Bailey and Frank’s Litter – Week Three

Happy 3 week Birthday to us!

 “This Masquerade”

There are two things that Bailey does not lack: cunning and determination. For instance, Bailey is banned from the backyard until she comes to the realization that the whelping box is much better lodging for her puppies than the giant hole she has excavated under a spruce tree. Whenever we let various dogs out into the yard, Bailey stealthily mixes in with the pack by keeping her head down and pressing forward so she can continue with her quest outside. Despite the fact that she bunks in the library with her puppies, when it’s bedtime for the big dogs, Bailey pretends to be one of them and happily enters an empty crate because she knows the routine that a treat is sure to follow. Every morning at a time of her choosing, she makes a pilgrimage down the hall to jostle our bedroom door to advise us that it’s time to get up. What all of that amounts to is one smart lady. And we’re sure her pups are lucky to have her as a mom. In fact, Whitney and Sierra’s puppies are lucky to have Bailey as their “aunt”. We’re not sure what has possessed her, but Bailey has even taken it upon herself to nurse all of these pups as well.

Thanks to Bailey’s tenacity in feeding them, her own puppies are growing rapidly and it’s amazing to watch the transformation every day as they become more mobile and their personalities begin to emerge. We’ve added an extension to the whelping box to give them more room to meander around in and even pick up a bit of speed. When they’re not sleeping or eating, the gang spends time playing with one another. With this being the beginning of a key socialization period for the puppies, they are testing each other’s limits and learning the difference between hard and soft biting.  They also take turns sleeping at the top and bottom of the sibling pile. Since their hunting and chasing instincts are kicking in, they practice with their siblings or their plush toys (unless mom has absconded with them). Their new play station helps them to develop their strength, co-ordination and cognitive skills. All of this stimulation seems to generate huge appetites to the extent that one of the puppies emitted a shriek like James Brown. Before long, the whole crew was howling like a pack of miniature wolves to signal that it was dinner time yet again summoning Bailey to bring the milk truck by.

That’s it for now, but be sure to join us next week for another inspiring installment of “Puppy Tales”.