Sweet Jane

Are you all tired of my saying, ‘THIS is my favorite stage of puppy raising’?

Every couple of days, throughout the litter’s life, I proclaim, ‘Oh, I just LOVE puppies at this age.’ And it’s true, I don’t think there’s a stage that I do not love…

But these first 2 weeks of life – OMG, what a joyful time! I get to focus on the mama. These are the hardest weeks for her. She is doing all the work, so my job is to keep her comfortable.

I make sure the bedding is fresh and clean. I feed her a lot of good healthy food. In Jane’s case, she ate more meals in the baby pool because she nursed the pups in shifts. There are so many of them, they nicely organized themselves into two groups of nursing rotation. But that meant full time nursing for Jane. EXHAUSTING!

I also made sure to listen/watch carefully for Jane’s communications. She has an urgent bark when she needs to go outside to potty. And a softer woof when she’s hungry or just lonely and in need of some human interaction. Responding to those requests has cemented our relationship…

But the best times with Jane are in the quiet evenings. We go outside and wander around. Or she explores while I sweep up leaves. Or we sneak in a few snuggles.

Tonight, I invited some play and she did a half zoomie! This girl is gonna be some fun!

I remind her that this is the last litter she has to raise. I remind her that life is sweet and her future is bright. I promise her that for the rest of her life, she will only know love and comfort.