01/31/25 Pupdate

 Early (well it’s daylight so maybe not real people early) am checking , she was checking on puppies/potty.  Mostly still sleeping but she had fed them earlier (it was still dark).  I think MarmieCarmie is trying for getting Down in the Valley designated as her theme song btu eventually she hoky pokeys her whole self in the pen, not just hanging her head over.  So while MarmieCarmie was looking for something to clean up, Gussie gave it a shot and got to grab a drink at the standing bar.  As Marmie Carmie moved along, Cassie managed to hang on for few seconds before she couldn’t quite keep up (she didn’t actually walk along with her, she was more like the needle on a gauge from 10 to 2:30 before she couldn’t maintain her suction)

Speaking of maintaining suction, one of the puppies latched onto my chin yesterday while I was holding it.  I had something in my other hand so it took me a moment to detach the pupster.  And now I have a big hickey on my chin 😉 (I suspect the anticoagulant meds contribute to that happening so quickly) 

As their hearing is developing, I’m adding noisy toys, including the electronic ones.  I’ve toyed with adding THE Button but A: Deja really loves pressing THE Button and B: Carmela thinks nothing of pressing it on her own whenever she can access it and will do it repeatedly until she’s dispensed (and eaten) all of the treats. As much as GrandPaw loves to press THE Button, he considers it an activity to do WITH a human.(very much like his Sire Javk considered retreiving balls/monkey paws did) so I can leave it sitting out when neither of his brown daughters are here.  So only the non treat dispensing buttons in their area for now.

As usual, I’ve given up on giving them the rest (most) of the formula in the llotted time framebut I’m using it as additional calories and nutrition for MarmieCarmie.  She’s not currently being terribly selective about eating but she did seem to really enjoy that on her food.  And it’s somewhat less messy that the cottage cheese mixture toppings.  Between her cheesy meal additions and taking breaks outside of the pen, I have some white marks to clean from the rubber.  For some reason, dairy (squirty cheese, cottage, cheese,yogurt, milk, whatever) always does that but it’s not too difficult to steam away.  I just have to let the steam mop sit on that area for a minute or so.

Par for the course with puppies, I’ve lost all track of time.  (I’m setting alarms so I can keep the big dogs on eating schedule now).  Since I get sidetracked (“Squirrel!”), I need to use my color coded system to remind myself who I have done and who is waiting for things I don’t do without stopping (like I did puppy yoga).   Today, I was carrying them outside individually to do a little smelling/looking (as much as they see which is probably similar to me) but the MSU returned home so I stopped to carry things inside.  And then promptly lost track of who’d had the outing and who had not. 

Some litters, I’ve used pieces of the velcro collars and some I’ve used magnets on the white board.  But I’ve apparently put some of the magnets elsewhere so I need to make another purple for Gussie and Turquoise for Littlefoot.   I cannot for the life of me figure out where the permanent markers are.  I haven’t managed to get the house fully back into order since my mil was here with 7 of the last 8 vertebrae broken for several months last year.  I was getting close when I dragged out a lot more for the MSU’s ankle replacement recovery.  We wasted a while trying to find them before I finally ordered a replacement set.  I bought that one with the Ten puppies in 2012(SDB’s first litter) and they kind of have sentimental value for me because of that.  (They are one of the first things I ever bought on Amazon which is not the sentimental part!). At any rate, as soon as the new ones come, the old ones should immediately appear 🤣

I’m working on geting the play gym ready for them but it isn’t ready yet.  At least for anothe couple of days, it would really only be for random things to rub over them and we are currently accomplishing that with blankets hanging over their area.   They’ve starting to really interact with one another now though so it will be more useful soon..  They have no stamina but they are playing bitey mouth and big time wrasslin’. .

     The rain has done away with a lot of the icy snow but not all of it.  But it’s accompanied by a lot of barometric pressure changes so I’ve had random horrible sinus issues today.  The lack of sleep probably doesn’t help either but I’m still not a fan!  At least I can’t vomit since they finally repaired my hiatal hernia (I can still gag but meds help that go away especially since I can’t hurl them up before they help.). Now that I’ve finally gotten it under control (hopefully for longer than just tonight), I’m going to cuddle some pupstersl huff a little puppy breath and try to go Nighty, Nighty, Nighty

01/30/25 Pupdate

It’s nearing the end of another day in the puppy pen and once again, I have no idea how they’ve managed to become even more adorable.  But they have

Since their eyes are open, I’m turning the lights off at night now.  Just in case it makes a connection for them to sleep through the night as they grow.

The forecasted thunder has not materialized with the rain.  Suprisingly, we still have some snow and ice even with the rain.  Surely, it will be gone by the morning so the big dogs will have more opportunities to track in mud ;-). Maybe since it is approaching Spring (I’m not obsessed or anything but I am VERY ready for Spring/Summer), we will have more chances of that.

We’re also making sure to have noise playing most of the day.  I’m partial to 80’s music but we’ll play a variety.  Including the storm and other noises.

They wake up faster and immediately start moving around quickly and with a purpose when their MarmieCarmie opens the bar.  They eat a lot faster now, too.  And part of the time, she’s even sitting up while they nurse.

They are more and more mobile, getting up to go potty (which fortunately, their Mama is still cleaning up) so it’s time to add a little potty area.  Which they will probably also use as a supplemental sleeping area but they will also do that in the food and water bowls when we put those in their area.  

We also have occasional intentional interaction wiht one another but it is mostly licking another puppies mouth after they’ve eaten.  Then they fall asleep pretty hard again for a while.  We;re learning to soothe back to sleep or to sleep while being held by a human.  If I hit the timing correctly, I can even get them back to sleep when MarmieCarmie is insistent on interfering.  I might go practice that again now.  Nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath to all 

01/29/25 Pupdate

Since the puppies were about to weigh out of the talking kitchen scale, we held a practice weight watcher’s meeting with the ‘big scale.’  I started it before the MSU returned home and was trying to take pictures with my phone and let it read me the numbers (it is getting very good at recogninzing text in a photo -even hand written text) because I haven’t set up the app for the scale on my new phone (it’s been 4 years since we’ve had puppies, so it’s actually the last 2 phones.)   Fortunately, I was doing it on the floor because MarmieCarmie; GrandPaw Deja;and even Aunt ElleBean were supervising so the puppies were extra squirmy and reluctant to stay on the scale.  Which made it even harder to get a photo.  I even tried setting a decoy puppy out onto the floor but the big dogs worked in teams.  Good to know they are that smart and willing to help (GrandPaw Deja is the only one who has been around for puppies after all) but it worked against me in this instance.  For now, we will just continue to do it with human teamwork, too.  All of the puppies have gained since Monday’s meeting and we now have 14lbs of pure puppy adorableness.

The puppies are actually walking (well lumbering) with more coordination.  When the MSU saw them this morning, he was impressed by how much they’ve improved overnight.  They seem to be developing hearing and little Fievel is starting to open his eyes so he won’t be far behind his siblings.  There is always a variation between the puppies and it fascinates me.  (There isn’t much about puppy development that isn’t fascinate me)

If the humans work together, we can cuddle puppies not directly beside the puppy area.  She still keeps a close watch on us but she doesn’t keep trying to make me give the puppy back to her (at least not as much).   Maybe if I get a little more sleep, we can outsmart her tomorrow ;-). Nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath to all! 

01/28/25 Pupdate

Have I mentioned lately how absolutely adorable these puppies are?  Surprise, I’m doing it again.  More eyes open and moving with more purpose.  None of us are always sure where they are trying to go but they are certain they need to go there.

They do know that their MarmieCarmie is outside the front of the ferret expen and a couple of them have actually put their little paws up on it after her.  I can’t decide if that’s a good thing (smart pupsters) or a bad thing (smart pupsters) but since they are PWDs, it will probably be both.

After morning cuddles, some cleaning (I MIGHT’VE finally gotten the muddy paw prints cleaned off of the floor), and more rearranging of the rubber room (there is more stuff out here than with the last litter 4 years ago), I took advantage of the nicer weather and gave the big dogs showers.  Because they are often very exuberant after showers - especially together; I secured the puppies until I could be certain everyone (Aunt ElleBean) knew to be careful of them even when wet.  And while all 3 were happy to zoom outside, they were careful inside.  (Good girl Aunt ElleBean!)

Carmela was NOT pleased that her puppies weren’t in their area when she came back in from shower time.  (She was pleased that, at least for now, she gets extra squirty cheese during the other dogs’ turns too as MamaTax.  Deja still gets DaddyTax, too so Elle had to have a few extra squirts so I didn’t feel bad).  I got them back before she panicked but she was definitely winding hard for them.  And then she watched me extra suspiciously whenever I went in to use the bathroom or do anything else.  Maybe when they get those needle teeth, she’ll be more willing to share them.  For now, I pretty much still have to do my cuddling in their area or she is all up in our business until I return them.

I was still worried about the puppies getting cold from wallering with their wet Mama so I kept cpvering them up while she cuddled and fed them. She also required me to brush her hair during that process.  She might be a tiny bit spoiled ;-). And I’m making a good start on making sure the pupsters will be as well.

Nighty, nighty, nighty Puppy breath to all 

01/26/25 Pupdate

    Smart little puppies don’t have their eyes open yet but they can definitely identify their mama by scent.  I’m always amazed that puppies can do that.  They are also surprisingly strong, even little Fievel.

I’m very worried that one of them is going to make it over the wall but MarmieCarmie actively nosed one back down so I’m not so concerned. I’m still concerned, just not unreasonably so ;-). And apparently, not unreasonably at all since there’s a puppy out of the pool now. Nighty, nighty, nighty 

01/27/25 2 Weeks Old!

It’s been a big day in the puppyverse and they’re even  starting to see some of it!  A couple of them have both eyes fully open and all of them are working on it.  It always seems so sudden that they go from completely closed to open but I considering how much the puppies change from birth to 8 weeks, it makes sense.  But it’s still a wonder

After last night’s blog post was abbreviated due to a puppy going over the wall, I had to swtich the puppies into the  ferret ex pen for their safety and my peace of mind.  I’m sure I’ll have to switch it  to the real ex pen before long but I like the ease of the lower one while it’s an option, especially since it is much smaller than it will be.  I don’t want them to have trouble finding each other in the night and getting worried.  Or more likely, worrying me and their Marmie Carmie but six of one…

It was also time for a collar change.  I’ve loosened almost all of their rickrack ribbons as much as I can and I checked the breakaway puppy collars and they fit.  And not even on the tightest for most of them. I’m not sure how I feel about that.  On the one hand, good job Carmela and go Pupsters!  On the other hand, they are supposed to be my tiny little babies.  It’s even hard to fit little Fievel in one hand already and only when he’s sleeping curled up in a ball.  His real collar does need to be at the tightest adjustment so he may continue to streak a day or so.  For some reason, MarmieCarmie unties his rickrack collar.  (I thought it was just coming undone but she ‘helps’ that one.

SInce it’s a milestone, we also held a Weight Watcher’s meeting.  I put some extra goodies in the big dog bowls wihen I fed them lunch. They are eating an extra meal each day to try to keep Carmela’s weight up but she’s pretty much still nursing off everything I give her.  And it’s time to increase her calories again.  Next week is the biggest nursing demand but  our girls always seem to manage to lose the baby weight and some more no matter how much extra I give them.  I’ll still give it a shot, thin is ok but I don’t want them to become emaciated.  

We have over 12.5 pounds of pure puppy goodness - and we had a very annoyed Mamadog while we did it.  She didn’t finish her licky treat or her food until I released her as soon as we were done and I had to take them to the pen to get her to eat it then.  Fievel (Little Brown Puppy/ Blue Collar) has made it past the pound mark and is 18.7oz.  Littlefoot (Turquoise collar) is  25.6 oz.  Rooter (red collar) is 30 oz even.  Kat R Waugh (yellow collar) is 30.5 barely behind Gussie (Purple collar) at 30.6.  Cera (green collar) is over 2 lbs at 33.3 oz and barely surpassed by Chomper (Pink collar) at 33.4.  

We settled on their nicknames yesterday.  The little brown boy continually reminds me of Fievel from An American Tail, especially as his ear are getting ready to open so we used characters from that and Land Before Time.  As Lana pointed out, they will all be SharpTooths before long but we’ll stick with these names.

The snow and ice continue to melt but since we don’t pipe in sunshine everywhere this time of year (it’s a holler with trees so we have shaded areas; that’s nicer in the summer than winter imo), there’s still a fair amount of icy snow in part of the dog yard.  And we still have some big chunks falling from the higher roof to the lower with bug thuds.  The dogs seem pretty used to it but itm still startles me.  I think the puppies are too young to hear it at this point but we’ll definitely find other sounds for them!  I am starting the 3 songs (plus Soft Kitty, I added that one at Dog Cindi’s request a few years ago but I still always think of the bedtime songs as ‘the 3 songs’ 🤷‍♀️) just in case they are becoming able to hear

I think that covers most of our ‘doings’ so I’m going to get the big dogs’ midnight snack ready; cuddle some puppies; and say Nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath to all 

01/25/25 Pupdate

We had a big day today.  First Aunt Mama rearranged a little  and then Aunt Cindi and Aunt LeAnne came to visit.  MarmieCarmie and GrandPaw Deja were very excited to see them.  After they greeted the big dogs, they came over and held us.

As usual, MarmieCarmie was very involved but she eventually decided that it was ok for them to hold us as long as we all stayed right there.  

They sat on the floor with us so that helped soothe her.  It was time for us to eat so we had a picnic!  This floor was pretty smooth so they had to keep helping us get our footing with fleece.  They seemed to pay more attention to it than we did though.

Aunt LeAnne held each of us so that Aunt Mama could trim our nails ‘different’. That woman is almost obsessed with doing “different,” something about it helping our development. But there are some things she does the same every day like puppy yoga.  We’ll figure out more about people, the older we get.  Our MarmieCarmie definitely knows how to tell them what she wants so she had her hair brushed while we had our picnic.  We also had our collars afjusted.  Well, except for Little Brown Puppy because he is streaking again.

After we’d eaten and were ready for a nap, Aunt Mama did some more rearranging and then we got to meet our Aunt Elle.  She didn’t pay too much attention to us at first, she was very happy to see her daddy Deja and our MarmieCarmie but she did sniff the blankie we’d used pretty hard but at that time we were still behind the ex pen.  She eventually showed a little interest in us but when our MarmieCarmie came closer to us, she moved away.  She’ll probably be a lot of fun for us as we get older.  Right now, she’s going to help protect us from intruders and play with GrandPaw Deja and our MarmieCarmie if she feels like it but right now she’s taking her  mothering responsibilities very seriously.

A couple of us are pretty close to going over the wall.  When we open our eyes, Aunt Mama is probably going to have to redo our area again. We’re getting closer.  For now, we’re going to say Nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath to all! 

01/24/25 Pupdate

    I can’t believe how cute these puppies are and how much they are growing.  They are making more sounds and some of them are a little bit more like barks but not usually.  They are yawning and stretching and even rolling over intentionally.  They continue to do their little twitches, too.  Awfully, awfully cute.

Snagging and snuggling on the mattress by the pool continues to go well.  I’m not sure how well that will be received when Elle comes back tomorrow.  She is finally out of season so we are going to see if she and Carmela are still happy together but we won’t risk stressing either of them out.  I think as long as Elle shows some sense about the puppies, it will be fine.  If not, she’ll go back home with Cindi.  It definitely would’ve been easier to get them back together earlier in the process if she hadn’t come into season the week before puppies were due.  (I miss mibolerone)

Some of the snow’s been melting during the day but it’s well below freezing at night so we still have ice.  The best of both worlds - ice and mud!  At least the dogs seem to think so.  And apparently,  there is some ground clear enough for Carmela to work on her outside puppy area in case I am no longer a sufficient provider ;-).  I out the dirt and rocks back into her prospective den and blocked off the dog door but there are still some muddy paw prints on the rubber floor.

So as soon as I give in to her requests to go outside she has some snow before she ever thinks about going to potty (if she even NEEDS to potty)

It feels like the puppies are working on getting their eyes and ears ready to open.  Their ears always feel interesting when they are developing.  I’ve started singing the nighty night songs to them in case they are starting to hear, too.  We’ll have to keep watch for little eyes starting to open, too.

In addition to siblings and my hands, arms, face, etc. in the  pool, the also have to contend with the occasional toy their mama brings in with her and places ‘just so.’   I’m not sure whether she’s just not dropping it on them or if she has a particular feng shui she’s after but I only leave them in there during the day.  I don’t want to reach in at night and think there’s something wrong, I have enough trouble going to sleep beside them as it is.

Carmela is definitely enjoying being brushed in the pool.  I; not sure I want the dremel dust in there but I’m going to have to start doing her nails again soon.  Maybe she’ll ne ready for table time again.  And it’s supposed to be warm enough in the daytime to bathe her and Deja (and Elle if she gets to stay.).  It won’t be time for puppy baths until we start introducing them to food (or something untoward happens and someone needs a sponge bath) but I do look forward to puppy bathing parties.  Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, they are so adorable snuggled into a nice warm towel after their first bath.  

Puppy breath to all!  Nighty, nighty, nighty. 

01/23/25 Pupdate

  Carnela is willing to spend more time outside of the pool - UNLESS I am doing anything with a puppy other than hanging out in there with them.  At that point, she is right there interfering.  I’m certain that she maintains I am the one interfering since they are HER babies but I’m the one who can type so I can report it my way.

Night before last, I brought the other twin mattress out into the rubber room and put it on the floor beside the pool.  The ottobenbed is the perfect height for me to lie there with my arm in the pool when I am lying on the side facing it.  But, in the last 4 years (since we had puppies last time), Deja’s chosen spot to cuddle is curled up next to my chest.  His GrammieSammie’s spot was the whole bottom so this is what he had left, plus it’s really sweet.  I can’t just lie there with my hand in easy reach of the puppies, I have to hold onto him and lean up and over.  That is much less restful and I’m quite behind on sleep as it is.

This way, I can reach over Deja and not worry about knocking him off into the pool and squishing puppies,  (Deja is not about to let that happen, he is very good to hop up from what I always think is a dead sleep when I make a move towards getting up.  He somehow can tell the difference between rearranging the covers or pillow or anything and getting up, he’s a very good boy). But this seems like it’s more restful to me.  Carmela is fine with this arrangement and alternates between sleeping in with the puppies; on the ottobenbed; or on this mattress with us.

What I did figure out is:  I can frequentlly reach over and sneak a puppy out to cuddle.  Apparently, it’s close enough that she doesn’t notice the big change in the scent or the movement of me reaching in and out or something.  So Deja and I have finally gotten some cuddles with each of his grandpuppies (because they cuddle up between my chin and him).  I can’t get away with it if she is out and about - going out to potty or to partake of the nice ice water (snow, she’s going to be sad if it ever all metls and she has to go back to drinking the water I provide for her in the house 😂); she catches the scent and noses her way in to rile the puppy up until I give it back. I’m pretty sure she gives me a smug look at that point.

I managed to cut every puppy’s toenails again today. I usually get at least the front nails done but I did them one after another today while she mostly supervised.  And I noticed that their hair is growing, too!  I just use human nail clippers to take the sharp tips off so it always needs done but now their hair is getting in the way a little, too.  I’m thinking about little lion butts in a few weeks now.  (Even I will not do it at this age but I think it would be awfully cute.  They are already cuteness overload, the world might not be able to handle lionized itty bitties)

Speaking of lionizing, they are all getting pretty good at roaring on cue so I can sniff some puppy breath.  Good puppies!

And while they are having spa treatments in the pool, Carmela has apparently decided that I also need to do hers in there as well.  So a few times a day, I brush her hair while she feeds the puppies.  I’m pretty certain she is the first that has requested that.  I’d think she was trying to avoid being brushed but she was pretty clear about taking the brush to the pool and then nudging it to me until I started brushing her hair.  I got the happy tail thump when I started and asked if that was what she wanted and a big contented sigh.  The poor puppies had to contend with her eventually turning onto her back so I could get the spot she wanted done on her chest but they were mostly either done or managed to get back up there.  Little brown puppy managed to stay attached, there are some benefits to being smaller.  

Every now and then I get paranoid about his being so much smaller than the others so I steal him and take him in to weigh.  He’s gaining just fine and told me he was having NONE of that bottle feeding crap I was trying.  I’d already gotten it ready so I gave it a shot after weighing him and it wasn’t necessary to tueb feed him.  I tried offering it to a couple of the others who seem to be willing to eat anything (they will put a big hickey on her tummy if they somewhow get attached to the wrong spot so it seemed like they might be hungry.  NOPE, my streak of refusals is still pretty well intact.  Carmela was willing to drink it though.  Maybe just because moms don’t like to let their children’s food go to waste :-)

I’m going to go sneak some puppy breath as we do puppy yoga and then try to go Nighty nighty nighty.  (And maybe get some more puppy cuddles, too). Puppy breath to all

01/21/25 Pupdate

Uhhhmmm, well this is awkward. 

Remember that this blog is being written by the Blindchick (my vision may not be all black but the name’s not hyperbole.)

Also bear in mind that Carmela is a helicopter dam - I can’t do anything with a puppy without her ‘helping’. Today, I was in the whelping pool (par for the course) and Carmela insisted on nosing in and licking the Red Collar puppy I’m holding.  And scares me half to death because I realize she is licking this puppy’s navel as the puppy is peeing.  Through her belly button.  Things must be VERY VERY wrong and I’m going to need to find a vet pdq because this is scary as all get out.

I felt to make sure Carmela hasn’t accidentally opened something while cleaning the puppy or chewed too much as the umbilical stump came off and hurt her.  (I don’t feel around on their little tummies until that is all healed up because I don’t want to inadvertently damage them).  Hmmm, that’s odd.  There’s a good sized bump there.  Did she give her an umbilical hernia?  It’s not bleeding, pretty sure it’s actually urine. And Carnela’s still happily cleaning the puppy.

Anyone see (I guess pun intended) where this is going? Apparently, there was a little miscommunication at the whelping.  We didn’t have someone documenting birth order, color, coat type, etc. into a spreadsheet and I was trying to listen for the puppies to grt noisy and the machine that goes ping to make sure Carmela was still ok, etc.  The red collar puppy is not potentially dangerously deformed.  She’s a male.

So we actually have 4 girls and 3 boys.  (And I now need to be sedated. )

I have checked each and every puppy very carefully since AND I sent photos of what was supposed to be the pertinent areas (but with Carmela interfering it wasn’t clear on several of them) to the aunties for verification.

I’m sure we did other things today but not much is worth typing about after THAT!  Nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath to all 

01/20/25 One week old!

The pupsters are a week old today!  Little brown puppy now weighs almost as much as his biggest sisters did at birth.  And that is hard won information because Carmela is still not on board for the puppies being weighed.  Or doing anything that involves them not being in the pool but she firmly believes the more the merrier IN the pool.  

Photo shoots must take place in the pool.   I still take a lot of pictures even though my phone keeps telling me all kinds of stuff that I haven’t researched yet.  (With our earlier litters, digital cameras took forever to even take the picture and while I’d gotten kind of used to my phone telling me if there was enough light, it’s trying to tell me all kinds of stuff now while I just wildly press the button to force it to hurry up and take the pictures before Carmela either photo bombs it or the puppy gets focused on her.  

I haven’t figured out where to put the pictures I take yet but don’t get your hopes up.   It’s not like they will be carefully staged, chosen, or edited.  I THINK the phone usually does a good job of catching a recognizable image but I make no promises.

Little nails continue to need clipping daily and collars have to be adjusted at least once a day.  I’m about to have to change most of them out for larger pieces of ribbon.  Carmela is eating more frequently and higher calories but she turns it all into calories for the babies but fortunately, she isn’t being too picky.  They are doing their part to make sure she doesn’t get mastitis, such helpful little puppies.

Puppy breath to all, Nighty nighty nighty 

01/19/25 Pupdate

 The puppies were introduced to snow today!  Secondhand but their mama had to go out to potty, it was snowing hard enough that some came in on her hair and she was not about to wait to get back in with her babies.  I, of course, was paranoid but they were not wet or cold so they didn’t need me to towel them and she was plenty warm enough that she did not want to be covered either.  Just what we needed, more snow and extremely cold temperatures.  It actually shouldn’t affect me and the puppies too much but it might make it hard to receive packages or visitors.  At this age, it’s not so important that they meet new people but it is important to people to get to meet THEM.  They are very cute, you know.

The puppies are becoming more and more agile and occasionally perform feats of strength.  Or perhaps it is parent/sibling/whelping box Parkour?  The puppy version of Cirque du Soleil?  Whatever it is, they are very cute when they do it.  Even when they occasionally go rolling off of one another.  A couple of them really like to go Mamaneering which doesn’t bother Carmela like it does me.  On the other hand, maybe she likes puppies snuggling all over her as much as I do.

They fuss and protest and sing and spend a fair amount of time making tribble noises as well as smacking sounds.  She seems to know who needs her help and who is ok at the moment but maybe she’s raising GenX puppies ;-)

A couple of times today, she actually came to cuddle with me for almost a minute before she decided that she needed to check on the puppies.  So I make it easier for her by being right by the pool and petting her and the puppies.  Deja is never far from me either but he doesn’t usually do much with the puppies.

I didn’t attempt another weight watcher’s today, I think Carmela was watching me pretty closely lest I attempt puppynapping again. I did have to loosen collars again on most everyone so they are growing, growing, growing.  That is their job right now and they seem to be doing it well.

I think I am going to give sleeping by the pool a try now that she is settling into her routine.  Up to now, I’ve been waiting for the MSU to take over before I go sleep for a little while.  Of course, this morning, I kept hearing puppies in my sleep and couldn’t find them in the bed.  Good because they are supposed to be in the whleping pool with her not upstairs in our bed but I wasn’t sleeping soundly since I was listening for puppies.  We might all get more rest if I sleep here and now is as good a time as any to give it a try so Nighty, nighty, nighty and puppy breath to all

01/18/25 Pupdate

We had company today!  Carmela’s humama and Aunt CIndi came to meet the puppies.  Carmela was happy to show off her babies and get some extra pets and scratches, too.

Having company did not mean she relaxed her standards though.  I managed to let Lana hold a couple of different puppies but only snuck one to Cindi.  Cindi did get to hold hers longer because Carmela was distracted by Lana’s various puppies.  We did get the collars back onto the 3 streaking puppies and adjust the ones that were tight again.

As always, everyone is welcome to join the puppies IN the pool by Carmela. She’s a good hostess but very much a helicopter mom at this stage.  My grand plans of getting to hold a weight watchers meeting while we had extra hands/distractions was pretty much an epic fail.  For one thing, Carmela is still very interested in the scale (I’ve tried weighing random objects like spoons in case she was worried about it in relation to puppies but she’s still obsessed). It’s hard enough to get the puppies to hold still-ish long enough for the scale to announce the weight but with her nosing around there’s not a chance.

Eventually, we attempted to distract Carmela with squirty cheese (Grandpaw Deja got to share in that bounty) as I snagged puppies one at a time and took them inside to weigh them.  That worked ok for the first 3 but since I couldn’t get them back without Carmela noticing, she’d caught onto the game and was not fooled.  She let me have another but was not thrilled with that so I had to wait a little while for her to relax again.  Eventually, she had to go out to potty and I grabbed the last 2 and hurried them inside together. For those of you wjp realized that was only 6 puppies, I decided to use the weight I’d gotten on LBP earlier when I checked to see if he needed topped off.  (He did not - he’s up to 8 oz.)

The girls are fairly closely matched in size: the pounders are Pink (16.5 oz) and Red (16.3 oz); closely followed by green (15.8 oz); Purple (15.2) and Yellow (14.9). Turquoise boy (11.4oz) has been gaining well but the girls started off much larger and are not giving up on their advantage yet. Over 6 lbs of puppy sweetness, I guess Carmela knows what she’s doing so we’ll keep (mostly) following her lead.

Another milestone last night, they started holding up their little tails while nursing last night.  Those little wagging tails are awfully cute but that seems to be par for the course with them.

We’’ve come to a detente on puppy yoga - as long as I do it right beside the pool and let her nuzzle the puppy before and after, she doesn’t interfere overmuch.  Deja also has to lie next to me in case one of them make a break for it, i guess.  I see no reason to stress her out by overriding her parenting decisions since she’s doing such a good job.  A good dam is worth her weight in gold (at the very least.)

Puppy breath to all, Nighty nighty nighty 

01/17/2025 Pupdate

We’ve had a good day in the puppy pool today and there was even some bright sunshine, not that the puppies or I went outside.  Carmela still limited her potty trips but she did spend more time today trying to make her alternate arrangements in case this location becomes untenable ;-). At least she isn;t digging a huge new spot out in the iced snow which will become mud before it freezes again.

We have the crate doors open and the alternate pools in strategic places for her.  She really wanted to go behind the couches so we’ve compromised with me putting ex pens and blankets over it so she can dig in a more private location.

The little brown boy continues to improve and is nursing well.  He was doing well enough that I felt comfortable going up to sleep a while after the MSU took over puppy duties this morning.  He’d even gained some on his own while I slept so I’m not tubing him as frequently.  

Carmela is slightly more cooperative about me doing things with the puppies (puppy yoga and a little cuddling) as long as I keep them very close.  I sat at the edge with my feet in the pool a little this evening and we took turns nuzzling the puppies one at a time so she wasn’t as concerned I was going to take off with them.  I’ve had an easier time getting the brown boy away for his kitchen raids but she does still at least meet me at the door to make sure I’m bringing him back to the right place.

It’s so interesting to me how quickly they’ve become more adept and motoring across the pool when Carmela lies down.  Their little noses seem to function well and their legs are also becoming stronger.  They still move around like drunken sailors but they do it faster now ;-)

We had our first real scrum today!  Those are always so cute but I never know where they are trying to go.  It ends with them cuddled all together sound asleep in a big clump of cuteness.  Frequently, the brown boy will burrow in under the others if they don’t just waller on top of him.  He like to be in under his mama’s hair and he tends to blend in pretty well,  i wonder it that;s his version of segregating by coat color since she’s the only one like him. (For those of you who haven’t experienced it,  there appears to be a phenomenon amongst PWD puppies where they divide up into like colors before their eyes ever open.  Since nobody else matches him, he might be matching up with her hair)

The noises are becoming more varied and even more adorable.  Most of them are contented but occasionally one will be frustrated because they are bound and determined to crawl around the Mama’s back but she’s lying against the wall of the pool and they can’t force their way into that space.  Other times, she will lie hunched up so they can be uder her but she’s not lying on them.  i don’t care for that (and it can’t be comfortable for her, either) so I move them.    I do let her hover over them like a chicken for a few minutes when she wants but not fpr very long.  And not only beciase I don’t like birds ;-). Frequently, the puppy noises are accompanied by Carmela’s light snoring.  Motherhood is hard work so she needs her beauty sleep.

MAYBE tomorrow we can actually have a weight watchers meeting and a photo shoot.  FIngers crossed that the driveway is more clear.  There have been an awful lot of huge thuds as clumps of icy snow fell and hit the lower sections of roof, deck or ground.  Fortunately, it startles me more than the dogs.  There are actually some patches of gound that are no longer snow covered (oh goody, mud said no dog person ever). But for now we are going to say Nighty, nighty, nighty.  Puppy breath to all (although it’s not completely available on cue yet, we’re getting there,)