Yes, I know, this is even later than last week. At least you'll get two posts closer together (assuming I don't fail to write next week's post on time). Hopefully more pictures this time will help make up for the delayed post.
In positive news, the last little girl has found her new home! All the pups are doing wonderfully. They still sleep at least half the day, but they are much more active, and love to play.
They are also showing a lot of interest in their toys, though they don't have tug-of-war figured out with their siblings yet.
And they LOVE attention. If I get them out of the pen, or go to sit in there with them, I'm instantly swarmed.
Of course, this means cleaning their pen gets rather... challenging. I've started having to put them in a box outside the pen, in order to change the bedding and clean their pen. Otherwise putting down clean blankets is as challenging as trying to wrap a gift with cats in the room.
They are proving to be little escape artists too, and have discovered that there is a world beyond the pen - and are determined to explore that world.
(Of course, they can't all quite figure out there is a gate that they have to use to get out)
The pups started showing interest in Shisa's food this week, so I put a bowl of softened puppy food down for them. They figured that food out instantly, and rush the bowl every time I put it down. Especially with Shisa starting to slowly wean them, and not quite want to be in the pen with them all the time (they have sharp little teeth and claws now... and she's starting to get little scratches from their aggressive feeding) I'm keeping a bowl of food in with them at all times. And they're quite happy to supplement mama's feedings with that - even minutes after they've finished nursing and wandered away.
I've also started trying to encourage them to use a 'puppy pad', rather than go to the bathroom anywhere they want. They... didn't quite get it figured out very quickly...
I put some small blankets in there too, to try to encourage them to use those as a bed, rather than the pad. The blankets, turned into new chew toys that they proceeded to drag around the pen.
However, they are kind of getting a bit of the idea... sometimes. Other times, they use the pad as a bed, or a chew toy. But compared to the beginning of the week, I think they are starting to show a little improvement. They are starting to use it, or at least that side of the pen, and sleep on the other side over half the time. Still a long way to go, but maybe they'll figure it out a little, which will make my life easier. I fully expect to be running the washing machine constantly by the time they are older, rather than only changing their bedding once or twice a day.
As it is, I'm enjoying playing with them. Now that they're getting bigger, I'm trying to watch more closely to pick out what personalities they all have. So far they all enjoy playing with each other, and enjoy getting attention. Of the girls, Purple seems the most outgoing, figuring out how to escape the pen while the others watch and wonder. The two blue boys also were the first out, though they made a beeline for mama in hopes of an extra meal. The Orange girl is my husband's favorite, as she likes cuddling the most - though that's a bit hard to tell, since they do all enjoy cuddling. As the coming weeks progress, I should be able to start telling a bit more of their personalities, but I can assure you they are all sweethearts, and do enjoy playing with each other, as well as getting attention from their humans.
(This little one is showing he's just like his daddy, and likes sleeping in odd positions.)
Comments