Back To Work - Today

The Arboks are 11 days old.

Wouldn't you know it?  A beautiful morning, 67 degrees and less humid, and today I go back to work.  I'd prefer walking around Como with Argus, then having breakfast at White Castle, BUT my bank account is looking pretty skimpy right now, in dire need of replenishment, and there's a mortgage payment due soon.

The Arboks are doing well and growing like mad.  Reebok certainly could have fed more than five!  She comes upstairs more often now, but at the first demanding squeal from her brood, she races back down to check on them.   It's amazing how rapidly the spots are coming through right now, they change almost hourly.  The patterns on the black-spotted boys are pretty clear now, but I'm still waiting on the liver girls who have very thick coats.  I can tell they have nice patterns, just can't see anything very clearly.

Black Boy 2

This morning the pups were trying to walk.  Well up on their legs now, but they still flop over after a few steps.  They stalk around shouting, "Mom, mom, mom", expect to encounter her after a few steps, and get very vocal if they don't.  I noticed a few eye corners cracked this morning too, so pretty soon we can start checking eye color and see if the rims are actually complete.  It's getting fun now, watching the changes from day to day.

 I've been cutting their nails so none of the pups have scratches on their heads, but they do get pushy trying to claim the best nipples.  Keeping the nails trimmed makes things more comfortable for both mom and sibs.  Those little pointy nails have nasty hooks if they are not trimmed and they can make long nasty scratches on their siblings' heads and their mother's breasts.

Each pup gets handled every day, held in a variety of positions, restrained on its back, and held up to my face while I breathe on it and speak softly to it.  Soon they will be looking back at me and hearing my words.  Can't wait!