Cold and wet, yet warm and cozy

This is the first time we've had a litter of puppies at this time of year. That presents some challenges that we didn't have with litters in the summer and fall. The heating pad under their bed and two heaters in the shed have kept the pups warm and cozy. Our electric bill has suffered but the puppies have not. The plushy coats on these guys sure helps too. 

I've been letting them out for a couple hours at a time generally three times a day. That's their Holly time too, so she keeps an eye on them. They get fairly muddy when they are out, but not really wet. When they come in and dry up the dirt seems to just fall off them. I'm doing even more loads of puppy laundry as a result, but I do more of our own laundry during this time of year too and for the same reasons.

It occurred to me recently that I didn't have two forms of pictures I usually take with puppies. One is the "puppy pile" with them all sleeping together. This group doesn't do so much of that. Maybe it's their coats and the heaters but they don't seem to need to snuggle all together for warmth. They are more likely to be sacked in small groups of two or three together, usually with one or two of them being very independent and sleeping alone. That's fine, but yesterday evening when I went out for a final feeding I did find them all in the bed at the same time and managed to get a couple of pictures before they buggered off.

The other form of photography I didn't have yet is the door opening video, when I open the large door of the shed and let them all out together. I tried one of those today for the first time with this litter but it wasn't great. There were too many obstacles in the way (the cardboard tunnel and the feeding dish), Holly was with me and she went in when I was wanting them to come out, but I think the biggest factor was the weather. When I opened the door I felt the rush of warm air from inside. They must have felt the cold, damp air outside and wondered if they really wanted to come out. They had already been out once early in the morning and weren't quite as enthusiastic about it this time. But eventually they all came out and were soon running around getting muddy again.

Late afternoon I took Della and Elvis out for a three miler. I needed another layer of clothing but we had a good walk.

In this one I finally got Yukon to look at me, though we still only have half of his face.

Left to right: Peggy, Adina, Dizzy, Boomer, Camilla, Yukon, and Charlie

Here is my first attempt at a door opening video:

And here's a few pics from today's chilly hike:

Strava map

I tried a new tracking app today. The map on the left was made by Strava. It seems to have better maps that actually show the trails at Pleasant Grove. I like that, but it's not free after the first month so I'll probably stick with MapMyWalk. I know the trails anyway and app shows the route we walked even if its maps don't show all the trails.

MayMyWalk map