NOW I remember

Yes, how could I forget? Punky goes crazy when pups are around. Once I thought maybe she just needed to actually see the pups in the flesh. That drove her even more crazy. I very cautiously started to show her a puppy. Let's just say that it's not a good idea to let her in reaching distance of a puppy. She will be totally fixated on the puppies. She will stand outside the door, if she can get to it, and whine. She will whine anywhere else in the house or the yard, too.

What's interesting to me is how I came to remember how Punky is when there puppies in the house. For one thing, she discovered the whelping box where Gracie has started eating her breakfast. She walked the perimeter, or as much of it as she could, and indicated she knew exactly what that is all about. The second thing is that when I was showing someone a video of a different litter of pups - they were probably three months old so there was lots of movement - and Punky started whining and just about ripped the skin off my leg trying to get to the monitor. That was bad enough. Now what she does is beg (by whining) to see the video over and over again. I didn't know what she wanted at first. When I picked her up and she stared at the screen I did get the idea. I'd show you some pictures but I can't figure out how to get them in the body of the text instead of at the top. Next time.

Nesting instinct

Gracie - well, I just hope she makes it to the weekend. Of course she looks like she's going to have those puppies at any minute, but I think I've thought that with every pregnant bitch. So she'll probably make it to next week. Guess who has the nesting instinct thoug. ME!! I really wanted to have a few days of quiet relaxation (right!) before the puppies come. I don't want to have to talk to people about the renovation, I don't want to have to decide about an ad for Todays Parent or Dogs in Canada. But wouldn't you know their deadlines are up and they have given me an extension to get copy to them and my new stud (Bolonka) has not arrived. He was supposed to be here last week. I wanted to get his picture in the DIC ad because it's on the shelves for a year and we will have Bolonka puppies next year. Also, I wanted him as settled as possible before the puppies come and there is hardly any time left now. Oh well. We just take life as it comes. I don't mean to say we are passive. We are actully pretty proactive people. It's just a saying that seemed to fit.

Gracie is hungry all the time now but she doesn't always eat. Maybe it's the heat. It's pretty draining. Seems to me we had some days like this last time she had puppies. Whew! Gracie is getting bigger by the day and doesn't want to do much. Just grow those puppies good! Last time Gracie nearly died from eclampsia, too, as did Zahra. So this time I'm on the watch and Gracie will have Calcium in the first food she eats after she whelps. That will continue clear through the nursing time, too. Also last time, she weaned her pups early. They nursed from Zahra then. But there's no wetnurse here this time!

Today I need to take three dogs to be CERF'd. It's a pretty long drive considering it's in the same city as we are. That's kind of crazy. So again today I will not be grooming dogs. Gracie should be first - she just needs the job finished. I did mot of the grooming on her last week. Already then she wasn't able to stand on three feet, so getting the foot pads and nails was a bit of a problem. She'll probably be even more limited now.

I'm getting excited about the puppies. We're expecting six. I want to know if we are right. That's what she had last time. Plus, she had 4 boys last time. This time we also want more girls!