Pictures

Diamond with her Brogue babies

And, of course, her blond grandson who she is raising

Emy with her Shadow babies


Cotton with her Brogue babies

Diamond with her grandson (Emy's boy) and her own pup

I supposed I could put him back with Emy and his brothers and sisters now, but he seems perfectly happy with his grandma... and so does she!

Happy Birthday - yesterday

With all that's going on, I forgot to wish all the pups from Emy and Sparky's litter a happy 6 months birthday. So here it is a day late!

This is Elliot, ON his birthday. Look how light colored he is... with those still dark ears!

Pix - Cotton's Pups

Cotton and brood last night. Poor Cotton... she took 6-1/2 hours to deliver, probably because of the pups' size... and she was plumb tuckered!
Pix of the boys, the girls and the whole litter are going on the website in a bit.

Cotton has Puppies

Cotton wasn't about to let her mom out do her so she had 10 pups too. Because one of them had stopped developing a week or so ago, there are 6 males and 3 females alive and nursing. The pups are quite large (at least as big already as Di and Emy's who are 3 days older) and just like her first litter, all the same shade of pale blond (meaning I'm going to have a hard time telling them apart!) I'm going to try getting pictures tomorrow... actually I could take a picture of just one of them and you'd know what ALL of them look like!

Interesting...

This is Murphy (nee Brother) from Emy and SPARKY's LAST litter.
What is interesting is Murphy just weighed in at 19.8 pounds getting close to his 6 months birthday.
The curious aspect of this is his litterbrother, Elliott, weighed in at
42+ pounds at the same time!

Unfortunate news
The little tiny guy died during the night. I was giving him 1-2 cc every 2 hours even though he had been nursing and wasn't dehydrated, but he was obviously less active every time I picked him up and just lay in my hand, letting me drip fluid into his mouth. Healthy pups tend to squirm a lot when handled, even (especially) at this young age and hungry pups suck the tip of the syringe. Some pups just don't make it, no matter what.

PIX! Di's and Em's Litters

/\ from Di and Brogue, 2 males and 3 females /\
The boys are on the bottom (slightly to the left) and the 3 girls are, well
the other 3 pups!
Don't ask which one I'm keeping!

\/ from Emy and Shadow, 7 males and 3 females \/
The girls are the 3 on the left and the boys are the big pile on the right. One of the "blacks" is now (since he's dry!) one of the "reds."

So far, the only pup I have any reservations about is one of the light blond males. He's just plain scrawny! But, every time I check, he's got a nipple in his mouth, so we'll see. AND he's the only one of the 15 who has a back dewclaw (just one,) which I'm leaving right where it is. (No sense in stressing him any with a trip to the vet to have it removed.)


Another thing: I'm going to post pix of the pups divided into just males and just females (for each litter) as well as a different shot of each litter on the website. However, we're about to get a kick from another big thunderstorm (LOTS of damage... around the area but not here... from the one that went through this AM.) I may not get the website updated for a day or two as we're expecting an even bigger storm some time tomorrow. Everyone pray for my trees!

Cotton
Ms C is getting big and I'm going to move her into the nursery (which I used to call my bedroom) either tonight or tomorrow. Just in case!

Ta DAH!

This morning, Diamond and Brogue have added 5 beauties to their lifetime achievement total. Two males and three females, all wheaten except for one black boy. The wheatens, who are reddish colored right now, WILL and the black COULD end up just as blond as their dad. Right now, everyone seems perfectly healthy, warm, dry and fed.

Emy's reservation list CLOSED
because she also had pups this morning. (I was afeared that was going to happen since she was so closed to term and in the same room as her mom. And, yes, I know "afeared" is not a real word.) Em and Shadow had... sit down and take a deep breath... TEN (10.) Theirs are 3 girls and 7 boys. The girls are a wheaten and two pale blonds and the boys are the same plus 4 blacks. Again, all of them could end up being blond. Also, they're all warm, dry, fed, and appear healthy.

In the interest of making sure everyone gets enough food from mom, Em's two very blond boys have moved to grandma's nest where they are snuggled in with their aunts and uncles.

The whole thing of whelping 15 puppies took 4-1/2 hours, from 6 AM (exactly) to 10:30 (okay, it was actually 10:40.)

This human is running into town to WalMart (yuck) for some more hot water bottles, then taking a quick nap and then watching bull riding from Las Vegas. Those guys think they're so tough!

Pictures MAYBE tomorrow.

Progress...

But no pups yet. Diamond's been in and out a half dozen times since about 7 AM. She's trembly and anzy, doesn't want me out of her sight. The kettle is on, the newspapers and towels are ready and the scissors have been sterlized. AND I've had a full night's sleep!

Not Yet

But Diamond was up, digging around at 3 or so this morning. I went and put on the tea kettle, gathered the stack of newspapers and towels and the scissors and took them in the bedroom. Whereupon, SHE sat down and stared at me like I was disturbing her. Then she lay down and slept through the rest of the night.

Emy's and Cotton's reservation lists

There is one opening on Emy's list, for a male or unspecified.

And both a female and male/unspecified openings on Cotton's list.

The lists close when full or when pups arrive (IF pups arrive!)

Still Nothing

No pups yet. But we're getting close. (We HAVE to be!) Di didn't eat all day yesterday and I was pretty much mentally prepared to be up all night, but about the time Survivor finished up, she sat down in front of her food bowl and ate everything in it. Darn!

Computer Update

I'm on the MAC. HOWEVER, it's not a happy camper. Freezes up for no reason I can see (MACs don't do that) and is not the least bit interested in doing any business with yahoo. (So, if you email me from there, it may be a while... until I go to the library... before I get back to you.) Also, I've really gotten used to the light touch keyboard and mouse all built into my laptop. Should probably price Apple laptops but....

And finally, not sure how the MAC is going to handle photos. Seems I remember that was one of the reasons I was using the laptop in the first place.

No Pups Yet

Sorry, folks, but Diamond seems quite comfortable toting her babies internally. She's still able to jump up on the bed unaided AND she's eating.

For those of you who are first timers in the waiting game, signs of labor beginning are:
no eating (except for the exceptions to this rule)
no jumping on furniture (except for exceptions)
nesting (digging in the newspaper or bedding of the nest... or the bed, furniture, closet, etc... except for girls who don't do that)
paying attention to the rear end (licking or just looking at it with a puzzled expression... except...)

On the other hand, Emy is HUGE. And uncomfortable. I've moved her into the bedroom as well. She can't get up on the bed, but she's not much into furniture anyway. She's a little spooked at being moved from her family (dogs are very into status quo) and is a little off her feed because of that. (I hope it's because of that.)

Cotton is also way bigger than I was expecting at this time.

Did I say 20 pups? Looks like I was off in that prediction!

Computer problem

My laptop has decided to either die or just get terminally ill. The color fades to various shades of gray, making it impossible for me to do anything but play mahjongg (because the symbols are so dark I can still see them.) I can't read email or anything else, so it's at the fixer-uppers. However, they had never heard of the problem as I described it and were not very encouraging. This is the first laptop I've had and I thought they could just replace the color/graphics card... was not happy to learn laptops don't have them and everything is built in.

Today I'm at the library and later this afternoon I'm going to drag out my MAC and see if it will respond to some sweet talk. I actually prefer it but it got a little sluggish after the dogs got tangled in its cords and pulled it around the tv room for awhile a few years ago. I knew I should have taken it in to be tended to way back then, but I had the laptop and....

Finally

I have PAD which makes some things uncomfortable, even painful. Like standing in lines. That is ONE of the reasons I ask people to "waive signature" when they send me their initial reservation or deposit overnight. If I don't have to sign for it, it goes right into my p o box and I can pick it up without going to the counter and signing for it. Also, I often... as in usually... do not get into town until after counter hours, so having the mail right there works out for me. The box is safe, certainly safer than having mail left at the door or in a street mailbox. So please! waive signature.

Pregnant Pix

Diamond, due in a week +/-


Emy, due about a week after Di
(thank goodness she was only covered once!)


Cotton, due a couple days after Em

Pregnant Pix part 2

And this is Keogh, my Goldendoodle
who is sitting on her butt so she doesn't catch what the other 3 have!

Weights

Tucker, looking sweetly at the camera!
(Emy and Sparky)

Whoodle weights
People are always asking me what weight pups will grow to when they come from different breedings... they expect that puppies who have a STANDARD Poodle parent will be bigger than those with a MINIATURE Poodle parent. And they could be right... some of the time...IF size was influenced by ONLY the parents' weights. But that's not the way it works.
The size of the grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-great/etc. is part of the equation. Think about it... if you have 6 children with the same mother and father, they will be 6 different sizes. Same with dogs.

My pups GENERALLY mature in the 25-40 pound range regardless of who their parents are. Ann-Marie just emailed that her Hershey, who is from
Emy and Shadow's first litter, is 33 pounds while her Biscuit, who is from Di and Brogue's last litter is... wait for it... 33 pounds.

I rest my case!

Emy's Reservation List OPEN

The reservation list for Emy's litter is open as of today. There are 4 spots available... two specifically for female pups and 2 that are male-specific or open (either/or.) Getting on the reservation list is a firm commitment to a puppy from THAT litter. If you have not gone through my screening yet, NOW is the time to act if you want to take advantage of the reservation list (which gives you an early pick and lower price since picks are made in the order deposits are received AND the reservation list is a flat price for pup regardless of color, markings, size, etc.)

Cotton's Reservation List
I don't think I'm giving anything away... since I've already told folks on the waiting list... Cotton's list will open at the end of the week. I'll post the exact date in a couple days. I know a number of people are waiting for this one.

Waiting List in General
There ARE a couple families on the Waiting List who want a puppy NEXT year... which basically means early Summer 2011 since it will be at least 6 months before we do this again (and then it will be with just ONE of the girls...) or some other time in the future. However, if your interest is in these 3 current litters, getting on the WAITING list now will not benefit you.

What's Happening to the World?

Don't remember if I posted about the possum in the house last week... something was disturbing the dogs every night and getting into the trash. I knew by the mess it was too big to be a mouse... every fall, mice try moving inside... but whenever I got up and turned on the lights, I saw nothing. And there were no mouse droppings. Let's face it, a mouse can't go a foot without leaving a momento. Anyway, one night the possum fell into the empty dogfood can (a large garbage can which I had just washed and left open to air dry) and in the morning, I took the can outside, tilted it on it's side and the "teenage" rodent wandered off into the woods.

Well, a night or two later, the dogs were at it again. I'd been keeping the back door closed, starting in the late afternoon, so I didn't think another... or the same... critter had come back in. But after a couple nights, it became clear there was a possum in the kitchen AND it was bold enough to wander into "the dog room," where it was eating the dogfood pushed outside the pen by the little rescues (who have dogfood scattered all over.) But, again, every time I got up and turned on the lights, it was gone. I looked everywhere and couldn't find the thing. Until yesterday when I saw it in the middle of the morning, wide awake and staring at me from on top of the unused dog crates stacked in the corner. The cupboards for over the washer and dryer are right there and one of them was barely open. When I looked back, the animal was gone and when I opened the cupboard, I could see it sitting on top of something it had shredded inside a plastic bag. I guess when I had looked in there before, it was sleeping and I couldn't see it. Anyway, I spent the rest of the day... off and on... trying to figure out how to get it out of the cupboard and the house without getting bit or hurting it. (If I got bit, I was definitely going to hurt it!) Last night, the retched thing spent some time in my bathroom, driving my dogs nuts and keeping me from sleeping, so I got up determined to proceed with the eviction. Now, I grew up with possums that gave meaning to "playing possum." When threatened, they dropped over and played dead. Even when handled... gently by people or violently by dogs... they kept up the act. I was counting on being able to move this animal, IN the plastic bag, with little if any trouble. HA! Apparently times have changed in the possum world! As soon as I opened the cupboard door, it sat up, hissed at me and showed its teeth. This was Playing Possum Part Two. I immediately changed my game plan... took off the gloves and got a broomstick. It attacked the stick. I prodded it back a little, trying to get the handle through the bag's loops. No luck. It attacked again and every time the stick got close enough. Eventually I moved the bag enough that it was in danger of falling out of the cupboard (and into the same garbage can, this time with the dogfood bag removed just for the purpose of possum hunting) and the beast went over and under the stuff in the cupboard to the other side. I prodded, none too gently, at it's rear and it half jumped/half fell on top of the crate (about a foot drop) and when I started to touch it again with the stick, it slid down the off side. As soon as I backed off, it climbed back up. We danced a couple tunes that way and then I started piling stuff on top of the crate, along the edge by the wall, so the possum couldn't get back up. As luck would have it, just as I was putting the last stack of books there, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. And witnessed the bare naked tail disappearing out the door into the back yard. The devil climbed up the 6 foot chain link fence and sat on the top pole glaring at me until I closed the door. Later when I peeked out the window, it was gone. It's probably back in Possumville organizing an invasion.

Oh for the good ol'days when there were rules!

Di's Reservation List Closed

Well, that was fast! Opened one day and closed the next. Di and Brogue usually have at least 6 puppies, so there WILL be pups available.

I'm taking ALL the girls to the groomer this week. It will be easier for me to watch belly expansion without all that hair! Will try to get some pictures later if the weather is nice... we have sort of a mixed bag predicted. And thank goodness, it includes mostly cool temps. I'm not ready for Winter but I'm definitely done with Summer!