busy days

We're back! As expected, it was a hectic weekend full of visiting puppy-families-to-be. The canine gang took it all in good humour. However, after being spoiled by so much attention, they're now getting demanding. Uh oh.

The workload is ratcheting up. The weaning is going really well. They are eating 4 meals a day, all provided by me. Two or 3 of them will be puppy biscuits soaked for a few minutes in warm Lactol and one will be thick porridge. Every other day or so they will have scrambled egg for one of their meals.

Now that Neka is only in with them at night, all the cleaning up is also down to me. That's fine when the weather is good and they can spend time outdoors. Going into the garden regularly also helps with the house training as they get accustomed to doing their business on the grass instead of the fur mat. Unfortunately, however, it doesn't seem to want to stop raining for more than 5 minutes at a time, so we have frequently had spiky puppies as they get caught while I'm frantically trying to clean out the indoor pen. I do have a waterproof sheet draped over the pen to protect them from the sun & rain, but when it's so windy as well, that doesn't last long.

They don't wake us at night so much now except for the occasional teeth-caught-in-the-bars emergency that results in blood-curdling puppy screams that send us rocketing out of bed and down the stairs before our eyes are even open. Of course, by the time we get to the bottom of the stairs, the crisis is over. There is nothing to match the screech of a Finnish Lapphund who thinks he just might, perhaps, have a slim chance of being about to get hurt.

Rise & shine is at about 5:45, which is an improvement on the last litter who woke religiously at 5 am. I guess it's down to the later sunrises. As their day starts with a trip to the garden, I don't dare get going until 7, though, as I'm trying to be kind to my neighbours. Yes, they're noisy. No, not the neighbours...

So if we've all gone a bit quiet here it's only because I don't have quite enough hours each day. And don't even ask about how the lounge painting project is going!

Here's the Devon Nine in their pen this morning.















L-R: Flash, Right Paw, Spot, Big A, Boots
Back: Cross, LMP
and 2 in hiding in between















Not sure who owns that gorgeous little bottom on the left, but that's Cross in the middle and Suck Monster on the right.