I am happy to report that Daisy seems almost back to normal — whew. Very little swelling and no fever, and Daisy seems to feel fine.
I mentioned last night that the Wildflowers’ teeth are erupting and yes, they are sharp! However, they do not yet have jaw strength to bite down too hard and so their mouthing doesn’t yet hurt — but it will soon. When that happens, toys and Puppy Palace items will have to change a bit and/or be closely watched because the puppies will be chewing on everything in sight.
These block toys, for example, are great now but may be too soft for stronger puppy teeth. Sage figured out how to crawl through the little tunnel — he is an Adventurer Puppy.
I try to get photos of new skills — like this puppy picking up one of the flower toys that Marti sent (they are SO cute — thank you, Marti).
Clover dishing out some sass.
Soon the puppy teeth will be capable of hurting each other and Daisy (and humans). People imagine mother dogs put miscreant puppies in their place — nothing could be farther from the truth. When a puppy gets too rough or annoying, the mother simply leaves. She has nothing to prove to a puppy, after all.
As I am writing this, it occurred to me that we absolutely do not want mother dogs modeling aggression or dominance to puppies. Rather, we want and need puppies to learn that when annoyed, they should walk away — not lash out.
Future puppy homes take note. Walk away from a biting, over-excited puppy and especially from anyone who tells you to show dominance to said puppy.
That whole show-them-who-is-boss is NOT a thing. People who need to prove something to a puppy need a therapist — not a dog.
I have strong feelings about this topic — can you tell?
Good leaders do not need force or fear to create a team.
Teeth do not impact nursing because it is impossible to bite and suck at the same time — try it! If a puppy bites, the mother will leave and so babies of all species quickly learn their good nursing manners.
We have some familiar toys this morning and new things.
One of the new things is this great platform because puppies like to climb. Sage is demonstrating what puppies do when they encounter something new — they chew/bite. Normal behavior for a puppy. We all need to remember this when they are chewing on us!
Clover is also an Adventurer Puppy and so she went over to check things out.
Karma decided the puppies needed some help figuring out the purpose of the platform.
The puppies are rarely all awake at once — only when they are collectively telling us they are on the verge of imminent starvation and need to nurse this minute or they will perish (because they have not eaten in 33 minutes!).
Some are usually playing and some are sleeping.
Daisy is free to come and go from Puppy Central but we do not want puppies wandering. The gate can close and lock them all in but Daisy needs to be able to get a drink or a break as needed and so I added this fancy puppy barrier.
Daisy can easily get over it but the puppies cannot. They will, however, soon be able to chew it and it is one of the things that will need to change when jaw strength increases.
Daisy is running off with that Mother of the Year award. Maternal care and attention is critical to building well-adjusted puppies — she apparently read all those research articles and is determined to do her part in raising Rock Stars.
Even when everyone is done and sleeping, Daisy likes to hang with her sweet babies.
#winner
EVENING: Photos from the Day
Daisy continues to be just fine — thank goodness.
Daisy and Buttercup
The other thing I wanted to share is that all nine puppies had their nails done today with the Dremel.
Mallow
I use a regular Dremel — not a pet one — because more power means it is faster. Mine is electric and has variable speeds — very important. I set it on the lowest speed and waited until the puppies were sleepy — and then I did about 150 little tiny nails.
Sage
I have previously used toenail clippers and so they are used to having their nails done — the Dremel was just a step up and no puppy had an issue with it.
Lupine
I will continue to dremel nails 2 - 3 times a week — it is my preferred way of doing dog nails for sure.
The platform was a hit!
Paintbrush
At first they simply walked off the edge and tumbled (hence the soft towels under the platform) but by the end of the day they were controlling themselves as they walked off — very cool to see.
There are no toys or other things in Puppy Central at night — both for safety reasons and also to help them understand about day and night. We play and have fun during the day — we sleep at night (in theory).
Mariposa
I had a great conversation with Dr. Laurie Lawson from the University of Wisconsin’s Companion Animal Vaccine and Immuno Diagnostic Service Laboratory earlier today — the topic was vaccinations, of course. I am a Big Fan of Laurie and her work — more on all this soon.
I also did yet another Zoom webinar today — when your specialty is Loss and Grief, a pandemic makes you especially relevant. I can no longer do Zoom sessions in the same room as the puppies — they tend to wake up and start choir practice at inopportune times.
The other dogs are not forgotten! Once Dear Husband was up to be with the Wildflowers, it was Claire’s turn for a long walk.
But mostly I spend my days watching the magic that is the Wildflowers — I know how very lucky I am to be able to do this. Thanks for joining us on their journey.
Good night, Friends.