Today, I had a room full of toddlers. We rearranged the nursery into a toddler room, where they have room to run and play. And that they did. I put a basket of toys in and they thought it was the greatest, just like Christmas. Their co-ordination in really developing. It's funny for they can run backwards and sideways as fast as they can forward. They are attuned to sounds and recognize mom and also people. When you step into their room, they climb all over the feet and chew on the socks. Which means the teeth are developing. I fixed the room with a pen so that they don't have access to the wall or trim. It would be nice if they had access to outside, but a little cold. Our goal tomorrow is to create a potty box with shavings for I really want to get them somewhat potty trained. No more poop worms scattered around would be wonderful... They each have their own personalities and everyone of them very lovable. One thing we know is that tomorrow will bring something new.
Full Motion
As I look my last blog was over a week since I have written. The pups are 4 weeks old and weighing in at a little over 4 pounds. Four pounds of fur and energy. Last week when they turned 3 weeks we started them on some multi-grain baby cereal and puppy formula to help out mom. Belle was losing weight fast and wasn't doing well. We took her to the vet and got her on some meds. They diagnosed her with having allergic reactions along with her system being out of wack. She was down to 56 pounds and we were very concerned. With this we have tried to take over a lot of her duties and that has turned into a 24/7 job. We put her in with a few pups a several times throughout the day and the rest of the time is relaxing and eating. She is doing better each day and we are even taking her for short walks. That makes her happy. My kitchen counter has puppy pans, formula, and baby food. That brings back memories of olden time... They took to eating out of a pan very quickly and we have it down to under an hour to feed now. This week we have added in some softened puppy food. Each one gets fed without any interruptions and get as long as they need to eat. We have started the potty training process and after they eat or wake up we put them on the pee pad. They are using it most of the time, with a few that still 'I'll go when I need'. It still seems as if I 'm rearranging the puppy nursery to accommodate their big bodies. The warming box that all 11 slept in at birth now hold one puppy. Crazy! We are still on working on getting a good night routine down so we can get some sleep and one of these days we will figure it out. The personalities are starting to show and we have several nick names for them. Mostly we call them by their color color. We already are getting orders for the next litter, so between now and then, lots of sleep. Things are in full motion here at Happy Labs Kennel.
Time is Flying
As I look, it has been a week since I have blogged. Maybe it's because I have been able to go to bed instead of being up half the night. This is a good thing. A lot has happened in a week. We purchased an XXlarge kennel for mom and pups to sleep in and it is in our bedroom. Thank goodness we have a big house. This way we have been able to go to bed and still monitor mom and babies. Each night Belle Starr goes longer without eating and the pups seem to sleep longer. The little bundles have opened their eyes, are walking around and have happy tails. They are biting at one another and jumping on each other and try to howl like a pack. Pretty funny. We still start feeding a few at a time and add them in slowly. It's getting more difficult for they can hear and when there is a commotion they are all over it... They love cuddling with mom and Belle Starr really enjoys her snuggle time with them. Little Ribbon Girl was licking her mom on the face today, taking right after her mom. Belle Starr has always been a licker and the practice finally paid off. I created a 4' X 4' pen in the puppy nursery for them to stay in during the day. In one corner I have the heating pad and the other I have been putting down a puppy pad. They are actually using it. Not all the time, but once in awhile you catch one trotting over to use it. They are all very precious and I will enjoy every moment that I have them.
Pumpkin Treats...
Learning curve still very steep. The vet suggested that we give Belle Starr pumpkin for her digestive system that was out of sorts. Fortunately our wonderful garden had produced us some nice sugar pumpkins. So with that I baked some in the oven, (after taking out the seeds) removed the skin, and cut it up for Belle Starr. We put it in with her food and she is doing much better. In the meantime the other dogs are at my side begging for pieces of pumpkin when I'm cutting it up. So my little brain lit up and today I'm going to make an attempt to make pumpkin dog treats. We will see how this works or not... Our little bundles are really turning into a joy. They stand on those little legs and head off. Of course they have no clue where they are heading, but seem to head for the door when in the kennel. Everyday, I look at the situation and try to figure out how to make a bigger place for them to sleep. Right now half of them are in the night kennel and half in the day kennel. When they get crowded, they are just down right not happy about it. Fred picked up a small pen yesterday at Petco, (half off) that we will use to creating a bigger spot so mom has room to have them all around her at one time. So my Monday, exactly two weeks from birth will be dedicated to puppy happiness and dog treats. Happy Monday at Happy Labs Kennel
Growing...
The little bundles of fur just keep on growing. They are starting to push towards the 2 pound side on the weight scales. We are very happy about that, but have to keep creating spaces to put them so they are comfortable and mom is happy. Have to keep mommy happy. We took out her whelping box for she really didn't like being in it. Later I will use it for a warming box. Yesterday, I took the bottom from a good sized plastic dog kennel, washed with soap and bleach, lined it with good whelping pads, put the heat pad in it and made 11 little puppies happy. But I do realize that it will be too small soon. We are getting more sleep, but not like what we are use to. In time.... Those cute little bundles of joy are worth every lost wink of sleep.