An Early Start

Weather at 6 weeks

Blogging early today as I've already been up for an hour.  Not because I had to get up, but because I couldn't sleep.  Heaven knows I need the rest, but if I wake up at 4:00 or later I just can't get back to sleep and I hate to lay there and let worries crowd my mind.

Nothing that actually NEEDS to be worried about (knock on wood) but all the little concerns that crowd my mind and seem so much more serious while tossing and turning in bed.  It's a stunning morning, so with a lovely cool breeze coming through the patio door and a cup of strong hot coffee to enjoy, things all seem so much better right now.

The pups are quiet in the morning (so far) until I wake them to clean their pen and feed them.  The radio that's tuned to a rock station covers up the small household noises and the basement is quiet and dark.  I'll feed the adults, then do some major cleaning of the pen, and dispense a lot of hugs.  The pups are very happy to see me and everyone begs to be picked up.   Hopefully the pen is not too gross, but the pups are dealing with coccidia right now, a protozoan infection common in pups.  I'm sure it lives in my elderly basement as well as my yard, so I'm used to dealing with it when we have pups.  It causes loose stool which makes pen cleaning a little messier and requires LOTS more newspapers, which reminds me - I MUST find some more newspapers today.  Pups are cheerful and feel fine, other than eating a bit slow occasionally.  Things should be better (as in more solid) today as the medication takes effect.  Weather was the first to show symptoms and Letty the last.  OTHERWISE the pups are going great.

Reebok goes home this weekend (she's a good dog but I will be glad to send her home), but I've offered to keep Rosie's pups for an extra week as her life is pretty busy right now.  Whether I keep 3, 4 or 5 pups doesn't make much difference in the amount of work.  I want to work on noises a bit more as Weather is a bit sound sensitive and I want to get her used to more noises before she leaves.  She seems to have gotten over the a$$hole who gunned his motorcycle next to the puppy pen when I took them down to meet up with Rosie.  The pups all sat and watched the shop vac the other night and offered to attack it if I would let them out of their pen.

The pups are spending increasing amounts of time outdoors now.  Not in the morning before I go to work (don't want puppy yapping to disturb the neighbors) but they go out at noon for an hour or two (Ron brings them in after I go back to work), when I get home from work, and again at dusk.  They are quick to pee when they hit the grass, so are catching on to that.  If I lived in a rural area they would be outdoors full time now, but that's not possible for us.

When the litter is outside for the last time, the pups come in with me one at a time to explore other parts of the house, interact with the adults, and get a little training and some one-on-one.  It's important the pups learn to be comfortable without their littermates, and it's an important part of socialization.  It also gives me a better chance to evaluate their individual personalities.  Letty who is incredibly brave about everything, Lucas who is equally brave but more independent, Weather who is a bit more cautious and will stop and think like Rob used to do, Sloan who is brave enough but would prefer to sit on my lap, and Virgil who explores but drops his tail when he encounters new things. He and Weather will get more indoor time for the next few days. Weather is more cautious about the big dogs and worries about being stepped on, while Virgil LOVES being in the midst of them.  Tonight I'll have all the pups loose with all the adults at the same time, so they get used to ducking out of the way when things get lively!

No new puppy pictures, I've taken none since Sunday.  Better remedy that tonight!  Wish I could get a picture of Reebok playing and trying to get Argus to join in.  The minute she sees the camera she stops and comes over to me, so guess it won't happen.  She's going through the Post Puppy Crazies now, doing laps in the family room and even playing with toys (which she rarely does otherwise).

The days are stressful at work as the new accounting system is anything but SWIFT, and the conversion from old to new had lots of glitches.  We're slowly mastering the new procedures, but everyone keeps encountering roadblocks, and we're getting so far behind in our work, waiting for problems to be worked out.  I try to concentrate on the things that go right, and how much I have learned already. Sounds as if we are going to be authorized for overtime which will help a lot.  There is so much to do, and the new processes require many more screens and steps.  I could sure use the money and once the pups have gone on to their new homes I'll probably work an extra hour a day.

Poor fish are getting short changed here, and I have had little time to watch them. They're getting fed, but I really need to find the time for some water changes!