Progress

Yesterday, right on schedule, the pups found their mom's food. It amazes me that one day they have absolutely zero interest in anything that isn't pre-heated to body temperature and the next, they're chowing down on stuff that is not only cold, but has to be chewed! But all of them are eating it. Of course, they're still on mom as well. I enlarged their pen from 4' by 4 to 7 by 4' and the extra space threw a couple of them... their eyesight isn't too good as yet (or their brains are developed enough to process what they're seeing) and even though they could see the nest a few feet in front of them, they were lost. Diamond was sitting right there... they were practically under her feet... and after she listened to them whine for about a half hour, she got up and walked into the nest. They followed. And everything is peaceful once again. By this afternoon, they'll be comfortable with the additional space and will even try picking up the pace a little... puppies learning to run is actually quite funny. The other dogs are lying around the pen, noses pressed to the wire, some of the smaller ones sticking their paws inside to touch puppies that get close enough. It will be a while before I let the two groups mingle freely although Diamond is no longer warning everyone away.
They'll be 4 weeks this evening! Picture time again!

The Pups are Off and RUNNING

And so am I.

Puppies first... they have developed the need for speed. While they're not up for chases and "zoomies" yet, they're sure enough on their feet to try a faster pace. They're even getting good at stopping BEFORE the wall hits them... sometimes, in a heap when they trip over their feet, but stopped. All of them are eating well and all are still totally devoted to mom. They've also figured out that if they swarm around her feet when they hear me open the pen for her to get out, some of them can escape at the same time. So many got out at once yesterday morning, I lost one during the roundup. He came out from under the bed... where he's still small enough to walk upright... a few minutes after everyone else was re-incarcerated. So HE got to spend some time ON the bed with me. What a sweetheart! Cuddling is something they must know genetically!

Now for human problems. Gonna get humid later today and over the weekend. I'm NOT looking forward to that. And last night... middle of the night OF COURSE... I had a water pipe burst. The news has been talking about how hard the hot temps have been on the roadways and I guess it's the same for plumbing. You expect it... dread it but admit the possibility... in the winter. But not the summer. So, the water is shut off until the plumber can get out here. He was supposed to call "first thing in the morning" but when I didn't hear from him by 10, I called him. His wife said he was on a call and would try to work me in. But since it's Friday and I have SOOOO much running around to do (pick up newspapers, buy dogfood, go to the post office and then to the bank, stop at the grocery store, you get the picture,) I really couldn't just sit here and wait. I asked to be first appointment on Monday. So now, I'm adding "stop at son's house for quick shower" to my list of things to do in town along with "pick up 2 dozen gallons of water at Walmart." At least I wasn't planning to fill the pool this weekend... no, I don't have a pool, but it sounds inviting when I think about temps in the low to mid 90s!