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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Here come the girls: Puppy catch up



The pups continue to do well. They turned 2 weeks old on Thursday. Pretty soon they will become more active but for now they eat and sleep and get cuddles.

Zen actually delivered 5 girls on 4th December. These pups were very early; I was not expecting them until three or four days later. The first pup was born at only 3.5 ounces. Sadly the second pup was born dead; it was obvious that she had died a day or so earlier and this is probably what triggered the early labour. I am very lucky that Zen went into early labour or we could have lost all the puppies. The next three pups were normal and alive but all were small at 3-4 ounces.

All the pups nursed and were active immediately but the small size worried me. Three of the pups gained weight right away but one of them actually lost 1/2 ounce by the second day. She seemed to be nursing and active but I was not going to take a chance so I started supplementing her right away. I learned my lesson with the Lil Mouse last time; just because they look like they are latched on and nursing does not necessarily mean that they are getting any milk. You must keep an eye on their weights.

This little one was so tiny (even smaller than the Lil Mouse puppy) so I fed her with a medicine dropper. One thing I have never learned to do was to tube-feed a puppy and that is something I wish I knew. Tube feeding puppies is actually safer and easier than bottle feeding. But, for now, I stuck to the little medicine dropper.



By the 4th day she gained her first 1/2 ounce and I felt comfortable that she was going to make it. Here are the pups in some sort of formation next to their snuggle heating pad. I wondered what they were trying to say.



Now that the pups are older, I have taken the electric heating pad out of the box but they have two microwave heating pads and they always gravitate to them when Zen is out of the box. The microwave snuggle pad is fantastic; you microwave it for 6 minutes and it stays comfortably warm for quite a few hours. Zen is a great mom; I just leave her to it. She gets in and out as she feels necessary.



This is a fun litter where I can indulge my love of the colour PINK. I have bought lots of pink fleece and we have been given loads of pink toys by the pups aunties.

I did not pose these two pups; that is how they fell asleep!


As usual the pups have gotten Neurological Stimulation for the first 2 weeks.



They received their first taste of food off my fingers. Mushed up liver and yogurt; just a tiny taste.


Today they took their first trip into the kitchen. All the pups have their eyes open but only one seems to be able to hear yet. The others should begin to open their ears in the next day or so.



They have their puppy names now. They are very sophisticated names....



From left to right: Cutie Pie, Chubsy Wubsy, Itsy Bitsy and Pork Chop.

So you all know the "Here Come The Girls" song by the Sugababes. That is the theme song for this litter!

Here come the girls...

Mmmmm oh yeah...

Whoah Oh I don't need no man with me

Chorus:

Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)

Slipin' on my little black dress
5 inches I'm bound to impress
Turn it up, I'm a little temptress
Monroe's got nothin' on me
Read my curves like poetry
Tonight we rule the world, beware cos here come the girls
Tonight we rule the world, beware cos here come the girls

[Chorus]
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)

Here the whistle as I walk by
Shine like a crystal all through the night
One look will make a grown man cry
Step aside I got a starring role
Camera, Action, Here we go
Tonight we rule the world, beware cos here come the girls

[Chorus]
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)

I'm filled with sexuality
With or without a man I feel complete
Stop speculating, I'm a regular girl
All independent women know
We got the guts to run the show
Don't let no boy tell you nothing
You're in control

[Chorus x2]
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)
Here come the girls! (Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls)

16 comments:

Paula said...

That's so spooky I started signing that song as soon as I saw your first post.

Go for the pink stuff I say, you can never have enough pink things for little girls.

Angela said...

.....Have fun with them, I love Itsy Bitsy.

Jordan's K9s said...

Sooooooo cute, bottle the puppy breath lol
I will enjoy reading about them.
"Girls just wanna have FUN"

nellie-bean's blog said...

I am so pleased for you Bernadette. Naff though it is really, I love that song....The healing continues. Good news. Hxxx

leah gardner said...

they're looking amazing...... x can't wait to meet them x

Christine said...

Woohoo, how exciting is that!

Anonymous said...

Awwwwwwwwwwww aren't they precious!!!

Their Cousin Jayda has a little black "heart" on her chest like that one puppy (Chubby wubby?)

Looking forward to watching them grow up :)!

Macfarlane Dogs said...

Oh my, they are just so gorgeous!! And great song choice! What special pups. x

Anonymous said...

Hello !

They are so marvelious, soo cute.
You doing a great job caring for this little sunshine.
I am already keen to see her ongoing and grow up.
I wish you and your dogs a merry christmas and a happy and healthy new year !!

Margit

Natalie said...

They look adorable, and what a lovely time of year for them!!..

Lots of fun for you this christmas!

Natalie xx

Emma said...

So lovely to hear about these little treasures - they all look absolutely adorable. Oh how I wish I could get a cuddle!

What a great Christmas present for you. I am so happy for you and wish you, Dennis and all your lovely, talented dogs a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Dawn said...

They are beautiful! Can't wait to see them grow! Glad the littlest girl made it. Katie my 2 year old sheltie is jealous that I'm looking at puppies...but she sends Happy Holiday thoughts to you and your family anyway!

Diana said...

thanks for the puppy fix. Diana

Anonymous said...

So happy to see those lovely little puppies. They are really beautiful. Good luck with all of them.
Martina

Jo Ann said...

They look wonderful!! You did fine with the eyedropper. She looks like she was really eager to take it. I agree, some are inefficient nursers and it can be really hard to tell if they are getting much even if it looks like they're really chowing down (setting the scale to grams and weighing before and after eating helps).

They look great and I'm so happy for you with these girls, girls, girls, girls!!!

Chris and Ricky said...

Wow, what little miracles and perfect for the holidays! Thanks for sharing!