Week 7

Day 52- 02/19/10

Sweet little Holly finally got her turn at a new life tonight. She left Hickory Hollow only a few short minutes ago and is headed to live in Illinois. Her new name is Wrigley! I will be posting 7 week photos of pups with their new families very soon.

WHEW, another litter has come and gone at Hickory Hollow and I was somewhat somber as I turned out the lights for the last time and headed out the door of the Puppy Cottage tonight. We're puppyless once again... I plan on getting well rested before our next litter (Litter I, Baby/Tuck) arrives in a few short months. Start thinking of fun "I" names because you know I'll ask!! As always, stay tuned...
 

Day 53- 02/20/10

Today two more pups embarked on their new lives. Harley will be going to Michigan (near Detroit) - we don't know her new name -  and Hawkeye will be living in sunny and warm Florida near the Kennedy Space Center! Hawkeye is keeping his name too! Poor Holly is now alone in the Puppy Cottage until she goes home Monday evening. She will get lots of TLC in the meantime, we'll bring her into the house for play sessions and let HOPE keep her company out in the Cottage. HOPE likes it out there a lot!
 

Day 52- 02/19/10

WOW, are these pups going stir crazy in the puppy play pen! Everyday when I come home from work they've wreaked more havoc on their surroundings. They literally have managed to pull almost all of the stuffing out of their puppy bed, SERIOUSLY?  It's laying much flatter now and not so puffy to lay on. They are eating like crazy and LOVE the Science Diet Puppy Small Bites.
 

Day 51 - 02/18/10

Hunter went home this evening. He will be living in nearby Marion, IA with a half sister Llew from Litter E (Emma, now called Piper). They share the same Sire, Splash. Hunter's new name is "Wilson".
 

Day 50 - 02/17/10

Well, pups are starting to fly the coop... Hannah went home last Sunday, her new name is "Dash" and she will be living nearby in Marion, IA. Hayden left this evening and her name is staying Hayden!! She will be living in WI.
 

Day 49 - 02/16/10

Puppy pick-ups have started and none too soon! The pups are becoming so destructive, which you probably have already witnessed if you tune into the LIVE Puppy Cam every now and then. They are strong enough now to drag the puppy bed out of the kennel bottom and across the floor, move the concrete blocks and pull up the rubber flooring. AUGH..
 

This week's milestone: Pups go home.
This is the week that all the puppies will fly the coop and begin their exciting new lives with their new families. While we will miss them, we are so excited for them and for all the adventures they will have.

Week 6

Day 46 - 02/13/10

Today the pups had another big day! They had their final worming and some of the pups were microchipped by request of the new owners. They also had their 6 week portraits taken this morning and will be receiving some visitors this afternoon.

Here's how the pups measure up today:

4th Worming
Pups were microchipped
 

Day 44 - 02/11/10

The pups are not only chaotic during playtime, they are also being chaotic and doing destructive things in the play pen. They've managed to unzip their doggie bed and have proceeded to pull much of the stuffing out and scatter it all throughout the pine shavings, they've chewed off the corners of their rubber covered drinking bowl platform and they've managed to move the concrete blocks out of the corners so they can pull back the rubber flooring.  WHEW, they are becoming harder and harder to handle the bigger they get. Pretty soon they will all be leaving so that they can wreak havoc in their new homes!! Are you all ready??
 

Day 43 - 02/10/10

Puppy Selection went very well. Most folks knew exactly which pup they wanted when it came their turn and didn't have to take much time to deliberate. The only folks that took some time were the first pick puppy people, but who could blame them? They had the toughest job due to so many sweet and cute pups to choose from!!  We're glad that everyone is happy with the puppy that they were able to get. I'm sure it is a big relief after all these weeks to know which pup is coming home to be part of the family.
 

Day 42 - 02/09/10

Today marks the start of Puppy Selection Week! Just like you, we are anxious to see where the pups will be going.  We will post the pup's statuses at the top of the Stats & Portraits section as soon as we know them and will update the reservation section with the selected pup name next to the new family's name in the reservation list. We will also notify the next in line when it's their turn to select a pup. Stay tuned...

I have finally posted some video clips of the litter at various stages of growth. Check them out now!
 

This week's milestone #1: Puppy Selection Week - Pup's will belong to a new family

At the start of this week, the puppies belong to Hickory Hollow, but by the end of the week, they will belong to a new family! Even though they won't know it yet, they will have been spoken for by their new puppy parents and in one short week will get to go to their new homes.

This week's milestone #2: Eye color changes from blue to gold or brown
This is also the week that the puppies eyes will make the transition from their baby blues to their adult color. Chestnut pups will have golden yellow eyes and the tri-color & white/black pups will have deep amber to brown colored eyes as adults.
 

Week 5

Day 41 - 02/08/10

In preparation for puppy selection starting tomorrow, I've posted more information in the puppy profiles, specifically reactions to the pheasant wing. Most of the pups readily followed it, however some pups only followed it as a new plaything, but the others you could see the natural instincts when they sniffed it or followed it slowly in a stalking manner.

I've just posted more miscellaneous photos from weeks 4 and 5 (view photos).
 

Day 38 - 02/05/10

The puppies are definitely at the age now that I lovingly refer to them as my "little monsters". They are fast and furious during play, they chew and tug on everything and now it actually hurts when they bite on you during play. Their teeth are sharp like little daggers and their jaws are strong so they can really inflict pain with their bite force.

I said that I would post personality profiles in order to help with puppy selection coming up in a few days, so I've posted them today and they are based on our observations during playtime.
 

Day 36 - 02/03/10

This morning was the first day that the pups had dry kibble (Science Diet Puppy small bites) mixed in with the canned food. From this day forward, I will add more and more dry kibble to the canned food until the mixture of canned food disappears altogether. This will happen fairly rapidly as the pups will be completely on solid food starting at six weeks of age and the entire last week they are here at Hickory Hollow.

During today's play session after lunch, the pups were very explorative and discovered that they love to hop into the laundry basket and lay on top of all the blankets. Both Hayden and Harley surprised me with their rough and tough growls when siblings started to pick on them. They weren't about to take anything from them. I will post more puppy personalities as we discover them.
 

Day 35 - 02/02/10

Here's how the pups measure up at 5 weeks.

I have stopped blending canned puppy food into milkshake form and am now just feeding puppies the canned food without adding any more water. The pups are eating it like crazy. I am feeding at a frequency of twice per day, but soon I will go to three times per day as they nurse less and less from HOPE.
 

This week's milestones: Puppy Socialization

Now that the pups are old enough to have visitors, they will have lots of opportunities for socialization with our big dogs, adults and children. We will also concentrate on acclimating them to noises of all varieties including rapping on pans, opening and closing of doors, blenders, country music on the radio, and whatever else we can think of to condition them for life after Hickory Hollow.
 

Week 4

Day 33 01/31/10

At this age we have a pretty good idea of how much ticking the pups will have as adults.
Hannah, heavy
Hawkeye, light/moderate
Harley, light
Hayden, moderate
Holly, light/moderate
Hunter, light

Miscellaneous photos of Week 4 now posted (view pics)

3rd Worming
 

Day 32 01/30/10

The pups had a BIG day of "firsts" today.  This morning they were fed their first solid food, other than momma's milk.  I feed canned Science Diet Puppy, mixed in a blender with warm water until smooth.  When pouring it from the blender, it reminds me of a thick milkshake. The pups aren't sure what to do with the new food at first, but they eventually dip their noses in it and get a taste. Hannah was the first to take a taste, then Hayden. Shortly after her, then Hunter and finally Harley. After that initial taste, then have to think about it for a minute, but then they say "Hmmm, that's good!" and they dig in for more, lapping it up like there's no tomorrow.  Hawkeye and Holly slept through most of this, but then Hunter went around and woke them up. It took some coaxing, but Hawkeye and Holly finally joined in. Hunter went around cleaning up his siblings faces, licking off all the food around their noses and mouth like he was their momma. It was so cute!

Shortly after breakfast, the pups were moved to their new diggs out in the Puppy Cottage. At first they slink around really low to the ground, unsure of what this new place is, but literally within 5 minutes, they are back to "normal", romping and playing with each other.

They had visitors today as well, so now begins their socialization. We spread out blankets on the floor to sit on and let all the puppies out of the playpen to let them explore, romp and play. It was quite a riot to see them explore their new surroundings for the first time. It is also very apparent that their personalities are starting to emerge. Here are some of our observations from this morning's play session.

Hunter is the "Wal-Mart" greeter. He has to make his rounds and say hello to everybody, wagging his tail 90 miles per hour the whole time. He showed off his spunkiness by bug running, zigging and zagging wherever he went. Hannah is quick to explore every knook and cranny of the place, not afraid of anything. At one point we had to coax her out of the corner from behind the hot water heater. Hawkeye is a sweet and gentle soul like his Father, Splash. He is really laid back and doesn't have to go anywhere really fast (yet), rather he takes his time. Harley was quite the hoot, growling and yapping when her hair was stroked backwards on her back. Hayden is a real sweetheart, she was very affectionate and wanted to snuggle in someone's lap. Holly is probably the most reserved of the females, but is also very sweet and cuddly.  
 

Day 31 01/29/10

The puppies are sleeping less and less and are interacting with each other during their awake times. Their playtime ranges anywhere from 10 - 20 minutes before they settle back down for a nap.

Puppy Portraits now posted
 

Day 28 01/26/10

The puppies are still steadily gaining weight. Here's how they weigh up at 4 weeks:

This week's milestone: Rough Play / Weaning Begins / Move to Puppy Cottage

We are no longer weighing puppies on a daily basis now, however I will still weigh them weekly.

Right now the pups are so sweet and gentle and when they come to see you they are snuggly and want to be held and get some attention. For the most part, they like to crawl into your lap and go to sleep. In a few days, this will all go away and they begin to become little monsters (lovingly referred to of course). They will bite everything they can get their little mouths on including fingers, toes and their favorites... shoelaces! As their little personalities emerge this week, we will be posting puppy personality profiles.
 

Week 3

Day 27 - 01/25/10

I am pleased to report that Hunter is doing very well. The swelling in his knee has gone down considerably and is almost completely gone. He is moving his leg almost normally whereas before he wouldn't bend it at the knee. He is still a little gimpy on it when he walks or plays, but he is improving rapidly and noticeably from day to day. He's definitely bearing weight on it now and we are very optimistic that he will be completely back to normal soon.
 

Day 25 - 01/23/10

This morning, after praying all night every time I stirred in my restless sleep, I am relieved to report that Hunter is doing remarkably better today. The swelling in his knee has gone down just enough to tell a difference, he's trying to put his foot down today whereas yesterday it was held up tightly to his side, and when holding him on his back, there is some tension in the leg and he's moving it whereas yesterday it just laid limp on his belly. Praise the Lord for quick healing in our precious little babe.

2nd worming
 

Day 24 - 01/22/10

During this morning's puppy observations, I noticed that poor Hunter was limping and not carrying weight on his back right leg. Upon closer evaluation, it was apparent that his knee was swollen. I immediately made an appointment with my vet and took him in.  The vet evaluated him, palpated his leg, checked for areas of pain, and took several x-rays, looking for fractures, joint dislocation, etc, but nothing showed up on the films. Although Hunter's temperature was normal, the vet said that he was concerned that a lymph node behind his knee was enlarged and was worried about infection. He said that sometimes a small trauma, such as momma stepping on a pup (jumping into the box), etc, can begin as a small fracture and then turn into an internal infection.  We've got him on antibiotics twice per day just in case. He was optimistic that this would all resolve itself within a few weeks, possibly sooner. We have no idea what may have caused this condition, but we will be keeping a close eye on little Hunter.

Three week portraits just posted! (view portraits)
 

Day 23 - 01/21/10

The pups' skin is very freckled now and is most apparent on their bellies, legs and face. That freckled skin has already begun growing colored hair which will come out more and more each week just like a Polaroid photo develops right before your eyes.

The pups are getting so big, it's unbelievable. They seem to have literally grown overnight. As the pups get larger and larger, we've come to notice that Hayden's tail is noticeably shorter than the rest of the pups. That 90 degree crook she had in her tail at birth has no doubt affected it's current length. I was hoping that all the massaging I've done over the past three weeks would've helped stimulate growth at a normal rate. I'm afraid her tail will definitely be shorter than normal as an adult.

Just posted Week 3 Miscellaneous Photos (view pics)
 

Day 22 - 01/20/10

The pups all have their plush puppy coats now and the hair on their ears is starting to curl giving them a wavy look.

After the pups have had their dinner, they are very active in the box, playing with each other and walking all about. We've also noticed that the most vocal of the pups are Hannah and Harley, by far! Those two were howling in chorus today and yipping up quite a storm. It seems they were unhappy with momma for leaving them when they were still hungry.  
 

Day 21 - 01/19/10

Here's how the pups weigh today at 3 weeks old.

This week's milestones: Play behavior

This is my absolute favorite time with the pups.  Their eyes and ears are open and they are becoming playful and inquisitive about their surroundings. This week the pups will really start playing with each other, play bowing, yipping, pouncing and chewing on each other. Their individual personalities begin to develop and they will begin to do some of their natural doggy behavior for the first time.
 

Week 2

Day 20 - 01/18/10

The pups are SO FUN at this age. They come to the edge of the box to greet you with wagging tails and sometimes even some kisses. They are fun to snuggle because they don't "play bite" yet and are content to lay in your arms.
 

Day 19 - 01/17/10

All the pups teeth broke through the upper gum line today. Now nursing will become much more uncomfortable for poor HOPE.
 

Day 18 - 01/16/10

1st worming

The pups are fairly easy to worm at this age, and most readily lap up the yellow liquid wormer, however a few of the pups hated the taste and would try to spit it back out and shake their heads as if it was bitter.

We also realized that the pups are starting to notice and react to sounds.  I could get all the pups to sit perfectly still and look at me if I did some kissing noises. Now is the time that we will slowly begin to introduce pups to different sounds so that they are conditioned to sudden noises.

2 week portraits were posted today! (view portraits)
Miscellaneous photos posted today (view pics)
 

Day 17 - 01/15/10

The pups are now cutting teeth. You can see their white little daggers (Piranha teeth) just below the upper gum and will be cutting through very soon. The upper teeth come in first, and then the lower jaw will follow in a couple days.

Now that the pups can see, they are beginning to interact more and more with their littermates. They lick each other's noses and are already starting to instigate play with each other. They are also using their voices during play and their little rolling growls are so funny. THEY'RE SO CUTE! I really love this time with the pups at this age.
 

Day 16 - 01/14/10

The pups eyesight is much improved now after opening over the last few days. This morning when HOPE came in from her morning potty break, she was standing and cleaning the pups. The other pups were sitting underneath her and searching upward for the milkbar.

Today was the last day for the Super Dog techniques.
 

Day 15 - 01/13/10

Eye opening update!

Here is today's current status (a.m.):

1) Hannah - almost open
3) Harley - OPEN!
4) Hayden - OPEN!
6) Holly - Left OPEN, Right 3/4
7) Hunter - 1/2 open

The pups are finding their voices and are becoming somewhat noisy now. They practice short yips to rolling growls and are testing all ranges in between. It's pretty funny to hear them making their new noises.
 

Day 14 - 01/12/10

We are still weighing the pups daily, however the pups are doing great and it's probably not necessary to weigh them so often. Here's how they measure up today.

It's interesting to compare HOPE's first litter of 6 with her mother Duchess' last litter of 6. Both Bob and I thought this litter was much larger at this age then Duchess, but in looking back at our historical data records, we noticed that these pups are very comparable in weight with just about the same average weight per pup. That's good!
 

This week's milestone: Cutting Teeth / Ears will open

Hawkeye's eyes are now open with the rest of the litter trailing behind a little, but they will be open soon. They will be able to see clearer and clearer each day, starting with shadows for the first few days until their eyes can focus on specific objects. This will be a fun week and we are looking forward to having the puppies notice us when we come into the room and come over to the edge of the box to greet us. This week's milestone, although notas noticeable as the eyes opening, but just as significant for the pups, are that their ear canals will be opening. Later this week the pups will be noticeably affected by the sounds around them.  

We will be waiting a few days to take 2 week portraits for a couple reasons. 1) Not all the pups have their eyes open yet, and 2) we don't want to blast them with photo flashes while their new little eyes are still sensitive to light. Look for portraits sometime this weekend. 
 

Week 1

Day 13- 01/11/10

Eye opening update!

Here is today's current status (a.m.):

1) Hannah - 1/2 open
2) Hawkeye - OPEN!
3) Harley - 1/2 open
4) Hayden - 1/2 open
6) Holly - 1/2 open
7) Hunter - 1/4 open
 

Day 12- 01/10/10

Eye opening update!

All the pups' eyes have now started to open, here is their current status (a.m.):

1) Hannah - 1/4 open
2) Hawkeye - 3/4 open
3) Harley - 1/3 open
4) Hayden - 1/3 open
6) Holly - 1/3 open
7) Hunter - 1/4 open
 

Day 11- 01/09/10

The pups are getting up off their bellies more and more and a few have begun taking their first steps already!  Holly was even standing to poop! For the first week, the puppies cannot urinate or defecate on their own and need momma to stimulate them to eliminate. The fact that Holly was standing to poop signifies another milestone in the puppies development that they no longer must rely on momma to help empty them out!

Hawkeye, Holly and Hunter's eyes have begin to open.
 

Day 10 - 01/08/10

The pups eyes are beginning to open now. During this morning's weigh session, we noticed the corners just starting for Harley and Hannah. The others will begin to open soon. Once the corners open, the lids will separate completely in two to three days.
 

Day 9 - 01/07/10

Today the pups tear ducts are beginning to work and the eyes are starting to moisten in preparation for opening in a couple days. The last couple days we've also noticed that the pups are already trying to get up and walk. It won't be long before they are up on all fours, taking a few steps and then tumbling over because they don't have good balance at first.

1 week portraits just posted (view portraits).
 

Day 8 - 01/06/10

This morning while applying the "Super Dog" techniques on each pup, I noticed that Hannah has a tan spot on the underneath side of her left ear!! You know what this means? She is a tri-belton, not just a blue belton! We are very excited about this development. When Hannah was born, I looked very closely for any signs of tri-color in the areas of the points, but being white, she had no pigmentation in those areas where tan coloring would be present. I knew we'd have to wait until the ticking started to develop for them to show up if they were going to and sure enough... she's tri-color!!

The Super Dog program gives me an excellent opportunity to look over each pup thoroughly. When I lay them on their backs, I look at their belly button to make sure the umbilical area is healing nicely. When I hold them in the "head over tail" position, I check their eyes and noses for abnormal discharge. When I put them in the "tail over head" position, I look at their little butts to make sure we don't have any bowl or diarrhea problems. When I tickle their feet, I check that their dew claw areas are healing nicely without any issues. This way the Super Dog techniques I am performing serve dual purposes and I like to be efficient! During this time I am also massaging Hayden's tail, trying to keep straightening out the tip that was bent over at birth.
 

Day 7 - 01/05/10

Pups are one week old already today and portraits will be posted soon. We are thankful to report that HOPE's appetite has finally kicked in! She's eating at least 2 cans of Science Diet Puppy per day along with 3 to 4 cups of Science Diet Puppy kibble. Her milk is flowing abundantly now too which is a relief, so I have discontinued use of the Oxytocin. Pups are getting plenty of milk and they all continue to gain roughly 2 to 4 ounces of weight daily.
 

This week's milestone: Eyes will open

During this week, the pups will reach an exciting milestone; their eyes will be opening probably close to the weekend and definitley before they turn 2 weeks old next Tuesday. Right now, their eyelids are fused together but there is a crease that defines the upper from the lower lid. As their eyes start to open the crease starts to deepen and separate starting at the corner of the eye by the tear ducts and working across the eye until they are completely separated. The opening process can take a couple days from the first peek of the glistening eyeball beneath to being able to entirely see those beautiful baby blues. Once their eyes are open, the precious little babes take on a whole new personality.
 

Birth Week

Day 6 - 01/04/10

WOW! It's hard to believe the pups will be 1 week old already tomorrow. It's amazing how fast time flies by.  Next week the pups eyes will be opening and then they will take on a whole new personality. We can hardly wait.

Grandma Duchess can hardly stand it. She wants to go in the nursery to be with the babies so badly.  I've let her sneak a peek a few times, but peek is not what she wants to do. Rather she charges by me and right into the box to tend to the puppies. The first time she did that, or tried to do that, HOPE intercepted her and cut off her path straight away. She silently stood her ground and wouldn't let her momma go any closer to her pups. Today, by accident, Duchess made it all the way into the box, started cleaning the pups and then laid down to nurse them. Silly girl (no milk).  HOPE stood over her and growled letting her know she was not happy with Grandma's interference. I promptly called Duch out of the nursery, but she was not happy about going.  The pack dynamic in our household is a very interesting thing to observe.  If Duchess had not been her momma, I'm sure HOPE would've had a much stronger opinion about the subject, however she is somewhat tolerant of her being so near her pups. Duchess is definitely alpha female, so we humans are completely messing with the "Code of Dogs" by letting HOPE (a subordinate female) have a litter.
 

Day 5 - 01/03/10

Literally overnight, the puppies freckles have magically appeared. I specifically looked at the pups noses and bellies yesterday to see if their ticking was starting to come in yet and nothing, but today it has appeared. From here on out, more and more freckles will appear and they will keep getting darker and darker each day until they reach their max. This will happen gradually over the next few weeks, but by the time the pups are 5 weeks old, we will be able to tell how darkly they will be ticked as an adult. These changes are fun to watch. These pups develop and change so quickly that if you blink, you will miss something.
 

Day 4 - 01/02/10

Today we started the Super Dog program (read about it). Most pups don't mind the weird positions they are put in at first, but then they start to struggle a bit, especially in the tail-over-head position. The studies done on these methods seem to indicate that there is significant performance improvements in dogs that have had stimulation such as this during the days of their critical neurological development. Who knows for sure if these exercises really work or not, but it can't hurt to do them anyway, and we do have clients who believe in them, right Rex?

Puppies are really growing like weeds. Here's how they measure up today at 4 days old.

HOPE is showing more interest in food today. She ate a good breakfast of canned Science Diet Puppy and scrambled eggs mixed in with her Science Diet Puppy kibble. Let's just hope she keeps it up!
 

Day 3 - 01/01/10

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Wow, it feels weird to type '10 as the year today.

As I type "Happy New Year" to everybody to greet 2010, I'm thinking to myself it could be much happier if Heaven were doing better, but as it stands, she is still going downhill. Yesterday the vet was cautiously optimistic about Heaven's prognosis and encouraged me to keep up with the tube feeding every three hours. She was fed at midnight, 3 am, 6 am and 9 am on the button, but the feeding at 9 am didn't go well because of her weakened condition. I would be surprised if she makes it through the day today.

On a positive note, we are very happy and excited about Litter H and need to start concentrating on the six beautiful healthy puppies that are thriving. Hawkeye is the largest boy and he's already topping out at 1 1/4 pounds!! The others are not far behind and are suckling well and gaining steadily by the hour. The smallest pup is Hayden (Chestnut female) topping out at 14 ounces this morning. They are so precious and I love holding and snuggling them under my chin. Their coats are velvety soft and the pups are healthy, strong and plump.

HOPE has been slow to get her milk in, so I am giving her Oxytocin injections (recommended by my vet) every 5 to 6 hours and that really seems to help. She doesn't have much of an appetite yet either, so I am feeding her basically whatever her heart desires just to get some food down her. Hot dogs and scrambled eggs seem to be the favorite right now, but it may change by tomorrow. The vet said yesterday that it is not uncommon for new mothers to refuse food for the first couple days.  We hope her appetite kicks in soon. I remember Duchess a couple days after whelping, we couldn't feed her enough food to satisfy her ravenous appetite.

--------------------

UPDATE 9:00 pm:  Heaven's in Heaven

Day 2 - 12/31/09

Today the pups have an appointment with the vet to have their dew claws removed and for him to take a look at Hayden's tail and evaluate our little Heaven.  Due to my superhuman efforts to save her precious life, she is maintaining her birth weight, but is not gaining and thriving like her littermates.  I've consulted all my puppy rearing manuals and most of them indicate the prognosis for a pup in this condition is not good, despite an overwhelming effort. So we are mentally preparing for the inevitable. Heaven can still use all your prayers and we have not given up hope that she will still turn around but are also trying to stay realistic.

The rest of the pups are doing great. They are all strong and healthy and have fat little bellies because they are nursing so well.  We are very thankful for that.

It was really late last night when I posted the birth week litter photos, so I've just added captions to them. Hover your mouse over the small photo thumbnail to read them. Click on the small photo thumbnail to view them larger to the right. ENJOY!
 

Day 1 - 12/30/09

Puppy Portraits were taken today. ENJOY!

HOPE is such a good momma, not leaving her pups for ANYTHING. I had to drag her, literally, out of the box to take her outside to potty. She keeps them very clean and sometimes lays curled up in a ball with her head and arms over them as if to surround them and protect them. Duchess, being the "alpha" female of the pack, is VERY excited about being a Gramma. She has what we call "happy feet" and she'll run to the nursery door and almost bounce up and down with excitement, and she stomps her feet in place really quickly; left, right, left, right, left, right.  But now it's HOPE's turn to deny access to the nursery to her own mother. I guess turn about is fair play!

We're still worried about little Heaven... she is not nursing very well on her own and did not gain weight over night. She's weaker than the other pups and sometimes still has some raspy/wheezy sounds when she breathes. I've been tube feeding her and giving her sub-q fluids to try and keep her fed and hydrated. We just pray that the name she was assigned (alphabetically from our name list based on birth order), did not foreshadow a strange twist of fate. Please keep Heaven in your prayers, that she will snap out of this and turn around. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to save this precious little life.
 

Day 0 - 12/29/09

We had a few scares during this whelping. The very first pup was stuck in the birth canal and took 15 minutes to be born, and only due to a little help from me. Each strong contraction would produce the nose of the pup, but then when the contraction ended, the pup would disappear back up the birth canal.  I finally had to get in there and help extract the pup using a little force. After a few quick prayers and a surge of adrenaline Hannah was gently pulled free of her momma. She had been stuck at the shoulders, but luckily she took a few big breaths right away and pinked right up.

HOPE, being a new momma, was not sure what to think about that squirming little white thing lying next to her, but I let her have her moment. She looked at the pup quizzically, and I knew she was thinking about it... after a couple minutes she started licking her baby and the pup crawled to her and started to suckle. I saw the momma instinct kick in. It was a precious moment indeed.

The next scare came between pup #3 and #4. The near 3 hour long wait was agonizing, wondering if the pups were still okay in there, although I could still see them kicking in momma's belly which was somewhat of a relief. Hayden was born without incident, but as I was cleaning her off, I noticed a 90 degree crook at the tip of her tail; a slight birth defect. I promptly straightened it out as best I could.  By this time, HOPE was much quicker to respond to the needs of her next few pups. 

Then, the almost 4 hour wait for #5 was even worse. HOPE was sure taking her sweet time, although she was not showing any signs of distress or any visible contractions. She actually rested peacefully for most of it, but I didn't dare leave her side. Thank goodness for Facebook and the internet on my laptop to help me pass the time. When Heaven finally arrived at 4:48 pm, my fears were met head on when she was very slow to revive. She didn't cry or take a big breath right away and was limp, but then I saw her blowing some bubbles and I kept working on her to clear her airway and get her to breathe. When she did breathe her breaths were very raspy and she still had fluid in her lungs which we couldn't get her to cough up. She did pink up so that took some of the worry away, but we kept working on her for at least a half hour trying to clear her airway and then getting her to nurse.

Pup #6 and #7 came quickly (thank goodness) and without incident.
 

They're finally here! These pups we've anticipated for almost two years now; since the day HOPE was born in Litter D (as "Dixie"), our little girl has finally had her own litter. HOPE has always been so intrigued by her momma Duchess' litters, but she was never allowed to go in the nursery and see them this young, so we were anxious to see how she would be as a momma of her own litter.

After an exciting, but long and drawn out day, Litter H has finally arrived. WHEW!