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| This week our eyes opened! |
“Peek-a-boo”
This was
a big week for the puppies in many respects – the first of which is that their
eyes opened. Miss Lemon was the first of the girls and Mr. Mint was the first
of the boys. It’s not surprising in Mr. Mint’s case: since he’s always so
hungry, we’re sure he felt he could find more food if he could see where he was
going. This development had no effect on Mr. Apple as he continued to enjoy his
meals splayed out on his back. At this stage, the puppies can only
differentiate between light and dark through a kind of haze, but this will
clear up very quickly over the next week or so as they begin to experience
normal sight. They are able to hear quite well as soon as their ears have
opened but it will take some time before the little ones can understand or
relate to what it is they’re hearing.
Another
highlight is the move of the whelping box from our bedroom to the living room
down the hall. Now that the group is well
established, mother Bailey takes advantage of her well-deserved leisure time by
sleeping outside of the whelping box and tip-toeing back into it many times
throughout the day and night to ensure her little clan is well nourished. To
Bailey’s credit, some of the puppies have already tripled their birth weight
and notwithstanding her new sleeping arrangements, she’s on call around the
clock to tend to every whimper.
The
puppies get a lot of practice sleeping and it’s fun to watch them. They nestle
up to their siblings for warmth and security, sometimes in pairs or in groups
of varying descriptions and sometimes in curious patterns, like the other day
when their cluster formed a perfect pinwheel. Despite the fact that the little
ones can be observed sleeping most of the time, they’re still getting a
workout! As they lie there asleep, they
are constantly twitching – a state known as “activated sleep”. These
involuntary actions help strengthen their leg muscles. The net result is that they
are now able to walk on all fours, however “stagger” would be putting it more
aptly. This will surely pave the way for adventures down the road.
That’s it for now, but be sure to join us next week for another
captivating installment of “Puppy Tales”.
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