Busy puppy, Ooly, continues to play a lot with her mom, Finley. The boys’ acceptance of her slowly increases from day to day. Xupe’s tail now wags at her some of the time and she loves to chase him down outside. Chewing is Ooly’s main occupation besides napping – chewing toys and just about anything from nature that she notices.
We’ve heard from the families with puppies #1 and #2 (Ooly’s littermates) that they’re also doing well. Griffith’s family sent this photo of him.
We’re getting used to our “new normal” with Ooly. She chased a toad around the base of a pine tree this evening, wrestled with Finley, taunted Xupe (multiple times,) chased after the heels of our neighbor Becci when she was over for a visit and then fell asleep in my lap while I was working (sideways) on my laptop. I took that opportunity to also clip her nails.
Ooly is the focus of a lot of our attention these days, but she’s easing into life as a pack member, the fourth of four Wirehaired Pointing Griffons in this household. Chev has warmed up to her enough to allow her to occasionally snuggle with him. Finley watches out for her, wrestles and shares toys with her. Xupe is still unsure about her, although he has approached her to play a couple of times, in the “downward dog” position that, for dogs, is a way of saying “let’s play!”
I’ve begun to prep for going back to work, so these blog posts will be less frequent going forward. We hope to hear stories and get photos from folks with Norling Rise puppies. We’ll share them from time to time.
Everything’s about Ooly, at least for these early days of her life in the house with us. Either Biff’s or my schedule is built around Ooly’s cycle of sleep, pee, play, pee, eat, wrestle with Finley, chew on toys, pee, play outside, sleep, pee, chase Finley/tease the big boys, eat, poop, explore outside… you get the idea. In between we get done what we can – read a chapter of a book, create a blog post, change a load of laundry, etc. She loves her meals and gets a little crazy when she’s hungry, as determined to get to the food on the counter as she was to get to the nipple when she was nursing. Oh, puppies! They are adorable and exhausting!
We’re using a “check cord” on her some of the time we’re outside. She now runs fast and far and we don’t want her heading into the ponds. Also, she likes chasing Chev and Xupe and they are still acclimating to her puppy energy. It’s interesting to watch Finley play interference when she persists in going after the boys, but we’ve also kept an eye on her antics as we affirm the boys for tolerating her annoying behavior.
Chev was keeping his distance from Ooly when I left town last Tuesday, but things have changed in the time I was gone. Biff said that Chev began tolerating her curious approaches and now he lets her snuggle up with him. Xupe is still wary, seemingly not able to figure out just what she is about. But it’s OK, because Chev is the one Ooly’s seems more interested in.
I captured these photos of Ooly yesterday and the day before as we transitioned her into the house. We’re still using the familiar puppy space in the barn but are increasingly having her in the house. Finley is a terrific playmate for her, but the boys are keeping their distance.
I’m off for a post-litter mountain-hiking vacation while Biff remains at home with our puppy, Ooly, and our other three grown Griffs. (Thank you, Biff, I owe you big time!) I’ll begin to post again when I get home early next week. I’m imagining I’ll see significant changes in our little girl after now seeing her for a number of days.
Zip and Ooly played tug-the-crinkle-dog during their last morning together. And, further below, the three had their last nap together before Griffith departed. Sweet puppy memories.
Number Two’s family arrived on Saturday night to meet their puppy. His call name is “Zip.” They returned this morning to pick him up for the two-day trip back to Colorado. That leaves just Number Three (“Ooly”) with us. We’ll post her further adventures in the days ahead.
Number One’s family arrived yesterday afternoon to meet their puppy in person for the first time. They just picked him up this morning and are heading back to Nebraska. His “call” name? Griffith!
Bye, bye, Griff. We know there’s a great life ahead for you!
Two puppies waited for their turns to play in the yard, while I had one of them out running around the garden, trees and pigeon loft. We take one out at a time because they are fast and adventurous now and we have ponds we don’t want them going into. The photo seemed fitting as families are on their way to pick up the boys this weekend. They look ready for the big wide world!