Two Weeks, Four Days Old

Well, not much new has happened since yesterday but I took some pics anyway. Now when I take them out to clean their pen etc. they have to go into 2 separate containers. Pretty soon, the baby bathtub won't hold them either. Two escaped yesterday while I was wiping down the box. The puppies are upstairs in my family room but once they get a little bigger and more mobile they will go down into my (former) scrapbooking room where they will have a big play area.

Two Weeks, Three Days

Puppies and Mom are doing well. We are always happy when we make it to 3 weeks because then we can start with real food and it takes the burden off of Mom.

The puppies have to double-decker now to get to the good stuff.

They go in from all angles hoping to get to their favourite location. The best milk is at the back, don't you know? 

Too bad the photo is a little unfocused. If you look really closely, you can see the puppy on the right has one eye open. It is still filmy but their vision is starting to improve.

They are starting to interact a little with each other. But mostly they just like to snuggle up with their brothers and sisters and sleep.  My nephew, Aiden won the little contest that we had to guess when they would be born. He guessed 8 puppies on the 8th which was absolutely correct. She had the 1st puppy on the 7th. So A-Mac gets to name a puppy. I'll keep you posted on his choices. Remember, they will start with the letter K.

The Show Must Go On....

Despite being extremely busy with work and the new pups, the preparations for Lindor's fundraiser in June must carry on. It will be here before you know it. My friend, Anne Marie, has been a big help getting things organized and working on some items for the goodie bag. There is a little bit of a theme this year. Can you guess what it is? 

Two Weeks Old today

Aren't they sweet?  And so is the special lady who left the parcel on my doorstep today.  Something for the fundraiser in June. Her initials just might be SB. So very thoughtful and appreciated.

Twelve Days old

The pups are getting bigger everyday. Mom is working really hard trying to produce enough milk by eating over 12 cups of kibble a day. For the first 3 weeks, they will be totally dependent on her.

Six pups in the tub

                                    Nine pups in the tub. You can see its getting a little crowded.

I have put Ric-Rac on the pups to tell them apart so I can make sure that everyone is gaining weight and doing well.

On Sunday, (Day 11), I saw the first glimmer of light in one of the pups eyes. On Monday, a few more spots of light were visible. In the next few days, there eyes should be completely open although it will be a week or more before they see clearly. They are also trying out their walking legs and trying to stand and toddle around. The smallest pups are usually better at this in the beginning.
That's the latest.

One week, one day

Thursday, Feb. 16

The puppies are weighed regularly to make sure everyone is gaining. At birth, the weights ranged from 11.6 ounces to 15.8 ounces with a surprise female coming out last at 1.5 pounds. Because there are a lot of pups in the litter, the smaller ones may get pushed out so it's important to make sure they get a turn at the milk bar and that they are all gaining.

I'm happy to report that at one week, one day all the pups had doubled their birth weights and 6 of them are over 2 pounds. So far, so good. Here they are with all 9 trying to get a piece of the action.

Maya is doing well also. She likes to watch if anything interesting is going on but most of the time she is doing this......

First nail trim

It's been a few days but now the weekend is here and I have a chance to update on the puppy progress. Raising healthy puppies is a full-time job, mostly for Lindor but I have to do my share as well which is tricky when one is working full-time.

My friend Jen, a fellow NSD Breeder-Caretaker (Equoia) is my right hand woman when it comes to nail trimming. The puppies dig in their paws when nursing and it can scratch Momma's belly. We usually cut nails about once a week. That's 36 sets of feet to trim. The pupppies are placed in a baby bath tub warmed with a heating pad so we know whose turn it is. They get their pedicure, then go back in to the whelping box. I don't handle them much at this age. It is up to Mom to take care of their needs.

                                                   

As long as the puppies aren't squirming, it goes pretty well. Nails were first trimmed on Tues. Feb 14 at 6 days of age.

Sister comes home

Maya, Lindor's labradoodle sister has been staying with a friend of mine for a few days. She is a very sweet dog but she tends to bark a bit and I didn't want her to disturb the new Mom. Also, the set up in my house makes it impossible to keep Lindor and her babies isolated from her "sister". Maya is very gentle and gives Lindor her space at all times. So far, it's going pretty well. Plus, we've been down this road before so we all know what to expect.

I don't have the best camera for closeups but you can get some idea of the size of the puppies. They are the happiest when they are snuggled up next to Mom and she doesn't mind a bit.

I call them all YODA, when they are first born as their ears are pined back against their heads. Most of them have flopped over now so they are starting to look more like puppies.
Everybody is having an afternoon nap right now. Sounds like a good idea to me too.

The Story continues...

The pups are now 3-4 days old. We are all adjusting to the new routine. Lindor is a very good Mom, very attentive and content to stay in the whelping box with her babies. At this age, their eyes and ears are closed. They only move to seek warmth or to get to the "milk bar", which they do several times a day.

I love their little lips that I call "baboon" lips. They squeek and squawk like little Guinea Pigs but mostly they just lay there with their full bellys and they're pretty quiet which is a good sign.

The pups are steadily gaining weight. By the end of the first week, their weight should be about doubled. I'll keep you posted.

Something exciting to share

This is why I haven't been more productive with my blog posts....

Yes, the K litter is finally here. NSD Lindor and Dog Guides Vito are happy to announce the birth of

9 new puppies for National Service Dogs. The pups were born on Feb. 8th. All black. Five males and 4 females. Mom is busy taking care of 9 hungry puppies.

There will be a few sleepless nights for awhile as everyone adjusts to the new routine.

How it all started.....

Well, I may have been a bit hasty starting a blog last year without starting the story from the beginning.

In the Fall of 2008, I began seriously thinking of puppy raising a dog for National Service Dogs. I had always had a love of animals and was impressed by the intelligence of service dogs in providing for their human counterparts. It all happened very quickly and before I knew it, I had a chocolate bundle of love that I called Lindor. I took her as many places as possible as my job as her puppy raiser was to socialize her and expose her to as many different situations as possible.

I always intended for her to go into Service, which meant that I would be giving her back. It would be difficult but I wanted her to be successful. Well, imagine my delight, when I learned that she was being chosen as a breeding dog for the Program. Not only, did I get to keep her but I would be able to experience the joy and hardwork of whelping puppies in my home.

On October 29, 2010, Lindor gave birth to 8 pups, 3 girls and 5 boys. All the pups in a litter are usually named following a letter of the alphabet and mostly the pups are named by their new handlers or sponsors. Because we had fund-raised over $1000 in our first time hosting a Crop, I was able to choose the name Epcot as I was at DisneyLand when she was mated. His brothers and sisters are Eli, Elvis, Ember, Elly, Eliza, Eden and Charlie.  They are all still in Basic training and I get to see them whenever they are in class which is about every 2 weeks.

So that's how it all started.

This year's Loonies for Lindor Fundraising Crop is booked for Saturday, June 9, 2012. Stay tuned to this blog for further updates on our progress and sponsor support.