We lost power Sunday afternoon due to the remnants of Hurricane Ike hitting this area with 80 mph sustained winds! We just got power back about 1:30 today- about 45 hours without power! We did just fine though. At one point 90 percent of Cincinnati was without power. The dogs were very confused by how quiet the house was and wondering why we were sitting at the table playing Yahtzee by candle light instead of doing our normal routine.
I was expecting an email from the breeder on Sunday night about a possible visit with the pups on Monday. So early Monday morning, we went to Lawrenceburg (they had power) for breakfast and stopped at the library to check email. Yea! I got to go see the pups that evening. The weather forecasters were saying rain all day, but thankfully it was beautiful and about 75 degrees.
The pups are definitely much more active now (6.5 weeks old) and using their teeth more! Anything that moved (& even body parts that didn't) were fair game. :-) All 3 boys are still very social, with stumpy seeming to be the master greeter of anyone coming in. At one point I had all 3 boys in my lap lovin' on them and getting lovin' right back. I got lots of puppy breath kisses from all of them (well, the ones not trying to chew on my chin :-)
I spent quite awhile dragging the tugs and toys around for them all to pile on and grab. Just watching them play was such fun! Seeing them stalk and pounce on each other, wrestle and tumble into the holes dug in the ground by their parents and aunt. There was a large hole in the corner with a piece of thick plywood partly covering it that they all seemed to enjoy using as a "fort" to play in and hide in.
The pups had to go through a baby pool full of bottles to get in and out of their main pen and most were doing that with ease. Smokey was trying to squeeze by the side without having to climb up and over, but eventually did get in and clamber through.
The breeder said they went through the storms just fine and were playing through them like nothing was happening. None of them seem bothered by sounds and all were intrigued by the funny duck type noises I can make with my mouth. They came running over and cocked their heads and gave me kisses. It was so cute!
They are all doing well. They got their first vaccinations and the breeder said all but two of them thought it was puppy torture. The normally tough pups cried, but then recovered well. The breeder also said that they will need another round of Coccidia treatment because they all seem to enjoy eating the dirt- and grass and leaves and tree sap and apples from the tree and....
The breeder also said I might be able to get my pup a bit early! One less person she has to coordinate with on that Friday (since everyone else is flying in or driving from quite a distance.) It sounds like the pups will be going all over the country! California, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Indiana are states I recall the breeder mentioning. Everyone is coming to get their pup, so none of them have to be flown solo (something the breeder won't do.)
Well, the power just went back out again for a few minutes, thankfully the post above was automatically saved so I could get back to it without having to re-type! But I'm going to publish this before it goes out again!
It might only be about 2 weeks till the pup arrives! Mike was even talking about puppy plans this morning and suggested we name the pup Dazzle M. followed by our last name. It sounds like the breeder might assign the name Jasper to my pup. I can live with that being used on registration forms and show entries but I don't see myself using it as his call name. Mike might though :-)
Ok, power went out again, time to quit and let them get it fully restored before I get too involved in something here.
