Turning into real dogs

Lianne and Andy dropped by for a quick visit and the pups all woke up to greet them. It is SO cute when they come to the side of the box to see you! Cliff was so sweet. Lianne was rubbing his ear and he was stretching into her hand. Stone wags his tail when you rub him. And Linda says River was doing a play bow to one of his brothers yesterday and wagging. *I* didn't see it, but... *g*

Big news tonight is, I'm going out! The hubby and I are actually going to a movie this evening. Now, for those of you who don't know me, I am sort of obsessive about pups. For the first two weeks they literally are within hearing distance of a resonsible party 24/7, except for the length of time it takes me to shower. I only go out and run errands when someone can sit with them.

So tonight is my first real time away. I have secured the x-pen around their area, so if someone WERE to escape they aren't going anywehere. They'll just be in the pen w/Neat. Do you suppose she is smart enough to put the little buggers back IN the box, so she can have some peace? ; >

Ack!

Stone climbed out of the whelping box today. I'm fairly certain it was an accident, since he didn't seem to know what to do once he was out. *g* Time for "phase 2" though, making the entire pen area puppy proof.

I am hoping the box will contain them at least 2 or 3 more days though. Right now, with the pups confined to the box within the pen, I can leave the pen door open at night so Neat can come and go as she pleases overnight. Once the pups have the run of the entire pen area, the door obviously has to be closed, and she will have to wake me if she wants in with them.

Boys playing

Girls at play

New pic site

Trying new site for pictures, I think it will be easier for me to upload large numbers of photos in one sitting.

http://picasaweb.google.com/agilpwd

Updates on everyone!

They're adorable! Sorry Kim, they were awake and fun for Linda. If it makes you feel better, they were all asleep again by the time Lianne arrived. *g*

They come to the side of the box now when you sit down and talk to them. They DEFINITELY hear. Everyone has eyes at least partially open. They are starting to play with one another. They paw at each other, chew, etc. Meadow and Brook were playing "bitey face". Very cute!

Did toe nails again today. Forest was a GOOD boy. Everyone else was a pain! Okay, so Forest DID pee on me, but he was easiest to do nails!

Stone can now walk without falling on his face. Yeah!

Tree's head spot is almost closed in on one side. The white is just barely a thin strip now.

Meadow is getting black spots on her muzzle.

Field has the most open eye. Acts like he's seeing, though I don't really think they can at this stage. Finds his way to me easily though.

Cliff has about the most pigment on his nose, except for Forest and Brook who were born with black noses.

We got weights today. River is the biggest! He edged out Forest in today's weigh in.

Brook isn't far behind. She is always one of the first to the snack bar!She's a really mobile little thing. She and Meadow seem steadiest on their feet. Must be a "girl thing." *G*

Phew! Okay, that's where we are now! I'll work on more pics over the weekend, but am posting some from yesterday.

(hey, cut me some slack folks, I'm also addressing wedding invitations here! *VBG*)

Forest - "barking"

Okay, okay...

Linda and Lianne are nagging, the rest of you are kinder. So I'm behind on pupdates! How about this? I actually managed to video and post Forest.

Please let me know if it works. If so, I can do more videos.

Forest!

He was trying to bark this evening. VERY cute. Put his little nose into the air and made some really odd noises... He is just SO darn cute! Still the big boy, no problem picking him out in the crowd, and now he wants to be the first one to bark.

Unfortunately, they were not very entertaining while Kim was here this afternoon. They pretty much slept. Stone and Field tried to walk a little. Meadow toddled around at the end. Stone is cute and his SO his Daddy's son, including that big head. Other pups fall over sideways when they walk. Stone falls forward, on his face. I think it's his big head. *g*

The only eye glimmers Kim and I saw were on Brook and Cliff. I haven't looked that closely tonight though, so there may be more.

Each day brings so many changes in them now, we are really reaching the exciting stage!

pup quiz answers

Only one brave enough to try it publically was Whitney, and she got them all right!
Pup01 - River ............Pup02 - Stone
Pup03 - Brook............ Pup04 - Tree
Pup05 - Field......... Pup06 - Forest
Pup07 - Cliff........... Pup08 - Meadow

pics

..on the Picture Trail site. Some new for most pups. Lots of group.

eyes!

We have eyes! Brook has a glimmer, Cliff... maybe? Kim can help look this afternoon.

Most had their eyes pretty tighly scrunched because I just did the morning pen clean out and had to do a puppy "bath". Because they now poop more than Neat keeps up with, everyone wakes up in the morning a little... well, let's just say puppies are not *always* cute and sweet smelling. ; >

So everyone gets a shot of the waterless shampoo and toweled off. Of course, Brook and River needed another cleaning by the time I finished the others. None of them were very happy.

pup quiz update

Okay, due to popular demand (and skepticism) I have uploaded a different picture of "pup 3". I am 95% certain 2 and 3 were different pups, but admit the angle on 3 was bad.

No more excuses now! *g*

Brave New World?

First of all, they look HUGE this morning. Just all of the sudden, seem to have doubled in size. It is also beginning to dawn on them there may be a world outside of their whelping box. Eyes are still closed, but Cliff and Meadow have begun to toddle to the side of the box and act like they are trying to work their way up the side when Neat leaves. "Where does Mommy go, when she's not here?"

Visitor

re: Quiz - NO CHEATING. Don't be peaking at anyone else's answers until after YOU answer. I'll post the list tomorrow. (I admit, there are a couple that could be confusing, but I plead uncooperative pups not posing as I would have liked. *g*)

Auntie Mary (Klein) came by for a visit today. Couldn't believe the difference! Pups are going to hate me though... Toe nails yesterday and I wormed them today.

Tomorrow Kim is coming for a visit, so that will be fun. May even have some eyes open by then!

Pup Quiz!

Okay, here's a test to see how many have *really* been paying attention. All collars are off, name that puppy!! I *did* try to give you enough on each pose to have a reasonable chance at an ID.

stir crazy?

Does it mean I am spending too much puppy time when I am even dreaming about them? *g*

Now, I have another question. Is anyone out there?? I sometimes feel like I'm posting into nothingness. There's a "comments" feature here folks. Anyone reading?

Update

Pups are discovering their voices. Getting more and more vocal. Some trying to "bark", though it's pretty funny sounding at the moment. *g*

All got toenails done today. They were NOT very happy about that!

I did notice while doing nails that several are getting pigment on their pads now. You can see from the pictures that they are getting pigment on noses and lips too.

It's fun to see what changes tomorrow will bring!

indignant Field!

I am no longer sleeping on the floor beside the puppy box. I am now in the living room on the sofa at night. So, at about 3:30 I hear a puppy squeal. I roll myself out, grab my glasses and go to check. I keep a low light on at night, so I can see what's going on when I have to check in on them.

So, I get in there and Neat is sprawled out on her BACK in the box with the pups. Field appears to be the only one awake at this point and he's HUNGRY. He is barely able to get a teat, but it's too high for him to latch on. So he's on his back toes, str-e-e-e-e-tching, trying to reach. And he is NOT a happy boy. *g* He's yelling and practically jumping trying to get to her.

Yes, I did make her roll over so he could reach. By then everyone was awake. I definitely think their ears are opening. I am noticing more and more of what seems like reaction to sounds. The eyes are not so tightly squinched shut any longer either, so I expect to see some glimmers this week.

web site

Some of you have asked for a pedigree for the litter. It is posted on my web site. Also there you can find a link to Rival Kennels, where both Stellar and Neat came from.

Walking

Pretty much everyone is walking, to some extent today. I took a bunch more pics while my daughter was here to help. Nothing exciting, but view of all sides for each puppy. Don't laugh at some of the poses! I tried to get them while they were asleep, so they wouldn't fight it so much, with limited success.

I will post the pictures on the picture trail site soon.

okay, I've been slacking...

My daughter informed me last evening I was a bad Puppy Momma for not updating the blog. *g*

Honestly, until today, there has been nothing new to report. They are getting bigger, but still pretty much just eating and sleeping. Linda came to visit this afternoon, and they weren't very exciting. They were getting their front ends up, starting to try to toddle. Mostly though, just falling over. Pretty cute actually.

However, after she left, they ate, napped, I changed the bedding in the box, they ate and napped again then... just a little while ago I was in the box visiting with them and Cliff stood up and pooped! Yes, STOOD up. As they all started waking up, several got up and started staggering about the box. Seriously walking. Okay, and pooping too. Ick! This means Neat won't be keeping up with them as well now, I'm on serious puppy box duty...

Sorry Linda, you missed it by mere hours! River sat up and head butted Brook (who screamed, of course), then Neat got in and they now are all contentedly eating. More pics tomorrow, will try to get some shots of pups standing and walking. (and likely pooping. *G*)

Happy Birthday!

One week today. Phew! Has it been only a week? Seems like I've been sleeping in the pen longer than that. *g*

My husband says he saw Meadow practically walking this morning. They have been getting their front ends up for several days. I checked the "baby book" for the last litter, and they were at ten days when they started really walking, so looks like these guys are pretty much on the same schedule.

Day 6

Okay, by popular demand, there are more pics up! Some that I snapped yesterday and today. They aren't really changing that much at this stage... but I've had requests for more photos.

They *are* growing, had to change their collars again today. Field's previous sea foam green is now more neon, in case anyone is confused looking at the pictures.

Kim is coming over for a visit in the morning. Linda's camp finishes tomorrow evening so she'll likely be down on Friday. It will be interesting to see how much of a difference *they* see, after 5 days of not being here.

Tuesday morning - day 5

Did a weigh in this morning. Forest is still the big boy, at over 1 lb. All pups are thriving though. Brook is actually 15 oz. And ACTIVE. Hard to keep her on the scale long enough to weigh.

Neat is just starting to act like she wants to come out of the pen for brief periods, to hang out with everyone else. Then, after just a few minutes goes rushing back as if to say, "*What* was I thinking, leaving my babies like that?"

I have to put her in the back yard when I move the pups to a small box to clean the pen. Otherwise she paces and whines and fusses at them. More pics later.

Monday evening

Quiet day. Everyone gaining weight, had a visit from Mary Klein. Most pups have pigment coming in on noses and lips already. Brook and Forest actually had a good bit of black on their noses at birth! A couple are trying to get up on their little legs to toddle. Not too well, but making the effort. Meadow actually was trying to pull herself between Neat's back legs and to a teat at birth, even before her back end was completely out of the birth canal. Safe to guess that these are going to be pretty active little devils!

Linda starts a camp tomorrow, so won't be able to visit the babies till the end of the week. That's actually kind of fun, since there will probably be a big difference from her visit yesterday afternoon.

My little Podengo, "Fada" came home from MI this morning. She was away at her very first shows. Fada left last Wed, so before the arrival of pups. When Fada came to us in February Neat sort of "adopted" her as a puppy, even though Fada was 9 mos. old at the time. So, as I expected poor little Fada is *very* confused as to why Neat wants NOTHING to do with her right now and makes ugly faces every time she comes near the pen. She'll figure it out soon. Havoc (my PWD) did. He now walks past the pen (to go outside) with his head turned the other way practically. And he knows that if he wants to be near me while I am in the pen, he'd better stay about 6' away! Neat makes her feelings *quite* clear. I'm sure Fada will get over it. Will be fun to see how she is when pups are big enough to come out and play! Fada weighs less than 10 lbs. herself, so pups may be a bit overwhelming for her.

Neat had me up around 5:30 this morning (needed out), so hoping she sleeps a little lonoger tonight! I am *not* a morning person.

Monday morning

All is well, some new photos on the picture trail site.

Our friend Pam came by yesterday and did toe nails. She's still young enough to see the darn things without reading glasses!

Linda stopped on her way home from the weekend trials. (Stellar added a new title to his name. "XF") She will be busy with camp this week, so I'm sure there will be a BIG change when she gets back to visit at the end of the week. They should actually be active, and not look quite so much like guinea pigs by then. *G*

Morning 3

Another good night. Though my back is starting to rebel against the air mattress. *g* Seems like about every time I woke up to squeaking, it was Brook. She's the loudest all day too. Seems she likes to let the world know she's hungry, lonely, etc. It will be interesting to see if she continues to be the opinionated one.

Changed the pups' collars first thing this morning. They are definitely filling out! Weights hadn't changed a whole lot as of yesterday's weigh in, but pups are bulking up a bit.

I think we may need to do toe nails later today... Momma Linda is coming by later, maybe I'll get her to help.

My family all just left for the annual Father's Day trip to Cedar Point, so *I* may try to catch a short nap here. This waking up every couple of hours to check on noisy pups catches up to me after a few nights...

More later!

Day 2 pics

Lianne and I got some new pics of the babies. We did "posed" photos this time. *G*
http://www.picturetrail.com/goosielu

Morning 2

Another calm night. Not as much sleep, but not the pups' fault! My husband got a 2 a.m. phone call and had to work (he's a computer person) from then on. His computer is in the next room from where Neat and I are sleeping, so we listened to him on a conference call till 5:30. *yawn*!

Neat is looking a little worn today, and I don't think it's just lack of sleep. She's got a big job going on here. And she and her brood are totally amazing. I realized this morning that I haven't even once (other than the moments after birth for one or two of them) had to help a pup latch on to a teat. Since there is no "little one" and they are all so strong I've not had to be making sure each pup gets its fair share or doesn't get knocked off. No helping them each find an open, working teat either. They seem to naturally be nursing in shifts. *g* But it is taking a lot from Neat. She is eating well though! And I'm pretty much letting her have as much as she wants right now

Their "Auntie Kim" will be coming by later this morning for a visit. Will try to get some better individual pictures while she's here to help.

Day 1

It's been over 24 hours since they started arriving. All is well, Mom and babies happy. And I've napped *g* Havoc went for a play date with my friend Caren. Got to go play with his cousin Keely, so I am certain he'll be much happier. He adores Neat and doesn't understand why she sneers at him every time he walks near the pen.

I have uploaded pics to the Picture Trial site: http://www.picturetrail.com/goosielu

Hope you enjoy them. Lianne tells me Web Shots is a better site. I don't know why she thinks so though.... Anyway, I'm still somewhat dazed and am familiar with Picture trail, so we'll start there anyway. Hope everyone is able to pull them up!

Good morning!

We had an uneventful night. The best kind with new puppies. Neat is an absolute Earth Mother. Couldn't be more different than last time. Thank goodness!

We went to bed shortly after midnight. Other than waking up a few times when they squeaked, I slept straight through the night. She really seems to have it all under control. My very first litter of pups (13 years ago this week) was with my PWD bitch, Truly. She had 9 and was a little overwhelmed. Didn't know what to do when 8 were peacefully nursing and ONE was across the box, lost and crying. She depended on me to fetch it. Of course, that WAS her first litter. Neat so far manages to stretch a paw or her nose to get the little lost one back. Of course, being Border Collies, I expect these pups are smart enough to find their own way back anyway. *G* I'll continue to sleep in the pen a few more nights at least, then move to the couch in the next room.

This morning I had to DRAG her out after she ate her breakfast. Literally, put the leash around her neck and MADE her come out of the pen. She had declined a bedtime potty trip last night, so I know she had to "go". Good news is that she is eating eagerly. She'll need it! Can't really get *too* much liquids and calories in her now.

Will work on some pics later, but for now, let me introduce the new family to you all. This is Linda's " wonders of nature" litter, so all have nature names. Linda and I collaborated on a list before they were born, then we matched them to pups last night. To make it easier for me to keep them straight, the color of the collar relates (okay, loosely in some cases) to the name.

Pink girl - Brook (yeah, yeah, NO relation between color and name here, but I love this name and was determined to use it. And I ALWAYS have to have a pink collar girl. *g*)
Blue boy - River
Green boy (light green) - Field
Yellow girl - Meadow
Purple boy - Stone
Red boy - Tree
White boy - Cliff
Green boy (dark green) - Forest

Now I'm going to sit and stare in awe (or is that "Ahhhh") at my little family before breakfast.

Wow, we're done...

...and both very tired. Really did not sleep last night. We've both had dinner, I've spent some time w/poor Havoc (my very neglected PWD). I'll be sleeping IN the pen tonight, so going to drag the air mattress out soon.

Promise to get more pics tomorrow (will be posting on the Picture trail site I think), but done for tonight. Will also look closely and give more detailed descriptions of everyone.

For now, the big news is, Neat is snuggled in peacefully with all EIGHT pups, She's nursing, cleaning, and generally just being the perfect Mom. Anyone around for the start of the previous litter will know just how much I appreciate that! *g*

Daddy Stellar and Linda are in Cincy trialing this weekend, so the happy family here will be rooting for them.

G'nite!

Last one!

Puppy 8, male, finally one not 10 oz, he's 15oz. Tri probably.

Puppy 7 and another group shot

Puppy 7 6:37, male, 10oz, LOTS of white on this one.



Another group shot away from the mommy - it's starting to get crowded!


Pretty sure there's one more and that's probably it.

Puppies 5 and 6

Puppy 5 5:00, Male, Tri, 10oz, Red collar



Puppy 6 6:15, Male, 10oz, tri, Purple collar



Our guesses on tri's are just that - guesses based on some lighter/silvery hairs under the base of the tail. This is how the tris looked in the last litter. But who knows. Neat is being a GOOD momma right away, which is a relief after last time. Licking and nosing them around, and these pups are very strong and finding their way to milk with no help whatsoever! Probably a couple more on the way.

Yellow Girl

Pictures!

Up to four pups now - fourth one just born. So far -
1st Puppy 2:52, Girl, Tri, 10 oz, Pink
2nd Puppy 3:18, Boy, 10 oz, Blue
3rd Puppy 3:55, Boy, tri, 10 oz, Green
4th Puppy 4:15, Girl 10 oz, Yellow


Pink Girl
Blue Boy
Blue Boy
Green Boy
Green Boy

Pink Girl Again

They're here!

A girl and a boy so far. Boy is black and white (near as I can tell), girl is a tri! 10 oz. eac,. both nursing and incredibly healthy.

No pups yet

Spent the night pacing, digging, then resting. Then start it all over again. Linda thinks it is wishful thinking on her part, because she *wants* to get rid of all those aliens in her!

Pups have definitely dropped. I can feel the end of her rib cage again! Wanted out a lot, likely feeling pressure and thinking she needs to pee. Temp down to 98.5.

I expect something today.

Still restless

After about an hour and a half of pacing and nesting, she napped for a bit. Now back to moving from spot to spot and digging. Still no real physical signs, just behavioral. Every time I lay down, she's up and moving again. Apparently, I should have napped while she did.

Stay tuned tomorrow!

evening report

Temp is 99.5, so really not much of a drop and she ate her dinner, so no loss of appetite. However, pups are lower and she's digging under the AC unit when she's outside. Also hiding in a vari kennel inside. So, not really expecting anything immediately, but she's getting ready. Tonight? Maybe, but not real likely. Tomorrow? Perhaps.

Home from my road trip. She's huge, but peaceful. Slight discharge, but no real signs of impending labor.

Did I mention, she normally weighs about 30-31 lbs. and Monday at the vet she weighed inat over 40 lbs?

Just so everyone interested knows, I have a Picture Trail site to post baby pics on. http://www.picturetrail.com/goosielu I have one of their free sites, but my friend Pam had purchased a membership, to allow for more pics to be uploaded. We'll start here, then see how many can be loaded and dealt with this way. So bookmark the site now.

Calm Wed morning

Temp is normal, no discharge. She eagerly ate her breakfast. I am getting ready to head north to deliver the PPod for the shows this weekend. Caren will be here in awhile to keep an eye on her though.

Evening, and all is well

Lianne came over this afternoon and helped roll Momma Whale over so I could shave her belly around the teats and trim her trousers and tail hair away. We also did nails for good measure while we had her down. Then, of course, washed the belly and teats so all is ready. Should it make me nervous that she's grown two extra nipples? One of my Portie girls did that. She had ten pups...

Pups have started those slow, big movements. They also seemed to have dropped somewhat. Certainly not all the way. Last litter she started getting restless and nesting about 6 hours prior to real labor, so I don't expect anything tonight, but will take a temp later. Friday is actually 65 days from the hormone surge, so our actual expected due date. I think Thursday - Saturday is what we are looking at. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Once I am all ready I hate waiting around!

Puppies coming soon

The 2007 "Wonders of Nature" litter of Stellar and Neat is due any day now. I have never "blogged" before, but hope this will be an easy way for everyone to keep up with the day to day progress of the litter.

As of Tuesday morning, temp is still normal, she's just uncomfortable. An x-ray yesterday morning shows there are likely 8 puppies. And they are *active*. They were even moving during the x-ray!

Tomorrow I have to drop Fada (the Podengo) off with her owner for her big show debut in Kalamazoo this weekend. We'll meet in Bowling Green, so I won't be gone long. Caren Murray will be here with Neat, just in case. If there is ANY suspicion of activity tomorrow morning though, I will stay home, Caren will drive the PPod up.