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Puppy Journal Entries

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May 31 It figures that as soon as we sit down to work on an update for this page, Claire goes into labor. I guess it was fitting to title this morning's snapshot "ready to burst." Nine puppies were counted in the x-ray taken on Thursday, and as of 11:30 AM, one male has been born.

Since starting her labor at 10:45, Claire has given birth to four puppies (two boys, two girls), all weighing in at one full pound. It is now 2:30 PM and everyone is doing great.

As of 4:35, puppies five, six, and seven have all made their presence known. Claire is resting and puppies are all taking this opportunity to nurse. Our number six pup started eating before she was fully detached from mom!

Claire gave birth to puppy number nine at 5:50 this evening, only eighteen minutes after puppy number eight. In all, there are four girls and five boys.

Keep checking back for updates and photos!

(click on a thumbnail to view our markings chart)

June 6 Almost all of the puppies are very close to doubling their weight. (If they haven't already) Their tails were docked and dew claws were clipped earlier this week - boy do they have lungs. Over the past two days, all of them have had their nails trimmed. They're all quite cuddly and sweet and they love to talk.

June 15 All of the puppies have their eyes open, have begun to master the art of barking and growling, and, any day they'll be climbing out of the whelping box (or so they think). They're getting big, it's hard to believe they're only two weeks old.

June 23 They're mobile! Puppies are up and running around and their ears are open. They're looking more and more like little dogs. This weekend, they took their first attempt at eating gruel. Some thought it was a great new toy, while others quickly caught on and filled their bellies.

July 2 At four weeks, the puppies were moved out of the whelping box, and into a much larger pen. They've had some contact with the other dogs in the house, and all seem to get along well. Teeth are coming in and they're eating three pans of gruel a day. They'll get to play outside soon, and will, undoubtedly, be a joy to watch as they adapt to yet another new environment.

July 4 The whole gang celebrated Independence Day with their first romp outside. They had a bit of anxiety about walking down the stairs from the porch to the yard, but most were successful in keeping their paws on the ground. (Others chose to roll down the steps)

July 11 The last few days have been a bit warm, so we've had to find creative ways to keep the little rascals cool. Yesterday, we pulled out the plastic pool and let the pups jump in and out of the water with Emma, Jack, Daphne, Lilly and Maddie. Grandma Em found it too tiring to chase around the little ones, so she retired to the shade (never failing to keep her eyes on the activity). Jack had a tree to attack off in the front, so Daph, Lilly and Maddie were left to "puppysit." Daphne, still dreaming of her little furry ones, took her post, belly up in the pool, and let the pups jump allover her. Lilly took a few pups aside and played a game of chase, and Maddie laid on the back porch with those who were a bit pooped. When majority of the pups were clustered around Maddie, they were all gathered up and corralled into their playpen outside.

July 30 Over the past two weeks, the puppies have had their temperament and conformation testing, and we've figured out who's going where (even though we'd have been perfectly content keeping all of the puppies). By next week, most of the little ones will be in their new homes.

With temperatures soaring past 95 degrees during the day, it's hard to keep the babies cool. The tiny blue pool that we've set up on occasion, has proven to be their favorite toy, whether filled or not. They all enjoy getting soaked, rolling in the dirt and then climbing all over their human friends. It's proven to be a great game.

It's amazing to see how much these puppies have picked up over the last few weeks. Our everyday ritual of blowing three short toots on the whistle before each feeding has eliminated the "come" command altogether (and saved our voices). Almost everyone has "sit" down, there are a few puppies working on "down" and one that'll "shake." For eight and a half weeks old, these puppies are amazing.

Mom left her babies to go to her new home last weekend. It was a somber time for everyone, but the little rascals have been weaned for weeks and Claire was beginning to get bored with them.

August 6 There are two puppies left. One that we're keeping, and the other will be picked up this weekend. It's such a contrast to the nine that we were tending to last week. All the puppies have seemed to settle into their new homes rather quickly- which is great!

August 8 With just Axel Rose and one other puppy that'll meet his new family tomorrow left, it's been pretty quiet around here. The boys get a bit of time to romp in the field each night and take trips to the hardware and pet stores. Axel will be entering puppy head start soon, we're all pretty excited. Keep checking his page for more information!

Here are some photos of Axel and Mr. Red playing outside. Enjoy!