Thursday, July 21, 2011

Puppies are two days old

      June 24th: There is something sweetly intimate about sleeping next to mom and puppies.  Though the inflatable mattress, 24-hour warming light, sweltering heat needed to keep the puppies extra warm, and periodic squeaking of six puppies doesn't allow for much uninterrupted sleep, this time gives me a chance to quietly observe the interactions between Sophie and her puppies.  I have to admit I haven't given much thought to what puppies are like when they are just a few days old.  The pups' behaviors at this point are pure reflex--they are attracted to warmth, and scent and are motivated to find mom when they are hungry and heat when they are cold.  Observing mom's behavior makes very clear the role of instinct..  Sophie licks the puppies constantly--to draw them closer to her, to clean them and help them eliminate, and probably for other reasons of which I am not aware.  She leaves the whelping box only briefly, mostly to see what we are cooking in the kitchen and runs back quickly as soon as she hears the sound of a complaining baby.  During these first few days, most of our energy has been spent catching up on sleep (yes, I did find the half and half in the cupboard rather than the refrigerator today), trying to learn how to balance the work for my paid job with the ga-ga desire to watch the puppies crawl, fall over, crawl, fall over (problem solved, my desk is next to the whelping box), and trying to resist my inclination to interfere (the human helicopter mom I guess) when Sophie is sitting on a puppy and it is cryng pitifully.  It's time to begin watching the puppies to get a sense of their individual temperaments.  The vet thought that orange girl was especially vocal and sensitive when she was handled today.   How does green girl respond when handled?  What is little navy blue boy like when separated from mom?  Those are observations yet to be made.

No comments:

Post a Comment