My first full day alone and in charge, well I am at least in charge in my own mind as I know who is really pulling the strings behind the scenes to make sure that I am a success with her pride and joy.

I am rating today as a success, I still have 7 puppies and a momma and they all seem to be content. I can’t believe how much Sugar is eating, every time I turn around I seem to be giving her more food and she does not hesitate in consuming it with delight. She really needs all this food to keep her energy and milk production up as the puppies are voracious every time she enters the pen to feed them. I feel sorry for her as she lays down and the puppies attack from all directions each searching for their food supply. You always get one or two of them that lose their spot and sit on the outside trying to find an opening in the line so they can get to their meal. 
When I watch this the outsider looks like Adrian Peterson trying to find a hole in the line so he can break the big one and find the promised land.

The hardest part of today for me is how low key it is. I love to stay busy and keep active but watching the pups requires you to be low key, have patience, and be content sitting around playing with the puppies and Sugar. I was able to get Sugar out for a walk this afternoon after she had fed the pups and they were resting. We both really enjoyed it, the fresh air and exercise. I let Sugar take her time and smell the roses while she could. When she gets out she reverts back to the non-mom Sugar and the spunk returns with a little giddy up in her step. When she returns to the house she reverts back to mom dog and becomes serious and immediately goes to the pen to count the puppies.
  

Sugar moves seamlessly between responsible dog mom and happy almost 3 year old!

I think Sugar is also beginning to accept reality and she knows that her mom is gone for a while as she is not waiting for someone else to walk in behind me anymore. She is stuck with me and now comes to me when she needs things, I think she is becoming more confident in my abilities. I think she has accepted me as her temporary stepdogmom, I consider this a success.

Day one, done!