Pups 10 Days Old - Pix

The 4 smaller ones above
and the 3 larger ones below



The only female is the large black pup.

Everyone doing well... shiny coats and fat bellies!
Different shots on the website, if you're interested.

Everyone is Coughing Nicely!

Well, almost everyone! A baker's dozen are on antibiotics and cough suppresants. No one is sick.

It occured to me that I hadn't said that most people are not aware their dogs have kennel cough until they start coughing... like, duh!... BUT dogs are contagious BEFORE they start coughing which is why it spreads so easily. Dogs at the dog park, on walks with their owners, even at the groomer (where mine got it) show no signs. Short of locking 'em up and throwin' away the key, I don't know how to keep 'em safe! As I said before, if I didn't have pups in the house, I would NOT treat with antibiotics

Cough Hack Gag!

But everyone is doing fine! Treating 10... count them, TEN... dogs as of this morning. Two different schedules because they're on two different drugs. No one is sick... they're all eating, going outside, wrestling inside, etc just as before. They're just making more annoying noise than before! Di's is still the worse sounding cough, but that may be because everyone else gets dosed as soon as I hear anything out of the ordinary and it was about 12 hours before Di was started on medication. Even her coughing is much reduced in frequency and extent. She is feeling so normal, she started napping outside the nest yesterday. Easy to tell how old her pups are as she does everything right on schedule!

Halloween!



Ninja Patch all ready for trick or treating!

Kennel Cough

Well, been up all night because Diamond started with a slight cough late yesterday afternoon which escalated to her hacking and HONKING (like a damn goose!) all night. She sounded so bad I ALMOST took her to the ER even though I was fairly certain it was just kennel cough. Then, about 4 or so this AM, Brogue started coughing in the other room. And now Cotton just had a coughing fit.

Took Di to the vet first thing today because I was worried about the pups and Jane put her on some antibiotic (Clavamox) for secondary infection (should it show up) and something else to try to tone down the cough, and put Brogue on OTHER stuff.... Since Diamond is nursing newborns, she can't take the better meds. I'm supposed to treat anybody else who starts with the same stuff. Pretty sure EVERYBODY here is going to be going at it in the next few days.

Jane thinks the pups will be fine.

Di, Brogue and Cotton... and Emy who hasn't coughed YET... WERE all in the same room and a little isolated from everyone else BUT I had to move Di last week into my bedroom... on the other end of the house... 'cause that's the nursery. And two days ago I moved Brogue into the "dog room" away from Emy because she's just come into season and he's not the chosen one... so now the dogs in THERE have been exposed (if they weren't already.)

For anyone not familiar with kennel cough, it is caused by any number of viruses... 5-6 DOZEN different ones... and generally is non-threatening to the dog, no matter how bad the coughing sounds. Dogs that are otherwise healthy USUALLY do not have a problem with it... they don't act sick... don't run elevated temperatures, don't have runny noses or goopy eyes, DO eat/drink/play/sleep normally. They just cough a lot (and it can be very annoying.) Some vets... ok, MOST vets... will put the dog on an antibiotic, NOT for the kc, but for any secondary bacterial infection that might occur... or because the owner is frantic and needs to do something to "help" the dog. If Di did not have newborns, I probably wouldn't put her on anything. (Brogue, on the other hand, has had an allergy going on all Summer so maybe this antibiotic will wipe that out.)

Now, you're probably asking about a vaccine. There IS one. However, it covers maybe a dozen or so of the viruses that cause kc. You're still vulnerable to the rest. And where do you get kennel cough... it's a virus, so ANYwhere, EVERYwhere. In this case, I'm pretty sure Brogue was exposed when he went to the groomer almost 2 weeks ago... and he's shared with everyone else.

Over the next couple weeks, while this runs its course, I will try to stay civil in my sleep deprived state... but I'm making NO promises!

Chauncey/Shadow Puppies

5 females, all black (one or two with some white) and 4 males including a blond
These babies will be 4 weeks on Tuesday (I think) and are doing VERY well. They are very sweet and social... used to being handled by lots of people... and incredibly lazy (which translates into "laid back" when they get older.) They shouldn't be too big full grown, probably AROUND 50 pounds, and like their parents, have the most wonderful personalities.
FOR SALE!




Diamond after 4-1/2 days


She doesn't look half bad! And I know everyone thought she'd be a bag of bones.

One more thing
Shadow went and paid his respects to Emy who gave him the ol' "Not tonight, I have a headache" story. He plans to drop in again in another day or two to see if she's feeling better....

4 Days Old

and going strong! Probably hard to tell how much they've grown since Tuesday night, but they have. I think I'm going to pick up something seasonal... a stuffed Santa, maybe... to put in the photos for size reference.

And speaking of that, here are the largest... Marna's black girl... and the smallest... the black male... in the litter RIGHT NOW. Two of the blond boys are just about the same size as the female and one of the other boys is just a tad bigger than the male.

Doing Well (and Big News)

Everybody is fine this morning. Di's a little owly with the other dogs in the room... they can only stand outside the pen and try to see in... there's a sheet over the "walls" to give Di some privacy... but she knows they're out there and would rather they went elsewhere. That attitude will last until the pups are about a week old and then she won't care if they look at them. She won't let them in with the pups for about 3 weeks and even then she's very selective about who is admitted. This litter is fairly quiet for newborns... I did get some sleep last night... but there is one big "red" who tends to get upset whenever he can't get a nipple the second he wants one. It doesn't bother his mom at all to hear him whine... can't say the same for "grandma!"

Big News
Emy is definitely in season. Shadow will be tickled... Brogue will be ticked!

Picture

And here they are! The largest, right now, is the female... she's sort of away from the others in this picture. One of the red boys is very close to being the same size and another is just a tad behind. The one I'm most concerned about is the black boy although I think you can see there is a little red guy and the DARKEST red guy who are about the same size. They just aren't as ribby as the black AND they didn't seem to struggle as much right after they were born. ALL of them are eating and sleeping well. They're all warm. So it's basically just wait and see how things shake out.

One thing to remember... the reds will not, I repeat: NOT, stay red but will lighten up to blond. And at this point, it doesn't look to me like any of them will have the "lace" (dark sabling) that sisters Emy and Dakota do.

Di and Brogue are doing well!

Good News ... Bad News

The good news is the pups are here! Seven of them.
The bad news is there is only one female and she is moving to NYC. I don't even get one! She was the last puppy born... at 1:30 AM this morning... and I had about given up hope there would be ANY girls at all this time. I had planned to keep a girl, but Marna has been waiting over a year and a half, so she gets her.

The pups are 4-5 blonds who are now "red" and 2-3 blacks. One is neither red nor black just yet which is why I've listed them the way I have. I think he'll be blond, but what the h do I know about anything? The girl is black with tan on her legs and a splash of white on her chest. The definite black boy is marked the same way.

All but one of them seems to be doing really well... one little guy is somewhat "puny" BUT he has a very shiny coat this morning and is nursing. We'll see.

Going to get a picture later today when Diamond makes a trip outside to potty... she's not interested right now.

No News

And that's all... no news.

60 Days...

Getting close! Right now, she's in the chair with me, watching me type. She always likes being close Such a sweet girl she is! I hope to get another photo before the pups come... one with her "pointed" so you can see how the pups move around just before whelping... but sometimes, it happens very quickly!

Updates on other people's puppies
Chauncey and her family should be home from their vacation on the coast today, if they didn't come back early because of the weather. I'll give Russell a call tomorrow and see how things are going. AND will get out there some time this week for photos. Pups should have their eyes and ears open by now.
Penny has found homes for all her pups and they will be leaving in a couple weeks.
Liza has an older (5 months) Labradoodle female still for sale... lead trained, housebroken, good with kids and small dogs AND she has a new litter of Goldendoodle pups.
And Cathy hasn't sent me any news on her two big Labradoodle litters, but she still has some available and the baby pictures were beautiful!

Not Yet

I've just realized I've been inconsiderate by not posting more about Diamond's progress. Because I'm here with her and know nothing is going on, it hasn't occurred to me that not everyone is so calm. Sorry.

Nothing's going on. Di is still incubating. Sunday will probably be the very earliest she'd go into labor and since she was bred several times over a week,it could be another week. I'm actually thinking Tuesday, for some reason, don't ask me why. Our weather is turning really cold... for this time of year... highs in the 40s, lows near or just below freezing for the next couple days. I'd just as soon she waited until after then. Cold puppies are crabby puppies and I really hate using a heating pad. But she's big. Pups haven't "dropped" yet, which is a little different with dogs than humans.

The canine uterus is "Y" shaped rather than one room like the human uterus. Pups are in both legs of the "Y." When whelping time gets close, they tend to bunch toward the opening. From the outside, the mom looks like she's swallowed a football sideways. I call it "pointing" and I have yet to meet a breeder who doesn't understand what I mean.

So end of lesson number 610 in Dog Breeding 101! Lesson 611 will be on common signs and symptoms of imminent whelping.

If the sun comes out tomorrow, I'll get another picture.

A More Pregnant Diamond

Here's Ms Di at 54 days into the pregnancy. She's REALLY gotten a belly on her. Actually seems to get bigger overnight EVERY night. Just about a week left to go, give or take a day. She spends a lot of time lying flat on her side, rather than on her belly, and is starting to get "clingy" (wanting to be with me ALL the time.) Going to move her into the whelping pen (in my bedroom) in the next couple of days so she'll be comfortable with her surroundings when the pups arrive. She's always had her pups in my bedroom BUT this time there is the added distraction of Owl... HE may end up moving in with Brogue, Emy and Cotton!

Speaking of Owl...

My friends, from Georgia, Liza and Bill, came up yesterday for a visit and met Owl. Liza fell in love big time! Of course, HE was absolutely charming... he always is... and went out of his way to snuggle (!) against her AND Bill. Liza said she's not coming to visit any more because I'm always introducing her to new kinds of dogs and she wants one of everything. Poor lady, when I met her almost 20 years ago, she was happily breeding JUST Labrador Retrievers. She wanted a Shar-Pei and bought a female from one of my first litters away from the Pacific NW... which got her into showing and breeding Shar-Pei. (This is a pup she has available RIGHT now...)



And then I showed her Labradoodles which she now breeds (along with Goldendoodles) rather than purebred Labs. Over the years I've gotten her to pick up a Chihuahua or two, a few Shih-Tzu and of course, some Poodles for her 'Doodle program. On her own... and against my advice... she got some Bichon and has a litter or two of them every year. She likes them. For me, they're Jack Russells with hair! Don't think she'll get a Deerhound... but you never know... there's a breeder who lives about 15 miles from her!

Owl

Owl and my Shar-Pei (who normally does NOT play with puppies)
and a couple of little Poodles show Owl the neat hole they found in the yard

Which One is the Holstein?

Lulu the Doodle and bovine friend

An Emy/Shadow Puppy

This is Stoney who lives in Tennessee, actually not too far from here. He is from Emy and Shadow. The top picture was in August, the bottom in Sptember. His folks report that he is right around 35 pounds (at 9 months) so he should mature around 40 pounds. Which was my original guess when I did the breeding and which I upsized once the pups started growing up. Stoney is great with dogs his own size or smaller, but a little timid around larger dogs. He also had a problem with "car anxiety" which his folks helped him work through and now he's up for rides anywhere! Stoney was the only blond in the litter and has matured to an off-white... or french vanilla!



And another country heard from
An email I received today:
Wed, 7 Oct 2009 1:18 AM
From "Lundeen" "lundeen@mabe-ethanol.com"
To mountainsummit@fastmail.fm
Subject Inquiry about Whoodles
How dare you take a fabulous dog as the Wheaten and make another breed out
of him..have you nothing better to do????

I never bother replying to this kind of stuff... usually the address given is fake. But I'll bet "lundeen@mabe-ethanol.com" would be very surprised to see his/her email posted here as well as in the "testimonials" on my website! I have nothing better to do.

Just Pix

A pregnant Diamond
Wanted everyone to see Di's little belly... which is coming along quite nicely now. She has a little over 2 weeks to go (9 weeks total gestation period) and is obviously incubating!



Cotton (on left) and Emy (on right)
The girls were clipped down to the nubbins in late August. If you're wondering why their faces look so different from each other, it's because I left hair on Em's ears, but took Cotton's down to the leather. When her hair grows out a little more, I'm going to clip her ears... JUST her ears... again. It gives her head the cutest look!

Reservation List Full

Actually, I should have posted that yesterday, but I had other things on my mind. Di is getting a nice little belly on her, so maybe she'll have more than her usual 6 pups. Everyone, PLEASE cross your fingers that no matter HOW many there are, she has more girls than boys AND we need a variety of colors! Nothing like putting your order in early!

Emy
Brogue "lives" with Di, Emy and Cotton and he is my barometer when it comes to them coming in season. This morning, when they went outside for the first time, he was interested in Em's rear and marked where she went to the pot. Now, this may be more information about dog breeding than you want, BUT that IS what this blog is basically about. I checked Emy's bottom myself and there are no physical signs... yet... but his nose has always been more accurate than my eyes. So it looks like things are moving right along! And the timing would be really, really good.