Spa Day for Mama!

Callie finally got a nice, long postpartum bath today. The pups are old enough for her to go on a brief furlough to Mud Puppies where we scrubbed and combed and blow-dried and brushed and got her all clean and fresh again! Ahhh... just what a postpartum mom needs! She tolerated everything quite well... the bath and drier, the teeth brushing (though clearly not a fan, and obviously this was an area her previous "guardians" had neglected), and the ear cleaning. Her nails need more work. They are quite long, and though we have trimmed them before, it will take some careful, frequent, routine trimming to get them really short again, since the quicks grow out when nails get long. We are going to try using a dremel to file them beginning this week since so many groomers swear by them now!

Four Weeks Old: Food & Fun

The puppies are 4-weeks old today! Yesterday we began feeding them some puppy gruel (long-soaked high-quality kibble with a bit of canned puppy food all smashed together and soaked in warm water) after noting a lot of grousing in the pen and a couple of puppies crunching on Mama's hard kibble. Everyone has been nibbling at it... but they still all would rather be with Callie. However sweet Callie is getting understandably less enthusiastic about having puppies who now weigh a combined total of half of her own weight tackling her every time she comes into their pen. She has been extending the time she is out of their pen now, enjoying some Mama time off. The food will help them all take the next step toward weaning.

The puppies all walk well now, and continue to grow and grow! All but Crumbs are at least 3 pounds now. Today we will revamp their puppy pen again so that it is lined with newspapers and has more interesting toys and structures in it. We will also continue to handle them all multiple times a day. This is a very exciting time in their development!

Three Weeks Old: Walking Tall!

What a week!!! The puppies are walking... and just starting to play. They are beginning to show some interest in mama Callie's kibble and taking notice of their surrounding environment. And.. did we mention ADORABLE?! Check out the photo albums for more photos and movies. Beware, they are irresistible!

Callie is comfortable letting all of the other foster dogs near her pups now, which gives her a bit more time to hang out with us in the rest of the house! However she reminded us again tonight that she is a "fair weather friend"-- she has a bit of storm anxiety. It is easily managed, a mild case for sure, but she prefers to be in safe and sound with her people if there is adverse weather. We try not to think of the circumstances she may have had to endure before finding us that led her to those feelings.

Eyes and Legs and Two Pounds... Oh My!

Callie and her babies have had a huge week. The puppies are growing SO much every day. Choo-Choo was the first to have her eyes peeking open a crack on May 5th. By today, Cara has her eyes open too and Coal & Casey's eyes are open a teeny crack. Only Crumbs & Caboose have their eyes tightly shut at this point. But Crumbs is WALKING! He is the first one up on his little legs, that light weight finally giving him an advantage. And three of the puppies have hit the TWO pound point as of today. When people ask us HOW we can do this, litter after litter, this is how: 2-5 weeks is absolutely a JOY. The puppies are irresistibly cute and Callie is doing all of the hard work. This part is puppy bliss!