The two tribes have merged, says I in Survivor-ish jargon.  They (meaning the remaining Litter M and N pups) are all now snug as bugs in a rug out in the Puppy Cottage.  Since there are only three Litter M pups left (Maverick, Mowgli and Milo), I figured the Litter N pups wouldn't be so overwhelmed by the bigger pups because they have the majority. Now that both momma dogs are done nursing, the only issue was whether or not the larger pups would trounce on the smaller ones.  So far, so good.   

When I first considered combining the two litters, this morning I brought Maverick into the house from the cottage and put him in with Litter N,  he was a bit overwhelmed by the flood of attention from the smaller pups and looked a little forlorned, you know the look, big sad eyes and all.  Momma Benelli wasn't too keen on the issue though and growled and snapped at him for being there, so I realized that she needed to be removed from the situation immediately.  Once the overprotective momma figure was removed things went well.  That's when I decided to try a complete merge to the playpen in the puppy cottage..

I captured a video of the merge, and have posted to YouTube, video entitled "The Tribes Have Merged". ENJOY!  
 

Week 6 puppy portraits have been posted, ENJOY!  
 

Weaning is going well, the pups are now completely on solid food and I am done mixing the canned food in to entice them to eat. They all have fantastic appetites and love their kibble. I'm feeding Native 3 Puppy now because Litter M told me that it's preferrable over the Earthborn Puppy Vantage that I had been feeding.  If given the choice between their Earthborn and their momma's Native, they'd choose Native everytime.  So the next time I went to the farm store to buy dog food, I checked to see if Native had a puppy formula and they've just started to carry it instock.  Lucky for my babies because they really mow down on it.  It helps make weaning much easier.
 

It's PUPPY SELECTION TIME! I know there are several of you out there that are anxiously waiting to know which puppy will be coming home soon.  I have posted puppy Personality Profiles in order to help make that difficult decision easier.  Please send me your first and second choice puppies and why you've chosen them so we we can begin the selection process.  You are welcome to choose a pup based on my descriptions and the photos, or if you want more information you are welcome to call me to discuss.  

A new statistic has been added to the pups tables above for "Status", this will indicate Reserved, Available, or Pending for each pup.  Once a puppy has been selected, the status will change to reserved.  We do have some puppies still available out of this litter, so after the people who have reservation deposits have chosen their pups, the remaining ones will be marked available and sold on a first come first served basis. In the event someone wants an available pup and have committed to sending a reservation deposit, the status will show as Pending until the deposit is received.
 

Weaning is going very well, the pups have graduated from goat's milk and rice cereal mixed with canned food, to canned food mixed with soggy dry kibble.  They now whine to tell me when they're hungry and when set around the dinner pan, they all eat with gusto. Also, an interesting thing I noticed, while Benelli is standing to nurse, she will regurgitate her breakfast for the puppies to eat, just like a female canine in the wild would do. She has just started doing this over the past few days and I'm sure it's an instinctual part of the natural weaning process, however  I don't recall ever seeing HOPE do this with her pups.  Just shows what a good momma Benelli is.

The puppy playpen in the house has been working out well so far, I just hope it holds up for a few more weeks.  Litter M is starting to go home now, so once the Puppy Cottage clears out these little guys may be able to spend some time out there before they are ready to go to their new homes.
 

Hi All, Puppy Selection is rapidly approaching and so I wanted to start posting puppy Personality Profiles.  WOW is this a difficult task, and I say that because all the pups are all so great, it's difficult to pick out a few traits that set them apart at this point.  They are all very energetic and personable and want your attention when you come into the room. I really don't think you could go wrong with any of them. What it may boil down to is which puppy photo touches your heart the most.  
 

Just posted Week 4 puppy portraits and will be evaluating individual personalities soon in anticipation of puppy selection coming up next Wednesday!

Today when I was taking a closer look at all the pups to try and determine how much ticking they will have (ticking predictions now posted under pup stats), I noticed that Nelli's orange color is much lighter than the rest of the orange pups and the colored ticking on her belly are large spots, but are very faint in color.  I've been wondering about her for a while now, but today a realization hit me.  Could she really be a rare lemon belton?? Hmmm, something to ponder at least... only time will tell.  Oh how I love genetics, simply fascinating! 
 

The pups were rapidly outgrowing their 4x4 whelping box, so my Johnny love built the pups a 4x8 playpen, thus doubling the size of their living quarters.  Usually at this time the pups would go out to the puppy cottage to spend the rest of their time here at Hickory Hollow, however Litter M has taken up residence in the cottage and those pups are two weeks older.  That is too big of a difference in development to merge the two litters at this point.  Those pups are getting reallly big, are very energetic, strong and play rough, they would tromp on these little guys and that wouldn't be a good mix. Therefore they will reside in the house in this temparary structure.  

To prep the room, first we laid down plastic tarps on the floor, then a rubber truckbed mat went on top of that.  Then the plywood playpen walls were built on the rubber flooring, then the pups were bedded down with pine shavings, just like Litter M has out in the Puppy Cottage.  I took a video of the pups when they were first put into their new playpen and posted to YouTube.  Watch now! ENJOY :0)~  
 

I've got LOTS of fun upates for you all today and hope you realize I've been super busy working very hard to entertain you guys, LOL!!

First thing this morning when I went in to visit the pups, they were milling around the box with excitement to see me and were pretty animated, so I caught the LIVE ACTION on video and uploaded to YouTube.  It's pretty fun to see how well the pups are getting around the box these days and hear their little voices when they bark and cry out.

When I took the pups out of the box this morning so that I could clean it and replace the carpet floor, I noticed a few of them licking their momma's food dish, so I thought I would try an introduction to cereal today. If they are ready, why wait?  So, I mixed some warm goat's milk with Gerber Baby Rice Cereal and let them go to town.  They really got the hang of it quicky for being so young. I recorded the entire First Cereal Experience on video which I have also uploaded to YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

I also published Week 3 Puppy Portraits, miscellaneous litter photos from Week 1 and Week 2 as well as some more LIVE Puppy Cam snapshots.  ENJOY :0)~  
 

I uploaded a new video entitled Milkbar Mania to YouTube this afternoon.  I went in to visit the litter and I couldn't resist this camera angle for an up-close-and-personal nursing video of Litter N.  The pups are getting so big!  
 

I've got some pretty fun color updates for the pups today.  Now is the time when the third color (if any) on tri-colored dogs starts to show up in certain predictable areas on their bodies (called points).  These areas are brows, cheeks, underneath side of the ears around the edge of the flap,  base of tail, and on all legs. SO... during weigh-in today, I noticed tan ticking on a few of the pups legs, and also noticed that Newt's spots are much lighter than the other confirmed chestnut pups, so I am now updating these coat colors as follows:  

I think these color predictions are going to stick this time!
 

During weigh-in today, I checked the pups over pretty thoroughly and noticed their ear canals are not open yet, but are deepening nicely so it won't be long before they are affected by noises around them.  I also noticed that their baby teeth can now be seen below the gumline and look like little pirahna teeth which will be cutting through very soon.

Pups had their first worming today.  
 

Pups had their first nail trim today, their little claws were like little hooked needles and were catching on the carpet. Most times the pups don't resist that task at this age and tolerate it without difficulty, it's when they are older that they don't want to sit still for grooming.  
 

Puppies are now taking steps regularly and are still wobbly when walking, but at least are getting those bellies up off the floor a bit. Benelli is still a very protective mom, but doesn't seem as nervous when puppies whimper as she was in the beginning.   
 

Here's today's eye opening update:

Puppies are now finding their voices and are starting to bark and growl. It's too funny hearing a little puppy utter a rolling growl when you are petting it.  Also pups are starting to get up off their bellies and take their first steps instead of scooting across the floor on their bellies.  
 

This morning when I was doing the daily weigh-in on each pup, I noticed that the eyes are starting to open!! Here's how they are shaping up from the start:

Also, I am officially changing the coat color for Newt again from orange belton to chestnut belton.  The spot around his eye is coming in darker than the orange coloration on other pups, so I now believe he's chestnut.  Time will tell and I may end up making more color change obervations in other pups as well.
 

Just posted miscellaneous litter photos during birth week.  Check them out here. 
 

More color pUpdates!  I am officially changing the body marking maps for Nipsy and Nikko to Chestnut Belton and Nash to Blue Belton.  Of course these are my early best guesses and may be updated again later, but this is how I think things are shaping up.

Week 1 Puppy Portraits are now posted!  Just see how those little pink noses have changed and now have spots! 
 

Oh pups are doing so great!! They are all plump little piggies and are getting around the box so much faster now.  Boy can they zero in on momma's location even though they are still blind.

Upon further scrutiny of pups colors, I am officially changing the body marking maps for Nelli, Newt, Nugget AND Nitro.  I have confirmed that Nitro is a tri-belton!!  The other pups are still TBD, there is not enough coloration yet to tell anything.
 

Oh my!! Spots are starting to come in now, it shouldn't be too awful long until we can tell what color ticking the pups will develop.  I'm already thinking a few of the pups at least can be labeled as Orange Beltons, namely Nelli, Newt and Nugget, but don't hold me to that.  I will update the marking diagrams as I know more.
 

I have a wonderful report this morning! All pups are doing great at this morning's weigh-in, everyone gained a good amount of weight and all seem plump and healthy in my hand.  I am thankful for that after yesterday's weigh-in.

The area where the dew claws were removed does not show any inflammation and has scabbed over nicely.  This is one of my biggest worries for the pups being so young since the removal of a toe is a significant "injury".  Everyone is doing very well in that regard too.  
 

This morning I'm a little concerned to see that a few pups have lost weight since the last weigh-in.  Benelli spends all her time with them, but appears a few are not getting enough time at the milkbar.
 

Luckily, I stocked goat's milk in the fridge a little while back, so I prepared a baby bottle full of warm milk so I could bottle feed.  I use human baby bottles for the pups, namely Playtex VentAire with a Stage 1 nipple (small hole). Stage 1 is perfect and they can really suckle hard and get a good amount of milk without choking. I also like that the bottle is angled to help keep milk toward the nipple. When they get a little larger, I can switch to a Stage 2 nipple which will allow a little more milk flow.
 

Speaking of underweight... Pregnancy has taken it's toll on poor little Benelli too.  She was not eating well for about the last couple weeks of her pregnancy and lost some weight herself.  Luckily she has her appetite back now so I am feeding her about every four hours or so.  She's getting canned food (Taste of the Wild - High Prairie and Wetlands) mixed with Native 4 to give her extra calories for herself and to help feed her litter.  She LOVES it!!  She's getting so spoiled she's not going to want to go back on her regular diet once she's done nursing.

Dew claws were removed today.
 

Benelli is starting to get the hang of being a first time mom although she is a little nervous and ultra-protective of her babies. When I took one away this morning long enough for the daily weigh-in, she wanted the pup back immediately, almost to the point of trying to physically take it away from me with her mouth.  She is also very whiney and somewhat frantic when the pups are crying, like she doesn't know what to do with them to calm them down.  There was one "lost" pup this morning, who was crying because he found himself out in the corner by himself and she tried to pick him up in her mouth to bring him back closer to her.  HOPE never mouthed a pup ever, so this is different for me to witness.  HOPE will roll the pup around and push it across the box with her nose to get it where she wants it.  I'm sure confidence in caring for her litter will come with time, but right now she's a "Nervous Nelli".  I have to reassure her a lot that she's doing good and help her calm her pups by placing them with her when they are "lost".  

All pups are doing great at this morning's weigh-in, everyone gained a good amount of weight and all seem plump and healthy in my hand.  I am thankful for that.
 

BEHIND THE SCENES:  Supervising the Photo Shoot.
While trying to take Litter N's first puppy portraits this afternoon, the uber-protective momma Benelli had to wedge herself between me and her pup, and for almost every shot I had to hold her back, otherwise her nose would've been in every single photo.
 

Benelli woke me up at 4:00 am with the urgency to go outside (which is normal at this stage in her pregnancy with whelping so near).  When she came back in she was resting comfortably and didn't seem to be in any more distress for a while.  I have not seen any labor contractions as of yet...

Update 11:30 am:  Benelli is done resting comfortably, she is now pacing rapidly, whining, and is a little shaky. I'm hoping this means that labor contractions will begin soon.  

Pups are coming!!