January 9, 2010

A very busy last few days. The puppies and mom spent Thursday afternoon at the Animal Shelter. They all got checked out by the vet, then passed to a willing volunteer for playtime. They’ve all gained weight and have the appropriate puppy belly. I stayed home and cleaned! I emptied their enclosure and did a thorough scrub. I did enjoy the solitude.

That evening and the next day, mom was less willing to nurse the pups. But we used our tricks (tasty treats) to make that happen. After consulting with the shelter staff, we decided to continue to feed the gruel to the pups every 3 or 4 hours, but cut down their on nursings. Maybe that way, mom will be more willing. That worked nicely – the pups are able to settle themselves without nursing and get some sleep. Mom gets more time to relax.

Last night we finished a feeding at 10:30. That seemed too early for the last on of the day, but I didn’t really think I’d wake up at 1:20 or 2 for another round. We left them with lots of food to see what would happen. I didn’t wake up until 6am. Everything was quiet. And mom had spent the night outside of the enclosure. Wow. But inside was a mess. Not only did those little guys eat and slobber, but they pooped too. Up to this point, we’d done minimal poop cleanup. I guess we’re in a new phase. Then when mom heard that I was awake, she stirred, which caused the pups to wake up and walk right through the mess. Needless to say, I’ve already done one major cleaning job.

Today’s task: reconfigure the enclosure so that they can clamber at the door without tracking through the mess.