Puppy dawn chorus

My day starts at about 6.30am when I am woken by the puppy dawn chorus, signalling that they have their legs crossed and are desperate for the loo; this is my cue to get dressed smartish and run downstairs to let them out. Once we are outside I kneel down so that we can start the day off with a group hug, which involves all of them clustering round me with thrashing tails, before they trot off to do what puppies need to do. Once we are back indoors I prepare some puppy milk with all seven of them hanging onto my legs for dear life in eager anticipation of the delights to come; once delivered, the milk disappears in a flash.
It’s now puppy play time, and I keep half an eye on them while feeding the four other dogs and getting breakfast for the humans, followed by other household jobs. The puppies also keep a close eye on me, and it sometimes seems as though I’m not allowed to do anything without their assistance; for example, loading the washing machine goes along the lines of open the door, pick up washing to load the machine, remove puppy from washing machine drum, load machine, retrieve various items from the mouths of assorted puppies, return to machine, remove puppy from drum, close door, open door to double check that there are no puppies lurking inside, swiftly grab puppy departing with a tea towel in it’s mouth, close door, count puppies to make doubly certain that nobody has eluded me, before finally starting the washing machine. Why doesn’t she just shut them out of the utility room, I hear you ask? If you have ever tried to move from one room to another when pursued by a pack of puppies, you will understand that it is impossible without them joining you, and anyway, it all adds to the fun if they are on hand to assist.
The puppies will be off to their new homes next week, and because of the lockdown I will have to deliver them, so their owners will need to choose from photographs, rather than seeing the puppies in the flesh. There are often differences between littermates by this age, but this litter is the most even one I’ve bred, with all the puppies being a similar size and equally bold, or perhaps I should say nosy, and they are all inclined to pick things up to carry, as well as retrieving a tennis ball rolled in front of them. I am keeping a bitch pup from this litter, and as yet I have no idea which one it will be, because I just can’t split them in any way.