Day 28

Wow, I can’t believe 3 days have passed already since my last post!   There’s a lot going on now that the puppies are up and playing, which means much more time spent keeping puppies stimulated and cleaning up after them– and trying to fend off sleep deprivation.   Here’s a recap of events of the last few days.

The puppies are walking much better now, and weigh between 7-8 lbs.   They run through the cat tunnel, climb up and down the ramp, push balls around, pick up toys and shake them around.   They also are chewing and tugging on everything!   While nowhere near consistent yet, they are getting much better at using the litter box.   When I walk in the room, they turn and watch me.  It’s neat.  They are also wanting to explore more outside the puppy area, so they’ve gotten some field trips to other parts of the house.  Today they got to play outside for a bit for the first time (except for other very brief trips while carried).  While there was a little trepidation in the form of whining, it didn’t stop them from exploring.  They would venture out to where they felt uncomfortable, whine a little, maybe run back, then go back out again.   It was nice to see them pushing the envelope on their comfort zone.

A few photos:

Here’s what the puppy pen looked like right after I finished re-doing it.   It is filled with more toys now, though.   The perspective is a bit weird, but it’s the only shot I could get that had all the elements in it.  (Yes, I need a prettier sheet on the ramp.  🙂 )   The puppies like to sleep in the whelping box, on the dog bed by the whelping box, but the favorite is under the ramp.  Many of the puppies are using the ramp or the towels next to the ramp to get out of the box.  A couple still insist on the fast route and simply fall out.   The cat tunnel on the right has a little hanging pom-pom inside that they love to tug on.  It also has a couple entrance/exits in the middle of the tunnel.   They have a fairly large non-slip play area made of Dri-Dek.   The round thing is the potty box, filled with aspen pellets.    Then there’s the Perla bed in the corner for them to play in.

The puppies got to go on their second car ride, to visit our favorite animal chiropractor, Dr. Deb Sell, DC for a puppy chiropractic well check.

Dogs can get out of adjustment for any number of reasons, just like people. Since we ask our dogs to compete in performance events with lots of jumping, weaving, running over uneven ground, etc… we like to make sure they are in prime condition in order to avoid injury.  Our dogs have been going to Dr. Deb for years!

The birthing process itself can cause dogs (and babies) to go out of adjustment because of all the various contortions they go through, so we wanted to make sure the pups were checked out so they could start their life “well-adjusted” physically as well.

The next couple photos are of Purple boy and his sister posing on the ramp.

Looks like it’s time to feed Sport, for the umpteenth time today!   Bye for now–