Australian Labradoodles- Chocolate Puppies ready March 3!

File this under "Why I do what I do......"

2012-02-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

I received a lovely letter this week from a family who bought one of Rosie's puppies from last winter. Sometimes, not every family member is as "into" the idea of a puppy as others are. Here's Sophia, to describe her quest to become the owner of a sweet and cuddly Australian Labradoodle puppy:

My Challenge
By Sophia

In the distance, I could hear the sound of a newborn puppy squeaking like a mouse. My hart skipped with excitement! I did not want to ask because I knew my dad would say no. My hands were shaky and I was extremely impatient. I could not wait any longer. I wanted a new puppy and I was determined to convince my parents to get one.

Earlier that day my mom's friend called to see if we could get together. I asked my mom if I could go, and she happily said yes. Even better, I herd Shawna say some thing that peaked my interest that her daughter wrote a three page essay and gave it to her dad. Convincing him to buy a dog for the family. Her dad thought about it was very cute, and for her birthday, he rewarded her with a really cute and sweet new puggle.

So I wrote a convincing essay and put it on my dad's office chair. When my dad saw it he immediately showed my mom. She decided to do some research and began looking at breeders for Labradoodles, Poodles, and Goldendoodles. After some time, she found a breeder called Mt.Park Labradoodles. One evening Debi (the breeder) asked what we were looking for in a dog. When we got home, my mind was sailing through a see of thoughts of dog names, and looks. I even started to hear the dogs squeaks and whimpers.

The Next Month.....
I couldn't believe it! After weeks waiting, we herd back from the breeder. She said we have two matches-their names were Wilder and Manley, after much thought we chose Manley. On the airplane back from Hawaii we wanted to keep his name, but we gave him a middle name it's Leon. It is French for lion.

On April 10th, a lovely afternoon we went to pick up our first pet ever! Manley was so happy with everyone his body was going from side to side. Now that he is older, but very happy. He will always be our little sharing lion. I am proud that I remained determined and wrote a convincing letter to my dad, asking him for a puppy. Without it, Manley wouldn't be a beloved part of our family.

A note from "The Breeder": Little Manley is now all grown up, and is a very well-behaved, talented member of Sophia's family. He knows how to tango, how to sneeze on command, and- get this- how to say "I love you"! He knows to go out one door to go potty, and another door to play. I've tried to convince Sophia's mom to write a manual on how she trained him- we'll see. Manley was out of Rosie and Snazzy Jazzy's February 2011 litter. Our last litter from those parents is on its way, due March 28. Wouldn't you like your own little Manley?

2012-01-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

For more frequent updates, please follow us on facebook!

Click Here to Visit!

Enjoy,

Debi and Anna

We'resoooooo tired of being cooped up in the bedroom!

2011-09-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well, today's the day. We're going to move the puppies downstairs into the family room, in the heart of what's going on. Tonight, the puppies will be there to greet Anna when she gets back from opera rehearsal- she'll probably sing a bit for them :) Then, Reid will roll in after a hard-fought football game against our rival, Jesuit HS. Oh....better call them our friendly rival- one of our Mt. Park puppies belongs to a Jesuit family! We love the Ehlens- and our Leo loves them, too! Tomorrow, the puppies will have their first meal of mashed up, moistened puppy food with goat's milk. It will take them just a few minutes to figure out how to eat it, and then look out! After their meal, they're all going to get a quick rinse to remove the "eau de puppy pool" from their shiny coats, and then I suspect that they'll sleep the rest of the day. And when they wake up, we'll know, because the 10 little rascals have definitely discovered their voices!

10 days has sure flown by....

2011-09-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

Don't worry- she's keeping the puppy warm, not squishing it!

Boy, combine a new litter of puppies simultaneously with the first week of school, a bunch of auditions for one kid, opera rehearsals for same said child, a 50th anniversary party for my parents, a few football games, and I have been completely unaware of time passing. I've done a whole lot of puppy care, but I think my brain is so overloaded that I haven't noticed much! The puppies are huge- Samson (true to the example set by his brother, Manly, in the last litter) leads the pack at just over 2 pounds. Tristan is the smallest, as he was when he was born, but he's growing rapidly and appropriately on his own curve. The puppies get weighed every day, to make sure that no one is missing a meal. While I have them in hand to weigh them, we do early neural stimulation with them. To get the gist of ENS, go to page 4 of the linked article. This method of stimulation is said to produce dogs that are outgoing, not easily frightened, and more emotionally resilient than dogs who haven't been exposed to such stimulation. Read and see what you think!

Their eyes aren't open yet, but they are doing some form of marine crawl around the puppy pool. I would guess that their eyes will be open in another few days, and then, let the fun begin! Dave and I are already making our plans for the puppies' big move downstairs to the "big" puppy box in our family room- this should take place somewhere toward the end of next week.

I'm still staying very close to home, only leaving for a couple of hours at a time. We hired a great "puppy sitter" while we were gone for my mom and dad's party on Sunday- my peace of mind was worth every penny spent.

We're proud to introduce- (ta da!) The Opera Litter- Born September 4

2011-09-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Rosie had her Opera Litter yesterday. If you'll remember, our last litter was the Little House Litter- Laura, Mary, and all the gang grew up here last spring. In a remarkably easy (for me to say) and uneventful delivery, Rosie had 10 puppies yesterday: 6 girls and 4 boys. I think they're beautiful, and I think you'll think so, too! One of the puppies, Figaro, is the darkest red I've ever encountered, and there are 4 others who fall into the red/apricot category. Then, we have 5 who are loosely grouped into a sort of buff/beige/blonde (alliteration not intentional) assortment. They are extremely wiggly, vigorous puppies- to the point that it was almost impossible to get photos of them today. Obviously they missed the part where newborn pups are supposed to be still, sleep constantly, except when they're eating...

If you're interested, the names are all characters from famous operas, in honor of my 13-year-old daughter Anna's complete and total passion for opera:

Figaro The Marriage of Figaro and others

Samson Samson and Delilah

Tristan Tristan and Isolde

Hansel Hansel and Gretel

Flora La Traviata

Mimi La Boheme

Turandot Turandot (we'll call her Dottie)

Carmen Carmen

Rosina The Marriage of Figaro and others

Gretel Hansel and Gretel

Mom and babies are doing very well- each of the pups put on a bit of weight overnight, so they're being well-cared for. Rosie's in 7th heaven- she lives for having puppies. No kidding- she's grinning and wagging her tail nonstop, and unbelievably already has a waistline back. You'd never know that yesterday she weighed 45 pounds (9 pounds over her starting weight).

Check back often for updates, and pictures, if I can just get those active little ones under control.

Another blogger in the family....read all about it!

2011-03-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter and full-blown partner in our dog business, Anna Louise, has written a blog post about one of the puppies. Check it out- I think Anna did a phenomenal job!
http://annalmartin.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Naughty puppies!

2011-03-19T17:10:00.001-07:00

Something discovered the hard way. 5 week old puppies enjoy chewing on the tubing to Anna's insulin pump. So much so that they actually chewed right through it and the pump wearer had no idea until it was much, much later......a problem, but no real harm done :P
Should have taken pictures, but I think we were too busy putting out the fire.

Babies' Busy Day....

2011-03-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

A normal day in the life of our puppies looks something like this.

Between 6:30 and 7:00, Mama Rosie still gets in the box and nurses her babies, checking in with them to see how their night went. She no longer sleeps with them, but rather on the landing at the top of our stairs, with one ear cocked toward the puppies.

Shortly thereafter, I get up and put the pups in a "holding pen", so that I can strip their bedding, disinfect the whole enclosure, wash their water dispenser, clean the litter box, and swap out yesterday's dirty toys for a clean set.

The puppies HATE the holding pen- woo-woo-woo the whole time they're in there.

Then, it's time to eat. At the advanced age of 4.5 weeks, the pups are eating softened kibble only. They're big kids now- no need for formula or baby cereal any more! They eat from a miraculous thing called a "flying saucer" dish- the best, neatest way to feed a bunch of hungry pups while keeping the food contained.

They like their chow- no picky toddlers here!

After breakfast, it's nap time. They crash hard with warm food in their tummies.

This week, the puppies have started going outside for a while after naptime. It's not really cold out, just a little breezy. They're not so sure about being out yet...I played with them on the deck, and then put them in an ex-pen so that I could corral them while I (you guessed it!) clean their enclosure again.

These cycles repeat about 4 times a day. I try to introduce new things every day, and today, it was the vacuum. They've heard it before, but not so close and for so long. I pulled it up right next to the door to their box, and let it run for a while. You can see that they weren't too upset by the noise- in fact, after a few seconds, they just went back to playing.

At night, our whole family takes turns playing with all the pups. We pull them out, one by one or in groups of two or three, and alternate between cuddling, playing with them, and letting them roam a bit (while we follow behind with wipes to clean up any accidents.

Around 11, Rosie feeds her brood one last time, then it's lights out for babies. Sleep well! Tomorrow's another busy day.

Massive Growth, Puppy Chow, a Big Move, and a Wonderful Weekend for Me

2011-03-05T23:25:00.000-08:00

Where have I been for the past two weeks? Taking care of puppies, running up and down the stairs, hanging in the laundry room, and getting together with a group of my labradoodle breeder friends.

Well, still lots of work going on in terms of taking care of the babies. We've gone from micro management to a more macro stage. A few short weeks ago, I had to watch them very carefully to make sure that they were warm enough, not dehydrated, getting enough milk, and gaining enough weight every 12 hours- nerve wracking and such responsibility! Now I'm doing things like teaching them how to eat "real" food, cleaning up poo, and making sure that each of the pups gets appropriate stimulation multiple times daily.

Look at the size of those pups...

All of the pups are HUGE, when compared to their birth weight. Little Laura, who was the smallest pup at birth, now weighs 7.5 times what she weighed then! From 5.5 ounces to 38 ounces, all in 25 days. Because of the large size of this litter, we began the weaning process a few days earlier than we might if there had been fewer pups. This will in no way hurt the litter; they're still nursing, still being mothered by Rosie, and getting great nutrition. We began feeding them a semi-solid food last Sunday (the 27th); it's made of rice baby cereal and puppy formula. As with a human baby, you begin with a pretty thin mixture. I take each pup on its own and sit down on the floor with it. I scoop up some of the mixture with a finger, and put it on the pups lips. Almost all of them start to suck it off my fingers immediately. On subsequent days, I start putting my fingers down in the tray of food, and within 3 days they are eating very nicely. We had the mixture pretty thick by Wednesday, and the pups seemed to be tolerating it well. Also, they weren't attacking Rosie quite as voraciously when she came near to check on them! Poor girl, the collective weight of the litter is as much as she weighs :) She is such a good, good mama. I couldn't have asked for more in terms of her attentiveness and care of her babies.

Thursday morning, I started the pups on two meals a day of mash. I started adding in soaked and smooshed puppy kibble to their rice cereal. What a treat! And today, Saturday, their two meals consisted of about 2/3 softened kibble and only 1/3 rice cereal. It goes quickly! They are so very messy when they eat, often stepping in and sliding around on the food tray. They get it all over them, and if Rosie is nearby, she will lick up the remaining food and then clean up the pups. I play the backup role here, wiping the babies down with a warm washcloth to make sure they don't dry with a crust all over them :)

I'm the only one who is left wearing a crust....my clothes are taking a beating, and I'm not smart enough to "dress down" to do puppy care....

Which leads me to the topic of laundry. The pups are living on "hospital pads"- cotton quilt on one side, waterproof backing on the other. I change these 4 to 5 times a day, and of course after each meal. Our bedroom is upstairs, and the laundry room is downstairs, so I make lots and lots of trips up and down, all day long. I have laundry going round the clock, and if I miss a day, I'm really, really behind. Things just got a little easier for me, though.....

With the pups getting older and LOUDER, and now that they're better able to regulate their body temperatures, we moved them downstairs Thursday night. They were unsettled at first, but seem to have adjusted just fine. They are now in the center of the action- smack dab in the middle of our family room. It's not the most elegant way for our family to live, but I really think that our puppies turn out better for it (and I don't have to lug the dirty hospital pads up and down stairs!!!) We aren't the quietest people, and we have junior high and high school kids in and out of our house all the time. The pups don't even flinch at loud noises, which is exactly why I do it this way. I often pick one of the pups up and carry it around with me as I go on about my business- I just have to do things one-handed. They answer the door with me, do dishes, push laundry through, check my email- all in the name of exposing them to as many places, noises, sights, and smells as possible.

We will set up the "big" puppy box tomorrow, and then they will begin their early potty training. They have a natural instinct to want to relieve themselves someplace away from where they sleep and eat; we capitalize on this by placing a litter box at the far end of the box (which is 4 x 8). They will quickly learn that the box is the place to "go". This should make their transition into their new, forever homes a bit easier, although there is still much potty training work to be done after they leave our house. I am working hard to produce the easiest, most loving, and intuitive dogs I can.

Me and a couple of my sweeties

How do I expand my knowledge of just how to raise wonderful family animals? Every once in a while, I have an opportunity to attend a labradoodle breeders' conference. I've made some great friends in this community, and it's so fun to go and spend time learning and discussing topics related to labradoodles. This group also provides some accountability (for all of us) with regard to maintaining very high standards in health testing and ethical breeding practices. We're all trying hard to develop and maintain a breed that won't fall prey to overbreeding and genetic health issues. Our conference last weekend, was held in nearby Tualatin, and over 45 breeders from around the country attended. We networked, dined together, and sat in on seminars about taxes for dog breeders, neonatal care, socialization, color genetics, and (!) actual breeding management (you know, the ACTUAL breeding). I learned so much and came home to the pups eager to put a lot of new ideas into play. So much fun, and so educational!

Well, that's all for this week. I'm going to make like my doodle puppies and get some sleep.

Introducing.....a literary litter!

2011-02-19T21:17:00.000-08:00

I thought you might enjoy seeing some new invidual shots of the puppies- frankly, I have wanted to post, but haven't had the spare hour or two that it takes to shoot, edit, and post 10 cute pictures! At this point, I am doing 3 loads of puppy laundry a day, weighing each pup 2 or 3 times, "cooking" and feeding Rosie 4 big meals (she's hungry, as you can well imagine), filling up 2 hot water bottles 5 times each, "rescuing" 4 or 5 puppies who have wandered away from the milk bar, and if I'm not in the room constantly, checking back in every 20 minutes or so to make sure everyone's doing fine. I seem to forget how much physical work is involved in raising pups. It's happy work, though, and it makes me laugh as all 10 of the pups vocalize in a chorus that sounds just like the seagulls in "Finding Nemo"!

We haven't named a litter before, but thought it might be fun to have a (temporary) name to attach to each one of these little guys- you know, make their stay here more personal! There's a theme to the names in this litter...the theme is easy, and if you know, leave me a comment. But, the bonus points go to the person who can explain the role of each of these characters :)

Note the noses on these guys. You can see that some of them are very black, but most of them are pink turning to black. Most of the puppies were born with pink noses and foot pads, but they all gradually fill in with black as particles of melanin in the body gather and deposit in the nasal tissue. Interesting, huh! The puppies eyes should open in the next few days (they're partially there now) and their ears as well.

Without further ado, here they are!

The Girls

The Boys

The babies are here!

2011-02-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

Well, our new little ones decided to arrive a few days early! They weren't due until the 12th, which is this Saturday. However, I woke up Monday morning, took one look at Rosie, and said to myself, "This girl's in labor." At that point, I hit the ground running, cancelling several appointments for the day.

I checked in with the vet, who didn't quite believe that Rosie was ready to deliver. Dogs rarely deviate from a 63-day gestation period, and 5 days early is practically unheard of. We ran down to Wilsonville Vet, where Rosie's blood was drawn to check her progesterone level. If the level had dropped, that would indicate that things were moving, and quickly.

I took Rosie home, and had just gotten there when the vet called and confirmed that yes, she was laboring. We ran back in to have an ultrasound to assess whether the pups were ready to be born, so that we would have an action plan in place for any special care they might need due to being born early. The pups looked great- kidneys, intestines, lungs all checked out fine. Cleared for takeoff!

Relieved, I called Dave in Hawaii to give him the good news. He was feeling out of the loop, frustrated, and unable to help from so far away. Then I got in touch with Mom. My dad came immediately and picked up Pip and Paisley, so that the only dogs I had to care for were Rosie and the pups. Mom followed in her own car, planning to spend the night to lend moral support (as well as an extra set of hands during the whelping!). Anna came home from school and was thrilled to death that it was Happy Birthday for the new litter.

Sweet Rosie in early labor- sleeping sitting up :)

Rosie spent most of the day in the first stage of labor. This involves a lot of panting, trembling, moving around, not eating or drinking, and going in and out to go to the bathroom. I brushed her, clipped her nails, petted her, and just tried to keep her as comfortable as possible. Luckily, I had all of the whelping supplies set up and well-organized, so I wasn't forced to rush through that. Our dogs give birth in a kiddie wading pool, lined with soft fleece and absorbent hospital pads; I had only set the pool up the night before, thinking I had 5 or 6 more days before pups....Rosie knew better.

Four little red doodles

Around 10:30, Rosie started pushing. I hustled her into the pool, and the first pup came shortly thereafter. We were really surprised around 1:30 am. I was holding a pup who had just emerged, waiting to tie its umbilical cord- I was bent over, close to Rosie, looking at the pup. Not 20 seconds later, another pup popped out with a "whoosh"! I jumped, then cracked up that I had been caught so off guard. Weird!

The first pup was born around 10:30. We delivered pups all through the night; Anna made it until about 3:30 am, and then headed for bed. Mom and I thought the last baby had been born at about 4:30. I cleaned up a bit, sent Mom to bed, and leaned down to check on Rosie. I thought I could feel one more pup in her belly, so I called Dr. Calkins. He was so sweet on the phone, but very groggy! As he calculated the dosage and gave me instructions to give Rosie a shot of oxytocin to stimulate contractions, I could hear his wife in the background repeating back everything he said, as if to verify that he was getting it right. What a team!

Around 5:30 am, I gave Rosie the injection, and 15 minutes later, out came our last pup!

So comfy on top of the heap!

We have 10 beautiful, healthy babies: 7 boys and 3 girls. Most of them have what appears to be fleece coats like their dad, Jazz, while a few look like they'll be a little curlier. The smallest baby was 5.1 ounces at birth, while the largest weighed 10.3 ounces. They've been hard at work, eating and sleeping, for about 48 hours now, and the smallest pup at this point is 8.5 and the biggest 13.3 ounces. I check each pup's weight every 12 hours to make sure that it's moving steadily upward- this will continue for a couple of weeks.
The whelping pool is set up in our bedroom for the first couple of weeks; puppies aren't able to regulate their own body temperature at first, so we keep the room very warm. I check on the puppies every couple of hours, or sooner if I hear one of them fussing. They fuss if they can't find an open spot for nursing, or if they get separated from their siblings. Needless to say I'm not getting the best sleep of my life :) Goes with the job, I guess.

So, this hasn't exactly been the week I had planned, but I am so thankful that we have 10 healthy pups, that it's been sunny out and spring's around the corner, and that I was prepared just enough that an early delivery wasn't a problem. Can't wait to watch these cuties grow and change- what a privilege and a blessing!

HOW many puppies did you say, Dr.?

2011-02-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

Anna and I just got back from the vet's office with Rosie. We thought Miss Rose was looking quite large for as far along as she is in her pregnancy. As the preliminary ultrasound predicted, this is a LARGE litter. I was thinking 8, 9, 10 puppies. Just how many did we see on an xray taken this afternoon????

TWELVE PUPPIES, ALL SNUGGLED UP TOGETHER IN ROSIE'S BELLY!

I guess it's no surprise, then, when we look at Rosie and wonder if there's such thing as a "labra-cow"- MOO!

As of today, she's on Day 55 of her 63 day pregnancy. Rosie's technically due next Saturday, February 12, but could deliver a day or two early (or late....). Poor girl can't find a comfortable position for sleeping. I woke up last night to her sitting up, leaning against the wall and nodding off. When she sits, her tummy rests on the floor.

I'm trying to wrap my mind around caring for 12 little doodles...wow.

It's a lot of work, growing puppies!

2011-01-14T22:40:00.000-08:00

I shot this picture tonight, with sweet Rosie resting by the fire in the living room. So darling! We went to the vet for her ultrasound on Wednesday, and it looks like she's got a tummy full of labradoodle pups! I am so excited, but also mentally "girding my loins" for the work ahead. She's due on February 12, but if it's a big litter she could deliver a day or so early. Dave and I got into the attic to check out all of the whelping supplies; I'd forgotten all the stuff I have up there. I need to add a few more items, and then in about 2 weeks I'll start getting the house ready to welcome the new babies.

Rosie's eating LOTS all of a sudden, and she's kept herself extra close to me over the last week. That's normal for a pregnant girl, especially a first-time mom! She's enjoying some added menu items in addition to her dog food, such as scrambled egg, gelatin, olive oil, fatty hamburger, and a little molasses. The other two dogs are a little miffed with their kid sister. In fact, Pippin has his nose soooo out of joint that he decided to indulge himself with a little counter surfing tonight Here he's enjoying a yummy gluten free vanilla cupcake........(NAUGHTY BOY!).

It's been a long, dry spell....

2010-08-16T16:43:00.001-07:00

Oh, am I hungry for a litter of puppies! Our last litter was January of 2009, and due to a couple of unforeseen circumstances, we've had a period of time when we had no girls who were ready to breed. Finally, Rosie is getting close to being "good to go". We expect her to come into season sometime around November, which will give us puppies early in 2011, ready to go to their new homes toward the end of February or early March. I made arrangements today to breed Rosie to a fabulous little stud, Daisy Hill's Snazzy Jazzy, owned by Ladd Hill Labradoodles (see our Puppy Availability page for pictures and more info!) He is similar in size to Rosie (19" tall and 31 pounds), has a lovely apricot fleece coat, a calm and outgoing personality, and thick boning. He should complement Rosie's silky curls and quiet, sweet reserve very nicely. I would expect to see varying shades of apricot and cream in this litter, all with darling black noses. Anna and I are so excited to have some little wiggly ones in the house again.

Here's what our puppies have been up to!

2009-12-24T00:23:00.000-08:00

Teddy (formerly Electric Blue)
Teddy lives with Eric, Jen and Erica in McMinnville, Oregon. He’s a big and fun-loving kind of guy, and LOVES his 3-year-old. He’s cuddly and a little mischievous- currently working on his addiction to chew… (toys, that is!).

Lily (formerly Powder Blue)
Lily is an “absolute sweetheart” who lives with Steve, Laurie, and Anna in Portland. Her mom describes her as smart, sweet, affectionate, calm, and energetic when playing or outside. She enjoys going in the car, playing with her brother, Kona, who lives next door, is great at consoling when someone’s upset, and when it’s her bedtime, takes herself to bed. Lily doesn’t like going to doggie daycare at all. She, too, is a voracious chewer, but tries to stick to her own toys.

Kona (formerly Black, Checkers)
Kona lives with the King family in Portland, right next door to his sister, Lily! He is the water dog out of the litter- his mom says that she has to be careful with him anytime he’s around water. Last week in the ice, he decided to dive in and swim with the ducks in a large pond. Brrr! Kona’s a snuggler and really enjoys a little cuddle on the bed each morning.

Mabie (formerly Pink)
Mabie (Mabelline is her “real” name) lives in Camas, Washington with the Demmon family. She is quite mature for her age, sometimes passing as a two-year-old ! She loves spending time in Central Oregon, and loves other dogs (especially those smaller or her same size), but prefers playing one-on-one instead of in a big pack. Her best friend is Gus, who is another (bigger) labradoodle. She loves to follow her mom around the house.

Shyla (formerly Purple, or Pinot)
Shyla lives with the Kaul family in Portland. She has her dad wrapped around her little paw- and he wasn’t all that excited about adding a dog to the family in the first place! Like her sister, Mabie, Shyla doesn’t care for big dogs. She has a repertoire of tricks: shut the door, shake with right or left paw on request, give high fives, kisses and hugs, find the ball. Shyla loves being “mauled” by her brother, Sam, and was an angel for Halloween.

Ellie (formerly Green, or Gracie)
Ellie lives in Sammamish, Washington with Mark and Darcell, and her older doggie sister, Bailey. She has a great personality, and is great at getting Bailey to play with her. She has been a great addition to their family. We were happy to donate all proceeds from Ellie’s sale to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation !

Oakley (formerly Yellow)
Oakley lives in Boise, Idaho, with the Haynes family. He loves to rest his front legs on his family members- actually like a little kid saying, “Pick me up, Mommy!” Addiction runs in the litter, it seems- he is thankfully nearing the end of his chewing phase! He enjoys lots of outdoor activities with his family.

Lola (formerly Turquoise)
Lola lives with Gina and Jared in Scappoose, Oregon- right across the street from her sister, Ivy. She has a older doggie sister, Sasha, in her family. Lola is very feminine and calm- but also has been known to sneak into the dental chews and devour the whole bag! She watches her mom for cues, and has successfully completed her training course.

Ivy (no-collar girl)
Ivy lives with my mom and dad, Bill and Sharon, in Scappoose (right across from Lola). I see her frequently, and enjoy the boisterous greetings I get from her! Ivy’s training has gone very well, and like so many of her littermates, seems to be really intuitive about people’s feelings and moods. She enjoys a daily romp in the fields with my dad, and although she’s quite big now, she loves her morning snuggle with my mom (coffee time!). Pending completion of her health testing, Ivy will have our next litter for us this summer.

Nothin' like a little fresh air.....

2009-02-19T18:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I came to the realization that the puppies are getting restless. They need more exercise and room to play than they have in their 4 x 8 pen. So strange that just a matter of a couple of weeks ago, I thought that their pen was so huge and that they might feel lost in it!

The weather's been really mild this week. We have a good-sized deck on the back of our house, so I went to Lowe's and got some plastic netting with openings about 3/4" across. I spent a couple of hours completely wrapping our deck railings with this mesh, and then I fetched the thundering herd. Such happy little doods! They ran, they chased, they pooped, they picked up leaves and sticks, they hid under the table and pounced on each other- puppy smackdown! It was non-stop activity for at least 45 minutes, and then, a beautiful thing happened: they piled themselves in a heap and went to sleep. I realized that I don't really have any recent pictures of all 10 of the puppies together- note to self: take some, soon.

Today, they had 3 play sessions outside- from 7 to 8 this morning, from 11 to 1 mid day, and then from 4 to 5:30. They're so happy to come back inside, eat and take a nice, long nap. I'm quaking in my boots to think about tomorrow, when the rain is set to return to Oregon......what then?

Other puppy news:

Three of the puppies (Yellow, Baby Blue, and Pink) who are going to their new homes soon will have their spay and neuter surgeries next Wednesday, as well as get their microchips inserted. They'll also get their first experience with being in a crate for a few days as they recover, poor babies!

That's all for now. Think I'll go feed the puppies their dinner.

Chapter 12: In which some of our babies become known to their new families.....

2009-02-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

This has been a BIG week for the puppies. Anna and I were sick for most of the week, but the puppies didn't much notice. We matched several puppies on Friday with families on our list; I never dreamed it would be so much fun!

On Saturday, I was part of a birthday puppy conspiracy for the Demmon family's son, Lucas. He and his parents came to our house, ostensibly so that his mom and I could "do business", and we asked him if he wanted to see our puppies and play with them while his mom and I talked. He quickly saw a big red bow on Miss Pink Collar, and then read the tag, which said, "Happy Birthday, Lucas!" He was so surprised that he said he thought he was going to faint. It was such a sweet moment that I had tears in my eyes. (He told his mom later that he thought that I was trying to give him a puppy and that his mom and dad would say no.) He held his new friend, cuddled her, played with her- I know they'll be pals for life. Such nice parents, and what a sweet, lucky boy.

Also on Saturday, Mr. Yellow was matched with the Haynes family. He's got the best personality- all along I've been praying for a family with young boys to come along just for him. My prayers were answered last week when I was contacted by Beth- their family has a very active lifestyle, and yet were looking for a dog that would also be a great snuggle buddy. Her two boys and Mr. Yellow will have a great time together in Idaho.

On Sunday, the Reiff family and their beautiful daughters came to visit and talk over their puppy options. They have a special fondness for Miss Baby Blue, and with her sweet nature and little adventurous streak, she'll be the perfect jogging partner for them after she's grown. She's got a very feminine face- such a pretty pup, as well as very bright. She'll fit in with the Reiff girls perfectly!

New Life Labradoodles has chosen Miss White collar (she's beautiful!) as their pick, and we have decided to keep Miss No Collar as a breeding prospect. She will reside in the aforementioned "Land of Milk and Honey," at my mom and dad's house. They are so excited to have a dog again; since both Mom and Dad are retired now, they will have ample time to train and care for our big black puppy. Her new name? Mountain Park's Lambsie D'Ivy, call name "Ivy". Perfect for a puppy whose coat looks like a silky, wavy black lamb. We're so excited to watch her as she grows up!

We have 5 gorgeous puppies left to choose from. I've honestly toyed with the idea of keeping each one of them, they're so darn cute and have so much personality. But then reality sets in, and I know that each of them has a perfect home waiting out there. Could that be your home? See our remaining darlings on our Puppy Availability page.

On the puppy care front, this weekend was vaccination weekend. Anna and I gave each of them a DHLPP+Corona shot. It went fairly quickly, and as with most things involving the puppies, the trick is in the record keeping. They should get their next shots at 11 to 12 weeks, after they have gone to their new homes. We also wormed them last week, which is just part of routine puppy health care. We'll then worm them again this weekend, which is on the every two-week schedule our vet recommends for pups this age.

The puppies are eating a lot more puppy kibble now, and I'm mixing some dry in with the moistened food now. They like to play with the dry kibbles, but overall, there isn't nearly as much mess as there was when we were feeding them the mush/gruel/mash. They also don't "swim" in it like they used to, for which I'm thankful.

They've moved into an "on/off" schedule- that is, they have two speeds: on, and off. Not much in between. We give them an ever-changing assortment of toys, including some ropey things, chew toys, some fabric "bugs" with crinkly plastic in them, a couple of balls, and best of all, a cardboard box (?). Go figure. They climb on that box, sleep in it, chew on it, and hide behind it. We also let them have an hour outside every afternoon (weather's been pretty nice!) in an exercise pen, which they like and which gives me a chance to clean and disinfect their pen, give them new bedding, and give them fresh water.

Tonight, it's time to trim 160 little toenails again. That ought to make those puppies happy!
I'll post pictures in the morning, as soon as the light is good for photographs.

Out into the big world (or at least, out of our bedroom!)

2009-02-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to announce that the puppies have moved out- that is, they've moved into their new, luxurious Palais du Pup (puppy palace). It's 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 2 feet high. Made of the finest sheets of black PVC, it features spacious eating/sleeping/drinking quarters, and boasts its own bathroom! The new residents have moved in and truly made it their own... toys and balls can be found in every corner, and when those don't provide enough entertainment, there's always the water fountain to play in, and even puppy pee pads for hours of shredding fun! I'm sure if asked, the pups would say that they're "livin' the dream, baby."

It was time for a change. Past time. The puppies were noisy at night, and one solid month of interrupted sleep was more than enough for this middle-aged mama to handle. We've now moved the space heater downstairs, and the nighttime temperature in our room is again a comfortable mid-60's. Much, much better.

The only drawback to the pup's new living arrangement is the location of this puppy pen: it's smack dab in the middle of our family room. Not exactly the look I was going for when I decorated. However, we simply don't have another place for it, and I actually think it's good for the litter to be in the center of all the family action. I've already seen that they've gotten over being startled when doors slam or kids yell. They also clamor for attention when they see us walk by. Being held and played with is pretty popular with the 5-week-old crowd.

We are giving the puppies 3 meals a day, consisting of puppy food & a little warm puppy formula to soften it. I'm not squeamish by nature, but I have to tell you that the smell of warm, wet puppy food is less than appetizing. Makes it more bearable if you breathe through your mouth and not through your nose, though! Paisley still nurses her babies, but she will only nurse standing up. For the life of me, I can't figure out HOW that can be comfortable, especially now that each of the pups has a mouthful of very sharp teeth. They are so chunky and cute right now- I love their sturdy little bodies!

The new pen also has started the potty training process for us. Smart pups that they are (I'm so proud!), they naturally want to eliminate as far away from their eating/sleeping areas as possible. So, when they need to "go", they take themselves through a partition in the pen and into another small "room". A fair estimate at this point is that they poop in the "bathroom" about 90% of the time, and probably make it there to piddle 60% of the time? I think that's great, and it is starting to make my cleanup job much easier.

Regarding cleanup: I'm a little odor-phobic, and so at this point I'm cleaning the pen about 7 or 8 times a day- it's farm work, for sure. Backbreaking! Puts me in touch with my roots, I guess, although I'm told those roots involved dairy cows, not labradoodles. I've tried a fair number of cleaning methods. Ultimately, I've chosen not to support our current recession, and for my part, I'm singlehandedly keeping the disinfectant wipe industry afloat. I'm pretty sure that the citrus scent is the puppies' favorite, but I prefer the fresh linen, myself.

We try to take the puppies out of their pen every night, usually 3 or 4 at a time, for playtime. (First, we get them all excited so that they'll take care of their potty needs before we let them out!) They seem to enjoy running, chasing, jumping, and exploring the areas around the pen. We end up laughing so hard at them- their young age often translates into clumsiness and just plain foolish behavior. I hope today's video demonstrates what I'm talking about. What a hoot! Please forgive the poor quality- even the seasick nature of my videography. The puppy jumping at my camera was responding to me calling, "Come, puppy!" just to see what he'd do, not because he had any particular grudge against the camera. The puppies who are sitting there so politely were having a little rest while some of the others were out of the house. Also, it was over 60 degrees today, and so the whole motley crew got to spend an hour on our sunny back deck- it sure looked like they enjoyed it! Try not to laugh too hard as they run headfirst into the side of the pen...that would be cruel :) Oh, and I dare you not to think of Lawrence Welk when you hear the music on the video......

I had my first flash of sadness today, thinking of each of these little ones leaving us. Anna and I are doing everything we can possibly do to make sure that they've had sufficient exposure to new things, new tastes, new textures, sights and sounds, so that when they arrive in their new homes, they can comfortably ease into the lives of their new families. That day will be here before I know it- in just 3 more weeks!

Enjoying the finer things in life.....

2009-01-28T11:18:00.001-08:00

Well. In the past two weeks, the puppies have:

-Gotten the walking thing down pat. This took a little while, because it sure seemed that their back legs were willing, but the front legs took a little longer.

-Found their voices. They are still (!) in our bedroom, and every night at about 2:30, we are woken up by a chorus of high pitched little voices crying out what sounds like "Woo! Woo!". I'm sure that someday, these "woo-woo's" will become the most pleasant of "woofs", but for now, once I'm past the irritation of being woken up in the middle of the night, they crack me up. I just can't help it! Purple Collar Girl usually starts it (out of the 10, she seems to provide the most commentary on ordinary life- the first puppy blogger?), but the rest are more than happy to chime in.

-On the advice of our vet, started eating solid food. We began on Saturday the 24, with a thin gruel of Gerber rice cereal and formula (the same "first food" my human babies started on, and probably yours, too!). We took the puppies, two at a time, and placed them in front of a long, flat tray filled with the mixture. We had to coax some of them with food on our fingers, but most of them dug in with gusto. Now, 4 days later, we're adding in soaked and mashed-up puppy kibble, and slowly reducing the amount of rice cereal and formula. So far, no tummy upsets, and they seem to REALLY enjoy it- so much so that they wallow in it. That being said, they still want to nurse as soon as they're done with their mash. Poor Paisley- as you can see at the end of the video, she's looking bedraggled and bewildered, and REALLY in need of a trip to the spa! I know that look she has on her face- "Oh, the things I do in the name of motherhood." The puppies are getting bigger now, and not exactly gentle. I guess we should count it a blessing that they don't have teeth yet!

-Showing signs of individual personalities. They are really excited now when Anna and I come into the room- they want to be held, petted, and fussed over. I clipped all of their toenails last night (that's 160 tiny, needle sharp toenails, in case you're counting!)and all but two of them were clearly enjoying being held close while I clipped. They are playing a little with each other, and I sometimes think I'm seeing "puppy friendships" developing, although it's also possible that I'm just delusional. We made sure all of them had pottied last night, and then we let the 10 out to explore a little on the carpet. They toddled around, peering into everything, tasting anything they could put their mouths on. Like parents with multiple kids, Anna and I are constantly counting, "1-2-3-4-...." to make sure that all 10 are accounted for. I've even been known to flip them up to look underneath when they're all piled up, sleeping, to make sure that we still have 10 pups.

I spend so much time with them, it's a wonder I get anything else done. What a labor of love for me, though- there's joy to be had, even in cleaning up puppy pee.

Pippin's On Maternity Leave.....

2009-01-20T22:34:00.000-08:00

While Paisley's getting her babies raised, at least to the walking and eating puppy kibble stage, our non-breeding boy, Pippin, has been at Grandpa and Grandma's house. They call our dogs their "grand-doggers", and welcome them to their home anytime we need to go out of town and can't take the pooches with us. An aside: G&G live in the small town where I grew up, Scappoose, Oregon, and somehow, over the years, it has evolved that it never rains in Scappoose. Nor does it snow, or the wind blow, or any other adverse weather condition occur. This imaginary weather-related good fortune has become a joke in our family, and so it's now said that Scappoose is "the Land of Milk and Honey", "The Banana Belt", or simply, "God's Country."
So, the puppies' Uncle Pippin is on maternity leave in the Land of Milk and Honey, where his dog food arrives from the kitchen topped with a soupcon of melted butter for added succulence, where he gets to go on errands every day, and where snuggling on the couch reading espionage novels is the preferred pastime. From the looks of the picture above, Pippin's NEVER going to want to come home.........

O Pioneers!

2009-01-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

Well, what an adventure we've had over the past 24 hours. We went out for a couple of hours last night to see a movie. When we got back home, at about 9:00 last night, the power was out. Normally, being without power is an inconvenience; when you have 10 small puppies who are counting on a warm place to hang out, it's a bigger problem!

If you've been reading here, you know that our bedroom is temporarily Puppy Central, complete with space heaters that run 24/7 to keep the room nice and toasty. Well, with no space heaters, the room was quickly becoming too cold for the puppies' wellbeing. After much consternation, Dave and I decided that our best option was to move the whole litter downstairs to our living room, where a gas fireplace was the only heat available. We took a pile of clean flannel blankets, built a little "nest" enclosed with rolled-up towels and receiving blankets, built a draft-stop out of the sofa cushions, and settled all the dogs down in front of the cozy fire. Well, it should have been cozy, but given that the room temperature was 52 degrees, it wasn't exactly comfortably warm. So, I went to the kitchen and boiled some water on the stove (thank God for a gas cooktop!) and filled up "Icky Sicky Moose" (See him in the video clip!). Icky Sicky has been in the family since my kids were small; he's a hot water bottle with a moose-shaped fleece cover, and when filled with warm water, he is known to provide hours of comfort to the sorest throat and the most upset of tummies. Well, Icky Sicky had his finest moment last night- he kept those puppies snug and toasty all night long, with only one warm refill at about 3:30 am. Paisley was on one side, curved around the puppies, ISM was on the other side, the pile of puppies in the middle, and a light flannel sheet draped over the whole lot. The puppies passed the night in relative comfort fireside. I, on the other hand, was extremely nervous all night- I must have checked in on the lot of them 10 or more times. From my perch on the couch, I could keep a close eye on every tiny body, but there's no substitute for getting down there next to them and putting a hand on each tummy to make sure that all were warm and yes, still breathing!

Power was still out this morning. At 8:00 am, Dave went to his shop and picked up a generator so that we could run the space heaters (oh, and the generator also powered the tv, because it's NFL playoff time.....). Things got warmed up quickly, especially after we partitioned off the living room from the foyer with a lovely king size coverlet. It's so beautiful, I'm considering leaving it there permanently...

We did, however, get power back at around 1:30 today. It took until around 4:00 to get the whole house warmed up again... meanwhile, the wind still howls outside.

I wanted to share this short video of the puppies by the fire. Obviously, they're no worse for wear after their Road Trip down the Big Stairs. They seemed in no special hurry to get back upstairs... and they looked so darn cute in the flickering firelight (they would look really cute in front of your fireplace, too!) Enjoy.

WE CAN SEE!

2009-01-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

Cradled (light blue collar girl)

Well, what do you think? Have they grown?

Wow- the puppies are two weeks old today. Bad blogger that I am, I've been caught in a vortex of taking really, really bad puppy pictures and having nothing to post. So frustrating! To be fair, though, the puppies have been doing a lot of sleeping and eating, and not much else.... that is, until this morning!

One by one, throughout the day today, the puppies' eyes have all opened. We've thought for days that it would happen at any time; we've seen blinking movements and flinch reactions, but no eyes actually opening. It seems like it's taken forever! And now that they're open, they still really don't see very well.... you know the cartoon characters who have had too much to drink, and their illustrators use an "X" in place of the eyes to reflect their inebriated state? I think the puppies kind of resemble that. Over the next few days, they will develop the ability to see more clearly- very, very exciting. I can see their ear canals forming, and sometime in the next week they will actually open up to let the puppies hear. It's a miracle, really, that all of this development takes place to rapidly- perfectly designed, I'd say.

Paisley is taking great care of her 10 babies, although I feel a little sorry for her. What a lot of wear and tear on her body! The pups are very vocal now when nursing, and they pretty much are beating her up with their paws as they eat. They don't get lost as much on the way to their mom's side- efficiency is the word.

Anna and I continue on our mission of keeping the puppies clean and dry- not as easy now that they are, um, eliminating much more frequently. A load a day, at least, of puppy linens is about what it takes.

In the next 10 days or so, we will be moving the puppies to a larger puppy pen/box, so that they can move their growing legs and begin to play with each other.

Watch tomorrow for a video of the puppies trying to walk- it's pretty comical!

A trip to the vet, laundry and chicken thighs

2009-01-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

It's my job. Eat, sleep, grow!

Yesterday morning, I took ALL of the puppies, and Paisley of course, to the vet for a checkup. Imagine, if you will, a lidded, plastic storage box with ventilation holes on top, a heating pad on the bottom and soft flannel on top; now fill that box with ten puppies, stacked like cord wood, heads tucked under one another, snug as can be. Place that box in the front passenger seat of your car, where you can keep an eye on it. Place the worried mama dog in the back seat, where she isn't happy at all. Proceed down the interstate 5 miles, at which time the unhappy mama dog decides she's had enough and it's time to regain control over her family. To the front seat she comes, and promptly lays ON TOP OF THE BOX. Um, ventilation holes? Covered?

"Paisley- get off! Right now!" As well as I can, while trying to drive responsibly, I push her off toward the passenger side door, where there's not really room for her, but at least the puppies can breathe. I flip open the box, thinking that if she tries it again, we've got air. Well, now I understand what the real issue is: she wants to FEED the babies. In a remarkable feat of canine agility and skill, Paisley straddled the box with three legs, perched like a tightrope walker, and lo and behold, she fed her babies. Thank goodness the brakes never came into play.....

At the vet, everyone was checked over- every puppy, plus the proud mama, was pronounced healthy. Paisley (this will prove that dogs aren't really like people) is back down to her exact pre-pregnancy weight of 33 pounds, lucky girl. The puppies, on the other hand, are going the other direction: the largest is 1 lb, 2 ounces, and the most petite is Miss Green, at a perfectly-proportioned 10 1/2 ounces. Puppy trivia for the day: each day, for the first little bit, the puppy should gain about 10 percent of its current body weight, not its birth weight. It's a little like compound interest.

Things domestic: I've done a lot of laundry this week! Puppies and nursing mamas dirty a lot of sheets, towels and flannels, but it's very gratifying to see them nestling in a clean bed. Plus, I think the puppies prefer their sheets warm from the dryer- wouldn't you?

Menu du Jour for New Mothers

Gently poached chicken thighs (with skin, of course!), cottage cheese (make it the good kind, says Paisley- none of that skim milk stuff for me) , and calcium-rich puppy food

Lots of fresh water

Bon Appetit!

Thursday in the Puppy Chronicles

2009-01-09T20:38:00.000-08:00

Black collar Boy- Starting to look like a puppy!

A couple people have asked why the puppies have a collar on them at such a young age. These collars help me to identify each puppy at a glance; I weigh them twice a day (more often for the littlest of the group, Miss Lime Green, who is spunky and healthy, just petite!), and I chart their weight increases each time. This allows me to spot a problem as soon as one might appear. It's important to see continuous gain, even though it doesn't have to be a large one. Today I spent a half an hour cutting out new collars and replacing the ones already on the puppies- they were just too grungy for me to stand.

Changes happen at warp speed: A few days ago, I commented on the fact that their ears, noses, and paws were bare. Well, not today! A light feathering of hair has appeared on their muzzles, and on their little ears, as well. The ears, which were plastered to the sides of the puppies' heads when they were born, are starting to pop out. What's comical is that they don't pop out at the same time, which lends a strangely goofy and lopsided look to their cute little faces. And here's your trivia fact for the day: at birth, the ears are completely closed, and only gradually open up to enable the sense of hearing. This should happen around 2 weeks of age. Their eyes will open around 9-11 days after birth. The other change is the black pigment that develops on their nose, mouth and paws- you can see on Mr. Black that he already has a cute little nose that will soon be completely darkened.
Some personality traits are starting to emerge, all related to their eating behavior (frankly, that's all they can do....) The yellow-collar puppy is VERY vocal when it can't find a place to eat. The biggest black girl kind of reminds us of a locomotive when she's on her way to nurse-there's no stopping a steam train! White tends to get a little distracted on her way to the kitchen, often ending up suckling on her littermates (eewww).

That's all for now. Off to bed now-we're getting used to sleeping in a really warm room- makes the rest of the house seem so chilly!

SNUGGLEDOODLES

2009-01-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

It's now Monday afternoon, and it seems to be a much more peaceful day than yesterday. Even 24 hours has made such a difference in strength for the little doods- they are maneuvering around quite nicely. Each one of them has gained poundage (well, ounceage?) since yesterday, and the most amazing thing (at least to me) has happened. There aren't enough "faucets" for Paisley's 10 babies- there's only 8. So,
Paisley has done doggy math and divided the babies into two nursing groups of 5 each. That way it's not so crowded at the well. Makes for better imbibing that way. I hope her genius grouping lasts through the night, so that I'm not up every 20 minutes or so like I was last night.

I thought this picture of two of the litter (purple collar and light blue collar) all spooned up together was cute; it also shows what I meant when I said that they are still pretty embryonic at this point. Their ears, muzzle, and paws are still just soft pink skin (pretty adorable, though) and their eyes won't open up for about a week. And they smell soooooo good.

The babies have arrived!

2009-01-04T13:29:00.001-08:00

Well- we have babies. Lots and lots of babies. Details? You want them, I'm sure, but first, here's the lead in:

We spent the New Year's weekend (well, Thursday through Saturday) organizing and assembling (and yes, buying!) all of the supplies we would need to deliver Paisley's litter. I had help from so many sources; my mom collected cotton flannel receiving blankets from the thrift store and vet wrap from the local feed store in Scappoose, my friend Kim VERY KINDLY delivered a whelping pool in the pouring rain on New Year's Day so that Paisley had a nice little space in which to deliver, and my friend Lisa the Practical (yes, that's her name- she's got a lot of common sense and a good deal of useful knowledge stored in her pretty head) accompanied me all over town as we bought heating pads, nasal aspirators, etc. Good times. When our friends came to stay for New Year's they really had no idea that they would be subject to all of the hubbub as we took Paisley's temperature, marvelled at the size of her belly, and just generally wondered when the baby doods would arrive.

We adults looked at all of the preparations as things to be done, but for the 4 kids hanging out, this might have been the biggest excitement they'd experienced since.....since.... well, I would say since Christmas, but that was only a week ago, so I'll let you insert your own exciting event here. They brushed Paisley, watched her to see if she was "having contractions", and tried to figure out how many puppies were in that behemoth tummy of hers by listening through a stethescope. I'm sure I answered at least a thousand kid questions in three days- between my kids and our friends'- about how do I know when Paisley's babies are due, what's a placenta, how come we couldn't just choose the date we wanted to breed Paisley to James Brown so that we could control the due date, etc. I finally laid down a moratorium on new questions yesterday- I needed to save up my energies for the big event!

When we took Paisley's temperature yesterday, it was down a full degree from the previous week's levels; this is a good indicator that delivery will follow in 24 hours or so. She didn't eat at all, which was a huge change- we've been joking that lately she would eat anything that wasn't bolted down, she was so hungry. At about 11:00, Paisley and I made three or four trips outside so that she could relieve herself. At 11:45, she started having contractions. At 12:15, I woke Dave (much to my amusement- he was in that deep, deep sleep and literally walked in circles for a minute or so before he figured out what I needed from him) and he woke Anna.

An aside: Poor Dave. In order to watch the new arrivals very closely, we have them in a whelping pool (kids' wading pool) in our bedroom. We normally keep our room very cool at night for sound sleeping. For the health of the puppies, the room needs to be VERY warm at first. We had the space heater cranked up, plus a little incubator box with a heating pad set up, and finally a warming pad under the whelping pool. I thought it would be too warm for sleeping, but somehow, after waking Anna up so that she could help me, Dave managed to climb back in bed at about 2:30 and sleep just fine. The things we endure for our animals!

Dr. Anna- she's just the girl to have around when puppies are arriving. At 10, Anna is fascinated with all things medical. She's unflappable, and even though birthing puppies is an earthy, messy, smelly, organic kind of experience, she cowboyed up and did the work of a full-grown veterinarian. She clamped cords, rubbed puppies down to get them breathing well, weighed and charted, picked colors and put on neckbands, and made sure that the puppies in the warming box were in great shape. We had talked about things she might see during the delivery, and all along she told me that she would be just fine. She was more than just fine! She would like me to tell you that she's available to help with all your puppy-whelping needs. I highly recommend her.

Thank you for indulging me. Now I suppose you want the vital statistics?

We have 10 PUPPIES!

7 girls, 3 boys. First born at 1:04 am, and the last born at 5:00. That's a lot of puppies in short order!

There are 2 black, curly puppies,1 blondish one, 1 chocolate/cafe, and 6 in various shades of gold/apricot/caramel. They are very squirmy and twitchy, as is normal for a newborn puppy, and it's truly amazing that they are born with such a strong instinct to nurse. As soon as we get the cord clamped and dry them briskly with a washcloth, they want to latch on to eat.

Paisley's figure went from looking like a whale at bedtime last night, to a serene nursing mama with hints of her normal waistline this afternoon. And hungry? She's back to inhaling food, after a brief intermission to get ready for the birthing yesterday. Lots of hungry little mouths to feed!

Because we were up all night (I got everything cleaned up and crawled into bed at 6:30 this morning) it's been a quiet day today. Anna and I holed up in the puppy den (which used to be my bedroom!) where it was very warm and snuggly. We just looked at the puppies, made sure they were each getting their fair share of the grub, and hung out. Dave, bless his heart, kept the grungy birthing linens going through the wash and bleach cycle- much appreciated.

Paisley is a little, er, indisposed today, and is claiming camera shy until tomorrow. She's had several showers and didn't want to appear without fixing her hair. By tomorrow, though, she's sure to be looking her glamorous best.

Until then, wish us a night where everybody is able to belly up to the milk bar!

Paisley's belly reaches lower...the snow gets higher

2008-12-23T23:57:00.000-08:00

Paisley is definitely looking, well, pregnant at this point. She's lost her normally trim tummy, and definitely isn't in the mood for roughhousing with her brother, Pippin. We've had a few good laughs at her expense this week, as the snow at our house is reached 18 inches deep. Her poor little legs aren't all that long, and as she sinks in, her puppy belly is dragging on the snow. Oh, the humiliation!

And then there's the question of where a girl can relieve herself. All of her normal "landmarks" are gone- there's no bare ground visible anywhere! Makes things a little more challenging than normal, but the cold seems to do the job persuading her to hurry up and take care of business. She doesn't forget that the warm house is waiting.

I've been assembling all the supplies needed for whelping this litter; one problem I've encountered is where to find a whelping pool in the middle of December. Normally, a person looks for a rigid, plastic wading pool in early summer- the owner of our local hardware store didn't quite understand why I was needing one at Christmas time. His puzzlement didn't last long- my attention was drawn back to the extensive display of animated snowman yard lights and light up plastic nativity scenes.....Paisley might enjoy looking at one of those while she's nursing her new puppies....