Puppy Play Time

Teasle keeps an eye out!

Teasle isn't worried about the pups now although she is very interested in any food they may leave.  However, she does like to keep an eye on them sometimes.  Here is Dora being watched and you can see how Harry learned to get in through the cat flap!! :)

Dora is our little Diva.  Small and cute and very very cuddly, she can shiver to order and ask for love then turn around and she is beating up on the others just as much as they beat up on each other :)  Teasle, out for a walk today lept into the back of the car so easily. When it came to coming home time she did a very good "it's too high, I can't get in :("  However when she was put aside and Molly just jumped in, Teasle followed very quickly!!.  She is going to be a gorgeous dog and a great companion, just as Teasle is!

Weighing and Worming

The pups are wormed every 2 weeks as I think I have mentioned before.

Friday was week 6.  At week 2, they simply fitted onto the kitchen scales - covered in cling film for hygiene of course.  At week 4, we had an old ice cream container to 'contain' them.  At 6 weeks, they tend to move around rather a lot, so I used the old milk container.  Dora and Rafferty were the only ones we could leave for a microsecond in order to take a photo!!

Here is Rafferty:

...and here is Dora!

Puppy Play Time

Wow, it was icy today!!! Everything was frozen.  However, the pups were snug and warm on their two layers of vet bed with the stone hot water bottle between the two and sundry other blankets they like to snuggle up in.If anyone sees a stone hot water bottle for sale (not an antique one, a plain one) please let me know.  I have been trying to get another one for ages!!!! I managed to collect a couple more bruises slipping over on the kennel which I had stupidly washed down while trying to clear it of the usual overnight mess.   However, at least it is dry - much nicer for us all, but especially the pups. They get a lovely warm puppy milk drink at night with a newly hot water bottle.  They don't need the milk now, but they love it and really dive into the milk when I put it down! At least they go to bed with a very full tummy as well as food for midnight feasts.  I don't currently read them a bed time story which will be a relief to any sane person reading this :)

The other nice thing about this weather is that we can go out for half an hour before feed times and they all get to run around in the garden, so they have puppy play time. Usually, when I call "puppy play time" they all come running to be lifted out.  If I am out doing anything else they sometimes come out into their 'garden' and ask for a cuddle and a play.  It is impossible to refuse those little faces :)

Today, Freddie's future family came to visit him as everyone came out.  I put a collar on Freddie so that he was easy to distinguish and also on Bramble because Poppy was masquerading as Bramble yesterday and got me all confused (not difficult that).  They all had a really lovely play and it was interesting to  see a few start to cry at the kennel to go back in. There you have it, we were out for about 45 minutes (I think) and even Bramble was tired.  All are, of course, now fast asleep with very full tummies.

I will try to get a bit of video when they have their afternoon play!

Missing you already!!

Yesterday, Rafferty (aka Little Blaze) went home to live with Richard, Emma, Harry and Barnaby.  Here is Barnaby looking a bit dischuffed with the intruder on his mummy's knee!  Apparently he had been awake for all his journey home and then slept the last 5 minutes. On arriving at his new home, he walked in, found the water bowl, had a drink and checked out Barnaby's food bowl before he had his own food and settled down to with his new family.  Looking forward to meeting him at training as we start the working chocolates movement with wit, repartee and tongue in cheek competition for the best trained chocolate labrador :-D

Harry also went off, quite happily, to join his new family.  He is surely being richly loved already and I will see him again at Christmas and, hopefully he will also join the previously mentioned movement :)

Bramble had, of course been used to sharing her cage with Harry.  She was fine for most of the day.  I have to admit then, early evening, she seemed to realise someone was missing!  I found a nice soft toy dog that Molly and Teasle carry around and popped that in with her. She settled down and at bed time, when her cage was covered over, she settled to sleep quite happily. She seems quite content currently settled on the vet bed with her head on the toy dog. She will keep that unless she starts to chew it up. I started to settle them all down at 9pm last night. Consequently Bramble was asking to go out at 6am.  Still not bad, she had been clean and dry all night so it 

What a difference a day makes!

Wow! It seems ages since I blogged.  Days are flying past with pups and work :) The pups are really coming out of themselves now, enjoying playing and gambolling around.  They have only a short span before they are tired and ready to sleep.  Especially if they have a crate.  Harry (aka Blaze) was in with Bramble and Freddie (aka Little Bear).  Freddie's new mum and dad came to visit and he had a really good play before settling down very nicely for a snooze. Consequently I let Bramble and Harry have a play in the kitchen and utility while we were working in there. Eventually we went into the dining room and so they followed us. After fights with brushes, mops and vet bed, they moved onto electrical flex and were immediately whipped up and put back into their crate whereupon, because they are used to it, they snuggled down and immediately went to sleep. They even looked quite cute! :)

Blaze takes his medicine - as though his belly isn't big enough already!!!

Here is Blaze thoroughly enjoying his antibiotics and honey. It certainly goes down well.

..the vet made comment about Blaze's lovely big belly. As you can see, he is very proud of it's size after his tea.  Don't worry; by morning it will all have been made into more Blaze :)

Columbus (aka Big Curly) enjoys his cuddles - best day ever!!

So here is Columbus enjoying a lovely cuddle. He likes to climb my clogs and nibble my trousers in order to get the attention he feels he deserves. He is, of course, quite correct. His curls are showing quite well here. Probably because he had a nice bath and cuddle dry this morning. 

Columbus is watching Paws playing with Molly so it is a bit difficult to get him to 'pose'. He really is a lovely dog and I have told him he is going to live by the seaside so to get used to getting wet!! :)

Paws' (aka Little Curly) day in

Today it was Paws and Columbus' turn to be in for extra fuss and cuddles. Here is Paws having a cuddle, shortly after his tea and milk. That is the last milk as they don't really need it. 

So, the shiny bits in his face are where he pushed his face into the bowl.  He certainly enjoyed it! 

Paws then went down for a play.  First he spent some time with his mum, but once he remembered where the milk bar is, she decided against a game.  Aunty Molly, however did play very nicely with him. He also had a lovely game with a teddy and a pheasant (soft toy variant). Paws is keeping Blaze company tonight :)

Just a spoonful of honey helps the medicine go down!

Well, Blazey Blaze ( who will soon have a new name) is the little guy who went to the vet yesterday. His foot was still sore although not getting worse and I just wanted it checked. He went into the same room that he was in an hour after he was born as his cord had ripped too close to the tummy and just needed a ligature to stop it bleeding. He was as good as gold then as he is now.  He has been inside in a cage for over a week now to keep his paw clean and bathed in salt water every couple of hours.  Indeed, he was put out before we went, then into the car, waited in the waiting room was seen by the vet who said the toe was slightly infected; just needing some antibiotics and continue bathing.  He was winging a bit, and I expected a puddle in the box.  However, despite having to wait out a trip to the garden centre (discussed in the previous post)  he waited until we got home and when I put him out he did a very long wee. What a stirling chap!!!  He wasn't too impressed with the antibiotic though, that took some manipulation to get it down in tiny bits. Consequently, this morning, I crushed it and put it on a teaspoon with some honey - now that was a different matter altogether - went down very quickly :)  That's a boy with a sweet tooth!!!

A life in my day!

The time is disappearing so quickly I am beginning to think I have been pushed down a worm hole!!! Yesterday was particularly crazy.  My mornings are covered at speed as, once I go outside, the puppies are eager to say hello.  Their little noises are like a baby's cry designed to get you to do something - I have to put Molly & Teasle out and the pups who have been inside then open the kennel and clean off the floor of the run before food goes down.  Then they are all yelling for breakfast so the food needs to be out and ready or they get very cross.  Not a problem for them as they can actually wait - they are not starving as they try to make out, but I do worry that my neighbours will start to complain!!  However, I found a little trick this morning. I put the inside pups out just for the necessary and then put them back in the big cage while I then put Teasle in with the puppies which keeps them quiet and, although she is not best pleased, at least drains her down a bit as she still does have a little milk.

Then I can wash down, feed the pups and clean out the kennel box without too much of a scrap with the puppies as they try to walk over the floor I am cleaning!!!

Then the vet bed goes into the washing machine along with other assorted towels and the blanket from around the stone hot water bottle they have overnight.

Eventually, by 9am I am ready for a shower and breakfast!!!

A quick nip outside for the indoor pups and after a brief game they are ready for a good snooze.  Today I can blog (and worry about the actual work I need to get on with) but yesterday it was organising a trip to the vet and the garden centre to find something to stop the garden area the pups have from looking like the Somme - some of them were about to start building trenches!!! Then, realising that Teasle also needs to be fed, a trip over to see Gaynor for more food and for her to check Teasle out for me; to find out I need to pop her in with the pups a couple of times a day - which brings us back to the beginning!!!

My wonderful husband, Alistair, sorted out the garden and then it was back to feeding and preparing 2 pups to meet the final prospective family.  I have been so lucky to have such lovely people wanting to have my pups as their pets; it makes it so much easier to let them go.

Then, blow me down! it was time for dinner (curry...mmmmmmmmmm) and bed!!!

It is all worth it for the lovely pups and their future families. :)

There are some lovely photos, taken by Little Blaze's future dad here:  www.dogtraining.isgreat.org/choc Richard already comes to training with his chocolate spaniel ( yes, it is registered as a chocolate (not liver) spaniel) and we are looking forward to some wit and repartee as we train our new pups together with Gaynor.  Antone living around Leicestershire - I strongly recommend her training classes whether you just want to get control over your pup as a pet or would like to have a go at moving him or her along as a gundog.  I will try to upload more, with photos a little later today :)

Blaze and Dora

Today, Blaze remained in, nursing his sore foot - 3 hourly saline bathing. He has had various friends in so that he doesn't miss them.  Today he had Bramble and Little Blaze in for a while in the morning. Both  Bears came in, Button and Dora.  Dora is staying in with him tonight again as she seems to settle nicely with him. They both came in for an extra play this evening.

Here is Blaze - a lovely pup who is still looking for his family.

...and here is aDoraBle Dora looking so very cute. :)

.... and here attacking the vet bed! Hmmmmm, showing her rougher side :)

Blaze and Dora take on Aunty Molly

Little invalid Blaze decided to take on Molly today - his sore foot can't be giving him much trouble!!!

...and there is Dora disappearing behind Aunty Molly's back. Molly played for a few minutes - not impressed when they tried to take the ball!  Both puppies stood up quite well to the huge Molly playing.  Good practice for learning doggy manners.  It should be interesting when Bramble gets going in the garden with her.  I have a feeling that Teasle will take a back seat! :)

Dora was privileged to have a short feed off Teasle - she hasn't let anyone else near her for a day or two now - well, their teeth are very sharp.  I think Dora must have been quite gentle to get any sort of a feed.

Nearly 5 weeks old!!!! - In and out of the kennel :)

I must apologise for the dearth of news - it is not for want of excitement!  On Friday we had the claw clipping, weighing and worming ceremony which was  great fun. Over the weekend the pups really livened up as they were visited by their prospective families.  Big Curly is now Columbus, we have Bear, out of Big Boy and Little boy who are very close to the same size now, it is difficult to tell.  He does have red nail polish though but I don't think he gets laughed at :) Little Blaze has a lovely new family and Daisy May is now aDoraBle Dora and is becoming a bright little explorer too!  Chunky Monkey has been finally claimed by me after great deliberation and is now known as Bramble (and quite a few other epithets - she remains feisty; but we can work with that - can't we Gaynor??) Little Curly also has a lovely new family and there is a bundle of fur, a German Shepherd pet  living with Grandma who I am sure will become a good pal and partner in crime.  Another family are agonising between Button and Little Bear (who is the same size as Big Bear, give or take a 100g!!!). Blaze is in at the moment as he has scraped his back paw so is sleeping in our cage with one or another of the pups for company. He is quite content on his own, actually, but needs to be with other pups at this time in his life.  I am making sure that everyone gets to stay in so that they can all get used to the noises and get extra fuss, cuddles and exploration - yesterday was the last time I will have all in at once - it is impossible to maintain any sort of control now they are getting so active :)  Last night Blaze had Bramble in with him, yesterday he also had Curly Girl and Dora for company.  Currently he has Little Curly and this afternoon I shall bring in Button and Little Bear so that we can take some footage and notes for Lucia and Ed to help them choose.  Curly Girl is now also waiting to be chosen as her first family now can't, but we are working down the waiting list and are sure that someone will want to have such a cute and placid little pup to live with them.

Enough, it is now time to feed pups again and to walk Molly.  Teasle has nearly had enough of feeding them - they have very sharp teeth! They are now on Chudley's puppy food and it is not too soft, so there is a 'bite' to it that should help with those teething problems!!  More, with pictures, later I hope - no promises :)

Chunk Monkey and Chunky Chappie get Active - 9th Nov

I hope the video works - I had split the pups into 3 after morning exercise and while the pup pen dries out after the Big Clean. Daisy May had woken up for a cuddle and then demanded to go out for a wee.  I put her back in with others for a sleep as Chunky Monkey and Chunky Chap were waking up and she looked to be wanting a sleep.  The video shows what ensued and I am trying to get it to upload!!!  Chunky Monkey is the one who swaps pupmobiles and she ends up next to Big Curly in the purple pupmobile. :)

Later, both Chunky Monkey and then Curly Girl both woke up and created a din until put outside to relieve themselves - quite amazing :)  They all now wander off and chunter when feeding and they need to go outside.  They are very clever puppies!! :D

Up and at 'em!!!

Today the pups are looking much more lively :)  After an exciting day yesterday with a few visitors; today was a little quieter, especially as the weather was so bad that the pups weren't put outside at all, in fact I put their 'tent' back up to keep them warm.  I also fed them 3 times today. Having tried a couple of things I finally tried 3 trays with discreet dollops of food and that worked better although the mess spread as far, the pups seemed to be able to get into the food more easily.  Having completed the ceremony this morning and had the pups through in the dining room while the puppy pen in the utility room dried off after the Big Clean, I fed them again at 12, put them back into the pen cleaned up again and stood ready to have a quick break!!! Alistair came along and asked if I had taken an inventory - as there was a pup (Chunky Monkey) sat happily on the vet bed in the dining room :D That would be Cheeky Chunky Monkey ;)  Later on, 'Not So Little Boy' decided to take on the cast iron door stop cat while Blaze 3 totally ignored Baggins the huge cat and Baggins the huge cat ran away from the small puppy (Baggins is a great friend of the dogs, plays with them and cleans their ears, but discretion is the better part of valour when it comes to puppies) ;)

Working today so I'm afraid there aren't any photos but we will do better tomorrow.

Eating pup - style - not for those of a nervous disposition

Despite missing our Tosh, the puppies still needed to be tended. I started with cuddling Big Curly for quite a while this morning while sitting with Tosh - he is very sweet and that did cheer me up!

The ceremony of the feeding took place at about 8am.  The pups went outside being adjured to 'Hurry up - Be quick' while I set out the trays of  starter meal.  They were then put up to the food with the recall whistle (bit of Pavlov's dogs - the hope is that it will reinforce the recall - always worth using a whistle - acme 211.5).  They then walk through and around while doing their best to eat - and wear the food - helping out by licking each other too.

Once they seem to be finished (tricky to tell - but when they consistently walk away from the food), they are put back outside with the same 'Hurry Up be quick' command, said as best possible as a pup is actually performing, with a cuddle and 'good dog' once they had performed. (Don't want them performing on 'good dog' that could be unfortunate)  :>) Blaze 3, or maybe Little Blaze, I forget, now, backed himself up to do his wee and poo down the drain - and managed most of it - there is only a very small hole by the pipe - the rest is covered!!!! There was a pup busy over there yesterday, but I don't know if it was the same one. I am  amazed at how they go to one corner to perform in the cage.  I saw Curly Girl and others wandering off away from mum when she was tiny (a couple of days)  to do a little wee.

Here Big Curly is last to finish - doing his best to clean up - but it took Molly and Teasle to sort it out.  Note I went for newspaper underneath to help the pups stand and to minimise the clean up - still requires a change of clothes though!!!

Later that evening, Teasle went in to feed them:

Note the big fat tummy there - Chunky Monkey has obviously had quite sufficient and  is taking her ease :>)

Staftly Sovereign, ourTosh, bounds off to the Elysian Fields

There's one more angel in heaven - one more star in the sky since Tosh went gently into the long goodnight today.  She was 14 yrs and 8 months old (101.5 human years) and a fantastic dog.  KC reg as Staftly Sovereign, she was gentle and loyal. She would only retrieve a specific graphite ring.  I used to run round Rutland Water with her, throwing the ring and she would go and fetch it while I ran on.  One time she was taking so long that I stopped and looked for her. The air current must have taken the ring across into the water and she was swimming around and around looking for it.  It took some persuasion to get her to come back and then we had a terrible job getting another - although they sell them at Whitwell now :)  If we gave her a biscuit she would walk around with it for ages to show everyone before eating it, and she would snitch on anyone having had a snack and leaving the wrappers around, bringing them down so gently in her front teeth.  I got Molly 31/2 years ago when Tosh appeared to be failing. She was so patient with the pup and got a new lease of life. In training when I had to go back and forth, she would always follow me although she must have been exhausted.  Lately, she has enjoyed staying with Gaynor when we went away, sleeping where she pleased to the disgust of the Norfolk Terriers and enjoying seeing all the coming and going.  She didn't like to be shut away, even while we had meals and would paw the doors, making more noise than would be expected from such a gentle dog.

This year we all had a great holiday in Ireland (photos above) although she found the journey arduous and we had to nurse her for a few days to get her up and running.  However, that was no longer an option.  Tosh, my little shadow - I will miss you so much.

Curly Boy, sitting up like a real dog!!!

Curly boy sitting up like a real dog... I hope to catch more of them all sitting like this as they do now, but not always in a good place for  a photo.  They walk a little like Polar Bears sometimes, but do carry their heads high when  they are pottering about and playing together which they have just started to do.

After the meal - out to the loo!!!

Once the pups have eaten I put them outside the back door, waiting for them to tiddle and saying 'hurry up - be quick' as they do so.  Hopefully, they will learn to 'go' on command - as my older dogs do.  Not immediately of course but it does set them off with a will :)  After their exercise they are put back, either into the pen or into the pupmobiles (had to buy another basket {Asda cheap laundry basket - just right!}- far too heavy to carry the whole litter now!!)

Eating minced beef ... great fun!!!

Here we have a series of photos of the puppies eating minced beef this morning. It worked well, which is more than can be said of the starter food I tried this evening. I am just grateful for a Molly dog who cleaned the floor beautifully for me - ably assisted by Teasle :)

Chicken Flavoured Puppies / Chicken Stuffed Puppies - recipes here

So, how do you get chicken flavoured puppies?? Well, today's ceremony of the start of weaning gave a good demonstration.  I am afraid I don't have photos, but will try again tomorrow when we will be trying beef flavoured puppies ;)

First, take your chicken breasts and liquidise them until they are very soft. Next, find a large clean tray and pile the chicken onto the tray. Then, having the pups in an enclosed space so that you know which pups have had a go (I used the pupmobile) and sitting on a low stool, take your first puppy, take a small ball of chicken and put it to the puppy's mouth, so that the chicken is smeared a little onto the puppy's mouth.  The puppy will eventually start to lick the chicken.  As they are used to feeding from mum, the trick is to take the fingers down, putting the puppy near the tray, so that they learn that food may be low down. You may need to guide the puppy's face back to the chicken a few times, until they really have the idea. Once the pup is really interested, let the pup go towards the pile and lick at that.  This is when you pick up your next puppy, bearing in mind that your hands are now covered in chicken.  Once this pup is ready to be left to the pile, pick up the first pup and put it back where you wish it to relieve itself - in my case, the paper in the puppy pen. In a few days, they will be put onto the grass for this purpose.  This is repeated until all puppies have had a turn.  Then change all your outer clothing, put it into the washing machine and have a shower.

Repeat a second time that day and you will get....chicken stuffed puppies:

I did discover that a little comb does get a lot of the dried chicken out of their coats, but they don't like it too much.  Well, they should be used to it by the end of weaning if it carries on this way :)