four-legged blessings

I hope you've all had a great week..I know mine has been very busy & eventful! With home renovations, work, family & friends, oh & 12 dogs - life is crazy! I don't know about you, but if I don't write things down, I definitely double book Brock & my schedule..anyway, enough about me & more on the pupperonis! :)
So much has changed in the course of the last week - a few things include [but are not limited to]:
-- Seal, JJ, Fluffy McFlufferson & Tiny Tim revealed to us that they have blue eyes! They are seriously so beautiful [well, handsome since they're all boys!]
-- They kiddos got their first baths today...welcome to December! Overall, they all did alright but Big Girl was really the only one that seemed to be really tolerant. Fluffer was probably the cutest puppy I've EVER seen soaking wet..what a stud!
-- In this order, Big Girl, Tall Boy, JJ, Ellie & Rotty all started to climb the stairs. They can only get up 1 or 2, but that is some serious progress!
-- All the kiddos are eating solid kibble. I had to start giving Big Girl & Tall Boy their own bowls to make sure the rest of the babes are getting food! lol..
-- Some of the pupperoni's ears have perked up just like Mama's!

Ok, here is my plea -- I spoke with my contact at the rescue about activity on getting these pups adopted & so far all adopters have fallen through for one reason or another! If you are at all interested in these beautiful babies, please-please-PLEASE contact me [nicole.greenhagen@gmail.com] or Paws for a Cause [www.paws4cause.net]

The pups will all receive their first set of vaccinations around the 15th so at that point visitors are welcome. We want to get the pups socialized, particularly Ellie, with strangers & kids so if you'd like to take a fieldtrip to see them, let me know :)

Now for the good stuff, the stuff you were waiting for...updated pictures!

Let me start with my baby -- Ellie Kay.

We started the week with her ears down & when I came home from work on Wednesday, to my surprise they perked straight up [sound familiar, Ash? lol.]

Ellie earlier in the week.. <3

Ellie now...

Here's Buck up at the top of the stairs - he hasn't officially met the pups since they aren't vaccinated yet but I have to show him - I'm such a proud Mama!

Big Girl

She is seriously the most easygoing yet playful one of the bunch! She's also quite the tank! ;)

Fluffer McFlufferson

We still really LOVE him..I will be SOOO jelaous of whoever adopts him! Name idea: Theodore! He reminds me of Theodore from the Chipmunks :)

Here he is looking like a little bear :)

Jack Jr. aka JJ

Seriously, check out those baby-blues...melts my heart!

Pitz

This little guy does NOT like to take baths..

  ,.but he sure LOVES to play!

Porkchop

She is absolutely ADORABLE! She may not be the most photogenic of the bunch, but she is definitely one of cutest in person! Her personality is GREAT too..what a lucky girl - she's got it all!

The first time I put disposable potty pads down, she thought they were a toy..she still does..

Rotty

Mr. Vocal - he is always the first one we hear! Rotty is one of the most cuddly pups of the bunch. He LOVES to sleep on his back & get a tummy rub!

Here is cuddling with both Brock & me!

Seal

This little boy's baby blues are to die for..combine them with his grey coat & I melt!

Here is one of Brock's favorite pictures...Seal eating Pitz face. lol.

Tall Boy

He is seriously a spitting image of Heidi..except I suspect he might get bigger than her. He also LOVES to cuddle & get belly rubs!

Tiny Tim

Little Tiny Tim is seriously ADORABLE! He loves to play but loves to sleep & he's cute doing both!

Here are a few extras :)

Story time with Mr. G [who cares if he's a math teacher, right?]

 Ellie with Tall Boy & Porkchop.

The group [minus Fluffer]

Please note: our basement has NOT been renovated, hence it being the PERFECT place to keep the pups - so no judgement on the walls &/or flooring ;)

Ok, so I can't finish this post without ending on a personal note...I know I said enough about me, but it is my blog-o-thoughts, right?

I've been missing my Jackson lately & poor Buck, I've been calling him Jack a lot...anyway, for those that knew Jack, knew that he only really liked 2 toys - his tug rope & stuffed pup. I decided I'd share one of his ropes [not his favorite one though] & his stuffed pup with the kiddos..well, melt my heart & make me tear up..

Here's my Punkin with his pup..

Here's one of the pups with Jack's toy..



I'm not all that emotional when it comes to most things, but when it comes to my loved ones - including my kids [aka dogs], I am very attached & emotional..it was very heatbreaking for me to see this in both a good & bad way...good, because Fluffer looks so peaceful sleeping on Jack's stuffed toy & bad because I miss the s#!t out of my Jackson. I think of him every day & find characterstics of him in all of the pups.

The litter of pups living in my basement, loving on me everyday, are my therapy to grieve the loss of my loved one. My baby. My Punkin. My Jackson. These pups are such a blessing & whoever has the honor of being their 'parents,' will be so lucky! I know I am!

12 dogs & counting,

Nicole

breaking news

It's unbelievable that I haven't updated in 10 days with all that has changed with the pups! Where do I even begin...

We've started to wean the kiddos! We're about a week in & so far so good. The rescue told us to soak the puppy kibble in goats milk until it's an oatmeal consistency [which grosses me out] & feed it to the babes. They love it but we can tell that they aren't quite ready for us to start making it more solid because they have a hard time eating it when the mush starts to solidify. Lucky for us, Heidi is still cleaning up after them because they just seem to think our basement is their bathroom...I guess it kind of is. :)

All of the pups are becoming more independent & growing into their own personalities. It kind of cracks me up seeing them grow because they are all so different..updated pictures & descriptions below.

And the BREAKING NEWS...we've picked our pup! Read on to see which one it is.. ;) Here's how we chose 'them.' When we got Jackson, we weren't even living together so I found him, we went to see him, I chose him, I named him but we both fell in love. Needless to say, if we were going to keep a pup, it needed to be a LOT less about me. When the kids first arrived at our house, we each chose one that we liked off the bat based solely off how they looked [how I chose Jack]. The very interesting part is that we've gotten to see how the pups are [shy, vocal, cuddly, kissy, etc] & we both ended up loving completely different pups. We had our selection down to 2...1 male, 1 female. I didn't want to be the one to make the final decision but assured Brock that I would be happy with either..so while I was at work on Wednesday evening, he went out & purchased a collar for either a girl or boy, put it on our pup & surprised me with who our new family member was going to be...

MEET Ellie Kay Greenhagen aka Peanut. She's beyond cute, super sassy, incredibly kissy & ours!

Our runner up..Fluffy McFlufferson! He is polar opposite Ellie. He is really chill & laid-back. His personality reminds me a lot of our dog, Buck. Fluffer looks a lot like a little teddy bear & is pretty stocky. It was really cute, lastnight I was down cuddling them all [they all seriously sleep on my lap..yes, all 10 of them!] & I set him down on the blanket. A couple minutes later he rolled over to sleep on his back but when he tried to roll back over, he couldn't! Poor Fluffer! lol.

 Here's Big Girl - her & Ellie look a lot alike but Big Girl is a lot bigger than El & her coat is a lot more coarse & full . She is very vocal & loves attention. She is also loves to cuddle & is pretty calm.

Meet JJ aka Jack Junior. Seriously, he reminds us so much of Jack, it's kind of creepy! He's a pretty vocal little guy & loves companionship..he doesn't like being away from his brothers & sisters. He might be one of the cutest pups of the litter & has a brown meets carmel coat. He is also a huge lover & gives lots of kisses!

Both Brock & I loved Pitz to begin with! His coloring is the most similar to Heidi's but his markings remind us of ones that a Pitbull would have..hence, Pitz. This little guy is a total cuddler but also loves to play. Him & JJ play quite a bit together. He's kind of a little guy so I love to smother him with kisses on his cute little face!

Right off the bat, Brock was in love with Porkchop! Her markings [on her body] are very unique & quite beautiful. When Porkchop was a tiny pup, she was seriously so chunky but has since grown into her body & thinned out. She has such a great personality & is a lowkey lover. Often times I will be down playing with the pups & she will be sleeping on my lap or chillin out next to me. Super cute, she has a little white tip on her tail! :)

Rotty is by far the most vocal & one of the cutest pups in the litter. His markings are very much a Rottweiler's. He, too, loves companionship & doesn't like to be far from his siblings. When he was just nursing & even now when we go down to feed them, he's one of the first to chow. He is very cuddly & loves to be rubbed on his belly!

When the pups were first "crawling,' Seal seriously looked like a little seal pulling himself across the pool. He is all gray/silver & is just so handsome. He is very cautious & shy but loves to cuddle with his brothers & sisters. He's always the last one to eat & often times we will hand feed him just to make sure he's gotten enough.



 Tall Boy is just that..tall. He seriously towers over his tiny siblings like Ellie & Tiny Tim. He is very curious & assertive. It's really funny because you can always tell what he wants because he's trying to get it/do it. Tall Boy was the first one out of the pool...literally. He was the reason we took it out of the pen because the poor guy got stuck between the pen walls & the pool..good thing I was home to rescue him! :) His markings are kind of a reverse Rottweiler...he has tan where there should be black & black where there should be tan & his snout is a little longer than some of his siblings.

Tiny Tim just might be the runt. He is just a little guy! I love to snatch him out of the group to give him attention because he is pretty shy & easygoing & I hate to say it but I'd probaly forget to love on him alone if I didn't. I do find him, Pitz &/or JJ playing together quite a bit though. :)

 So that's the pack...REMEMBER, if you're interested in adopting any of them, please, please, please visit www.paws4cause.net!

On the Heidi front, well lets just say it's been an interesting journey with this cutie. I had to call the rescue to 'rescue' me from some anxiety...she's SUPER, SUPER skinny but eats about 8 cups of food a day & she was still spotting from the birth. Both of which were incredibly concerning..turns out it's completely normal & all we had to do was add some calcium [yogurt &/or cottage cheese] into her diet. Pheew! I've also received mixed reviews on whether we seperate her from the pups or not during the weaning process but after my therapy session, we're keeping them all together until they show us otherwise.

Heidi is doing a great job of teaching the pups boundaries..even though it sometimes scares the bajeebies out of me! For example, if any of the kiddos come near her when she's eating or drinking, she will bark at them & sometimes even nudge them. Most of the time it ends with a piercing shriek [I think that's the part that gets me] that sounds like she's severely injured them...again, this is supposed to be normal. I admit, I have a hard time just allowing this to happen but if it teaches the kids boundaries, I'll sit back & let nature takes it's course.

So to top it all off, we have 13 dogs right now...LONG story short, my dad guilted me in to watching his dog while he's in Wisconsin hunting. Needless to say, I wasn't happy but I made him pay me...so I guess it all works out in the end. But really - who's crazier now? The Greenhagens!

Well, that's it for now! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all enjoyed your time with your families!

13 dogs & counting,
Nicole

joy & blessings

GREAT NEWS! The pups are mobile & WOW they are growing like weeds! It seems like everytime I go down to hang out with them, there is something new about at least one of them. For example, I came home from work today to find that a few of their ears are standing up..I swear it wasn't like that before I left this morning!

I finally recruited Brock to help me take pictures..of course it had to be before the Vikings-Packer game [lol] that I didn't even think to change my pajama shirt so I hope you enjoy the [not so] beautiful backdrop for the cuties!



The girls



The boys

It's been incredibly insane because so far I can't look at one of the pups & think that I wouldn't be happy to keep them forever. I will admit that I've bonded over a few more than others but I think that a part of that is the fact that a few of them are just a lot more timid & lowkey..and for anybody that knows me, I'm not really that myself. It cracks me up because those are the pups that Brock is drawn to. It's a good thing because then all of the pups get equal attention...I do have to kiss all of them a few times a day though ;)

On the Heidi front, she's adapted really well. We're working with her on jumping up on the counters and not begging for food...no people food for her but that little smarty pants snatched up some bread right behind Brock's back. He was in the kitchen making a sandwich and put the bread on the counter, turned his back to grab the meat from the fridge, turned back & the bread was in Heidi's mouth. Sneaky little girl...that's when we knew that we couldn't trust anything on the counters until she knows she's not allowed on them. Other than that, she's doing great & taking good care of her kids.

I know I promised videos but for whatever reason I can't upload them in the format that they're in..I'll work on that!

These babies bring me such an immense amount of joy! I've fallen in love with each one of them in different ways & I know that whoever the future parents are, they will be so blessed! If you'd like to be one of these people, check out www.paws4cause.net to fill out an application.

12 dogs & counting,

Nicole