Pupdate

If not for her wide, pink collar, it would be difficult to
confirm that Della is even in this picture. When the
puppies pile on it's just one big mass of mixed harlequin,
merle, and black dog.

I know if I go more than a day without posting puppy pictures some folks will go into withdrawal. So here we go. Nothing much new really. The puppies eat, poop, play, and sleep, not necessarily in that order but they do a lot of each. Peroni, Abita, and Stella are still under 10 pounds, but not by much. On the other end of the scale, Carlsberg, Modelo, and Duvel are all over 11 pounds. The rest are in between, somewhere in the 10-11 pound range.

Della is still producing milk, but a lot less than what she
had a couple weeks ago. The pups still love it, but the
opportunities are less frequent each day and the size of the
pups makes it impossible for more than a few to nurse.

Della is finally putting on weight of her own, to the point that it's noticeable. Her ribs are just about smoothed over. She's still nursing, some, but she hasn't been the primary source of nutrition for quite a while now. The pups are eating dry food now, no water added, which makes for slightly less mess and easier cleanup. I keep looking for household objects I can introduce them to, mostly things they can climb on. The small step stool was intended as a seat for us, but the pups like it as a cave to hide under. I pulled the cardboard boxes out today because they were getting nasty, and put in a large wash basin, upside down, which makes a nice puppy perch (see video).

Preparations for the big move to the Puppy Palace continue. I've covered the floor and three feet up the walls with linoleum. I built a puppy mobile from pvc pipe that we will hang things from. I've got a feeding trough set up on the fence for when they get outside and lots of stuff for them to climb on, into, and through. There's still more to do, but at this point we could make the move to the inside space any time. I just know that I won't get any work done for the first few days at least because I'll be out there all the time, and probably sleeping out there too.

That's Serena and Max looking in the new
shed from the outside while I'm working.

The love to climb on anything new that we put into their
space. There's no hesitation, they go for it immediately.

We will hang things from this frame that the puppies will
walk through and under, for new sounds and tactile sensations.

The covered floor and walls in the new shed will make
clean up easier. 

Della and Serena checking it out.

Most of the shed will be puppy space, but I
plan to fence off this end so Della and I can
sleep out there separated from the pups.

Serena and the other dogs are curious about
the puppies, but Della has made it known that
they are hers. She will let other dogs look at
them through the doorway, but no one has
been allowed to come into the room.