I live with a lot of dogs here on the farm my sister and her husband are well respected breeders of championship dogs and so I have a lot of poo to scoop every day. I’m not supposed to show the dogs or anything about them for a number of reasons, which is a shame because puppies are cute when you bring one home, but doesn’t compete to have adorable a litter of six it to witness as the move through the various stages of life.
Part of the routine you learn. They’re very similar in each early stage. Opening their eyes, fighting for position on the nipples, learning to walk and square and moan and growl and eventually bark. They all learn to bark, and practice a lot. Being able to make a sound must be exciting. Humans have to go through a much longer period of baby crying, but six dogs in your home barking for hours can be a bit much.
I live in a bedroom directly below them. They wake me up each morning even before the roosters are up.
When they start to emerge with personalities is the coolest part for me. I spend some morning time with the older puppies, cleaning the poo and making sure everyone has clean fresh water and food. The way they all jump around like acrobats falling on top of each other in rotation always makes me smile. They rotate without any thought or concern for the puppies they’re stomping on in a continuous loop that reminds me of bing balls randomly circling until one gets picked.
I make sure each and every one gets a fair and equal number of nose bumps and head pats.
What amused me most is how excited they get watching my routine. They’ve memorized what each step means and have almost gamified the processes. My chores are fun for them to watch, as they eagerly vie for my attention every step of the way.
Shoveling shit has never been this fun.