Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Foster puppies, week three

The puppies are now 18 days old. Here are the updated glamour shots.

King Louie. This guy knows how to play it. He will scream AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS until you pick him up. Then he's all sunshine and rainbows and cuddles and sleepy round adorable baby, and you forget why you have a pounding headache.

Princess Peach. Along with Louie and Bowser, Peach is one of the "scream team," though she's a lot quieter now that her eyes are open and she can avoid getting stuck behind things.

Mario. He's a big, quiet, slow fellow. He doesn't do much except sleep.
Luigi. My personal favorite, the most developmentally advanced of the group, and very easy going. He's almost walking on his own now.
Princess Daisy. She chirps like a prairie dog. She's a really quiet, sweet puppy that gets trompled on by everyone else.
Yoshi. The smallest puppy. He likes to sit and stare with HUGE round eyeballs and a bobbly head. Freakin' adorable. He's so dangerously cute, I have to constantly resist the urge to squeeze him until he pops.
Bowser. The BIG boy. His two talents are screaming, and peeing. Once you get him started peeing, be prepared to wipe for about three minutes.
Poor Nancy can't hold up against the swarm of hungry puppies. I have to supplement with formula occasionally.
So that's the crew.

Nancy avoids the puppies whenever possible. I have to make her lie down or sit down to feed them every few hours--and I have to sit there and make sure she doesn't run off while they're eating. I also have to: pee and poop them, bottle feed them, comfort them when they're crying, medicate them as necessary, clean up after them, etc.

I'm going to be SO glad when they're weaned and pottying on their own! No more 2 am / 6 am potty times...

Star and Dozer have taken this invasion in stride. Since the puppies aren't vaccinated yet, we have to keep their exposure to our dogs at a minimum anyway. So the pups and Nancy stay in our guest bathroom, and our dogs are not allowed in there.

Sometimes I will bring a puppy (usually Louie, who is screaming to be held) out of the bathroom with me. Dozer could care less. Star is very curious, but not so much that she's naughty. She likes to gently smell the puppy, then run off and do zoomies at a safe distance. Dozer gives a few sniffs, but shows very little interest in anything more.

I don't mind the puppies myself, but they are SO much work, I can't do this again any time soon; I don't have the time or energy for it. One puppy is a lot of work, seven puppies is truly a full time job!

Anyway, if you live in the Austin area, tell all your friends: these pups (and Nancy!) will be available for adoption in mid-September, from Austin Pets Alive.

9 comments:

Yvonne said...

Aww, they're so cute!

Anonymous said...

Okay, you and Byrd get nominated for sainthood! Seriously. Love the Mario Brothers theme. They are adorable. King Louie? Heart breaker!

Can't wait until they start interacting with Star and Dozer.

The Whitfields said...

Oh, I love your blog! We rescued a sweet female pit, Lacy, about 8 months ago from a neglectful neighbor and we just love her to death. They are the sweetest dogs!

Erin said...

Adorable! But WoW I don't envy you!!

Pip said...

Those puppies are cute (though not as cute as Star and Dozer, of course)! How large are they? From the picture of them next to their momma, it looks like they're going to be bigger than her when they're grown.

Unknown said...

Those puppies are adorable! I cant even imagine the hard work that goes into caring for a litter.
We are in austin so I will spread the word if anyone is looking to adopt!

Daisy Dog said...

Oh they are adorable! Love Princess Daisy, we think she is the prettiest! Oh, and love the shirt too :) You are saints!

jen said...

omigosh! how adorable!

just found your blog, love it!

momma dog looks exhausted! rightly so, those babies are half her size already! poor momma!!!

H Ski said...

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