready to rest and I was cold again so they finished playing inside and napped. 

   They’ve mastered the re-entry to the pen for The Button.  So much so that I’m opening the corner instead of letting them use either door.  They are doing it so fast that I’m afraid someone is going to catch a paw in one of the spaces.  I am still varying the exit points.

I napped beside their pen while they napped in crates together and now we’re doing midnight snack and Nighty, nighty, nighty time. Puppy breath to all 

3/1/25 pupdate

Another blustery day and turned back into winter throughout the day.  In (my decision) and out (theirs) pretty much all day.  They enjoyed some nice sunshine in the afternoon but the wind was gusty.  They seemed to enjoy it if they even noticed it at all.

Part of our company couldn’t make it but one did so they showed her their new little needle teefers ;-)

They’ve almost mastered running into the pen when I press their version of THE Button.  I introduced it to them late this morning but it’s a LOT of fun.  

I went to bed after they had dinner and potty time, the cold is exhausting.  We’ll do midnight snack by the alarm clock ;-) 

2/28/25 Pupdate

  Up and outside shortly after daylight as I was awake and they notice me and the big dogs getting up them so I took them out after I went to the bathroom and prepped their breakfast. 

   It was COLD so I cut it short-ish.  They seem perfectly happy but I’m cold in a coat so sometimes, we do what I want.

   They were ready to go out again after a short nap, they had to have an after breakfast potty trip. I was upstairs so Uncle Daddy took them out; I followed shortly with glove to clean up and they did some big playing.  Warmer but not good yet.

   In and out all day.  Mostly out during the sunny warm because that’s about to change.  Heard/saw chain saw, excavator, side by side and a couple of wagon loads of wood.  They still adore the leaf blower as did their MarmieCarmie and her littermates (4 years ago!)

    At afternoon nap, I put them inside in the crates and gave the old puppies showers. They were all exuberant as wet PWDS generally are so pupsters were awakened and were allowed back outside to play.

  I brought out the force dryer and MarmieCarmie insisted on being first.  The puppies seemed to enjoy the dryer just like the leaf blower. After she was done, I tried to do GrandPaw Deja but she kept getting on the table and in the way so I crated the girls so I could do his.

   I think we’re close to being able to press THE Button to help guide them to where I want, I just need to keep the old puppies from distracting them along the way.  Nnn puppy breath (and it has definitely changed to the weaning puppy breath) to all

2/27/25 pupdate

All made it outside to poop in the morning.  We had breakfast outside after playing a while (and pottying) but it (I) was very cold again so took them inside before they were ready for first nap.

 I’m working on treat taking but they are more interested in cuddles than food so far.  I should probably do that before they eat but I don’t want desperate puppies either.

  Uncle Daddy had pt and then picked up our grocery order so we had some more options for afternoon practice.  String cheese is helping them learn.  Their MarmieCarmie is a little interested at times - I can’t tell if that helps or hinders ;-)

It was very windy and overcast a chunk of the day so I took them in for their naps a few times but they don’t nap as long, especially when MarmieCarmie goes in to ‘clean up’ the treats they haven’t consumed.  I did let them experience light rain, too but we went inside to be certain they didn’t get too cold.  Of course, they’ve had milk snack and water as well as soaked food poured all over them too because they are truly little PWDs so they get in the stream frequently 🤣

  We had a BIG windstorm in the evening but they slept through most of it.  It blew the outside (empty but upside down) pool well out into the yard and even the lid from the castle sand box so it rained on the toys I’d put in there to keep them dry.

  The puppies didn’t care that things were wet or in odd places (I move everything around all of the time anyway to keep it new to them)

  I brushed GrandPaw Deja on the grooming table outside after their lunch.  I left the girls in their crates so it would be only him on the table (both love the table and MarmieCarmie is especially fond of being brushed so he really needed a turn)

  They also don’t mind going outside in the dark or cold (another way they have better temperaments than I do)

   Uncle Daddy had driven most of the day again so we were both pretty tired (I again neglected to nap when they did) so we all went to bed after the post dinner pottying.  The pupsters played semi quietly and then went to sleep.  I set the alarm for midnight snack of string cheese.  MarmieCarmie went in to clean up the leftovers and let them nurse and we all went back to nighty nighty nighty

  And they’ve started cuddling together in the (open) crates at night. 

2/26/25 Pupdate

Up shortly after daylight and outside where Aunt Mama kept complaining about the cold (there WAS a little solid water in the flying saucer dish).  We pottied and played a while. She then fed us outside but regretted it and carried it and us back inside because she was certain we were cold

Finished breakfast in pen with cuddling then we were sleepy so it was nap time.  She left Uncle Daddy in charge and went to warm her feet up in hot water in the bath tub.

   We napped a good while so she cut out our baby blankets while the sun finished being piped in the holler.  Then we went out to play again!

She’d brought out more adventuring equipment for us and a few things for the old puppies so they can choose to be out of reach but still out here with all of the rest of us.  We’re certain if we keep at it, we’ll be able to cuddle up there with them!

   Except for today’s off schedule puppy, we were settling in for naptime as it was getting more and more shady on the patio so Aunt Mama carried us inside and let the lone awake puppy have something she calls “only dog time” ( except the big dogs were still with us).  That puppy soon went into one of the outdoor napping spots so she came inside, too.

   Not too long afterward, Uncle Daddy got home so they fiddled with something out front - they didn’t even take any of the big dogs to help, it couldn’t have been very fun or important.

   Then they let us out to potty and carried us to the metal puppy safety area in something called a ‘new van’.  They seemed to like it but kept talking about how to arrange things in it.  There is room for both big metal dog safety boxes (they call them crates) in the back without taking any of the seats out of it.  These people never seem to finish arranging things- Aunt Mama’s been doing it almost non stop since we were born!

   We rode to ‘the mall’ and home again with only minor fussing on the way and none after we’d started back home.  Best of all, none of us were carsick - not even Aunt Mama!  (She’s always the most likely to be car sick but at least she can’t vomit any more since they fixed her hiatal hernia)

   They set us out of the van and let us go into the yard like big dogs.  We were happy to rumpus around and take a little nap before dinner and company.  We met 4 new people and experienced one using a walker.  We went back outside to potty after they left and ran around and played and played even though it was dark and Aunt Mama said she was cold and took us back in the house.  But she’s introducing us to treats so that worked out ok.  Nighty, ngihty, nighty. Puppy breath to all