Treats with no tricks

Busy day. Bette went home. Rocket arrived. I walked three miles with Bailey in the morning and another three miles in the evening. Puppies are doing well. Their little bellies look full and chubby. We had been concerned that Marvel only delivered five puppies after being told that she had seven, but when the x-rays were examined by two local vets, they both agreed that they only showed five pups in utero. 

Bette's owner came to pick her up and she brought Della chicken nuggets from Wendy's. Rocket's owner  brought Della chicken nuggets from McDonalds when she dropped off Rocket for a long weekend. Della liked them both and didn't express a preference between the two. She just wonders why she's just learning about cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets. 

The clarity and shine in this girl's eyes is astounding. 

Rocket is just with us until Monday.

Chicken nuggets aside, there's been a lot more treats around our house than usual lately and all the dogs have noticed. Candace, who I've sometimes thought was deaf, somehow always turns up when treat bags are opened and treats are being dispensed. 

Marvel's digestion is a bit messed up, which isn't at all surprising, but her appetite is good, especially if something special is added to her food. I've been giving her canned food mixed with dry, with water added, but today I stepped it up a notch. I had made beef stew last week and pretty much finished it this morning. There was still some gravy left along with bits of beef and I poured that over her dry food. She liked that a lot.

After giving her the beef stew she actually got up and followed me around for a bit, perhaps to show her gratitude, or more likely, to see if I had any more, but it's the first time she's voluntarily stepped away from the puppies, even for a minute. I think it was too warm out there for a while because she moved herself and the pups off of the blankets entirely. I cranked up the air conditioners out there today but will cut them back tonight.

The pups look well fed. We will weigh them all again this evening and try to find some distinguishing features so we can track them individually. We didn't have time yesterday because she objected to being away from them.

Marvel seems quite content and pleased with her current living situation.