Having essentially failed my poor brood with my attempts at a milk bar protector, I took to the interweb thingy and ordered a fetching little beach suit. It has proven to be a much better protector but as I have not had her wear it 24/7 there have been instances where she's presented herself to the pups and they've taken advantage even having scoffed their food from their bowls. Nature is nature so I just have to accept it and get chastised from female friends for being a typical bloke - apparently having milk available creates its' own discomforts. The main thing is to suppress the milk production so that she's better when they leave for pastures new.
Pastures new? WOW this is the last week they'll be our house guests. Volunteer socialisers have been identified and appointments have been sent to do a takeover next week. There's still this week to enjoy the monsters and also get them in a better place to be taken on the next stage of their incredible journey.
They had their longest car journey earlier in the week. A nice country drive to a vets in Henley in Arden so that their hearing could be assessed. Being a hearing loss sufferer and experienced hearing tests where I had to click a button when I heard a sound I was intrigued as to how the pups would cope with the button clicking. No need to worry however as brain patterns are monitored (the same as with human children) so clumsy paw presses don't come into the equation. Each of the guys was taken from my car for an individual test so that they were not disturbed by their siblings being around. It was lovely to hear that the vets were impressed with how easy they all were with being handled and even better to be advised that all passed the tests without issue.
Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin have been a challenge. Not because I have experienced any significant damage but because I wanted to take a series of photos of the pups outside. The photos would be used in a montage that is created for each litter. The charity has a talented photographer who normally takes on the task. He was prevented from doing the task when my brood had her first litter on Valentine's Day 2020 because of the strict lockdown. Essentially me moving a long way from where he is based prevented him doing the task for this litter. We had worked together well back in 2020 and he worked on the photos I sent. Due to the geographical distance he was happy to do the same this time. I was putting a bit too much pressure on myself to get some photos to him to work with. My idea of what I wanted involved having the pup sat on a garden table and as such doing it alone created issues - Pups do not sit nicely waiting for you to phaff for long! I needed help to ensure they were safe - I also needed this help when the outside conditions were conducive to taking photos. 60mph winds and driving rain whilst more acceptable to Cocker Spaniel pups than for me and my helpers meant we had to wait for an opportune time. Suffice to say I've now sent a selection of photos and thankfully due to his specialist skills he's created a lovely montage.
The pups are getting used to vet visits now - A separate visit to be microchipped and vaccinated has set them up for being passed on to their socialisers. It'll add to the natural resistance received from mum's milk and worming treatments already received at week 2, 5 and 7 to add even more resistance to infection. They will still not be fully treated and allowed to roam freely until their new socialisers take them for their second dose of vaccinations around week 13/14. The vaccinations aim to protect them from numerous conditions including Canine distemper, Canine parvovirus, Kennel cough, Leptospirosis and Parainfluenza.
What now? Well I'm going to try to take advantage of any sunny interlude and reduction in wind speed to give the pups their favorite environment, the garden. They are Spaniels after all and are showing their mother's traits of running flat out in order to investigate shrubland etc. I have a fenced off play pen which is getting some use but the real preference is freedom! Their recall is getting better and I'm constantly amused at the
single file run back into the house when they think I've set up the food bar. Pied piper - eat your heart out!
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