When Boo came back, she went to stay with her primary owners, Terry and Ian. Boo will come live with me for the last two weeks of her pregnancy and while raising her puppies.
If all goes well, puppies are due around 22 August.
While I would prefer that Boo free-whelp - which is so much easier on the mother than c-section surgery - I also do not want an emergercy c-section. So now we enter the phase called "c-section staging". Every morning now until the vets say "today is the day", Boo and I will drive to NC State. The vets will make the decision based upon several things, but primarily Boo's progesterone value. During pregnancy progesterone slowly drops and when it gets low enough and the puppies are sufficiently "cooked", labor is triggered.
From Boo's viewpoint, one good thing about a decision to do a c-section is that I am no longer worried about restricting Boo's diet in an attempt to keep the puppies small enough to successfully free-whelp. Now I want Boo to eat a lot and have big healthy puppies.
I gave Boo Revolution today. Revolution (selemectin) is heartworm plus flea and tick medication. Revolution is a topical medication, meaning that it is absorbed through the skin. So that the puppies while they are crawling over Mommy do not absorb such a chemical, I have to give it to Boo now so that it is absorbed and dries.
Boo continues to get more and more round.
I fed everyone breakfast - except Boo as it was likely that she would be having surgery. (My vets yesterday had also told me not to feed Boo breakfast in case today was "the day".) I loaded Boo and all my dogs in my car and we drove to NC State.
At NC State Boo was examined and all the vets looked closely at the ultrasound monitor to check that the puppies were sufficiently "cooked". But it was the very low progesterone value (0.3 ng/mL) that clinched the decision that "today was the day". Boo was taken off to be prepared for surgery and to wait for an operating room to become available. I then took my other dogs to my petsitter. I like my moms - especially after a c-section - to have a few quiet days at my house to recover and bond with their puppies ... without all the hustle and bustle of the rest of my wild pack of dogs.
Around 1:45 pm I got a phone call that Boo was going into surgery. Around 3:30 I got another phone call that Boo was out of surgery, that she was well, and that the four puppies were all doing fine ... and that there were two boys and two girls.
Around 4:30 I was allowed in to get my first glimpse of the puppies. I could immediately see that they were all going to be red or red grizzle (like their mother); none of the puppies were black-and-tan. I knew from the coat color genetics of Boo and their father, Justin, that there was a 25 percent chance that a puppy would be black-and-tan, but it did not happen this litter.
Boo was active and awake, but every time I tried to take Boo's picture Boo laid down. The puppies had been weighed and tube-fed with puppy milk formula, plus were given subcutaneous injections of serum from a donor dog. The purpose of the serum was to insure that the puppies got some antibodies just in case they did not get some from Boo later. The puppies were all noisy and actively crawling around.
The vets helped me load everyone into my car, then Boo, the puppies, and I started the long ride home. The puppies were in a plastic box wrapped with a towel and hot water bottle to help them stay warm. The puppies were muted during the ride, only occassionally being quiet as the car movement lulled them to sleep. I noticed that the puppies crawled from one end of the box to the other, then back again.
When we got home, I put the puppies and Boo into the whelping box. Boo was initially not quite sure about these aliens who had appeared. But after I fed Boo, her maternal instincts kicked in and she quickly had the puppies tucked up underneath her to keep them warm.
I weighed the puppies and changed their colored collars given at the hospital to colored yarn that I prefer to use. (I find the hospital collars to be too large.) Here are their weights:
All the puppies had lost a few grams from the birth weights recorded at the hospital.
I noticed that Boo's head was drooping from tiredness as I turned out the lights for the night. Boo had experienced a long day. So had I.
Morning picture The puppies are all underneath Boo. Green had slipped out of his collar. Boo got up to get a drink of water and I was able to get this quick picture of the puppies. Notice the dark stain on the bedding. This is from Boo and her c-section surgery, and is normal. Boo will likely continue to have a vaginal discharge (but not as heavy) for several weeks as she heals internally from her c-section. As long as the discharge is brown and not bright red plus not foul smelling, I am told by the vets not to worry. I will be changing the bedding in the whelping box daily. When I have puppies, my washing machine gets a good work out!
My morning routine now begins with first checking Boo. I first weigh Boo. Boo was 5.5 kilograms right before she had puppies. Today she weighs 5.2 kilograms. As Boo nurses the puppies, Boo's weight will continue to drop. I have to make sure to feed Boo enough so that her weight does not drop too much. Next I flip Boo over and check Boo's c-section incision. Everything today looks as it should - the incision is healing nicely and there are no angry red areas. Next I put my hand over and feel Boo's nipples. While Boo's stomach is warm from milk production, I want to make sure no nipple is extra warm or hard which would indicate a bacterial infection called mastitis. Finally I take Boo's temperature, again to make sure that Boo does not have an infection from her surgery. I did find that Boo has had some diarrhea, so I cleaned her bottom as best I could. All Boo wanted was to get back to her puppies.
I next checked and weighed the puppies. The puppies will get weighed morning and evening for the next two weeks or so.
All the puppie had gained weight, which gave me confidence that the puppies had gotten colostrum (the first milk) from Boo. Colostrum has lots of maternal antibodies, but the puppies can only absorb the antibodies for the first 12 to 24 hours of life, after which their intestines will not absorb large molecules.
While I am handling the puppies, I also check the tiny suture on their umbilical cords. Again, I want to make sure that there is no angry red, indicating an infection.
Boo finally laid down in the late morning and took a short nap.
I temporarily put the puppies up on my bed while I changed the bedding in the whelping box. Boo got up on my bed to make sure that the puppies were ok. Here are puppies back in the clean whelping box.
During the day, I continued to act as Boo's butler, bringing her food and water. I rarely head a squeak from the puppies during the day; mostly what I heard was heavy panting from Boo as she made milk for the puppies. I rarely saw the puppies during the day, as Boo kept the puppies tucked underneath her. I did always try to always make sure that Blue, as the smallest, was close to the rear teats (which tend to the most milk).
In the evening I weighed the puppies. Everyone had nice weight gains. Blue got back above his birth weight. Everyone kept the same weight order as their birth weights - Pink is the heaviest, followed by Green, then Red, with Blue bringing up the rear.
Today I started Boo on a three-day course of fenbendazole, a dewormer. Boo will get another three-day course when the puppies are two weeks old. The purpose is to stop the puppies from getting any parasite.
When I check on the puppies, I am always trying to make sure that Blue is nursing or near one of the rear nipples which usually have a lot of milk. When I checked this time, I found Blue nursing. Notice the pink, which is Blue's tongue making a good seal with mommy Boo's teat.
The puppies on my bed while I changed the bedding in the whelping box.
Brother Green make a good pillow.
Today Blue kept getting his arm through his collar. I finally cut the old collar off and gave Blue a new collar.
Mom and puppies I was happy today to see that the puppies are starting to use the heated whelping nest.
Boo has started to spend time out of whelping box. Here she is next to my desk chair. However as soon as one of the puppies squeaks, Boo runs in to check on the puppies. I believe Boo is starting to put the puppies on a schedule. If Boo was in the wild, she would have to go off to hunt for food. Fortunately Boo still has a butler who brings her food and water. But there must be an instinct to put the puppies on a schedule.
Blue on brother Green, and Pink on sister Red.
Everyone had nice weight gains today, especially Blue.
In addition to puppy kibble, Boo also gets a heaping serving spoon of cottage cheese for breakfast and dinner. Boo needs the extra calcium to make milk for the puppies. It is not uncommon for canine mothers to get deficient in calcium while nursing - called hypocalcemia, which can be life-threatening. If you take a nursing canine to a vet, the very first thing the vet will do is check the calcium level. By giving Boo cottage cheese, Boo's calcium level should stay in the normal range.
The puppies - All the puppies had nice weight gains overnight. Both Green and Pink joined the 200-gram club, with Pink mainting her lead in the "weight race" over her brother Green. Blue finally got up to the birth weight of his sister Red, which gives an idea of how much smaller he is. I am continuing to put Blue on a rear nipple any time I find him not nursing. All the excess umbilical tissue has fallen off and the puppies now have normal belly-buttons.
The puppies crawl using their front legs to drag themselves across the bedding, like seals crawling on ice. Puppies are born blind and deaf. The only senses they have at birth are their sense of smell (quite good) and they also can sense warmth. The puppies use both of these senses to find mommy; otherwise they crawl in circles and cry until mommy finds them.
Boo continues to leave the puppies for longer and longer periods of time. The puppies have learned that the whelping nest is warm and gravitate there when mommy is not in the whelping box.
At the evening weighing, everyone had nice weight gains.
I was also happy to see the puppies using the whelping nest, which helps them stay warm. Young puppies can not regulate their internal body temperature. A cold puppy can not digest food, plus can not fight off viruses with an elevated body temperature. I used to use a heating lamp and keep my bedroom warm when I had puppies. Both the mother and I baked and were uncomfortable. The whelping nest is a big improvement, as it maintains a temperature around 95 degrees which the puppies like. Now I can keep my bedroom at a more human comfortable temperature.
One of the viruses that all dog breeders worry about is the canine herpes virus, which is quickly fatal to puppies and is known to wipe out entire litters. I will not relax until the puppies start generating their own body heat, which usually happens sometime between two and three weeks of age.
I was happy to see the puppies laying on their side today. (Blue evidently did not get the memo.) Puppy bones are very plastic. If a puppy lays on its chest too much, the chest can flatten which can makes it difficult for a puppy to learn to walk, and sometimes results in what is called a "swimmer puppy".
I brought my other dogs home today from my petsitter. I think Boo was happy to see everyone, and had been wondering where everyone had disappeared. I have had some mothers be ferocious about not letting other dogs get near the whelping box; Boo takes a different approach. My older dogs know to stay away from the whelping box. It is the younger dogs who want to investigate the strange smell and sounds coming from inside the whelping box. I notice later that Boo was being more firm with the youngsters.
All the puppies continue to gain weight.
Morning picture. Since it was still cool, I took the dogs for a walk. I was surprised that Boo came with us. Sometimes my mothers will start out on a walk with the pack, but then turn around and head back to the house. But Boo did the entire walk, although I noticed that at the end Boo ran ahead to get back to the house and the puppies.
Puppies nursing. Notice Boo's shaved right front leg. This is where the vets had inserted a catheter during her c-section surgery. Boo also has a small shaved area on her back just in front of her tail. I think they gave Boo an epidural as part of the procedure.
Red had a scary time today. While I was changing the bedding in the whelping box, I had all the puppies up on my bed. Nellie, who is a cousin to the puppies, got up on the bed. Nellie has been very interested in the puppies. Before I could stop Nellie, using her mouth Nellie picked up Red and started to carry Red away. I yelled and got Red away from Nellie. I gave Red a quick check before putting Red back in the whelping box to be comforted by mommy Boo. Red of course was scared and crying. I thought no harm had been done ... but then I saw some blood on the clean whelping mat. I again checked Red over and found that Red had a small scratch on her right side, just behind her front leg. I palpated the area but did think there was any other damage than the scratch. I watched Red for some time. After being comforted by mommy Boo and nursing, Red seemed to settle back to normal. I have been checking on Red all day and she seems fine. I hope so, as being so small there is not much that a vet can do for her if she is really injured.
Puppies nursing again. Notice that one of the puppies ... I think it is Blue ... has figured out that one can nurse by laying on ones back. Again, notice the puppy's tongue making a seal with the nipple ... and the puppies pushing against Boo's stomach to encourage the milk to let down.
While the puppies have not yet doubled in size, they have grown. Their yarn collars have gotten tight and I was not able to tell which puppy is which at a glance. So today I gave the puppies new collars.
Blue promptly got his arm through his new collar.
All the puppies continue to have nice weight gains.
I checked on everyone when I got up to use the bathrough around four in the morning. Everyone was fine. As usual Mandy started barking at me to get up at sunrise. As I got up I glanced into the whelping box, but I only saw three puppies. I was instantly awake and started looking for Nellie. Then I heard a scuffle among the dogs at the end of my bed. Nellie and Boo were fighting. After I separted Nellie and Boo, I found Green on the floor. I picked Green up and found him wet. Nellie had evidently jumped into the whelping box when Boo was absent, picked up Green with her mouth, and taken Green out of the whelping box. I put Green back in the whelping box. But then I noticed the blood ... and that Green was not breathing. Green must have died either when Nellie picked him up, or when Nellie and Boo started fighting. It broke my heart watching Boo lick at Green trying to revive him. After the body cooled, Boo left the body alone. I quietly removed the body when Boo went outside to potty.
To say that I was upset would be an understatement. I do not think that Nellie was trying to kill Green because she thought Green was a small critter. If that had been the case, all the puppies would have been dead. Rather I think that Nellie just wanted a puppy of her own. The dogs knew that I was very upset. After what had happened with Red yesterday, why had I not seen this coming? In the past my mothers have always warned off anyone who came too near the whelping box. I put up an exercise pen (x-pen) around the whelping box to stop any of the dogs getting into the whelping box again. But of course now is too late. I blame myself most of all. Green was such a pretty boy. I have been sick with grief all day.
The x-pen traps Boo inside. Now I have to periodically pick Boo up and over the x-pen to let Boo in and out. When the puppies are sleeping after nursing, Boo likes to come out and be with everyone else.
So now there are just three puppies .
I finally saw Blue sleeping on his side today. Red also.
The puppies making the letter "C".
Blue joined the 200-gram club this morning, and Pink joined the 300-gram club.
Morning picture There is nothing wrong with Blue. I instantly recognized that sleeping position. (I will explain in a moment.) Note that Boo has not eaten her cottage cheese from last night. This confirms my suspicion that I am feeding more than enough cottage cheese to keep Boo's calcium level up. Notice the small bowl of water in the whelping box. With Boo locked in at night, I want her to have some access to water. Notice also how clean the whelping box matting is. Boo is hardly having any more c-section discharge.
Ok, so why is Blue sleeping on his back? Notice Blue's very full belly. This is the sleeping position known as "I can't believe I ate the whole thing". Indeed when I weighted Blue, I found that he had gained 24 grams since last night, most of it still probably in his belly. Notice also that Blue has somehow gotten his arm through his collar again. I predicted (and was correct) that Boo would not gain much weight today, instead spending his time digesting his large night-time meal.
The puppies are one-week old today, and weigh as follows:
The x-pen around the whelping box.
If their bellies are full, the puppies will fall asleep if it is too much effort to crawl anywhere.
What I like to see - puppies nursing.
Red was the big eater today. Notice the small white patch on Red's chest. As Red grows, the white patch will shrink until one can hardly see any white.
Boo continues to have a high temperature in the morning (but still in the normal range). By the middle of the day Boo's temperature is lower.
When I look in on the puppies in the whelping box, what I look for is to make sure that each puppy is twitching or jerking. A puppy will be still, and then all of a sudden twitch or jerk. It is thought that this is because of nerves growing. Sometimes I will see a puppy give a big stretch as if waking up from a good nap, but then of course the puppy will fall back to sleep. When awake and crawling around the whelping box (searching for mommy), the puppies can actually make good progress.
Some of the nails of the puppies are clear; others have already turned black. Eventually all the nails will be black.
Today Boo has gobbled down her cottage cheese as soon as I put it in front of her. Boo continues to do a lot of panting duing the day and night as she does the hard work of making milk for the puppies.
Red joined the 300-gram club this evening.
The puppies after I changed the bedding in the whelping box.
Newborn puppies need to be stimulated to pee and poop. So in addition to nursing the puppies, Boo licks the puppies to stimulate them to potty. Then Boo licks up any pee and eats any poop. This is how Boo would keep her den clean if Boo had her puppies in the wild. It also keeps the whelping box clean.
Puppies sleeping in a pile. Sometimes I find the puppies in the heated whelping nest; other times outside the nest.
I had to be out of the house for a bit this morning. When I returned I found Boo outside of the fenced area around the whelping box. Boo had pushed the x-pen away from the whelping box in order to come out and be with the other dogs. I pushed the x-pen back against the whelping box, but later found that Boo had pushed it open again but this time to get to the puppies. Clearly Boo prefers easy access in and out of the whelping box. For now, I am going to keep with the x-pen, picking Boo up and over when ever I notice that Boo wants in or out.
Blue joined the 300-gram club this evening. All the puppies had nice weight gains today, after hardly any gain last night. Boo sounds like a pig at the trough when I put her cottage cheese down for her to eat.
The puppies arranged themselves in a pretty pattern.
Puppies nursing. At night I sometimes see Boo lying down while the puppies nurse, but during the day I only see Boo sitting up to nurse.
The puppies will pick their heads up for a moment when they are crawling, or when they wake up briefly and are rolling over to go back to sleep.
The puppies in a pile.
I noticed during the evening weighing of the puppies that Pink is starting to open her eyes.
Morning picture Pink continued to just squint at me through partially opened eyes this morning.
Unexpectedly I had to be out of the house all day today. I knew that Boo could take care of feeding the puppies while I was gone. But I also knew that Boo would not stay with the puppies inside the x-pen around the whelping box. Rather Boo would come out to be with the other dogs and go back and forth to check on the puppies. This would leave an opening for the other dogs. And since my younger ones had already demonstrated that they could get inside the x-pen around the whelping box, I was worried.
I took Nellie with me so that she could not be tempted to try to steal another puppy. I worried about the puppies all day. When I got home, I found all three puppies well which was a huge relief.
Pink opened both her eyes wide when I picked her up to weigh her this evening. Red squinted at me through slits, so she is starting to open her eyes. Blue still has his eyes firmly shut.
Morning picture The triangle formation, also known as "head to butt".
Pink joined the 500-gram club this morning.
Since Pink has opened her eyes, and Red is starting also to open her eyes, now I will leave a toy in the whelping box so that the puppies have something to focus on. The puppies sleep with their eyes closed, so only if I pick a puppy up do I see their eyes open.
The puppies have gotten very efficient about nursing. It seems like Boo hardly spends much time with the puppies, but the puppies continue to gain weight.
Some close-up views:
When I was watching the puppies today, at one point it seemed like Red was trying to walk. She had all four legs in the correct positions, pushed off, got up ... but then fell over.
Pink with her head up:
If Blue had his eyes open this evening, it was with the smallest of slits that he was peaking out at the world.
Blue opened his eyes this morning. So now all the puppies have opened their eyes. I always check for a couple of days to make sure that the puppies continue to open their eyes when I pick them up. Sometimes the eyes stop opening ... in which case a trip to the vet occurs. But Blue opened his eyes again this evening, so I am hopeful that I will not have to take any puppy to my vet because of eyes.
Red joined the 400-gram club this morning.
A pile of puppies ... and a Martian Later I found that the puppies had made an interesting shape with their Martian friend.
Puppies nursing. Notice how much bigger the puppies are now. While I watched, Boo rolled over to give the puppies easier access to her nipples. It is getting crowded at the milk bar! A closer view.
(I did not notice it until I looked closely at the picture this evening, but there was a tick in the whelping box. I immediately went and checked all three puppies, but fortunately no tick is on any of the puppies. The tick must have jumped on Boo during our morning walk, but since Boo is on tick preventative, the tick jumped off ... in the whelping box.)
The first change concerns weighing the puppies. Previously I had been weighing the puppies on my postal scale. My postal scale is very accurate, but when a puppy moves the displayed weight jumps around. One has to wait until a puppy is still for a moment in order to get a weight to record. Starting today, the puppies will be weighed on my "big dog scale". My big dog scale has a feature where it averages the weight over the previous five seconds. So even if a puppy moves around, I no longer have to guess at the weight. The disadvantage of my big dog scale is that it only weighs to the nearest five grams. But the puppies are now big enough that being off by a few grams is no longer important.
Here are the puppies' weights:
Note how the puppies are almost all stomach. I call this the "tick" phase of puppyhood.
Another change for the puppies is that I will no longer weigh the puppies twice a day, but rather just once in the morning. In my notes, I have a reminder to myself not to panic if a puppy loses a few grams in a twelve-hour period - like happened yesterday! - at this point in their lives. A puppy's weight can fluctuate depending on when the puppy last ate, last peed and pooped, etc. To stop myself from going crazy with worry, it is best if I now just weigh the puppies once a day.
Mommy Boo started a three-day course of fenbendazole, a dewormer. The puppies also got wormed today with 0.1 ml of pyrantel. (You can see the syringe holding the pyrantel in the pictures above.) The amount is hardly more than a drop, which I put on each puppy's tongue. The puppies will be wormed with pyrantel every two weeks. (As the puppies get bigger, the amount will increase.)
Any time that I go into my bedroom to check on the puppies, Boo also comes along to check.
The lungs of puppies (and human babies) are not fully developed at birth, but continue to develop after being born. Now that the puppies are two weeks old, I start to relax about puppy lung development disease - a horrible fatal condition where the lungs stop developing and a puppy struggles to breathe until the puppy dies from exhaustion. Puppy lung development disease is though to be related to a rare fatal lung disease of newborn humans. I have had puppies die from puppy lung development disease and it is heartbreaking to watch. I have donated for research the bodies of my puppies in previous litters that have died from puppy lung developement disease, but researchers have not yet found the cause. A genetic cause is suspected. My experience is that a puppy with puppy lung developement disease will show up prior to two weeks of age. Since Boo's puppies have made it to the two-week mark, I suspect that none of them will get this horrible condition.
The puppies seemed to like the toy that I put in the whelping box today.
I have noticed that the puppies seem warmer when I pick them up. I hope it is because the puppies are now starting to generate their own body heat. Body heat is important to help the puppies fight off viruses. I sometimes find the puppies outside the heated whelping nest.
Since the puppies' nails were starting to get long, I used a human nail clipper to blunt the ends today. Technically dogs have claws, not nails. A claw has a blood vessel and a nerve running down the center; nails do not. But by convention, we say that dogs have nails.
Also since the puppies have been growing, I changed their collars.
Two weeks of age. While bad things can still happen, the odds that the puppies will survive increases with every day. But I will not start to become cautiously optimistic until the puppies are three weeks old.
Pink joined the 600-gram club today.
I have to judge in Wisconsin this weekend. Boo and her puppies will be staying with my petsitter Ali. So after breakfast, I loaded Boo in one crate and the puppies in a second crate. We then drove to Ali's house. Interestingly the puppies did not make a sound during the long car ride.
Upon arriving, Ali set up an x-pen for Boo and her puppies. The puppies got to meet a Sheltie (Ali's dog). Blue kept trying to poke his head through the bars of the x-pen. After giving Ali instructions, I left for the airport.
Later in the day, I got a text from Ali saying that "Pink is the house favorite". Ali also sent some picture of Pink with Ali's daughter:
Ali reports that all the puppies continue to gain weight, Pink has joined the 700-gram club, both Red and Blue have joined the 500-gram club, and Red has nosed ahead of Blue in a weight race.
Ali reported that Red and Blue are exactly tied in their weight race. And that the puppies' ear canals are opening as the puppies now react to sounds. Hearing is the last sense that the puppies get.
I picked up Boo and her puppies from Ali's house today and we all drove home.
A nice picture of Boo during our morning walk. Boo's temperature was back up in the high normal range again this morning.
The puppies are three-weeks old today, and weigh as follows:
Now that the puppies are three-weeks old, I become cautiously optimistic that the puppies will survive.
This is also "name day". During the past week, I have been playing around with names. Since my kennel name is "Shaksper", my naming scheme has to do with "Shakespeare" ... and usually the last play that I have seen (either in person or on video) or that I have been reading about. So this is going to be a Macbeth litter, which I saw on the stage earlier this summer. I can use character names. But I am not restricted to just the characters. I also can use some or all of the name of an actor. Or any combination. So the puppies registered names and call names are ... (drum roll please)
Going forward, I will now use the puppies call names.
Since the puppies were in an x-pen at Ali's house, I decided to set up my puppy playpen next to my desk. For now the puppies can spend days in the puppy playpen, and nights back in the whelping box. It will also be easier for me to keep an eye on them ... instead of going to check on the puppies in my bedroom every time I hear a sound.
I got tired of liftin Boo in and out of the puppy playpen. So I put in my "gate" and I am watching closely in case anyone other than Boo attempts to come into the playpen. So far only "JC" - my special needs boy - has gone into the playpen ... and promptly got himself picked up and put back outside. Boo likes being able to easily go in and out to check on the puppies.
Peggy going nose-to-nose with JC. I wonder which puppy will be the first to escape from the playpen?
Judi being cleaned by mommy Boo.
Judi joined the 800-gram club today. Peggy pulled ahead of Baxter in their weight race.
Puppies in the
playpen in the early morning. Later in the day,
I found that the puppies were walking/crawling into the crate to nap.
The puppies walk like drunken sailors, falling over after
taking a step or two. But the puppies can get around and
are starting to explore the playpen. Baxter sleeping just outside the entrance
to the crate.
Judi was the first to crawl over the wooden
barrier to escape from the playpen. She immediately turned around.
I guess the outside world was scary, especially when
Estelle came over to check out Judi. I picked up Judi
and put her back inside the playpen. Judi then yawned at Estelle.
Estelle is very interested in the puppies and does not
understand why she is not
allowed to play with the puppies. Hopefully soon
Estelle will have her own puppies.
What I like to see - puppies
nursing.
Judi climbed out of the playpen this morning and
went exploring.
I think Judi was looking for some milk. Estelle did
not have any for milk for Judi. And "JC", he certainly
did not have any milk.
I put Judi back in the puppy playpen, and mommy Boo came
and let Judi nurse for a moment.
The puppies spent most of the day sleeping in the crate in
the puppy playpen. Baxter
sleeping at the entrance. Baxter did some exploring of the playpen.
I saw the first signs of
puppy wrestling today between
Peggy and Baxter.
Puppy wrestling is a cross between sumo wrestling and "thumb
wars" ... but as the puppies do not have opposible thumbs, they
use their mouths.
Peggy and Baxter are again tied in their weight race. Boo's weight
hardly increased over yesterday, so today Boo will get even more
rations.
With the bedding from the whelping box and the bedding in the
puppy nursery needing washing every day, my washing machine
is now doing two loads a day just for the puppies.
When Boo comes into the puppy playpen to clean the
puppies, the puppies have other ideas and want to
nurse. This leads to Boo turning around to clean,
and the puppies chasing a nipple. Eventually everyone seems to get what
they want.
Peggy was the first this morning to
crawl out of the puppy playpen
in search of mommy Boo and milk. Baxter and Judi
quickly followed.
(Aunt Estelle is on the left.)
Most of the day the puppies
stay in their crate and nap.
This afternoon, Peggy again led the charge out of
the playpen. (Mommy Boo is in the upper left, cousin
Freema upper right, and cousin "JC" at the bottom of
the picture.) Again
Baxter and Judi followed
to get to the milk bar.
If you are curious how the puppies get over
the wooden block to get out of the playpen, Judi demonstrated.
First, a puppy climbs on the wooden block. Then a
push with the front feet, and the puppy does a sort of
belly-flop over the wooden block onto the floor.
Normally Boo eats three scoops of kibble a day. (Each scoop is
30 ml.) Today Boo ate ten scoops of kibble plus two helpings of
cottage cheese ... and I still would like Boo to gain some weight.
Boo is using all these calories to produce milk for the puppies.
This morning I saw
Boo "playing" with
Judi. I put playing in quotes, as sometime I call it
"toughing up the puppy". Boo would user her nose to push
Judi, who would growl in displeasure and push back.
Except for a few times to come out to nurse, the puppies
spent most of the day
in their crate. Puppies
naturally want to keep their den clean.
I watched as one of the puppies came out to squat and pee
just outside the crate.
Mommy Boo guarding the
entrance to the puppy playpen.
Judi did some exploring outside the playpen. When I put her back
inside, Judi explored the water dish.
When I have to run a local errand, I lock Boo in the playpen with her
puppies. So the water disk is for Boo. I do not know if Judi
tried any water or just sniffed it. Judi also
investigated the
plush yellow toy.
Judi is the first to go under my desk and
greet great-grandmother Mandy.
Mandy just gave Judi a low warning growl ... and Judi went back
to mommy Boo.
Judi joined the 900-gram club today. Baxter held onto his
lead of Peggy in their weight race. I was happy to see Boo's
weight higher at the morning weighing. Boo's temperature
has continued in the middle normal range.
Again the puppies spent most of the day
in their playpen crate.
There was a little exploring outside the playpen today but not
much.
When the puppies were born, their ears were flat
against their skulls. Now the puppies' ears are upright.
The puppies' ears will go up and down while they are young
puppies, until the ears finally stay up.
Boo will come up and gently move another dog
away if Boo thinks the dog is too near the puppies.
But Boo obviously feels comfortable having Estelle
(and Mandy in the background) nearby while Boo lets Baxter and Peggy nurse.
A close-up of Baxter
nursing. (The pink is his tongue.) Afterwards, Boo
licked Peggy's rear end.
It is hard to see the puppies when they are in the
crate in the puppy playpen.
But notice the towel. I set the towel out flat inside
the crate. First thing this morning, mommy Boo went into
the crate and rearranged the towel making it into a
barrier. The puppies had to climb over the towel to get
to the interior of the crate.
When I first looked at this picture of Judi,
I thought that her ear had grown. Then I realized that
I was looking at Judi's tail behind her ear.
Judi climbing out of
the playpen while aunt Nellie looks on. Judi was looking
for some milk, but Baxter and Peggy had drunk most of it.
Mommy Boo took advantage of the opportunity to
stimulate
Judi to pee. Boo really
gets her nose in there.
This afternoon Baxter and Peggy climbed out of the playpen,
Baxter headed
for Nellie and Peggy for mommy Boo.
Later Baxter and Peggy
wrestled. Afterwards Baxter found a mountain of toys,
while Peggy found mommy
Boo - and some milk - on the dog bed
underneath my desk. A little bit later Baxter also got some
milk.
Judi (another view) and
Peggy
The puppies are four-weeks old today, and weight as follows:
Baxter joined the 800-gram club today, again widening his lead over Peggy in their weight race.
Peggy - I suspect that the puppies are starting to teethe, which is why I see them biting at the bars of the x-pen. Or maybe the puppies are trying to chew their way out of prison.
Judi at the puppy water dish. I do not know if Judi tasted the water.
I had to be out of the house for several hours today (taking aunts Estelle and Izzy to NC State). I left mommy Boo locked in the puppy playpen with the puppies. Everyone was fine when we returned, although Boo was happy to escape the puppies.
I expected to be out of the house most of the day. All my adult dogs were going to my petsitter, and Estelle was hopefully going to have her puppy today. This would leave just Boo and her puppies at my house. I feed Boo an extra large breakfast, confident that Boo would feed the puppies. I left the puppies in their puppy playpen, but not locked in. If the puppies wanted. they could crawl over the wooden barrier and explore. My house is very "puppy proof" (safe for puppies). The only real question was where would I find the puppies sleeping when I returned.
As it turned out, when I finally got home all the puppies were in the playpen. I do not know if the puppies got out of the playpen and then crawled back in. I found Baxter sleeping on his back in one corner of the playpen, and his sisters in the crate in the playpen.
I again had to be out of the house today (but only for several hours, not the entire day like yesterday). Even still, I fed Boo extra before I left ... and noticed that the puppies were interested in mommy Boo's food.
The puppies greeted me upon my return home. Actually the puppies were greeting my other dogs whom I had brought home from my petsitter. I do not think that the puppy yet know how important I am in their lives. For the puppies, it is all about "mommy".
With the puppies showing interest in mommy's food and puppy teeth starting to appear, I decided that it was time to try feeding the puppies. So dinner for the puppies was some Royal Canin Puppy Starter - a canned food which is very smelly to attract puppies. Each puppy got a big teaspoon of the meaty smelling food. The meal was a hit! Of course, mommy Boo cleaned up the leftovers ... while the puppies got some milk.
Judi was the only one interested in getting out of the playpen and exploring after dinner. I saw Judi be the first to run the narrow space between the x-pen and the wall. Judi found one of my doggy donut-beds ... and thought the bed was a great place for a nap. Mommy Boo also took a nap, but in a strategic place to guard Judi.
I again fed the puppies some Royal Canin Puppy Starter before bed time. Going forward, I will be feeding the puppies four times a day - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bedtime. I know that there are some days coming up when I will not be able to serve lunch. But Mommy Boo still has plenty of milk, so the puppies will not starve.
All the puppies had big weight gains over yesterday. Baxter joined the 900-gram club today, maintining his lead over his sister Peggy.
Breakfast picture. Mommy Boo cleaning up the leftovers. Baxter getting some milk while mommy cleans.
Baxter "letting it all hang out". Note Baxter's nipples. Just like humans, male dogs have non-functional nipples.
Today all the puppies contributed to science. I waited until the puppies had napped for a good hour after eating. I then swabbed the inside of each puppies' cheek with a DNA collection swab. Here is Baxter wondering if the swab will fit inside his mouth. Most DNA collection swabs use bristles. Fortunately the swabs from Embark - my favorite DNA testing company - are cotton-tipped. Because Embark uses cotton-tipped swabs, I can swab puppies who are four-weeks old. For bristle swabs, I wait until puppies are closer to twelve-weeks old. With luck, the results from Embark will be back before the puppies leave me.
Since the puppies had a rough morning donating some DNA, the chef prepared a special lunch. Besides Royal Canin Puppy Starter, there was ground-up puppy kibble soaked in commercial puppy milk (Esbilac). Judi and Baxter thought this was great; Peggy was hesitant.
Judi was the only one to venture out of the playpen during the day to explore. But as exploring is tiring work, Judi stopped to take a nap.
While mommy cleaned up after dinner, all the puppies got some milk.
Judi and Peggy did some after-dinner wrestling, while Baxter explored and found a pile of toys.
Breakfast picture Peggy is not taking advantage of the prepared food. In fact Peggy did not gain any weight over yesterday. Peggy prefers mommy's milk.
In puppy wrestling, all is fair. Here is Judi pulling on Baxter's collar.
While Judi is trying for the title of "Intrepid Explorer", it was actually Peggy who first found the big dog crates on the other side of the room as the puppy playpen. Later Judi also found them. (Actually Judi was walking into the big dog crates even if a big dog was napping inside.)
The puppies only picked at dinner. There is always this tension between my schedule and mommy's schedule, and sometimes the puppies do not eat. (This will change as the puppies get older, and become proper Norwich terriers who always think they are starving.) Mommy Boo does not mind cleaning up. While mommy is cleaning, the puppies always try to get some milk.
Mommy Boo "toughing up" Baxter. Boo was actually play-biting Baxter's rear leg.
Morning picture - Waiting for breakfast ("The cook is slow"). The puppies had a good appetite this morning. I worry that Peggy has not figured out this eating thing, but rather waits for Mommy in order to get milk.
Judi explored into the kitchen this morning, but was chased out by a robot.
When the puppies are allowed out of the playpen, I check on them frequently. I often see two puppies, but then have to spend a couple of minutes hunting for the third puppy. Today when searching I finally found Judi napping in mommy Boo's crate.
The puppies hardly touched lunch today, prefering mommy's milk.
Today was a nice day weather-wise - not too hot, nor too sunny. So today the puppies had their first outside outing. I put the puppies in an x-pen as I did not want the adult dogs to mob the puppies. The puppies liked biting and pulling on the grass.
After about 15 minutes outside, I put the puppies back in their playpen. All three immediately crawled into their crate in the playpen and took a nap. Exploring the outside is exhausting!
Baxter was the only puppy who wanted to eat any dinner.
Breakfast was a success. I suspect because mommy only nursed the puppies twice last night - around midnight and again at 4 am. The puppies only picked at lunch, dinner, and their bedtime meal; mommy ate most of those meals. Boo is back on regular kibble, and I have cut back on the amount she gets (still plenty of cottage cheese however). It is hard to judge the correct amount of food for Boo, as she also has clean-up duty.
Peggy tasting the water. Now that I am feeding the puppies kibble - or at least offering kibble - I also have to make sure that the puppies have water.
Baxter underneath the cabinets in the kitchen. Later Baxter took a nap in the donut bed.
What the puppies really want - mommy's milk
Where is Judi? All three puppies were out of the playpen exploring today.
This evening, all three puppies took a nap in the dog bed underneath my desk.
Judi joined the 1200-gram club today, and Baxter the 1-kilogram club. Note Peggy's frayed collar. Peggy's siblings have been grabing her collar when they wrestle with Peggy.
Faces:
I knew that the puppies had nursed around 6 am this morning. So I told the chef to not make anything elaborate for breakfast. So the puppies got ground puppy kibble for breakfast. The puppies only took a nibble before walking away. I do not think the puppies walked away in disgust at the offering, but rather because their tummys were full of milk. Mommy Boo was happy to do clean-up.
Cousin Freema got in the playpen and was licking each puppy's rear end. I guess puppy pee tastes good! Now that the puppies are eating (some) kibble, mommy Boo is leaving puppy poop for the butler to clean up. (I wear many hats.)
Later in the morning Boo was letting the puppies nurse ... and then Boo threw up. I think Boo is telling the puppies that it is time that the puppies started eating on their own, and Boo provided some softened food. The butler cleaned up the mess, which may have been a mistake. The puppies were very interested in what had been at the spot.
Boo getting away from the puppies. When mommy Boo is near, the puppies scramble to get to Boo in order to get some milk.
Both Judi and Peggy explored as far as my bedroom today. Here is Judi and great-grandmother Mandy.
Peggy turned her head away just as I took this picture.
Breakfast picture Again the puppies have not eaten much. I had steamed a carton of eggs to make hard-boiled eggs. One of the eggs had burst, so I could not save it for later. So I crumbled the egg and sprinkled it in the puppy food dish. The puppies liked this new addition to the menu!
Judi was exploring the dog beds in my bedroom, but came running out when she saw me with the camera.
As the weather was again nice today, I took the puppies outside again. The puppies had alread spent several hours in their playpen while I was out of the house, so they were not impressed by being in another x-pen. As my adult dogs were out of my fenced yard and running in the nearby field and forest, I decided to let the puppies explore my porch and fenced yard. The first thing the puppies discovered is that they have have to climb onto my concrete porch.
Note that Baxter's ears are tipping over. The ears of Norwich puppies go up and down, until finally remaining up.
Judi went exploring. Baster is the first to go into the teacup agility tunnel on my porch. Baxter did not go all the way through, but turned around and came out the way he entered. Judi got tired and decided to take a nap in my practice earthdog liner (a square wooden tunnel). Peggy worked on pulling up the grass. After exploring the agility tunnel, Baxter tried to convince Mommy that he deserved some milk. Tiring of pulling up grass, Peggy explored the holes next to my porch that were dug by previous puppies. (Adult Norwich are not diggers - unless they are trying to get to a critter. Young puppies on the other hand like to dig.) Failing to get any milk from mommy, Baxter tried to play with aunt Estelle.
Realizing that all the puppies were tired, I used the opportunity to trim their nails before bringing them inside for a nap.
Look at the color at the base of each puppy's ear. I know from genetics that the puppies' body color is either red or grizzle. A DNA test would decide the matter. But it would require using a bristle swab, which I refuse to inflict on the puppies. So I am left to guessing, which is why I am looking closely at the base of the ear. Usually the color at the base of the ear is the body color. The dark hairs that the puppies have now are puppy "guard hairs" and will eventually fall out. (Some breeders pull the guard hairs out, but I like to let the process proceed naturally.) I am pretty sure that Judi and Peggy will be reds. Baxter either has a very heavy coat of dark guard hairs or is going to be grizzle like his mother. Time will tell!
Peggy sitting next to cousin (once removed) Izzy who is sitting next to Peggy's great-grandmother Mandy. Izzy gets the honorific "aunt" because of her age.
Before I left the house for a few hours, I put some puppy kibble in a bowl for mommy Boo. Boo was not enthusiastic about again being locked in the playpen with the puppies. I saw that the puppies were eating some puppy kibble (not ground up). So I left the puppies alone in the x-pen while I went out. All was well when I got home. Much of the kibble had been eaten by the puppies.
After having the puppies outside, I started back inside. Judi has been watching my adult dogs going through my doggy door. I saw Judi trying to figure out my doggy door. Before I could get my camera out, Peggy had pushed through my doggy door and gone inside. I am not yet ready for the puppies to figure out my doggy door!
Little angels:
Peggy joined the 1-kilogram club today.
Breakfast picture - I know that the puppies ate some, but obviously not all their breakfast. It is hard to compete with mommy's milk.
If you have a Norwich Terrier, then you never go to the bathroom alone. Judi found a cornor of my bathroom not already occupied by some of my other dogs.
Even will the outside to explore, the puppies are still more interested in mommy's milk.
Peggy found the entrance to the agility tunnel on my porch.
All three puppies are in the crate but Peggy had the best view. The puppies had a long car ride to my petsitter, Ali. Along the way, I heard the cry of "I have to go to the bathroom". I pulled off at a quiet spot and let the puppies out of the crate. Even though the puppies were loose, I was able to keep the puppies rounded up until Judi finished her business. I put the puppies back in their crate and we continued our journey.
Mommy Boo and the puppies will stay at Ali's house for approximately a week, while great-grandmother Mandy, aunt Gwynie, and I go to "Montgomery" - the annual Norwich specialty in Pennsylvania. I will try to keep the diary going with information and pictures from Ali, but there may be breaks.
A picture from Ali:
Puppies eating kibble this morning:
Puppy prison:
Judi says hi to Tyson the boxer.
The puppies liking our toys:
Discovering the air-conditioning vent.
Boo keeping watch.
Picture from Ali - Girls in a coma.
One of these things is not like the other. [Ali assures me that this is a real hamster, and that the puppies did not wake up.]
Under arrest for nibbling!
Puppies in a basket:
Trying to do stairs. No one successful yet!
With cousin Baerli:
Figuring out the Kong kibble dispenser!
Baxter with Ali's daughter Peyton. Ali and her family think that a better name for Baxter would be Teddy.
I picked up Boo and the puppies from Ali's house in the afternoon and we got home in the late afternoon. With evening coming earlier now, I was not able to get any more pictures today.
Ali warned me that the puppies have become "feral shitting machines", so it is time for me to start potty training the puppies. Now after meals, when they wake up from naps, and several times during the night I will be taking the puppies outside. If it is dark, the puppies will go inside a small x-pen inside my fenced yard (as in the picture above). In a pinch I can carry three puppies at once, but it is safer to just carry two puppies. Puppies squirm! So that means two trips to get the puppies outside, then two more trips to bring them back inside.
After-breakfast picture. Mommy Boo still works to keep the puppies clean.
The puppies have retained their weight order. Judi is in the 1500-gram club, Baxter in in the 1300-gram club, and Peggy joined the 1200-gram club today.
Peggy was the first to tip my baby teeter. But she left as soon as my camera came up.
Baxter was the first to climb my baby dog walk - doing so by going up the slippery white slope. (The pink rubber pads having been removed by previous puppies.) Not to be out done, Judi climbed the blue dog walk.
Puppies along the fence line. Notice Peggy leaping to catch up with her litter mates.
Baxter knows that it is all about the milk!
Judi demonstrated that she can come from outside to inside through my doggy door. So now I have to add another job to my resume - gate guard. With the puppies able to go through my doggy door, the gate leading from my fenced yard to the outside world will need to remain closed ... unless the gate guard is there to open it. And my adult dogs expect the gate to open whenever they want to go out or come back in.
The puppies sharp puppy teeth are fully in ... which makes it dangerous for any exposed human toes. If screaming in pain does not get a puppy to stop nibbling, a gentle shove with my foot is my next attempt. Unfortunately puppies sometimes interprete this as play, so the shoves have to escalate and become more forceful.
In honor of their homecoming, the chef prepared cooked ground turkey which he mixed into the puppy kibble. This meal was a hit with the puppies.
Sitting with the adults watching the world go by.
The puppies are seven-weeks old today, and weigh as follows:
Baxter wants you to know that he does not approve of his birthday picture. The picture shows Baxter concentrating very hard on some serious potty business. Baxter much prefers this as his birthday picture.
Judi on the blue puppy dog walk
I usually find two puppies easily. Today Baxter and Peggy were in the dog bed underneath my desk. It is always best to sleep with your favorite toys! As usual finding the third puppy (usually Judi) took longer. It was especially true today. I must have gone through my house twice. No Judi. I finally found Judi on my bed, snuggled down among my pillows. I evidently had forgotten to take down the ramp to my bed, and Judi had taken advantage of the opportunity to explore.
Baxter about to get on the blue puppy dog walk.
The puppies big adventure for today was a trip to the vet to get their first puppy shots. After all the puppies were weighed and had the indignity of a rectal thermometer followed by a fecal collection stick, the vet came into the room.
Baxter got examined first, then Baxter got his DHPPC vaccine shot. DHPPC stands for Distemper, Hepititis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza, and Corona. Distemper and Parvo are very deadly diseases. Thank goodness there are vaccines for them! Judi was the next to be examined, then Judi got her vaccine shot. Note that Judi had to bite down on the vet tech's finger while getting her shot. Finally Peggy was examined. Peggy was the only one who complained about getting her vaccination. The vet pronounced all the puppies healthy, and the ordeal was over.
In what has become a tradition when I bring puppies to my vets, after the exam and shots there was a big game of pass the puppy in the waiting room. All the receptionists want to hold a puppy. Even people waiting usually want to hold a puppy. I think of this as a great socialization opportunity for the puppies.
Peggy even got to meet another puppy.
The puppies did not show any after-effects today from their shots. Only Baxter seemed cranky when I picked him up. But by the end of the day, Baxter seemed back to normal.
Baxter on the ramp to my bed (which is down on the floor since the puppies are loose).
Mommy's milk is the best after-dinner desert.
Baxter taking a nap after dinner.
Taking a nap together
Chasing the robot vacuum cleaner.
I know that when the puppies fall asleep on my porch that they have had enough "outside" time. I carry them inside, and use the time while the puppies are napping to get non-puppy things done.
While watching the puppies outside biting on the x-pen wire, I realized that it was time for nature's puppy chew toys - sticks! Fortunately I have an almost endless supply of sticks in the forest around my house. I gathered some pine cones and sticks and dumped them in my fenced yard. The puppies initially played keep-away and tug-of-war with the pine cones. But then they discovered the joys of chewing on sticks! Cousin Freema - who is still a puppy herself as she is just shy of a year old - came over to show the puppies how to really destroy the sticks. As all that chewing is exhausting, a milk break was needed. For the first time I saw the puppies run through the baby tunnel on my porch ... because the puppies were chasing mommy to get some milk.
Judi is watching you!
The puppies today discovered the joy of dragging the water bowl mat, causing the water to slosh and make a mess. What fun (for the puppies)!
Chewying on a stick with a more experienced chewer. Notice the sharp puppy teeth.
On a warm day, Baxter takes advantage of the cool concrete to take a nap.
Today the puppies met Mr. Dremel. Dog's nails are really claws, meaning that there is a nerve and vein running down the middle. Since Norwich have dark nails, cutting the nails with a clipper runs the risk of pain and bleeding. Using a dremel reduces this risk, as a dog will complain if you get too close to the nerve when grinding with a dremel. Because Mr. Dremel is a mechanical object, one has to introduce a puppy to Mr. Dremel so as not to frighten the puppy.
The way I do this is to smear Nutri-Cal on a puppy's face. The nutritional gel is mostly glucose, so puppies REALLY like the taste. I sometimes call Nutri-Cal "puppy crack". While the puppy is busing licking the yummy stuff off its face, I quickly touch the dremel to each nail on one paw. At this first introduction, the goal is more introduction than grinding the nail. After a second application of Nutri-Cal to the puppy's face, I do the next paw. And so on for each paw. Puppies usually squirm for the first two paws, but by the end accept that nothing terrible is happening ... and there is this tasty treat on their face. For my experienced dogs, I just squeeze out the Nutri-Cal which they lick and they let me use the dremel on the nails on a paw (as long as I am quick about it).
Baxter was the first to get his face smeared with Nutri-Cal. (Notice Baxter's sharp puppy teeth coming in.) After I finished with Baxter, he was very popular with my other dogs as they all wanted to clean his face.
Judi was next, but I missed while applying the Nutri-Cal and Judi got the Nutri-Cal all over her snout. Judi became the center of attention after I finished doing her nails and I put her down.
Peggy did not want to show her face after I applied the Nutri-Cal. And Peggy preferred to lick her own face when I put her down.
Baxter trying to get the puppy in the mirror to play with him.
Peggy napping. Again Judi made me search high and low for her, but I finally found Judi wedged between a doggy bed and a cabinet. Baxter was up and about. I believe the puppies are sleeping in shifts as part of their master plan to drive me insane.
Peggy asks "Is there room for one more?". Evidently the answer was yes, as the puppies settled down for an after-breakfast nap.
The puppies had a good dinner appetite. The chef added some hard-boiled egg as tonight's topping to the puppy kibble. Desert of course was some of mommy's milk.
Peggy prefers a hard pillow, while Baxter and Judi prefer softer sleeping arrangements.
I am seeing small signs that my efforts to potty train the puppies is having an effect. If I can catch a puppy right as the puppy wakes up from a nap and carry the puppy outside to the porch, then the puppy will walk off the porch to the grass to potty. I encourage the puppy with my potty command "Do your business".
The puppies now come and go through my doggy door. They are so fast coming through the door that I have not been able to get a picture!
Peggy frantically digging in an attempt to get at the guts of the robot vacuum cleaner. Failing, Peggy next attacked the arms (brushes) of the invader.
Judi spooning with her sister Peggy. Baxter showing that he can sleep anywhere, even on the hard floor.
The puppies having a pre-dinner cocktail. I was worried that it would spoil their interest in dinner, but the puppies had a hearty appetite.
Cousin Freema playing with Judi and Peggy. Freema would tear around and the puppies would chase her. Then Freema would stop and look at the puppies, before taking off again.
A long-time friend, Carlynn, has come to visit for a few days. Carlynn kindly says that she has come to visit me, but I know that the real reason she came was to see the puppies. Peggy introduced herself by attacking Carlynn's shoelaces. Judi showed off her ability on my puppy teeter (photo by Carlynn).
When we took the big dogs for a long walk in the forest, the puppies complained about being left behind.
"Though she be but little, she is fierce". Peggy attacking Judi.
Just when a boy is getting some rest, someone else - Peggy in this case - gets into bed and wakes you up.
Sleeping puppies (Photo by Carlynn)
The puppies do not know it, but tonight is the puppies last night of communal sleeping in the whelping box.
To get the puppies to stay on the scale, I crumble a treat that each puppy searches for and eats. In Baxter's picture you can see my adult dogs underneath my grooming table waiting with hope that a piece will fall their way.
At eight weeks of age, there are several changes in store for the puppies. The first is that I will no longer weigh the puppies daily, but now weekly. At this point their daily weight fluctuates, which would only drive me even more crazy than I already am.
Mommy Boo giving the puppies some birthday milk.
The puppies waiting for us as Carlynn, I, and our adult dogs returned from a walk in the nearby woods. Carlynn took this photo of Peggy and Baxter.
In what is probably a futile effort to save some of my dog beds from sharp puppy teeth, another new thing is that I have given the puppies an empty cardboard box to chew and destroy:
Another change for the puppies is where the puppies will now sleep at night. Carlynn and I took apart and removed the whelping box from my bedroom. In its place we put together crates for the "puppy condo".
The puppies enjoying a last communal meal at dinner time. Carlynn took these pictures:
The chef cooked ground turkey as a birthday topping for the puppies. From now on each puppy will eat seperately in their own crate. (This will allow me to better monitor how much eat puppy is eating.) Another change is that the puppies will now only get three meals a day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And a treat as each puppy is put in his or her own crate at night.
Another new thing is that my wobble (balance) board got set out for the puppies.
The puppy playpen got removed at the end of the day to make run for all these new exciting toys. (The playpen may make a temporary return if I have to leave the puppies for a significant amount of time.)
Carlynn got better pictures of Peggy mastering the wobble board and later biting the wobble board to get the board to stop moving.
Carlynn says that Baxter is her favorite of the puppies. Cousin Freema is in the background in her favorite spot.
Breakfast picture - The puppies first meal in their crates. Notice the bully sticks on top of each crate. From left to right - Judi, Peggy, and Baxter. Each has their assigned crate.
The puppies getting some after-breakfast milk. Even though mommy Boo is still allowing the puppies to nurse, I have noticed that the amount of nursing time is getting shorter and shorter. Mommy Boo telling the puppies "No more".
Company is exhausting. The puppies napping after Carlynn left.
Baxter napping underneath my desk in the afternoon.
Peggy playing with fur that Carlynn had stripped off her Norwich, Journey.
While Baxter and Peggy get some milk, Judi laments that there is no room for her.
Nursing Judi is the one with the fat belly.
The puppies are getting used to the new routine. Today was just a day of working on potty training. I continue to see signs that the puppies are getting the idea. Now we just have to work on execution.
All three puppies napping together ... with a favorite toy.
The puppies are making it difficult to close the refrigerator door. When I open the refrigerator door, one or two of the puppies will run to investiage the interesting smells inside the box. Often when I move a puppy away so that I can shut the refrigerator door, another puppy will run in. I am always afraid that a puppy will get trapped inside the refrigerator.
Chasing mommy Boo in the hope of getting some milk. Success!
Puppies playing on my puppy agility equipment.
"I am sure this stick used to be bigger"
All threee puppies in a favorite spot for a nap.
A puppy - the offender's name did not get recorded - started biting the bottom of my shower curtain and tugging on it. Evidently this is great fun. To save my innocent curtain, I got out the "Bitter Apple" and sprayed it on the bottom of the curtain. As the name suggests, Bitter Apple does not taste good. When the puppy next bite the curtain, the puppy got some Bitter Apple on its tongue. There was a head shake at this terrible taste, and the puppy walked away in disgust.
The puppies continue to work on destroying the box.
Lunch time. Peggy - who was in the middle crate - always wants to be let out first. It is not that Peggy has cleaned her bowl first; rather, Peggy just does not seem as interested in eating as her sister and brother.
Baxter and Peggy playing "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral". Two puppies will stop and stare at each other. Then one of the puppies will charge the other and start wrestling. In this case, it was Baxter who drew first.
Two against one is fun - if you are one of the two. Baxter on the received end from his two sisters.
Before putting the puppies to bed at night, the warden has to check that the puppies have not saved any contraband (food from dinner) in their crates. The puppies are allowed one bully stick each at night to chew on. But unlike adult dogs, the puppies make very little progress chewing the bully sticks. So the skinflint warden gets to give the puppies the same bully sticks over and over.
We have visitors today. Uncle "HP" ("Shaksper Harry Percy") came to visit the puppies. The puppies were again disappointed that they did not go for a long walk with the adults, but the puppies greeted us upon our return.
All the people did was talk, talk, talk, so the puppies took a long nap:
Peggy held onto a visitor's foot to make sure that the visitor did not leave without saying good-bye.
Meeting another visitor who came to do some work around the house.
I had to be out of the house today likely for the entire day, so the puppies had a long car ride - each in their own crate - to petsitter Ali.
Pictures from Ali:
Ali thinks that Baxter is very handsome.
We got home late and the puppies were all very interested in seeing mommy Boo (in the crate). I think the puppies just wanted some milk.
Rather than sleeping together for their morning nap, the puppies slept separately today:
Just like people, dogs aperiodically shift their position while sleeping. Here is Peggy a few moments later.
I finally got a picture of a puppy exiting my teacup tunnel. All the puppies will run through the tunnel.
Judi admiring the pretty puppy in the window.
The puppies had another appointment with Mr. Dremel today. As nothing bad happened the last time the puppies met Mr. Dremel, all the puppies were much more relaxed about the experience this time. The yummy Nutri-Call helped!
The puppies playing soda can soccer.
Both sisters ganging up on Baxter.
The puppies now sometimes have hickups, which are common enough in puppies to have their own name - "puppy hickups".
Judi biting Peggy's ear. "Wake up, it is time to play!"
Baxter and Judi napping on the floor. Peggy was in the cardboard box ... with a strip of cardboard on her nose. Then Peggy came over to bite Baxter's ear.
With the puppy playpen gone, the puppies now try to find other soft absorbant places to piddle. One place is inside the cardboard box. I probably should have put out a smaller box for the puppies to destroy, rather that the large Chewy box.
We had company again today. While the humans talked, Peggy took a nap on a sneaker.
Recall that I put the ramp to my bed down flat on the ground during the day so that the puppies can not climb up onto my bed (and go potty on my bed). If I am not keeping an eye on the puppies, the puppies will sometimes sneak off to my bedroom to pee and poop on the ramp. From past litters, I know that this is a favorite spot ... although I can not understand why. The ramp is hard plastic - which fortunately makes it easy to clean.
Two puppies working on destroying the cardboard box, supervised by cousin "JC".
During meals, Peggy likes to overturn her bowl, spilling her kibble inside her crate. Peggy leaves the mess for the butler to pick up. Baxter likes to have someone watch him eat, and complains if I walk away. Judi just eats ... often eating everything given to her.
When I let the adult dogs out of my fenced yard after breakfast this morning, Judi slipped out with the adults while I had the gate open. I had to hustle to capture Judi and return her to my fenced yard.
After-breakfast milk. I do not make a strong effort to wean the puppies. By now the puppies are getting most of their nutrition from kibble, and mommy's milk is only a bonus. Boo is not giving the puppies much milk. I know that Boo will stop letting the puppies nurse when Boo thinks it is time. I continue to take pictures every time I see the puppies nursing in an attempt to catch that "last time".
Judi giving her "innocent" look. Baxter says he is innocent also. Baxter and Judi side-by-side.
While Peggy does some digging, Judi and Baxter are on the porch with mommy Boo. In the background are some of my other dogs outside my fenced yard.
For the puppies, it is all about the milk.
I routinely use the topical flea and tick preventatives Frontline and Revolution. I have not seen a flea on any of my dogs in over ten years. So I was horrified when my vet recently found a flea on one of my adult dogs. I immediately came home and dosed everyone with Frontline and figured that would be the end. Nope! On my next visit to my vet with another of my dogs, she found another flea. So then I knew that more drastic measures were required.
I came home and started cleaning and washing everything in my house with which my dogs came into contact. Of course, right then my washing machine decided to go on strike until it received a new drain pump. Until my washing machine was repaired, I could only give everyone baths - medicated once a week, and with dish soap in the meantime. I also checked the documentation and found that the puppies were old enough for a light dose of Revolution, which I gave them. I started daily checking of my dogs for fleas. If I saw a flea on an adult or if one of my dogs was scratching like it had a flea, then the dog got a bath. As baths are not one of my adult dogs favorite things, my adult dogs made sure that if they were getting a bath, than I also was getting a bath. Dry towels became a scare resource in my household.
Sadly today I found a flea on Baxter. So all three puppies got baths today with dish soap. (The puppies are too young for a medicated pyrethrins-based shampoo.) First, I got a puppy wet with warm water. Then I applied dish soap and rubbed the soap into the fur for a good five minutes (using a timer). Then a rinse and towel dried.
Fleas (ctenocephalides canis) actually bite to feed off blood. Female fleas lay a large number of eggs. Besides killing fleas by smothering them with shampoo, baths are to wash off eggs. Cleaning and washing dog bedding is also to get rid of flea eggs. I will need to be vigilant about my washing and dog bathing for several weeks before I can relax.
We were all up early today, as again I expected to be out of the house for the entire day. Again I took the puppies to stay with my petsitter, Ali, for the day.
Often when I am gone for the day the reason is because I am taking one of my girls for an appointment at the NC State Veterinary Theriogenology (reproduction) Department. This time it was because I was taking my special-needs boy, JC, to the NC State Veterinary Neurology Department. JC has a spinal lesion (of unknown origin). Today JC had another MRI done. As I expected it took the entire day; JC kept being bumped from the MRI machine because of emergency cases. JC and I picked up the puppies on our way home.
Puppies playing (wrestling). Note my insulated water pipe, protected from sharp puppy teeth by hard plastic.
Puppies nursing. After being away from mommy Boo all day yesterday, I wondered if Boo would let the puppies nurse. Evidently the answer is yes. As Boo has reduced the amount of milk that she is allowing the puppies, I have started reducing the amount of cottage cheese I am feeding Boo to just a scoop in the evening.
Puppies wrestling. One moment it is Peggy on the the bottom; a few minutes later Baxter is on the bottom.
The puppies' big adventure for today was a trip to the vet to get their second puppy shots.
Baxter coming out of his crate. Unfortunately every visit to the vet begins with the indignity of having one's temperature taken before being examined. Peggy got the same treatment, as did Judi. Judi did not mind being examined.
After getting their shots, the puppies were comforted by the receiptionists:
I watched the puppies for the rest of the day, but none of them seemed to have any reaction to their second puppy shots. I did notice that the puppies had diarrhea. I spoke with the chef, and advised that the puppies go back to a simple puppy diet. The chef always wants to build up puppies' gut bacteria by introducing different foods, but sometime the chef goes too far.
Mommy Boo had her turn before the puppies. As Boo does not compete in agility, Boo's turn was limited in just practicing on a few obstacles. Boo has no problem jumping, so we started Boo with the dog walk. Boo went up the ascent ramp of the dog walk, across the center plank, then down the descent ramp into the yellow. (To do the obstacle correctly, the dog must touch the yellow.) As you can see, food is used as a motivator. Since Norwich love food, it does not take them long to learn to do simple obstales. Next for Boo was the A-frame, where Boo had to climb a big mountain and come down the other side and touch the yellow.
When it was the puppies' turn, Peggy went first. We started with "puppy ping-pong" where Ali stood on one side of a jump and I on the other. We put the jump bar on the ground. (The puppies are too young to do any real jumping.) Ali and I then took turns calling Peggy back and forth over the bar, with a treat when the puppy reached us. Then Peggy did the dog walk all the way into the yellow/ Then the A-frame (which we had lowered so that it was not so steep) and into the yellow.
Baxter was next, and did the same obstacles:
Finally Judi had her turn. Judi thought the ping-pong game was fun, but was less sure about the dog walk. After all it was a long way to the ground. Judi needed extra encouragement in order to make it down into the yellow.
When we got home, the puppies were tired from all their new experiences. But after a long nap, the puppies were back to wrestling ... and dragging toys outside. (Judi is on the left, Baxter on the right.) Unfortunately the puppies do not believe in dragging toys back inside!
After a long play session outside this morning, the puppies all took a nap together.
I did not see the puppies nurse yesterday. This afternoon the puppies tries to get some milk from mommy, I head a little slurping, but then Boo walked away and turned back on the puppies to tell them "no".
The puppies consolded themselves by chewing on a stick. (From left to right, Peggy, Judi, and Baxter.)
After breakfast, mommy Boo let the puppies nurse for a minute. By the time I got my camera, Boo was saying "no more".
Sisters hugging each other as they napped. Baxter had a bed all to himself.
Puppies playing. Even with all the toys the puppies have dragged outside, wrestling with each other is still the favorite activity.
The puppies greeting us as the adult dogs and I returned from a walk in the forest.
Waiting on the chef to finish preparing dinner:
Morning picture All three puppies waiting for breakfast.
Later in the morning Judi was barking (a real bark!) at great-aunt Mandy.
I have some workmen at my place doing some outside work. So that my dogs do not bother the workmen, everyone is restricted to my fenced yard. The fencing that I use is multiple x-pens clipped together. (This arrangement allows me to pick up the x-pens when I want to mow.) My adult dogs pushed over one side of my fencing and everyone - adults and puppies - went to check out what the workmen were doing. I was able to recapture everyone and put them in their crates while I repaired the fance. But at least one of the puppies - Judi, I believe - got to the workmen and was coming back when I found her.
I took one of my older dogs to a training class in the evening. The puppies are pretty good now about being left alone and going outside on their own to potty. Although I did find some poop in my bedroom. I warned the puppies that there would be a bounty on the head of the next puppy who pooped in my bedroom.
With Gwynie expecting puppies soon which will likely keep me at home, I scheduled another agility lesson for today. We all drove to Ali's house.
During mommy Boo's turn, Boo ran through a tunnel and then tried a teeter. As a teeter moves, for an inexperienced dog we hold and slowly lower the teeter.
While the adult dogs were all taking their turns. Judi found some shade and watched. (For a November day, it got warm.)
When it was the puppies' turn, Judi went first. We started with some puppy ping-pong. But this time with two jumps. Then we moved to a tunnel. Unlike the straight tunnel on my porch, Ali's tunnel had a curve. All the puppies were initially reluctant to go into the tunnel when they could not see the exit. But eventually Judi with some encouragement (to get a treat) ran through the tunnel. Next we tried Judi on the teeter, but Judi wanted lots of encouragement to go up this new obstacle:
It was the same on the dog walk - Judi wanted payment "up front" to make sure it was worth her effort.
Peggy was next:
Finally Baxter had his turn:
We then drove home and checked on the work men.
Now it is time for the butler to go lay a treat in each puppy's crate before the puppies go to bed for the evening
I have not seen any nursing for a couple of days now. Checking mommy Boo's belly, her nipples seem all dried up. So I have stopped giving mommy Boo any cottage cheese.
The puppies saw a cement truck today as the workmen poured cement today. My adult dogs are tired of being couped up with the puppies in my fenced yard.
Like youngsters everywhere, I can tell when the puppies need to go to bed for the night. The puppies get hyper, running around like maniacs, and the wrestling starts to get a little too rough.
Also yesterday morning and this morning, after taking the puppies out to potty around 5 am, instead of putting the puppies back in their crates I have been leaving the puppies loose. I go back to bed. The puppies have been taking advantage of this freedom to climb the ramp onto my bed ... much to the disgust of the adult dogs already on my bed. There are multiple growls from the adult dogs telling the rambuntious puppies to settle down and go to sleep. I had to protect my ear from being bitten by sharp puppy teeth. But eventually the puppies curled up next to me and went to sleep. As did I ... until great-aunt Mandy saw some sunlight and started barking the "wake up, it is time for breakfast" call.
I saw a flea on Peggy today. So all three puppies got a bath with a five-minute shampoo. Fortunately it was a warm day today, and the puppies were quick to dry. I also started washing again all the bedding - both human and canine. I did not see any fleas on the adult dogs, but they all got treated with Frontline.
I was out of the house for much of the day. When I got home, I saw Judi and Baxter scratching. I did not see any fleas. But I decided to dose both Judi and Baxter with Frontline. Peggy - while old enough - is not big enough yet for Frontline. A puppy must weigh at least two kilograms for Frontline. Peggy is still under two kilograms.
To make room to set up my whelping box for aunt Gwynie who is expecting soon, I had to move the puppy condo. Now the view from the condo is not directly at me, but rather at the foot of my bed.
Peggy and Baxter helping me set up the whelping box.
Judy's prospective owners tell me that they plan to call her "BB". So going forward, I will also.
All three puppies on my baby dogwalk, from left to right - Peggy, Baxter, and BB. BB has a pine cone that became the object of a furious game of "keep away"
BB and Baxter chased each other through my baby tunnel, then would run around to the other end of the tunnel so that they could chase each other through the tunnel again.
Dogs by nature want to keep their den clean. So one of the ways to encourage potty training is to restrict the puppies to as few rooms as possible. During the day I have been keeping the door to my bedroom closed, which saves my bedroom from puppy piddle accidents.
Outside:
The war on fleas continues. This war is not a blitzkrieg, but rather a siege. The objective is to get rid of as many fleas on the dogs as possible, and by cleaning, as many flea eggs as possible. Then when the remaing eggs hatch, hopefully there are fewer fleas in the next cycle. Repeat the bathing, medications, cleaning, and washing of bedding until (hopefully) the usual flea medications can keep the fleas under control.
Today I saw BB scratching. When I picked BB up to check I found a flea. So BB got a five-minute bath using dishwashing soap. And all the bedding (towels) in the puppy crates got pulled and added to the pile of things to be washed. New clean bedding was put in the crates. I believe I previously had replaced the bedding in the puppy crates just two days ago. My washing machine is running almost non-stop these days.
I then drove Boo and her puppies to Ali's house, where they will likely stay for a few days. (I think aunt Gwynie is going to have her puppies.)
I brought Boo and the puppies home today. Baxter immediately went into my bedroom and pooped. After cleaning that up, I checked each puppy and found that BB had a flea on her. This immediately earned BB a medicated bath. Now that the puppies are twelve weeks old, they are eligible for a medicated bath but no more than once a week.
As it was already late in the day, I decided not to weigh everyone. I prefer to weigh in the morning before breakfast in order to get comparable readings. The puppies will get weighed tomorrow.
I weighed the puppies this morning:
I brought my big dogs home today from the petsitter. There was much barking in greeting, and reasserting of the pack order.
The big adventure for today was a trip to the vet - not for any shots - but so that BB and Baxter could get their "Certificate of Veterinary Inspection" (informally called a "health certificate) as both will be leaving soon. Peggy came along for moral support and just to be seen by the vet.
First the veterinary technicians weighed each puppy, took their temperature, and collected a fecal sample. ( Peggy thought this was rude.) Then we waited for the veterinarian. While we waited, I took the following pictures of BB who was on the table:
When the vet came into the room she examined each puppy (everyone is healthy), and inserted microchips in each puppy.
Afterwards the puppies got some socialization. I handed a puppy to anyone in the waiting room who wanted to hold a puppy. (The receptionists always want to hold puppies.)
Baxter protecting his sisters.
Visitors today to look at the puppies (specifically Peggy):
The puppies had an appointment with Mr. Dremel today. And BB got a bath.
As this is likely to be the puppies last dinner together, the chef prepared cooked ground turkey - a favorite of the puppies - as the dinner topping.
Carl came and picked up BB this morning.
And then there were just two ... who both are probably mad at me as they both got baths this afternoon.
Two more pictures of Baxter and Peggy:
Ian and Terry - who are Boo's primary owners - had asked me for a puppy. They agreed to let me breed Boo in exchange for a male puppy. Since the breeding has now been done and Boo has raised her puppies, Boo now will go back to live with Ian and Terry. And Baxter will go with Boo.
Ian came today to collect mommy Boo and Baxter.
And then there was just one puppy left - Peggy.
I am always sad for a day or two after a puppy leaves me. It is no different this time, with BB and Baxter both now gone.
I have wanted a female puppy out of Justin, the father of Boo's puppies. The two previous litters where Justin sired litters for me only produced males. So it was always my intention to keep one of the girls from Boo's litter. However a nice couple have approached me asking about Peggy. Since I now have another girl out of Justin (the puppy White in Gwynie's litter born a week ago) - I am considering letting Peggy go. Fortunately I do not have to make a decision right away. The couple are not ready for a puppy for a couple of weeks because of renovations to their house. So I have time to see how White develops.
Thus it is time to end this puppy diary. I will add a postscript about Peggy later when a decision about her is made. Until then I get to enjoy her!
