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Raising Puppies - The Dark Side
Anyone that has home-raised a litter of puppies knows the tremendous amount of work involved. They are just like children - they sleep during the day, but want to play at night. They get up early in the morning and want to eat. As soon as the mother dog weans them, it becomes a non-stop Poop Fest. As gross as this sounds, the mother dog does all of the clean-up for the puppies, including licking up pee and eating their droppings when they are nursing; but as soon as they start on puppy food, that all abruptly stops.
Six puppies can pee about a hundred times a day and poop about half that much. Their droppings turn from odorless, cute-little, easy-to-pick up ones to huge cow patties. They hit the papers on the floor only half the time; the rest ending up on the carpet...somewhere...like Claymore landmines waiting for innocent, human bare feet to find them. And, they stink! Malodorous puppy-poop is not necessarily a bad thing, since the odor is a good location device.
Sheltie puppies love to run. They run from one end of the house to the other. They were only a month or so old when they mastered the steps, something that I personally, have problems climbing. We have a big deck outside that has become a day-care facility, complete with hundred of toys, cardboard boxes to play in, soft beds (that they pee on), and several pairs of my socks that they have commandeered.
If two of us are home, we can take them outside to play. Think of having six pet bees. You let the bees go and then try and keep track of them, hoping they will stay in one area. It doesn't happen. Lexi, the mother dog, does her best to round them up, but they take off, either alone or in little packs to all ends of our unfenced property. We are constantly counting them, making sure we can locate them if we spot turkey vultures circling above or a crafty coyote lurking about. They like to head for the chicken enclosure and bark at them. They run in and out of our thick landscaping; happy and literally smiling, as they carry off sticks or leaves in their mouths. After about a half-hour, we round them up; one or two at a time, and carry them back to the deck enclosure. We try and exercise them at least twice a day like this. Today it is raining, and the puppies are driving me crazy.
Perhaps the most difficult part of raising puppies is sending them off to new homes. Three of them were born under the desk where I am typing this post. We can't keep 'em all, of course. Two have been adopted by a single man who lives about two miles from us. Tomorrow, Emmy goes to her new family about a half mile away. On Thursday morning, Cali will fly on Pet Airways to her new home with my brother and sister-in-law. This is going to be a stressful trip for this little puppy who is used to having the run of the house. She has never been confined to a pet carrier or really been with strangers. We will send her with some familiar toys, one of my stolen socks filled with the mother dog's hair, and some snacks. Unlike people airlines, the puppies get snacks. No booze. I plan on taping a monetary "tip" on her travel bag for the pet flight attendant for some extra loving on this 30 hour trip. I will post on this trip next week after she safely arrives in Maryland.
As soon as we are down to our two, Ellie and Zac, it will be Puppy Boot Camp. They are house trained now - they pee and poop in the house. We just have to get them yard trained. We also need to work on behaviors - coming when we call them, no biting toes, no digging in the plants, and the importance of not chewing stuff that isn't theirs.
Sadly, our oldest dog, Maggie, born in Michigan fifteen years ago, and the mother of my late best friend, Herman, is dying. She was diagnosed as having cancer, and is now in transition. She sleeps all of the time, isn't eating, and has started to pant. She does not seem to be in pain, but dogs do not exhibit pain like humans. Perhaps the panting is her way of coping with discomfort. She goes to the veterinarian next week and I am sure the vet will recommend euthanasia. Euthanasia for a dying pet is very humane, but a sad event nonetheless. We will pay the extra fee for the vet to come to our home - her home - so that she can be as relaxed as possible. In the hands of an experienced vet, this procedure is fast and painless. For the grieving dog owners, this experience is unbelievably painful. I am sure there is a Dog Heaven. Who would want to spend eternity without the love of a dog?
This is really a cross-section of life. There are births and there are deaths. We live and we die. It is really up to us to make the best of the precious time in between.
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Six puppies can pee about a hundred times a day and poop about half that much. Their droppings turn from odorless, cute-little, easy-to-pick up ones to huge cow patties. They hit the papers on the floor only half the time; the rest ending up on the carpet...somewhere...like Claymore landmines waiting for innocent, human bare feet to find them. And, they stink! Malodorous puppy-poop is not necessarily a bad thing, since the odor is a good location device.
Sheltie puppies love to run. They run from one end of the house to the other. They were only a month or so old when they mastered the steps, something that I personally, have problems climbing. We have a big deck outside that has become a day-care facility, complete with hundred of toys, cardboard boxes to play in, soft beds (that they pee on), and several pairs of my socks that they have commandeered.
If two of us are home, we can take them outside to play. Think of having six pet bees. You let the bees go and then try and keep track of them, hoping they will stay in one area. It doesn't happen. Lexi, the mother dog, does her best to round them up, but they take off, either alone or in little packs to all ends of our unfenced property. We are constantly counting them, making sure we can locate them if we spot turkey vultures circling above or a crafty coyote lurking about. They like to head for the chicken enclosure and bark at them. They run in and out of our thick landscaping; happy and literally smiling, as they carry off sticks or leaves in their mouths. After about a half-hour, we round them up; one or two at a time, and carry them back to the deck enclosure. We try and exercise them at least twice a day like this. Today it is raining, and the puppies are driving me crazy.
Perhaps the most difficult part of raising puppies is sending them off to new homes. Three of them were born under the desk where I am typing this post. We can't keep 'em all, of course. Two have been adopted by a single man who lives about two miles from us. Tomorrow, Emmy goes to her new family about a half mile away. On Thursday morning, Cali will fly on Pet Airways to her new home with my brother and sister-in-law. This is going to be a stressful trip for this little puppy who is used to having the run of the house. She has never been confined to a pet carrier or really been with strangers. We will send her with some familiar toys, one of my stolen socks filled with the mother dog's hair, and some snacks. Unlike people airlines, the puppies get snacks. No booze. I plan on taping a monetary "tip" on her travel bag for the pet flight attendant for some extra loving on this 30 hour trip. I will post on this trip next week after she safely arrives in Maryland.
As soon as we are down to our two, Ellie and Zac, it will be Puppy Boot Camp. They are house trained now - they pee and poop in the house. We just have to get them yard trained. We also need to work on behaviors - coming when we call them, no biting toes, no digging in the plants, and the importance of not chewing stuff that isn't theirs.
"Maggie" / Rod Moser
This is really a cross-section of life. There are births and there are deaths. We live and we die. It is really up to us to make the best of the precious time in between.
Related Topics:
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