And yet another step in the process...

Yesterday we took yet another step in the process... Larger space with other sighted puppies... At first I expanded the area and put up an  8-panel Xpen with top ('cause I don't trust the hawks in the area any more)... The Paris and BlueBoy were the first to arrive and 'scope out the scene'... Where those two go, so does Vienna (Paris' mom)... 

Next I added big scrunchy toys and just a few small ones... Water dish TIGHT in one corner and with the rubberized base so it wasn't easily slid on the carpeting... 

All of this was followed by the introduction of Peanut and Butter... Grabbed my ice tea and sat down to watch and interfere if need be... The sighted puppies have had sessions with Peanut and Butter before, so this was not new 'news' but the additional width of the Xpen by 2' is... Peanut and Butter adjusted appropriately, doing their high steppin routine until they had figured out the perimeters... Despite my best efforts, the water bowl got stepped in consistently until by the end of the introduction, it was bare of water... I'll have to work on this aspect... 

The sounds and the smells were new for them however... A motorcycle buzzed by on the street below the backyard and Butter immediately flattened herself to the carpet... We had one or two anxiety sessions, but that is about all... Frankly, I was pretty surprised as I expected more... They were short in duration and as soon as I "PD" spoke, they ended just as quickly... 

With more room to walk and play in, I had more trouble trying to convince The Paris that she couldn't be mean to Peanut and Butter than I did with the unsighted twins... Thankfully she knows her name and the word "NO" now, so three interventions later, she got what I was throwing her way... 

A beach umbrella up to keep the sun off of them, everyone doing well, I headed inside to reconfigure their new joined Xpen set up... 

Their new home is an 8-panel Xpen, but this one set up 6' long instead... I added a small Kooleroo bed to the configuration along with a pitty pad frame... I hope to teach Peanut and Butter that as soon as they hit that frame on the floor (and as far away as possible from their sleeping den at the other end), they will start learning a form of potty training...

I try to push the envelope each time with changes, but not so much that they can't overcome it... I don't always succeed, and sometimes I have to back track to make things work and them moving forward, but if they are willing, so am I... The water bowl continues to be a challenge that we haven't figured out yet - if it is on the floor, they will step in it... So for the new Xpen set up, I'm still using the 'bird bowl' set up, zip tied to the sides of the Xpen... They can't 'high step' into it, yet it is not so high up that they can't nose in for a drink when thirsty...

So far, so good this morning... Peanut and Butter chose to sleep underneath the Kooleroo bed last night instead of on top of it... Butter has learned the height of it, but I guess Peanut did not... For now, we'll adjust because they are still learning potty training and aren't likely to get off the Kooleroo bed in the middle of the night when they have to go... Easily enough solved for now and after awhile, we'll work on that aspect too... 

Whew~!! Long day but a lot of progress made in this process!

~~~ Linda 

Ut oh... owweeeeyyyyy time....

Yesterday, Peanut and Butter got their first series of shots... I believe they are more like 10 weeks old, but because we don't have much background on them, it is about the best I can do... My guess is they were probably born on or about July 9th... 

Peanut was a real trooper and did not do much than a teensy bit of squirming... She's just a 'ying' of her sister's 'yang'... On the other hand, Butter not only threw a fit at being held securely, she screamed through the entire ordeal... Once over, she couldn't climb high enough up my chest and underneath my neck - a place they now view as sanctuary and safe... (smile)... 

But it had to be done if we want them to stay healthy and continue on the road to finding their own furever home!

Changes... changes...

As much as I hate to change things up on Peanut and Butter, those little dishes I 'jimmy-rigged' to the side of the crate just can't keep up with two little growing puppies... I have been scratching my brain, trying to figure out another way of making this work... And then I happened to look at my canary's cage... LOL... 

Out came my dremel and 10 minutes later, one modified crate and two auto feeders!  Ta Dah!  

They adapted very quickly to the change in location and height of the food and water dishes!  I am SO proud of them... 

We're working on pottying on the pitty pad and now where we sleep now... We're becoming 'big girls' with a nice comfy bed!   So far, so good - it's dry and has not been pooped in yet!

Every day gets a little bit better...

Peanut and Butter are getting a little bit better each day...  Now that we have the food and water issue resolved, the next we started on is the spacial one... 

With too much room, I noticed Butter acted like she was "fighting demons in midair"... I went to a 3x2x2' crate and that seems to be working better... 

Both will start the circling until they find the perimeters of their area, then turn and follow down the side... They don't seem to be walking into the sides of the crate as much any more... 

It is just enough space, but then again, not so much that they space out anxiously - overwhelmed by so much unknown space... As long as they are in about the same amount of space, even changing crates or areas, they are handling it much better now... Increase the amount of space and they get jacked... 

Today I noticed they're now doing the 'high stepping' that blind dogs normally do... The foot goes up and out, then down... So they're leading with their feet and not their faces and noses...  

In this photo you can see Peanut doing it (back of the photo)... This is vast improvement to what we had a week or so ago when I would cringe as they'd plow into everything and anything... 

The other thing we are working on is calming down... Instead of flying wildly around in your arms when you were trying to hold them, we started calling their name quickly three times, and THEN picking them up so they knew we were about to touch them...

Holding them and cuddling, we're using a very low and quiet 'sssssssssss' sound and it is starting to work... Once you have picked them up and make the sound, they immediately calm down, cuddle up and give you lots and lots of puppy kisses... 

We have two different temperaments going on here... When put with other puppies and confronted, Peanut immediately rolls onto her back and puts both paws up, almost in a defending mode of her face... It's the natural submissive roll but I guess because I know she can't see, it pains my heart... 

Butter, on the other hand, is a true instigator and dominant personality...  Butter will fuss back at another puppy, although she seldom lands her physical complaints... The other puppies know she is coming and they just step to the side, avoiding her physically...

I still keep working them with sighted puppies every day regardless... They'll be forced to deal with other (sighted) dogs the rest of their lives, so no better time but the present to start the learning process...

My next goal in mind is to be able to hold both of them and cuddle without them pawing out in all directions, being anxious... As time goes on, I'm hoping to start on potty training them (or at least teaching them that they need to go as far away as possible from where they sleep and eat to potty)... 

Blind dogs need a few extra commands we don't teach our sighted dogs, but overall it is not as hard as most people think it is...


Linda

... and so it goes...

Raising blind puppies is not really that much different from raising sighted ones... Especially when you remember that all puppies are born unsighted, but still figure out how to get to momma's belly and nurse... Smell is the number one sense in dogs (unlike we humans who are visual creatures)... Right after smell is sound, and a lowly sense beyond that is sight...

Unfortunately, it is obvious Peanut and Butter were taken from their mom too early... Probably when it was determined they were sightless... And then off to the pound they went... So our biggest challenge right now is not their lack of sight, but their lack of mom...

In this breed, moms don't do much more for their pups than feed, clean up, cuddle, nurse, clean up, sleep with, etc... About week four into five, they start teaching them the survivor skills in life... "Dear, you don't pee and poop in the same bed we sleep in..."... "JANE and JOHNNY... BE nice with each other - stop playing so rough~!!"...

So this is about the point where the owner of these pups decided they did not want to deal with unsighted pups... Pulled by a rescue who didn't realize until afterwards that the pups were unsighted, they went through a set of hands until they arrived at TLC... 

Now, Peanut and Butter are totally confused...

They arrived with 'snowshoes' of poop and smelling to high heaven... Apparently the last foster fed them in a tupperware container because they make such a mess eating... To be fair, all puppies walk through their food and the first solid food is usually a form of "gruel"... Wet, sloppy and a mess even with the best of the puppy litters...

Took about a day of this and I stopped, watched and figured out how to attach food and water dishes to the sides of a large crate... Fixed and in a specific place ALWAYS, it took about a day for Peanut and Butter to realize if they wanted to eat or drink, there was ONLY one place in their world to do it...

THIS made the biggest change in the challenge of fostering these pups... 

... Ah, the search for names...

... Well, we can be cutesy or utilitarian... Dogs have a language of about 100-125 words so their names should be something you don't say frequently in your every day language... Picking names for blind puppies is about the same as it is for sighted ones... Looking at them, I thought they are the color of Jiffy Peanut Butter, and so it stuck with me... Peanut is the smaller one and Butter is the larger one...