Week 8

Day 58 03/20/11

Irina got to meet her new daddy today. He stopped to pick her up on his way North from Texas and while he was here he decided Irina needed to stay with her brother IZOD, so he got to go too! They will stay together as brother and sister in the same family and will live in Texas until their family retires in a few years and moves to Northern Wisconsin.  
 

Day 57 03/19/11

Today was a beautiful day outside, so Irina, IZOD, Benelli (fka Indee) and I had a new adventure. I opened the Puppy Cottage door to a whole new world for the pups. The first obstacle was the steps. Irina was quick to figure out how to go down one, but IZOD took a little longer as he seemed to be more timid and unsure.  After about 3 minutes or so, he couldn't stand it, so he finally took the plunge and went down the one step from the Puppy Cottage doorstep to the cement patio.  Benelli has made several trips in and out of the cottage, so she's now to the point where she takes a flying leap off any step and launches herself into the air. She'd be a great dock jumping dog for sure. :0)~

We played with the wing in the yard until the wing was finally caught and pulled free of the tether so then the pups, one with the wing in his/her mouth, ran circles around the firepit (which is round anyway), so they just ran in loops. It was kinda like watching NASCAR Puppy, to see who would run the fastest and reach the finish line first!  When the sun went behind the clouds it turned colder and was time to go back inside.  I put the pups in the kennel run while I cleaned out the playpen. The next obstacle was getting back into the cottage through the puppy door from the dog run. Again, Benelli figured it out first (this she had not done before, so I was very proud of her as any momma would be), but Irina was close behind.  Poor IZOD was left outside alone, so he finally perservered and came through the door all on his own.  It was a fun afternoon.
 

Week 7

Day 55 03/17/11

Isabelle's new name ended up becoming Molly. As expected, she quickly recovered from her flight to Tennessee and was soon back to her lively puppy self.  Ivan and Ike left today, Ike will keep his name, but Ivan is now called Boomer.

The LIVE puppy cam is no longer broadcasting "Litter I", it has now been redirected to "Litter J" so folks can watch Daisy's pups from day one. :0)~
 

Day 54 03/16/11

As I write this, little Isabelle will be landing in Chattanooga Tennessee momentarily and will be meeting her new family from Georgia very soon. She was such a brave little girl at the airport this morning and was sent off in her sky kennel without so much as a whimper. What a sweet little darling. She had a bath this morning and so she smells of fresh sweet Jasmine (puppy shampoo), so I hope she still smells like Jasmine when she lands and not some other puppy aroma (puppy shampoo). :0)~  As it currently stands, her new name will either be, Adell, Pearl or Belle... news to follow on this.

Litter I is now down to 5 pups, only half of the count from this time last week. Pups remaining are Ike, Ivan, IZOD, Irina and of course my little Indee (aka Benelli). Ike and Ivan are leaving tomorrow and then we'll be down to three.
 

Day 51 03/13/11

I heard from Izzy's new family today, her new name is Jess. She loves playing outside and then coming in to crash on her new bed. She also had the opportunity to play with the wing, searched the yard for it until she found it and then carried it around proudly. Sounds like she's doing great!  

IZOD is now officially available for adoption, the tentative hold on his reservation has been lifted and so if you've been watching and waiting, please contact me asap. I'm sure he won't last long, he's really sweet and cuddly, not to mention a good looking pup. :0)~
 

Day 50 03/12/11

The puppy playpen looks so empty with only 6 pups, today three more pups left the nest.  Iris was the first to go, her new name will probably be Squirt and she is going to live in Colorado and will have the opportunity to hunt a lot.  Izzy was the next to leave and she will be staying here in Iowa and will be a guide dog someday at Faeth's Fowl Play bird preserve in Fort Madison.  The last to go today was Irving, he will also be living in Illinois. Izzy and Irving's new names are unknown at this point, but we will probably be getting updates on these pups, so we'll let you know!   
 

Day 49 03/11/11

Ivy was the first to fly the coop! She's going to live in Illinois and her new name will be Maggie Mae. She will have the opportunity to hunt quite a bit each season.  
 

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 45 03/07/11

Wow, I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I finally got some of the videos from this litter posted. Check them out for a good laugh!
 

Day 43 03/05/11

The pups are getting to be pudgey little piggies! Wow! They have great appetites and are eating very well.  This is the week that they will not get any extra milk so that Momma HOPE can start drying up.

The puppies had their 4th and final worming today.

Here's how the puppies weigh up at 6 weeks:

All of the Week 5 miscellaneous photos have just been posted.

Pups were microchipped today.

This week's milestone: Eye color changes from blue to brown.

This week, the puppies eyes will transition from their current baby blues to their final adult color, brown.
 

Week 5

Day 39 - 03/01/11

The pups are now off the canned Science Diet and eating strictly dry kibble, but I do mix it with hot water and let it soften for a little bit before feeding them. I am doing this for two reasons: 1) because the canned food was causing mushy poops and the dry kibble should help to solidify their messes and 2) due to the fact that the pups eat so fast that I'm afraid they may eat too much and then when they drink water the kibble will expand in their stomachs causing a belly ache or worse. I don't need them busting a gut because they are being little piggies!
 

Day 37 - 02/27/11

I have just posted more week 4 miscellaneous photos as well as the 5 week puppy portraits. ENJOY! :0)~

Puppy selection is complete!!  WHEW!! What a whirlwind!

Today I am starting to withdraw momma HOPE from the litter more and more, so to offset the fact they are getting less milk, I added a third meal to the day. Now they are being fed morning, noon and evening.  Hopefully this will keep the pups from literally inhaling their dinner each time.  I did notice at noontime today, the pups didn't finish the entire meal.  
 

Day 36 - 02/26/11

Now is the time that the pupies are becoming little terrors, and I lovingly refer to them as "my little monsters". During playtime they get into everything and are literally all over the room, in and behind stuff.

I realized that the puppies are getting so big now that today I had to use two of my flying saucer food pans putting five pups around each because one pan is just not big enough for all ten to get a seat at the table around it anymore!

The puppies are being noise conditioned now too. They are listening to country music on the radio, and I have been banging on the walls and tapping on the side of the metal pan with a metal utensil to make a higher pitched clanging noise. The pups are not phased one bit, they simply go about their business as if they are deaf to their surroundings (none of the pups are really deaf by the way).
 

Day 35 - 02/25/11

Well folks, the time has finally arrived for Puppy Selection Week!  The pups have some out of state visitors coming today to pick their pup in person. It's too bad that everybody can't do the same.  The pups are just so much fun to interact with, especially TEN of them, playtime is definitely chaotic with them all running in different directions and doing different things.  For instance, I was taking notes during tonight's playtime and this is what was going on...

Irina was tugging on my shirt sleeve, Ivan and Ike were untying and tugging on my shoelaces, Irving was tucked in behind me between me and the wall crashed, and I mean LIGHTS OUT! Isabelle managed to get into the laundry basket and couldn't get out, so she was peering over the edge playing peek-a-boo.  Indee was tousselling with Iris, who was growling fiercely like a BIG dog, Ivy was checking out what might be behind the water heater,  Izzy and IZOD were desperately trying to lick the last bits of food out of the dinner bowl.  :0)

During this time I was able to make some notes about puppy personality. Check out the Personality Profiles now.

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

This week's milestones: Puppy Socialization / Puppy Selection Week - Pups 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 a couple weeks will get to go to their new homes.

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 34 - 02/24/11

The puppies are starting to get completely rambunctious and chaotic during playtime. Tonight I put the wing in front of the puppies and EVERY one of them was interested in it.  The first pup to get birdy was Ike, he followed it with nose to the ground and didn't get distracted from it.  The most birdy pup was definitely Ivan. I almost coaxed a point out of him, but he got really rigid, he was very intent and his tail was wagging 100 miles per hour.  The most birdy of the females was Irina. She was very intent on following the wing and wanted to pick it up and carry it around. Other birdy females were Iris and Ivy.  

I am planning to post personality profiles soon. Stay tuned!
 

Day 32 - 02/22/11

Weaning is going very well and very quickly.  Yesterday was the last day for the goat's milk / rice cereal mixture. They had two meals of that yesterday with the 2nd one being supplemented with a can of Science Diet Puppy mixed in.

Today's breakfast was strictly canned Science Diet mixed with hot water to make it softer and not so sticky.  The puppies gulped it up like they hadn't had a meal in a week! They LOVED it!   Next I will gradually start mixing in dry kibble so they will have to get used to chewing and not just licking and swallowing. :0)~
 

Day 30 - 02/20/11

Today was another great day at Hickory Hollow. The pups are rapidly getting used to the Puppy Cottage and are exploring their new surroundings more and more during each play session.  I have begun to start taking notes and observing each pup's personality traits so that I can post personality profiles later in the week. The pups had two meals of goat's milk and Gerber's Baby Rice Cereal today, but the first meal disappeared way too fast, so for the second meal later in the day, I added a can of Science Diet Puppy into the mix. They gobbled that right up without any problems. Weaning this litter is getting off to a great start!

A frequent viewer sent me an interesting note the other day, she mentioned that she thinks Ike should retain his "I" name.  I don't know if any of you noticed this, but take a look at the first photo from Week 4. Ike is the pup located at the 6:00 position around the feeding pan, notice the black patches on his back. He has a small letter "i" on his butt. The lower part of the "i" extends down his tail and the spot on his back dots the "i".  HOW COOL!!  Thanks for the tip Jessica!!

As promised to another frequent viewer and Litter I deposit holder, I have posted the predicted amount of ticking the pups will have as adults.  Check out the pup status above for that information.
 

Day 29 - 02/19/11

The puppies had a HUGE day today! First thing this morning they were moved to The Puppy Cottage and into the puppy playpen where they will spend their remaining three weeks here at Hickory Hollow.  At first they were very cautious about their new surroundings, but some pups loved it and immediately started exploring, going from corner to corner checking it all out, noses to the ground. Noticeably those puppies were Irving, Iris, Isabelle and Indee. Ike was the first to find the automatic water bowl and take a drink, not just an "oopsie" dip of his nose into the water, but he actually drank and lapped it up for quite a while.

Today was also their first cereal meal.  I warmed some goat's milk and mixed it with Gerber's Baby Rice Cereal and all the pups immediately went for it. The bowl of food I prepared literally disappeared within minutes, so I fixed them a second bowl. This time the puppies got their fill and some even walked away from the bowl before the cereal was all gone.  Momma HOPE was more than happy to help me do the dishes!

As part of our weekly routine, all the pups had their 4 week portraits taken and were also wormed. This was their third worming in our worming regimen.  The next and final worming will be due at 6 weeks.

Lastly, the pups had visitors today, all the way from Mankato Minnesota! Our special visitors are anticipating a puppy from Litter J (Daisy/Splash, due in March 2011), but wanted to come help us socialize our current litter. It was really fun to meet them!  The pups had just finished their first cereal meal when they arrived, so they were very active, not to mention covered in cereal.  I got out a warm washcloth and cleaned up their faces to make them presentable for their company. They explored and played for quite a while, many pups visited us while we sat on the floor and crawled into our laps for attention. After about 15 minutes they all curled up and fell asleep.  I captured some beautiful photographs of todays visit, which I have posted under misc photos from week 4.
 

Day 28 - 02/18/11

The puppies are 4 weeks old already! I can hardly  believe how fast the time goes.  Here's how the puppies measure up this week.

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 in preparation for Puppy Selection Week starting next weekend!
 

Week 3

Day 27 - 02/17/11

It's been a crazy week! I hope you have all enjoyed the 9:15 bottle feedings on the LIVE Puppy Cam. I must apologize for starting a little late sometimes. I will be starting the puppies on weaning cereal very soon and they wil be moving from the house out to the Puppy Cottage where they will have more room to run and play with each other. As you can tell, they are just about busting out the seams of the whelping box.  Several of the pups have learned to "walk the beam" meaning they get up on the pig rails and walk around the edge of the box, it's too funny. They will become more and more funny as they try new things and fumble at first. It will surely be a fun few weeks left here at Hickory Hollow.
 

Day 23 - 02/13/11

The pups had their second worming today. Like before the pups don't mind the medicine and rather seem to like it. It's funny though that I administer the medicine from a syringe (without the needle) and at first they try to suckle it like the baby bottle.  Once they figure out that doesn't work, they are content with me squirting it little by little into the corner of their mouth. Also today I tried a little weaning cereal to see if they are ready to lap it up out of a bowl. The sooner they can do that the better for momma HOPE, but unfortunately it's too soon so we will have to continue bottle feeding goat's milk for a few more days.

The pups had visitors this weekend too!  Papa Tuck's family came to see the pups yesterday to try and decide which two pups they want to join their family. It's a definite YES for IZOD, because he's such a good looking boy, not to mention he has his daddy's tear drop marking on the head. The other pup is still undecided at this point...  Today the pups were visited by my two nieces who absolutely adore snuggling and cuddling puppies. They even took a turn at bottle feeding the little babes.  It was a great weekend at Hickory Hollow!
 

Day 22 - 02/12/11

Oh, the pups were so precious today (not that they aren't all the time) but I had the most wonderful bonding experience.  As you know I've been supplementing mom's feedings with bottles of goat's milk so now when they see me coming with a bottle they are just as enthusiastic as if momma HOPE were in the box letting them nurse.  They get like busy little bees, all stirred up in the box.  I took the half door out (which I had to put in about a week ago), and they all piled out of the box and onto my lap and were trying to climb my arm to get to the bottle. Of course I can only feed one pup a a time, but they are all trying to steal the nipple from the one nursing pup. It's hilarious.  Then one by one after they had all had their fair share of goat's milk, they all stayed on my lap and began to drop like flies... seemingly in a drunken milk stupor, their little eyes slowly glazed over and began to shut and they fell fast asleep. I love snuggling puppies.
 

Day 21 - 02/11/11

Here's how the pups measure up at 3 weeks of age:

I just posted 25 miscellaneous litter photos from week 2 and the Pup Portraits for Week 3.  So sorry about the delays in updating the blog and photos lately, my first priority needs to be to those precious pups and making sure they are healthy and growing strong. Thanks for your understanding...
 

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 - 02/10/11

I got up a few times in the middle of the night last night to make sure my little babes were getting the private nursings they needed in order to gain a healthy weight, however I'm still worried about a couple more of the pups.

The ones I was doting on yesterday are doing good today, but a couple others are now falling behind.  With the help of a little NutriDrops and some Pedialyte the one I was most worried about has made a turn around this afternoon which I am very relieved about. I stayed home from work today to keep an eye on the little buggers and bottle feed because they mean too much to me not to monitor them both day and night. Luckily, very soon they will be old enough to start eating weaning cereal which will also help to take the pressure off of momma HOPE.
 

Day 19 - 02/09/11

Today I've been a little worried, HOPE doesn't seem to have enough milk to feed the puppies despite the fact that she's eating about 12 cups of food per day.  A few of the pups are not gaining weight from the previous day's recorded weight or are not gaining an acceptable amount.  I have begun bottle feeding goat's milk to those pups at least twice per day as well as giving them private nursing sessions with momma. I also started adding cottage cheese and a calcium tablet to HOPE's meals and she seems to like that.

The pups are starting to exhibit play behavior. Now that they can see each other and are starting to hear better, they are engaging in more interaction with each other and with me.  They are so darling...
 

Day 18 - 02/08/11

Today all the puppies teeth cut through the gums.  If you look at their little mouths their teeth look like little triangular shaped piranha teeth and they are VERY SHARP, poor HOPE.
 

Day 17 - 02/07/11

Last night was such a fun time with the puppies. When they saw me come into the room they came to the edge of the box to greet me for the first time. Some even tried to get out of the box and almost succeeded.  I just wanted to scoop them all up into my arms and give them big hugs and get puppy kisses, so I did! At one point I had three puppies all licking my neck and snuggling with me at the same time. I LOVED IT!! They are so precious right now.  

After the social session, I got out a new bottle of goat's milk and fed several of the puppies right in the box so that folks who were watching the LIVE Puppy Cam could also enjoy the activity.  The pups nursed on the bottle vigorously and filled their little bellies full of warm milk very quickly.  I will probably be doing the same thing again tonight, sometime between 9 and 9:30 pm.
 

Day 16 - 02/06/11

Recently I've been starting to notice that some of the smaller pups are not gaining as much weight as the larger pups, so today I began bottle feeding four of the little females because I have a feeling their big brothers are either pushing them out of the way in a mad rush for the milk bar or are nudging them off of a faucet.  Anyway, today Indee, Iris, Isabelle and Ivy had only gained 0.5 to 1 ounce since yesterday's weighing and so this morning they got a special meal of goat's milk.

At first the pups weren't sure how to react to that unfamiliar hard rubber nipple in their mouths so they would try to turn their heads sideways to get it out, so I conjured up a way to help them figure it out... I pulled momma HOPE aside for a private feeding for these four girls out in the middle of the nursery floor. After they all had established a pretty good suckle, one by one I pulled them off momma's natural and organic milk bar for a little extra from the baby bottle. When you pull a puppy off a faucet, their natural reaction is to scramble and try to find another one, so I saw that as the perfect opportunity to shove the rubber alternative into their mouths.  All four pups immediately figured it out and started sucking on the baby bottle nipple with great gusto.  They were so cute when they figured out that there was milk in the bottle, it was like, "hey, this faucet isn't dry afterall! Gimme more, gimme more!!". Their bodies would get all stiff, they'd arch their backs and they would put both front paws up on the nipple and suck for all they were worth.  I actually had to monitor the amount they were getting because the baby bottle flows so much more rapidly than momma's faucet and I didn't want the pups to get bloated. Those little girls nursed so hard and created so many air bubbles in the bottle that I had to burp them all afterwards and every one let out a big huge gurgle!! What a morning!
 

Day 15 - 02/05/11

This morning I noticed while I was weighing puppies that Irving is showing some tan ticking on his front legs!! I haven't seen any of the tan ticking on the noses yet, but it will be coming soon!!

The pups also got their first worming today.  We use an active ingredient of Pyrantel Pamoate which eradicates round worms and hook worms in puppies. The medicine has a pleasant taste and most pups don't mind it and will readily lap it up from the eye dropper I use to measure and administer the correct dosage.

Irving, Isabelle and Izzy's eyes are completely open today.

I added more Week 1 miscellaneous litter photos today and Week 2 puppy portraits are also now online. Puppies were very sleepy when I was taking photos so it was hard for me to get them to sit up and open their eyes. All they wanted to do was lay down and go back to sleep, LOL!! 
 

Day 14 - 02/04/11

Today's eye opening update:

Pups are still steadily gaining weight with an average gain of any where from 1.5 to 3 ounces per day.  I take their weight measurements every morning about the same time so I can get an accurage daily gain.  

Here's how the pups measure up at 2 weeks of age:

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

Now that the puppies eyes are open, they will begin to see clearer and clearer each day. Supposedly they can only see shadows for the first few days, but pretty soon they will begin to notice me as I come into the nursery and will wander to the edge of the box for some love and attention.  

Just as significant as the eyes opening, the ear canals will deepen this week until they will become completely open and allow the pups to hear crisp noises and not just muffled sounds. Later this week, the pups will be noticeably affected by all the new sounds around them, so we must be very careful for the first few days to introduce them to noises gently and not harshly.
 

Week 1

Day 13 - 02/03/11

Another eye opening update...Not long to go now until all pups have their eyes fully open.

Day 12 - 02/02/11

Things are progressing now with the eyes opening,  some pups faster than others, but here's today's status:

Some of the pups are walking pretty good now, the one that is the most outstanding in this area is Irving; he practices a lot!  The next one that gets up quite frequently is little Ivy.  The pups are more active now than last week and as their eyes and ears open their activity level will continue to increase.
 

Day 11 - 02/01/11

Ok, as promised here is today's eye opening update!

More miscellaneous photos have been posted today for your viewing enjoyment!
 

Day 10 - 01/31/11

Today during Super Dog exercises I noticed some of the pups eyes are already opening! I will take note or each pup's progress tomorrow during weighing so that I can report it in the blog.

For those of you who have been watching the LIVE Puppy Cam, you will know that some of the pups are already walking!!

Day 8 - 01/29/11  

1 week pup portraits have now been posted. ENJOY!  :0)
 

Day 7 - 01/28/11

Pups are now one week old and growing like crazy. Here is a pup weight update as of today:  

At this point, pups are steadily gaining anywhere from 1 to 2.5 ounces in weight per day.

This week's developmental milestone:  Eyes will open!

I think the most exciting developmental change happens for the pups this week, their eyes will be opening about mid-week. Once they do, the pups take on a whole new appearance and personalities start to emerge.  The process starts when the crease between their eyelids starts to deepen until they separate, first at the middle corner of the eye and then working across to the outside edges.  The opening process can take a couple days from the first peak of the glistening eye beneath until we are able to entirely see those beautiful baby blues.

Birth week

Day 5 - 01/26/11

I am amazed that today I am seeing a few of the pups, namely Izzy and Ike very close to taking steps with their bellies off the floor. These pups will be walking very soon.

Day 4 - 01/25/11

The spots on the pups' skin are now showing up, just like a Polaroid photo, they seemingly have come out of nowhere and have "developed" overnight.  The color is appearing in their noses, right now most pups have spots of both pink and black, but eventually the black pigment will completely fill in all over the nose. It's interesting that Ivan's skin is almost black underneath his white puppy coat, so he will be a very dark dog as an adult, maybe almost greyish in color. The rest of the pups are as noticeably pigmented, but time will tell! By the time they are five weeks old we will be able to accurately predict how much ticking each pup will have as an adult.

Day 3 - 01/24/11

Today we started the Super Dog program with our puppies. If you don't know what this is, you can read more about it here:  Super Dog Program

We certainly believe that these methods of helping to stimulate the growth of the puppy's nervous systems do work, otherwise we wouldn't do them. Most pups don't mind being put in the weird positions, but some are uncomfortable with it and complain a little.  We only hold them in these positions for 5 seconds at most so it's over and done with very quickly.

I have some more fun news!!  Today during the daily weighings and Super Dog Program activities I noticed what I had hoped to eventually see... Indee is indeed a Tri-Belton!! The underneath side of her earflap with the black edge has a brown spot!! YEAH! I'm thinking she may be lead contender for female pick of the litter!

Day 2 - 01/23/11

This morning the pups had their dew claws removed.  All puppies did well and are back in their box resting comfortably and/or nursing.  I just can't say enough about what a good momma HOPE is, she is concerned about each and every one of her puppies and knows when one is missing from the box.

It is simply amazing to me how strong these little wigglers are at only 2 days old. When holding one they can quickly get out of your grip before you know it, especially because you're not expecting that tiny little creature to have so much strength and energy. I always use extra precaution when handling them at this age and to make sure I've got a good grasp on them before getting them too far up off the floor.

Day 1 - 01/22/11

The umbilical cords have dried and shriveled up and are now falling off.  All the pups gained a nice amount of weight during their first day on earth but I will continue to monitor their daily weight gain for the next three weeks.  With 10 pups and 8 faucets at the milk bar, it's imperative that all pups continue to gain steadily or they will need supplemental feedings.  I have some fresh goat's milk on hand for just such occasions.  

Pups are pushing with their back legs and are scooting across the floor of the whelping box on their tummies. Some can move quite quickly and they all get around pretty well.   They have loud little voices (more like squeals) and aren't shy to use them when they get "lost" in the box away from momma and their littermates.  They instinctively call out for help and are happy again once they can feel they are close to another warm body.

During today's weighings I noticed that Irving is really a Tri-color pup, which was hard to tell yesterday, but today I can tell that on his black eye patch, he has a tan spot above that eye!!  I flipped over his little ear flap and looked on the underneath side for some extra confirmation and saw the tell-tale tan hairs there too! Awesome! I'm hoping that Indee turns out to be a Tri-Belton, but we'll have to wait and see if any tan ticking comes in.

Also, I renamed a couple pups, the names I had given them weren't sitting well... I tried them out for a day, and then I changed them!! LOL! I had such a hard time with names for this litter, even though so many of you sent us "I" name suggestions (thank you by the way).  I wanted to name the boys, IZOD, iPod, Ichabod and Ititarod, but thought that would be too many "od" names. I ended up eliminating iPod which I really REALLY liked because it was too close to IZOD! I renamed Iggy to Ike because Iggy was too close to Izzy. I really want the names to be unique in their own right, just like each puppy is unique.

All TEN puppies are healthy and doing great! All the pups were relatively the same size and weight when they were born, so the range is pretty tight.  

Newborns are so tiny and delicate. At this stage all they do is eat and sleep and are never completely still. They tend to twitch, jerk and stretch even while sleeping. They also have instinctive reflexes to crawl, seek warmth and nurse.