Thursday, August 03, 2006

A day in the life



All the pups have been to several neighbor's houses, as well as to friends not quite so close. We have kids coming in out house or yard all the time as well. Today they went down the street (a quiet side street) behind their mother (she was on a leash, they were not) and then they all got back in the yard without too much fuss! Yesterday it rained fairly hard here, and they all went out in it, some hung out more under our porch overhang than others. We emptied our ice-maker's storage bin on the ground too, so they could get a sense coldness underfoot - we will do this again soon, so winter won't be a complete surprise to them. Today we did not get much rain, but we had thunder booming right overhead. None of the pups seemed to be concerned.

We keep them in the kitchen with baby gates at night, and two nights ago we heard a crash (not that unusual), but a few minutes later I heard a puppy sound from where there shouldn't have been one, so I went to the head of the stairs and looked down. The living room was filled with puppy activity, which is prohibited at this time of day. Someone, maybe their mom, had knocked the bottom of two gates out and they escaped underneath, while mom obediently stayed in the kitchen. Time for another round-up, then back to bed, for all of us.

Their nails/claws have been trimmed three times now, and they need it again. Last time, Rosemary used both the Dremmel and clippers so they could get used to both (cautious grinding is really a great way smooth them down). We really haven't thought about clipping them, because their coats are still growing out. Rosemary is the "groomer"; she already told me she doesn't want to "mess up" their coats, but I think just a touch of clipping would be a good experience for them. I'll update this if I get my way on that one!

As I write this on August 3rd, they will be six weeks old tomorrow. We will be weighing them again then, I know we will have several into the seven pound area, or maybe beyond.