Bonding with Puppies

I promised I wouldn't turn this into a puppy blog, but I wanted to post a quick update on how the girls were doing.  In a nutshell, they are doing great.  They are growing and putting on weight, although we are wresting with some aggression issues with Gretchen.  I don't know what the first three months of her life were like, but she is having a very difficult time getting along with the rest of the pack.  But we're working on it.

I'm working with a wonderful dog trainer and one of the things she recommends is at the end of every day, I do a  bonding exercise with the pups.  What she wants me to do is to have the pups settle down and have quiet contact with me and Harry.  We've been doing that pretty much every night for the last two weeks and to be honest, it's become my favorite time of the day.  And this is what it looks like:

 

 Sweet Laci

Beautiful Gretchen

Gretchen

 

 Laci

Laci

Raising these pups is like having babies again...no kidding!  Up at 6:00 am (which is OK since I'm a morning person anyway) and it's constant attention, stuff-to-do throughout the day...walking them (3-5 times a day) feeding them (3 times a day), breaking up too rough play (5-8 times a day), training them on feeding habits, working on getting along within the pack, free play outside, picking up dog poo...ya da ya da ya da...(you get the picture :)  But honestly and truly, it's all good.  I'm lovin it and the pups are happy, healthy, safe and warm.

With the New Year upon us, I'm excited to see what it will bring with these puppies and how I integrate them into my spring and summer gardens.  I don't have a crystal ball, but I'm excited and optimistic about this coming year.

 Happy New Year to all of you!