Galen | Dangerous Common Sense

Day 21 — Inflating the Puppy

By Galen|2018-10-15T11:52:30-07:00October 14, 2018|dachshunds|

Sometimes puppies need inflating... Day 21 -- Inflating a Puppy Fortunately, Geoffrey is an expert and can get a puppy so comfortable that her tongue falls out of her mouth! And, that leads to mega-yawns! MUNI and the pack at home had a stress-free day of sleeping and eating. MUNI was 30.7 oz at breakfast. She acts like she has set a personal goal of two pounds by tomorrow, and she's been spending the day nursing to meet the target! Unfortunately, Geoffrey's Worst Tax Season Ever is continuing, and he worked the entire day. He arrived back home [...]

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Day 20 — Personality Happens

By Galen|2018-10-15T10:50:54-07:00October 13, 2018|dachshunds|

MUNI is showing her eyes more... well, a little more. She still is crawling around the whelping box making determined moves toward Mother and food without noticing her surroundings too much. But, here eyes are open more. She doesn't have much reaction to any human she sees. About the biggest reaction she'll give is cuddling motions and sucking when we pet her and blow on her face and neck. Zenith is very good protective mother. So, when we want to weigh and hold MUNI, we have to send Zenith out of the room. Then we weigh and pose. Day [...]

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Day 19 – The Aperture Got Us

By Galen|2018-10-15T10:50:25-07:00October 12, 2018|dachshunds|

Today's update is more about the limits of photography than it's about raising a puppy. Remember, because MUNI just opened her eyes, we are not using flash for a while. When you take a picture in low light one way to make the image visible is to open up the lens aperture. (Read Wikipedia on lens aperture settings.) The aperture settings are delineated in f-stops. Higher number f-stops indicating smaller lens openings (less light) and lower f-stop numbers indicate a larger lens opening for more light. My camera's lens have f-stops from 22 to 2.8. 2.8 is pretty good at [...]

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Day 18 — I am the Walrus!

By Galen|2018-10-14T17:48:36-07:00October 11, 2018|dachshunds|

MUNI continues to grow at a happy pace. This morning at 7:30 she was up to 26 oz. even. We have started thinking that instead of a dachshund, we are raising a walrus. Here's why... Day 18 - I am the Walrus Meanwhile, we have narrowed Zenith's puppy food banquet down to just one brand: Hills Science Diet Puppy Food. This has made her stomach calmer. But, she still is demanding attention every few hours day or night. Sometimes she "needs" to go out, but often she's just looking for adult attention. And, at 2:30 in the afternoon [...]

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Day 17 — Playing Hide and Seek

By Galen|2018-10-10T20:48:37-07:00October 10, 2018|dachshunds|

We've seen MUNI's eyes, but she's not being rigorous about keep them open. Here's her 8:10 am look this morning: If you look real close -- and believe -- you can see MUNI's eyes.Click on the photo for a larger, clearer version. We (mainly me, because Geoff is working 12-hour days for the upcoming tax deadline) are handling her more. Both MUNI and Zenith seem to be okay with that. MUNI calms down when I blow on her face/neck, just like her mother does. Today, on the jittery scale, she jumped up 1.6 oz to 24.2 oz. I [...]

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Day 16 — The Eyes Have It!

By Galen|2018-10-10T19:51:40-07:00October 9, 2018|dachshunds|

Day 16 -- I See!Click for a full-size picture. MUNI is keeping to her snuggling, eating, and sleeping routine, and it's working. She looks like a fat, happy walrus in the whelping box. This morning she was 1.4 oz heavier than yesterday; she is now at 22.6 oz! Of course, the most impressive development was the ability to look MUNI in the eyes. You had to work at it, because she's keeping the openings to a slit, but there definitely an eye on each side. At the same time, Zenith has been eating regularly and strongly. She woke [...]

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Day 15 — Can I See Yet?

By Galen|2018-10-10T12:34:09-07:00October 8, 2018|dachshunds|

Another day of quiet growth... up to 21.2 oz at 8:15 am. Here's MUNI in the brighter kitchen lights at 8:15 am. Day 15 -- Can I See Yet?Click for a larger version! We checked for eyes in the morning, and there were none. But then, at 9:30 pm, Geoffrey looked into MUNI's eyes for the first time. Yay!

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Day 14 — MUNI Feels Safe in a Dad’s Arms

By Galen|2018-10-08T10:31:28-07:00October 7, 2018|dachshunds|

Still no eyes are showing, but MUNI continues to eat, grow, and move more often and further away from her mother in the whelping box . All good! When Geoffrey weighed MUNI this morning, it was another bouncy weight reading as she crawled around the towel on top of the glass bowl on top of the scale! Geoffrey settled on a weight of 19.8 oz. Here's MUNI after the 8:50 am weigh in... Day 14 -- At Ease in Dad's Arms.(Click for a larger version). The biggest improvement in pack morale today comes from Zenith's stopping her diarrhea [...]

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Day 13 — When “Sleep” is an Active Verb
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Day 13 — When “Sleep” is an Active Verb

dachshunds

Day 13 — When “Sleep” is an Active Verb

By Galen|2018-10-07T08:47:10-07:00October 6, 2018|dachshunds|

It's warm and sunny in Noe Valley, and all five girls are asleep, or close to it! Oddly, I am the only one who's gone out and enjoyed the fall sun. MUNI is preoccupied with growing, and Zenith looks comfortable providing the nourishment! MUNI noshing while Zenith zones out. MUNI weighed in another ounce heavier than yesterday at 18.4 oz. But, Geoffrey and I agree that the scale bounces all around with MUNI's movements. It's more like "pick a number" than scientific tracking. Fortunately, she's looking fat and healthy, and acting like a hungry 13 day old.

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Let Us Model Honorable Disagreement

By Galen|2018-10-06T06:45:01-07:00October 5, 2018|Politics|

If I were a Senator, I would vote AGAINST confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. I dislike the conservative judicial positions he holds, so I was a "NO" early on. Then, the way he handled the accusations of sexual assault, especially lying under oath about his drinking habits, disqualified him on a character level, in my opinion. Moreover, I believe Dr. Ford's account of what happened one afternoon 30-something years ago is accurate and that Brett Kavanaugh did what she said he did. I also suspect that he was blind drunk and does not remember the incident, or probably [...]

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