Two Weeks Old

Here the gang of 13 nestle together in their whelping disk, a heated part of their whelping box. Every time I put a towel or blanket over the whelping disk, the pups and Mira move it away. Everyone seems to prefer laying directly on the plastic disk. Go figure.

You can see how much they have grown. All eyes were open on Saturday and pups are now hearing sounds as well. When Mira or I come to the box, they look at us and often a pup or two will begin to bark a really cute little puppy bark in an attempt (I think) to get Mira to come and nurse. I love to hear this now, but I am sure that by next week as more and more pups figure out that they can bark to get Mom's attention, Mira and I will be very sad that they "discovered their lungs," as Lori puts it.

Tactile Stimulation Exercise:

aka, Toe Tickling!!

This is the first in the series of veterinarian recommended Early Neurological Stimulation exercises we do with the pups from day 3 to day 16. See previous blog for a link to more information on ENS. Each exercise is done in the order of the photos below and the time of stimulation in each exercise is 3-5 seconds.

Head Held Erect Exercise

Head Pointed Down:

unsurprisingly, this is least popular exercise in the pups' opinion. Although he appears to be squeezing the pup, David is actually just resting the pup gently between his hands and fingers and using almost no pressure.

And, remember, this position is held for only 3 seconds.

This girl seems to be waving "Hi" from the Supine Position exercise.

Last Exercise,












Thermal Stimulation:
paws down on cool, damp towel

Pups Growing and Keeping Us Busy

The pups turn 2 weeks today (& tomorrow since some were born after midnight). Pups are getting bigger, but eyes are not yet open. With 13 growing and hungry pups, Mira nurses them most of the day and night. Mira is eating about 8 cups of food a day to keep up with the milk demand. She is doing a great job and has plenty of milk for all. Sometimes, though, I do have to remove a particularly fat pup from a nipple and place a smaller pup there to help prevent the "biggies" from completely dominanting the "smallies" and promote fair milk distribution.

Every evening since day 3, we have been doing "puppy-sthenics," David's term for a gentle and careful series of "exercises" with the pups called "Early Neurological Stimulation" (to see the "exercises" and read details, including reasoning and benefits, visit http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html). ENS was recommended by our reproductive vet because it reportedly leads to dogs who problem-solve, perform and handle stress better in later life. It also gives us lots of individual time with each pup every day. I will take some photos of puppy-sthenics this weekend and post so you can see with live pups.

10 Days Old

Pink girl and Blue boy are nursing while Green boy sleeps. You can see how much the pups have grown. You can also see that Mira finds the swimming noodle a nice foot rest.

Puppy Crew: One Week

You can see that the pups have been marked so that we can tell them apart. Each pup has its own color of non-toxic paint. The girls are painted on the head and the boys on the shoulders to help us tell the pups apart easily. It's challenging to keep 13 pups straight!

In this photo you can also see that tails have been docked. This was done on the same day as the dewclaw removal.

Dream Nursing, One Week

While they are sleeping, pups will often move their mouths and front paws like they are suckling and kneeding to improve milk flow. Some older pups and even dogs continue this dream nursing.

Lavender girl shows you how pups like to sleep with their heads up. Here she is using a swimming noodle as her pillow.

Paws Up!!

Look at the gorgeous face on Forest Green boy! What a beautiful nose! What lovely whisker pods! What an adorable milk drop!

Tiny Toenails: One Week

That's Blue boy sleeping next to the foot.

Sleeping Stretcher

One way pups develop muscle tone is by twitching and stretching as they sleep. Red girl shows you how it's done!

Lavender Girl
& a Sleeping Stretcher

One Week Old:
Raspberry Girl & Green Boy

Curled Up Asleep, Day 2.

Isn't this pup sweet? I love the tiny whiskers.



Click on any photo to see larger. You can also right click on the photo once you have it open to download the photo to your own computer. Puppy wallpaper, anyone?

Breakfast in Bed for Mira and the Pups, Day 2

Scenes from Day 2

Here are 7 Sleepers, Day 2.


What you don't see are the 6 other pups out of frame.

"Once we were 7," say the pups.


Here there are only 7 pups born. Mira is mere moments away from giving birth to #8. Right after I set the camera down, #8 arrived.

Newborns Nurse and Sleep: Day 1

Tiny Pup in Hand

Pups had dewclaws removed last week. Here a pup shows the tiny bandages the vet used after dewclaw removal.

Proud Sire Max Seems to Approve!









Learn more about Max at http://stahlkrieger.com/blacks.html
&
http://grandcalvera.wz.cz/max.htm

Proud Mama Mira Nursing on Day 3.








Mira's breeder & co-owner, Lori Elvin of Canada's Dinsdale SS, tells you about Mira at http://www.eagle.ca/~dinsdale/mira.htm

All pups agree that littermates make nice pillows.

Can you see the little white patch on the top pup's chin? Several of the pups have this kind of "milkdrop." They will loose this white patch as they get older.

Can you see the 13th pup hiding under the noodle on the left?

Swimming noodles make great "pig rails" to help protect pups from being accidentally squished by mom. As you can see, the pup on the bottom right also has discovered that noodles make wonderful head rests. Mira says that she likes to use them as pillows and feet rests.

Tiny Toes, Tongues, Tails: Day 2

Such Tiny Heads and Ears: Day 2

Thirteen Sleepers: Day 2

Sleepy New Babies

A Portrait of New Mother & Pup








Taking a break mid-whelping, Mira snuggles with a pup.

The New Family is Doing Well.

Mira & pups are getting to know each other, learning how to move around the whelping box together and working out their family rhythms.

As their primary human caretaker, however, I dearly wish that they had not decided to be nocturnal ...

They slept and did little throughout the day, but now that it is dark out, they are lively, moving about, fussing, crying, eating (both Mira & pups), settling, re-settling, moving, eating, fussing, complaining, eating .... and so on!!

Hopefully, the sleeping part of the night (for pups, Mira and me) will come soon.

I apologize for not downloading and posting photos today or last night. 13 pups have kept me awfully busy and I hope to have time to download and post photos tomorrow. Rest assured, the pups are cute ... in that just-born way ;-D!!!!!!

Did I say 12? Um ... Make that 13!!!

Girl #6 joins her sisters making our count Lucky 13: 7 males; 6 females.

Poor, poor Mira. She seems a bit overwhelmed. Come to speak of it, so am I!!

Everyone Has Arrived: Mira & Family Resting

Final Count 12: 7 Males; 5 Females

Check back for photos later this evening.

One More Girl!

7 Males; 5 Females
All Black

Mira says Welcome to her House of Males!

Pup Count: 7 males; 4 females; all black

Mira says Welcome to her House of Males!

Pup Count: 7 males; 4 females; all black

Pup Count: 6 boys; 4 girls; all black

Now we wait to see if Mira is done whelping or if there might be a pup or 2 still inside. The vet saw 10 confirmed skulls on the x-ray, but thought that there would probably be 12 pups. Mira and I are both okay with stopping at 10 ... but only time will tell.

Pup Count Update: 6 boys; 3 girls; all black

The whelping box is filling up! Boys, boys, boys everywhere! This should be a fun litter to raise because the boys are so sweet and often very different from their feisty sisters.

Pup Count: 5 boys; 3 girls; all black

Check back for new counts, updates and photos of the new family.

Pup Count thus far: 4 boys; 1 girl; all black

Mira is in labor!!

She is still in the early phase of labor and will probably not deliver any pups until early a.m. or even later. Since 11 this morning, Mira has been panting, somewhat restless and occassionally vomitting. This is normal and can go on for 24 hrs or more before pups arrive. What I have to do is make sure she does not seem unduly distressed and that she remains hydrated. Right now, Mira is laying on a comforter next to me in the whelping/computer room and she looks as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.

It's going to be a long night!

The X-ray shows ...

12 pups ...

at least!!

The vet says that Mira will most likely not have the pups until late this week or early next. Stay tuned!

Exciting, overwhelming!

Mira's comment? Uncomfortable!