New Experiences

The pups can see AND hear. AND walk. Well, they sort of walk... two steps, fall to the left, three steps, fall to the right, two steps, bang nose on floor.... They are growling and barking at each other and at every little sound they hear. ANd today I saw a couple sitting, facing each other, using their paws as battering rams... before they both fell over.

AND just about everyone has managed to get out of the new TWO ring pool. They are only getting out where their mom is lying... she is never more than an inch or two from pool side (except when she goes OUTSIDE and tries to enlarge the mud puddles. There is a layer of dirt in the puppy pool from where Emy has tracked it in.) Anyway, she is always lying right next to the pool and the pups have all learned to track her down, kinda rear up on their back legs and just kind of fall out of it when they get hungry. As soon as she gets to her feet, or whenever I look in and count fewer than 7 pups in the nest, I pick the wanderer(s) up and fill the pool up again. Another week and they'll be spending much of their time exploring the pen outside the nest, getting into Mom's food and drinking water.

They grow up so fast!

Cotton's ultrasound
We have more buns in the oven! Yesterday's ultrasound confirmed the pregnancy. A number of good, solid heartbeats (we don't count them) and the fluid is nice and clear, so things are looking good. Doc DID say the fetuses look a little bigger than 30 days old, but since she was covered only twice, they're either 30 0r 32 days along. She usually has REALLY big litters for a dog her size (28 pounds) - 13 the first time and 11 the second - so maybe there are fewer pups this time around. She's done really great before, but fewer pups would be just fine with me.