Seeing. Walking. Barking. None done very well but all done with enthusiasm and determination. It amazes me how focussed these guys are on their task. If they want to get somewhere by golly they will by hook or by crook. 
One girl got stuck between the ex-pen and my file cabinet – puppies at this age have no reverse so it was a bit of a sweat to get her out of there. I must remember to block that area off – you can try to safety everything but sometimes puppies manage to find trouble anyway. I take them out in the morning to change the paper and all hell breaks loose with the introduction of a new surface – actually it’s not a new surface it’s the same surface but it’s outside the box. This causes all kinds of crying, peeing, pooping and grasping onto each other. I try to keep Halo away during this time as she just throws the “food” instinct into the mix and true mayhem ensues; they know she’s there but since she’s standing they can’t find her – just her feet.
Oh and the little eyes. So cute. Some are all the way open – just a couple are lagging behind – but it’s not like any of them can see anything anyway.
They all have cataract eyes right now – cloudy and glossed over. Once they start opening the process is really fast – they first crack at the inside corner and the lids separate over the course of about 48 hours and suddenly there are the peepers. They can tell light from dark which is why they are so much more restless during the day – at night in the dark they sleep very soundly. This is blue boy - he's saying "No pictures please."
The walking is improving everyday and everyone seems to be at the same stage of steadiness … so zero. Picture trying to walk on the rolling deck of a ship in a storm; that’s how they do it only no ship, deck or storm.
When they do fall they do it with style – unsteady step after unsteady step and then … whoops … and they roll at least once and end up on their back like a turtle. They right themselves and try again. And again and again. They never quit ever. Quitting means you don’t to eat or get to warmth and you could die. This is Maroon girl "standing".
They are also barking at random things. And growling. They try to walk and when they fall over they let out a little half growl bark thing. If they are in a corner and stuck there’s a couple options; they can do the mad frustrated bark/growl or the upset and scared whine/bark. I can usually tell now what the problem is and if it’s the mad bark I wait a minute to see if they find their way out of the corner or not. If it continues I get up to check. Sometimes they get caught between the pig rails and the side of the box and end up yelling. I’ll upgrade to the ex-pen once they’re more steady on their feet – they won’t fit through the bars now but they are comfortable in that space and I don’t want to change it til they can see and walk a little better.
The improvements they’ll make in the locomotion department by this weekend will be astronomical. Their eyesight will slowly improve but they will still be short-sighted even at 8 weeks. Oh, and their volume goes up the bigger they get. Hooray for me. And my neighbours.
One girl got stuck between the ex-pen and my file cabinet – puppies at this age have no reverse so it was a bit of a sweat to get her out of there. I must remember to block that area off – you can try to safety everything but sometimes puppies manage to find trouble anyway. I take them out in the morning to change the paper and all hell breaks loose with the introduction of a new surface – actually it’s not a new surface it’s the same surface but it’s outside the box. This causes all kinds of crying, peeing, pooping and grasping onto each other. I try to keep Halo away during this time as she just throws the “food” instinct into the mix and true mayhem ensues; they know she’s there but since she’s standing they can’t find her – just her feet.Oh and the little eyes. So cute. Some are all the way open – just a couple are lagging behind – but it’s not like any of them can see anything anyway.
They all have cataract eyes right now – cloudy and glossed over. Once they start opening the process is really fast – they first crack at the inside corner and the lids separate over the course of about 48 hours and suddenly there are the peepers. They can tell light from dark which is why they are so much more restless during the day – at night in the dark they sleep very soundly. This is blue boy - he's saying "No pictures please."The walking is improving everyday and everyone seems to be at the same stage of steadiness … so zero. Picture trying to walk on the rolling deck of a ship in a storm; that’s how they do it only no ship, deck or storm.
When they do fall they do it with style – unsteady step after unsteady step and then … whoops … and they roll at least once and end up on their back like a turtle. They right themselves and try again. And again and again. They never quit ever. Quitting means you don’t to eat or get to warmth and you could die. This is Maroon girl "standing".They are also barking at random things. And growling. They try to walk and when they fall over they let out a little half growl bark thing. If they are in a corner and stuck there’s a couple options; they can do the mad frustrated bark/growl or the upset and scared whine/bark. I can usually tell now what the problem is and if it’s the mad bark I wait a minute to see if they find their way out of the corner or not. If it continues I get up to check. Sometimes they get caught between the pig rails and the side of the box and end up yelling. I’ll upgrade to the ex-pen once they’re more steady on their feet – they won’t fit through the bars now but they are comfortable in that space and I don’t want to change it til they can see and walk a little better.
The improvements they’ll make in the locomotion department by this weekend will be astronomical. Their eyesight will slowly improve but they will still be short-sighted even at 8 weeks. Oh, and their volume goes up the bigger they get. Hooray for me. And my neighbours.
Raimi saying hello to his little brother.
1 comment:
They are so cute!
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