I thought if anyone is watching the webcam, they might enjoy a brief summary as we go along. You may have to refresh the page to see the updates.
11-10-11 Wilma gave birth to 7 girls and 4 boys. One girl was born dead, unfortunately, leaving 10. Wilma decided to surprise me and have two of the pupppies outside during potty breaks - a first for me. She's being a great mom, very careful, very attentive. Some are careful, some are attentive - nice when a mom is both!
| sex |
color |
11-10
|
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
19 |
21 |
23 |
25 |
12-1 |
12-8 |
| F |
Pink |
14.6 |
15.1 |
16.5 |
18.2 |
20 |
22 |
1 /9 |
1/13 |
2/1 |
2/5 |
2/10 |
2/15 |
3/11 |
5 /11 |
| M |
Blue |
14.5 |
15.2 |
16.7 |
18.7 |
22 |
24 |
1/10 |
2 |
2/1 |
2/9 |
2/13 |
3/2 |
4/3 |
5/13 |
| M |
Dk Green |
11.4 |
11.6 |
12.3 |
13.9 |
14 |
16.5 |
1/3 |
1/6 |
1/8 |
1/10 |
1/13 |
2 |
2/9 |
4/1 |
| F |
Yellow |
11.9 |
12.3 |
13.7 |
15.1 |
17 |
19 |
1/5 |
1/9 |
1/12 |
2 |
2/2 |
2/3 |
3/3 |
4/13 |
| F |
Orange |
14.4 |
15.1 |
16.2 |
18 |
20 |
21 |
1/7 |
1/11 |
1/14 |
2/1 |
2/4 |
2/6 |
3/6 |
5/4 |
| F |
Lilac |
13.8 |
15.1 |
15.9 |
18 |
20 |
22 |
1/9 |
1/15 |
2/2 |
2/7 |
2/12 |
3 |
4/1 |
6/3 |
| M |
Purple |
13.4 |
14.1 |
15.5 |
17.6 |
20 |
21 |
1/8 |
1/13 |
1/14 |
2/3 |
2/6 |
2/13 |
3/8 |
5/8 |
| M |
Khaki |
13.4 |
13.7 |
15.3 |
17.6 |
19 |
22 |
1/9 |
2 |
2/3 |
2/6 |
2/13 |
3/2 |
4/1 |
6/5 |
| F |
White |
14.1 |
13.6 |
15.7 |
16.7 |
19 |
21 |
1/8 |
1/10 |
1/14 |
2/3 |
2/5 |
2/10 |
3/10 |
4/15 |
| F |
Lt Green |
13.5 |
13.9 |
14.2 |
16 |
17 |
19.5 |
1/5 |
1/11 |
1/9** |
1/12 |
2/3 |
2/7 |
3/4 |
4/11 |
11-11-11 Pups are doing great. All but one gained weight, and Ms. White's weight loss is well within the 10% that is acceptable on the first day. At this point, weighing the pups every day is all important. Failure to gain weight over the first few days is a big sign of possible trouble. Changed all the ribbons today. They always get very dirty the first day since when they are put on, there is a lot of blood, etc in the pen. Really like how the coats look - nice and shiny, tight to the body - no soft coats in this group.
Wilma is doing fantastic. She's a natural mother. Pups were a little noisy last night, I don't think she started with a lot of milk. Now they are active but not noisy, a sign of contentment. It's amazing how well tiny pups can do at telling you when they aren't happy. A little noise goes a long way when they are right next to my bed.
I give Mom a lot of alone time with the pups the first couple days. It's all new to her, and she needs peace. She's panting a lot, even though the room is just 72 - 75 degrees F. I think it takes a while for them to get used to the heat from their boobs when they are full of milk. Like having 8 little heat packs strapped to their belly!
11-12-11 Well, the only noise last night was the periodic sound of puppies slurping down milk. Wilma had to go out in the pouring rain, she wasn't happy about that. Her appetite is very good, something I like to see. Her big adventure today was getting cleaned up. A bath of her rear end, a good brushing, and scissoring off matts around the nipples. By the time she got back to the pups, they were very vocally upset!
Tomorrow we start the super puppy exercises, designed to very mildly stress the puppies. The purpose is to force their brains to learn to cope with stress early by providing neurological stimulation, making a dog that is better at coping later in life. The US Army was the first to develop and use these exercises (on dogs, not people). They are done from day 3 to day 16.
11-13-11 Started the super puppy exercises. And took a good look at the pups and made some notes to compare to how they look later on. Wilma is once again aware there is a world away from the pups. She played with Gamble a bit this morning outside, and enjoyed some company from friends.
11-14-11 Day 2 of superpuppy. Right in the middle of doing it, Wilma decided to let down her milk. It seemed a bit rude to pull a pup off mid-drink, so I paused until it was clear the milk rush was over. Today Briards Ego, Liza, and Philippe were here with Donna and Jerry, and Wilma simply doesn't worry about it. I've had moms who really hated other dogs in the house during the first couple weeks of new puppies, but Wilma just says hi, how you doing, and back to puppies! As long as they don't block her way to the whelping box, that is a no-no. Weights - I would like to see a bit more weight gain for Mr. Dark Green. He's only put on three oz since birth.
11-15-11 Mr. Dark Green did much better - gained over 2 oz. Everybody is now over a pound. Yeah! Switched out the padding under the cloth. I use newspapers before whelping and for a few days after for 2 reasons. 1) Whelping is messy, newspapers are cheap. 2) They act as a kind of alarm. When the dam moves around, the newspapers make a noise, telling me something is going on. I wake up to that even in the middle of the night (especially before whelping). Wilma is doing so good, she gets to go to stealth mode, no more newspapers. I had knee surgery a while back, so can't easily kneel or sit in the pen right now. I use a little garden stool that was given to me by Wilma the original years ago. So when I am in the pen on that stool, I remember my friend, and how much fun we had with our dogs! Wish she could have met Wilma the Briard, she would have loved her namesake. Oh - did superpuppy.
11-16-11 Since a couple of the pups had decided to go naked, changed ribbons today. They grow so fast! Wilma has a bit of a temperature, so started her on antibiotics. It's pretty common for a dam to run a temp after whelping, if any placenta tissue is retained. And just the physical changes after having 11 pups can take a while to heal. The temp should come down pretty quickly; if not, it will be a trip to the vet. I've been temping her daily, today is the first day she's been 2 degrees over normal. The antibiotics don't hurt the pups, or affect her milk. Her nipples look good, and she is eating well. Right now it's about 3 to 4 times her normal amount, but that will keep climbing for the next 2 weeks. Just before I start supplementing the pups, she could be eating 5 - 6 times her normal amount of food. And that is high protein kibble, plus cottage cheese and yogurt. All that milk has to come from somewhere! Wilma is also limping a little, probably from laying in one position so much. So, more gentle walking around the yard for her. Puppies all feel like round rubber balls. Weights are now in pounds and ounces.
11-17-11 Not much to report today. Now that the pups are a week old and doing so well weighing switches to every other day. Wilma's limp is almost gone. The pups are so active! And you should hear the screaming when one gets off by itself and isn't sure where mom and siblings are. Hard to believe something that small can make such a loud noise! Still doing superpuppy.
11-18-11 Big weight gains for most of the pups. Will have to switch scales next time I weigh. And they are now due for the first nail clipping. I think a couple have started to hear noises. I was in with them and Mori started to bark in the living room, and a couple kind of jerked at the noise, like they were startled. At least none of these are middle of the night barkers. I remember one orange girl in a litter, couldn't hear yet, eyes still closed, but she liked to just bark. She wasn't crying, wasn't upset, just enjoyed the act of barking. Once she could hear, she stopped. I haven't heard any of these bark yet. Blue boys coat is looking a little different than the others. I think he will have a wavy coat. It doesn't seem soft, just has a textured look to it. Wavy coats are funny looking on a pup, but make lovely adult coats, especially when a Briard is trotting.
11-19-11 Big day for the pups. Their first nail clip, and their first "stranger" visitors - people Wilma had never seen before. She just loved the company, even letting a stranger join her in the puppy box while she nursed, and stay in the box when she wasn't there. She is such sweet girl! Her temperature is back to normal. Ms. Lt Green lost about 1.5 oz, so she'll be weighed every day to see if it was an anomaly.
11-21-11 I was so tired yesterday, completely flaked on an update. Today was another big day - eyes are open! Surprised me a bit to see them all wide open, they were just slits yesterday. They can't actually see yet - that takes a couple more days. Weights were all good. I think I just blew it weighing Ms. Lt. Green. I had her gaining 6 oz in one day, and losing 2 the next. More likely that she gained 2 oz one day, and 2 the next, and now another 3. These are really fat puppies. I haven't seen puppies this fat in a large litter, only in a small litter. All Wilma's doing, she is so attentive = lots of meals. Several of them have started peeing and pooping on their own. To use a cliche, they grow up so fast!
11-22-11 Spent the day home sick, so the puppies got a lot of cuddle time, one on one. Easy to relax when you are holding a warm puppy. They have a little diarrhea, so are on albon for a few days. Super puppy is becoming more than a one hand thing - they are getting to be too big. Have to use two hands now. Still not seeing much. I'll know they are seeing well when they look at Wilma when she comes in. A couple are on their feet and wobbling around.
11-23-11 Mr. Purple likes to chew my chin. Ms Pink gets comfortable and goes to sleep. Ms. Orange can bark. Mr. Green loves to explore. And Ms. Yellow is really good at pooping on her own - we won't get into how I know that! It's time that they all get more and more individual attention. Abby was in heaven - she got to sniff and lick all the puppies on my lap. Mori thought they were a bit scary, and Gamble doesn't have a paternal bone in his body.
11-24-11 Happy thanksgiving! 2 weeks old today. Ms. Pink staggered all the way across the pen, and I posted some pics of the pups. Look for the photos tab above.
11-25-11 What a huge difference 24 hours can make. All of the pups are really walking, and today was the first day they played with each other. Mr. Blue started it, but almost everyone joined in. Lots of tripping and rolling, but they were clearly having fun. They can all see, hear, and walk - makes them real puppies now! First worming today. Wilma actually let Mori sleep in bed with me last night. It's going to go really well when the pups move into the living room in 10 days - Wilma will be fine with it.
11-27-11 Forgot to update the journal. OOps! Drove myself crazy yesterday, breaking and fixing the website. Still not sure how I managed to break it, but backups are good. I was getting our holiday collar page changed a bit, and it can now be reached at www.Holidaycollars.net - tell your friends!
Was a bit worried about Ms. Yellow not showing a lot of weight gain the last few days, but yesterday she had a solid 3 oz, which is great. Working on Wilma's coat. Puppies cause a lot of mats very quickly, don't want that to get out of hand. They are so very active - for brief periods. 5 minutes of play, 60 minutes of sleep. It's an age thing. But those 5 minutes are lots of fun. BTW, if anyone wants to see one or more puppies up close, just let me know, and I can do that with the webcam. Claude is coming down to see pups, and with the help, I'll get some individual pics done. 5 more days to formula feeding, 1 week until the big move to the puppy pen.
11-29-11 These guys sure know how to party! They go from fast asleep to vigorous play in a flash. And the play is hilarious. I was watching Ms Orange try to grab Wilma's ears, and then tumbling back, and repeat again. And Ms Light Green was behind Ms White, poking her with her foot, and barking each time she poked. Have you noticed how Mr Blue likes his pillows? That's what teddy bears are for. Mr Blue has the biggest repertoire of sounds so far - he's very expressive. Expressed his opinion of having his nails trimmed! Put a water dish in the pen today. They will gradually notice it is there, and check it out. Two more days until they get their first feeding with formula. I'll have to video that, it's so entertaining.
If you noticed a new face sitting with pups today, that was my friend Claude. She's a sucker for puppies, so Steve is left to fend for himself for a bit while Claude gets a puppy fix. And I get help cuddling and handling pups. Claude said Wilma is at the sadist stage - she comes into the pen, gets the puppies all excited and looking for food, then hops back out. Maybe it's a test to see how hungry they really are?
11-31-11 (aka 12-1-11) Today is the big day! In a couple hours, at about 9 am here, the pups will learn that not all food comes from Mom. It's formula day! I use Goat's Milk Esbilac, a premade formula with Goat's milk as a base. First Wilma is locked off from the pups fro a couple hours, to make sure they are hungry. Then, I bump the temperature of the room up. Even though the formula is warm, after the first few meals puppies always shiver, even if they don't end up coated in formula. I put down a big towel to absorb all the mess, set down the pan, and step back. If someone doesn't get the idea, the classic "dip their muzzle into the milk" maneuver is tried. And when they are all done, Wilma gets to lick the bowl and the pups. Bathing pups will be left to the humans, however. Bitches never quite get all the milk off. The first day they will get one, maybe 2 meals, and it will be just formula. By day 3, they will be geting at least 3 meals, and I'll be starting to mix in ground dog kibble. Wilma will be allowed to feed as ms long as she likes. If the bitch doesn't wean the pups herself, I start gradually cutting back her food at about 6 weeks, and the milk will dry up by eight weeks.
PS - feeding went great today. The group ate almost two cups of milk at one sitting. And then spent a lot of time trying to lick each other clean. And today they had their first dog visitor - both Abby and Zoe made visits to the whelping box, when Wilma was occupied elsewhere. Abby left in a hurry when the pups started looking for her food dispensers. No milk in those nipples! Three weeks today, added weights to the chart. Hard to believe how many added a pound in just a week.
12-4-11 Boy, has it been busy lately! Just keeping the whelping box clean from 3 weeks to 3 1/2 weeks is a lot of work. Changing it three times daily is a must. Feedings have been twice per day until today, when it went up to three times. And today a little ground up kibble was added to the formula. The big change, of course, was moving the pups from the whelping box in the bedroom to the puppy pen in the living room. The pen will be 8' X 12' by the time the pups are 8 weeks old - that means clearing a large part of the living room. So, have to clear the living room, set up the pen, move the puppies, take down the whelping box, and store living room furniture in the bedroom for the next 5 weeks.
The pen is a big change for them. It's the first time they can see out. No solid walls, the world is suddenly huge. And up until now, when they have been in the living room, it's been in someone's arms. Now, everything is going on around them. Dogs coming and going (as I write this, there are 8 adults and 10 puppies in the living room, with my 4, Claude's 2, and Jerry's 2). The pen is 6' x 8' to start. They have to walk on newspaper, not just cloth. And when I clean, they are loose, exploring the room as much as they want. One adage says a puppy should walk on 7 surfaces by seven weeks. They now have ccushioned cloth, newspaper, vinyl flooring, and ceramic tile. It will be harder to see them on the webcam until they grow a bit, because of the bigger pen. I should get pics posted tomorrow, I have some really cute ones!
12-5-11 They are becoming comfortable in the pen, playing and looking out. Zoe, Abby, and Mori all visit when Wilma isn't right there. Posted some photos from week 3 today. In just a couple days, I'll need to get week 4 pics up! Hard to believe they will be 4 weeks on Thursday.
12-14-11 It seems like so much is going on, I forget to write about it. Just keeping up with them takes a lot of time. They love getting out of the pen now, and will stand by the gate waiting for it to open, barking and crying. Once out, they explore the whole living room, love climbing on people, and chase each other. Wilma shows some interest in them, but they are kind of at an inbetween age - old enough that nursing them isn't much fun, and a bit too young for her to play with. They are enjoying going outside. Today was nice enough to get them out again. One disadvantage of my house is that to go out on their own, they have to go down stairs. They usually can't do that for about another week. So, going outside now means carrying them all down, and back up. But they run all over, try digging a little like Mom showed them, and are learning to pee and poop outside.
Speaking of - I have used shredded blank newsprint in the potty area of the puppy pen for years, buying end rolls at the local (35 miles away) newspaper. Was using up old paper, got to the end, and they don't have it anymore! They outsourced their printing. What an unexpected bummer. Decided to try pine shavings for now. Had to do some edging around the pen for containment, and the shavings get everywhere in the pen. When Wilma jumps in and out, they get everywhere outside the pen, too. We'll see how this works out. The shavings I bought are baked to eliminate the oils, which can be irritating to the skin. I will say, they smell good! Puppies don't seem to have noticed any difference. I'll notice when they start showing up in my bed, though.
They are off formula now, eating soaked kibble (Canidae ALS original formula). with a little yogurt. Wilma is starting to get a bit less food, but gets to clean up the puppy pans. I don't "wean" the pups - I let the dam decide when she is done. But I do cut the dam's food gradually, which usually slows up the milk supply.
Personalities are starting to show up, but I'm not making any judgements yet. From my experience, they can have big changes at around 5 to 6 weeks. As a reminder, boys are Blue, Green, Purple, and Khaki. Girls are Pink, Orange, Yellow, White, Lilac, Lt Green. Posted the 4 week old weights above. Notice that tiny Mr. Green gained 24 oz, more than many of the other pups. He may still catch up!
"Wilma"
Wilma is named after my good friend Wilma Awana, breeder of Franmas Silkies. Wilma started me in dog showing many years ago. I can still hear her telling me, "I'm not just a pretty face, you know." Wilma helped me whelp my first litter, many years ago. One of those first pups is today a very lively 13 year old dual champion. She has championships in conformation and obedience. Wilma would have loved that!
"Gamble"
