One week old!

The pups turned one week old today! They are still little wiggly sausages that don't do much besides eat, sleep, & poop. Thankfully Mama Momo takes care of cleaning up the poop - not to mention feeding them - so there's not much work for us at this point. We weigh them daily, do neural stimulation exercises with them, and handle them so they get used to human touch and smell, but other than that Mama Momo is the main caregiver. That will change soon enough once we start giving them "real" food in a few weeks' time!!

They are growing well. The youngest, the red male, is the biggest at over 550 grams today. The second-oldest, the cream boy, is second-largest at 450 grams. The other three - black boy, apricot tirl and red girl - are all very close, between 345 and 365 grams. 

   Black boy (first-born) 

   Cream boy (second-born)  

 

   Apricot girl (middle pup)  

   Red girl (second-last)  

   Red boy (last-born)  

Our five-month old pups are curious about these little guys, but know better than to try to investigate too closely or Mama Momo will snap at them. I wonder if they have any memory of being tiny like that and drinking from their mother's milk? Or living in the box in the corner? 

Scarlett with a friend

 

Leo with a friend

Announcing a safe delivery!

We are pleased to announce that Amore deliver five healthy hearty and happy puppies this afternoon!!!

Black boy arrived at 14:25, weighing in at 231 grams. I missed his arrival by about 10 minutes, so our poor Nanny had to deliver him all on her own! She was very glad when I walked in the door.

Cream boy arrived shortly thereafter, at 14:40, weighing 217 grams. I had been home about 5 minutes when he arrived, and the kids had been home barely a minute!

After that Mo took a lengthy break, which is not that usual for her when delivering, but she deserved it!

Apricot girl arrived finally at 16:05 and weighed 222 grams. She is fairly dark and very cute. 

Number 4, Red girl, arrived very quickly, at 16:10. At 191 grams she is the smallest of the five. 

Finally, just 20 minutes later, the last fellow arrived - Red boy, weighing a hefty 289 grams.

Mother and babes are all doing well and resting. 

Congratulations, Amore!!

Puppies are on their way!!

I took a phone call from my Nanny a bit before 2:00.

"Roma, I think you might want to come home... I think the puppies might be coming!"

I finished off what i was working on and hopped on my bike (since it was a fine day today, I took my bike in to work). With the low traffic volumes, I got home in about 30 minutes.

"Any puppies?" I called as I walked in the door.

"Yes!" came the slightly frazzled answer. "One! A little black one."

She wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl, so as soon as I changed into a t-shirt and shorts I came to check. "A little black boy!" I announced. "With a white spot on his chest!"

Moments later the kids walked in the front door, just home from school. And just secondsafter that we were all busy with the delivery of puppy #2 - an apricot/red male with a white blaze on his forehead.

Amore is resting now, taking a break before #3 arrives. Mo ususally delivers all her pups pretty quick, so it shouldn't take long.

Stay tuned! (I'll post photos later this evening.)

Camera found

Just a quick note to say I found my camera!! It had fallen behind the printer desk beside where I plug in the battery for re-charging. I knew it had to be around there!! So I'm set to take photos of the new pups when they arrive. (Could have used the kids' cameras, but I like mine.)

I have now added photos to Cardinal-Lily's and Galaxy's good-bye posts (scroll down to see them).

The countdown is on!!!

Amore is getting very round by now. When we place a hand on her belly, we can feel the puppies moving inside. It is super cool! Just this past Thursday she began to show some interest in the whelping box we have set up in the puppy corner. She has dug at the blankets in a classic "nesting" behaviour, and preferred to spend the morning while I was away in the whelping area rather than her usual haunt of my bedroom.

She is at 8 weeks as of today. Gestation is normally 9 weeks post-ovulation, but birth could happen as early as 8 weeks and the pups would be viable. Amore is generally pretty much "on time" so I'm not expecting delivery before next Friday, but you never know... We'll start taking her temperature every 12 hours around Wednesay and watch for a drop in temperature to about 97 or 98 fahrenheit (from normal temp of 101-102). Once it drops, delivery will be within 24 hours - and once it goes up again to 99+, delivery is imminent - within the hour. Stay tuned!!!

Good-bye to Aspen

Last Saturday we said good-bye to Aspen, our lovely caramel parti boy whom we had hoped to use as a stud but who had a bad overbite, making him unsuitable for breeding.

He is going to a lovely rural property in Haliburton, about 3 hours west of Ottawa, where he can enjoy a fun time with his new family. Derek & Judy are a retired couple who enjoy dogs and outdoor fun and will provide a great home for our lovely boy.

Aspen had a grooming session Saturday morning and was all spiffed up and smart-looking when Derek & Judy arrived with their daughter to pick him up. He greeted them joyously - as he does everybody!! - and went with them without qualm or hardly a backward look.

I do miss his friendly presence and happy outlook on life. Aspen is a great dog and would have made a wonderful stud. He loved to play with our puppies and demonstrated a keen interest in them from the time they were born. He was always friendly and happy.

There is one positive thing about his departure - my underwear is now safe from being chewed to bits. (!!!) And with the imminent arrival of another litter, we did need to make space for more dogs at home. We still need to place Leo and either Scarlett or Ariel.

I am sure Aspen is enjoying himself out in the country right now! Good luck to you, dood!

Good-bye to Cardinal-Lily

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Cardinal went to her home on Friday night, too. Shannon & Chris and their 3 children came just after supper. This was the first time the children saw Cardinal, now to be known as Lily, as just Mom & Dad came to the first visit, so it was a great treat for them!

While the adults went through the paperwork (yes, even buying a dog takes paperwork!!) the kids played with puppies. We are pleased that Cardinal-Lily is also going to be staying in Ottawa (and in fact she’ll be seeing the same vet she’s seen up to now!) so we will probably get to see her at a future Doodle Romp. It’s always great fun to see the pups again as they grow and mature.

(Added later: Now that I've found my camera, here is a photos of the big day!)

 

 

Galaxy has a home!

On Monday, March 26, we welcomed Christine, Frank, Martin & Christoph to visit our puppies, and they decided to take our sweet little Galaxy to be their family dog. She went home last Friday night to a rural wooded lot in Chelsea. Lucky dood! 

Now that I've found my camera, here is a photo of the happy new family! (Mom was out of town so just Dad & boys came.)

It was one of those happy-sad occasions to see her go – we are always overjoyed when a good family provides a home to one of our lovely pups, but a little bit sad to say good-bye. Thankfully Galaxy is going to a home in the region, so we may have the chance to see her again at one of our Doodle Romps.

The house is getting quieter now. Cardinal also went home last night, and Aspen will be leaving in a week’s time. But we still have Ariel & Leo to place. (Puppy anyone?!!?) And new pups due in just 3 weeks!!