Puppy Love

Last night was the first night we did not systematically wake up and rotate puppies. I told Halo to keep things fair and do her job, and I went to bed 7.5 feet away. I woke up three times to puppies but each time things seemed okay, with some puppies nursing and some sleeping but all in contact with that all-important oxygen (as opposed to squished under Halo).

The good news is that all of the puppies are just fine and I got a better night's sleep but the not-so-good news is that Lolo did not gain any weight last night -- but neither did Madison! Nobody pushes Madison away from the Dairy Bar so maybe they were both just sleeping more than nursing? All of the other puppies gained as usual, but not those two. I do not like it when Lolo does not gain weight so left Galen strict orders to rotate again, but Lolo is his favorite puppy so I know she is getting very preferential treatment when he is in charge.

Ledger doubled his birth weight this morning and so did one of the middle-weight girls but now I cannot remember which one it was -- I think it was Sula. Rosebud is the very clear champion in the Heavyweight division, especially since Madison was apparently sleeping on the job last night. Rosebud is now 40 ounces!

Those of you who have followed previous litters have probably wondered where the Feline Puppy Nanny has been hiding out. No worries -- Noah is back to his duties after taking sick leave. The pictures of Noah with a puppy were taken with Halo right there -- she was also raised by this cat and has no problem at all with him in the whelping box.

I included a close-up of two puppies so you can see how their noses are starting to get pigment. Their noses will turn all black -- they will not always have polka dots! But I think the different spot patterns are very interesting -- we could probably use puppy noses for that psychological ink blot testing: "Tell me what you see in that little nose..." :)

The picture of Halo with all eight really gives you an idea of how much they have grown from a week ago. Did you know if you double click on a picture it brings it up larger? Some of these pictures are easier to view when enlarged. And speaking of enlarged, note the size difference between Lolo and the other puppy in the shot taken from above!

Yesterday was the first anniversary of Abra's death -- she was Halo's mom and very, very special to us. It is nice to have Abra's grandchildren carrying on her legacy.

Have a great day and thanks for reading.