Tess had her pups around noon yesterday. Her water broke around 10am but in spite of her trying nothing was happening. Our vet was on call and he told us to meet him at the clinic and he would check her out. Still no progress so he decided a C-Section was required. Good decision. Both pups were trying to get into the birth canal at the same time and would not have made any progress without this intervention. Had we waited we would have likely lost both pups. The 2 boys were very big (8oz) which is probably what caused the congestion. If she had 4-5 pups they would have been smaller and Tess would probably have been able to deliver them on her own. The little brown boy took some work to get going and he didn't nurse well for a couple of hours. He was probably a little zonked from the anaesthetic.. Mom was also pretty groggy until mid evening. When she came around she immediately began cleaning her pups and fussing over them. This morning the pups are very active, their bellies are full and they are twitching and growing.
All the pictures were taken this morning.
April 25, 2007
The pups are 3 days old now. They have grown to 11oz for the black boy and 12oz for the tan boy. They had their tails and dew claws done yesterday and they came through that like a couple of troopers. Seconds after the job is done they have forgotten about it and are looking for their next meal. In this picture the tan boy is crashed on mom and the black boy is busy filling his tank. They are pretty much eating and sleeping and twitching at this stage. They belly crawl around only enough to find mom when they are hungry. The rest of the time they sleep. They twitch when they sleep as their nervous system grows. They grow so fast in the first couple of weeks that they twitch a couple of times a minute. These are mostly small twitches but sometimes a larger twitch can really shake their whole body. So twitching is a good thing and is a sign of a healthy puppy. If a puppy isn't twitching their is probably something seriously wrong.
Will get some more pictures and head shots soon so check back. We will be updating this page with new pictures at least every week.
April 30,2007
The pups are 8 days old now. Not much going on yet. Just eating and sleeping and getting very rotund. The next milestone will be at about 2 weeks when their eyes will open followed closely by their ability to hear. Once this happens they will get more mobile and will start to raise up and walk more. Right now they are doing the belly crawl but after their eyes open they start wobbly walking. They should be moving pretty good at 3 weeks. That is if their legs can raise up their fat little bodies. The tan boy is 1lb 3.5oz and the black boy is 1lb 1.5oz. Thanks to Sue for the babies first toy on the right.
May 5, 2007
The pups are almost 2 weeks old now and still gaining weight fast. The tan boy is 1lb 10 oz and the black boy is 1lb 8oz. They have tripled their birth weight in under 2 weeks. They are raising up on their legs a bit as they move around now and theirs heads are coming up more. Their eyes are close to opening and when that happens they will get more active and start their wobbly walking. Tess is beginning to eat more. She is not a big eater and we were concerned she was not eating enough and the pups were draining her too much. Turns out she is just keeping ahead of their increasing demands. She probably would have been eating more if she had a larger litter. Their is no question her pups are getting enough to eat!!
She is a great mom, very attentive and responds to her pups every whimper. She is also very protective of her brood. She still watches us like a hawk when we take one of her pups for weighing or their tactile stimulation.
May 8, 2007
The pups eyes are almost open now. They are getting up on their legs more when they move about. They are still very plump and like to relax any way they can. Couldn't resist taking this wheels up picture.
May 10, 2007
The pups eyes are fully open now and they are beginning to stay awake for longer (about 5 minutes before they crash) and are beginning to play. Now the fun starts. They will develop their motor skills, stamina and personalities every day. For example, when I took this picture on the left I made a loud kissing sound to get them to look at me. The little black boy heard it and gave me a yip in response, his first word. You can see the reaction in his face as if he says "who said that, do it again, I dare you".
Oh did I forget to mention they can hear now? Well, they can hear now.
Look at Tess. I put her on the bed next to the whelping pen while I took the puppy pictures. She immediately dug into the covers and started tossing the puppies toys around. She is a very happy little lady.
The next milestone for the pups will be their first excursion out of their puppy pen and into the kitchen. We usually do that after they are three weeks old. Pictures of that event coming soon. They will be 3 weeks old Sunday.
May 16, 2007
The kids are 3.5 weeks old now and ready for their first trip outside their whelping pen. They are on a blanket in the living room. We put them on a blanket because they have a lot of difficulty walking on slippery floors. They will stand up and slide backwards or all four feet will just slide out until their belly touches the ground. They only stay out for a few minutes the first times out because they start to get anxious and shake in this foreign environment. After a few trips they will get more confidence and begin to investigate more. By the time they get to 4 weeks they will be ready to spend some time in their x-pen. By 5 weeks they should be spending most of the day in the x-pen in our kitchen. They will be weaned around then also and at 6 weeks they will get their first vaccination.
Now begins the fun part of puppy rearing, watching the rapid progress they make and watching them develop individual personalities as they explore the world.
May 19, 2007
The pups are coming out to the kitchen more often now. They are also staying out longer and last about 10 minutes now. Their teeth have come in and we will start them on some mushy food soon. Once they start that, mom will be ready to wean them and they will stay out in the kitchen for increasingly longer. Next week they should be out most of the day and mom will only be with them at night. After a couple of days of this mom will be removed entirely and given a few days for her milk to dry up. At about 5 weeks they will be ready to go for walks outside with mom.
They don't explore much yet and do a lot of sitting and looking as these pictures show. But they also can walk around some as the black pup is showing stepping out real good. In the picture bottom right the tan boy is looking intently at the black boy who just finished a big head back howl (just missed the howl but caught the tan boys reaction).
Lots of interesting/fun stuff happening with the pups at this age as they experience new things.
Next picks will be of their first meal. Its usually a pretty messy time as they get as much on the as in them.
May 23, 2007
The pups first time in their x-pen in the kitchen. They played for about 10 minutes and then decided to check out their bed. Then they decided they deserved a nap. Mom is outside in a run for a couple of hours. This is the beginning of the weaning process. They are nibbling at a bit of food now but in a couple of days they will be eating 2 full meals a day. Soon they can get some outside time in their x-pen on the deck.
Every new step in their development is exciting for them and us. They get bolder every day. Something that scares them today they will tackle tomorrow. A sound may startle them in the kitchen but later they will totally ignore it. We feel that the tactile stimulation they got at an early age helps them cope with new things and allows them to handle stress in stride. Also the x-pen in the kitchen allows them to be involved on the activities of the house and experience the environment they will be going to when they go to their new homes. It also keeps them from getting into trouble with all the dangerous things in the house. Chewing on electrical cords or falling down stairs are just a couple of things that could do them serious harm at this age.
Later in the day they are a lot more relaxed in their new home. They love the big pink bunny and snuggle up to it when they need a nap. Mom made a brief visit to inspect their new home and they immediately attacked her. This is one of the last times they will taste momma's milk. Looks like she is pleading for help. We took her out right after this. They will be totally weaned tomorrow and only get solid food from now on.
May 24, 2007
The pups were taken outside first thing this morning for their p&p. Then they had breakfast and a little while later they were taken out again. These pictures were taken on this p&p session. You can see that they performed on cue just as they did earlier this morning. Started early and taken out consistently they are house trained very early. Still lots of accidents but if they are taken out every 2 hours or whenever they wake up from a nap then you can preempt the accidents. They are experiencing new stuff rapidly now. On the left below, the tan boy is sniffing out his first quarry, a turquoise bug. On the right they are getting the feel of the tall grass that needs mowing soon before they get lost in it.
May 25,2007
Here is a picture of their world. This is their x-pen setup in the kitchen. They spend all day here now except for the 8-10 walks thay go on each day. They go out every hour or two and every time they wake up. We have very few accidents in their x-pen as a result and they p/p every time we take them out. They really caught on fast. Notice their new toy. They really like to cuddle up to it.
May 26,2007
Pictures of the pups on their first walk very early this morning. They are really moving fast now and starting to run a bit. By next week they should have lost a lot of the baby fat allowing them to be even more agile. Their walks are not very long yet but increase each day. They stick very close to us at this point but will be increasingly more curious and gain confidence to investigate on their own. They will be 5 weeks old tomorrow.
June 3, 2007
The pups are 6 weeks old now. They are growing fast and play for quite a while before needing a nap. They take 10-12 walks a day with us down the lane. Sometimes they don't go far before they want to turn around but a few times a day they will go 300 yds down the lane before tiring. They haven't had an accident (poo) in the house for quite a while. They cry to go out when they need to go and if they haven't been out for an hour or so we just wake them up and take them out. They do have peeing accidents as their little bladders cant wait very long. One of our other females (Tick) goes for walks with us. The kids enjoy her company and she gets them to follow her on longer walks each day. In the last pic the tan boy is helping me with her lead.
June 9, 2007
The pups will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. They have matured a lot in the last week in fact we see quite a change in the last 2 days. They are playing for much longer and sleeping a bit less. Earlier in the week, when we put them on the deck, thay slept most of the time. Now they play much more. They probably went through a little growth spurt and needed the sleep. Its tiring growing up.
They sleep together in a crate at night for a couple of nights then they will be alone in their crate at night and for meals until they go to their new homes.
The sad realisation just hit us. They will be going to their new homes next week.
We will miss them, they are good little guys and fun to have around.
