Little Cotton

So for the last puppy...a little spoiling is in order.  My mom came down & had to have Cotton on her lap during Jeopardy.  The funny thing is that she started watching TV!

And one stands alone

Well, all have gone....each to a great home-- it's crazy how each puppy went to a home most suited to his or her personality this time!  The last puppy goes next weekend.  Cotton is here alone but not lonely.  

'Cause Daddy is staying with her!

Getting ready for their new homes!

Now we are readying the puppies for their new homes.  They are well on their way to housebreaking!  

We still keep them on paper in the kitchen but now they "hold it" longer and longer and are starting to ask to go out...of course at night there are accidents but only a couple with 6 puppies...pretty good.  During the day we take them out first thing when we wake up in the morning, then we feed them about 30 minutes later and let them go out again for 20 minutes usually.  Back inside then and they normally sleep again.  Then in 3-4 hours we take them out again after they have played some inside. 

I let them stay out for 10 minutes or so and they come in and stretch out for a nap.  After they wake up and wrestle---out again.  They will play for several hours with toys or with each other and then they just sleep.  

Around lunch they have a dry food snack and crunch that for a while.  They are so good now at getting out and down the steps!  You have to be sure the door is open or they are in such a rush they will all just crash into the door like a big traffic jam.

Dog Flu

I had a call today from a new owner concerning Canine Influenza Virus (CIV).  

There have been several cases in the area where the puppy is going and I would love an opportunity to share what little I know and of course always check behind me (to make sure my info is not wrong)  and do your own research if it's an area that interests or concerns you!  

So here's what I have learned so far:  There are two kinds of Canine or Dog Flu: H3N8 and H3N2.  A couple of vaccines are available for use against the H3N8 strain but not the H3N2.

 The CDC does not know if there will be protection provided by the one single strain vaccine if the dog is infected by the other.  This is a problem in the flu vaccine people take -- if the vaccine doesn't contain the right mixes of flu strains and you catch another you can still get that type of flu.

Puppies can be vaccinated at 6 weeks, but the danger from CIV is much much less than the dangers of Parvovirus, or Distemper or Rabies. A time of isolation of a new puppy when it comes home at 8 weeks is needed to protect it from (especially) Parvovirus which often takes multiple vaccination to elicit an immune response that will protect the puppy.  So keeping your young dog at home is critical during the first 4 months until he or she has had several vaccines and time to build a wall of protection against these diseases.  If you decide on a flu vaccine to be part of that program then you have time to get it too.  Symptoms are similar to human symptoms and providing comfort and supportive care is all that is needed in most cases.  However if you are reading this you probably have or will soon have a BULLDOG and these short-nosed breeds often suffer more extreme symptoms since their noses and sinuses are shortened.  Talk it over with your vet and weight the benefits of vaccination...it may well be worth it to get the vaccine since these are special dogs!!

 

Calling with a kiss....

I just had to post one other thing...started calling the puppies with a "squeaking noise" kinda like a kissing noise. I call them to eat along with going outside and you can see here they are all asleep and one call and they are ready to go!  I wish human kids reacted the same...ha ha!  (Check out the post below because this is the second one today)

dirty little faces

Now that we are going outside to learn how to do our puppy business outside....well of course there is time to play too!  And that means puppies get dirty.  On little brown puppies you never can tell they have dirty faces but on white puppies?  Yes, its obvious we are playing outside.

does "Little" have milk....they will just check to make sure.

this one particular puppy loves to get really dirty....she loves rolling in the grass and sand and she has a really dirty face in this next picture...

snow??  no, just ice little ones.

back inside after playing all puppies are sleepy and very willing to let me take pictures of their dirty little faces...

but they are just too sleepy to play with me and all I can do is take pictures of their sweet little bodies.

 

An OUTSIDE adventure

The puppies went outside today to examine the WORLD! 

Well most did, one little puppy wouldn't come off the porch....

the other pups kept looking at him like "come on!"

There were other dogs to see and sniff.

There were rakes to step over...

branches to chew and walk through....

even Boomer explored

some were bored with branches but others found DIRT PILES to play in!

And there was a lot of just checking things out.

 Play-fighting!

Smells...

resting and napping too....

and finally time to GO back inside!