Tuesday 26 August 2008

games in the pen

The puppies have settled in to the downstairs pen and seem to be growing right before my eyes now. In fact, I think I'll be adding the pen extension today to double the size. They are taking all the household noises as they come and haven't been too worried by the washing machine spinning or the Dyson zooming around their perimeter.

When they're not sleeping or eating, they're too busy playing to worry about any random bangs or crashes. They're interacting with each other, us and their toys a great deal now. When I come downstairs in the morning, I call them and they all run, yapping, to the side of the pen looking up, waiting for breakfast.

Breakfast today was last night's leftover puppy biscuit mush and another plate of porridge. The biscuit went down very well and no one turned up their nose or seemed to have any trouble eating it. I will gradually lessen the time I soak it for until they are able to happily crunch up the bits.

On Thursday they will be 4 weeks old and that means lots of new things. New portraits, of course, and visits from strangers & patiently waiting families. It also means I need to start making up my mind about which puppy will stay here with mum & dad and which ones will go where. Placing the puppies in the right homes is a job I take very seriously and I try so hard to make sure the personality fits the family.

Of course, some puppies' personalities change when they move into their new home and get their paws under the table, don't they Koda? Koda was a quiet little mouse when he lived here with us and when he went to his family his cheeky, adventurous character really developed! A little bit of work and he's now reverted to his good-boy status and is a real delight.

The magic 1-month-old milestone also means that I'm hoping the pups will start spending some of their time in the garden. Fingers crossed for good weather - or at least better than it's been for the last 2 months or so. Now need to find some time to get the grass cut good and short in preparation.

For your entertainment today, a little video of games in the pen.

2 comments:

Adam and Paula said...

I really should be doing some work, but can't help but keep watching the video. They are so cute when they're playing with each other :)

Jennifer said...

Hmmm, let's see, now, what would I prefer? Work or puppies, puppies or work...?