The pups are early risers. We spent the morning getting Candy and Grace ready to go. Haley's new mom visited to meet her little girl in person (Haley was Georgie). Tana will deliver her later in the week. Bernie, Candy and Grace left for the airport around noon, but not before we squeezed in another romp in the yard. We wanted to tire Grace out before her big trip. She and Gimme go round and round trying to dominate each other. Usually Gimme gets the upper paw in the end and then just walks off once she is satisfied that she's made her point. Needless to say, Gimme was well pleased with herself to finally run off that upstart, once and for all.
Tana, Angie and I spent the next three hours getting stacked pictures of the remaining nine babies. Overnight they had experienced a growth spurt and all were suddenly unaware that there were additional limbs "back there". It made it challenging to get good pictures since all the pups were having difficulty standing stacked.
Gimme and I had an interesting "training session" (the best ones are worked into life) about this whole biting thing. I was sitting in the pen getting mugged by puppies and she climbed over the others to get some face time - which partly means biting my lip. So I started squealing "ouch" when she'd bite. Each time she'd draw her head back and look at me with the most quizzical expression. Why, I must be deranged to not appreciate her special attention. Then she'd immediately close in to bite again. Three bites and three squeals. She pondered me with a furrowed brow and then tried licking me instead. Within two minutes she had to try out the biting again. Again three bites and three squeals, followed again by puppy kisses. She didn't bite me again that day - she is one smart cookie.
Tana and I made a run to town doing errands, followed by another play session with the puppies. By now Gimme has decided she is going to keep me. I think she has decided I'm trainable. The evidence is that she tries to wedge in between me and any puppy that has gotten in my lap or is getting attention from me. If that doesn't work, she pouts to punish me, coming back later to see if I've mended my ways.
I did get some pictures of the puppies sleeping. You know there is simply NOTHING cuter than sleeping puppies.
How will I ever just say "no"...?
So innocent looking...
I'm thinking she will earn spankings that never arrive, eh...
After supper, Tana and I kept three patch girls out for a photo shoot. It took almost 2 hours before they settled down enough to get what we wanted. Gimme and Haley were the first to settle; by then Timmie had her second wind. She has a very loooonnnng second wind. I finally used a calming embrace with her, which she resisted. Then picking a moment when she wasn't resisting, let her go. Within three minutes she laid down. I'd known before that some pups settle down immediately after a calming embrace, but not during. We got some really cute shots.
It was a fun day; I'm glad I decided to stay an extra day for bonding time. It has done a world of good.
No comments:
Post a Comment