I met the puppies!

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Today I went to visit the breeder and the pups. I was so excited I couldn't even sleep last night!

They are TOO FRIGGIN CUTE!!! They are just starting to get their teeth, so they are not pirranahs quite yet. :-) They are still in the sweet and innocent stage where they will get on your lap, kiss your face and enjoy all the attention you wish to give them.

A few of the girls, one in particular, had some serious "attitude" and routinely beat-up on her siblings. She has definite ideas about what she wants to do and if you interupt her plans, she grumbles and growls to let you know. Most of the others seemed relatively laid back in comparison, but as they get older I'm sure that will change. They also had full bellies, so they might be more active when they haven't just eaten :-) The mom dog kept letting them nurse, but was doing so standing up. The breeder said the pups actually chewed off one of her nipples (OUCH!) and she didn't even react. We were all wondering how she could tolerate the sharp little teeth and claws as the pups jostled and shoved each other around under her.

It was the funniest sound when all the pups were suddenly disengaged if mom moved away. All of them made a loud abrupt suck noise as the suction was broken. :-) And then they were all left in a wiggling heap wondering what happened. They seemed to know the difference between their mom running around them (whom they would follow and try to suckle on) and their dad whom they mostly ignored.

There were toys all over the place and most of the pups were chewing on one of them at one point or another. Lots of enrichment items, noise makers, obstacles and unusual objects to keep them interested and also to desensitize. When the breeder used the hose nozzle briefly, several of the puppies ran toward the water stream barking!

Even in person, I couldn't really tell them apart. But all the boys seemed great. At this point, based on the personalities shown today, I actually liked "stumpy" the best. I don't know if it's because he was the only one I could pick out of the group, so I tended to gravitate toward him (knowing it was one of the males) or not. I liked that he was very willing to come up to anyone, always seemed to have a smile and loved to cuddle. I laid down on the ground while the other pups were sleeping and he cuddled with me and nibbled on my hair and licked my face for about 15 minutes. I'm guessing that personalities will change as they mature, but I wouldn't mind if the one with a shorter "leash" turned out to be best suited for me :-)

I look forward to getting to visit again. My plans for this coming weekend (teaching the Dayton American Humane Class) were changed because the class got cancelled so maybe I can visit again on Saturday or Sunday.

I sure got closely investigated by 4 noses when I got home!