Thursday, August 8, 2013

Mom Always Liked You Better

We welcomed six new little beans to the Brandywine family on Sunday.



Which, by the atomic mother English shepherd clock, means that today (Thursday) or tomorrow will be Moving Day.

After Moving Day, Rosie will start to chill the fuck out. Since Sunday, she has literally not spent more than 30 seconds away from them. She eats in the whelping box, pees when I insist, and poos seldom and at implausible speeds.

I am hoping she consents to use the same corner of the living room she chose last time. It's a very convenient spot.

One of the things about Moving Day that has been consistent in the last three litters of ES born here is that one puppy is chosen as the Moving Day Scout. If I replace that pup in the whelping box, that's the one she will retrieve each time until Moving is accomplished.

That pup turns out to Mom' Favorite later on.

So in the spirit of participation, voting is open in the Moving Day Sweepstakes.

Vote in the comments for which pup will be chosen as Scout. I'll reveal the Chosen Pup's identity when the deed is done. One person will be chosen from among the correct votes to receive two dozen fresh Brandywine Farm eggs.

No names or genders, so as not to bias the voting. Here are the hamster-like heirs of Pip, in birth order:

Puppy 1

Puppy2

Puppy 3

Puppy 4

Puppy 5

Puppy 6

Which one will Mom choose?


Pupdate:

Well, this is unprecedented.

Rosie spent yesterday (Thursday) being squirrely and acting as if she was just about ready to grab a pup. She checked out the designated den corner by the fireplace several times.

Around dinnertime I came in from chores and Perfesser Chaos said he'd caught her picking up a puppy, but she quickly put it down when she saw him. And he did not take note of which puppy it was.

This morning, some time between 0830 and 1000, while I was upstairs, she moved all the hamsters to their new digs without being detected.

Damn.

Final Pupdate:

There sure was a lot of moving going on here.

The first several attempts, either Perfesser Chaos could not remember to take note of the puppy with whom he caught her slinking away, or I would find the entire Jolly Crew transported to the closet in the guest room, Sophia's crate, under the bed ...

But I have three data points on the first puppy to move -- in one case the only puppy to move, when PC left a door open for a while and then closed it without making a puppy count -- and unsurprisingly, Puppy #5 is Mom's Favorite.

Unsurprisingly because he is the only male pup, and Favorite Puppy of a Brandywine bitch is always my son, my son. They are the Jewish mothers of the dog world.

A few contestants apparently cheated by comparing the photos to the blow-by-blow descriptions of the pups I gave on Facebook as they were born.

But I didn't specifically forbid cheating.

Anyway, five contestants chose Puppy #5 and were each assigned a value on a six-sided die, which I rolled once.

Mr. Andrew Brouse, please collect your eggs!

(Ha! Andy always gets some eggs when he comes here anyway. Now he will just get more eggs.)


This is a relief, because I totally don't know about shipping eggs to Britain. And I refuse on principle to vacuum-pack and ship eggs to California to a person who has her own hens.
 


37 comments:

  1. Puppy 3

    I base this on nothing except personal aesthetic judgment, i.e., I think that one is extra cute.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wait a minute- don't I get to keep the puppy? I choose #4. 'Cause that sleeping position needs to change quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It will definitely be #5.
    You can bring my prize to training Sunday lol
    Nick

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hors concours, because SoCalian. Puppy #4 ftw.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Puppy 3. Definitely.

    (Note to other gamblers; I am in San Diego and thus not likely to collect those 2 dozen eggs)

    ReplyDelete
  6. My vote is for #4. Naturally, I expect my prize to be personally delivered (to Sweden) Vikki

    ReplyDelete
  7. Puppy #2, just because she looks like MY personal favorite from the last litter... Annie
    Nancy Putnam

    ReplyDelete
  8. I would choose #4, but considering it's Rosie, I'll have to go with the one with the hookah-looking thing on the back of its neck. (Would that be #1?)

    If I am selected, you need not send eggs to Oregon, though I would love to have them. Just send a bottle of puppy breath via email instead.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Puppy #5

    Just a feeling.

    Andrew Brouse

    ReplyDelete
  10. Voting for #6. I'm partial to new puppy nose dots. Also she looks like a good herder. Or he. See that go-get-it stance? (If I win, donate the eggs to the nearest homeless shelter.)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Puppy 5. Cuz a scout can use an arrow on their head.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dibs on Puppy 6!

    Anonymously,

    Betty, Mother of Beagle Rosie

    ReplyDelete
  13. #4 appears to be stuck and requires assistance or #4 because he/she is already on the move....alas no roadtrip for eggs either. boo.

    ReplyDelete
  14. and since poor puppy#6 is being left out -- I'll vote for puppy #6. (And I need replacement laying hens, not eggs. Thx.)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Puppy #3, cuz no one else has picked him and he was feeling unspecial. And because his little blaze looks like the one on his uncle Captains head.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It will be puppy #5 based on my ability to never choose the right lottery numbers so my time is now here.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I don't really care but I choose puppy 6 - once again I want wallet size prints to show around - after all how often do I become a great-great-great grandpa - I REALLY like all my great-great-great granddogs. Love - Dad

    Maurice Houlahan

    ReplyDelete
  18. Puppy 1, so he/she doesn't get left out of the bidding.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm thinking puppy 3.

    No chance I can collect on those eggs, but why not guess anyway :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. puppy 4. cause he/she is not cooperating with the positioning for photos like the others. Me suspects another ebil one :o))

    Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  21. #2 Has Mom's blaze.
    Barb

    ReplyDelete
  22. Josie chooses puppy #1

    ReplyDelete
  23. Puppy #5 because it's not the gender you were hoping to keep and Rosie is her own dog.

    You can bring the eggs when you come to pick up kestrel box building wood.

    ReplyDelete
  24. So you're saying Rosie gets the two dozen eggs? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Rosie, you GO, girl!! All those eggs are YOURS! Make sure your human pays up.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I always knew he was a winner. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. What about Florida? Large amounts of bubble wrap required.

    ReplyDelete

I've enabled the comments for all users; if you are posting as "anonymous" you MUST sign your comment. Anonymous unsigned comments will be deleted. Trolls, spammers, and litigants will be shot.