Day 28---

I can practically see these Kidz growing right before my eyes. The food bowl is becoming crowded and poor Eve is looking for a place to eat. Barb came for another visit yesterday evening and brought a second saucer dish to make things a little easier. They used both dishes this morning and there was no pushing and shoving.

After eating (oh and pooping) they always spend time running around playing with whatever toys are in the pen. Here is Sparrow checking out one that moves and talks.

I made yet another change to the play yard yesterday. I moved the Kuranda bed out and replaced it with a crate. I like for the puppies to learn that a crate is a happy place. Hope went in shortly after I placed it there and nursed several of the puppies. How happy was that? 

Findlay was the first to discover Mama in the crate but it didn't take long for others to join in. Hope went in to feed them a couple of times yesterday and doesn't seem to mind if they don't all charge her at once. We had a much better night last night. I closed the pups in the whelping pen and left Hope in the open play yard so she could sleep in that crate. All was quiet until around 1:30 this morning. I heard the puppies screaming so I came out and let them loose for a short time and Hope fed them standing up. Back to bed for everyone and we slept until 3:10 when my day began.

Another change yesterday was placing a rubber mat on the whelping pen ramp. The pups are in and out of it many times a day and I thought they needed better footing. Here is Eve testing it out. I'm not sure why she looks black in this photo as she is a very beautiful dark brown.

Work also began yesterday on getting them used to being on the grooming table. The texture on the table top feels different to them and being up high is another new thing. I fed each of them tiny pieces of cheese while they were on the table so they would begin to associate being on there as a good thing. They all did well for their first time. It takes time and patients to do each thing with eleven puppies.