Day 3 Army Crawls

This is their mode of transportation - army crawl and pull ups with their front paws. It is amazing how they can slither around with this method. They cannot see or hear and find Momma Cheeto, some of the time, with their nose which is working for them. Some get very frustrated if they are far away and decide they are hungry. If you put them close to her this is what they can do. It is so fascinating. Today we start the neurological stimulation exercises. (http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/articles.html) It gives them some experiences of sensations of touch and cold and position that are believed to simulate neural development. I did it with the last litter also. It is something Paws asks us to do. Just for your information all camera shots are taken with natural lighting so that is why sometimes they are dark . Even thought their eyes are closed we do not want to stress them. Momma Cheeto is doing great. We are spoiling her again. She is eating in the pool with her pups - chow with cottage cheese. She is eating 6 cups a day now and this will increase to 12 cups when they are older.

Puppies Day 2

Lunch time Day 2. Everyone is growing and so therefore everyone is eating. Lots. Yellow is resting after filling her belly. The tails are getting in position. The picture of the tails from the O litter is probably my favorite. Thanks everyone for the comments. It is so amazing to watch them. Just thought you would like to have an real look at these little one.

PUPPIES ARE HERE!!

They came a little early but when you see their size it was probably a good thing. The first born was Rose at 2:01 AM and she weighted 16.2 ounces. She is a real sweetheart. She started to nurse and got the whole process going. The next born was Miss Yellow at 15.6 ounces at 2:26 AM and she was quickly follow by Mr Blue, 16.8 ounces at 2:53 AM. Miss Purple came next at 3:05 AM, 16.2 ounces and then Miss Orange, had to have an orange in October. She weighed 16.3 ounces and appeared at 4:05 AM. Next Mr. Red at 16.4 ounces made his appearance at 4:18 AM and Miss White appeared at 5:07 AM and was the smallest at 13 ounces. Then we had a delay. The last pup was the largest at 17.9 ounces and was a male who was stillborn. It is hard to loose one but my great whelper helpers tried very hard to revive him. Thanks Teresa, Bonnie, Bob and Anne for coming out in the middle of the night to lend a hand and heart to help these guys get a great start. Because the pups came so fast it was really nice to have so many experienced hands. Yes, Cheeto got her ice cream and loved every bite. We will all get a good night's sleep tonight!

There are 8 Puppies

There are 8 little pups in these x-rays. If you click on the picture and you can count them. Cheeto is doing great. She has gained the same that she did last time, 17 pounds. I think she is ready to be done. She is definitely happy the weather has turned cooler. The kitchen is ready and as you can see her body is ready for puppies. She has done great again. If you feel her belly it is like there is a party in there - puppies kicking and moving all over the place. Anyone what to guess how many boys and how many girls and what color?

Cheeto's Pups Litter #2

These are the pups from the second litter. It was taken at the same gestational age as the ultra sound pictures posted of the first litter. As you can see we have gotten better. If you click on the first picture you can see the whole puppy, head to tail. The head is down. There are two puppies in that shot and three in the next. Things look just as crowded so we are guessing there is a similar number of pups. They were moving and stretching and we could see the little hearts beating. It was just amazing. Cheeto is so cooperative during these exams. She lays on her back on an exam table and lets us grease up her belly and she does not move. It's almost like, go ahead, look and my puppies! Cute No?... She just loves the hands on attention.

Otter update September 25

Things are going well in Florida. "Otter" is getting big. He is well over 60 pounds, with just a little extra weight, but who can not say that. He is a very smart young dog. He likes to use his paws to get things. "Otter" is my 6th dog for PAWS and he is one of the smartest I have worked with. He is getting a lot of work lately, luckily most of it is inside with AC. He mainly goes with me to school and he has become a big hit on campus. He is well behaved, sometimes you forget he is even in class.
I recently talked to the regional representative and bragged how good a job he has been doing lately. He needs to work on greeting people but he that is the only thing that needs improvement.
"Otter" and I hope all is well with the other puppies.

Orrie Update

Orrie has had some fun times as of late. She represented PAWS at the Fruitland Blueberry festival on July 28th. She was joined by sister Rosa. We also had fun at a Whitecaps last night. She is a good little and girl and just loves to be out and about.

OZZIE VISITS

Isn't he just beautiful! He is 55 lbs and so sweet. He is as big as his mom. The question is does she know him? Did not seem to treat him any differently than any other pup. They play together well and chase and romp just like any of them do. I am guessing he is still the biggest of the group. The bunch on the right are Keith, my dog, Ozzie and Cheeto.

Camping

Anyone who is looking for a place to let their dogs roam the shores of Lake Michigan without worrying about crowds should check out Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness (located just north of Ludington, MI). It is one of Michigan's best kept secrets! We literally had miles of sandy beach to ourselves, and the dogs had a blast. Oxley was in heaven being allowed to run free and chase seagulls. He was very curious about the water, but didn't go in very far (he did still manage to get soaking wet and covered in sand). Brady swam to retrieve sticks from the water while Oxley waited on the shore and pounced on him when he got out of the water (what a pesky little brother!).

We camped on a sand dune and the dogs stayed in their very own tent! I highly recommend dog tents to anyone who enjoys camping but would prefer to sleep without furry beasts chewing on their sleeping bags :)

Ozzie

Ozzie came to visit us last month and he is a sweetheart. He is huge. Now 45 pounds and so lovey. He is always hot. Teresa said if it is above 60 degrees he is hot and he is so white! This was taken after a walk. He came in and just plopped over the vent in the hall. Guess that is a favorite spot for him. He did not even wait to have his leash taken off. We loved having him.

Marianne and Cheeto