More puppy photos!

Bella is wagging her tail now when she sees either my daughter or I... She comes out of the crate into the Xpen that surrounds it and you know she needs to go potty... We're still battling a bit of the runs, but I anticipated that with the food from the shelter switch to my home cooking and Arrowhead water... I did attempt adding in a bit of puppy chow yesterday but she wouldn't have it, preferring the home cooking...

Concerned about what I felt was not enough room for her stretch out when nursing her puppies, I weighed that against the need to confine them all in a small area for warmth... This is a beautiful shot of Bella and one of her puppies sleeping, but still... I just felt she needed a bigger box so she'd be more comfortable...

So yesterday we improvised for now and 'built' a box that fits inside the crate from side to side, but 6" tall so the puppies can't accidentally crawl out...

It seems now (at least to me) that she's more comfortable with the switch and we watched her closely to see if she'd reject any of the puppies... I had to hand transfer them from the blue plastic box to the much bigger homemade box... I used a clean small hand towel to do it, not touching them skin-to-coat... And once they were all moved, in she jumped and started cleaning all five up...

We've figured out which one is the male now (which isn't easy 'cause they're all SO little)... He is the one with the two hind paws that are white-tipped on the very edge of his toes... In the photo below, he's the one in the center and has a white chin as well...

He's been officially named "Nacho," a suggestion made by my daughter's boyfriend... (smile)... Around me and my life, even if you've not been in on any family endeavor at the beginning, eventually I'll drag you into it~!!!... Hopefully, willingly~!!! ...

Bella is an excellent mommie and while at times it does seem like she's a bit torn about wanting to be held and loved up on, she keeps an eye on her pups, listening constantly for any sounds... Yesterday she had stopped doing that nervous, worrisome look whenever she went outside to go potty, so I guess she is trusting us now...

I sat down on the edge of the chaise lounge and once she'd finished her business, she came back over and climbed up into my lap for some cuddles and pets... The day before, she'd immediately head to the door with a worried expression on her face...

I can't wait for the day when her head picks up in an assertive manner and the tail stops being in between her hind legs... There's been a lot going on in her world in just the past week for the puppies are 7 days old today... One would expect nothing less than what's going on with Bella right now... She's a young mom (probably about 18 months old according to the vet), and has gone from 'wherever' to a strange outside park to a shelter to our home in just seven days, along with having a litter of puppies... That's a TON of changes for a small pupper like Bella~!!!

She's VERY sweet and has handed out kisses to both my daughter and I already... My husband was on puppy patrol yesterday while I was gone and he had to take her out to go potty twice... The first time she growled at him slightly, so he waited for a bit more than came back to see if she had to go... He's not spent as much time around her as my daughter and I have, so that's to be expected...

Speaking of my daughter, I snapped this picture the other night when my daughter arrived home from work and Bella immediately climbed out of the Xpen and into her arms... Bella sure does enjoy being a lap dog and my daughter is just as fascinated with this new litter of puppies and the sweetness of Bella towards us already...

The next two months promise to be exciting as we watch these puppies grow up... We've tentatively picked out four names for the female puppies, but nothing is decided for sure yet: Celestina ("heavenly"), Sofia ("wisdom"), Mercedes and Ebony... And Bella is called that, along with 'momma sieta' and other sweet names as we coo to her and her puppies...



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