Trinity plays with the puppies

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.