Lots happening at Happy Labs Kennel. First my phone somehow ended up in the dog's water bucket. I can only speculate on how. Then on my way back from picking up a new phone in the rain, the Tahoe hit a slick spot as I was braking and we went off the road. Probably the most traumatic event of my life for I had my grandson with me. We both are fine, but as my grandson told the officer, "My grandma broke her car." This will take me a long time to get over the feeling of thinking I could have injured our precious boy. He is one of the sweetest things that ever hit the earth. It has been good that I have the puppies to occupy my thoughts and helping me heal. I am very thankful that we are safe at home and doing okay. Belle Starr is healing and doing so much better. As far as the puppies are concerned, they are either tearing around, wrestling, dragging pee pads around, or sleeping. And all this time they are leaving little presents laying around. Mostly they are on the pee pads, but sometimes not. They are much better about not peeing in their kennels or on the blanket. We finally have them down to a feeding routine of 4 times a day. They actually went 8 hours last night without a feeding. Sleep at last. I try to spend quality time with them, and we feed them two at a time with their own bowl. Or if it is only me, I feed them one at a time. I'm working on 'wait', but this is going to be a slow process. Tomorrow they will be 6 weeks old, so will get their first shots. Time is flying by.
Busy times...
Today has flown by and I am taking a few minutes to blog before feeding and going to bed. I know that tomorrow is going to be a busy day and I'm sure that I won't have much time to write. Took Belle Starr in yesterday to the vet, again, and they put her on antibiotics so as we can get her well and get some weight on her. It was a scary day for us and hope that she bounces back fast. Belle Starr has lost weight and as we looked at Abie he gained a lot of weight. Always around when we feed Belle Starr ( which has been many smaller meals) and he gets a treat. Now if we could put the weight back on her that would be good. The puppies are becoming independent and personalities are blooming. They are falling into a routine which is very helpful. My days go by fast and for fun I think tomorrow I will write down what I do in a day at Happy Labs Kennel. Last week I arranged their room, this week they arrange their room. I'll look in there and the pee pad is in the kennel, bed covers are drug off the bed, and toys scattered everywhere. Reminds me of the good ole days with my children. With Belle Starr on all that medicine she can't nurse any more. Wish there was something we could do to help with less milk production. I know, this shall pass too, but not fun in the meantime. It's time for this tired lady to finish her day and get some rest.
Toddlers
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.
