Posts

Singing Simon

Singing Simon the French Bulldog Puppy

Simon singing his sad, sad song.

Simon and his brothers have formed quite the little a capella group – every so often, they throw their little heads back and sing their hearts out. There’s something weirdly disconcerting about a teeny tiny puppy who is howling like a miniature timber wolf.

I haven’t quite managed to get it on video yet, but I do get a nice series of photos of Simon in action. Check out that big round head and those shoe button eyes! So cute!

I’m trying out a new method of displaying photos, so you’ll find them all after the cut.

Read more

Tula Puppy Playtime Movie

Here’s a film of the puppies having some playtime, with us and with their mom. As you can see, a week makes a HUGE difference in the puppies’ development!

Happy Birthday Dear Puppies!

Black Masked Fawn French Bulldog puppy

Tula’s boys turned a week old yesterday, and we celebrated by shooting another video, which I’ll have uploaded for you tomorrow. Everyone is doing just peachy – Striker, our little pied foster baby (who is actually four days older, but now has the same honorary birthday as the boys, just to make my life simpler) is finally looking fat and sassy. He’s almost caught up with Tula’s two hulking big bruisers, and that’s saying something.

Here’s a question for you – do you find puppies at this age as unspeakably adorable as I do, or do you believe (as some nameless people do – ::cough::Fran::cough::) that they look more like little gerbils?

My veterinarian, who is a wonderful woman and a great doctor, took a final look at the fawn boy before we left the clinic the other day, and blurted out “They sort of look like rats at this age, don’t they?”. While I clutched my chest in mock horror, her groomer shrieked from the back room “Are you nuts? Don’t tell a breeder her puppy looks like a RAT!”. She apologized, and I pretended to forgive her (untrue, I’ll hold that grudge forever!), but I was simply stunned to learn that not everyone is as enamoured of puppies at this age as I am.

So, what’s your secret opinion? Lemme know on the poll, and below the cut you’ll find (quelle shock) yet more puppy photos.

Read more

Puppy Photos, Day Four

Striker, tiny pied French Bulldog boy

Striker, tiny pied French Bulldog boy

All the boys are doing well – Striker, the tiny pied boy, is gaining as much weight per day as the two beefy boys, and the fawn boy (nicknamed Sidney) is also doing well. Turns out his ‘gaping umbilical’ was really more of a ‘nicely healing umbilical’. Mea culpa when it comes to being overly protective.

Tula just wants us to stop fussing with her kids, and leave her to get on with motherhood. Happy to oblige, Tula.

And then there were THREE

Tula wonders "Where the heck did HE come from?"

Poor Tula. She goes to sleep at the vet clinic, she wakes up with two puppies. She comes home, has a nap – and wakes up with one more. If this keeps up, she’ll be afraid to ever go to sleep again.

Tula is doing some surrogate mothering – Paula’s singleton French Bulldog puppy (out of Elliott, which makes him sort of our Grandpuppy by proxy) has been having a hard time of it. His mom, Lucy, has no milk at all, and they’ve been getting up every three hours to bottle feed him. Worst of all, he’s not been doing well on the bottle. Since Tula loves her puppies, and has enough milk to open her own dairy bar, I suggested we tuck him in with Tula’s kids.

He arrived this afternoon, wrapped in a pink blanket and looking terribly small and thin. He’s almost two a half days older than the boys, but weighs just 209 grams to their 289 and 297 gram weights (that’s the fawn boy, who is something of a chow hound). Since he got here, I’m not sure he’s once let go of the nipple. Maybe he’s afraid that if does, it will either disappear, or dry up. Unlike Tula’s boys, who are still nameless for now, the little pied guy is named “Striker” (although I might lobby to have it changed to ‘Sucker’).

Tula had an initial moment or two of “I’m pretty that this is not mine” type hesitancy, but since he’s now covered in her milk and has been sleeping nuzzled up against her boys, she’s just fine with it. I’m going with the theory that she just thinks maybe she miscounted them.

Photos here, or on Flickr. Video later on, if I get the chance.