Saturday, December 1, 2007

3 weeks old today !

Pups are doing great. Everyone is gaining nicely and playing, mouthing, vocalizing. Cameo is having a hard time keeping up with the cleaning, they are insatiable eaters and she has begun to tell them off today so have been giving her a bit longer breaks from pups. They still sleep away most of the day, but when they are awake they are very active. She is very attentive and devoted to them, they are just beginning to try her last nerve :) ! This is another sign that they are almost ready to move to the larger pen and spend a bit more time on their own.
Tomorrow is the first puppy party for our volunteer trainers. They are coming to visit the pups and have a cuddle as well as start the next phase of the Super Puppy Program which we will continue this week. It's hard to believe they will be going home in 6 wks....there is still so much I want to give them.

Day 19 and 20

Waiting for ears to open and for pups to react to sound. Pink may have startled today but I'm not sure. All the pups have begun to play with one another, batting, mouthing, sucking on ears. They are alot messier these last few days, will need to move to the larger pen with a potty spot soon. Litter as a whole is quite petite compared to Tess' but doing great. All are gaining all nursing. Got their new Lupine collars today. Peach is too little yet so will give her another week before we intro her collar.

Eyes are opening !

Peach, the tiniest puppy has her eyes open first. Aqua and pink are following. Then come Blk/Gold or Bruin (as in Boston Bruin), Yellow, Green, Rainbow, Red, Aqua, and Blue.
By day 14 , 11/24 all pups have their eyes open, they are fat and healthy, eager eaters, wagging their tails and walking !

Week 2

The pups are hungry all the time and Cameo is very tolerant of them. They nurse constantly and are quite competitive climbing over each other and even diving in upside down to grab a drink. All are gaining nicely and are becoming much quieter as they are now satiated. Peach and Lavender get private nursing sessions as they are the smallest. All the pups are standing and trying to walk.

Cameo gives me a few gray hairs!

I am whelping Tess' litter today and have been awake for 24 hours. I am worried about Tess and her last puppy because it is taking forever to have her and Tess is exhausted ! I take a break from worrying about Tess to check on Cameo who is 3 feet away in her whelping box with her thriving pups. Cameo stands up and begins to sway from side to side. I check her gums they are very pale, not good. I call my vet who advised us to take her to the emergency vet at 4pm on a Friday afternoon...traffic will not make it easy to get there. I break out in a sweat and call a good friend to meet me there since I am exhausted and can not make good decisions in my present state. I get her in the car and she seems ok, no longer swaying and back to her happy self. At the vet we get out of the car with a box full of puppies and Cameo. The vet asks how long her face has been swollen....oh God it wasn't like that when I left the house. She is having an allergic reaction to something most likely an insect bite, I'm thinking ground wasp hiding in the leaves. She was never out of my site in the yard so I know it can't be much else. The vet is very sweet and doesn't make me feel stupid, they give her a small dose of benadryl, fluids, and do a small amount of blood work. Everything checks out ok, my pulse goes back to normal. Now I go home to see how Paul is holding down the fort....all seems ok , everyone is alive though there was an incident with a Sharpie and the newly painted wall in my office but the 2yr old Picasso isn't talking !

Week one

The pups are doing great, all are gaining weight. BioSensor exercises have been started on day 3 and will continue through day 16. The pups immune systems and nervous systems are triggered into development by introducing mild stressors to the pups at this age. The exercises were developed and first used in guide dog programs. The idea is to stimulate the growth of neuro patterns earlier to promote a better ability to learn and to develop a more resilent immune system.
The exercises involved holding the pup in various positions, head up, cradle, head down, tickling one foot with a q tip, placing all four feet on a chilled wash cloth for 2-5 seconds at a time. The pups were not phased by this and most relaxed easily over time.

Whelping begins

Cameo's temperature has dropped and whelping began at 5:00 am on Saturday morning. Puppy number one Ms Lavender is born next to my bed...yikes ! Off to the whelping box to whelp like the classy dog you are Cameo ! So much for that dog bed !
Whelping continues and is text book, she makes it look easy and I suffer no gray hairs ! Pups are born one after the other with no long waits in between.
Birth order :

Lavendar Girl .80
Pink Girl .85
Red Boy 1.00
Blk/Gold Boy 1.05
Blue Boy .90
Aqua Girl .80
Yellow Boy .95
Peach Girl .65
Green Boy .95
Rainbow Girl .75

All the pups are active and vocal right away, even teeny Peach is nursing vigorously! Cameo is an excellent mother and knows exactly what to do.