Wednesday 30 April 2014

Phoenix puppies: Vaccinations!

This afternoon we took the puppies to the vet for their first vaccinations and vet check-up. Everybody took the needle shots without flinching - not surprising, since we chipped them on Saturday and their reaction to that bigger needle was virtually nonexistent.

This was also their first car ride of any duration (though they got a 30-second ride to the field on Sunday afternoon!). As we usually find with our puppies, there was a bit of whining but overall they took this new experience in stride.

Monday 28 April 2014

Phoenix puppies: Six weeks old!

Wow! Six weeks old already! The pups are more and more active, energetic, playful and lively. Over the past week they have had several outdoor adventures in the grassy field nearby. The first time they were remarkably adventurous; the second time they had a good time playing hard in the grass and then flopped down and slept, with their people right close at hand.





 Phoenix is starting to wean them. While they still nurse several times a day (and night), it is less and less frequent and for shorter durations each time. On the other hand, they have now graduated from puppy mush to regular kibble with soft food mixed in. Their teeth (canines and incisors) are well in now, in just two weeks, though of course they are still getting more teeth (molars). For the next two months these teeth will finish coming in; then at four months of age the baby teeth will start to fall out and adult teeth come in until the whole process is completed at around eight months of age.






Four of these puppies now have homes. We still have one pet puppy available (though are hopeful it will soon be reserved!) and need one more Guardian Home for the male that we will be keeping from this litter. That is good news, because Topaz's puppies will be arriving on the scene in less than two weeks (appx May 10) and we want to have all these puppies go home as soon as possible to make way for the next bunch! A couple weeks' overlap is not a big issue, as the new little pups will be confined to the whelping box with Mama until they are about three weeks old. Ideally, all Phoenix's pups will be gone by the Topaz's get mobile.

Over the next two weeks the pups will have more new experiences - vaccinations, temperament testing, spay/neuter... and then to their new homes! We'll keep you posted as all these events transpire.


Saturday 26 April 2014

Phoenix puppies: Outdoor time!

Now that spring weather is giving us more warm days (though not as many as we'd like, yet), we have taken the pups outside to play in a nearby grassy area. The first time was over Easter weekend, and more will come! There are still a few wet spots in areas, but it's getting dryer and dryer (unless it's raining of course!) so we're careful where we take them. 

At first the pups were a bit uncertain of this new strange sensation under their feet - mostly dead grass, still, but there are some green shoots poking out already. It didn’t take long for them to start exploring a bit and playing. Mama came along to supervise (and so she would’t get anxious if her babies all disappeared into te great unknown without her). Several pups ventured fairly far afield, showing a great deal of confidence and curiosity! We spent about 20 minutes outside and had a grand time! 


The crocus field is in full bloom, too, though still soggy, so we will wait a bit longer to take them there. I love to get photos of the puppies among the crocuses.

As the weather continues nice we will take them outside more on warm, sunny afternoons. Shouldn't be too long (fingers crossed!).

Thursday 24 April 2014

Phoenix puppies: Five+ weeks old

Wow - a lot has happened since 10 days ago! The puppies are now over a month old. They've gone to play outside on the grass once - had a grand time and seemed happy to run and explore. And this morning (Wednesday) they visited my kids' classes at school - spent half an hour in the Grade 8 class and another half hour in the Grade 5 class. By the end they were exhausted, but very happy to meet all the kids and quite ready to run around and visit.

Phoenix's puppies are real little dogs now! They’ve found their feet and are happily scurrying around the puppy corner on the vinyl floor, wagging their little tails and squaking to let us know they want food or attention.

Phoenix is still nursing several times a day but we are also feeding the puppies some mush to supplement the milk and get them used to other food. Their teeth are coming, meaning it is starting to get uncomfortable for Phoenix to nurse them, and they are getting big so they mostly nurse standing up now. Over the next two weeks we will decrease the mushiness of the food and let it stay more and more solid until they are eating straight kibble. The transition is usually complete by the time they are 7 weeks old - though they will continue to nurse when they can (or, more specifically, when Phoenix lets them). So they will be all ready to eat regular puppy food by the time they go home. 

I'll post pictures in a day or so but need to get to bed now!


Saturday 19 April 2014

Happy 2nd birthday to Topaz, Pearl, Obsidian, PJ and Banjo

Once again, we wish a happy 2nd birthday to one of our mamas-to-be! This time it is Topaz who is turning 2 just a short time before she has her first pups. And, of course, her sister Pearl and three brothers, Sid, PJ and Banjo all turn 2 too!!

Topaz is a beautiful apricot girl who is very happy in her home with three kids and her human mom and dad. She loves to run out the back door and out the yard to the wide open park behind her home where she can meet all her canine friends and their humans, play ball, and run free (under supervision, of course).

Sister Pearl also lives in Ottawa and we see her at the occasional Doodle Romp along with her dad. She is pale cream colour, a very quiet girl who, we are told, never barks at all! (Wish I could say that of our doods…)

PJ and Sid (Obsidian) live here in the city as well. We’ve met each of them a couple of dimes at Doodle Romps in the past almost two years. PJ has turned out to be the biggest pup we’ve every produced, over 45 lbs!!! He must have got that big gener from his papa. Brother Sid is more moderate in size, just a bit bigger than Mama Momo and a lovely black like her, while PJ is a dark apricot with a few white spots.

Banjo is “far away” in North Bay so we haven’t seen him since he joined his family, but we hear is a lovely boy as well who enjoys spending time with his girl and mom and dad.

Happy birthday to all of you!! Best of luck as you move into your third year of life.

Tuesday 15 April 2014

Phoenix puppies: Four weeks old

The puppies are turning into real little dogs now! They are walking perfectly well now, even running a little bit. Just this weekend, they started being able to crawl over the lip of the whelping box, and they are still small enough to slip under the gate to the puppy corner, so we have now installed the puppy crate and playpen fence to keep them confined, give them a nice spot to sleep, and begin with training them to do their business in a certain spot - at this point, on the pee pad in one corner.



Caramel boy


Chocolate phantom girl

Gold boy

We completed the Adventure Box on Friday evening and gave the puppies an introduction. They are still a bit small and hesitant in interacting with it, as this was also the first time outside their whelping box and puppy corner. But they are learning quick and quick to learn. Each time we place them in the box they are more keen to investigate and play with the various objects hanging from the frame. Half the time, though, they are as happy playing with each other and wandering outside the box as playing within it.


Black phantom girl


Chocolate phantom girl

Gold girl


Now that they are moving around and interacting with the world more, we are beginning to notice differences in personality. The caramel boy with the brown nose is a very lazy, laid-back fellow, just as happy to cuddle and doze as to run and play. The chocolate phantom boy and gold boy are the most adventurous and keen to explore.

Enjoy watching, and don't forget to check out our Facebook page where my daughter posts photos every couple days.

Saturday 12 April 2014

Puppy development - Second month

With Phoenix's litter, I posted every "trimester," but when speaking of dogs, we actually usually divide pregnancy into two periods each about one month long. So that's what I'm doing for Topaz's gestation.

The second month is the stage of foetal development (as opposed to embryonic development during month one). This is where the species-specific characteristics of "dog" emerge, as well as sexual characteristics. The changes occur very rapidly. The legs, present as mere bumps or buds on the embryo, lengthen and form toes and claws. Facial characteristics form. Internal organs develop. They grow from tiny embryos of 16mm weighing a few grams to pups of 150-200mm weighing anywhere from 150 to 300g. They grow fur, their bones form and calcify, their eyes and ears form (though these continue to develop for two weeks following birth before they are functional). Finally, they position themselves for the effort of being born.

Foetus at 39 days

This is the time when external signs of pregnancy become visible in the dam: her belly swells noticeably, her teats swell, she no longer has a "waist," she starts to eat smaller amounts more frequently, and by the end of the second month she is getting uncomfrtable, waddling around, and unable to jump the way she used to (especially if there are logs of pups).

Topaz is nearing the end of this period - we hope to see pups within a week or so!

Thursday 10 April 2014

Topaz's ultrasound results

Topaz had her ultrasound yesterday afternoon at 2:30.

So: the preliminary count is 6 puppies!! All appear to be in good health, and a good size.

This means the likely winner of our Guess How Many Puppies contest is narrowed down to Jojo, Martin L, Suzanne (again!), Adrienne, or Mary. 

Topaz is due to whelp in about four and a half weeks - it's getting closer! Statistically, we would expect about 1-2 black, 1-2 chocolate and 3 gold/ caramel/ apricot, with about 1/4 of them parti. We are now accepting up to four deposits in total. There are already about three families interested, so if you might want one of these puppies, don't waste any time getting in touch.  They'll be ready to go home around July 5-12, just in time for summer fun.

Monday 7 April 2014

Phoenix puppies - 3 weeks old

The puppies continue to grow fast! Most of them are now around 1kg - almost 4 times their birth weight - and they all have their eyes open now. Once we can see their eyes it gives them a bit more personality.




Over the next 2 weeks they will transform into real pups! Already they are starting to try to walk upright, getting their little legs under them and lifting themselves off the floor for a second, then flopping back down. But every day their legs grow stronger, and within a few more days they should be starting to really walk.

We are also seeing the first signs of playfulness - batting a paw at a sibling, a tiny squeak in reaction to a sibling's action, chewing on a sibling's paw, ear or tail... With eyes and ears open, once they have their legs, they can start to interact in totally new ways!



Over the first two weeks we did puppy neural stimulation exercises with them, to help their brains develop and learn to react to stress in a positive manner. Now we are starting to leave the radio on, with either music or talk, to help stimulate their hearing - this in addition to all the household noises they hear just from being in the puppy corner right beside our kitchen, where they are exposed to all the activities of daily life in a busy (and often noisy) household with two kids and their friends.




We still have availability for this litter.
We are also in need of several Guardian Homes 
for 2 of these pups and 2 from the next litter.

Thursday 3 April 2014

Adventure box

In early March my daughter and I attended a seminar on "Transformational Dog Breeding" with Dr. Gayle Watkins. While the focus of this seminar was on genetics, the goals of a breeding program, and puppy evaluations, she had a sample of an "Adventure Box" that she created to help stimulate puppies and give them new experiences and ways to interact in their very early days, after their eyes are open but before they develop fear.

The plans are available on her website for a small fee, or if you're not handy you can buy the boxes pre-made. But it's not too hard to build (espeically with a dad like mine!!). So last Saturday we went out and bought the supplies at Home Depot and the Dollar Store, and spent a couple days cutting, drilling and stringing.

The "box" is an open frame of PVC piping from which a multitude of items can be strung, either loosely or securely from top to bottom. Gayle recommends using items of different sizes, shapes, textures and colours, so the pups can experience all kinds of different sensations.

Once they are able to walk - at 3 to 3.5 weeks of age - you introduce them to the box at first singly and then all together. They learn to walk past and through the strung items, getting to sense different textures against their skin, getting bumped and squished (a bit!), hearing different noises as the objects bump each other, and having lots of different objects to paw at and chew.

This is a means of exposing the puppies to positive stress. The goal is to help them learn to handle stress in a good way, to learn not to freak out when unfamiliar objects touch them all over, to get used to new situations and react without fear to new sensations and environments. Overall, this is geared to creating adaptable, resilient, courageous and curious puppies that will be excellent family companions!

We are using the Adventure Box for the first time with Phoenix's puppies. We will be introducing it to them starting next week and will be watching to see how they react and learn to interact with all these fun toys!!

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Guess how many puppies - Topaz Edition

We have a handful of guesses so far in the Topaz Edition of our Guess How Many Puppies contest. More guesses would be great! 

You simply need to specify how many puppies you think Topaz will have and the date and time of the first arrival (due date: about 10 May).The winner gets a $10 gift card to Tim Horton's or Chapters.You have until 9pm on the evening of Wednesday, 9 April, to submit your guesses.

Here's what we have so far:


Name
# of puppies
Date/time of first arrival
Patrice P
4
7 May, 17:07
Amélie TC
4
8 May, 16:45
Emma P
4
9 May, 18:00
Karen P
5
7 May, 19:00
Sarah P
5
8 May, 17:00
Jojo TC
6
7 May, 12:15
Martin L
6
9 May, 15:34
Suzanne W
6
9 May, 16:20
Adrienne TC
6
10 May, 06:00