I've been horribly remiss in posting and will have to catch up, but I've been incredibly busy. The puppies have become a whole order of magnitude more active and, as a result, need a different kind of attention - cuddling them in my lap while watching The Office isn't working for them anymore.
I've set up our x-pen and play area and given them toys in various materials, including a small glass jar with a metal lid and some peanuts inside, prompting the pups to roll it around while sniffing and licking the lid. They also have actual puppy pee pads inside a plastic holding tray to keep Trinity from nesting with it, which has been wildly successful; this morning I found four pees on the pad and only one that was a few inches off. Possibly a puppy had only had his forepaws on the pad at the time.
I wormed them last night with Pyrantel Pamoate, and was very glad I sprang for the name-brand Nemex instead of the store brand because the name brand is apparently delicious. The pups eagerly sucked it out of the syringe and even Trinity lapped it willingly. This morning poops are OK, no evident tummy upset.
The most exciting thing, at least for me, was Trinity learning to play with the puppies yesterday. The pups had begun to solicit play from her a few days ago but she didn't know how to respond and was mostly upset about them not lying in a safe little pile anymore (sheepdog urge, I think). But last night she started to smile and mouthe a puppy who growled and pawed her, and this morning she really got into it, wagging and shaking her head to encourage the puppy, and rolling him (Aqua) on his back to lick and nibble him while he ecstatically pawed and mouthed her muzzle. If they do this long enough for me to grab the camera I'll try to get a video for you.
I'm glad she's doing this because it means her puppies can learn more dog manners from her. Her dog manners are exquisite, the occasional shepherd-drive-related incident aside, and the pups can learn a lot about proper play and submission from her. It also means she's less upset about them growling and yapping at each other, and wades in to wag and supervise instead of whining unhappily and begging me to put a stop to it.
This might come across as controversial and I hope nobody thinks I am trying to be offensive, but I've been having some thoughts about the puppies and their growth.
So I've read that puppies are not "conscious" for the first three weeks of their life, and that conscious life begins sometime on the 20th-21st day. However, I've decided that, unless my pups are very unusual, people have been confusing "conscious" with "able to make eye contact."
The pups have been developing new behaviors, one at a time, but still have no senses. They are beginning to hear, starting last night, with Aqua hearing the most, but still don't seem to react to visual stimulus. However, they interact, play, sniff and focus on absorbing new smells, and most importantly, LEARN.
Aqua learned the best way to escape the nest and has done so several times, always in the same spot and with the same sequence of motions. Blue uses his nose like a radar and points his face straight at me from five feet away, prompting me to think he can see me until he fails to react to a hand waving in front of his face. They all potty on papers when they can, and specifically in an area of the nest that is slightly lower due to the foam pad underneath the nest flooring not quite extending all the way to the edge of the box - in other words, DOWNHILL from their nest. And I'm afraid that Goldie has learned that, if she cries, I will come over and pick her up; this weekend, she started doing a lot of pitiful whining while sitting near the entrance of the nest, whining which immediately stopped if I petted her but began again when I left. Foolish, foolish me, believing that an 18-day-old puppy could not be clever enough to manipulate me.
At some point tomorrow they are due to begin to see properly, and are supposed to be able to take sound conditioning a day or so later, and Science thinks that's when their brains are awake and thinking thoughts. But I think Science, being the domain of a visual- and audio-oriented species, is missing the boat here. These pups are wide awake.
Meanwhile, here is a video of the puppies playing.
Goldie learned to "play" Friday night; Blue learned Saturday; Red reacted to play yesterday and today he and Aqua will both initiate it as well. Goldie's frustration with being the only playful puppy was a little sad yet very cute, but I do feel bad for them because they cannot find their playmates. Red tries to attract them with barks, but most of them can't hear him anyway (and probably wouldn't know what he meant because no one else is barking yet); Goldie wanders around until she bumps into someone, then pounces. The pups will react to and play with our hands, too, pawing and trying to bite.
Goldie is trying to summon me. What do I do? I don't want to set a horrible precedent but she is SO CUTE. I must be strong!
Other news: I covered the muddy part of the yard with pea gravel today, but had to leave one section as dirt. Trinity has decided to dig an enormous hole and she works on it every time she goes out. I'm letting her do it because it helps her not dig in her nest, a behavior which is really annoying and a little dangerous.
I took the pups out to stand on the gravel for a minute each, to feel the cool stones (instead of the chilled towel) for thermal stimulation. Their reactions varied; Red couldn't do much because Trinity decided he needed to be pottied and pinned him down for a good licking. Blue sniffed about curiously, but with his tail tucked. Aqua didn't seem to notice or care, but just lay and let me pet him. (By the way, he's doing fine and having fewer snuffles, so don't be worried about him.) Goldie immediately stood up, sniffed briefly, and peed. I was SO proud. I wished she could hear me so I could tell her what a GOOD DOG she was. Our first outdoor pee!
This reflex actually appeared several days ago, but I didn't manage to get my act together to film it until today. It is extremely cute.
Also: Developments in interaction - and our first escape!
All the puppies had experimented with lifting themselves up to the edge of the box and peering over, but all had been deterred by the inability to feel the floor on the other side.. until today, when a low growl from Trinity alerted me to the fact that Aqua has finally escaped and was climbing into her food dish in an attempt to get closer to her. I was at first surprised that the little boy had been the first to escape, but soon realized that he was always the most motivated and urgent in his desire to reach Trinity for nursing and care. So, he was the only one willing to hurl himself blindly over the edge of the box to plummet an unknown distance (8 inches) in the hope of reaching Mama. He may turn out to be a puppy to watch.
He and the others are also becoming more interactive with each other, Mama, and me. They began to greet Trinity with wagging tails last Thursday, began to wag when encountering each other yesterday, and today definitely wagged to greet ME as well. Let me tell you how exciting this is. Scientists indicate that puppies become "tame" as a learned behavior much later, and the fact that they recognize me as something to wag at makes me feel like I must be actually offering them comfort when I try to pet and hold them or else they wouldn't greet me the same way they greet their family.
The fact that the puppies really do enjoy human touch (well, MY touch, since Ariel's out of town this weekend and they don't know anyone else - here's hoping they wag for him, too) is also becoming evident in other ways. As you can see in the video above, the pups can enjoy a firmer touch now - rubbing and gentle scritching in the right spots will cause them to lean into the touch and even occasionally elicit a groan of pleasure. Their ears, newly opened, are occasionally itchy or just uncomfortable and the pups will tilt their heads to move their ears under my fingers. They also sometimes enjoy having their sore jaws massaged, but this is trickier because sometimes they are too tender and the pups' reactions can differ.
Also, I witnessed several more instances of pups tottering away from the soft bedding to stand, swaying on gelatin legs, and pee on papers or plain linoleum. I spent some time today planning how I will be arranging the kennels and x-pen to optimize their instinct to potty away from the nest.
The poor babies are teething and in much discomfort. They attempt to press their sore jaws into the corners
of the box, and over and under the safety rail. Red eventually takes this to its logical conclusion.
Red tries out the corner of the safety rail
Blue says, Is that as comfy as it looks?
Everyone is on or under the safety rail now (Aqua's in another corner) - that pacifier does not compare to chewing my arm
Red discovers there is another level to try resting his chin on ... and nearly escapes!
As of this morning, we have definite tail-wagging! I thought I'd seen a couple wags yesterday but wasn't sure... today, I was holding Blue and, when Trinity came over to investigate, Blue unmistakably wagged his tail when she touched him. Ta-da!
I realized a big part of the puppies' fussiness is likely due to teething. I had forgotten their teeth start erupting around the 15th day until, when handling them today, I noticed that every puppy was trying to munch on my hand and that they all had teeth just under the surface. The poor things are probably in a lot of discomfort and this explains a lot. Fortunately, I don't think this phase lasts very long. I would let them munch my fingers more, but I don't want to encourage them to think of fingers as something that can go in their mouths; I think it'd be easier to avoid this now than to break them of it later (although of course all puppies mouth hands a little).
Despite their chewiness, Trinity has been enjoying her puppies this afternoon and evening, hanging out with them in the box even when they aren't actively nursing, rolling them about with her nose and resting her chin on them while they sleep. This is the first time she's done this in a while and it was cute enough that I tried to get a picture, and although of course it doesn't do her justice, you can also see how big the pups are now!
This morning the pups had some serious attitude. I heard Goldie fussing around while I was having breakfast, getting gradually angrier until she literally roared with fury. There are few things scarier than a three-pound fluffy puppy howling with rage.
Upon further investigation, it turned out these she was trying to climb out of the box to get to Trinity, who was lying a few feet away. Trinity had a look of apprehension on her face, ears sideways as she contemplate a future in which her personal space was finally forfeit.
Today, after the pups had finished nursing and were sleepy and contented, I introduced them to having their nails done using a grinding tool (such as a Dremel). I switched to a finer grinding stone to minimize the vibration sensation, and nestled each pup in my lap and waiting until they got comfortable. Then I turned on the grinder, slipped my finger under each forepaw to elevate it a bit and lightly touched each nail with the grinder. Most puppies didn't even notice, or just twitched their paw once or twice. I was so proud. Not one single grumble of protest, except when being returned to the nest after they had gotten so comfortable.
Here's some pictures I took yesterday. I was trying to get a shot of their eyes - they all have eyes now - but they aren't looking up yet and anyway they have black eyes in a black face and I can't shine bright light on them until they mature. So, here are a few of the less-blurry photos:
All puppies now have open eyes, although some are still just slits. I have a blurry picture of Red, whose eyes are fully open, that I may be able to Photoshop into intelligibility tonight, but it's hard to photograph them without good lighting or a flash, and I'm trying to protect them from bright lights for a little while. Even though they are open, they aren't "hooked up" yet so the pups can't really see, though they do move their eyes and ears while dreaming and point them at things while they sniff them. New pics coming as soon as I can get them!
Pups are all walking and starting to stand up on the edge of the safety rail to reach towards Trinity. They're working very, very hard at trying to develop their locomotion and it makes some of them fussy. Blue is pissed at the indignity of being a puppy and frequently stands, wobbling, and growls angrily at nothing in particular while he furiously struggles to transition from the papers to the blanket without tripping.
As an aside: THEY ARE ENORMOUS! Good Lord, woman, make less milk or well have a litter of Great Danes on our hands!
Pups gained 4-5 ounces today and broke the 3-pound mark, except for Aqua of course but he gained 4 ounces so I'm not complaining. As long as he keeps gaining, I'm happy. Goldie looks like a little pig, she is so fat. And long! They are huge, basically is what I'm getting at. Trinity has a beleaguered expression as she lies on her side in the box under the swarm of puppies.
I decided to start blogging here about our litter of four Belgian Tervuren pups by Lance out of Trinity so that friends, family and prospective owners can all follow the day-to-day progress of the puppies.
Today is day 10 for the babes and they have all learned to stand up, despite being blind, deaf and clueless. Some are struggling to walk as well, wobbling a step at a time with tremendous effort until, exhausted, they curl up on the soft sheepskin nest for a well-earned nap.
Red worked his way over to the edge of the nest, heaved himself to his feet, and then, laboriously, crouched and pooped. I suspect it is no coincidence that he chose to poop on the hated cookie sheet, which is in there to help them get used to walking on metal. Two other puppies have specifically struggled over to the papers to potty - I'd read that they will do this but am still amazed to see these blind, fumbling infants still trying their hardest to potty away from their preferred sleeping area (the soft blanket).
The main drama continues to be the hourly nursing. You'd think that, with 9 working nipples and only 4 puppies, the pups would be able to nurse calmly, but no... The superior rear nipples are highly coveted and fierce competition turns the nest into a war zone whenever Mom's Cafe comes to town.
I will be posting here whenever anything interesting happens, so if you want to follow the puppies' prorgress, please check back often. I hope to be able to post at least once a day.
