The puppies now have their eyes open and so they are up and running, starting to play, and keeping me very much on my toes.
They have been wormed for the first time, which was a somewhat messy affair involving a syringe, looks of disgust from the recipients, and pink wormer being sprayed in all directions. It will be easier the next time because they will be on solids, so I can add the wormer to some puppy milk in individual bowls and watch them gobble it down.
I always give the pups nicknames, rather than referring to them by numbers, and this time we have two slightly lighter coloured pups who seem to be in the thick of things together, so they have been dubbed Mr and Mrs Trouble. Mrs T is much larger than her siblings, and acts like a miniature bulldozer at feeding time, ploughing her way through her litter mates in her haste to fill her tummy. I expect the two T’s will darken as they grow, and I remember one of Riska’s litter sisters was almost white when she left here, but was as dark as her mother Shona by the time she was a year old.
Riska is pretty much back to doing normal walks and looks very fit and well, which she should be if the amount of food she is eating is anything to go by. I am still sleeping in the whelping room and Riska is taking advantage of the situation by sleeping on the bed next to me, hopping down at intervals during the night to feed her puppies.
