Lexie and her puppies

Puppies were supposed to be a one-time thing. We did Della and her 12-pack and that was enough puppy rearing for us. But then lovely Luna came along with an incredibly tragic story and her three tiny Troopers as well as four sixth month old pups from a prior litter. There was no way I could say "no" to that. I certainly wasn't planning on taking in a nursing mother with a litter this year, but Lexie came along at a moment when we were kind of low on fosters. I'm also finding it more difficult to say "no" to Erika these days and I really need to work on that. 

Lexie is a wonderful dog and seems to be a great mother. I'm really sketchy on the back story but apparently the owners moved away and left them. She is described as a husky mix and that's probably as good a guess as any. Who she mated with is anyone's guess so don't ask me what all went into the making of these pups. 

Lexie is a really nice dog, very friendly, and very open with her puppies, allowing me to touch, handle, and carry them even before she knew me. That's a big contrast to Luna who wouldn't let me anywhere near them for a few days when they first arrived here. Della trusted Clay and I with her pups, but she had gotten to know us for a couple weeks before giving birth. Anyway, Lexie is very sweet, personable. Her coat is coarse and rough because she's been putting everything she has into these six puppies. 

There a six pups, about five weeks old now. I haven't yet checked or bothered to learn their sex or even their names. They were all named after donuts. I'll have better pics and information in days to come, but they are very cute. The pups are beginning to eat solid food, moistened, but Lexie eats most of it so I'm going to need to separate her at feeding times from now on. I'm not sure how much she is nursing still. She lets them nurse while she's standing. That may provide better access, they are tall enough to reach now. She is still cleaning up after them, so I give her high marks for that.

The electrician finished his work in the shed today, so we have power to run the window unit air conditioners without running long extension cords. Clay went and bought vinyl flooring, and I reconstructed the low walls that had been used for Luna and the tiny Troopers. It came together pretty quickly at the end. It's not fancy but it is functional and we will try to make it comfortable for Lexie and her pups.