I'm a bit of a buggerboo about smells and now that the litter is walking in their food dishes regularly plus the other smells that aren't always attractive with new puppies, it was time to get their first bath... We waited until the afternoon sun had warmed up the house to about 80 degrees yesterday afternoon and then set up an Xpen in the family room with extra towels...
My daughter agreed to be the pup-sitter and 'toweler -dryer' for this event... And Dulce was the first one up for a bath in the kitchen sink... She surprisingly did not complain too much about the whole ordeal but once put in the Xpen and dried off, she scampered about like a new born lamb in a field of fresh grass!... She particularly enjoyed stretching out on one of the doggie lounges we had in there as she rubbed dry her tummy even moreso...
The fish in the aquarium behind the Xpen held a bit of her attention over and over again... I think it must have been the brilliant red of my husband's Parrot Fish... Dulce kept going back to that corner, fascinated by their movement inside the tank...
The next pup up for a bath was Sofia and after she was dried, she and her sister Dulce had a particular interest in my daughter's bracelet, along with just about everything else they could smell, touch or play with! (smile)...
Even the smallest amount of movement seems to capture their interest at this age of their life (approximately 1.5 years of human life per their size, breed and health)... It is very fascinating to watch if you're an avid dog observer as I am...
They were making so much noise as they rough-housed in the Xpen, even Bella had to come over and investigate what was going on...
Ebony was the next one for a bath and she wasn't too happy about the process... She's always been the one in the litter who stands back and watches before she dives in and starts participating with her siblings... It doesn't seem to be fear-based but more of an intellectual curiousity whereas Dulce just barges into whatever is going on like the resident party girl, looking for a new toy to play with, interested in what is going into their food dish, etc...
Ebony however is the observer in the bunch and likes to watch from afar until she can no longer refrain from joining in on the fray...
In this regard, Ebony is more like her momma than any of the others, for Bella likes to sit and watch what is going on around her too... It amazes me how they all can be from the same mom in the same litter and yet be so different in personalities~!!! It is almost like they watch any game to determine the rules of it before joining in and assuring they are the winners, ya know?... I don't mean 'calculating' in a negative sense however... There's not a mean bone in either the mom nor her litter who are all outgoing and loving beyond the norm...
All of us around here seem to have our favorites in the litter... Sofia is my daughter's favorite and mine is Mercedes... I don't know if it is because she's always been the smallest or because she seems to have the biggest 'attitude' in the bunch... She's vocal when you least expect it and because she's so small, you wonder where she got that voice~!!!... She DEFINITELY knows what she wants and WHEN - and is NOT afraid to tell you either!
Mercedes was QUITE content
being bundled up as my daughter was drying her off, and as it took a bit longer because she of the females in the bunch has the longest fur, Mercedes was loving life being held and coo'ed to by my daughter in the towel...
Those warm fuzzies were interrupted when one of her siblings came to investigate why Mercedes was still 'lounging around' in that towel and Mercedes was QUICK to fuss about being disturbed (smile)... It was almost as if she had just come out of a bubble bath and was relaxing, but the kids were knocking on the bathroom door without relenting, ya know?
Once she was all clean, dry and warm, she was as ready as the rest of her siblings to investigate all that was going on around her now that her 'beauty requiem' was compete!
... So now that that was all said and done, it was time to investigate what mischief Mercedes could get into and my daughter's shoe strings seemed to be very inviting for further investigation and/or chewing upon!
Oddly enough, she didn't really want to share that with any of her siblings either! (smile)... By the way, both Sofia's and Mercedes' tails have already taken on that distinctive curl that Chihuahuas are known for... Ebony's is a bit longer and while she carries it just as high and proud as her sisters do, it just now starting to curl over...
The last one to get their bath was Nacho... Because of his much longer coat, we knew he'd take much longer to get dried, so we intentionally left him to last... He didn't mind all the extra attention either and gave a kiss to his benefactor of the warm fluffy towel and rub down!
... continued on to the next part of our adventure - meeting someone new, nose to butt as dogs do...
