Novel and Fun (not scary!)

Mary-Ann Sontag February 24, 2021

As I mentioned yesterday, we made some changes around here.

We created a large puppy playroom out of our living room. In one corner is a Moonshadow bedroom that is collapsed in the daytime to give more space.

The Bright Stars will keep their bedroom (aka the dining room) but during the daytime, the Moonshadows will move into it as their play area. It is a good-sized space for their size right now.

In a week or so they can all play together and/or they can take turns in the playroom. This new system should provide space and variety for all of the puppies.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and in early March we can add some outside time as well.

Because the spaces are new to the puppies, the things in the spaces are not. We do not want to overload the babies with novelty but rather provide a manageable amount of new to push the confidence envelope bit by bit.

As I also mentioned recently, we can begin to see the structure of the puppies at this age — here are two shots of Orion…

I just saw trotting in the new playroom — that is also a new skill, and that space allows them to practice it.

FUN!

I hope your day also has both novelty and fun.

P.S. OOPS! I forgot to post this video I did this morning so you can see how things look now — hope you like NPR!

Photos from the Day

Rosebud and Capella playing on the floor chair…

Puppy Grand Central Report

Mary-Ann Sontag February 23, 2021

New things for the Moonshadows! This is Kale and I think Ariel…

Stuff just rotates through the two litters — perfect.

Nobody was harmed — this is Andy and Ninja Rosebud…

Things are status quo at the Bright Stars side of things. Claire is the same and we are exploring options for surgery, and considering timing. No decisions yet.

I spent time yesterday trying to figure out how long relaxin would be circulating in her system and did not find any great answers but did learn that it contributes to lactation. So like so many things in life, relaxin is a double-edged sword — it both blew Claire’s ligaments AND made her the prize Holstein at the State Fair.

The Bright Stars have something new.

Remember that the floor has mats under it — all falls are well padded.

Capella is confused about which side you go up and which side is the slide…

Buttercup sent her nieces and nephews this lovely personalized bowl with photos of their parents so they understand about the big paws they have to fill…

Thank you so much, Team Buttercup!

This is Zaniah. We are starting to be able to see structure in these puppies…

Big changes in play areas coming today.

Have a wonderful day and don’t forget to play.

Evening Photos

One-third Full

Mary-Ann Sontag February 22, 2021

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.