What The Heck Was That?

Hope lives in my home with Beckett and she is Queen of the universe around here. If she wants to eat her food And his food, that is what she does, with no protest from Beckett. If she wants the toy he is playing with, then she will walk right over and take it. I always make a point of telling people that the reason why we have a peaceful household with two intact bull terriers moving through the house together is because Beckett is a gentleman. Or a wimp, depending on how you look at it. And, Hope has a bit of an attitude. She is very much about herself.

It is because of this personality that Marion was concerned that Hope might not be a natural mother... That Hope might not like the babies or want to take care of them. Well, she certainly came through the whelping wonderfully and for the first few days she was a bit of a "helicopter" mom, hovering over them and whimpering a bit. Her vocalizations seemed to either be saying "I don't know what to do" or "why are they making noises? What the heck are they?". After Day 3 she settled into a routine but by the end of the first week she was OK about nursing them, but the moment they were done, she wanted out of the whelping box. She has been caring, but pretty hands off and has taken to searching out her "Me" time. This has largely involved spending time outside in this balmy weather in a side yard in an igloo lined with hay where she lounges away from the tiny, teat sucking critters.

Now to get to the point of this post. Apparently this morning Hope was in the whelping box and one of the puppies growled at her and Marion said she leapt straight up and ran out of the room with her tail between her legs! So much for mothering instinct LOL. When they turn 3 weeks next Wednesday we will be moving them to a larger, proper whelping box arrangement. Their eyes are all open and they are beginning to walk around, so Hope will learn quickly what its like to have physically and vocally demanding puppies at her feet!