A Day In The Life ...

First we eat ..


Then we take a drink ...


Then we clean up ...


Then we play ...


Then we sleep - "zzzzzz"



The last few days have been filled with a lot of firsts. Yesterday a few friends (Joanne Hass, Terry Nolan, Ellen McDonald, Ann Kaiser and Lise) came to visit and we decided to take advantage of all the hands and take the pups to the beach!!! It was a bit breezy, so we did not stay long, but all the pups did really well. Of course they wanted to put everything into their mouths, but after nursing they decided to chase mom. You can see it on the latest video.

Today was their first day on solid food. Each pup got an ounce of food this morning and everyone scoffed it up. Donna Nolan and Sandy Washburn stopped by this afternoon for a visit, so they got to spend quite a bit of time outside since it was such a nice day. They are quietly sleeping right now after having a bit more food for dinner. I suspect they will have one more romp for the evening before going down for the night.

Busy Weekend

Juliet Giambrone getting lots of kisses


The look of innocence (don't be fooled!!)

Sorry for the delay in blogging - there are simply not enough hours in the day.

This weekend we had about 15 different visitors and the pups were wonderful - playing hard and sleeping hard!! They got to go outside and were given the run of the main level of the house. But for an ocassional accident, they are using the litterbox. Once again getting birds, they try to drag it away from one another.

Taylor and Dart are really being wonderful with the pups. In pictures and video you will see Taylor behind an x-pen. This is for Taylor, not the pups. At 12 years old, she is not as patient as she once was (a common thing with older dogs). She needs some downtime from the puppies and by separating them, she gets to relax, and so do I.

I am exahusted, so will just put up a few pictures and some video and perhaps will find more time to write later.

Next Sunday I head up to Gayle's with the gang, so those who want to see them on Long Island have until next Saturday night to do it. The more visitors the better - so come on down!!!

New Experiences ...

Mr. Green convinced he can win this game of tug!


Carley Groveman with Mr. Black, one of this
week's many vistors.


Ms. Lavender getting her first bath.



I apologize for the delay in updating the blog, but it has been very busy around here. We have had lots of visitors and have had lots to do with the pups. They are changing so much!! Over the last few days, in addition to exposing them to new things in their pen each day, expanding their litterbox (which they are figuring out nicely) and getting to play with thawed birds, they also each had a bath. On Tuesday night their Aunt Kerry came down and while she was here I put her to work helping me bathe each of the pups. No one protested while being bathed and they really enjoyed their cuddle time while being dried.

Today it got warm enough to go outside again. Even though it was cooler than it has been, the pups seemed to really enjoy it. They were completely different outside today than they were three days ago. Instead of sticking close by mom, they were all over the place, climbing on the board and raised bed and climbing into Michelle Foster's lap. They were playing with Dart and Taylor, who were very careful not to hurt them. When they got back inside I thought they would crash, but they were still raring to go.

They also have been introduced to the Dremel to trim their nails, rather than clipping them. Every one was wonderful about the noise and loved the lick of Merrick's wet dog food that came along with it.

So far they are still very quiet during the night. Chex goes in and feeds them during the night and at 8 am all we hear is the pitter-patter of their paws on the linoleum floor. They LOVE to carry things around - toys, paint rollers, the wood pellets from the litter box.

Stay tuned ...

More Visitors

Beth Gereg doling out "Carmel Kisses".


Mary Beth enjoying Mr. Blue.


Erin with Miss Brown (a/k/a Brownie) and Ms. Rainbow.


Keri Armentano letting Ms. Brown relax in her arms.


Judy is all smiles among the pups.


Pups content in Kerry's arms after a very long day.

This morning Beth Gereg, Mary Beth Guyther, Karen Tragesser and her 7-year-old fried Erin came down for a visit. They brought puppy toys, which the pups loved! (These are the most spoiled pups on Long Island!) Everyone loved all the puppy breath and playing with them as well as watching them nurse and play with each other and then crashing ... just to do it all over again a half hour later.

Later in the afternoon Ann Kaiser, Keri Armentano and her mother Judy Trepiccione and sister Kaitlyn, as well as their Aunt Kerry also stopped by for a visit. They had recovered from the morning's activities and were raring to go again. With more presents their pen is starting to look like the FAO Schwarz of Dogs. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed all the puppy breath and watching their antics. By the end of the evening Mr. Green, Ms. Red, Ms. Caramel and Ms. Lavender all found their way to the litterpan - what good puppies!!!! Many of the others are making it near the box, but are not making it all the way in. I expect they will catch on soon.

Another Big Day

Ellie and Julia giving one of the pups a kiss.

Renee Rainer schmoozing with Mr. Blue.

Julia playing with the gang.

Today was a busy day for the pups - filled with visitors. Ellie Hughes and her daughter Julia stopped by this afternoon. The pups are outgrowing their collars so quickly, so Julia helped me change the collars on each of the pups. The pups certainly enjoyed the visit, and I know Ellie and Julia did, too.

As they were leaving Stefanie and Renee Rainer arrived. After watching them sleep much of the time, they finally woke up to nurse on Chex. Stef has picked out Mr. Green, telling me that he has to stay local so she can watch him grow up. It is amazing how puppies do pick people out, and Mr. Green definately picked out Stefanie :o) I hope they enjoyed the puppies as much as I enjoyed seeing them!

Later tonight they will get to see Mr. Duck again.

Tomorrow will be another day filled with visitors. I don't think we will have a problem hitting our goal of 70 visitors in 7 weeks!

The Great Outdoors

Miss Orange enjoying the toy Maggie brought


Me surrounded by the pups on their first trip outside


Puppies sitting in my lap

Today was the pups first time outside. It was 68 degrees and a bit cloudy, and I wanted to let them take advantage of the unusual November weather. They started out nursing and then started investigating the grass in our backyard. As you will hear in the video, we live under the flight path for planes landing at Kennedy Airport. One or two of the pups reacted to the noise of the first plane, but by the time the second one went by they were ignoring it completely. Of course, as fate would have it, the fire station alarm then went off. Amazingly, the pups were just fine with it. They were simply engrossed in all the new scents. Later they had three new visitors, Mal and Libby McGarry and their daughter Maggie, who was so good with the puppies. She gave them new toys and it is the first time they picked up toys in their mouths and shook them.

They are pretty wiped out from their outdoor excursion and their visitors. Tomorrow is another day that will have new visitors. Until then, they rest.