Happy Birthday Emma

So - I am a terrible dog mommy - I let Emma's birthday come and go without posting a thing.  We did do a very low key celebration to acknowledge our girl is the big 1 - 4.  Holy cow - 14 - where does the time go?  Thankfully she is a healthy, active pup!!

The puppies liked the birthday treats - not a huge fan of the birthday hats.  Winston got to celebrate as well - although he did his celebrating in his room because he is a well.... pig and he would steal everyone's treats.

I grabbed a few snaps:

not cooperating with the hat - dirty snout

second try went better

Charli is unimpressed with the hat

Tango isn't loving it at all

 Juliett wasn't having any part of the hat at all!

The beautiful birthday girl

birthday treats for the piggy

Bubbles...

I was out and about the other day and at the checkout of a store I was in they had a tube of bubbles.  I thought maybe the critters would like bubbles - um - not so much.

• The puppies are afraid of bubbles - they ran and hid in the bedroom when I blew them inside and they ran away from them when we tried it outside.  Emma has no interest in bubbles inside or outside.  
• The pig is interested in bubbles - he can hear them popping around him but his eyesight is so poor I don't think he can see them.
• The ferrets are really not interested in bubbles at all.
• The kitties were the only ones who liked the bubbles.  Phoebe was interested for a second and then went off to do other things.  Aggie was mesmerized by the beauty of the bubbles and Oliver was a bubble killer popping them with his paws.

At least one part of the zoo liked them....

Ferret Snaps

I haven't posted pictures of the ferrets lately so I thought I would post some that I took today.  I ambushed them while they were napping so some of them look pretty sleepy:

Fiona - snoozing in her purple monster bed.  She's not all that thrilled that I woke her up.

Bash (top) and Theo snoozing in their box in my office closet - its a favorite sleeping spot for the boys.

Kai (top) and Madison - they are snoozing in the wicker hamper.  Kai was really sleeping so he has that "WTH MOM?" look on his cute ferret face.

Tabitha - she was sleeping in the tube - they love the tube!

Last but not least - Violet - I couldn't find her - went back to all the spots and there she was - hidden under the blanket in the hamper after all.  

Everyone is doing well - they are all active and happy I think.  This week is supposed to have some warmer days so they will get some outside playspace time.  Violet will go back in for a glucose check mid April.  Love these crazy little ferrets!!

Puppy Personalities

It's amazing to me that puppies who are the same age from the same litter can be so different...

Charli - She is the most assertive of the bunch.  She is also the quickest when it comes to picking up new commands and new tricks - little smartie.  She is a great guard dog - she will bark to let you know something or someone is around.  She is independent - while she is affectionate she is content to be doing her own thing.

Juliett - She is the most shy - she is a cautious pup for sure.  She doesn't really have an interest in learning new tricks - she will begrudgingly do what you ask because she wants the treat associated with doing the trick.  She is the most affectionate by far - she loves to be with you, lay next to you, lay on you.  She is also the bed hog - for a little dog she can consume vast amounts of the bed.  She is also the runner - that dog loves to run at full speed!

Tango - He is a sweet and laid back boy.  When he gets excited he can be a bit over the top but for the most part he is a pretty chilled out dog.  He loves toys and plays with them all day.  He is also very schedule driven and likes his days to be the same as much as possible.  More than the girls he really wants to please his humans.  He likes to bark at the pig - he is quite unsure of what that pink guy is....

They do have characteristics they all share - in general - compared to other puppies they are totally calm and very friendly.  I think that is partly due to breed.  They are definitely 'Lassie dogs' in that frogs and birds and bugs must be rescued and safe.  They all love to chew but we have been very fortunate that they have not chewed up anything important - they stick mainly to their toys.  And - they are almost 100% potty trained.  We are pushing 2 weeks with no accidents!  WOOT!  They are all fascinated with the ferrets.  Theo is great with them leading them in a wild chase through the living room.  He hides under the couch and teases them by poking his head out in various spots - the puppies love it!

I love these little pups!  They are an amazing addition to our family and they are so great for Emma - she is so much more active and engaged.  They love her so much.

Our Crazy Week in Review

It has been a crazy, crazy critter week!  The good news is that everything is great....puppies are doing fantastic and Violet's numbers are FINALLY where they should be.  The bad news is that this is one tired critter mama.

Puppies -

They had their surgeries on Monday.  For the first time ever since we started inviting critters into our lives I had a pang of sadness for one fleeting moment that we got them fixed.  They are such amazing puppies that they could have been bred and had some more amazing puppies.  But then the realistic me kicked in and I know that its so much better for their health and with so many shelter pups in this world we could take a long hiatus from critter breeding and still have amazing dogs to spare.  So - all in all I am glad we did it and I am glad that we are nearly to the point that we can say its behind us.

I would say that Tango is done - incision site was quite small and its all but gone.  The girls - they are doing well - feeling good and healing but they had quite a bit more to heal from.  I would say they are operating at about 90% - they tire a bit quicker.  Everyone is eating well and they don't appear to be in any pain.

My other puppy - Emma - she is doing just great.  She is full of energy and quite active and she seems to love those pups.

Piggers -

Winston has been doing just great and he has been such a good boy.  Don't get me wrong - he has his turd-y moments - but for the most part he is a very good pig.  He has been spending lots of time outside.  He seems to have no interest in the dogs and they have little interest in him either.  They have found their way to supervised co-existence.

Kitties -

The kitties are well!  I think Ollie might be putting on a bit of weight which is great.  The girls seem to be hold steady which is also good - they don't need any extras.  They have been enjoying the sunshine in the outside playspace as well.  All in all I am quite happy with how they are doing.

Ferrets -

My little business of ferrets is doing amazing.  First of all - the great news is that Violet's glucose number has finally hit the normal range for the first time in 12 weeks.  Thank goodness!  She is doing fantastic.  The little boys - Theo, Bash and Kai - they are as full of piss and vinegar.  They are wild children and I love it - I think they have spring fever.  The little girls - Madison, Tabby, Fiona and Vi are spending lots to time together - very active and playful.  Everyone seems well!


So - I am going to relish in the 14 seconds that everyone in the zoo is current on everything they need to be current on from a veterinary perspective.  I think I might be good til Violet goes for her next glucose test in 5 weeks or so.  WOOT!

It was a very busy week - but lots of great happenings.,,,,

The Perfect Find

Sometimes you find something online that just fits - its perfect and you need it in your world.  I found the perfect shirt the other day:

This is my new favorite ferret shirt.  How crazy is it that I found the following:

• A shirt with four girl ferrets - I have four girl ferrets
• 2 dark and 2 white ferrets - I have 2 dark and 2 white ferrets
• A white ferret wearing a purple bow - Violet is a white ferret that has all purple accessories
• A dark ferret with markings very similar to Fiona with the white on her face - the only thing missing is white paws
• Now - the other dark ferret isn't quite as dark as Madison but her markings are pretty close - plus that ginger-ish color is a lovely tribute to Miss Harlow - oh how I miss that girl!
• On the shirt Madison and Violet are arm in arm - so accurate - those two girls are inseparable 

Let's face it - I needed this in my life.  I have it now and wear it often - it's one of my favorites!

Violet

Madison

Fiona

Tabitha

Harlow

Pup-date

Oh goodness - keeping 3 five and a half month old puppies entertained, calm, separated, etc - it's a challenge let me state for the record.

The puppies are doing well - incision sites look fantastic, appetites are great and the cobwebs from the anesthesia are all but gone.  On the flip side - it was quite a long night.  Everyone was out of sorts and whiny and Charli wouldn't settle down.  I ended up sleeping on the bathroom floor in an effort to get her to settle and get some rest.

Today has been better than I thought.  I am rotating the pups between outside, inside in the living room and inside in the master bath.  I bought them fabric collars - they seem to be working well and are much more comfortable than the hard plastic cone we have used on Emma in the past.

All in all - its going pretty well.  It's going to be a long 10 days - that's for sure.

A few snaps from yesterday:

In the car ready to go home 

Juliett

Tango

Charli

Look Back and Look Forward

I haven't been great about blogging lately - things have been so busy!

So - we can start by looking back a February - it was a pretty good critter month.  Here is the score healthwise -

• Healthy Critters with nothing to report = 12
• Squinty Eye = 1 - Ollie had squinty eye for a day or two in February
• Glucose Number outta whack = Violet - still working on finding the perfect dose for her meds. Good news is she is still asymptomatic
• Allergy sufferers = 1 - Winston had a few bouts of runny eyes over the course of the month

All in all we are in pretty good shape.

Winston had a lovely Valenswine package this month.  Emma and the puppies got to visit with Quincy - my mom's dog.  We had crazy warm weather so the little critters got to be in the outside play space.

Looking ahead to March - it's going to be busy.  First on Monday, March 6th my newest babies go in for spays and neuter.  They will get dropped off early Monday morning and if all goes well they will come home later in the day on Monday.  I am already starting to get nervous.  Then the really tricky part will be keeping 3 five month old puppies quiet while they recover.  It should be an interesting week.  Additionally - on Thursday Miss Violet goes for a glucose check and the addition of a new medication should her numbers still be low.

I am looking into having a trainer for the puppies come to the house - getting them to do anything with all three of them together and only one of me is challenging.  Stay tuned....