Yeah - I know you will all be happy to finally see pictures of the puppies. Hard to believe they are 5 weeks old today. Yesterday the sun came out and it was finally nice enough to have their first big adventure outside. They enjoyed eating grass and romping and playing. The sun felt so nice and it was just a delightful day to sit outside and enjoy puppies.
My son and his girlfriend came for a visit so I enlisted their help in getting 5 week puppy pictures...actually 4 week and 6 day pictures but close enough and for those of you that have been waiting I am sure you don't care at all that I am off by a day, just happy that I finally posted pictures!
They experienced the shop vac going next to them and handled it pretty well, a couple of them decided that it wasn't safe and high tailed it to their little cave but poked their heads out to watch and see what was going on. My dad and I will be subjecting them to a lot of household noises in the coming weeks. Out in the living room of course they are getting a lot of noises but we will be purposefully dropping pots and pans and stuff like that.
They really need a bath, the puppy food gets stuck in their coats and makes them crusty, I am hoping that Sunday can be bath day, I would do it today but I am flying over to Boise to evaluate the Dallas puppies that are going home this weekend. Very excited to see his babies and help Brandy determine which puppy is going into which home.
I haven't been communicating a lot with people because I want to see who is left over after Brandy's pups are placed. After that then I will know who is still left on my list and will start reaching out to folks in the next couple of weeks.
Lots of visitors are coming and going and the pups are getting great socialization, So if anyone wants to come and play with pups in the next few weeks let me know.
Now I better get ready to head to the airport.
Susan
Ladybug
Friday, March 31, 2017
Friday, March 24, 2017
4 Weeks today and Lots to catch up on
First off, I am sorry It has been a while since I have posted. I have been super crazy busy at work and that means I have had to bring some work home with me and takes away from my posting time I have had, but busy at work is a good thing so I cannot complain. Work brings in the money so I can have fun playing with my dogs.
The puppies all have teeth coming in now and mom is not too happy about it. She is being so good about nursing them but just not as often, so we have started them on gruel. Gruel consists of puppy food soaked in puppy formula milk and water. Ground up a little bit so that it is not really a paste but has some chunks of food that they have to chew. I started them out last Friday and they were doing twice a day but now we have moved them up to eating three times a day. They are the most mild mannered easy going puppies about food I think I have ever had. They happily gather around the bowl, they don't push and shove and heaven forbid if someone puts a paw in it. They take it out and hold it up in the air like - Eeewwww get it off, I don't want my foot in the food. After they are finished I call Nevada in to do clean up. She comes in finishes off whatever food they don't and then proceeds to clean them. When she is done, I have to take a wet wash cloth and clean their feet and head so that all of the gruel gets off of them, otherwise it dries like a paste and makes them all crusty, I don't like my babies to be crusty.
Their little personalities are coming out. We had our first visitation last week by one of my homes and it was love at first sight. I love seeing families come and crawl in the box and have 7 puppies in their laps in a matter of seconds, the joy on her face was priceless and that is why I love doing this. It is great for the pups to meet new people and have new experiences.
Yellow girl has been trying to create her own new experiences by escaping out of the whelping box, we had to add a slat into the opening making it more difficult for Nevada to get in and out, but that didn't stop her, out she went, so a second board has been added. She is a busy little bee and is going to need a very experienced home, I can tell that already. Even though it is still way too early to know which pups are going to go into what homes as their personalities start to come through it helps me to make decisions based on how active a home is and how active a puppy is. Again one of the reasons, i never promise anyone a puppy until they are 7 or 8 weeks.
I know this is difficult for people to process but it is what any reputable breeder would do. Anyone that say's oh you can come and pick your puppy doesn't have the best interest of the puppy at heart. The only time that is going to happen is if I have two show pups and experienced show people are making the decisions about which puppy is best for their home. I don't place puppies based on markings and if anyone tells me they don't want a puppy because of markings well then you need to go and find another breeder. These babies are my babies, it is like saying you want to adopt a child but don't want it because it doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes. I have never had this problem, but I currently have a good friend with a litter that is having this exact thing happen to her, it breaks my heart. She has put her heart and soul into these babies and to have someone say, I will only take x or y puppy don't call me if I cannot have one of them. Grrr. Ok I will get off my soap box now - back to fun stuff.
It is still too cold and wet to have the puppies outside, so today I set up an inside area in the living room with a bigger area and x pens. This way they will get more household noise, be part of the action and start to get used to actual sounds that happen in the house. It was interesting to watch them in their new environement. Yellow and Orange just wanted to get to momma who was watching the whole thing. Pink, Red and Teal were busy exploring. Purple took a nap and Green was trying to rearrange the blankets. Today will be interesting to see how they handle this. Now they are all taking a nap and time for me to get some chores done.
The puppies all have teeth coming in now and mom is not too happy about it. She is being so good about nursing them but just not as often, so we have started them on gruel. Gruel consists of puppy food soaked in puppy formula milk and water. Ground up a little bit so that it is not really a paste but has some chunks of food that they have to chew. I started them out last Friday and they were doing twice a day but now we have moved them up to eating three times a day. They are the most mild mannered easy going puppies about food I think I have ever had. They happily gather around the bowl, they don't push and shove and heaven forbid if someone puts a paw in it. They take it out and hold it up in the air like - Eeewwww get it off, I don't want my foot in the food. After they are finished I call Nevada in to do clean up. She comes in finishes off whatever food they don't and then proceeds to clean them. When she is done, I have to take a wet wash cloth and clean their feet and head so that all of the gruel gets off of them, otherwise it dries like a paste and makes them all crusty, I don't like my babies to be crusty.
Their little personalities are coming out. We had our first visitation last week by one of my homes and it was love at first sight. I love seeing families come and crawl in the box and have 7 puppies in their laps in a matter of seconds, the joy on her face was priceless and that is why I love doing this. It is great for the pups to meet new people and have new experiences.
Yellow girl has been trying to create her own new experiences by escaping out of the whelping box, we had to add a slat into the opening making it more difficult for Nevada to get in and out, but that didn't stop her, out she went, so a second board has been added. She is a busy little bee and is going to need a very experienced home, I can tell that already. Even though it is still way too early to know which pups are going to go into what homes as their personalities start to come through it helps me to make decisions based on how active a home is and how active a puppy is. Again one of the reasons, i never promise anyone a puppy until they are 7 or 8 weeks.
I know this is difficult for people to process but it is what any reputable breeder would do. Anyone that say's oh you can come and pick your puppy doesn't have the best interest of the puppy at heart. The only time that is going to happen is if I have two show pups and experienced show people are making the decisions about which puppy is best for their home. I don't place puppies based on markings and if anyone tells me they don't want a puppy because of markings well then you need to go and find another breeder. These babies are my babies, it is like saying you want to adopt a child but don't want it because it doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes. I have never had this problem, but I currently have a good friend with a litter that is having this exact thing happen to her, it breaks my heart. She has put her heart and soul into these babies and to have someone say, I will only take x or y puppy don't call me if I cannot have one of them. Grrr. Ok I will get off my soap box now - back to fun stuff.
It is still too cold and wet to have the puppies outside, so today I set up an inside area in the living room with a bigger area and x pens. This way they will get more household noise, be part of the action and start to get used to actual sounds that happen in the house. It was interesting to watch them in their new environement. Yellow and Orange just wanted to get to momma who was watching the whole thing. Pink, Red and Teal were busy exploring. Purple took a nap and Green was trying to rearrange the blankets. Today will be interesting to see how they handle this. Now they are all taking a nap and time for me to get some chores done.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
A Watched Puppy Doesn't Poop
I know the above title is kinda weird, but I have had weird kind of day. Yesterday I noticed that a couple of the pups seemed to have Diarrhea, or at least the tell tale signs of it in my whelping box. So I called my vet to get some worm medicine for them. It is a bit early to worm them but better to be safe than sorry. My vet wants me to bring in a sample, no problem, right! Well this statement is easier said than done.
I spent last night watching and waiting for one of the pups to poop. never happened at least when I was watching and paying attention. Part of the problem is Mom! Mom is an awesome mom and wants to keep her puppies and their box the cleanest she possibly can. That means cleaning their bums before they have a chance to poop. So I hatched a plan, I would stay home from work for the morning, be on poop patrol, get a sample, run it by my vets office and go into the office and work in the afternoon. easy peasy right, WRONG!
7 am, weigh pups, clean the whelping box and get my cup of coffee for poop patrol. Decide my best plan of action is to put Nevada outside for a couple of hours so she cannot clean pups. Put her out and wait and watch. Two hours later, she is launching herself against my front window and I am pretty sure at this point she is going to come through with or without my help so I let her in. Of course she is extremely happy and immediately goes to check on her babies, cleaning them and letting them eat. Ten minutes later she is happy and done, so I think I will put her out again. She is not happy about this, but does go out. I replenish my coffee and continue to sit and watch puppies.
I have brought a few files from work home with me so while they sleep, I am doing some work. My phone rings I go to answer it and wouldn't you know one of the pups with diarrhea goes poop but because I was not right there johnny on the spot, I couldn't catch it in time and it absorbs into the bedding. I cannot even try and squish it out of the bedding (gross I know but this is my life right now and you need to have this extra piece of information). So I continue on my day. Again, Nevada is going to come through the front door with or without my help so I let her in, she cleans the puppies, feeds the puppies and leaves the puppies.
By 2pm, I called my office and they decide I should just stay home and continue on my quest. Well it is now 5:30 and I am no better off than I was at 7am so therefore I pledge that a watched puppy doesn't poop!
On the flip side, watched puppies are fun to watch and great entertainment. They are starting to interact with each other, chew on each other's noses and feet. They still wobble like drunken little sailors but they are starting to get their feet under themselves and I think they are starting to hear. At least everytime I tried to talk to someone on the phone today, they would bolt up from a dead sleep and start screaming and hollering, hoping that mom would be there to feed them.
I have noticed that Green boy wakes up from a sleep screaming for food, that then gets everyone else going and it is an all out frenzie within minutes. They like their food and are quite vocal about it when they are hungry.
Good news is my office told me that my camera cord arrived today, so tomorrow I will be able to get it and download some pictures for you.
Susan
I spent last night watching and waiting for one of the pups to poop. never happened at least when I was watching and paying attention. Part of the problem is Mom! Mom is an awesome mom and wants to keep her puppies and their box the cleanest she possibly can. That means cleaning their bums before they have a chance to poop. So I hatched a plan, I would stay home from work for the morning, be on poop patrol, get a sample, run it by my vets office and go into the office and work in the afternoon. easy peasy right, WRONG!
7 am, weigh pups, clean the whelping box and get my cup of coffee for poop patrol. Decide my best plan of action is to put Nevada outside for a couple of hours so she cannot clean pups. Put her out and wait and watch. Two hours later, she is launching herself against my front window and I am pretty sure at this point she is going to come through with or without my help so I let her in. Of course she is extremely happy and immediately goes to check on her babies, cleaning them and letting them eat. Ten minutes later she is happy and done, so I think I will put her out again. She is not happy about this, but does go out. I replenish my coffee and continue to sit and watch puppies.
I have brought a few files from work home with me so while they sleep, I am doing some work. My phone rings I go to answer it and wouldn't you know one of the pups with diarrhea goes poop but because I was not right there johnny on the spot, I couldn't catch it in time and it absorbs into the bedding. I cannot even try and squish it out of the bedding (gross I know but this is my life right now and you need to have this extra piece of information). So I continue on my day. Again, Nevada is going to come through the front door with or without my help so I let her in, she cleans the puppies, feeds the puppies and leaves the puppies.
By 2pm, I called my office and they decide I should just stay home and continue on my quest. Well it is now 5:30 and I am no better off than I was at 7am so therefore I pledge that a watched puppy doesn't poop!
On the flip side, watched puppies are fun to watch and great entertainment. They are starting to interact with each other, chew on each other's noses and feet. They still wobble like drunken little sailors but they are starting to get their feet under themselves and I think they are starting to hear. At least everytime I tried to talk to someone on the phone today, they would bolt up from a dead sleep and start screaming and hollering, hoping that mom would be there to feed them.
I have noticed that Green boy wakes up from a sleep screaming for food, that then gets everyone else going and it is an all out frenzie within minutes. They like their food and are quite vocal about it when they are hungry.
Good news is my office told me that my camera cord arrived today, so tomorrow I will be able to get it and download some pictures for you.
Susan
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Goofy
Yesterday my dad brought by Chaz who is my stepbrother, Chaz is a gentle soul who loves the puppies and over the years all puppies love Chaz. He came over and spent time with each puppy in the Whelping box. Chaz always gets to name one puppy and he has chosen to name purple boy - Goofy. this won't be his forever name but just the nickname that Chaz has given him.
This morning the last two puppies made it over the 2 pound mark, Yeah! they are all doing so incredible well. The smallest is orange boy at 2 lbs .2 ounces and the largest is now Purple boy who has surpassed Yellow girl. He now weighs 2 lbs 6.5 ounces. They all pretty much just sleep and eat, sleep and eat and I am noticing that they are starting to be able to poop on their own now without mom's assistance, Nevada is right there to clean up after them though and has just been the best mom. She is eating everything I can throw at her and my grocery bill is going through the roof but she needs lot's of food at to be able to provide them the sustanence they need.
The puppies are also starting to scoot around the box, they still cannot see or hear but their sense of smell is amazing, they come out of a dead of sleep when Nevada comes into the whelping box and scurry around her, she is very careful not to step on them and it is going to be interesting in the next week when their eyes start opening of how she will manage.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Pictures are coming I promise
It seems that a certain 6 month old puppy - no names mentioned (KENYA) decided that my camera cord was too long and really didn't need the plug in cable to still be attached at one end. Of course there it is a unique cord and none of my other cords around the house work to upload pictures onto my computer. I have ordered a new one and as soon as it arrives I promise I will get pictures up for you.
I need my son to come home or some other young person to come to my house and show me how I can get them from my phone onto this site,so please be patient.
In the meantime, the puppies are thriving! Nevada is an awesome mom and they are the cleanest puppies I swear. The smallest is orange boy who now weighs 1 lb 10 ounces and the largest is Yellow girl at 1 lb 15.7 ounces. To say she doesn't miss her chance at the milk bar is an understatement. Pigment is starting to show up on their noses and they are all very strong and scooting around the whelping box.
I need my son to come home or some other young person to come to my house and show me how I can get them from my phone onto this site,so please be patient.
In the meantime, the puppies are thriving! Nevada is an awesome mom and they are the cleanest puppies I swear. The smallest is orange boy who now weighs 1 lb 10 ounces and the largest is Yellow girl at 1 lb 15.7 ounces. To say she doesn't miss her chance at the milk bar is an understatement. Pigment is starting to show up on their noses and they are all very strong and scooting around the whelping box.
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