Day 24 - First solid food

One of the interesting side effects of moving the puppies was the access to hard food that they experienced. While we sat around watching them hopping and bopping in their new living space, I noticed that the puppies were actively licking and trying to eat Fury's kibble.

Two lessons learned here.

One - I put a bunch of kibble in a blender and then set it out for the dogs. Oh my gosh, did they just love that. All the puppies got seriously into stuffing themselves into it, getting it on their wet little noses and paws, but getting a lot in their little tummies, too. I know lots of people are writing/texting to suggest I make a mash, but I am quite sure that as their little teeth come in, regular kibble should work just fine. Right now they've got a little ramekin of dog food powder to experiment with, along with some water.

And two - this one is sad for me. The lesson was, "Listen to your own inclinations." So yesterday I reported that Firma got a correction from Fury for trying out her dog food while she was eating. I told the MacRoberts about it, and given that they've had a few more dogs than me, I listened to their advice that the puppies needed to learn to take correction from her. Against my inclination that at this age, the puppies are not that aware yet to benefit from corrections, I put Fury's food bowl back in the pen (she spent most of the day in there since they were around and Fury was more than uneasy about four strangers camped out on the couches all day) so she could eat.

She started up growling at puppies approaching to try her food and they kept reassuring me it was okay that she correct them . . . and then she snapped at Moto, who got something of an overcorrection that sent him into panicked puppy screaming. As SOON as that happened, Fury went nuts. You could clearly see that she was sorry she'd done it and tried hard to fix it, but went into a serious panic.

Poor little guy had lost some trust in Mom and wanted to be away from her, and so I grabbed him and tried to comfort him away from him, but then Fury was even more frenzied that I had taken him from her charge. Yishai got in the pen and tried to comfort her while I tried to mellow Moto out. It was at least fifteen minutes of sad puppy, mama, and Yishai and I both came together lately and said we, too, had some heartbreak from the situation. I guess we're bleeding hearts compared to some, but I really identified with Fury on this one - she was just being a dog and then made a mistake, and one she had to pay dearly for.

Moto, by the way, is back to trusting her, but -- ugh -- what a sad little moment in the four of our lives. From now on, I'm going to trust my own inclinations a lot more.

I've also managed to document a phenomenon my roommate Casper and I have started: work/study puppies. Given that I work from home most of the time, I'm camped in front of my computer, which is in my "office" while the puppies are in the living room. I generally select a sleepy puppy and either stuff it in a pocket or set it on my lap and go about my business. In the same way, Casper borrows himself a "study" puppy. I think it's more than darling.

All this handling is wonderful. As I said, the puppies take pretty much everything in stride. The kid handling has proved to me that is the truth. They're sleeping quite well since they're being held for a lot longer, and not being let to fall totally asleep from all the manipulation. I'm quite excited to see if all this has an effect on the pups. I am noticing Reid and Dactyl actively seeking some handling from us at this point - and all of them like to come up to the pen and ask for a little more fun.