Pictures - ARGH!

Well, the first batch of puppy pictures are out of the way, and the photo session was quite an ordeal! This was not the easiest litter to photograph, nor are these the best pictures we've ever gotten. We're scheduled for a second session of shots next week, when the pups have an overnight at Grandma Sue's. Argus's breeder Carrie had commented that some of Andy's pups (Andy is Argus's brother) needed an extra week or more to really look the part, and I see that on some of these pups. Although the basics are there, they do not have quite a finished looked to them - a bit "babyish" in appearance. That was true with Rob's litters too.

We learned a great deal about the pups during the 3-hour puppy visitation. Jess made observations as she stacked them, and I got to see how the pieces fit together, and how they handled being on the table, stacked by a stranger. The pups were wild when we arrived, and several of them were quite resistant to standing still. Because they had spent the day in their pen (it was not one of Dawn's days to work from home) they just wanted to run and play. Clark especially was hard to stack, and did not want to stand or sit still. He appears to be the most boisterous puppy too, and is always on the go. By contrast, Grace was the softest, and got a little shakey after a bit. She will benefit from another week. We went from too much energy, to pups who were too tired to stand. While I was kneeling at the tripod, the pups were racing through the room, peeing a pooping, slamming into the tripod with great regularity, and trying to bite through my jean's pocket (they could smell the treats in the pocket). They eventually fell asleep on my legs - I was on my knees. Tom's assignment for the week is to work the pups on the table.

So where are the pictures, you ask? Only a few on this page. I ran out of time and did not get them up on a web page yet. When I got home, I still had fish chores, Argus to walk, and email to answer. If I didn't have to sleep at night I could get a lot more done! I sent off uncropped shots to Carrie and to Bonnie Rose (the co-breeder) and hope to get the pictures finished up tonite.

Tom reports that the pups passed a lot of worms again today. I have almost no experience worming pups and have not had a litter with worms for many years. These guys are more typical, I guess. Bitches who had worms can have encapsulated worm larvae in their tissues, which are passed on to the puppies through the placenta or through the milk. Icky concept! These guys will need to be wormed every couple of weeks for a few more weeks.

BAER testing tomorrow, another experience! I'm sure Clark will not be impressed with that either! Hopefully the pups will be tired before we start. Hometesting tells me that they are all bilateral hearing. I have not been wrong on a pup for a long long time, as I prefer to KNOW my hearing stats and just let BAER testing confirm them. BUT it's always nice to get the confirmation!

Next Tuesday the pups will have their Well Puppy Check Ups at my own clinic. Dawn will bring them in, and I will take them home from the clinic for an overnight. The staff at the clinic are looking forward to seeing the new babies!

I've been going to the same Vet Clinic for FORTY years, and have seen a lot of changes in equipment and staffing. My old Vet was also a good friend of mine and shared many "life events". I'm sure that I cried on Tom's shoulder more than anyone elses, and he grieved with me over the passing of special old dogs, the loss of beautiful Isabel who died when her pups were three weeks old, and my beautiful liver puppy Simon. He shared my tears too over beloved Rob who adored visiting the clinic to see his friends. My new Vet Dr. John is younger and has a lot of newer ideas which he shares, just as Tom shared ideas and suggestions. He's interested in the breed, and wonderful with the dogs, and I trust his judgement. Wish I liked my Doctors as well as I liked my Vets!