5C's Que Pasa

We have been on the move since we left a week ago today.  By the way the twins were born 8 weeks ago today. After 21 years of owning doxies I am still confused as to why the first so many months are counted in weeks and then suddenly it switches to months. So you have read about us picking them up Tuesday and our night in Canmore and getting home Wednesday and how that night ( Wed. – Thurs. ) was not so good.  However the great news is that they slept the next night ( Thursday – Friday ) only waking up at 7:50AM this past Friday. I called it a miracle. Sadly the next night was not so good. That is why I was so tired yesterday and the reason my eyes were so sore and I had to wear sunglasses at night.  However last night ( Sunday – Monday = today ) they slept in until 6:25AM. Sleep really is important and we are twenty plus years older since our first pup. Colin has the energy but I do not. Today we functioned much better with more sleep.

The photos in this post were all taken this past Friday, the 26th of February.

I think that they play too hard, so many squeals with ears being bit and throats, etc. Sharp puppy teeth.

Their first guitar concert.

I was wondering if they were teething as they are chewing everything including us. They are gentle with us in the morning but as their play becomes more intense as the day progresses  we are fair game. So I decided to give them very cold carrots to chew on.  They loved it but I realized that I probably should monitor how much they digest.  So I will only give it to them every 3 – 4 days. They did enjoy it and it kept them from wrestling so much. They only ate 1/4 of this but they each had their own,

We have been having them do their business in a penned area but this past Friday Colin let them have a run in the yard. They loved it and now run up and down as much as they can.

The cold only seems to affect them in the very early morning and they shiver so much. Of course they get the heated towel treatment every time they come in. It really does take two of us to care for the twins. It didn’t not take us long to realize that our new gate is much too high for them and they could easily walk under it.  That has been blocked for now.

The girls love their toys, thanks Aunty Cindy for the new ones.  We have to keep changing them out to keep them stimulated. This is Ciela, she has a wrinkled forehead.

Never too young, Carlie likes to learn new things.

…actually puppy training supplies.

The twins are keeping us so busy that we have very little knowledge of what is happening in the world nor with Covid. I truly have no idea that two pups would wear us out this much. The thing is that what we do now affects our futures with them.  The smallest of things needs to be done correctly. They remember everything and trust me they know exactly where to go that they should not because we left an area unblocked. I cannot believe how intelligent they are.

In a nutshell the biggest thing is us getting some sleep at night.  Sorry but I just can’t continue, my eyes are burning looking at the computer screen plus they are waiting for me to feed them.  More details another day…..

We took this video yesterday. These are the sweetest moments that we have ever had in the twenty years that we have had doxies.  They are so laid back. Please turn your volume up to full as the few noises that they make need to be heard.  Also if you can make the image a full screen.  Sorry but this is six minutes long but worth every second if you are an animal lover. They are so innocent. More dialogue next post as I can only open the one eye ( too tired ).

The pups are doing really well. Having never been outside and loving it has made it easy to potty train them. Sometimes they actually run to the door to go out. Our job is to watch them while they are awake and get them outside as needed. We have had very few accidents. We don’t use wee pads during the day. Of course it is cold here and so they start to shiver very quickly. Colin always takes them out and I greet them at the door with hot towels to warm them.

We had snow Tuesday morning and they loved it. Carlie is trying to eat the snow.

Looking outside at the birds and the doxie statue.

Carlie’s eyes are so expressive.

A bit later in the day. They have enjoyed sitting in the sun in this area. Love Ciela’s foot placement.

We picked the twins up on Tuesday and our first night with them was in Canmore at the hotel. They did really well and only whimpered once about 2AM and settled down on their own. However they did get us up and out of bed about 4:30AM and that was when our day started Wednesday morning. Yesterday morning, Thursday, they slept about 3 hours and then started to cry extremely loudly, It was worse than any operatic soprano singing off key at full volume – times two 😯 Colin peed them and we resettled them into their crate. About 15 – 20 minute later they were screeching/screaming, so loud that it hurt our ears. Colin held them and calmed them but as soon as he left them in the crate it started all over again.  It was so loud that I thought a neighbour might call security. Finally we gave up and were up about 4:30AM. I fed them at 5AM and they were rather hungry. During the day they are great.  Generally they are up for an hour and then nap for 1 -2 hours. Sometimes they get up for 10 minutes and then go back to sleep. Other times they play hard for up to 90 minutes. Wrestling is their favourite pastime. I think that is because  they are sisters.

Carlie

Ciela.

They did rest more during the day yesterday, maybe because they wore themselves out. We are getting to know which is which a bit more. Colin still says”she did it” and I go which one? They are starting to notice things outside the windows. Having our windows ceiling to floor makes it fun for them. Ciela barked at the doxie statue sitting on the back steps. One drinks a lot of water and the other holds her poop for a long time so we are always watching her just in case. They love their playpen and use it for playing with toys and wrestling. Other areas are used for different things, they are creating their own play routines so by observing them we know what signs to watch for. Today they learned to come when called to eat. For the first Ciela came into the kitchen and asked for food. She ate 3/4 of her meal while Carlie ate only 1/4. Next meal one will eat more than the other.  They always leave kibble in their bowls. It didn’t take them long to figure out that sitting under the fireplace was the best place to be.

I discovered that Ciela has wrinkles on her forehead. A good way to tell them apart.

We have come to love them both so very very much.

Sometimes they play separately in different areas and in the past day have actually slept separately, one in a dog bed under the fireplace and the other in the crate. I’m glad to see them being somewhat independent. Today Colin took them out separately which was fine except one time Ciela became upset and started crying for her sister. They do tend to know where the other is even if they are not together.

We found out today that their sister who was supposed to be picked up this week now has new parents.  The first couple who have never ever had a dog had a change of heart. However another family who already has a two year old female from our breeder is picking her up Sunday.  So nice that she will have an older sibling to bond with and teach her the ropes.

Thank you all for your lovely comments. I just don’t have a single moment to reply to them. I haven’t even turned on my iPhone today. Today was a marathon day but more about today tomorrow.  First I need to share our last day on the road. ****Breaking news!!!***** We just lost a puppy 😳 We have given them just a wee bit more room to roam today. I am here working on this post and Colin is make a salad for our late dinner. He said, “we only have one pup”. We called ( they still don’t know their names ) and finally got flashlights and looked everywhere.  I began to panic. There was one dog in the crate. We kept looking. Finally Colin doubled checked the crate.  There were two but one on top of the other so it looked like one 😕  Plus they are so dark. It is going to be an interring next few months.

The girls did really well in the Canmore Resort. We had a one bedroom apartment and they stayed in the living room.  We did hear them peep about 1 or 2 AM  but they settled right back down. However at about 4:35AM they let us know that it was time to get up. Seriously! So we were up for the day at 4:45 and they were eating breakfast at 5AM.  They then played and played and ran everywhere. Meanwhile one was watching the girls while the other was packing up. We did not leave until 8AM.  So much to take down to the car, yea for heated underground parking. It was -17C. Moving the crate and then setting it up again in the car was a wee chore as everything had to be in the right place.

We were driving at 8:05AM. The view from the front of our hotel.

So many beautiful mountains in the Banff area and all the way home.

The sign says ” You are in AVALANCHE country “.

You can see how high the snow has been piled on the right by the plows.

Our first avalanche control was just before Field, BC.

The girls were so good and just kept sleeping in their crate. Colin was happy because it was sunny for the most part and the roads were dry. Very little sand with larger chunks in it hitting the front of the car or the windshield. I was just counting the miles until we got home.

So much fresh snow.

We were stopped just before Rogers Pass for more avalanche control or as the fellow said “they are dropping the bombs today”. We actually heard one loud boom. Fresh snow on the pines and hoar frost on the others.

Through it all the girls quietly sat with us. I opened the door to the crate and they relaxed on the armrest between the seats.

We finally got to Revelstoke where we peed them and then put down a clean wee pad to put their food on. they were distracted with the cars driving by and the people as well.  A huge first for them to be out in the world. It was a balmy 6C and they had the sun shining on them. It was a slushy mess everywhere and there was no way we could put them down.

Back on the road, they were a bit more playful.

They did get back in their crate and slept the rest of the way home including a stop in Armstrong to pick up more wee pads.

We kept them in the crate while we unload very quickly.  Then we put the wee pads from the back of the Jeep on the lawn and they went right away.  They loved running around. Sadly they are able to walk right under the front gate which we had made lower just in case we got new pups one day. So we have them now but they are so tiny. They don’t mind going outside but if the wind is blowing and it is freezing like at night, they cry. We will easily be able to find a temporary fix for the gate until they grow more. But right now they have a penned area on the lawn reserved just for them.

Setting up their area is a work in progress.

More stories and photos tomorrow.

Just before Christmas there was a significant windstorm. A huge tree came down in the garden area.

Some plots were damaged and others were not. Ours was, we are right of the  black iron gate in the middle of this photo.

As you can see the front area of our garden was smashed.

The weight of the felled tree was enough to crush our metal garden gate.

Quite the mess.

You can see where the limb broke off.

Fortunately the heaviest part did not land in our area.

Another winter first for us. We will be able to clean it all up come spring. A reminder of the power of Mother Nature.

**********We have arrived home safely.  As you can imagine we are much too busy to create a new post. Loving and enjoying our chocolate stash. They are surprising us every moment. The loved coming home here and played hard for two full hours before a two hour nap and then dinner.  Of course they are still wrestling. They took to being outside immediately, amazing since they have never been outside a home before. So we started potty training and they have been great.  Now we take them out and they do their business immediately. However we are to get 2 -4 cm of snow tonight.  Yikes, tomorrow is a new day.