ATB: Pups at 8 Days / Don't Wanna Miss A Thing

To be focused on this beautiful litter of 11 Brittany puppies means I may at time be totally oblivious to other things going on around me.  John and I have two very opposite types of personalities. He is definitely a "Type A" person who wakes up with his whole day planned, beginning to end because he spent the whole night creating an imaginary list in his mind while he was sleeping and gets up at the crack of dawn (or sooner) to put it all into motion. Phew! Doesn't that just exhaust you thinking of that? Me on the other hand, I am completely the opposite.  Add to that reality my current focus and all i can say it's a very good thing John is the way he is because NOTHING and I mean NOTHING would get done around here.  I wasn't really noticing (doh) what was going on outside this afternoon until I saw one of our recall/johnny houses heading down the road on the back of John's trailer. Normally I would have probably been involved somehow, making an attempt to be helpful while John proceeded full speed ahead with the game plan that was in his head.  There are times I wish I could be more like John with his high energy drive and ability to map out a daily plan in advance and do his best to follow through.  (Did I mention I have a very dear friend who is the exact same way?  God, why did you do that to me?!?)

Of course I do get many things accomplished and I am very organized in regards to certain things.  Just not everything.  So while John was loading the other johnny house and birds I returned to something I was working on.  This 'something; was organizing the weight photos I had taken of the puppies for the end of their first week. With 11 puppies this takes time to do it right.  I also baked a pan of lemon squares in the afternoon.  I helped John with some of his hunt test responsibilities, responded to some emails, dried a load of laundry but all the time I was really just chomping at the bit as they say to return to the puppies.  I did notice that for some strange reason all the t-shirts I had put out on the line to dry on Monday were still blowing in the breeze. Hmmm... wonder how that happened.  Oh well, it was too late in the day and dampness had set in - we'll leave them there another night so they will smell especially clean and fresh.  So really the fact of the matter none of that amounted to diddly squat and neither does what I am rambling on about! 

I'll tell you what matters though.  Watching and learning more and more about Treasure and Bullet's puppies as I sit on the floor next to the whelping box.  Taking a damp, warm washcloth and gently rubbing it across Treasure's belly and teats and seeing how much she enjoys it matters.  Picking up each puppy matters, placing it in the cradle of my arm with it's belly up too and taking just one finger to scratch under it's neck, touch it's feet, and then hold it to my face in hopes of a hit of puppy breath. Going outdoors with Treasure matters so she can run and stretch her legs taking a break from her pups.  Making another batch of nursing mother's pudding which helps with Treasure's milk supply while she looks on patiently matters.  Sitting down and sharing all about these puppies with those of you who enjoy reading it, and especially for those of you who will one day begin the first day of the rest of their life with them, that matters. 

This afternoon, I was seated on the cot next to the whelping box and updating my notes in the whelping journal. Treasure stepped into the box, walked to the far side of it and simply lay down. Within a minute two of the pups had sensed her arrival and quickly discovered where she was laying. I love this! They can be sound asleep and Treasure will approach without the slightest touch and ever so gracefully position herself for "easy access".  Sometimes all 11 will nurse at once.  Other times it is as if they take shifts.  If Treasure decides it is time for dinner, she'll simply paw at them to get their attention to draw near, lovingly cleaning and turning them over as they approach. I heard the sweetest sounds this afternoon while the instrumental music softly played. The sound of very fulfilled little Brittany puppies who nursed from their mother's abundant supply of milk for them.  I heard what contentment sounds like.  It's quite hard to put into words but the best way to describe their sound is to imagine a very low, mewing similar to a young kitten accompanied by an occasional squeal of delight. It is possible to even hear and decipher the oh so personal and intimate noise of hungry neonatal puppies strongly sucking. 

Speaking of neo natal, that period is rapidly drawing to an end. The Monks of New Skete speak of this in their book.  Soon, the darkness of the whelping box will be a thing of the past for the puppies.  I noticed this evening that their little eye slits are very well defined now.  And, I also noticed that in a couple of the pups there is the teeniest of openings beginning to appear.  Keeping the lighting deliberately low where they are, I look forward to looking into their eyes for the first time. The pups will only be able to 'see' images and movements in the beginning but this literally opens up a brand new world for them. 

Last but not least there are a couple of the puppies who are unbelievably close to truly walking.  Each day the coordination and the movement of the entire litter greatly improves. So many things going on and as I've said all along, I don't want to miss a thing. I will never tire of this experience although exhaustion may accompany this reality.  But this is such a short period of time in comparison to so many things in life.  For a breeder, the dedication to commit to ones own puppies must be strong.  I have a friend who is a nature artist whose motto is "I love what I do and I do what I love."  I totally echo those sentiments when it comes to this season of my life. 

Take care and God bless, John, Ann, and ATB