Eyes!!!

Finn nose color filling in

Finn's eyes opened  on Monday!  Dale noticed that he was sitting, holding his head up higher than he has before, and seemed to be orienting to visual stimuli. And while fully functional vision isn't really expected until 3-4 days after the initial opening,.he oriented toward Dale and started his wobbly way over to see him!  Incredible!  Just as with human children, folks that study dog development have partitioned puppy development into stages and eye opening commences that period known as the "Transitional" period.  My books tell me that this stage is characterized by increased motor skills (including tail wagging!), the onset of functional vision, emergence of teeth, the development of hearing and the ability to eliminate on his own (though I've seen Finn eliminate on his own, actually several days ago!)  Of all of the things that are expected to happen in this period, perhaps I am most excited about seeing his tail wag for the first time.  A dog's tail is so important for communication and I am dying to see what Finn will "tell" us!:)   The Transitional period ends when the pup is capable of startling to a noise. 

Finn's eyes opened Day 13

It won't be long before Finn will be up and about and underfoot! And we'll be looking for as many new and safe experiences as we can find.  Katrina spends more time away from the whelping box now, though still running to Finn's side when he whimpers.  We have also renovated our dining room into a large puppy play area, lined it temporarily with linoleum for easy cleaning, added a crate to allow Finn to start learning about his own special "cave" and made plans for adding new toys and obstacles on a regular basis to keep his brain developing!  The hardest part will be making sure he gets the proper exposure to other dogs, but where there's a will, there's got to be a way.  And since we've got the will....well, we'll find the way!