What a wonderful world it is! |
“Change of Address”
This week Heidi and her puppies made
the big move from the bedroom to their own little hideaway in the library. The
extension was also added to the whelping box to provide some extra room for the
puppies to pick up a bit of speed when they’re on their little walkabouts. No
matter how much room they have, they always seem to gravitate back to that safe
haven known as mom.
This week saw the introduction of
the puppies to gruel or mush: a
healthy concoction of oatmeal, honey, goat’s milk and vitamins to supplement
the feedings they get from their mom. One never knows how a new litter will
embrace this new confection. Initially, the gang was a little apprehensive
about consuming something that their mom did not dispense. With their heads
bobbing up and down into the bowl at high speeds, Mr. Walnut (aka Walter) and
Miss Amber sent a message to the rest of the group that this new delicacy was
indeed fine dining. Before long, a crowd formed around the bowl to see what all
the fuss was about. Apart from nutrition, these feedings have an ulterior purpose
of promoting socialization as the puppies spend their post-mealtime getting
acquainted by licking the sticky mess off one another.
Now that their vision is established,
the puppies are becoming increasingly curious about their surroundings and
about each other. On a recent outing to the weigh scale, Miss Ivory wrapped her
tiny little paws around our fingers very tightly in the sweetest puppy hug,
unless of course the poor thing just felt like she was looking down from atop a
ten story building. Their little personalities are beginning to emerge as they
make facial expressions and use their newfound vocal abilities to communicate
their needs. Mr. Indigo has a very melodic, tiny howl he makes for some
indeterminate reason that periodically resonates from the whelping box. Each of
his siblings, of course has a song of their own.
At the rate they’re growing, it
seems that every other day is spa day for the puppies. With twelve customers, that means
cutting a total of two hundred and eight-eight little nails a couple of times a
week. Fortunately no-one has asked for nail polish yet and at least Heidi is
looking after the balance of their grooming needs for the time being.
That’s it for now,
but be sure to join us next week for another nail-biting installment of “Puppy
Tales”.