First Two Weeks

Never in a million years did I imagine having ten puppies in the house. In the tidy world of my imagination, Olivia had puppies in warm mid-summer, outside where she belonged, and we could enjoy the puppies' finer points without dealing with mess or...mess.

Olivia came in heat for the fourth time the week of Christmas, though, and I just didn't have the energy to do what it took to keep her separated from both Ruger and John Wayne in the midst of it all.

So, hello to winter puppies in the house. I did not plan for you.


The first two weeks were easy. Olivia cleaned up after them and nursed them, and they were too little to escape from the whelping box. Later...  Well, thank goodness later came later.