Ok, so here's an update on Brigit and Siobhan.
The good people at Austin Pets Alive! kindly took the girls into their program, and today they went to APA to get spayed, microchipped, and caught up on heartworm and flea preventative. They are now in an APA foster home, so if you are interested in adopting them, you will need to contact APA to meet the girls and fill out an application.
However, here's some information about the girls you might want to know before even considering them for adoption:
As you might have guessed if you've read any of the earlier entries, the girls were very thoroughly socialized. They have been around people of all shapes, sizes, ages, races, and wearing various kinds of clothing and accessories. They have spent their whole lives interacting with numerous other dogs, cats, parrots, livestock, and horses. When I was raising them, they were turned on their backs multiple times per day, and got very used to people messing with their ears, mouths, feet, tails, and got weekly nail trims. They are used to walking on various surfaces, being in various structures and social situations, and being approached by total strangers. They have also spent their whole lives thusfar sleeping in crates, so they are well adapted to crate training as well.
In the five weeks since they have been staying with the other foster mom, I cannot speak as to whether or not they retained their acceptance of nail trims and other forms of manhandling, but I do know that they continued to spend time with dogs, cats, and other people, and have been learning good doggie manners from other well-socialized adult dogs. They are also still very good around children, although since they are big and rambunctious girls, they might still accidentally knock over small children in their eagerness to play.
As far as I know, they are NOT housetrained, as their foster mom only let them inside at night to sleep in their crate and they otherwise lived in her backyard. They also have received little to no training, so they have not yet learned good manners like sit, stay, lay down, and the doozy: DON'T JUMP ON PEOPLE. As far as I can tell, that is their one really bad habit.
Having said all of that, these girls are extremely smart and have a steep learning curve, and beyond that have a nearly insatiable desire to please, so I'm fully confident that with love, consistency, and positive reinforcement training, they will quickly learn basic good manners, housetraining, and whatever else you may want to teach them.
Which brings me to another crucial point: these girls are most likely Border Collie, mixed with some kind of Shepherd or Bernese Mountain Dog or some other highly active, highly intelligent working breed. They have extraordinary personalities and the most gentle, friendly temperaments you could imagine, but they are also going to be big girls (my guess would be between 60 and 70 lbs) with a lot of mental and physical energy and the drive to WORK. It is crucial that they go to a home with either a big yard or an owner who can spend a lot of time each day giving them lots and lots of exercise. And above and beyond physical exercise, they are going to need a lot of mental stimulation as well. They need a job to do, so I cannot stress enough the importance of getting them into agility, herding trials, therapy work, or some other meaningful activity. If you cannot provide this for them, you are going to end up with a bored and anxious dog that will likely become neurotic and destructive. I would also recommend providing them with lots of enrichment opportunities, such as foraging toys.
And finally: I raised these girls from the bottle, so I am of course very attached to them. I would consider it a kindness, if you do end up adopting them, if you would send me updates from time to time, perhaps even the occasional picture or two. :) Obviously that isn't a requirement, but it is a pipe dream of mine.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Puppy Update
As you can see, I failed miserably in the whole keeping-a-puppy-blog category. In my defense, I was working over 100 hours a week this summer and didn't have internet access during much of that time. What I *didn't* fail at, however, was successfully raising and weaning two cute, healthy, very well-socialized puppies who are ready to go to a forever home that will treat them as part of the family and provide for their mental and physical needs by involving them in some kind of dog event like agility, flyball, herding trials, obedience trials, therapy, or any and all of the above and more! These girls have a lot of energy, waaaay more brains than are good for them, and a strong drive to please and love their family.
If you are interested in adopting them, please let me know. Shortly after they turned seven weeks old, I had to go on several consecutive 24-hour-care assignments for almost three weeks, and then had to go out of town for a veterinary conference, and now am housesitting in a place where I can't take them with me for the rest of the year. Needless to say, I could no longer keep the girls, so for the past few weeks they have been fostered by a woman who very kindly and generously took them into her home on very short notice, but now that they are getting older (12 weeks now, if you can believe it!) we need to find permanent homes for them soon!
Here are some relatively recent pictures of them. My, how big they've grown!
The Smooth Coat on the left is Siobhan and the Rough Coat on the right is Brigit. I miss my girls!
They're not *always* crazy! Sometimes they sleep, too!
How could anyone deny such a cute, sweet face?
Won't someone give them the super-home they deserve?
If you are interested in adopting them, please let me know. Shortly after they turned seven weeks old, I had to go on several consecutive 24-hour-care assignments for almost three weeks, and then had to go out of town for a veterinary conference, and now am housesitting in a place where I can't take them with me for the rest of the year. Needless to say, I could no longer keep the girls, so for the past few weeks they have been fostered by a woman who very kindly and generously took them into her home on very short notice, but now that they are getting older (12 weeks now, if you can believe it!) we need to find permanent homes for them soon!
Here are some relatively recent pictures of them. My, how big they've grown!
The Smooth Coat on the left is Siobhan and the Rough Coat on the right is Brigit. I miss my girls!
They're not *always* crazy! Sometimes they sleep, too!
How could anyone deny such a cute, sweet face?Won't someone give them the super-home they deserve?
Friday, August 14, 2009
Day 14
Well, I haven't had time to post daily as I'd hoped I would, but the girls have been doing great! They are eating canned food and soaked dry food very well, and from the very first time I introduced them to a bowl of water, they started drinking from it as if they'd been doing it for years and were old pros at it. They are daily becoming stronger and more coordinated, and yesterday started running successfully for the first time--well, Brigit is better at it than Siobhan is; Siobhan's still kind of a clutz. Also, their play fighting has evolved from haphazardly swiping their paws at each other and subsequently losing their balance to legitimate puppy grappling, complete with ear biting, bear hugs, and pinning each other to the ground. Brigit is usually the victor but every once in a while Siobhan gains the upper hand. Brigit is also the first to exhibit herding instincts, and has taken to herding her sister a lot lately. I really think she needs to go to a home where she will actually work as a herding dog.
They have been daily exposed to new sights, sounds, people, animals, ground textures, and they get manhandled (ears, feet, mouths, tails, tummies) several times each day. Today I felt they were coordinated and strong enough to go out into the backyard and run around on their own for the first time. I took my dog, Kody, out there as well and watched them explore the yard, Kody, and the kitty who has taken up residence in our back yard (don't worry; she's fully vaccinated and healthy). They had a great time, and wore themselves out. Thank god for mid-day puppy naps! Otherwise I'd never get anything done!
They have been daily exposed to new sights, sounds, people, animals, ground textures, and they get manhandled (ears, feet, mouths, tails, tummies) several times each day. Today I felt they were coordinated and strong enough to go out into the backyard and run around on their own for the first time. I took my dog, Kody, out there as well and watched them explore the yard, Kody, and the kitty who has taken up residence in our back yard (don't worry; she's fully vaccinated and healthy). They had a great time, and wore themselves out. Thank god for mid-day puppy naps! Otherwise I'd never get anything done!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Day 8
A lot has happened on the one-week anniversary of the puppies' arrival into my life.
After work I took them to my friend's house, which is the first place they've been other than White Angel and my house. They played with two new people, a (fully vetted and well-trained) Boxer, and learned how to walk on hardwood floors, which is a new surface for them. They did very well and really seemed to enjoy the interaction with the Boxer and the new people. Brigit even walked up to my friend, tail wagging, and gave her kisses on her face! So they are definitely learning to like new people. She took lots of pictures, so I will post them as soon as she sends them to me (hint hint).
When we got back home, I fed them a can of wet food again, and then offered them water for the first time. I put it in a shallow dish and held it under their heads, then touched their noses and tongues to some water on my finger, and that was that! They immediately started drinking water from the bowl as if they'd been doing it for years! They are so smart and catch on so quickly! So now I'm not sure whether or not to continue bottle feeding. They obviously CAN eat wet food and drink water on their own, but they seem a little young to be totally weaned, and they still enjoy the bottle. I think I'll let them have at least one bottle a day for another week or so.
After their meal, they had their first lesson in bite inhibition. Over the past three days, they have been slowly learning how to play together, and have been getting better at it every day. Today was their first full-on puppy play-battle. They were swatting each other with their paws, biting each other on their faces, ears, paws, and even tummies, and even wrestling with each other until one or the other fell over. But both of them have big enough teeth and are strong enough now that they actually hurt each other at a couple of points during the game. Brigit hurt Siobhan first, by biting too hard on the ear. When S yelped, B jumped back and looked at S for a long time like, "What was that for?" But then a few minutes later, S bit B on the tummy and B gave a yelp and kicked S in the face. For the rest of the game, neither of them bit each other too hard. I had the opportunity to continue the lesson with B when she turned the game towards me and started swatting at my hand. When I reached out to pet her, she playfully chomped on my finger. Of course the bite was so gentle that it didn't even leave a mark, much less feel uncomfortable, but I gave a similar yelp to the one they gave each other and then replaced my finger in her mouth with a chew toy. B took the hint and starting chewing on her own paw instead of trying to come back at my finger. I am really, really glad that they dumped two puppies instead of just one. It's so much more difficult to teach bite inhibition when they don't have each other as teachers!
When they got tired of playing, they wanted to explore. This curiosity about what lies beyond their crate and feeding area is a relatively new development as well, so I let them wander. They both found the bathroom fairly quickly and started ice skating across the tile. After a few minutes' practice, however, they actually both became fairly proficient at walking on this new surface (that's two new surfaces in one day!), and Brigit made it all the way over to the cabinets. B has a little spot of puppy dandruff on the back of her head, and the clever girl somehow figured out that if she rubbed her head on the bottom edge of the cabinet, she could scratch the little itchy spot! As she did so, her back leg began to thump like dogs do when they're ticklish. Seriously...SO CUTE.
And then we inadvertently had our final lesson of the day: as I went to lie down on the bathroom floor so I could get on their level, my knee accidentally bumped the door and the door bumped into the door stopper. It made a moderately loud "bump" and then "boing" noise of the door stopper spring, which startled Brigit so much that she whipped her head around in that direction and started growling and barking (well, the closest thing a three week old puppy has to a bark) at the door. A-ha! Time to start with noise desensitization training! As soon as she calmed down and started to return to her previous activities, I distracted her by offering some water and then gently bumped the door with my foot. Even though the first couple of times she threw a suspicious glance towards the door, she didn't growl or bark again, and by the time I had started hitting the door as loudly as I accidentally did the first time, she was over it. Of course, Siobhan never reacted to the noise to begin with, so I didn't have to do anything with her at all. Still, I'm glad this happened because now I can tell that I am definitely going to have to get creative about continuing to expose the girls to new and different noises so they don't end up with sound phobias. It's no coincidence that on this website about phobic dogs, the picture in the header is a Border Collie. This breed is notorious for becoming phobic, neurotic, and in the worst cases, actually insane if not properly socialized when young and/or utilized when older. But we're not going to let that happen to these girls.
Which reminds me: I know I said in the first journal entry that I thought they were B. Collie/A. Shepherd mixes, but as they're getting older and their shape and coloration is becoming more defined, I think they're actually purebred Borders. Which, you know, is pretty cool, too.
After work I took them to my friend's house, which is the first place they've been other than White Angel and my house. They played with two new people, a (fully vetted and well-trained) Boxer, and learned how to walk on hardwood floors, which is a new surface for them. They did very well and really seemed to enjoy the interaction with the Boxer and the new people. Brigit even walked up to my friend, tail wagging, and gave her kisses on her face! So they are definitely learning to like new people. She took lots of pictures, so I will post them as soon as she sends them to me (hint hint).
When we got back home, I fed them a can of wet food again, and then offered them water for the first time. I put it in a shallow dish and held it under their heads, then touched their noses and tongues to some water on my finger, and that was that! They immediately started drinking water from the bowl as if they'd been doing it for years! They are so smart and catch on so quickly! So now I'm not sure whether or not to continue bottle feeding. They obviously CAN eat wet food and drink water on their own, but they seem a little young to be totally weaned, and they still enjoy the bottle. I think I'll let them have at least one bottle a day for another week or so.
After their meal, they had their first lesson in bite inhibition. Over the past three days, they have been slowly learning how to play together, and have been getting better at it every day. Today was their first full-on puppy play-battle. They were swatting each other with their paws, biting each other on their faces, ears, paws, and even tummies, and even wrestling with each other until one or the other fell over. But both of them have big enough teeth and are strong enough now that they actually hurt each other at a couple of points during the game. Brigit hurt Siobhan first, by biting too hard on the ear. When S yelped, B jumped back and looked at S for a long time like, "What was that for?" But then a few minutes later, S bit B on the tummy and B gave a yelp and kicked S in the face. For the rest of the game, neither of them bit each other too hard. I had the opportunity to continue the lesson with B when she turned the game towards me and started swatting at my hand. When I reached out to pet her, she playfully chomped on my finger. Of course the bite was so gentle that it didn't even leave a mark, much less feel uncomfortable, but I gave a similar yelp to the one they gave each other and then replaced my finger in her mouth with a chew toy. B took the hint and starting chewing on her own paw instead of trying to come back at my finger. I am really, really glad that they dumped two puppies instead of just one. It's so much more difficult to teach bite inhibition when they don't have each other as teachers!
When they got tired of playing, they wanted to explore. This curiosity about what lies beyond their crate and feeding area is a relatively new development as well, so I let them wander. They both found the bathroom fairly quickly and started ice skating across the tile. After a few minutes' practice, however, they actually both became fairly proficient at walking on this new surface (that's two new surfaces in one day!), and Brigit made it all the way over to the cabinets. B has a little spot of puppy dandruff on the back of her head, and the clever girl somehow figured out that if she rubbed her head on the bottom edge of the cabinet, she could scratch the little itchy spot! As she did so, her back leg began to thump like dogs do when they're ticklish. Seriously...SO CUTE.
And then we inadvertently had our final lesson of the day: as I went to lie down on the bathroom floor so I could get on their level, my knee accidentally bumped the door and the door bumped into the door stopper. It made a moderately loud "bump" and then "boing" noise of the door stopper spring, which startled Brigit so much that she whipped her head around in that direction and started growling and barking (well, the closest thing a three week old puppy has to a bark) at the door. A-ha! Time to start with noise desensitization training! As soon as she calmed down and started to return to her previous activities, I distracted her by offering some water and then gently bumped the door with my foot. Even though the first couple of times she threw a suspicious glance towards the door, she didn't growl or bark again, and by the time I had started hitting the door as loudly as I accidentally did the first time, she was over it. Of course, Siobhan never reacted to the noise to begin with, so I didn't have to do anything with her at all. Still, I'm glad this happened because now I can tell that I am definitely going to have to get creative about continuing to expose the girls to new and different noises so they don't end up with sound phobias. It's no coincidence that on this website about phobic dogs, the picture in the header is a Border Collie. This breed is notorious for becoming phobic, neurotic, and in the worst cases, actually insane if not properly socialized when young and/or utilized when older. But we're not going to let that happen to these girls.
Which reminds me: I know I said in the first journal entry that I thought they were B. Collie/A. Shepherd mixes, but as they're getting older and their shape and coloration is becoming more defined, I think they're actually purebred Borders. Which, you know, is pretty cool, too.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Day 6
So today's entry is the first that I'm making in the blog instead of moving it from the notebook to the blog. The girls continue to grow like weeds. They are walking better and wagging their tails more and, for the first time ever, I saw them playing with each other. They were sucking on each other's faces, pawing each other, play-biting each other's ears and paws... acting like puppies, basically. This afternoon, they started initiating the same kind of play with me, and as I've been typing up this blog they've been crawling all over me and getting into trouble on a minutely basis. Siobhan actually starting licking my arm, as opposed to trying to suckle on it, so that's a big-girl behavior as well.
And - hooray! - both girls had normal, soft-serve poopies for the first time since I started them on antibiotics! The probiotics are working! They did vomit up some of their food, though. Dr. Zilkha thinks it's just because they've been such piggies about eating the canned food instead of easing into it with gruel, and she's probably right. I should have been more insistent about eating the gruel first, but they're so cute when they chow down that canned stuff!
And - hooray! - both girls had normal, soft-serve poopies for the first time since I started them on antibiotics! The probiotics are working! They did vomit up some of their food, though. Dr. Zilkha thinks it's just because they've been such piggies about eating the canned food instead of easing into it with gruel, and she's probably right. I should have been more insistent about eating the gruel first, but they're so cute when they chow down that canned stuff!
Brigit and Siobhan have their very own journal.
In case you haven't already read their story (psst...in the column over there to the left), I woke up this past Saturday never suspecting that I'd be bringing home two bottle-baby puppies from one of the vet clinics where I do relief work. Being unprepared for such a thing and having not yet thought out the particulars of their eventual rehoming, I was just keeping a journal in a little notebook for my own benefit. It occurred to me today that if I were to make this journal public, people could share in their growth and development and, hopefully, someone out there who is capable of providing the right home for these little girls will read this and want to adopt them.
So, without further ado, this is the journal I have been keeping, transcribed into the ether for your viewing pleasure.
Saturday, August 1st
Today, the receptionist at White Angel Animal Hospital arrived at the clinic to find an Office Depot box on the doorstep. Inside it were two fuzzy black puppies with a note stating briefly that the owners couldn't care for them anymore and requesting that we find them a new home. Being the sucker that I am, of course I agreed to take them. The note didn't specify how old they are or what breed, but they look a lot like Border Collie mixes, probably with some Australian Shepherd somewhere in there. Both of these breeds are the kind of dogs that, when they're good, they're very very good, but when they're bad, they're horrid. They have strong tendencies towards being skittish and mouthy, and I believe that a large part of that is inadequate socialization and bite inhibition during their crucial formative stages. So...a chance to bring these dogs up right? Couldn't pass it up. The next step is finding a home or homes where people can provide these dogs with continued socialization, positive reinforcement training, gainful employment through herding, agility, and/or other dog sports, and of course, the love and stability that all dogs need to be healthy and happy.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, their names.
The bigger of the two is already bossy. When the receptionist peeked into the box, she growled at her! These puppies' eyes are barely open, and already she's growling! She also threw a temper tantrum when I turned her over on her back. She did NOT like it and struggled the whole time. Being primarily Border Collies, she needed a good Celtic name, so I named her Brigit, after the Celtic goddess of fire. She's a firecracker, for sure!
The smaller of the two is definitely the calmer, more submissive one. She instantly cuddled up underneath my arm, and when I turned her on her back, she went limp and fell asleep. So I named her Siobhan, which is Celtic for "the grace of God". She's definitely the more gracious of the two.
Brigit weighs 2.2 lbs and Siobhan weighs 2.0 lbs. I went to PetSmart to get them some formula, but they didn't have bottles! So, their first meal was fed to them from a syringe, and of course they both aspirated milk. Just starting out and already I'm having to start them on a round of antibiotics! Which of course means that their lovely, normal stools are going to turn into diarrhea in the next day or two. Might as well start them on probiotics now. And, for good measure, I went ahead and gave them a dose of dewormer. Dr. Zilkha did an exam and said that they appear to be healthy. Since their eyes have only just opened and their ears are still closed, we think they're probably under two weeks old. That means they're still within the age range for early neurological stimulation. Sure, it might not be as effective as if we'd been able to start them off with it at 3 days old, but it will be better than nothing! They did surprisingly well with it, actually. Obviously, Siobhan was more relaxed about the supine position than Brigit was, but they both did pretty well. This is going to be fun!
Whatever circumstances occurred to prevent these puppies' previous owners from caring for them any longer, they certainly did a good job to begin with. Both girls have soft, silky fur and nice, round tummies. They were clean and well cared-for, and I'm excited to continue where they left off.
Sunday, August 2nd
OH MY GOD, these girls needed a nail trim in the worst way! They are eager, active eaters and have clawed me to shreds every time they've eaten. My hands and forearms look like I was on the losing end of a cat fight. So in addition to their regular grooming regimen, we did a little mani/pedi, too. They didn't seem to care, but *I* feel so much better!
And, as I predicted, they started in with the diarrhea today. Good thing I bought some puppy probiotics; they're going to need it!
I also bought them baby bottles today because my search for puppy bottles proved futile and syringe feeding got really old, really fast. They suck down those bottles at an alarming rate. My little piggies.
It's funny how apparent their little personalities are at such a young age. After being fed and cleaned, Brigit goes off and takes a nap a couple of feet away from me and Siobhan crawls up to me and snuggles right into my arm pit. I'm trying to foster a little less independence in Brigit by feeding whomever gets to me first. I open their crate door and call to them and clap my hands, and Siobhan comes running, so she gets to eat first. At first, Brigit would just kind of hang back and cry, but I've noticed that she is starting to catch on and participate in racing to me. She hasn't won the race yet, but at least she's trying now. Which is great. I have no desire to break her spirit, but I do want her to learn to enjoy human company and accept human dominance. She was less pissy about the supine position with our early neurological stimulation tonight, but still not quite thrilled.
Monday, August 3rd
Brigit won the race to be fed for the first time this morning! Also, they're growing like weeds! Brigit is now 2.6 lbs and Siobhan is 2.5 lbs.
Tuesday, August 4th
I got the cutest pictures of the girls this morning.
They are sitting up and starting to walk vs. crawl, and after Brigit ate this afternoon, she started wagging her tail. Their eyes are also open enough now that I can distinguish between the iris and the pupil, and I can even sometimes see the sclera. And when they are looking at me, I can tell that they are actually focusing on me, not just staring blindly into space. Their ears are still closed, but I think they can hear a little bit.
Their tri markings are starting to come out, too. Brigit is starting to get little brown eyebrows, like her sister!
Wednesday, August 5th
I didn't get much sleep last night because the puppies were up all night whining their fool heads off. Especially that Siobhan. She is a real whiner. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with them, but this morning when I went to feed them I discovered that they had sprouted teeth overnight! Last night when they were chewing on my fingers, it was just gums; this morning, little baby teethlets! What's odd is that their ears still haven't opened, and usually the ears come before the teeth. Either way, now that they're walking and have teeth, I'm going to guess that they're beyond 17 days and past the point where early neurological stimulation is useful. So they got 5 days of it. Better than nothing, I suppose. I think this is definitely true, since by now Brigit completely accepts being placed on her back and actually seems to enjoy it. And best of all, today after breakfast, she came up and started snuggling with me! This is the first time that she has sought out human contact for something other than food! Hooray for Brigit!
I worked another shift at White Angel today and we offered the puppies some gruel. They were ok with it, but both of them found the can of undiluted canned food and devoured the entire thing between the two of them. Sooo...it looks like it's time to start supplementing the bottle feedings with canned foods. Let the weaning commence!
My girls are huge. They weighed in at 3.0 lbs each. Siobhan has caught up with Brigit, but B still looks bigger.
So, without further ado, this is the journal I have been keeping, transcribed into the ether for your viewing pleasure.
Saturday, August 1st
Today, the receptionist at White Angel Animal Hospital arrived at the clinic to find an Office Depot box on the doorstep. Inside it were two fuzzy black puppies with a note stating briefly that the owners couldn't care for them anymore and requesting that we find them a new home. Being the sucker that I am, of course I agreed to take them. The note didn't specify how old they are or what breed, but they look a lot like Border Collie mixes, probably with some Australian Shepherd somewhere in there. Both of these breeds are the kind of dogs that, when they're good, they're very very good, but when they're bad, they're horrid. They have strong tendencies towards being skittish and mouthy, and I believe that a large part of that is inadequate socialization and bite inhibition during their crucial formative stages. So...a chance to bring these dogs up right? Couldn't pass it up. The next step is finding a home or homes where people can provide these dogs with continued socialization, positive reinforcement training, gainful employment through herding, agility, and/or other dog sports, and of course, the love and stability that all dogs need to be healthy and happy.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, their names.
The bigger of the two is already bossy. When the receptionist peeked into the box, she growled at her! These puppies' eyes are barely open, and already she's growling! She also threw a temper tantrum when I turned her over on her back. She did NOT like it and struggled the whole time. Being primarily Border Collies, she needed a good Celtic name, so I named her Brigit, after the Celtic goddess of fire. She's a firecracker, for sure!
The smaller of the two is definitely the calmer, more submissive one. She instantly cuddled up underneath my arm, and when I turned her on her back, she went limp and fell asleep. So I named her Siobhan, which is Celtic for "the grace of God". She's definitely the more gracious of the two.
Brigit weighs 2.2 lbs and Siobhan weighs 2.0 lbs. I went to PetSmart to get them some formula, but they didn't have bottles! So, their first meal was fed to them from a syringe, and of course they both aspirated milk. Just starting out and already I'm having to start them on a round of antibiotics! Which of course means that their lovely, normal stools are going to turn into diarrhea in the next day or two. Might as well start them on probiotics now. And, for good measure, I went ahead and gave them a dose of dewormer. Dr. Zilkha did an exam and said that they appear to be healthy. Since their eyes have only just opened and their ears are still closed, we think they're probably under two weeks old. That means they're still within the age range for early neurological stimulation. Sure, it might not be as effective as if we'd been able to start them off with it at 3 days old, but it will be better than nothing! They did surprisingly well with it, actually. Obviously, Siobhan was more relaxed about the supine position than Brigit was, but they both did pretty well. This is going to be fun!
Whatever circumstances occurred to prevent these puppies' previous owners from caring for them any longer, they certainly did a good job to begin with. Both girls have soft, silky fur and nice, round tummies. They were clean and well cared-for, and I'm excited to continue where they left off.
Sunday, August 2nd
OH MY GOD, these girls needed a nail trim in the worst way! They are eager, active eaters and have clawed me to shreds every time they've eaten. My hands and forearms look like I was on the losing end of a cat fight. So in addition to their regular grooming regimen, we did a little mani/pedi, too. They didn't seem to care, but *I* feel so much better!
And, as I predicted, they started in with the diarrhea today. Good thing I bought some puppy probiotics; they're going to need it!
I also bought them baby bottles today because my search for puppy bottles proved futile and syringe feeding got really old, really fast. They suck down those bottles at an alarming rate. My little piggies.
It's funny how apparent their little personalities are at such a young age. After being fed and cleaned, Brigit goes off and takes a nap a couple of feet away from me and Siobhan crawls up to me and snuggles right into my arm pit. I'm trying to foster a little less independence in Brigit by feeding whomever gets to me first. I open their crate door and call to them and clap my hands, and Siobhan comes running, so she gets to eat first. At first, Brigit would just kind of hang back and cry, but I've noticed that she is starting to catch on and participate in racing to me. She hasn't won the race yet, but at least she's trying now. Which is great. I have no desire to break her spirit, but I do want her to learn to enjoy human company and accept human dominance. She was less pissy about the supine position with our early neurological stimulation tonight, but still not quite thrilled.
Monday, August 3rd
Brigit won the race to be fed for the first time this morning! Also, they're growing like weeds! Brigit is now 2.6 lbs and Siobhan is 2.5 lbs.
Tuesday, August 4th
I got the cutest pictures of the girls this morning.
They are sitting up and starting to walk vs. crawl, and after Brigit ate this afternoon, she started wagging her tail. Their eyes are also open enough now that I can distinguish between the iris and the pupil, and I can even sometimes see the sclera. And when they are looking at me, I can tell that they are actually focusing on me, not just staring blindly into space. Their ears are still closed, but I think they can hear a little bit.
Their tri markings are starting to come out, too. Brigit is starting to get little brown eyebrows, like her sister!
Wednesday, August 5th
I didn't get much sleep last night because the puppies were up all night whining their fool heads off. Especially that Siobhan. She is a real whiner. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with them, but this morning when I went to feed them I discovered that they had sprouted teeth overnight! Last night when they were chewing on my fingers, it was just gums; this morning, little baby teethlets! What's odd is that their ears still haven't opened, and usually the ears come before the teeth. Either way, now that they're walking and have teeth, I'm going to guess that they're beyond 17 days and past the point where early neurological stimulation is useful. So they got 5 days of it. Better than nothing, I suppose. I think this is definitely true, since by now Brigit completely accepts being placed on her back and actually seems to enjoy it. And best of all, today after breakfast, she came up and started snuggling with me! This is the first time that she has sought out human contact for something other than food! Hooray for Brigit!
I worked another shift at White Angel today and we offered the puppies some gruel. They were ok with it, but both of them found the can of undiluted canned food and devoured the entire thing between the two of them. Sooo...it looks like it's time to start supplementing the bottle feedings with canned foods. Let the weaning commence!
My girls are huge. They weighed in at 3.0 lbs each. Siobhan has caught up with Brigit, but B still looks bigger.
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