One-third Full

Something interesting is that the tails are up in both litters. I imagine that a tail is a bit of a balance aid to puppies of this age. As they get more steady in their walking and begin to think about adding scampers, the tail is a way to add some stability.

Someone should study this, comparing the rate of steady walking of tailed and non-tailed puppies. The fact that I think like that in the middle of all this explains why I teach a Research Methods class.

This is Metis practicing his self-stack…

Pozy loves to visit with her family, and the Moonshadows greet her with wagging tails — adorable.

Daisy makes all of this so easy. Here she is with Ariel and Hunter…

Arche checking out today’s fun…

This is Kale and Mighty Titan…

Okay — yes, things are a Hot Mess at the Bright Stars side of things.

The hormone Relaxin is not Claire’s friend. If you do a quick google search on relaxin you will discover that it impacts ligaments and joints in varying degrees in pregnant and lactating women (and dogs).

Claire pulled the short stick in the relaxin department. Ligament #1 went out after a stumble on the stairs while very pregnant and the ligament in her other knee appears to be having big issues. Her braced leg is now the better hind leg.

This is awful. No question. The brace was to get us through puppies and to surgery, and now this.

Deep breaths.

We have a great vet, and I have reached out to do yet another consult with a specialist. Suzanne is lending me a harness, Claire is comfortable when not walking, and the puppies are fine. That is all why the glass is one-third full, and I am focusing on that one-third.

I am not a proponent of feeding solid foods early because it is healthier for babies to wait, and so my puppies exclusively nurse until 5 - 6 weeks; I think we can make it to five weeks (Thursday) before the Bright Stars start solid foods.

My hope and prayer is that they can continue to nurse until they leave for their new homes but we shall see how things proceed with Claire. This is obviously an emerging situation, and Claire’s welfare is important. A balancing act, to be sure.

Claire is patient and good-natured about all of this.

I worry that people won’t understand that all of this is pregnancy-related — Claire is a sound, wonderful dog who just got overdosed on hormones and is having really bad luck.

Therefore, I made this video — it is Claire practicing from a year ago and followed by the Bright Stars today. THAT is the real Claire.

All of us who get one of Claire’s very Limited Edition Puppies are damn lucky and need to understand the price this dog has paid to bring them into the world.

Yep. Tears in Montana today. But that glass is still 1/3 full.