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| Mom playing with her babies. |
“Sticks and
Stones”
Puppies
don’t learn about sticks and twigs - they don’t need to. Puppies apparently come
out of the womb already acquainted with their connection to nature’s debris.
Since we had the good fortune of experiencing some reasonable weather, Bailey’s
litter was introduced to the great outdoors. Unlike puppies from some of our
other litters who may cower for a moment as they take in the vastness of the
universe, these fearless little minions wasted no time in darting straight
across the grass, albeit somewhat aimlessly. Miss Champagne was intrigued by a pile of
freshly cut logs - fatalities of the ice storm. Mr. Merlot made a beeline to a
twig and began to munch away at it contentedly. Miss Chardonnay, the heretofore
unfulfilled escape artist was overcome with joy at her newfound freedom and
proceeded to run around in circles. Once their mom was introduced into the mix,
a game of cat and mouse ensued with Bailey occasionally flopping down and
rolling over, allowing the little ones to catch up.
The
gang’s sleeping arrangements have been changed during the week so they are now rooming
with Mango’s litter. This arrangement has been stellar as the moms share the
dwindling nursing responsibilities irrespective of a puppy’s birthright. The group
enjoys their meals together in the mess hall; their food now resembling more of
a chunky porridge than a smoothie. With the transition to a drier form of food,
the little ones are also drinking water to keep hydrated. Of course, what goes
in must come out so the whelping box extension has been filled with shredded
paper to allow the pups to eliminate away from their sleeping area.
Now that
there are a lot more littermates to play with, the action has ramped up and the
gang has made some new friends. Miss Champagne likes to play with Miss Iris whose
tireless quest is to chomp on Miss Champagne’s tail. Miss Chardonnay did a
friendly Ultimate Puppy Wrestling takedown of Mr. Orchid and the two subsequently
rolled around quite gleefully. Mr. Merlot is a social butterfly who plays and
snuggles with anyone and everyone. This is the beginning of the most
influential socialization period for the puppies. They’re learning to
communicate with each other and with us by wagging their tails. With the
increased control over their facial muscles, the puppies are making expressions
and are beginning to reveal their personalities and communicate their opinions!
They are craving a lot of attention and affection and fortunately that’s
something that’s not hard to provide.
That’s it for now, but be sure to join us next
week for another entrancing installment of “Puppy Tales”.
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