Mom and pups (still no pics)

 I still can't share pictures of mom and the pups or say anything about where they came from, but I can talk about how they are doing.

By my reckoning they are three weeks old today. I got them when they were three days old and didn't start recording weights until June 13th, but the chart below shows their growth since then. The red line is the one female pup. She started out as the largest but the blue boy caught up and they've been swapping the lead back and forth. The second boy, green, is significantly smaller but he's growing. Once they make the switch to solid or semi-solid food he may close the gap, or he may just be smaller. They got a dose of wormer today, that may affect their weight gain too.

There were only three pups in this litter so we used a smaller wading pool as their initial bed space. The smaller pool is also shorter, so this group of pups got out of their wading pool earlier than other litters I've had, at about two weeks. They've been moving around the larger space without much of a clue about what's going on. I have put a couple of things in there for them to climb on and interact with, but at this stage they are really still mostly interested in mom and each other. They are beginning to play with each other now and are gradually becoming more aware of their surroundings. Maybe because it's warmer, they don't all pile up on top of each other to sleep the way some litters have. It's not unusual for me to walk in and find them laying in different locations, not even on the bed. 

Momma dog is a conundrum. She's been fine with me going in with her pups and even handling them, in spite of the fact and she didn't know me from Adam when they all first arrived. The only time she reacted was when one of the pups starting screaming for no apparent reason when I picked him up for the daily weigh in. She came over and grabbed me by the ankle and tried to pull me away. 

She nurses standing up most of the time. That may have put the smallest at a bit of a disadvantage in the beginning but he manages now pretty well. She won't go outside. I've only tried to get her out a couple of times and had to force her to leave the shed. She poops and pees inside but she has always, without fail, used the puppy pads that I put down for her in the corner. I appreciate that very much. I'm hoping the pups will learn that behavior from her quickly. 

I can touch her, but she doesn't seek it out, and never seems happy to see me, even though I come bearing food four or five times a day. I have tried a variety of foods that most dogs would love, including canned food, my Satin Balls, shredded chicken, hotdogs, and cheese. If she doesn't recognize it as food, she won't touch it. The only things I've gotten her to eat consistently, other than the dry puppy food, are cottage cheese and yogurt. 

She's in a place where she's safe and comfortable and has everything she needs to care for her pups. I had hoped we'd be further along with her socialization by this point, although it hasn't been quite three weeks yet and she had a much longer period of living under much worse conditions, so I guess it will take her a while to come around. I'm hoping for a "turn the corner" moment when she will relax and trust and love me, and I have to believe it will come, but we aren't there yet.

Here are some miscellaneous pictures from my phone over the past few days.

My calla lilies are still blooming and this one has just put out two new blooms.

I realized today that it's been several weeks since I've needed to use the long line on Paisley to get her to come back in the house from the yard. She is now my shadow and is usually easier to get back in the house than Elvis.

I have been sitting out in the Garden of the Dogs many mornings with my coffee and the dogs always join me, mostly to tell me that it's time to go back in the house for morning nap time.

Clay and I were on the downtown mall in Charlottesville on Thursday evening and we encountered the Green Dogs out and about class. They go to different locations each week to expose the dogs to new things and work on their training in new and distracting environments. This is former foster Cooper, who was part of the class. Clay and I remarked to each other about what a good looking dog he was before realizing that he was our Cooper. We got him in December as a rescue by the HOWS Project and he was adopted in January of this year. He was, and is, just a very nice dog and a good looking one too. The tipped ears remind me of Trooper and his personality remind me of Theo. That's a helluva nice dog.

Yard dogs

This evening I let the two foster boys, Kirtley and Sherlock, out to run around the yard with our four dogs: Maya, Della, Elvis, and Paisley. I walked around all the garden areas and did a little trimming and dead heading, and pulled a few weeds. Everyone had a good time. 

It was Sherlock's first real opportunity to interact and play with our guys. I think he realized that his foster brother Kirtley is his best bet for a playmate. Sherlock took advantage of the opportunity to explore places he had never been, but he stuck around and made no attempt to get out either over the fence or through the gate. He wanted to stay with his buddy, Kirtley, and the rest of us too. Paisley likes to run up behind other dogs and nip at them, sometimes playfully, sometimes more seriously. Sherlock was more than ready to reciprocate that action but Paisley didn't really want to take him on. I hope she'll learn to back off and ease up a bit more but I was glad that Sherlock showed her that two could play that game and that turnabout is fair play.

Elvis having a drink from one of my fountains.

That's columbine growing around the begonia. The color and shape of its leaves make a nice contrast to the darker and heavier begonia leaves.

Paisley

Elvis

Sherlock would come to me when I called him and gave me a touch.

Sherlock meets Della.

Della tolerated him, but she was not about to play with him.

He soon moved on to other business.

Kirtley has a winning smile.

Foster dogs: Kirtley and Sherlock

We landed on Sherlock as a name for the bloodhound. Thanks to everyone who pitched suggestions. There were several that I thought seriously about. I hope I can remember them for the next dog to come along.

Anyway, Sherlock and Kirtley have been getting along famously. They play together outside during the day and sleep in adjacent crates in the kitchen at night. I don't know that either of them had any prior experience with crating, but they've both taken to it very well. They are a really great pair and having them together has been very good for both of them.

They are both fully vetted and ready for adoption through Green Dogs Unleashed. They don't need to go together but neither would object to being adopted along with his foster brother. I have no concerns about letting Kirtley out of the dog yard to run around the larger yard. He's very much at home here. Sherlock is new and I wanted to keep him confined to the dog yard for a few days but at this point he's going to do and go along with whatever Kirtley is doing. The next day I have time during the day to putter around the yard I'll let them out with our resident dogs to explore and play. 

Their play is rough and wild and there's a lot of teeth involved, but they seem to be very evenly matched and it never gets out of hand. Sherlock's long, silky ears are unscathed. 

He may have a goofy face, but that nose is an extremely sophisticated device.

Kirtley is very sturdy and doesn't mind Sherlock standing on his back.

Proud Della

Della got a rainbow colored outfit for Pride month and I almost let the month slip by without getting her into it and getting some pictures.

She got two of these for Christmas. The other one is purple and black. It was her Easter outfit and she looked positively regal in it. I had been saving this one for Pride month. I should have taken her out on the town wearing it because Della likes to be admired, but I just put it on her this afternoon at home. She got very excited.