It must be something in the water

Either I'm getting older, or they're making puppies wilder these days ... cuz I'm having a hard time keeping up with this bunch. Mornings are mayhem. I'm usually quite a morning person, enjoying the quiet solitude of the early hours, to be with my own thoughts, and sit at the computer to knock off a few hours of work while sipping my first cup of coffee. My mornings now start with a chorus of puppy squeaks, louder and louder until I drag my tired self out of bed and make an appearance in the kitchen. Then the squeaks and squeals and yips and barks REALLY start. Then Belle joins in, then Newt, always Niki, and Deets with his howl. Sweet Paisley and my #1 man Gracin always wait patiently and quietly, knowing I'll get to them as soon as I can to open their crates and let them outside.

Then back to attend to the puppies. Now that I'm crating Hannah at night, the kids are hungry in the morning so it's a yummy meal of ground chicken or Orijen kibble. And YES, thank goodness for Orijen on the really hectic mornings when I can just pour a cup in their little donut dish and enjoy the quiet once again, listening to their soft crunching, even if it does only last five minutes. Once they've cleaned up the last crumbs, I let Hannah back in. She leaps into the expen with the grace of a gazelle, somehow missing all nine babies as she lands with her feet in four different directions, reminding me of that Twister game from the 70s. The puppies are more than happy to latch onto mom, washing down their breakkie with a slurp of milk. Moments later, Hannah is looking for her first breakfast of the morning. She always gets a "snack" right away, as I don't give the rest of the crew their breakfast for about an hour.

Then it's time to change their paper and clean their expen so all puppies are let loose in the kitchen, barricaded at the two doorways. These darling little fluffballs sound like a small herd of elephants as they run their "racetrack", making laps around the island, in behind the crates, over the toys, and back around the island. About 40 minutes later, there are usually nine little baby lumps sleeping on the floor, all in the froggie doggie position that makes Granny crazy, but at least they're asleep. Hmmmmm, I think that's when I like them best ... when they're asleep.

BTW, for the record, it has been three hours already this morning and they're still going strong. I've got to find the zipper in their tummy where I can pull the batteries out!

Yep, I'm older, they're wilder ... a little bit of both.

Happy Trails ... Theresa

Life goes on -- boy, does it ever

It's already been two weeks without Petey-boy, and although there's still such a palpable absence, we're all doing much better. Life really does go on, though some days you don't think you'll be able to live without them. Half a moment in my kitchen, and I'm quickly reminded of the cycle of life for my kitchen is absolutely FULL of life! Nine little Aussie lives plus one little clown of a Pyrenees.

Willow joined us 10 days ago. A 7-week-old Great Pyrenees -- actually quite a "grand" Pyrenees as she's already stolen our hearts with her sweet personality, very affectionate nature, and clown-like antics. We wonder how anything could be so cute. Quite young when she came to us, Willow spent the first week in an ex-pen in the already puppy-populated kitchen, but soon moved outside into the garage, in the company of big sis, Zoey, in her own heated doghouse. It's wonderful to watch her trot out after Zoey in the early morning ... Zoey on her first patrol of the property, warning coyotes she's on duty. Willow trying her best to keep up but really only venturing to the corrals before she comes back and sits at the top of the driveway, waiting for Zoey's return. She's having a wonderful time playing with Paisley and Belle, and I'm actually surprised Belle is being as gentle with her as she is ... well, as gentle as Belle is capable of. She's still pretty rambunctious but at 18 lb, Willow is holding her own. And Willow LOVES the puppies, nosing them in the pool the first couple of days but now hopping in the pool and wrestling with them, or rolling them around and playing on the floor.

The puppies have made huge strides the last week. A few have tumbled out of the pool on their own and those who haven't, stand at the edge of the pool and whine and howl so loudly it's not long until we come and plunk the rest of them out. They're so thrilled to be out in the kitchen, all that space to run around in, all those crates to hide behind, all those toes and pantlegs to pull on, all that floor space to piddle on. Once they're flopping out of the pool, there's really no point in having it so they've moved up to a 4 x 6 foot matted and paper-lined ex-pen. One side is low enough for Hannah to hop in and out, but she's now enjoying much more time on her own. The puppies have also discovered each other and can amuse themselves playing puppy games, chewing on each other, scrapping, and napping together. Lots of little growls, lots of little yips when somebody bites too hard.

They've also graduated from their goat's milk formula onto ground chicken, and now onto the ground beef offal mix. Today, they spent the afternoon gnawing away on a few frozen elk shank bones. It doesn't take long until they figure things out, with one or two little stinkers dragging a bone away into a corner to selfishly enjoy it alone. With bones also comes the need for water, and they now have a water dish attached to the side of their ex-pen and are quite satisfied lapping it up.

Some very definite personalities are emerging, and I'm in the early stages of thinking which puppy might be going home with each family.

Shelley came to visit for the weekend and brought her camera. She was able to get some really great shots so I'll soon update our website.

Happy Trails ... Theresa