Day 29 A.M. &. P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag June 24, 2020

This is will be a quick update this morning as I have an appointment and (masked) errands in Missoula this morning — Dear Husband will be here to keep an eye on the Wildflowers, of course. We never leave them alone.

Two Nursing Alcove photos…

This is Sage.

Pete the cat — Daisy does not mind the cats wandering about with her puppies.

The puppies have a definite preference for the toys that “crinkle” and that includes the wildflower toys and the bananas. Very interesting.

Click HERE to see a short video from this morning after the Wildflowers moved from the Nursing Alcove back to Puppy Central.

EVENING: Photos from the Fun Day

A bunk bed…

I love this photo because it says so much about Daisy.

Zoom lens! I was not as close as it seems.

That is Daisy happily meeting Suzanne’s daughter for the first time — in the middle of the Wildflowers. Daisy could not have been more thrilled to see her Bestie Suzanne and to make a new friend in Sarah. Daisy is such a kind dog.

A photo of a photo being taken of Clover.

Suzanne is in my social bubble and has been for the past three months. Masks will be required for visitors not in my immediate social bubble.

Suzanne with Mariposa and Lupine.

Okay — here is your look at puppy teeth!

Paintbrush — so cute and serious.

We all had fun visiting and being outside — even when there was a passing thunderstorm.

The puppies did a great job and are ready for more visitors!

Some of you cannot visit in person and so how about a meet-and-greet via Zoom on Saturday morning at 10 Montana time? I will post the link on Saturday morning.

Good Night, Friends!

Day 25 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag June 20, 2020

I start taking photos when I get up, and so these early photos are from before dawn and therefore, are not as crisp — but they help tell the story.

This is pre-dawn Clover. Sorry folks — the puppies will be early risers!

This photo is from Shift #1 in the Nursing Alcove — look at Larkspur! It is definitely getting crowded.

The father of the Wildflowers is Major — his sister, Jannu, sent her nieces and nephews some very, very cool toys. Mallow demonstrates one of them — it is a small ball that when bumped in the slightest…

…starts flashing and makes one of about a zillion different sounds — like a doorbell, barking, or a short song.

I love it! It introduces a constant stream of novel sounds — plus the flashing light. I will do a video later so you can see how the puppies are interested but not concerned — it is an excellent test of where they are right now with “novel” and it will continue to expose them to new sounds.

THANK YOU, Aunt Jannu!!!!!

But there is more.

Aunt Jannu also sent a set of age-appropriate toys for the Wildflowers. Here is a look at Puppy Central before the puppies joined — with the toys distributed.

SO CUTE — thank you!

Note the new potty zone. It is special puppy-safe turf over a used piddle pad so that it smell like the outhouse — Clover figured it out quickly.

I am also going to test a litter box set-up when the puppies move to the bigger space — we will see what they prefer.

The various toys are adorable but I notice an immediate preference for the chocolate donut. This is Mariposa.

Sage stretched out to also check out the chocolate one.

Of course, what is not to like about chocolate?!

This is Mariposa on her Toy Tour.

She was heading to the Puppy Pile to start winding down and sacking out.

But the red ramp was enticing, even for sleepy puppies. This is Lupine and Clarkia.

Mallow decided to give it a try. Note the towel on the one side — that is because there is a metal foot for the gate and puppies tumble a lot. We don’t want experimentation to hurt!

I bet you can see where this is going…

It was a well-padded landing and he was undeterred — back to the ramp he went but he decided to just fall asleep instead of climbing it again.

This is Sleepy Sage.

All nine!

They are resting up for the Big Adventures of today!

Video HERE — make sure to watch with sound.

EVENING: Photos from the Day

The original plan for the day was to introduce the puppies to their new outdoor play area/social distancing visiting area (aka the deck) but the weather was a bit sketchy and so we will try again tomorrow.

The puppies were well entertained inside with their new toys — this is Mallow…

Clarkia with the endlessly entertaining red ball…

The play structure came out again today.

We switched out some of the hanging items just to build additional novelty.

It was Harper’s turn for the long walk today — she is the great-aunt of the Wildflowers and is 8.5+ years old.

A fun day was had by all!

Good Night, Friends!

Day 24 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag June 19, 2020

All is well!

Daisy seems fully recovered and all of the Wildflowers are doing just fine. They still spend the majority of their time sleeping, as is appropriate for fast growing babies.

But their periods of play are extending — also appropriate.

This is Lupine — the flowers stay in the Nursing Alcove and so they get played with when the puppies spend time in there.

I like having different places for them, with different experiences in each place.

This is Buttercup.

I also need them to have a place to be when I clean and change out Puppy Central, which I do at least twice a day; the Nursing Alcove works great.

This is Paintbrush.

This is Mallow — he is now close to 3.5 pounds.

The Heavyweight Champion of Puppy Central is Clarkia, who is now over four pounds.

The platform stays in today and I added a small crate. Learning to be relaxed in a crate is an important skill — the presence of a crate with no door is the first step in that process.

This is a look at Puppy Central this morning.

I will be doing some revisions to their potty zone in the next day or two — they will soon be ready for something a bit more targeted, so to speak.

I do not put puppies in or on the new things — their job is to be curious, explore, and master the new things on their own. This is Clover.

I have noticed the puppies’ tails are all up as they are moving more and faster, as if the tail provides some kind of balance.

If we try to force puppies into new experiences, we risk associating new experiences with fear and anxiety — that is the opposite of what we want.

If we create opportunities for appropriate experiences — and let the puppy be the expert of their own comfort level — we support both competence and confidence.