Things that make you go "aww . . ."

There's a lot of cute moments with a dozen puppies. They don't try to be cute, they just are.

Della and Sierra

Peroni sleeping, mouth open

Allagash (dark merle) spooning with Abita

Carlsberg snuggling with Della. They don't show
here, but Carlsberg is the one who has the black
sleeve like Della on one of his front legs.

While Carlsberg sleeps, the rest of the pack struggles for
positions at the bar.

They can now get out of the wading pool but so far they only do so when Della is near and they are hungry.

Brew Dogs

Here are pics of the pups with their namesake beers at two weeks and two days of age. Eyes are opening. They are becoming more animated and active. They are developing Dane-like snouts. They are becoming vocal.

Abita standing on four sturdy legs.

Modelo, eyes open

At 3.5 pounds, Paulaner is leading the pack in growth and weight gain.

Allagash is still under three pounds, but is agile enough to make it out of the
wading pool when he wants to.

Stella, showing some claws, which Clay has been clipping already,
more puppy training.

Duvel used to be one of the lightweights, but no more.

Carlsberg is second only to Paulaner in size. 

Peroni is pretty in pink (which is how I remember her name).

Killian flashing his baby blue eyes.

Sierra's wrinkly face shows the growth of the snout.

Guinness, one too many?

Chimay gets two pics this time because
there's no way I could choose between them.

Good pup, good beer.

Della at Dusk

Puppies are cute, everyone loves them, me included. But at my core, I'm a fan of Della first and foremost. She was the dog we set out to save. Della was in a shelter and wasn't doing well. She was said to be terrified of men especially. When I hear those words I immediately think of former foster dogs with similar stories, including Maddie, Harper, and my own little girl Maya.


So when I heard there was a scared female cowdog in a shelter in Chesterfield, I didn't want to wait for Green Dogs to arrange a transport, I went to get her myself. Maybe it was the sliced turkey I took along. Maybe it was just getting out of the shelter. Maybe it was just the innate need in domesticated dogs to trust someone, and in a pinch, anyone. Whatever it was, she was quicker and easier to win over than the other shy, scared, girl dogs we've had around here. She bonded quick and she bonded strong.

We don't really know too much about Della yet. We know Della as a mother. She's loving and protective, everything a mother should be. But we won't really know Della the Dog until the motherhood phase has passed. That's when we'll be able to evaluate what she's like with new dogs, new people, children, etc. All I can say with any certainty is that the Midnight Slayer of Rabbits probably has a pretty strong prey drive.

Here are some pictures of Della and friends running in the pasture on the last few evenings.

She loves the pasture runs.

I was cutting grass and scared up a rabbit. Fortunately he
made a quick exit under the fence, but the girls spent some
time looking in case he came back.

The light was getting low and I was too far away to get a
clear picture, but this is joyful body language - tail up,
head up, high stepping, just for fun.

She will run with Theo when he runs after the ball
but she's not really ball-driven.

Hard bodies make poor pillows.
If you love your dog, you'll provide a soft cushy place
for her to lay her head.

Two Weeks

Two weeks ago today, Thursday, was the day that Della's 12 pups were born.

Where are we now? We continue to weigh everyone twice daily. A few of them have passed the three pound mark.

The puppy guidebook says that open eyes is a week three event but you'll see some eyes open in a few of the pictures. That's very recent and mostly just in response to stimulation, being handled, moved, weighed, etc. Sort of a WTF reaction, trying to figure out what's going on when something unusual is happening to them.

The pooping puppy stage is definitely upon us. They had been defecating of course, but mom had been cleaning it up. Now there's more of it, and it's nastier. They had their first dose of wormer today, am hoping that will make things better.

Della is still an attentive mother, but she's not as interested in being with them and nursing them constantly. She seems to have plenty of milk, but she wants more Della and daddy time.

Clay and I have spent more time together and more time at home than we ever have. One of us is always here and usually both. Somehow we haven't killed each other yet.

Preparations continue for later stages. I've built a wooden frame to hold the exercise pen in the bedroom for when they get out of the tub. And plans are progressing for an outdoor habitat when the time comes.

Mostly they eat, sleep, and poop. Their legs are getting stronger and a bit more coordinated. They can stand to poop, but ambulation is an odd combination of crawling, waddling, and rolling in the general direction of the milk factory.

The yellow on the mouth is wormer.

A lot of the growth seems to be going
into the feet right now, that's good for
their stability.

Killian takes his medicine.

Della had to check out what we were doing with them
but she was fine with it.

Peroni

Duvel

Sierra

Chimay

Guinness

Allagash

Carlsberg

Abita

Modelo

Killian

Stella

Paulaner