Sunday, December 30, 2012

And yet more pics

Going for the big dog toys already, Maggie checking it out

Abbey checking out the same toy

Ellie joining in the fun

Ellie, trying to nap

The pups are now easily getting up on the dog beds
Too cute!

Puppy dreams


Saturday, December 29, 2012

4 week old puppy pics

Help!
Big pups, now able to nurse standing up

Yoko is so tolerant

Pups just starting having playtime in the house, but even there, no rest for Yoko

Maggie checking out Yuma, who is typically a grump with pups

Maggie must of won over Yuma

Penny next to Yuma

Rita with Yuma

Rita with Yuma

Amazing, these pups are really good winning over Yuma.

Climbing over Yuma
Ellie takes a nosedive

Sweet Lucy, showing off her white chest "diamond"

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

4 weeks old

Tub full of puppies, waiting for their pen to get cleaned
Pups are 4 weeks old, have had their first Christmas and been through their first blizzard.  The power is still on, and all is well.   The pups gained approximately 1 1/2 lbs each last week.  Most of the pups weigh a little over 5 lbs.  The big pup is Maggie at 5 lbs 6 oz.  The outlier is Penny who only weighs 4 lbs 10 oz, but is doing fine.  Yoko is currently eagerly eating 9 cup of high calorie kibble and is still in peak lactation.  I have started individually feeding the pups kibble and milk, since group feeding was too frenetic and food consumption too uneven.  The pups are currently still sleeping a lot, but when awake, are playful and affectionate.  Their pen is full off all sorts of toys with different textures and some of which make noise to stimulate and challenge them.  Amazingly, they are still staying behind the low half gate that allows Yoko easy access.   With most litters, pups are climbing over the low half gate at around 3 weeks of age.  I have started doing some handling exercises, cradling the pups on their backs, handling paws and ears, etc.  The TV is next to their pen and I keep it on a lot for background noise.  When I am gone, I am starting to leave the radio on, tuned to NPR. 

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas

The puppy pen has been bumped out to full size (double ex-pen) and is cluttered with toys to stimulate and challenge the pups

Lucy and Penny mouth wrestling

Abbey chewing on the whiskers of the cat hut.  Baby puppy eyes normally look blue at this age. 

Penny and Yoko

Big pupsters!

Yoko sleeping on a stuffed animal while nursing the pups

Maggie sleeping on a colorful pillow

Penny and Yoko

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Into the big puppy pen

This morning, I moved the pups into the big puppy pen in the living room.  The pups made the move easily, and Yoko was totally unconcerned.   The small half gate at the entrance will need to get swapped out for a higher gate very soon.  We have already had some litterbox action.  I will be quickly adding more and more toys as the pups settle in.
After I moved the pups into the big pen, I gave them their first pan of soaked kibble and milk.  They attacked it with Labby gusto.  Yoko will be most relieved to get more assistance feeding the brood, I just checked and they already have a nice set of puppy teeth.  This view also nicely shows off their first set of real dog collars.  They grow up so fast.
  Things got a bit messy by the end. 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

3 week old puppy pics

The pups are starting to fill up the small puppy pen.  Some litter box action occuring at the far end.

Pups sleeping amongst the stuffed animals

Busy pups

Sitting pups

Lucy and Pepper wrestling


Abbey sleeping on a faux fur pad

Lucy sleeping on her back

Lucy sleeping on a faux fur pad

Penny sleeping on a stuffed animal

Maggie sleeping next to the same stuffed animal

3 weeks old

The pups are thriving in the small puppy pen.  They are getting more mobile, even looking over the low half gate that Yoko and the other adult dogs use to get into the pen.  The pups are starting to interact more and more with each other and their environment.  If you sit down in the pen, you are quickly swarmed by a bunch of puppies that climb into your lap, looking for chow and attention.  As their ear canals are opening, the pups are vocalizing more, a combination of puppy yips and growls.  Last week, the pups gained around 1 lb each again.  Weights are amazingly uniform.  Penny is the small pup at 3 lbs 7 oz.  Maggie and Rita are the big pups at 3 lbs 13 oz.  Rita, the weak pup at birth, has nicely demonstrated that she is a vigorous pup.  The pups are currently getting 3 tablespoons of canned food divided into 3 meals, plus nursing and a bottle as needed.  I just started some kibble soaking in the refrigerator for the pups tomorrow.  Yoko is eating 8 cups of kibble and looks great. 

Monday, December 17, 2012

Puppy pics

Swarmed again

2 1/2 week old puppies
Paws With Purpose volunteer helping with bottle feeding

Ellie sleeping
Ellie sleeping on the rabbit foot

Lucy walking

Michelle, cuddling up against a stuffed animal

Maggie and Michelle