Growing up Pups, Part 2

Here's part two of Growing up Pups, featuring three more of Della's puppies at about nine months of age.

Paulaner is now Augie, or more formally, AugustusSharkToothTheDane. One of the things that we did with the puppies from an early age, well, primarily Clay did, was to hold the pups in a variety of positions, including upside down. It got them used to being handled and got them to overcome fears. Augie seems to have developed a preference for odd positions because many of the pictures I see of him show him upside down.

I will always give Augie credit for  helping Della through the bout of mastitis she had while nursing the pups. From all the women and vets we talked to, it seemed that it was probably due to a clogged duct. We were doing warm, moist compresses, but everyone said that the best cure for it was nursing. That's where Augie came in. Most of the other pups would give up on the non-functioning mammary gland and move on, but Augie was determined. He would keep at it, kneading it with both his front feet as well as his mouth. It was the biggest and best of Della's milk producers and he didn't give up. He got the flow going again, Della felt better, and Clay and I breathed a huge sigh of relief, because even a day of Della not nursing caused puppy weights to go flat and start dropping.

Most of the pics his new mom posts of him show
Augie in an upside down or otherwise odd position.

He can be goofy.

But he's a good looking, handsome boy.

The hearts on the collar are a clue that a he's a much loved dog.

Stella is a busy dog. She goes places, she does things. She goes to day care, she hikes. There's a Facebook group for the puppy adopters and Stella is an active participant.

Although black dogs are notoriously difficult to photograph, Stella's mom has managed to get a lot of good quality photos of her. I'll share a few of them here.

I love this picture of Stella in the Sphinx pose. She's long, sleek, black, and beautiful.

You may recall Killian from his career as a star in the Puppy Bowl. He has since retired and is living a not so quiet life in the country. Actually, from what we hear lately, Killian is literally eating his owners out of house and home. He has developed a taste for - everything. Wood, plastic, house siding, furniture, wisteria vines, they are all food products as far as Killian is concerned, or at least they are worth trying. 

He also seems to have outgrown everything in his house. Perhaps they should have named him Clifford. Killian is a red beer after all. 

But no matter how big he gets, or what he eats, Killian the HouseCow will never outgrow the love that they have for him.

That's it for part two, folks. We are halfway through the twelve pack. I need to dig up some pics of the other pups so it may be a day or two before part three comes out. 

Here's a final pic that was too cute not to post. It's Killian (left) and Duvel (right) taken back in September. They've grown a lot since then.