September 15, 2012 Pupdate

          The puppies are a day old and settling in nicely.  Technically, they weren’t due until today but they weren’t waiting.  They can maneuver all over the whelping pool and each other but they were all climbing pretty well yesterday.  The boy with the blue collar (at the time known as puppy #2) almost crawled off the table before the vet tech put him in the incubator. I had them in a box with a fleece pad to carry them out of the vet’s office and while we were getting the rest of our stuff ready, they were climbing up and over the pad (several inches high but not high enough for them to get out of the box.)

               We now have our spreadsheet of puppy information so we can start having fun with numbers.  I haven’t weighed SammieDoodlebug again but she is obviously MUCH lighter.  And it’s no wonder since she had 116.5 ounces of puppy.  For those of you not inclined to compute it for yourself that’s slightly over 7 1/4 lbs. of infinite cuteness. I can’t get this post written because I am constantly being mesmerized by puppies.

               Since Bruce is headed off to the USGA State Team matches tomorrow morning (bad timing that), Dog Cindi is staying with me so I can occasionally sleep.  SammieDoodlebug is very careful about not stepping or lying on puppies but I still don’t like to leave them unattended for at least the first week.  These puppies LOVE to crawl under between her front legs, under her armpit and cuddle into her back under the ‘pig rail’.  Doodlebug doesn’t mind but I’m not thrilled with that arrangement so I am often reaching under and pulling them back out.

               We’ve had a little bit of collar color glitch, I can’t really tell much about the grey so I am going to change that one.  We temporarily put a sort of tie dye rainbow color on that puppy but I couldn’t tell it from the other colors and it came off so that puppy is streaking right now.  It occurred to me to take a sharpie marker to the colors I don’t like/can’t see so I am planning to change the white one to pink to replace the rickrack and do something better/brighter with the grey.  With 10 though, I run out of things that I can distinguish in a box of puppies.  Other than that, I do like the Pupcollars.  They are a great idea, just not the best colors to me.  (That is not a paid endorsement, I doubt they care what I think but I may eventually tell them anyway.)

               The puppies are very busy growing and are already adept at vocalizing their emotions.  So far, we haven’t had the baby alligator in distress noise much but we’ve had a little bit of displeasure when we took them out to take weigh them and take pictures.  When the puppies are unhappy, we have to contend with Doodlebug and Jill.  Mostly though, they are noisy eaters (and sometimes sleepers.)  They sing and talk while they eat and, occasionally, I hear them smacking as they nurse.

               They need their toenails cut but they needed that when they were born.  I should have done them yesterday while Doodlebug was still a little out of it from the anesthesia because I am pretty sure she isn’t going to stand for it now.  I’m going to have fun with her on Day 3 when we start ENS.  She’s not threatening but she tries to hide them so I can’t take them and if they squall while we are holding them, she’s right there.

               She’s rotating so they have to move around so they’ll get stronger and is eating well, albeit in her pool (she is eating out of the bowl some instead of only from a spoon or my hand now.)  It’s funny that Little Miss “I don’t eat meals without meat” (remember that Tamara?) is now gobbling down yogurt, and cottage cheese to the point that I had to dip her steak in the yogurt to get her to eat it today.  I guess she does know what she needs.  She certainly seems to know what those puppies need!

 

               I’m going to lie down on the bed beside the box until Cindi’s shift so nighty, nighty, nighty for now.

Blog Revived: Puppies!

After much anticipation (at least by me), we finally have puppies again! After a missed opportunity in January 2011, when SammieDoodlebug came into season before her intended Triton was quite ready and another flat out “miss” in February 2012 when our timing was apparently off, we got our ducks Allyn a row. And it’s taken me a whole day to start blogging about it. If anyone was actually eagerly anticipating the blog posts, I’m sorry for the delay.

Ten (10) puppies were born yesterday morning (9/14/12) . I haven’t added up their combined weights yet but Doodlebug weighed 68 lbs right before the birth. She has much more of her girlish figure back now. I will hold a weight watchers meeting in a little while but I like to compare their birth weights and that was handwritten (thanks LeAnne!) It may have been transcribed and emailed to me but I haven’t even checked email yet.

The male to female ratio is 7:3 as is the wavy to curly. We know 2 are brown and 7 are black and there is one that we thought was brown, then we thought was black. When Sammie is a little more comfortable, we’ll try to determine the real color of that puppy.

The smallest puppy at birth weighed 9.2 oz and the heaviest was 14.4 oz. It just occurred to me how close to a pound that is (have I mentioned that I didn’t sleep much in the last few days). They are all eating heartily so I think they are probably gaining. Doodlebug is starting to eat again as well but refuses to leave the whelping box unless we lure her out with the puppies. Jill (SammieDoodlebug’s dam) is extremely interested in the puppies but is also being respectful. She’ll be there is Sammie decides she’ll accept any assistance. I’m off to put things away from the trip and re-organize all of my puppy paraphernalia. And maybe have a nap by the puppy box…

August 13 pupdate

Good morning, good morning the happy dogs say. Rowdy didn’t wake me up this am but Jack did at almost 7am. Jack is the designated barker for Jill so he may well have been performing that service for Rowdy as well. Especially since none of the big dogs showed any signs of needing to go outside. Rowdy didn’t seem to have any trouble making it out to potty though and he hadn’t had to go in his crate so all was well.
Jill had to remind him how to behave a couple of times this morning but SammieDoodle actually played with him. He needs reminded that it is not quite appropriate to use teeth when you are giving kisses. He tries to sneak in a nibble or two when he is giving kisses but not nearly as much today as yesterday – thanks to the girls. He and the SammieDoodlebug have played some this morning and he has cuddled with me some too. He ate his breakfast and then had naptime.
I eventually had naptime too and he was quiet. Generally, he gives a little bark if I leave him in the ex pen and leave the room – especially if the big dogs go too. But he didn’t when I went up to nap (but the big dogs stayed down here.)
Dog Cindi (she’s not just Indy’s Cindi now she’s Mirabella and Indy’s Cindi) came this evening and we worked on baby lions. We got butts done and we did B’s muzzle with the clippers but Rowdy was a combination of scissors and clippers on his muzzle. He is a work in progress but we got a lot of hair off of his face. We’ll keep working on it so hopefully he tolerates the clippers on his muzzle a little better. He is great for having his butt done. MiraBella was much better about having her muzzle done if I kissed her the whole time. What a sacrifice for me - because you know I just don’t normally kiss puppies ;-)
CarreraBoo (fka purple Brownie) passed her AKC Star puppy exam this week and she was only 13 weeks old when she did it. Amy says they have some work to do to be ready for the CGC but she’s not old enough for that yet anyway ;-) What a good puppy! I should get to see her next weekend when they come down for some water practice before our trial.
Speaking of the trials, I hope SammieDoodlebug stays in the game. She’s doing really well in practice and we have been building some extra drive for her line by letting her carry it to the boat and retrieving it for her meals. Jack is happy to be getting to play with us again but we haven’t started letting him jump from the boat or board the boat yet.
Rowdy went to bed a little earlier tonight. He was pretty tired from his day. I hope that doesn’t mean he’s going to want to get up way early tomorrow. I’m shooting for sleeping until almost 7. For now though, I am going to get ready for bed and then I’ll do last call. Nighty, nighty, nighty to you all

August 12 Rowdy Pupdate

Happy 14 week birthday to the babydogs tonight. And luckily for me, Rowdy (fka Limey) is here! I get to keep him for 10 days while his people are on vacation at a place that (gasp) doesn’t allow dogs.
He’s currently napping in the ex pen after some playing, retrieving, chewing and dinner (not necessarily in that order.) So far, he hasn’t had any accidents in the house and has been willing to potty every time I’ve taken him out. What a good boy. Aside from a little barking for attention, he’s doing very well. Once I gave him a bone to chew on, he quit barking for attention.
His mother and sister had to remind him how to appropriately greet grown up dogs (or at least the queen and princess.) They sound AWFUL when they do that but they never have to put a tooth on anyone. I think Jill tested him – she got out a chewing toy and when he showed interest (read that as he went running right up into her face) she yelled at him. He took off running into the other room and got in Sammie’s crate and waited for me to come rescue him. At which point he checked to make sure there wasn’t’ anything good in any of the other crates ;-) After he came back in, SammieDoodle apparently decided to demonstrate the appropriate way to show interest in what the other dogs have and Jill gave it right to her. Neither Jill nor Sammie actually wanted it. Sammie continued the lesson when Rowdy wanted Jack’s toy (Jack just turns his head and if that doesn’t work, he tells me about it.) Poor Jack was the only one that actually wanted his toy.
Rowdy and I practiced some sits and downs and then played some retrieving games. He doesn’t sit beside me very well but he has a slight concept of waiting until released to retrieve the tossed/thrown toy. He goes flying after it and when he gets there, he pounces and barks, then flies back to put it in my hand. What a good boy.
His mama says that he gets up very early (5:30 early) so we’ll see how late he sleeps here. I hope it’s later than that. Maybe if I make it good and dark in the dogs’ room, he’ll sleep later. Guess we’ll find out. For now: Nighty, nighty, nighty.

August 3 Pupdate

I have an empty nest ;-( The last puppy left here Sunday and flew to her new home in Los Angeles, CA yesterday. Cary (now Ethan) left on Saturday and is in the Columbus, OH area. I miss them all very much and have gone through almost the whole box of fudgesicles.
I’ve been cleaning up their stuff and took down the ex pen inside and the ‘security’ fencing outside but that’s not nearly as much fun as setting things up for the puppies. I don’t have it all done yet either as I’ve had to spend some time moping.

Bagby (fka Royal) is doing well in his new home and his mom commented on what a little gentleman he is. That’s a nice tribute to his sire as he was often referred to as a gentleman. He’s swimming, playing and training and loving with his new family. He starts some official training soon. In the meantime, he’s meeting other dogs and people and being ‘home schooled.’ He seems to be a hit with his new family and fitting in with the extended family dogs and is helping out by gathering up things they ‘lost’ (including the terrier’s collar) and putting them under the shrubbery for safekeeping.

Pink (no new name yet) flew home to LA yesterday and did very well with that. She is learning to fit in as a California girl. She is quite the hit with her new family – especially the boys who didn’t know they were getting a dog until they arrived to pick her up and I asked if they were here to meet their new puppy. He apparently had a stunned expression on his face but was quite happy to meet her. He’s already talking about them needing another one later to keep her company. It is SO far away from us but it’s only a couple of hours from my sister’s new home. I guess that’s all the more reason to schedule a visit (especially since my sister has found the dog friendly beach near her house.)

Carrera (fka Purple brownie) is living large in VA with her new family and older ‘brother’ Salazar. I think she is making him a better dog and is by all accounts adorable. Her mom keeps us updated on Facebook and via email and is supposed to come for a water practice weekend soon as well as bring her to the water trial in PA. I look forward to seeing her again (and again and again.) That little girl is a spitfire and very pretty. Maybe she’ll end up doing conformation as well… She's supposed to be her daddy's girl but I think she regard them as 'her people.' Shades of her mother all over again.

Ethan (fka Cary Blue and Baby Blue) is adjusting to his new life and playing with his new PWD sister in OH. Apparently, she is thrilled that they finally have a dog that will play with her. The older dogs have explained the house rules and for now, he is complying. He’s supposed to get to meet the horse soon and I will be waiting to hear how that goes. I am trying to talk his new mom into bringing the PWDs to our water practice in the Columbus area this weekend so I can visit with him.

MiraBella (fka the green brownie) is in and out with Indy’s (Dog) Cindi so I don’t have to miss her as much. I am trying really hard not to love on her too much while she bonds with her new family but it’s very hard. She is so cute when she comes back and just fits right in. She has a lot of her mother, Jill, in her which means she also reminds us of SammieDoodlebug. She can swing her whole butt when she sashays around in greeting. She also made her first kill this morning – a baby bird. Apparently, she’s the only one in the group that doesn’t have a good leave it yet and when everybody else stopped for the little one learning to fly; she pounced on it and got it. Debbie (our friend with border collies who is doing MiraBella’s daycare) had to pry the dead little bird out of her happy PWD jaws. She’s doing well with sit, down, spins, barking on command, and touching a target. She’s may be developing a BC stare as well ;-)

And finally Rowdy (fka Limey) is making himself at home in Cincinnati. He’s started puppy classes this week but was already doing well with sit and down without a hand signal or lure and housetraining. And like the other puppies, he is retrieving. His mom is working on his release at the end of the delivery to hand. He was still a handsome puppy when he was here a couple of weeks ago for grooming and swimming and I’ll get to see a lot more of him when his family goes on a pre-scheduled vacation and he stays here. I’m very much looking forward to that.

Jack is supposed to get to start easing back into activity Thursday and he is looking forward to that. Jill and SammieDoodlebug got pretty big haircuts but are still in versions of the lion trim. As a matter of fact, all of the puppies are still in lions, at least for now ;-) SammieDoodlebug is starting to get more water practice and Jill is considering whether she might not like to become a real water dog as well. We’ll still love her whatever she decides. We need to ramp up the hunt for the best baby Daddy for Doodlebug puppies now. If only they didn’t leave, I’d really enjoy breeding.

Guess I’ll go do last call and nighty, nighty, nighty with the big dogs.

July 25 Pupdate

Good morning, good morning the little dogs say. We got up at 6 to go out to potty and play in the ‘coolish’ time of day. I’ve also been watering the grass in the dog yard to encourage it to grow. It’s really enjoying this hot weather as long as we water it. In a year or two, it may take over the whole dog yard. The only problem is it turns brown in the winter so it will have to be ‘overseeded’ every year or I’ll have depressing brown grass too much of the year.
Turns out I probably didn’t need to water the grass today because it stormed this afternoon right before Cindi got here. MiraBella had puppy class after Indy had obedience class and then we were going to do some more water practice but we ended up only getting to do puppy toenails and letting my MeeMaw (that’s my grandmother) meet MiraBella. MeeMaw hadn’t seen and brown PWDs in person (I don’t think she’s seen any curlies either since we don’t have any.)
I finally figured out how to get the flip to use its program on my new computer but I don’t remember how I did it (on the old one, I just had to plug it in but on this one I had to pick something.) I hope it remembers to do it on its own next time. Hopefully, there will be video from the Movers and Shakers Sothern Splash water trials on Youtube by the time you read this.
MeeMaw’s chair is right in front of the puppy’s room. She may not have a great view of the tv but she has a prime puppy viewing spot and they are entertaining her. Maybe she’ll help me sing them to sleep since they are songs she used to sing to us. Nighty, nighty, nighty…

June 24 Pupdate

My goodness, what a day. Since the Blog is going to be a little more erratic as we have less time with the puppies, you may want to have it email you when it gets updated. I have been trying that out and so far, it works.

Cary’s plans have changed while his new family is potentially welcoming a new grandchild into the world. Hopefully all is going/has gone well with that. As a result we get to enjoy him for at least an extra day (I haven’t heard when they are coming for him yet so I haven’t had to hit the Fudgesicles.)

Indy’s Cindi and MiraBella (and Indy) came over and we took the old puppies to the pond for some training. It took a little while to get ready because the boats had to be pumped out and I couldn’t find the section of hose that puts the water into the pond. We finally gave up and Cindi just held it so that the water shot out into the pond. I made sure that the electric source battery thing (thanks Roger for introducing us to that) didn’t get wet.

We are trying to overcome SammieDoodlebug’s thrird dog syndrome and get her back into the game. I think we are making progress and she came happily off of the boat when called AND did the same when I called her into the water. She anticipated once but I think if we work on it in a pleasant manner, we’ll be ok. We decided that part of her problem is getting bored with doing the same exercises every time so we are including some from Working (she’s known the apprentice ones for 2 years now) and even Courier - Including jumping to ‘nothing’. She doesn’t jump like Indy but she leaves the boat with enthusiasm and purpose so that’s fine with me.

Indy started practicing his Courier exercises and can do the boat to boat exercises without me even calling him until he gets to my boat. He is making good progess with going to the shore and getting his float line, too. I sent them home with a hard Courier ball and a rope to get started. We had toyed with the idea of him using an inflatable ball but since we had ‘the incident’ with one getting punctured at trial and going flat (with Jack) we seem to have settled on a hard ball.



After the practice, we brought the puppies up to play, too. We put life jackets on 2 of them (we only have 2 that size so I put it on the 2 that tend to get sunk by one of the others. I’m not naming names but it’s the littlest one here.) They had a great time and swam along with the big dogs and the people. They ran in and out of the water and played on the hillside some too. Eventually, SammieDoodle took them on a little excursion up the road into the woods. She seemed to keep them with her and they all came back together so only Cindi worried much.

They seemed to have a good time and managed to stay cooler than we did. I never thought I’d be happy to get into the pond.

I’m ready to take a bath and head for nighty, nighty, nighty.

July 23 Pupdate

It’s been a fun filled day here today. While I was washing my hair this morning, Jack alarm barked for me to come downstairs. (This is actually different than Jack’s bark that he just wants me to come back) so I came down to see what was going on. Pink! was running around the rubber room. Apparently, she can now come over the little ex pen so after I finished my hair, I rebuilt the puppy pen with the taller ex pen.


Then Rowdy (fka Limey) came for a visit. We let him play with Pink! and Cary for a little while before we worked on his hair. He was living up to his name at first so we let Jill and then SammieDoodle speak to him about how to behave and the puppies had a much better time playing. It is still amazing to me how the littlest puppy can tell the biggest puppy how they want to play and because they want to play, he respects that. Rowdy is much bigger than Pink and Cary at this point.

After the other puppies helped tire him out a little, we worked on grooming. He was pretty good on the table for getting his butt shaved but we didn’t try to do his muzzle, just scissored a tad around his eyes.

Then the puppies went swimming in the pond. They all just swam for the joy of swimming and would go out past the people. Then they’d play on the bank and hillside and come back for more swimming. I think a good time was had by all – at least until the bath time. Then there was minimal whining and some singing by Cary. He really enjoys being held wrapped in the towel (or not wrapped in the towel for that matter.)

Rowdy is doing well with his sits and downs and the other 2 puppies are doing very well with their retrieving of ‘live’ objects to hand. I haven’t started on ‘dead’ retrieves with them.

Jack finished up his course of steroids so if he can just maintain his range of motion for 2 weeks on continued exercise restriction, he can go back to having a life. If not, we’ll have to look into other possible causes.

For now, we’re going nighty, nighty, nighty.

11 weeks old

I can't believe the puppies are 11 weeks old tonight.  4 of them are spending their birthdays in their new homes and 2 (Pink! and Cary) are still here.  Cary is supposed to go to his new home on Saturday and Pink is supposed to be here until the 29th.  I don't know what I am going to do without them.

We had a great time at the water trial.  We took Pink and Cary and Indy's Cindi's MiraBella and Amy brought Carrera so we had a passel of puppies with us.  It made for an interesting time getting them out to potty (we carried them out) but they were very good and quiet for the most part.  They'd settle down quickly when we turned out the lights so we did that rather early (not that we weren't tired enough to do that anyway.)

The puppies were very good in the ex pen corral we made for them at the water trial and they got lots more socialization.  We had a few volunteers to help us wrangle while they swam, too.

On Sunday, they got their little muzzles shaved.  Some of them took it better than others.  Cary whined a little but held still, MiraBella was about the funniest because she would fuss until she got  a kiss but would immediately start again when the clippers touched her.  All in all, they had a good first expereince with it.

Indy and Cindi got his Working Water Dog title; that's 2 titles this July for him.  SammieDoodlebug decided that I was trying to trick her after the boat ride and wouldn't come off the platform so she did not get her Apprentice Title.  We're working on it; I really hope to get her enthusiasm back.

Pink! and Cary have been working on sits and downs and walking along with me (and sitting on both sides of a door) and retrieving.  They are doing well but they can't retrieve if I have treats.  They can only do that for the joy of doing it again.

One of my favorite things to do with them these days is to sit on the edge of the wheelchair ramp deck and then lie down.  The puppies cuddle and climb all over me and generally remember to be gentle.  It's awfully sweet.

It's almost time to get them ready for nighty, nighty, nighty...

July 15 Pupdate

July 15 Pupdate


We had a partial reunion this morning. Casrrera (fka Purple) and her new brother Salazar came to hang out in our room while their mom changed ot a room that hoefully, had a/c. She seemed to get right back into the group and then climbued up on top of the crate – repeatedly.

She rode over to the water site with us as well so her mom didn’t have to bring the crate back down to the car. We kept her in the ex pen corral with the other 3 puppies at the water trial site. They were very good and played and napped and hung out like good dogs.

It’s kind of fun to have that many of them together again. We even took them swimming a couple of times. They enjoyed that but that’s not a lot of surprise. The pond was really warm so It was kind of like swimming in the bathtub.

Carrera is spending the night with us since Salazar had such a big day and needed some help relaxing. The puppies are all chewing on some cow tails the Dog Cindi borught. That quieted the puppies down last night as well. Smart of dog Cindi, huh.

We are just waiting for it to get dark so we can do last call and go to bed. We’ll be up early anyway, we might as well get some rest tonight. So Nighty, Nighty, Nighty to all. Maybe we’ll get to write again tomorrow.

July 13 Pupdate

The remaining puppies are doing well. They are very quiet in the night and I have been getting up around 6 but not from hearing them. They are staying quiet at least that long. I haven’t been waiting to see when they do start to fuss, I just get up anyway. That way we can go outside before it gets too miserably hot. It is easier to keep just 2 of them cool when we are out in the heat of the day but I still miss the others.

We are getting some much needed rain today and the puppies and I have enjoyed some of it. They are truly little PWDs and rain is just another form of water after all.

Now that the litter is almost ‘done,’ I have figured out all kinds of extra things to do with the blog. I have discovered how to allow other authors so they can guest blog (which is how we got the Carrera update earlier today) and alledgedly, I can schedule posts or email them in (this will be the test of a scheduled post but the test I emailed hasn’t shown up yet.) I think I even found where to have blogger tell me when something is posted (which will help me know if the scheduled post has gone through.)

Pink! and Cary are going with MiraBella and the rest of us to the NC water trial tomorrow. The old dogs, Jack and Jill, are staying home but the “old puppies’ SammieDoodlebug and Indy are entered. Carrera is going to meet us there with her new brother who is also entered. It is going to be hard to get along without Jack but he is still on severely restricted activity so he needs to stay home to stay calm enough.

The puppies are snoozing so I’d better go get some stuff done before last call. We’ll be busy busy busy in the am. Nighty, nighty, nighty to all.

July 12 Pupdate

July 12 Pupdate

I’m a little behind on my blogging (too many Fudgesicles?) but I’ll try to do better. With a new computer (Wed) and a water trial, I’m not sure how successful I will be but keep checking.

Bagby (fka Royal) and Carrera (fka Purple) left with their new people on Sunday. By all accounts they made it home safely and are settling in well. I will post Carrera’s report since I can’t figure out how to allow guest bloggers.

Rowdy is settling in to his new home and playing more with his new older brother and swimming n the pool. He is supposed to come visit next Monday for some playing and grooming. He was the only one not here to get his behind re-lionized on Sunday. His mom is going to send us a guest blog soon, too.

Since MiraBella (fka Green) went back home with Cindi Sunday night, I am down to 2 puppies here. Needless to say, I’ve had to have a lot of Fudgesicles.

Cary and Pink! are dong fine without the others and are enjoying each others company for the most part. They have the occasional little puppy spat but since there aren’t other puppies to play with, they definitely make up quickly. I have also noticed that they are learning more and more about right and wrong ways to use teeth.

Cary has been asking for more tummy rubs in the last couple of days – maybe because he is less likely to get stepped on by another puppy in the process. He sits by the ex pen until he is sure you are coming and then he flops over to have his tummy rubbed. Very cute!

Pink! is very cute and still seems quite fearless. She hasn’t come over the top of the crate like Carrera did but she’s right in on any action. She can move the little crate by pulling on the rug I have under it. I am pretty certain it weighs more than she does but that’s no deterrent.

So far, the defenses in the dog yard have held. I hesitate to say that because the puppies always break out after I do...

Nighty, nighty, nighty to all.

July 10 Pupdate

July 10 Pupdate
Computer trouble last night kept me from getting the pupdate out and I’ve been busy today. It did rain yesterday which was very nice and it cooled down a little and we had lower humidity today, I think. We had nice weather for water practice and then puppy playtime afterward.

I gave the puppies baths this morning and they all stood in the shower like big dogs. They are awfully good puppies. They were also very good for getting their little butts re-lionized. Haven’t tackled any muzzles yet, we don’t want to push our luck too far ;-) Besides Indy’s Cindi and Indy had to go finish his Rally Advanced title. BellaBoo stayed here while they did that. Cindi reported that Bella slept until 8:30 this am! What a good girl she was. The puppies here got up much earlier than that but I didn’t take them back out to potty at 1’ish. Maybe it’d be worth it to switch over to that.

Jill didn’t feed the puppies at all today. Yesterday we had a replay of how to eat raw chicken for the puppies. She didn’t care that I had given them their own – shi insisted on sharing hers and then monitoring them. They were a lot better at it this time. They even managed to eat part of the bone until I took it away.

The new reinforcements in the dog yard worked until this evening when Indy went over the fence. Carrera and someone else (a black one but I didn’t retrieve them so I don’t know which one) made a break for it after we had been outside for a while so we brought all of the puppies back in.

I am trying to finish getting everything together for Carrrera and Bagby to leave for their new homes tomorrow. I will really miss those little guys and will only have 2 here to console me. Pink will be here until the end of the month and plans have changed for Cary. I won’t know when he’s leaving until I know who his new owners will be. For now, I need to go cuddle these babies for a last nighty, nighty, nighty time.

July 8 Pupdate

9 weeks ago tonight, the 6 little pupsters were born. It’s really hard to believe how far they’ve come in such a short time. One of them has already left us. One is in and out. 2 more are leaving this weekend. This is the part I hate ;-(

Dare I say, I finally have them contained in the dog yard now. I finally had to set up a couple of sections of the new ex pens to block off the whole gate area. The puppies are not very pleased with that arrangement. They apparently really enjoyed bush surfing.

Cary asked to go potty this evening and Bruce happened to be watering the dog yard so he got to play in the sprinklers. He was having big fun with that so I took the others out with him. They certainly enjoy having pond water sprayed in their faces. No accounting for taste, I guess.

We had another scorching hot day today so it was short trips out to potty. It might rain tomorrow – we are hoping it rains a lot and cools down a little. The puppies and I are willing to go out in the rain – it’s a lot better than pond water being sprayed in your face.

Happy birthday little pups!

July 7

It’s going to be another really hot day. The pupsters and I went out early this morning to inspect the new containment efforts. They appeared to be sufficient so I cam in to start cleaning out their ‘room.’ I did it last night with them locked in the crate and they were quite vocal. There’s nothing like washing a floor with 5 PWD puppies barking in your ear. They seemed to know when there wasn’t a chance of getting out and felt free to bark and make lots of racket. When I was finishing up, they seemed to realize they were going to get released and “assumed the position.” Individually, I try to get them to sit before I let them out – at the very least they have to be quiet.

But, as usual, I digress. When I came back inside to clean up, 3 of the puppies made their escape ;-( So I had to bring them back inside until I could figure out how they were getting out. Bagby(Royal) was doing the potty dance so I took him out whlie Bruce was watering the yard (sprinkler system is not automated yet so he has to turn the zones on and off.) Carrera then wanted to go and he started watering the dog yard while she and I were out there. She thought that was BIG fun especially when I had to pull a couple of the heads up. I am not nearly as fond of getting pond water sprayed on me as the puppies are. Eventually, I brought Pink! outside and she showed me the last flaw (hopefully) in the defenses. They are going over the little piece of fencing I put up to keep Jill from going through the bushes. They don’t need to go through the bushes, they go ON the bushes. They just surf over the tops until they get to the edge and proceed down to the ground. I guess we need less thick bushes or a taller section of fence there. So the yard got some water, the puppies had fun and I found another project.

I took my nap this morning while the puppies had morning siesta. They didn’t seem to miss me.

This evening Indy’s Cindi came by to pick up Bela and we dremeled the toenails on the big and little dogs. They were very good for it but they were rather interested in the grinder. I managed to keep their little noses and tongues off of the business end and they have nice short nails again at least for now.

The new defenses held this evening and no one but Indy escaped. He got tired of waiting and being chased by puppies so he went over the puppy fencing. I am surprised he didn’t break the fence post again but fortunately, he did not. He took a quick trip to the pond and then came back for us to let him in the gate. It was hard to keep the puppies from dashing out when we removed the defenses. Little MiraBela went home with Indy’s Cindi so I am down to 4 puppies tonight. She’ll be back this weekend though.

All are quiet now so I need to get them ready for nighty, nighty, nighty. It gets daylight awfully early these days.

July 6 Pupdate

The little pupsters were quiet until 6ish this morning. I realized part of why when I came down and 3 little black dogs were sitting in the ex pen instead of the crate. The 2 little brown girls, Bela and Carrera, were safely locked into the other but were being quiet, too. Neither of them had any potty troubles though. One of the other puppies had peed on the paper during the night. At least the crate door I didn’t get latched was the one into the ex pen and they weren’t out in the rubber room.

They routinely escape from the back yard now, I spent a large part of the evening reinforcing and staking down orange fencing – they leap on it like a hammock and then wriggle under the bottom when it gives and then climb out the other fence. Indy broke one of the temporary posts over the weekend so it was even easier for them to get out. I think I have it fixed now but we won’t know until in the morning when I let them out.


They are pretty lively for almost 2 hours in the morning now before they need to settle in for naps. I’ve been crating some of them during nap time, together and alone and there is minimal fussing if any. Sometimes the fussing is more from the puppies outside the crate than the one in it.

They have discovered the full joys of shredding paper. They’ve enjoyed playing with it for quite some time but they have elevated itto a new level. Not satisfied to tear up the loose piece I give them so I can deal with the potty station, they have been shredding the one that I fold all around the plastic potty pan. Instead of using a crate pan, I got a Ugopet and I put alfalfa pellets (the rabbit food that still smells like grass) underneath the grid. I then cover that with the paper so they don’t fling alfalfa pellets all over the house. They have been lying there shredding the paper around the edges where it is folded under. Maybe I should wrap their chew toys in paper to make them more interesting ;-)

I managed to get a nap in this afternoon while they were having afternoon siestas. Since the decent weather is early in the am, I have been staying up and letting them play when we get up in the mornings and then doing last call late enough that they don’t have to potty in their crates during the night. It’s counterproductive to crate training if I don’t get them out in time. The big dogs don’t even show interest in getting up with them when I take the puppies through their room on the way outside, they understand sleeping until a decent hour.

Jill is still nursing them a couple of times a day but she has stopped trying to clean up after them. I think she is just nursing them as a formality to keep her influence with them. They are quite intrigued by Jack who doesn’t like them jumping and chewing on him. He generally just avoids them but for some reason, they make a beeline for him. Since he isn’t allowed to jump or run, I have to make sure I keep them away from him.

I think it’s time for nighty, nighty, nighty for the little dogs and me, too. Bruce is going to be sad to see them puppies go, too – he’ll have to go back to doing last call ;-)

July 5 Pupdate

The puppies have had a few naps and are rejuvenated but I am wiped out. It was very hot today and we took them up to the pond. I figured the heat would encourage more water activity and it did but they mostly did it wading.
They were quite happy hanging out under the dock where Carrera jumped another frog and playing at the water’s edge before I took them on boat rides and then let them swim to shore after one. Royal jumped off of the boat while we were further out than I was comfortable with him swimming (and went completely underwater before righting himself and starting to swim) so I scooped him back up onto the boat platform. He rode like a good boy until we were close enough for me to let him swim in.

They eventually ventured up to play under the forsythia and privet bushes for quite a while. It was a little difficult for us to keep an accurate count of puppies in there but we didn’t lose anyone. They had big fun running in and out and around at each other and the occasional big dog that would come through. Indy’s Cindi was happy that no one found anything to eat.

I sat down to post the blog while I was down here to do last call with the dogs and puppies and Carrera decided to show me her new trick. She climbs up the open crate door and on top of the wire crate to shop in the toys that I put away for the night. I grabbed her off and moved the toys but she has figured out how to do it and did it twice more and the next time, I impeded her progress but obviously didn’t dampen her spirit. She’s closed in a crate for the night with her sister but I am going to have to figure out a way to stop that behavior. Even if she doesn’t get hurt, she’s taking years off of my life worrying about her. She’s certainly a smart little athletic thing.

I’d better go nighty, nighty, nighty since I am keeping the puppies from settling all of the way down to sleep by having the lights on. We have progressed to them going to bed at a sort of time instead of when they are already asleep so I need to keep the routine the same. I had to adjust the timing because of Carrera’s antics. My goodness, she is going to be something ;-)

July 4 Pupdate

And now there are only 4 here ;-( Rowdy (fka Limey) has gone to his new home in Cincinnati. He had a nice trip home and has settled right in so far. I hope he has a quiet night but probably not as much as they hope he does ;-)
I still miss him a lot. I am trying to console myself with the fact that the puppies are making their new people happy and will get lots of attention but I’m still having to hit the Fudgesicles hard.

Indy’s Cindi (now also Bela’s Cindi) brought Bela and Cary along with Indy for the afternoon/evening. We had a great water practice with SammieDoodlebug and then Indy before taking the puppies up to the pond. It was much more of a let them gambole around than organized swim and whlie none of them ended up swimming much on their own, we had a lot of up and down the bank and wading and playing. The unmown grass on the hillside is a BIG draw and lots of fun.
Cary found a partial crawdad (I didn’t think we had them in the pond, maybe one of the birds brought and dropped it?) and Bela helped him eat it. I think she may have gotten the lion’s share - it’s a bitch thing. Carrera (fka Purple) played under the dock and enjoyed jumping frogs.
Pink was quite full of herself and even played in the sand pile enough to get a really sandy behind. We heard some fireworks in the distance several time while we were out playing but the puppies didn’t seem to take any notice of it. That’s a good sign. Indy’s Cindi said they had some in the distance at her house last night but the puppies were too sacked out to even notice.
All day long,I thought of things they were doing that I wanted to include in the blog but now I am so tired that I can’t remember most of them. Must be a sign of old age. My computer is also having fits so I think I’ll post this and shut it down. If I think of any of the other things, I’ll put them in another blog.
Nighty, nighty, nighty

July 3 Pupdate

The puppies definitely know the routine in the mornings. So do the big dogs. The puppies need to get outside earlier than the big dogs so they wait patiently as the puppies run out (right past Jack’s crate) into the yard to potty. On rare occasions, one of them has to pee before getting off the decking but that washes away. They run and play and poop – not necessarily in that order. This morning, I had to remember that I only needed 5 poops before I fixed their breakfasts. (If I’m not right there, I don’t know that everyone goes or how it is or any of those other important facts in a dog’s life.)

Jill feeds them when I let her out. She is sleeping in her crate all night but she likes to check on them at last call. She is still such a good mother, she feeds them before she walks the plank. The big dogs are getting up a lot earlier than they usually do so she can probably hold it with no problem but she does go as soon as they have eaten. Then I give them their oatmeal mixture or moistened kibble. They don’t show as much interest in dog food so I try to give it to them on the occasional morning since they seem hungrier in the morning.

This morning I gave them each a blueberry. I was eating them and gave one to each of the big dogs so I decided to include the puppies. Jack will eat whatever I tell him to eat (very handy if he needs to take a pill), Jill is slightly pickier when she doesn’t have puppies and SammieDoodle will see what Jack does with a new food. The puppies’ each took their blueberry and eventually ate them but they played with them a little.

When the puppies had their morning nap, I tried to take a nap and squelch a budding headache (my head only hurts on days that end in Y.) It took a lot longer than I planned but the puppies were quiet. Fortunately, their lunch wasn’t late ;-) Shortly after their lunch, Indy’s Cindi brought (Mira)Bella and Indy back for a visit. Bela (we are having a minor dispute about how many l’s are prettier) just joined right back in with the gang although there was a lot of sniffing going on. We took Indy up to the pond for some water practice and then we le the puppies out to play some more.

Limey got to do some more swimming but in the pool. It was VERY cold (the new filtration is connected but the heat isn’t on yet) but it bothered me a lot more than him. He caught right on to how to climb out the steps and wasn’t afraid but we kept him from falling/jumping in on his own. Since it was so cold, we stopped after him. He is leaving tomorrow instead of waiting until Tuesday so I wanted to make sure he got exposed to the pool swimming. The others can wait ;-)

Bela took Cary home with her for a sleepover. Puppy class is in the middle of the afternoon tomorrow so I won’t be able to go but Debbie (of the swimming border collies) is going to work him in puppy class. I checked on them and they had big fun and were snoozing. The plan is for them to sleep in separate crates but plans sometimes change ;-) Limey will sleep alone tonight but with a view of his siblings. He’ll sleep with his new mom’s shirt again tonight so he’ll be a little more used to the scent of their house. He’ll take his crate pad from here so he’ll have this familiar scent as well. And all I’ll have is fudgesicles (and his siblings who will eventually leave me as well.)

The 4 puppies here tonight are acting like they are ready to go out for last call so I’m going to get things ready for bedtime. Nighty, nighty, nighty…

July 2 Pupdate

Well, it’s all downhill from here. The first puppy went home tonight. She’ll be back and forth all weekend but it’s still sad to have her go. Indy’s Cindi took the Green girl, now known as MiraBella (probably more Bella though.) none of the other puppies have asked where she went and Indy’s Cindi says she’s doing well so far.

The puppies had a nice long playtime outside this morning. They didn’t do any escaping but I did have to rescue the water shoes that have been sitting out there to dry. I cleaned their room inside while they ran and played and gamboled around. They generally seemed to have a good time but I haven’t known them not to have a good time much ;-)

They are getting pretty nippy at times. SammieDoodle and Jill are helping them with that but they also do a lot of telling each other what is too much to use those teeth on each other. I appreciate that.

Limey picked out his new person today. She and her dog came to meet him and he took right to them. While we were visiting, Maya’s (the green girl from the last litter) people stopped by on their way back home from the Greenbrier trail. Unfortunately, Maya didn’t get to come but the puppies were happy to play with the girls. What seemed very telling was that Limey kept choosing to lay at her feet. Often, the puppies will keep coming back to me when other people are around so I often try to stay out of their reach. But this time, we were all right there and he just kept hanging out with her. He also seemed to get along well with the older dog (also named BlackJack.)

Eventually, we brought the puppies back inside to have a siesta and took her BlackJack to the pond to see if he had any interest in swimming. Armed with milkbones (they float) and a couple of dummies, he and I went into the pond. He swam but not very easily so we put the lifejacket on him. He had a pretty good time after that and would swim for the dummy as much or more than the cookies. He was waiting for me to throw it again instead of waiting for the cookie for bringing me the dummy. And he wasn’t trying to leave the water to go to his mom on the shore. It was nice to have a nearly 11 year old doing what he was bred to do – even if it hasn’t been his favorite thing in the past.

When I let our big dogs out, (Jack is supposed to be on walking sedately/crate rest while his neck is healing so they were crated while the company was here) Jill had to be let into the puppy pen so she could nurse the babies. They were only too happy to oblige.

Limey (new call name not definite yet) is going to stay here until Tuesday afternoon so he’s not the first to leave and so he doesn’t have to face any fireworks alone. They haven’t minded the ones they’ve heard here but there’s no point in pushing it by combining leaving home with fireworks.

I better get them ready for bed and go drown my sorrows in fudgesicles. Maybe someone should tell them to be horrible little puppies so I would look forward to them leaving but I’m not sure they could be that bad. They all have that sweet little PWD face that makes you forgive all anyway ;-)

A little less puppy breath to send your way tonight… Nighty, nighty, nighty