Geoffrey was up early today to do a full day at the office on the tax deadline day (this never happens, but this year is “different”), so the morning weighing was early, at 7:10. But, MUNI made her goal!  She’s an even 32 ounces!

MUNI, All 32 ounces of her, still fits in one hand.
(Don’t forget you can click on the pictures a couple times to see a full-size photo!)

We think that MUNI reacts a bit more to the humans every day. She is comfortable in our arms.

MUNI has the Yawn Action Down Cold!

And, like her mother and her aunt, she likes us blowing on her neck and head. This is a yawn, not a howl of complaint!

Mother Zenith, however, is not a fan of her daughter being picked up and petted. For the photographs, we have been sending the adult pack outside to do their doggie things. While they’ve been outside, Geoffrey and I have scooped up MUNI, posed, and returned her to the whelping box ASAP.

Zenith still knows that her puppy has been MANhandled. She whimpers and licks MUNI clean.

Our vet comes Wednesday, and we’ll discuss with her if we need to do any behavior modification. The trade-off between mom’s need for security and puppy socialization probably has an infinite number of answers. Like every other question in dog world, it seems for every 10 people, there are at least 15 definitive answers.

Today is warm and sunny in the backyard. Mom and the other adults will go out and lay on the bricks for a few minutes. Zenith lets herself relax, get petted, and snuggle on the bricks for a minute or two. Then she jumps up and asks to go back into the puppy’s room to check and nurse.

Zenith also is on to my mixing dried kibble with the wet puppy food. She turned her nose up at the last of the food this morning, even after I added some ground-up boiled chicken.  She may be returning to more picky eating, but it’s also likely that she just wasn’t hungry for THAT much food.  We will have to see in the coming days.

Tomorrow our 24 cans of puppy food will be delivered from PetCo. This would not be the right time for Zenith to decide she’s over the Science Diet menu!

But, for now, we are warm, quiet, and happy.

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 sometime after 7, and these pictures are from 9:30, right before pack bed time.

No real news on the growth front: steady as she goes.

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 19 – Personality Happens

When we open the puppy room (aka: the TV Room) door to the kitchen, usually Zenith is right there whining and dancing to come back in and check on her pup. Very cute.

Zenith continues to suggest (strongly) that there be a mid-afternoon snack, and we are obliging. She also is taking a few more minutes of adult time, away from the puppy, when she goes outside. Today she and I sat in the sun in the backyard for five minutes making out before she decided she had to run back and be a mother.

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 she is looking for an afternoon snack to tide her through the day!