Saturday, July 6th, 2019 (Week 8, Day 60)

At 1:30 this morning we packed up Wilson and headed toward the Des Moines airport again in our second attempt to get the pup on a flight to Dallas Texas to his new dad Keith and a new life. His flight was scheduled for 6:00 am and we were told the ticket counter opened at 4:30 so we needed to be there on time. The 2 hour trip went smoothly and Wilson was a great traveler with only a few small instances of discontent. For the most part he slept and was a good boy.

Airport check-in was a breeze, Wilson snuggled in John's arms (see photos below) and greeted all the people in the airport while I handled all the paperwork at the ticket counter.  In no time we were done, the pup was safely secured in his travel kennel and we were off to Perkins to have some breakfast and wait for word that the pup was indeed loaded on the plane and was in transit to Dallas.

Around 6:25 am we confirmed with American Airlines that Wilson's kennel was scanned and actually put on the flight, so we headed toward home. His flight landed in Dallas just a few minutes before 8:00 am. The ground temp was only 82°, so we lucked out that we were able to get him down to Texas before the heat of the day kicked in. He actually landed in Dallas before we arrived back home. It's amazing how fast air travel can take you across the country.

Reports from Keith indicated that after about only 3 minutes in his new home, Wilson acted like he had lived there his whole life. He is a very smart and affectionate pup and will be Keith's best buddy. His new name is Charlie.
 

Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019 (Week 8, Day 57)

Today was Whiskey's turn to leave Hickory Hollow. His new parents George and Kristin drove over from Chicagoland this morning to pick him up and were very excited to meet him. They brought their miniature Goldendoodle Matilda along so she could meet her new brother. Whiskey will keep his Litter W name, we are excited about that!

Wilson is the only pup left but is headed home soon. In the meantime he will have frequent play sessions with our pup from Litter V (Savvy (Savanna), aka Vanna), she loves the puppies and is a good playmate.
 

Sunday, June 30th, 2019 (Week 7, Day 54)

Very early in the wee hours of the morning around 2:00 am, we packed up Wilson and left Hickory Hollow headed for the Des Moines airport to put him on a flight to Dallas departing at 6:00 am. The weather had not cooled off after dark as I had hoped, it was still very muggy and the air was thick making it hard to breathe. I had also checked weather.gov to see what was forcasted for Dallas at 8:00 am which was Wilson's arrival time. The weather numbers did not look much better there, heat index and dewpoints were high which also indicated muggy air, plus by then the sun would be up adding to the heat. Even though the actual temperature was forecasted for 78 degrees (well below the 85 degree cut off) and the folks at the airlines might have gone ahead and checked him in for his flight, I still felt uneasy about putting a pup on a plane with the weather being what it was. I don't care what the actual temperature is, it's the heat index that you actually "feel". I wouldn't have wanted to leave a pup outside for very long at 2 am the way it was (still 82 degrees even with no sun, but felt like 90), much less if the sun was out adding to the heat and I felt my conscience saying "not a good idea". As we traveled toward our destination, the more I contemplated the situation, the worse I felt about it and my stomach started twisting in knots. My consciense was now screaming, "DON'T DO THIS! IT'S JUST NOT WORTH IT!!". So I disussed with my husband how I was feeling about the situation. We got no further than about 1/2 hour down the road and he turned around and we headed back home. NO REGRETS! The life of this precious pup is worth more to me than meeting a schedule. Never in all the times that I've air shipped pups have I felt this way, I just had to listen to my gut on this one. There will be another day when the weather is better.
 

Saturday, June 29th, 2019 (Week 7, Day 53)

It was unbearably HOT here today, with heat indices around 107-113 degrees. We had a family picnic in the park to celebrate birthdays and had to call it quits around 2:30 pm because the dew point at 87 made it hard to breathe and the fans we had set up in the pavilion in the shade were no longer helping to cool down the heat which felt like a blast furnace.

Next to leave will be Wilson, he is scheduled to fly to Dallas bright and early tomorrow morning before the weather gets hot, so we will get his bath tonight and his kennel has been prepared and is ready to go. I just hope the evening will cool off and will be conducive to shipping a pup in the early hours tomorrow.
 

Thursday, June 27th, 2019 (Week 7, Day 51)

Two pups left Hickory Hollow today, the first was Willow. Her new family flew up here in a private plane from Manhattan Kansas to pick her up around lunchtime at our local airport just 15 minutes away. She will have two sister Llews, Stella (Odessa, Litter O) and Timber (Violet, Litter V) along with two human kids that she will be able to smother with snuggles and tons of puppy kisses. Her new name is Gloria.

The second pup that left this evening was Webster, he will be staying here in Iowa with John and Chris and will be their only fur kid so will get tons of love and attention. His new name is Roland.  
 

Tuesday, June 25th, 2019 (Week 7, Day 49)

Week 7 Developmental Milestone: Pups go home!

Now is the time the pups are able to embark on a new life and head out to their new homes. Most of the pups in this litter are staying here in the upper midwest, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois, but one pup is headed south to Dallas Texas (my favorite city)! They are SO ready to leave as they are tired and completely bored with their playpen and are ready for so much more.

They've had their first distemper/parvo vaccination and are eating the dry kibble really well and are now fully weaned. They're so ready to get outta here and embark on a new adventure!

A final set of puppy portraits will be taken with their new families and will be posted shortly after they have gone home.
 

Sunday, June 23rd, 2019 (Week 6, Day 47)

Noise desensitization is progressing well with the pups. Over the past week I have worked with them during each mealtime & playtime by making all types of noises; rapping, tapping and thumping on walls and cabinets, clinking a fork on a ceramic bowl or a metal bowl, clanging metal bowls together like cymbols, turning the radio volume up and down rapidly to make startling noises, slamming doors, and turning on the hair dryer. When I first started the "percussion sessions" the pups instinctual behavior would be to stop, shrink back, tuck their tails and run to hide, but now they seem almost oblivious to the barrage of constant noise or are curious about certain noises and quickly come over to investigate.

The pups are also doing well eating dry kibble. At this point I am confident that they will do fine in their new homes eating dry dog food.
 

Friday, June 21st, 2019 (Week 6, Day 45)

Again as a counter measure to the pup's destructive behavior, I've had to remove their soft comfy bed from the playpen as they have chewed all the corners off and are pulling all the stuffing out. This afternoon when I checked in on them it was EVERYWHERE! In place of the kennel bed I've had to put another landscaping brick down in the corner to help secure the rubber flooring! It's becoming a constant battle.

Week 6 Puppy Portraits are now posted for you.
 

Tuesday, June 18th, 2019 (Week 6, Day 42)

Week 6 Developmental Milestone: Eye color changes from blue to brown

This week, the puppies eyes will start to transition from their current baby blues to their final adult color; gold (chestnuts) or brown (tri-colors). It's too bad they have to lose those beautiful baby blues so soon... The transition takes about a couple weeks or so and the color mix during the transition is neat to see. Sometimes I've noticed that the chestnut dogs will have almost a sea green eye color for a while, it's beautiful!

Here's how the pups weigh-in at 6 weeks old:

By now the pups have been fully transitioned to eating dry kibble. They still want to nurse when momma Skylar checks in with them, but she is starting to disallow the behavior and will reprimand the pups so that they know it's unacceptable to do so.  Poor Skylar, she has a few battle scars on her belly from vigorusly nursing pups with super sharp teeth. The pups will be on dry kibble as much as possible this week as I will help Skylar keep her pups away during playtime visits.

Week 5 Miscellaneous photos are now posted above (featuring Aunt Savvy, the pup sitter).

Monday, June 17th, 2019 (Week 5, Day 41)

In last Friday's blog I mentioned the pups are becoming destructive and as they age they will get more and more creative in the ways they will destroy things. Right now they are curious about the black rubber flooring and so they are digging at it, pulling it up and tugging on it, thus moving it off skew with the playment and also getting pine shavings underneath it.  As a counter strike, I've strategically started placing landscaping blocks around the edges to keep them from pulling it up.

I took another cute video today of the pups during their last milkbar meal before they are switched to 100% dry kibble. I called it "The Last Supper", ENJOY!

Pups got another nail trim today, their nails are as sharp or sharper than their teeth!  Poor momma Skylar, another good reason to make the break and completely wean the pups.
 

Saturday, June 15th, 2019 (Week 5, Day 39)

All the pups were microchipped today! It's amazing that such young pups appear unaffected by the procedure, and all went well.
 

Friday, June 14th, 2019 (Week 5, Day 38)

Puppy selection is finally done, all the pups have now been picked and will be going home with their new families in less than TWO WEEKS!!

Weaning is still going great, pups are now on dry kibble mixed with canned puppy food with very little water mixed in, so they are now having to chew and swallow thicker meals.  By the end of this week I will discontinue the canned puppy food so that when the pups are 6 weeks old they will begin eating dry kibble only and will no longer nurse from momma Skylar.

Pups are beginning their destructive phase, and they are into everything! They've already chewed most of the corners off the brand new puppy bed and are pulling out stuffing. They are discovering that there is a rubber mat underneath the pine shavings which is fun to tug and pull back, and during playtime they are getting into every nook and cranny imaginable as well as attacking and pulling on my pant legs and chewing my ankles, OUCH!!  They all have a fascination with the rubber door stop and that seems to be a chew magnet so I need to put something in front of it so they don't see it (out of sight out of mind).

I am continuing with the noise conditioning exercises, tapping, clapping, and pounding on different surfaces to make a bunch of different noises which are soft, loud, high-pitched, low-pitched and everything in between. There are still some noises that startle the pups, but at this point it is to be expected and I will work through that with them. One thing recently that really freaked them out was a plastic WalMart bag I was using while picking up puppy poops from the playpen. I had a hold of the handle and shook it to fill it with air to help pop it open and they saw it flying overhead and the loud popping sound it made startled them.  I continued to make this noise for a while until they were no longer shrinking away from it.  I let them approach it while I was crinkling it in my hand and a few actually came up and sniffed it. These are the types of things I am trying to flush out while they are here and get them through the experience so they can come out the otherside with no fear.

I am starting to work on paperwork for the document folders I will send home with everyone on puppy pickup days so my blogs will be fewer and farther between as I try to get this done over the next week.
 

Wednesday, June 12th, 2019 (Week 5, Day 36)

Puppy selection is underway and at the time of this post, three of the five pups have been chosen by our clients with reservations. Only two more pups are to be decided then I can get started on all the paperwork I must do to prepare puppy packets for pick-up day. What an exciting time!!

I just posted miscellaneous litter photos from Week 4. They were fun to review and post for you since most of them are from the playdate in the yard so I hope you enjoy them too. Notice the adult dog in the photos is not momma Skylar, but actually daddy Sawyer who is the sire to this litter. Up to this point he hasn't been allowed much contact with his pups because he's just so strong and energetic and didn't want to risk him hurting them by accident. It's was fun to see the pups curiosity about him and approach him to get a closer look.
 

Tuesday, June 11th, 2018 (Week 5, Day 35)

Week 5 Developmental Milestone: Puppy Selection / Noise Desensitization / Socialization / Potty Training

This is one of the most anticipated times in this process; it's Puppy Selection time! All the folks on our reservation list will now be able to choose the pup they want to make a part of their family and take home in a couple weeks. I will be calling each of you when it's your turn to choose.

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. I will also continue to concentrate on acclimating them to noises of all varieties so by the time they leave they will be desensitized to strange sounds. During each mealtime or play session I will start incorporating what I call "percussion sessions" into the mix. During that time I will make a variety of different sounds while increasing then decreasing volume and severity including tapping on metal pans, knocking on walls, stomping the floor, opening and closing doors, running a can opener, playing christian pop music on the radio, and whatever else we can think of to condition them for life after Hickory Hollow.

The pups are also in the first stages of potty training. During playtime, any pups that start to potty on the floor are swiftly airlifted and placed into the playpen to finish the job. This reinforces the area where I desire them to potty. By the time they go home, they associate the "place to potty" with the pine shavings so I always suggest taking home some of the shavings from our playpen to place in the yard when potty training pups to go outside. That association with the pine shavings and the place to potty can help speed up the house training process.

Here's how the pups weigh-in at 5 weeks old:

The pups had another playdate in the yard today with my parents, sister and niece Macey and they went wild! Aunt Savvy also got to come out and play with the pups, she was really good with them. I took a video of those moments that I titled "Playtime with Aunt Savvy".

While we were out in the yard today my sister took professional Week 5 Puppy Portraits, which turned out really great! They are now posted above for your enjoyment!
 

Monday, June 10th, 2019 (Week 4, Day 34)

As promised, the pups' temperament and overall personalities have been evaluated and the Puppy Personality Profiles are now posted online. As most of you already know, puppy selection starts tomorrow when the pups turn 5 weeks old, so if you have any questions about personality or temperament, please give me a call to discuss.

Pups are doing very well with weaning, they are eating three meals per day that are now a mixture of canned puppy food, goat's milk and a sprinkle of baby rice cereal.  They love it and will now spit-polish the bowl until it's so clean you'd hardly know anything was served out of it.
 

Sunday, June 9th, 2019 (Week 4, Day 33)

Today was a beautiful day here weather-wise, so we took the pups out in the yard for their first outdoor experience.  They enjoyed the grass, romping, playing and chewing on it, as well as the company of two special visitors, John and Chris, who were here to see the pups and prioritize their puppy pick for selection starting Tuesday. I took a short video that I have shared called "Yard Party". I sincerely apologize for lack of good content in this clip, I will get the pups out in the yard again soon and take some better video.

During this time we also evaluated the pups more in-depth for their personality profiles which I will try to get posted sometime this afternoon.
 

Friday, June 7th, 2019 (Week 4, Day 31)

Puppy selection is right around the corner, starting next Tuesday when the pups are 5 weeks old. I would encourage those who are able to come visit the pups to do so this weekend so you have your picks prioritized when it's your turn to select. If you want to come for a visit, please let me know so we can schedule a time.

Also in preparation for puppy selection, I will be posting personality profiles for each pup sometime this weekend so if you are unable to visit them in person you will have an idea of what they are like.

Week 4 Puppy Portraits have been posted above. ENJOY! :0)~
 

Thursday, June 6th, 2019 (Week 4, Day 30)

Weaning is going better now, the pups are eating well but prefer canned puppy food already over the goat's milk/baby rice cereal. Momma Skylar is doing her part in helping the weaning process along too, last night she regurgitated her partially digested meal for her pups.  Some people think that's gross, but that is perfectly normal in the dog world so I let her feed her pups that way and they gulped it right down. Then I supplemented with a mixture of goat's milk/baby rice cereal and canned puppy food which they also ate very well.

Just posted a couple cute videos taken yesterday, the first one is Momma Skylar nursing her pups in the puppy bed called "New Nursing Spot" and the next one is of Skylar checking in on her babies called "Just Checking In".  ENJOY! :0)~
 

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019 (Week 4, Day 29)

I'm relieved to say that Skylar had a good first night last night in the Puppy Cottage with her kids. I was slightly worried about her first time being out there for several reasons but all went well.  I had to teach her to use the doggy door to go out to the run and hoped she would potty outside on the concrete versus inside and she did great in that regard. I was also worried about her barking all night because she wanted back in, but only heard her once around 2 am.  

And being a worrier I did weigh the pups this morning just to ensure that they gained adequately after all the big changes that happened in their lives yesterday. Momma Skylar did still manage to nurse her puppies in the playpen despite the pine shavings, she chose to nurse them in their kennel bed. It was so cute to watch her snuggle down in there with her kids, she's such a great momma.

After the move yesterday, I watched the LIVE Puppy Cam frequently to monitor the pups and thought it was neat to see them figuring things out. In the first Puppy Cam screenshot below, you can see that Wilson has already discovered the comfy bed, then almost three hours later, a couple more pups had figured it out. This morning when I went to check on them they were ALL snuggled in the comfy bed!! This makes me smile.

Also just posted miscellaneous litter photos from Week 3. ENJOY! :0)~

Tuesday, June 4th, 2018 (Week 4, Day 28)

Week 4 Development Milestone: Weaning Begins / Rough Play

Weaning begins this week! Starting today the pups will be fed supplemental meals from a flat pan on the floor rather than nursing from momma Skylar all the time. I'll start with Esbilac Puppy Milk Replacer mixed with Gerber baby rice cereal for the first few meals so they can get used to lapping up and swallowing a thick porridge, then transition to goat's milk with canned puppy food, then graduate to canned puppy food mixed with soggy kibble, and later mixed with dry kibble, then slowly remove the wet food until they are on solid dry. This progression will happen gradually through the next couple weeks until they are given only dry kibble starting at week six.

Play behavior started early in the pups' third week, but this week it will turn rough and rowdy with pouncing, pinning, biting, pulling, head shaking, chewing and growling (already witnessed in the "Boys Will Be Boys" video clip). By the end of this week I will lovingly refer to them as "my little monsters", because they will bite and chew anything they can get their mouths on, including their siblings, show laces, toes, ankles, fingers and long hair. A play session on the floor with the pups can be painful at times and sensitive areas of the body need to be protected!

As their personalities emerge this week, I will start posting puppy personality profiles as they are realized in preparation for Puppy Selection starting next Tuesday!

Here's how the pups weigh-in at 4 weeks old:

Monday, June 3rd, 2019 (Week 3, Day 27)

Well, I underestimated the amount of time it would take to get the Puppy Cottage ready for this litter, we had some drywall repair work to do after our pup Savvy had been spending time out there during the day while I was working and needed to prime and paint after the repair and didn't want pups in there breathing the fumes during the process.  It's finally done now though, so other than final cleaning and disinfecting, I think they will be moved soon.  

Pups are ready to start the weaning process. They are definitely interested in momma's dry kibble when they are out of the box roaming the puppy nursery during cleaning time.

Pups are playful now and interacting with each other more and more, they are starting to show their personalities.  Wilson is quite the character and I predict will be a handful. He's already digging at the corners of the carpet in the box, trying to pull it up and separate the velcro attachment that keeps it secured to the floor.

I also took a couple cute videos over the weekend but one in particular stands out.  I called it "Boys Will Be Boys". Watch the interaction between Wilson and Webster and witness jaw dropping ferosity from such young pups! WOW!

Saturday, June 1st, 2019 (Week 3, Day 25)

WOW, it's finally June! Hopefully this means we will get rid of our cold spring weather and move into warmer days now and am happy that we've seen a few 85° days so far this week. We have been prepping the Puppy Cottage for this litter's big move and now have the window A/C unit installed to help keep them cool in case it gets hot (which would be typical Iowa weather to go straight from chilly to HOT!). I'm hoping to get them moved out there sometime this weekend. You will know as soon as this happens if you regularly watch the LIVE Puppy Cam as the view will obviously change. :0)~

This morning when I visited the pups to do their daily weigh-in, Wilson greeted me with puppy kisses on my nose! He is the first pup in this litter to display this behavior both with his momma (shown in the "Wilson/Momma Moment" video clip and also during human interaction. While Wilson was giving me a healthy dose of morning kisses, Webster just sat there and barked and us, LOL! He's quite the character too!

Here's now the pups weigh-in today:

Friday, May 31st, 2019 (Week 3, Day 24)

I happened to capture a rare moment in time on video last evening so I thought I'd share. I just posted a new video clip called "Wilson/Momma Moment", such a precious few seconds, and very heart warming. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the pups lives.
 

Thursday, May 30th, 2019 (Week 3, Day 23)

Pups are more and more active now, they seem to have short bursts of energy where they are buzzing around the box and playing with each other and then they drop for a long snooze. They are getting so big that they almost maul momma Skylar at nursing time. I posted a video entitled "Nursing with Gusto" so you can see how big they are compared to her and how vigorously they nurse.

Speaking of big, here's how the pups weigh-in today:

Pups were given their 2nd dose of dewormer, Pyrantel Pamoate suspension.
 

Tuesday, May 28th, 2019 (Week 3, Day 21)

Week 3 Development Milestone: Play Behavior

This is my absolute favorite time with the pups! Their eyes are open and they are noticing things around them, they are hearing better so they react to your voice and other noises and they are walking around and actually keeping their balance and are becoming playful and inquisitive about their surroundings. This week the pups will start playing with each other, bowing, yipping, pouncing and gently chewing on each other. Their individual personalities begin to emerge and by now they have already begun to do some of their natural doggy behavior for the first time instead of just sleeping and nursing all the time.

The pups are also becoming quite vocal. There are a few pups that I believe like to hear their own voices because they will sit in the box and just howl. Actual barking, versus yips, is becoming more and more frequent, and at this point I actually like to hear their little voices, which will change the older and louder they become.

Here's how the pups weigh-in at 3 weeks old:

Week 2 Puppy Portraits and miscellaneous litter photos have been posted above.
 

Sunday, May 26th, 2019 (Week 2, Day 19)

Saturday, May 25th, 2019 (Week 2, Day 18)

Due to the increased size and activity of the pups, last night before bed I put the half-door on the whelping box to keep any little Houdini's from escaping overnight. However, Skylar wasn't sure about that new development and ended up waking us about 2 hours later with her desperate cries for help to get into the box to tend to her puppies.  Just call it the "new momma learning curve", I had to teach her that it was okay to jump over the door -- it only stands a little over 1 foot high at this point, which is an easy hop over for her, but she's been taught to respect barriers and so she didn't want to jump over it.  Good girl, LOL!    

Pups are growing so fast and time has been flying by so rapidly that I just realized I need to start thinking about having all my puppy weaning supplies on hand, (goat's milk and baby rice cereal and also Native 3 puppy kibble) because I will need to start the weaning process about this time next week already, WOW!

Speaking of growing fast, here's today's weigh-in stats:

I just posted a new YouTube video called "Breakfast Break" for your viewing pleasure. ENJOY! :0)~

Friday, May 24th, 2019 (Week 2, Day 17)

The Week 2 puppy portraits and Week 1 miscellaneous litter photos have been posted. More videos coming soon... ENJOY! :0)~

While editing the photos this week, I was thinking more and more that Skylar's little daughter Whimsy is going to turn out to be her little mini-me, she looks SO MUCH LIKE HER!! It's an interesting fact that in most every first litter, there is a pup that is a doppelganger for either the litter's sire or dam. Well, Whimsy is the definitely "doggelganger" for Skylar in her first litter.  That's so neat to see!!
 

Thursday, May 23rd, 2019 (Week 2, Day 16)

The pups are now hearing things, as I noticed them waking up with a startle and looking around when another of our Llew Crew barks at something, so this just about the right timing for their ears to be opening. They are walking around better too now, with less stumbling, losing their balance and falling over. Now is when I love to snuggle the puppies because they are less jumpy and bothered by touch.

Pups had their first nail trim today.  Their toenails were getting long and were like little needles, getting hung up and stuck in everything, the whelping box carpet, the towel used for portraits, the soft liner in the weigh scale and my t-shirt to name a few, so it was definitely time.

I don't know how many of you have noticed but Webster is no longer the smallest pup in the litter.  Born at only 8.8 oz with his nearest sibling weighing in at 10.6, I'm happy to report that he actually equalled his sister Whimsy's weight on their 2-week weigh-in and now has surpassed her by almost 2 ounces and is narrowing in on Whiskey next. Some people would've called him the "runt" of the litter due to his birthweight, but I totally disagree. He has never been weaker or more sickly than his littermates and to look at him today you'd never know his birthweight was so low. I am happy to say that I rarely have a true "runt" in my litters, I have been mostly blessed with plump and healthy puppies!

Here's how the pups weigh-in today:

Week 2 Pup Portraits have been taken and I'm hoping to have them posted sometime tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 21st, 2019 (Week 2, Day 14)

Week 2 Developmental Milestone: Ears will open / Cutting Teeth

Now that most of the puppies eyes are open or are nearly 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 I am usually very careful for the first few days to introduce them to noises gently and not harshly.

They will also begin to cut teeth, first the canines will poke through followed by the incisors a few days later.

Here's today's eye opening upate:

Here's how the pups weigh-in at 2 weeks old:

Pups will have their first deworming dose using Pyrantel Pamoate suspension.
 

Sunday, May 19th, 2019 (Week 1, Day 12)

The pups eyes continue to open with a few more pups showing signs of it now. I took a few photos so you can see what they look like at this point in time. Skylar cracks me up, in the first photo she is standing up on her hind legs to see what I'm doing with her pup, LOL. I thought it was funny so I included it. The first two photos are of Webster showing his eyes are each about 1/4 of the way open already. The third photo is of Whimsy, showing her eyes are just starting to open.

Here's how the pups weigh-in today:

The spot where the dew claws were removed are now completely healed and the scabs have fallen off. They all healed nicely without issue.

Miscellaneous litter photos from Birth Week are now posted.
 

Saturday, May 18th, 2019 (Week 1, Day 11)

Today I noticed another exciting development, the pups eyes are starting to open! Whiskey is the first to show any signs of the changes, but I'm sure the other pups won't be too long in following suit. Along with the weigh-in stats, I will also be posting the eye-opening status of the pups.  I LOVE this time!! They are just SO CUTE when their eyes are open!

Here's how the pups weigh-in today.

Thursday, May 16th, 2019 (Week 1, Day 9)

Today I witnessed an exciting development, the puppies are walking!! They are now taking their first steps, albeit pretty wobbly, but they are actually getting their bellies off the floor and walking!  This is the first real new development since birth as all they've really done up to this point is eat and sleep.  I am anticipating the pups eyes to start opening soon too but nothing yet...

Here's how the pups weigh-in up today:

I just took Week 1 puppy portraits and will edit, resize and post them soon.

Tuesday, May 14th, 2019 (Week 1, Day 7)

Week 1 Developmental Milestone: Eyes will open

During this week, the pups will reach an exciting milestone, their eyes should start opening around day 10 and will take a few days to fully open. When the pups are born, their ears and eyes are closed to keep out the amniotic fluid and any bacteria encountered in the birth canal. The 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 it's way 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.

Here's how the pups weigh-in at 1 week old:

Week 1 portraits will be taken soon, so stay tuned for that.
 

Monday, May 13th, 2019 (Birth Week, Day 6)

The Super Dog program is still being performed on pups daily after their morning weigh-in.  Most of the pups don't care for the "Head Pointed Down" position and will voice their discomfort with grunts, squeals and a lot of squirming. While I am going through the 5 difference exercises with each pup this gives me the perfect opportunity to look them over thoroughly to ensure nothing is out of the ordinary, such as belly button is healing nicely after the unblical stub has shriveled up and fallen off, the skin and coat looks good, dew claw area appears to be healing nicely with no signs of redness or swelling, eye lids and ear flaps are clean and not crusty, etc. It adds a feeling of comfort knowing the pups are getting a good look-over daily.

Here's how the pups weigh-in this morning:

I took a few cute videos today of the pups nursing and will be posting them on YouTube for your enjoyment as soon as I figure out how to splice them all together (which I have never done before). I may have to purchase some software that will help me do that if my existing sofware doesn't do it.  Stay tuned for that...
 

Sunday, May 12th, 2019 (Birth Week, Day 5)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!   We would like to wish all those mothers out there, whether you have human or fur kids, a very Happy Mother's Day today!

Our fur kids in Litter W are all doing great, gaining steadily and growing stronger each day. Some of the pups are even trying to take their first steps already. As predicted, because of the over abundance of faucets at the milkbar, these little pups are plumpers!

Here's how the pups weigh in today:

Friday, May 9th, 2019 (Birth Week, Day 3)

Day 3, Can't believe we are already almost half way through our first week with these little ones already. I think the older I get the faster time goes. At this age there is not much to report. The pups are blind, deaf and toothless and all they do is eat (10%) and sleep (90%). They can however smell well enough to find momma, and it's amazing to see them hone in on the source of their next meal! Right now they cannot regulate their own body temperature so they must be kept warm by momma, each other and the heat emitting lamp. When they get cold, you will notice them all laying on top of each other in a heap or they will migrate to the warmest place in the box which is right under the heat lamp. Their nervous systems are still developing as well, so when they are asleep, they should not ever lay completely still, they should twitch and jerk around so that's what I look for when I check in on them. All the action starts happening once the eyes and ears open around day 10-14.

Today is the start of the Super Dog program (click the link to read about it). Can't hurt right?  At this age most of the pups don't mind the positions they are put in, but as they age they put up more of a fuss.

Here's how the pups weigh-in today:

Thursday, May 9th, 2019 (Birth Week, Day 2)

Day 2, Skylar has settled into motherhood nicely and is just the sweetest and gentlest momma with her babies. She is very cautious around them and is very gentle to them as compared to her momma (Benelli) and g-ma (HOPE) that were somewhat rough with their pups. For instance, HOPE liked to chew down the umbilical stubs to a certain length, so she would constantly lick and chew at them pulling the babies around by them until they eventually shriveled up and fell off naturally. That and Benelli wasn't always careful where she stepped and frequently trampled her kids -- thank goodness pups are so resilient, but Skylar on the other hand is the complete opposite. She's careful and cautious, and licks them tenderly to clean them. She's also very attentive and keeps them well fed so the pups are gaining steadily right out of the gate!

Here's how the pups weigh-in this morning:

Dewclaws were removed today.

Wednesday, May 8th, 2019 (Birth Week, Day 1)

Day 1, pups are barely 24-hours old and are doing really well. They seem to enjoy the heat lamp because they are usually laying right underneath it or are snuggled into momma Skylar either nursing or snoozing.

At this point in their lives I don't do much other than check in on them and Skylar regularly and take daily weigh-in stats every morning so I can tell whether they are gaining a normal amount of weight for their age.  Weight and hydration are two things I frequently monitor which are good indicators of whether the pup is doing well or poorly.  Pups this tiny can go downhill quickly when problems arise, so taking these daily stats are a good way to stay on top of it. Pups have all gained a good amount of weight so far which is what I expected since there are more faucets at the milkbar than there are pups. They should always have plump little bellies.

Here's how the pups weigh-in this morning:

This afternoon I took the pups birth week photos. Boy are these little wigglers extremly strong and FAST! WOW! Getting focused photos of them is quite a challenge because they are constantly on the move, but after patience and perserverance I was able to capture a few good ones of each pup. I think I might enjoy having a smaller litter this time since taking the photos of 5 pups, then cropping and editing them only took about half the time as compared to Litter V's NINE pups!

I'm excited to announce that the "Litter W" temporary pup names have been revealed! A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone in our Facebook Community for participating in the "W" Name Game. You guys suggested so many cool names, if we'd only had more pups I would've used more of them. But no worries, I have stored them away for safe keeping because someday we may come back around to a "Litter WW"!

Birth Week portraits have been posted above! ENJOY :0)~
 

Tuesday, May 7th, 2019 (Birth Week, Whelping Day)

3:15 am: I heard Skylar panting and fidgeting around in her kennel so I got up with her and took her outside. After she came in she started panting pretty heavily so I thought maybe she was in the first stages of labor.  I stayed up with her for a couple hours, but no visible contractions so I laid down on the couch for a nap.  

7:15 am: still no pups or contractions

11:55 am: still no pups or contractions

2:20 pm - no pups yet but I think we are finally getting close. Skylar is panting heavily again in rhythmic breaths and is shaking.

2:40 pm - PUPPIES ARE COMING! There is a pup currently in the birth canal that is going to be born any minute. The first one is always the hardest! Check out our Facebook page for minute-by-minute updates and puppy photos as they are born.

5:15 pm - She's done whelping now and all pups appear healthy and are nursing strongly.

The LIVE Puppy Cam is now online. Click the link at the top of the page, right hand side.
 

Monday, May 6th, 2019

Friday, May 3rd, 2019

Thursday, May 2nd, 2019

We are getting closer to Skylar's due date and are anxiously anticipating the arrival of our precious Litter W, due a week from today.  As Skylar is laying near my feet right now (she's been really clingy lately) I can see her belly swimming with the movement of the pups.  I love to see that and to know they are active and growing strong.  Tomorrow we will find out how many precious pups she is carrying, stay tuned for the news and x-ray photos! Also be sure to join our Facebook Community to play the "Litter W" Name Game.
 

Monday, April 29th, 2019

We have scheduled Skylar's pregnancy x-ray for  this Friday, May 3rd. In recent years we have opted to do a pregnancy x-ray at 8 weeks gestation to get a puppy count instead of doing an ultrasound at 4 weeks just to confirm pregnancy.  We can pretty much confirm pregnancy upon palpation around 5 weeks gestation anyway, so doing the x-ray to get a puppy count is much more valuable informaton. This way we know on whelping day how many pups to expect and if complications arise during the process, we will know if there are still pups that haven't been born yet. Stay tuned for x-ray photos and guesses for litter count.
 

Tuesday, April 16th, 2019

Today is the first day I've looked at Skylar and noticed that her belly is expanding and she now actually "looks" pregnant! She is showing and her teats are starting to enlarge, an exciting development!! 
 

Friday, April 5th, 2019

I'm excited to report that Skylar is carrying pups! Last night upon palpation I could feel chicken egg sized lumps in her abdomen. I believe I counted at least 4 but at this point I am not so interested in the pup count as I am about the fact that they are there and thus confirming her pregnancy.  We will do an x-ray around 8 weeks gestation (during the first week of May) to get a final pup count before delivery. YAY!! So exciting!!
 

Friday, March 8th, 2019

Late last evening we had another confirmed tie between Skylar and Sawyer along with numerous slip matings over the past few days. Chalk that up to two inexperienced dogs, however we are really optimistic at this point about producing a litter. We will evaluate Skylar for pregnancy in roughly 28 days and pray she's carrying pups! Stay tuned for news in early April...
 

Tuesday, March 5th, 2019

This afternoon we had our first breeding tie between Skylar and Sawyer, yay! Our two kids are no longer "newbies" if you catch my drift. This puts today's breeding right about day 9 of her cycle, which is perfect. I like to breed on days 8, 10, and 12 at minimum to ensure a nice litter size and male/female ratio. Skylar was ready yesterday (day 8) and was courting Sawyer with with everything she had, but apparently Sawyer didn't think she was ready. You know what they say, right? "Always trust your stud dog". LOL!  
 

Sunday, February 24th, 2019

We are excited to report that our waiting is over, Skylar is currently in heat so we are moving forward with our plans to breed her to Sawyer during the upcoming week. Stay tuned here for more Litter W news as it occurs. YAY!