Week 15:  And Then There Were Three

7/21/09

2 a.m. - Yes, only three left. The house really really feels empty. Gone is my herd of thundering little puppy paws running through the house wreaking havoc in their wake. Gone is the sink full of puppy dishes waiting to be washed for the next feeding. Gone is the mop and bucket vigilantly standing at the ready to erase "accidents" in the house. Gone is the enormous food bill (you have no idea how much it costs to feed nine hungry puppies!), gone is the multitude of landmines waiting to be stepped on in the back yard, and gone is the constant noise of pups at play - and war.  The puppy supplies are almost all packed up and put away and the House o'Rapscallion is returning to an almost normal state of being. Almost normal because the play pen will stay in place for awhile and the dining room table will remain on vacation in the basement.  Magic Kitty's crate will also stay in place until she gets a bit bigger, but the floor coverings will be coming up soon since George, Gemma and Cara are all pretty reliable on their house manners.

This coming Saturday I'll give them their final series of shots and then I'll step up their introduction to the world and start taking them every where with me so they have some more exposure to the hustle and bustle of life outside. They're all pretty good about walking on a leash so I'll start teaching them to walk to my left instead of criss-crossing all over the place and getting me tangled up. They're also old enough to start teaching some basic obedience commands and I'll work on their stacking and gaiting so hopefully they'll be well trained by the time they're ready to make their debut in the show ring.  Thursday I'll take them to handling class for their first exposure to the show ring and I'll start looking for matches to enter them into. What fun - I can't wait to see how they do in the show environment.