Chapter 5 -- One Month Old

Wow!  Time flies when you're having fun!!!  I can't believe it's been a whole month since the puppies were born.  It's been such a wonderful four weeks and a huge learning experience.

The puppies grow and mature and find new ways to explore their world every day (maybe every hour!!!).  I love to open the crate and watch them "spill" out onto the floor, eager to see what's new in the world.  I love to watch them play together -- play bow, chew on various body parts, and play tag.  I love to watch, and listen to, them eat their puppy gruel (getting more solid every day).  And I love to watch them sleep, all snuggled up in a big pile of puppies, all content to be warm and together and sleeping.

In honor of their one-month birthday, I made sure to take pictures today.  It was an adventure!  But it was a lot of fun.  Happy Birthday Puppies -- we are so happy you are in our lives for this short, but amazing, time in your lives!!!

(Mama Lucy is doing well.  She is still nursing them and cleaning up after them.  She is a love bug, but she also has her faults -- counter surfing and fence climbing.  We are managing the issues and actively working on some training with her.  She will be a wonderful dog for an active family!)

They are all in there -- just some are choosing to hide from the camera!

Nellie

Glinda

Emmett

Sandy

Belle

Zuko

Cosette

Elphie

Dollie

Millie

"Normal" Life?

Since Lucy and the puppies came to live with us, life has been anything BUT normal.  But that's a good thing.  This family in need has been a blessing to have in our house and the whole family has been working together to make this a wonderful experience for both humans and canines.

Good or bad, right or wrong -- we still have a life to tend to outside of mama and the puppies.  It's been difficult to fit it all in.  Last weekend I judged a great trial at Canine Sports in Vermilion and on Saturday, the whole family went along.  It was a wonderful day of judging, exhibiting, and spending time with family and friends.  But since Lucy can, and will, escape from the pen where the puppies are, we had to hire a "doggy sitter" for the day.  Our friend Augusta came and hung out with Lucy and the puppies all day for us.  Not terribly normal for us.

We haven't had much time to be with our own dogs lately, but they seem to be adjusting somewhat.  At the trial, they both did a really good job, getting great scores and placing in every class we competed in.  Unfortunately, that's a little bit of positive reinforcement for me for NOT training regularly!  But I know the good runs were more a factor of us being excited to play together as opposed to consistent training, so I am trying harder this week to fit in training sessions.

This morning we had things to clean up and papers to change in addition to our "normal" things to get done -- it meant something had to give, so we decided to miss a meeting.  I hate missing meetings, but it just wasn't going to work.  My hope is that lots gets done today so that I don't feel so bad about not going to the meeting.

As a trainer, I encourage my students to fit in training no matter what is going on.  The reality is it doesn't always happen.  "Normal" life is not so normal a huge majority of the time.  But our dogs need us, they need us to play with them, to snuggle with them, to train with them.  Take 3 minutes today and do something with your dog.  The benefits to both of you will be huge!

Puppy Pictures

Taken November 1, 2010.  Puppies are 12 days old. 
Thank you Bernadette and Chondra for the very cute puppy blanket!!!!

Elphie and Glinda

Elphie

Emmett doing what he does best -- laying on top of his brothers and sisters.

Emmett (red) jockeying for his favorite spot.

Elphie loves to suck on Meagan's finger!

Chapter 4 -- A Whole New World

It must be a scary and exciting experience for our puppies -- each day another puppy's (or two, or three...) eyes open and they are starting to see the world around them.  I wonder what they are thinking.  Are they excited?  Are they happy?  Are they curious?  Are they nervous?  Are they scared?  Are they all of the above?  What an interesting thing to think about.  This is all brand new to them.  We have an opportunity of a lifetime -- we can help them to view the world as a wonderful, rewarding, interesting place.

We are thrilled that the Society for the Protection of Animals (S.P.A.) has allowed us the privilege of being this family's caregivers.  It is an experience we will never forget and one we have already been blessed over and over by.  If you are interested in helping S.P.A., or in adopting a new member of your family, please contact them -- www.spaohio.org. These puppies will not be ready for adoption until after the holidays, but they have lots of other cats and dogs who need forever homes right now.

The puppies are growing like weeds and starting to show their individual personalities.  Some are outgoing and gregarious, others are more reserved, some are very vocal and others are content just to eat and sleep.  They are all very active and very social.  Some of them are starting to be a little more independent and some of them love to always be a part of their sibling group.  It is great fun to watch each of them every day as they grow and change and become individuals.

I will have new pictures sometime this week!!!!