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

heidi's toddler beds

11.11.11 - the day everybody's dreams come true...

Today we celebrate Veterans day - I cannot thank all the men and women that have and continue to serve our country. I am so proud to be an American! Today we also celebrate our little pups 10 day birthday! :)

Speaking of pups, our little babes have grown so much! 3 of them even have their eyes open and a few of them are well on their way to walking. They stand ever so wobbley on all 4's before doing a barrel roll across the pool. It's actually very cute! It's been just amazing to see the changes each and every day! I tried really hard to get individual pictures of the pups but they don't really care to sit still -imagine that! I'll recruit Brock to help me with that but in the meantime, here are a few cute ones --

This is the only little guy to have Heidi's
golden coloring...we're working on a nickname
for him ;)

Porkchop is the sweetest little girl! She has a cute, wrinkley face &
more of a brindle-like coat...we call her Porkchop because she's one
of the larger pups & is just a little chunk! ;)

Cuddle bugs!

Look at the little contortionist!

Heidi on the other hand, well let's just say she's "fitting in" quite well around here. I think that even despite their size difference, Buck is warming up to her outgoing personality and spirited tail-wagging. :) In fact, he's even gotten used to sharing his beds...for example..



Here's Buck in his bed in the living room..

...here's Heidi in the same bed...

Here she is in Buck's bed in our bedroom.
She sleeps in the basement with the pups at night but I think
she wanted to get in a little siesta before heading back to the babies.

Heidi's adoptive family better be prepared for this cuddle bug because she loves her beds...hopefully they'll have a larger one to accomodate her. Poor thing, it's like putting a 15-year-old in a toddler bed at our house! We'll have to think about upgrading if we decide to adopt one of the pups...

Anyway, I'll post some videos later on this weekend. In the meantime, smile & love on your kiddos!



12 dogs & counting,

Nicole

and so it begins

Today is officially day 3 of our lives as a family of 14...it sounds crazy [I know!] but let me start from the beginning...

I've been a dog lover my entire life...in fact, it very well may be more of an obsession. For those that know me, my dogs become my kids [I even tattooed Jack's paw behind my ear!] Anyway, I married Brock who is about as equally in love with dogs and we began our lives together as dog fanatics!

I regularly visit various websites looking at the puppies people are giving up. Very seldomly do I have the intention to bring any of these babies home but I look anyway. About 2 weeks ago I was missing Jack badly and came across Heidi. I awed over how beautiful she was, showed Brock and we were hooked. We wanted to make her a part of our family. The catch? She was expecting a litter of puppies!

Weeks passed and then I was browsing my regular sites and saw a post from Paws4ACause, the rescue Heidi was with. They were in desperate need of a family to foster Heidi and her 10..YES, 10 puppies! How could we live not knowing where these puppies & Heidi were going to be loved next? It was Brock who made the call and here we are..the crazy dog people! ;)

Day 1 -- we picked all the kids up on Saturday evening and joked as we drove home that for the next 8 weeks we will sound a little crazy when we tell people we have to go home early to take care of our 12 dogs! When we got home we acquainted the puppies with the pool they are going to be spending the next 3 weeks [atleast] in and Heidi with her entire home. We loved on her and the pups for about an hour and then left her to care for the pups for the night.

A few things we observed: Heidi was initially fearful of both men and stairs.

Puppy pile! It's so cute, this is how they sleep!

Day 2 -- we spent most of the day home with the kids. Heidi and Buck [our dog] got to know eachother a little bit but still aren't sure of eachother. I think it might be because they have a pretty big size difference [Buck is a 10lb Shi-tzu]. I'm not worried about it, it just might take a little bit. The pups got quite a bit of love and attention...I can't help it, they're irresistable! The more we look at them the more we see a little Rotty in them. Only time will tell.

Heidi is a very patient and attentive mom. She nudges her pups towards her when they're yelping and cleans them as necessary. When we're petting or holding them, she lays calmly next to us but you can tell she's there to protect her babies.

Heidi aka Pretty

She's a very loyal dog, we can already tell. On day 1 she wanted little to do with Brock but once he showed her that he was safe, she wouldn't leave his side...I'm kind of jealous, she loves him more than me! Her adoptive family will be very lucky to have her..we'd keep her if we could!

The pups, well, they haven't really even opened their eyes. They remind me of seals [especially the silver ones] when they "walk" because they drag their back legs..it's pretty cute! We've deteremined that there are 3 females and 7 males. We already have nicknames for a few of them because some are more vocal or more plump than others :)

Heidi being so cute during the pups evening feeding

Day 3 -- today was the first day we had to leave Heidi and her babies home alone during the day. Lucky for us, we only work similar schedules on Monday and Friday so one of us should be home with the kids almost everyday.

It's only dinner-time but here are the updates on Heidi and the pups...Heidi - wow! She has really come around. She hadn't had a bowel movement outside until today! I was so happy when I came home and both her and Buck were doing their business in the backyard...lol, what a thing to be happy about! She also helped herself up on the couch to sit next to me. Prior to today, she would sit down by our feet. AND she goes up and down the stairs without any fear! She's made huge progress in our eyes.

The pups, well they're getting more vocal and they still sleep either in a pile or in pairs. They always need someone next to them. It's really cute when they're in a pile because usually they all have their heads together. I smile everytime I'm near them!

I'll try to update every few days or so on the progress of Heidi and her pups. :)

For those of you reading that may be interested in either fostering a dog or adopting one of Heidi's pups (there's only 3 left!), please visit www.paws4cause.net.

12 Dogs & Counting,

Nicole