Sleepy goldendoodle puppies
09/01/2019
The babies are growing so fast. There are lots of spurts of wrestling and playing.
Followed quickly by long naps!
The babies are growing so fast. There are lots of spurts of wrestling and playing.
Followed quickly by long naps!
When the tiny fur balls turned 3 weeks old, I started giving them each a spoonful of milk replacer while snuggling them. I did it a few times a day for two days until I knew they were handling it well.
And I could tell that they wanted more!
So, I mixed up a panful and let them explore. At first, they weren’t sure what to do, but it didn’t take more than a moment for them to get their faces in there.
And a foot or two.
Yep, she’s going all in.
Look who sits up now! And takes some wobbly steps around. I swear, they try to make their way towards me when I call to them.
Or is that just wishful thinking?
This is still how they spend the majority of their time when not trying to get to Sugar to nurse.
Since they do purposely amble toward her, am I wrong to think that they might be walking toward my voice or into my hands when I talk to them?
No need for me to maneuver puppies into a heart shape today. This pup has a heart to share already- look at that nose!
Seriously? How cute!
Playing with sleepy puppies is wonderful. I like to try to line them all up by color, or on their backs, or facing each other.
But the most fun is to get them to nestle into a heart shape.
This open heart isn’t easy, because they like to be on top of each other.
So I tried a cuddle puddle heart.
The trick is to snuggle each baby, and pet it until all of its wriggling stops. When it is dozing, gently place it where it needs to be, hoping not to wake the others. I try softly scooching them into position, and stroking their backs as I move them.
The more content and comfy they are, the easier it is to move them into a shape or line them up.
So, while it looks like I might be messing with them, what I am actually doing is socializing them to be soothed by human touch.
The first 24 hours of the squeaky babies’ lives, it was nearly impossible to get mama out to go potty. After that period, she has begun some quick trips to stretch her legs. See the burrs on her face? She even went for a quick run in the woods.
She has also snuck up the stairs to the grand fairies’ rooms to steal a unicorn. No matter how many times I remove stuffed toys from the box, she goes to get them back again.
I know, that doesn’t sound very nice of me, does it? But after finding one pup stuck under the safety rail, pinned in against a unicorn against Sugar’s back, we can’t risk suffocation. The compromise has been to put the toys on a pillow right outside of the whelping box, so Sugar can watch them. That seems to help.
This is my little corner of the world for now. I dozed in the recliner, watching Netflix and puppies most of Sunday, then again Monday morning and evening.
But now that Sugar is feeling able to get out a bit, so am I.
I haven’t left to go out into the world yet, but I did venture out to the driveway to paint the garage Monday afternoon. It was nice to do something physical after so much time sitting on a stool or a recliner by the box.
Not that painting a garage is at all fun... but I could check on the babies regularly and it was a mindless chore that kept me busy. Soon, I will set up a nursery in my art studio to take them out there with me, so that I can get something creative done.
Although, it sure is hard to work when there is so much cuteness to stare at!