It seems like it was overnight that Maxi’s pups are walking. So cute to see them navigate around their whelping box on four wobbly legs. I wanted to get you a video of this but both families were busy nursing. Still, this was also a wonderful moment and I’ve captured it for you on YouTube. Enjoy!
The wonderful thing about my breeding program is all the helpers I have. With sixteen to keep track of, it is almost a necessity. Plus the pups get used to all kinds of voices, smells and sensations. Wonderful for socializing. Alex and Michael came over yesterday to help me name our Independence Day pups. Here are some photos.
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| Alex bottle feeding Blaze |
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| Michael napping with Sparky |
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| Phoebe’s pups…6 girls on the left; 2 boys on the right |
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| This is our modified English Shepherd whelping box. It is large enough for mother and daughter to share. I just added a few bumpers in the middle. It will be good for about two more weeks. Things change quickly in this world of puppies! |
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| Sparky |
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| Blaze |
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| Jefferson |
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| Georgie |
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| Franklin |
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| Hancock |
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| Boomer |
| Burst |
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My days are filled with changing towels, changing newsprint (I use the clean newsprint that U-Haul sells as packing paper), feeding and bathing the grown-ups. I LOVE IT!
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| Daughter Jenny nursing one of our preemies |
All the puppies are growing by leaps and bounds. I am still bottle feeding Maxi’s two little ones and Phoebe’s two smallest ones though they are not nearly the size of Maxi’s preemies. It just gives them an edge since they often lose out to the bigger pups at the teats.
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| Don’t you wonder what is going through his little mind? |
Two of Maxi’s pups eyes have opened partially. They are the largest pup with the full white blaze and the littlest pup with the forked blaze. The rest should be open in the next day or so. Generally their ears open about the same time so the sensory input for these little guys is huge this week.
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| Maxi has pretty much got the hang of this part now. |
Today was manicure day for Maxi’s pups. They are two weeks old now (can you believe it?) and by gently handling their paws and getting them used to the clip-clip-clip…this process will be much less traumatic for them as adults. I use a human baby nail scissors at this stage. Their nails are tiny and they are also very sharp so I know Maxi will be very grateful!
Just think. Next week I get to trim 64 paws! I better keep the whole morning open.
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| Phoebe’s pups at five days old…so much stronger than Maxi’s thanks to their later arrival. |
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| How sweet are these babies? |
I have been a bit remiss and I apologize but we have been very busy. Wednesday morning I took Phoebe to my vet where they would keep a watchful eye on her while I participated in an event that took me out of the house for two days. Because we thought she was so late in her pregnancy I had actually decided Thursday morning to leave her at my vet until she had her puppies. But my dear daughter had a free afternoon and decided it would be in Phoebe’s best interest to bring her back to my house where she could deliver in the comfort of familiar surroundings. I called my vet to get her take on this and she said Phoebe was showing many signs of getting ready to whelp and would likely have her pups that afternoon or by Friday morning for sure but she saw no reason why we couldn’t bring her home. So, Jenny did and about twenty minutes after I got back to my house Phoebe delivered a beautiful black parti girl!
After that, Phoebe proceeded to give us five more girls and two boys. Eight pups, healthy and hearty!
She is a mess in this photo but look at the smile on her face. We have a wonderful rainbow of colors…two brown and white, four black and white and two of the girls are pure white! Can’t wait to see how they turn out. We have never had a solid puppy so this will be something different.
Meanwhile, we are still bottle feeding the two preemies from Maxi’s litter but they are gaining very nicely. Aren’t they darling?
And, finally, a shot of Maxi’s wonderful litter…getting so big already.
