puppies2018 | Dangerous Common Sense

Day 34 — A Saturday at Home with the Pack

MUNI gained only an ounce today to 2 pounds, 13 ounces. The leisurely progression reflected the laid-back nature of the whole day.

Grandma SeQueL made sure everything was orderly for the stay-at-home day for the girls…

Day 34 – Grandmother Inspects
Don’t forget to click this picture… or any blogged pic… for a larger size photo!

… even if Geoffrey and I went out mid-day for a cooking class and memorial service (two separate events!). Our absence, from 11:30 to about 4, was the longest that MUNI has ever gone without human supervision.

She was not stressed by the abandonment.

To make up for our galavanting after dinner we invited the whole pack to watch TV with us. MUNI fit right in, although we cleared the confusion a bit for Geoffrey to take this photo.

Geoffrey took this photo of MUNI cuddling next to me while the rest of the pack joined us on the TV room bed.

By Galen|2018-10-31T12:19:14-07:00October 27, 2018|dachshunds|0 Comments

Day 33 — Widening Our Social Circle

Now that MUNI is centrally located, she can be visited more easily. We’re happy that people want to see her because she — and all puppies — need socialization.

Today our first outside-the-pack visitors accepted an invitation to visit.

Day 33 – Carrier Sterre-Salazar meets MUNI and Mother Zenith
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A friend from church, Carrie, was MUNI’s first visitor.

I’d locked SeQueL, Paris, and Apex out of the kitchen to keep the commotion down. They were behind a dog gate in the back hall. Zenith stayed with MUNI.

When Carrie came into the house, the protective barks from all were fierce. But, I insisted that Carrie was okay, and even Zenith managed to stifle the barks and low growls that initially accompanied Carrie into the kitchen. Carrie, a dog person, was wonderful and calming, and eventually even mother Zenith allowed Carrie to hold MUNI… briefly… without exhibiting too much anxiety.

After the puppy viewing and petting, Carrie and I went into the dining room to catch up and have some coffee. Carrie came back into the kitchen for a second visit before leaving. She was a model socialization instrument!

After work, Charles gave Geoff a ride home so that Charles could also meet MUNI. They seemed to hit it off.

Day 33 – Charles and MUNI
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So, today’s highlights were two “stranger” socialization visits. Excellent.

Of course, I have always marveled that we treat puppies exactly the opposite as we treat children. We encourage puppies to be friendly to strangers and to take candy (treats) from them. If we did that to our human children, we’d be shunned for being careless and unfit parents!

The other change for the day is that Geoffrey started recording MUNI’s weight in pounds instead of just ounces. Yesterday, MUNI weighted 43.2 ounces. Today she’s 2 pounds, 12 ounces!

By Galen|2018-10-31T09:57:53-07:00October 26, 2018|dachshunds|0 Comments

Day 32 — Expanding Horizons

Wow! Now that the whelping box is in the kitchen, MUNI is really the center of attention.

Day 32 — A Confusion of Dachshunds

All of the adult girls feel the need to wander into the whelping box and either clean, lick, and guard or else simply greet and sniff.

The configurations change, but the quarters are close and there is lots of intrapack contact. Good canine socialization for MUNI!

Day 32 — A Narrower Confusion of Dachshunds

The day was a lovely sunny October San Francisco day. Without getting agreement from Geoffrey, I decided that when the girls went out to sun themselves in the afternoon, all of the girls would go out!

MUNI on the bricks!

MUNI was not a fan of the coolish bricks, and Zenith was not a fan of exposing her girl to the world. I understood both their points.

I hovered over MUNI, making sure no wandering predator would even see her, and I blew on her head to add some warmth. MUNI appreciated the attention and was able to feign composure for a few seconds.

Day 32 — Feigning Composure on the Bricks

After the successful exposure to new stimuli I had hoped that MUNI would dive into solid food.

Naw! You can lead a puppy to gruel, but you cannot make her eat!

Day 32 — It Only Looks Like I’m Eating

By Galen|2018-10-28T09:39:59-07:00October 25, 2018|dachshunds|2 Comments

Day 31 — Moving Day

We thought we might move the whelping box into the kitchen over the weekend. That would make MUNI more integrated into our lives and give her an idea of what humans do. We think that MUNI can handle the additional draft of the kitchen, especially since the heater can follow her there.

But, we have been busy or the moment just didn’t seem right, here it is Wednesday, and the TV Room is still the Puppy’s Room. So, the day started out with the now-traditional weighing.

Day 31 -- MUNI on the food scalegetting weighed

Day 31 — How We’re Weighed

This morning, MUNI was a respectable 42.4 oz. As she moves around on the scale, the numbers jump around. So, the weight is approximate, but the trend is important… and very good!

The day was another comfortable day with the pack. Zenith insisted about 1:30 that she have a snack before my afternoon church meeting, and nothing eventful happened.

Events happened after Geoffrey got home! We [finally] moved the whelping box into the kitchen. Not only did this involve changing the bedding and moving the box, the whole pack, including MUNI, got to comment.

Zenith and MUNI complained considerably that they hadn’t been consulted about the move. The other girls felt their space had been invaded. The Force had definitely been disturbed!

Day 31 -- MUNI and Zenith in the whelping box on the kitchen tiles

Day 31 — Into the Kitchen. MUNI settles in while mother Zenith remains watchful.

Eventually, the pack chilled somewhat. The new location is accessible to the whole pack, and from the very start there started to be a revolving door (or gate) of puppy inspections and cleaning by the adults. The trend we’ve noticed since the pack all met MUNI has been for the former mothers, SeQueL and Paris, to compete to clean and groom MUNI. Apex is more of a sniff, inspect, and move on. Now that the whelping box is in the kitchen, there is a constant request by the mothers to visit and clean the puppy.

The moving activity exhausted us all. At the end, MUNI crashed and didn’t even notice that after being weighed this morning, she was measured at bedtime!

Day 31 — Practicing Length

By Galen|2018-10-27T18:28:53-07:00October 24, 2018|dachshunds|0 Comments

Day 30 — Staying Ahead of Mom

MUNI first sampled solid food on Day 28, two days ahead of Zenith’s first plunge into a food bowl (according to the photo record). Back in 2013 Zenith was still using her puppy name “Janice”, and wasn’t eager to give up her mother’s milk, but we thought it was time for her to try.

MUNI is similarly hesitant to stop relying on her mother’s milk. She waddled up to the food bowl on her own a couple days ago. But, since then she hasn’t been enthusiastic about solid food.

Today MUNI licked — and maybe chewed — the sides of the saucer. And, she took a few laps of the water-diluted puppy food. But, she really didn’t dine.

Day 30 — Contemplating Puppy Gruel

After licking a few bits of food, MUNI backed up, getting away from the evil saucer. She went back under the towel acting as the roof of the whelping box. There she waiting for Zenith to come with the familiar nourishment.

Small, puppy-steps to maturity today. But, she remains on the weight-gain trajectory. Today she was 41.4 ounces.

By Galen|2018-10-27T12:36:51-07:00October 23, 2018|dachshunds|0 Comments