The Eagle(s) Have Landed….(or surrender your life to the puppies)

They’re here! OMG, the cuteness. It’s unbearable. I’ve spent an entire morning just looking at them, laughing at them, holding them, and yes, cleaning up after them.

I may be partial, but these are GOOD puppies. Slept through the night in a “puppy rug” as Ian calls it – laying nose to butt to side to foot to any random body part, but all touching. Not a peep all night, but when I opened the door this morning just a crack, they tumbled over each other getting out of the crate for one unison pee fest.

Luckily, Tracy’d told me her clean up trick of moving the sides of the puppy pen so that the pee/poop is outside the pen and the puppies can’t slather themselves in it when they try to assist me by chewing the clean up rags. This worked like a charm. What didn’t work like a charm was the fresh newspaper I put down when I’d finished. It took only about two minutes for the six of them to shred it, add a few extra poops and pees, fight over every shredded bit and turn the entire area into a huge mess. Fun.

I used the movable sides to herd the puppies back into their crate and removed the paper, cleaned the floor again, but this time put the surgical drapes down that Erica brought me at the transport. Much better solution. The drapes don’t absorb, but they are pretty tough to tear apart (not that Marzle isn’t giving it a good go).

It’s funny how unique their personalities are even at this age. I worried I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart, or write up six different descriptions, but it’s clear already that they are individuals. Jillie Bean is the best mannered and seems to own her status as princess of the brood.

Chick Pea stays above the fray, She is emerging as the alpha here. When we first put them in the pen last night, she patrolled the gate area, whining and looking only a little irritated that she was still stuck with these ruffians. She much prefers humans to this crazy brood and is the first one out of the crate to greet me every time. Her long legs allow her to stand just a little taller when everyone’s lined up on their hind legs crashing the side of the pen begging to be chosen for attention.

Marzle is everybody’s buddy and busy as can be. He’s a dog’s dog. Homeboy is unassuming, not pushing to the front, maybe because he’s on the smaller size, but he’s a player jumping into each tangle, most of which are started by Lug Nut whose skin seems a few sizes too big, despite the fact that he’s got a pound or two on all of them.

And Boz, he’s a trip. I’m guessing he’s the runt because he’s smaller than the others and has a different color, but his huge fat head and massive paws say maybe he’ll lap them later in life. He’s everybody’s favorite, and not just the other puppies who seem to seek him out for every tussle, yanking on his floppy ears, but Ian’s, too.

I’m not sure how I’ll get anything done with such an adorable distraction right outside my office door. But maybe this is the honeymoon period. Maybe I’ll be ready to toss them to the curb by the end of the weekend.

Probably not.

Here’s a photo gallery for your viewing pleasure: