Galena
Galena & Malachite Teddy
Malachite Teddy
Kisses from Mama Momo
Thursday 31 March 2011
Play time!
In addition to feeding puppies last night for the first time, we also just sat in their play area and interacted with them. When we have the blankets spread over the slippery floor they can really motor already. Here are some shots of pups, kids, and Mama Momo. Enjoy!
First food
We gave the puppies their first taste of non-Mama food last night, at three weeks of age. At this point it's just goat milk mixed with a wee bit of baby oatmeal cereal. Within a few days we'll start adding cooked, mashed sweet potato and raw egg yolk, then some baby food meat, then eventually soaked mashed puppy kibble and finally, at around 5 weeks old (once they have teeth) we'll start reducing the amount of liquid until by 7 weeks they should be on dry kibble and tinned puppy food.
Being puppies, they of course got their entire faces and paws covered in milk and Mama Momo had to clean them off. Galena really chowed down last night while Malachite Teddy wasn't so interested, but this morning the little guy slurped down three "servings" of goat milk with oatmeal.
Mama Momo is eating tons to feed these fast-growing pups, even if there are only two of them! Last night we fed her three times before she was satisfied! And that was after a hearty breakfast and lunch, no less.
Being puppies, they of course got their entire faces and paws covered in milk and Mama Momo had to clean them off. Galena really chowed down last night while Malachite Teddy wasn't so interested, but this morning the little guy slurped down three "servings" of goat milk with oatmeal.
Mama Momo is eating tons to feed these fast-growing pups, even if there are only two of them! Last night we fed her three times before she was satisfied! And that was after a hearty breakfast and lunch, no less.
Wednesday 30 March 2011
Three weeks old!!
The pups are growing bigger and stronger by the day. On Monday they each experienced a huge weight gain - 90g for Malachite Teddy and 80g for Galena. That means Galena is now pushing 1300g and Teddy is approaching 1100g - bigger than any pups we've had so far, even bigger than Carnelian, the big boy from our last litter!
We are seeing more signs of playfulness all the time. These still come in sporadic, short bursts, followed by long naps, as most of the pups' energy is going into growing (see above!) but they show that they are increasingly aware of each other, their Mama, and the world around them. On Monday morning my daughter put a little music box - the wind-up kind that plays a single tune - beside the whelping box and got it going. The pups showed great curiosity, sticking their noses over the edge of the box opening and looking at this strange thing, and they even started "singing" along with little squeaks and yips. It was too cute!
On Sunday afternoon we put them on the hardwood/vinyl floor and they tried walking on that surface. As their little legs are still underdeveloped compared to their bodies, they were having a hard time actually standing and walking on the slippery surface. They ended up scuttling forward with the alligator walk they tended to use exclusively when they were just days old.
Little Malachite Teddy had a bit more success getting his legs under his body and keeping them there while taking a step or two. In this picture you can see that Teddy's fur is not totally straight any more but is starting to develop a few little waves. His coat will continue to get more wavy/curly as it grows.
But Galena was mostly on her tum...
... or trying to make it over to my daughter!
This is Mama Momo (Amore), taking a break from nursing hungry pups on a soft mound of stuffies beside the whelping box.
And here she is enjoying some cuddles from her good friend. Mamas need cuddles too!
We are seeing more signs of playfulness all the time. These still come in sporadic, short bursts, followed by long naps, as most of the pups' energy is going into growing (see above!) but they show that they are increasingly aware of each other, their Mama, and the world around them. On Monday morning my daughter put a little music box - the wind-up kind that plays a single tune - beside the whelping box and got it going. The pups showed great curiosity, sticking their noses over the edge of the box opening and looking at this strange thing, and they even started "singing" along with little squeaks and yips. It was too cute!
On Sunday afternoon we put them on the hardwood/vinyl floor and they tried walking on that surface. As their little legs are still underdeveloped compared to their bodies, they were having a hard time actually standing and walking on the slippery surface. They ended up scuttling forward with the alligator walk they tended to use exclusively when they were just days old.
Little Malachite Teddy had a bit more success getting his legs under his body and keeping them there while taking a step or two. In this picture you can see that Teddy's fur is not totally straight any more but is starting to develop a few little waves. His coat will continue to get more wavy/curly as it grows.
But Galena was mostly on her tum...
... or trying to make it over to my daughter!
This is Mama Momo (Amore), taking a break from nursing hungry pups on a soft mound of stuffies beside the whelping box.
And here she is enjoying some cuddles from her good friend. Mamas need cuddles too!
Friday 25 March 2011
Two-week puppy update: We have eyes!
Galena and Malachite Teddy are growing by leaps and bounds! Galena is almost 1kg already while Malachite just passed the 800g mark. They no longer fit in one hand, as they did when they were born. Their eyes are now fully open, though their vision will still be fuzzy for a while longer (we need to be careful not to use flash when taking pictures so as not to damage their eyes).
Their legs are slowly getting stronger - for the past week they have been attempting to stand up and walk with their legs under them, rather than crawling along like little alligators with their legs splayed out to the side. They are still quite wobbly - take a step or two and then topple over on one side - but they have progressed to taking three or four steps, or even a few more, before they topple over.
We are seeing signs of playfulness. So far it's been mostly nurse, sleep, and poop, but there are now brief periods where they are more aware of the world around them and of each other and interact playfully. This morning Malachite Teddy was mouthing his sister's ear, pulling at it repeatedly, until Galena glared at him and they started mouthing each other. No teeth yet so it doesn't hurt - but that will change! Last night we saw Galena batting at her brother with her paw, and when we set them down on the floor and lay in front of them, they wobbled over to investigate.
Their legs are slowly getting stronger - for the past week they have been attempting to stand up and walk with their legs under them, rather than crawling along like little alligators with their legs splayed out to the side. They are still quite wobbly - take a step or two and then topple over on one side - but they have progressed to taking three or four steps, or even a few more, before they topple over.
We are seeing signs of playfulness. So far it's been mostly nurse, sleep, and poop, but there are now brief periods where they are more aware of the world around them and of each other and interact playfully. This morning Malachite Teddy was mouthing his sister's ear, pulling at it repeatedly, until Galena glared at him and they started mouthing each other. No teeth yet so it doesn't hurt - but that will change! Last night we saw Galena batting at her brother with her paw, and when we set them down on the floor and lay in front of them, they wobbled over to investigate.
Successful mating of Garnet
On Wednesday we took Garnet to the vet's for AI. She is quite a wiggler, so we sedated her somewhat to do the procedure, and the little gal fell sound asleep halfway through! The procedure went well with no issues, the semen was high quality, and she was right at her peak fertility, so we are expecting a good litter from this mating! They puppies will be due around May 24 and ready to go to their new homes around July 26.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
One week old update
The puppies are very cute. Galena, the chocolate girl, is already trying to stand but she is still very wobbly. Little Malachite, the black boy, is starting to try to stand and walk too. Both of them are getting very chubby - they are both over 450g by now. It looks like their eyes will be opening within a few days as we see signs of the slits starting to appear. They squeak a lot when they are hungry or tired, and MoMo (Amore) is a great Mama and goes straight to them. So far mostly they just sleep and eat and sleep and poop, but we love to watch them wiggle around and push themselves along on their wobbly little legs. When they drink, their little heads bob up and down as their paws knead their Mama's belly. They are gaining weight very fast - between 30 and 60 grams every day.
Welcome to the DragonRam puppy blog!
Rather than adding to our website puppy pages, it will be easier to publish puppy updates by means of a blog. So watch for updates on DragonRam Doodles puppies starting later tonight! We will have pictures of Galena and Malachite, and an update on their growth and development. Stay tuned!
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