Day 7 - They are changing so fast!

Are you my Mommy? This is Puppy #5

Last night, #5 actually stood on his wobbly legs - for a nanosecond! Early achiever? The pups ears are starting to twitch - soon they will begin hearing and eyes will open in the next week. They are beginning to resemble dogs, instead of a generic baby mammal.

Puppy #1 Weight at 1 pm: 1 lb, 4 oz. ENS "scale" 3

Again this means NOTHING! Just for entertainment !

Puppy #2 Weight at 1 pm: 1 lb, 4 oz. ENS "scale" 2.5

(I can't think HOW I forgot to include her in the photo shoot!)

Puppy #3 Weight at 1 pm: 1 lb, 5 oz. ENS "scale" 1.5

Puppy #4 Weight at 1 pm: 1 lb, 4 oz. ENS "scale" 3

Puppy #5 Weight at 1 pm: 1 lb, 6 oz. ENS "scale" 4

Day 6 Daily Stats - A Comparison

Just for fun, I was comparing Pat's 2006 "Glen" litter with Tap's litter.

On day 6, Pat's 2006 litter:

Smallest pup: Creekside Fynn (Puppy #1) weighed in at 1 lb, 2 oz. (He weighed 8 oz. at birth)
Largest pup: Creekside's M.D. "Doc" (Puppy #5) weighed in at 1 lb, 14.5 oz. (He weighed 1 lb, 1 oz. at birth)

Today (Day 6), Tap's litter:
Smallest pup: #2 (female) weighed in at 1 lb. (She weighed 10 oz. at birth)
Largest pup: #3 (male) weighed in at 1 lb, 4 oz. (He weighed 12 oz. at birth)

And a photographic comparison of the 2 litters:

No wonder Pat had a harder time whelping her 2006 litter, and Tap had such an easy time! Pat gave birth to giants compared to Tap's litter!

Here are the rest of the weights today and "results" of the ENS from this morning (I skipped yesterday, as they had been handled a LOT already. Too MUCH neurological stimulation at this can also be detrimental.)

Puppy #1 (Female): Weight 1 lb. 3 ounces; ENS "scale": 1 (I think she was sleeping throughout)
Puppy #2 (Female): Weight 1 lb; ENS "scale": 2.5
Puppy #3 (Male): Weight 1 lb. 4 ounces; ENS "scale": 1.5
Puppy #4 (Male): Weight 1 lb. 2 ounces; ENS "scale": 2.5
Puppy #5 (Male): Weight 1 lb. 3 ounces; ENS "scale": 1.5

And now for the action packed video that will keep you riveted to the screen... (NOT!)

Day 5 - Not very exciting today - sorry!

Report from last night's ENS exercises:

YIKES! I rate all the puppies at "level 5" for fighting the entire process! #2 was the quietest this time, but the rest of them truly were NOT impressed!

This morning, Tap went on an hour hike through the snowy woods and she truly enjoyed being back with the pack. I think she was embarrassed to only be going on the "old dog walks" and was happily racing through the trees with Blaze. Don't worry, I have upped her food intake to keep up with the "energy out" so she can keep producing plenty for the puppies! She is eating about 3 lbs a day right now, and I expect that to increase to about 4 lbs. when puppies reach their biggest, hungriest, most demanding stage - just prior to weaning. I'd better place another order at the butcher - now that he is "getting used to me" and my "weird way of feeding dogs" he is saving me more and more stuff he would normally toss. I hear I'm getting a boat load of veal neck bones in addition to the usual fare. Yippee!

I spent quite a bit of time this morning curled up in the middle of the whelping box (as Tap stretched out on the cool tiles) and stroked the puppies - each had a wonderful tickle/scratch response when I gently scratched their necks - right about where a collar would be if they were wearing one! So I guess all dogs are born with that "itchy neck" and rear foot tick :)

Here are the photos of the day. Sorry - no cute poses - I am in and out of the barn today dealing with the most sets of twin lambs we've had in years! It is all mass confusion in the "nursery" pen - with lambs getting milk from whomever is available and willing! I had to "foster" one lamb to another ewe - so now she has 3 to take care of! Doesn't seem to bother her though! The lamb's own mom seemed to forget she had had 2 lambs and wanted nothing to do with her 2nd born.

Above: Pups enjoy a snooze while mom cools off (below)

Girl #1 (1 lb at 6 am)

Girl #2 (15 ounces at 6 am - or therabouts, she was rolling around a lot!)

Boy #3 (1 lb, 1 ounce at 6 am)

Boy #4 (1 lb at 6 am)

Boy #5 (1 lb, 1 ounce at 6 am)

Your Fix for the Day

Puppies have been in this world for almost 4 full days and all are thriving. Everyone has gained weight - #5 and #3 were close to 1 lb. this morning and I bet they are over that mark this afternoon!

Photo Shoot

Puppy #1 (Female)

#2 (Click-face) would NOT stay still! Here's what I mean...

In the end I had to hold her to get a good photo.

Puppy #2 (Female)

Puppy #3 (Male)

Puppy #4 (Male)

Puppy #5 (Male)

And a nice one of a contented Tap and her brood...

And just to last you all through the night...A parting video:

First ENS Exercises

ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) exercises should be performed no more than once daily from day 3 to day 16 of life.

Today is day 3 and tonight we began the ENS exercises. Please note that these are not "puppy tests" and not one response is superior to another. We are simply stimulating the deaf/blind newborn puppy's neurological system in the hopes that he/she will better be able to cope with stressful situations and more during his/her lifetime. For more info on these exercises, please visit: http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html .

However, just for my fun, and yours, I have "graded" each puppy's average "reaction" to all the exercises..Watch them change!

Scale: 1 - 5 with 1 being no visible reaction and 5 being fought (almost)the entire process!

Puppy #1: 3
Puppy #2: 2
Puppy #3: 5
Puppy #4: 4
Puppy #5: 5

Please note that poor Puppy #4 and #5 were pulled from the milk bar to do their exercises. Poor puppies!

Once back with mom, life resumed as normal.

Tonight, Tap enjoyed a short 30 minute walk with the gang. I think she really appreciated blowing off some steam! Hopefully less pacing tonight :) I will continue to take her on the "old dog walk" (the short, easy walks designed with 15 year old Boomer in mind!) until about a week, then I will gradually increase her hikes in length and intensity so that when pups are ready to wean, she is ready to get back to work! I am feeding her lot of great fresh foods, and lots of variety, so she has plenty of milk to feed her brood!

Off and "Running"

Well, Tap didn't have a good night last night - she woke me up on several occasions urgently pacing. Seems like all that placenta eating has caught up with her. We mean running in THAT sense!

First lambs arrived last night too - twins (1 ewe, 1 ram) - were born in the wee hours of the morning with no trouble. If the rest of the ewes lamb as easily, then I would have to say I've had a very easy time of it this year!

And now for your daily "fix":

Weights at 6 am this morning:
Puppy #1 ("traditionally" marked female - kinda): 12 ounces
Puppy #2 ("Click-Face" female): 11 ounces
Puppy #3 ("Che-Legs" male): 13 ounces
Puppy #4 ("Caper Wanna Be" male): 12 ounces
Puppy #5 ("Lucky Stripe" male): 13 ounces

In comparing them to Pat's 2 litters, Tap's puppies are tiny! For example: Doc (Jimmy Cody's Creekside's M.D.) was 1 lb at about 6 hours old! Maybe finally, Pat's "giant" genes will be overruled by Chip's "compact, good things come in small packages" genes !

And now for the action packed video (Not!)

24 hours (and a bit) old

Everyone had a very restful night. Pups were quiet and I only heard Tap get up a couple of times to guzzle water. It is toasty warm in the puppy room - our Thermawhelp system is heating the box nicely. Pups are comfortable and content.

Here are the daily stats and photos for all you puppy junkies...

Mom and pups just before breakfast (Tap's breakfast, that is. The Milk Bar, like a good Diner, is open 24/7)

Above: Puppy #1 (Female): Weight at 6 am: 11 ounces

Above: Puppy #2 (Female): Weight at 6 am: 10 ounces.

This girl was squirming so much it took several tries to get a good shot!

Above: Puppy #3 (Male): Weight at 6 am: 12 ounces

Above: Puppy #4 (Male): Weight at 6 am: 11 ounces

Above: Puppy #5 (Male): Weight at 6 am: 12 ounces.

And....ACTION!

OK - not a lot of action, but just to show you a quick video of mom and pups on Tuesday evening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeFsfRmDp4Q

Tuesday morning and all is well...

A content mom relaxes with her newborn kids.

Except the fact that she only had five puppies (needed 6!), I am thrilled to report that all is well and mom and kids all doing great. Tap is a wonderful mom, she is very calm and nurturing with her pups and I am so relieved that it all went smoothly and without the need for any late night calls (or visits!) to the emergency vet clinic. This morning Tap ate her entire bowl of salmon, so is feeling good!

And now, the winner of the Puppy Wager is.......(drum roll....)

The Carter Family AND Tammy's friend Amanda.
It FIGURES it would be the only identical guess that wins! So now I must decide on the final winner. Should I ask a "skill testing question"? (related to content on my website / Creekside dogs) OR divide the pot equally between the two correct guessers?

While I hum and haw about that, please enjoy the following photos and stats! (Please note, my very old scale is not really designed for weighing under a pound, so the weights may not be accurate, however, they will help determining growth rate).

Puppy #1 Female: Born at 9:59 pm March 24th. Weight (this morning): 10 ounces. Color and Markings: traditionally marked (but not totally symmetrical) tri-color.

Puppy #2: Female: Born at 10:34 pm March 24th. Weight (this morning): 9 ounces. Color and Markings: traditionally marked tri-color (more black), with a white nose, no blaze (a la Creekside Click)

Sorry - #2 is the only one who wanted to "pose" by herself. I will take more tomorrow after mom and pups have had a rest.

Puppy #3: Male: Born at 11:32 pm March 24th. Weight (this morning): 10 ounces. Color and Markings: Black and White (can't tell if there's tan anywhere on this one yet). Wide blaze on face, asymmetrical white on nose, white hind legs (a la Creekside Che).

Puppy #4: Male: Born at 12:50 am on March 25th. Weight (this morning): 10 ounces. Color and Markings: Tri-color (more black), very narrow stripe on face.

Puppy #5: Male: Born at 3:09 am (bum first!) on March 25th. Weight (this morning): 11 ounces. Color and Markings: Very black tri-color, narrow white stripe on face, very little white on Muzzle.

Five!

3:09 AM: Male: Black face, narrow stripe. Big breach boy. Tap and I both had longer than 10 minutes snooze. After I was SURE that she was not having another (although I was sure I felt at least one more) she stood up and out he came - kind of surprised us both, woke Tap out of a deep sleep!

Head count so far: 3 boys and 2 girls...Will there be another? I am not sure - she seems still quite big, but I can't feel any definite "bumps" in her belly. Stay tuned...

Honestly, if you're still awake - go to sleep! You can check the blog in the morning!

Puppy #4

12:50 AM: Male, black tri, narrow blaze, very lively. Tap is doing very well! She has been snacking on Dr. B's recipe for Fortified Milk Mix and guzzled a pail of water.

15 minute snoozzzzzzzzzze........

Number Three!

11:32 PM: BIG male! Wide blaze, white hind legs.

And there are more...The 3 didn't seem to make a dent in her huge belly.

Puppy #2 !

10:34 PM: Female. Black tri. Black face with white nose, small white dot on forehead. This one is smaller but no less levely! Tap seems to be having a fairly easy time so far...

Puppy #1 !

9:59 pm - female, traditionally marked. Tap is doing an excellent job getting her all cleaned up. She seemed awfully surprised at first - for about a nanosecond...It's amazing to watch the mothering instinct at work. She's her momma's daughter all right!

Day 60 / 61: Temperature drop, refused breakfast, more nesting!

Temperature 98 degrees F at 6 a.m. this morning. She wanted nothing to do with her breakfast (okay, it was fish and she is finicky about fish at the best of times!) She continues to nest (now safely in the nursery). Forgets everything when the cat walks by, though! Might be news by tonight!

Ewes are also ready to drop their lambs - probably everything will happen at once.

Day 59 (or 60) - Nesting Begins!

Tap began some nesting behaviors tonight! In the TV cabinet...The "nursery" is all set up and ready and we'll both begin to sleep there tonight.

Fat Tap

As promised, here are a few pics of the Mom to Be on day 53...Only 10 days to go (give or take).

For those of you who have not met Tap when she's "svelte"; This is a huge difference! Usually I can wrap my hands around her waist and my fingers meet. I can do it now, too...With several pairs of hands! Needless to say, she is enjoying her extra meals and is at about 2.5 lbs of food per day. She is still active and hasn't shown any desire to be left behind on all our hikes and walks. She is quieter, though, preferring to stay close rather than race through the bush with Blaze or Spur.

Next week I will slow her down a bit. Whelping supplies have been brought out of storage and will be set up this week. The countdown begins!

Only 3 puppies? I don't think so...

...For a first time mom, who is in excellent shape, she is simply TOO BIG!!!

About the Ultrasound...

So, after I told you all NOT to panic at the small head count, I did exactly that. The good news is that I feel very confident that the 30 bucks I spent on the Ultrasound was a waste of money. Umm...How is that good news?

EVERYONE (I mean EVERYONE) who I've spoken to about the accuracy of ultrasounds has basically said "double and add one more". THAT would be a very good number!

I was told: "If you are using an "all purpose" ultrasound (like a mobile horse unit with adapters...and a generic vet) you are wasting your time." Hmm...Mobile horse unit with adapters...(circa 1970 probably)....And a generic tech...Yep, sounds like my experience!

She is just getting too big at 5 weeks to only have 3 puppies!

Yes, I will take a pic of her...But you may not notice much yet - as she has a very long winter coat! In the meantime, check out this "maternity pic" (Click, are you lactating?) This is Grace's Creekside Click (2006 Pat x Glen) and his special new friend "Little Orphan Lambie"