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See Also: | 2007 "Rtic" Litter, NotesBack to "Rtic" Litter 11/22/07 (6w) Started Fishback's lead dog testing today. We had gorgeous weather through the girls, blustry, but mild. Then the clouds moved in and chilling rain. Will get the boys as soon as the weather clears. This is a three-day test. There are 2 things we're looking for. 1) How do they face new challenges? First challenges are difficult for puppies, but once it's familiar, can they overcome their initial worries to explore and/or conquer?
Physical comments @ 6w F1 - harsh coat, inky/saturated pigment, compact back, feminine build M1 - Big harsh standoff coat, saturated pigment
11/8/07 (4w) We've moved outside during the days because pups are eating on their own. Sera still has milk, but there are nine of them and they need a lot of calories. Started off mixing Pro Plan Salmon canned with K9 Puppy Gold and Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy. They licked more than anything, but the salmon really got their attention. Soon as they knew the white platter meant food, I dropped the Puppy Gold and Salmon and just offered Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy -- which they are eating happily and with gusto. Bellies are firm, muscles are hard, coats are gorgeous and they are growing! Pryantal for pups & mom, Interceptor for mum.
10/25/07 (2w) Thursday - Eyes are opening. We've all learned to trill, to sing, and to squeal when mom lies on us. And, interestingly enough, one of the black boys (the one whose eyes opened first) has learned to escape the crate AND take his siblings with him. The puppy crate has a couple of crimped bars so a small puppy who can crawl UP may also crawl OUT. But since their eyes aren't fully opened yet, I didn't worry about blocking the small opening. I woke up the other morning and the black boy, all his black sibs and gray sibs, were scattered throughout the house. The sable girls were all safely with Sera who was watching with interest, but wasn't worried. Then this morning, the black girl was outside the crate, curled up next to the opening. Which is now blocked off. Her eyes aren't opened yet either. New 2w pics are up. 10/29/07 (2w, 5d) Monday - Teeth are in! No wonder Sera doesn't want to spend as much time in the whelping box any more. She's red and sore from greedy babies! Pyrantal Pomoate for everyone -- banana flavored. Toe nail trims with fingernail trimmers while they were sleepy. Will start spending afternoons outside tomorrow because the weather is so mild and to get Sera space to get away from them.
10/14/07 (4 Days Old) Sunday - OK, Sera has milk and I can't count.
10/11/07 (Day 65) Thursday - 7:42a, Sera's first puppy, gray, masked, and a GIRL. <gBg>
Sera is such a good mother. She yelped on the first delivery and then went right to cleaning and cuddling. Maybe it's not cuddling, but when they wrap their bodies around their daughters and lay their heads on them when you're trying to figure out if it's a girl, finally, then it looks like cuddling. No yelping on the 2nd girl, just went to work cleaning her.
She's waited a long time for these babies, if she had had her way, she would have been raising babies from 7 months on -- she's been the nanny for all our youngsters since she got old enough to want one for herself.
Her coat is either lighter than her sisters or longer, it seems to have long waves. Nikko (Sera's sire) does not carry the Long-coat gene, Singer (Sera's dam) does carry the LC gene. Singer bred to Yogi (sire of this litter) produced no LCs. Color is a strange thing in newborns. Sable doesn't show up until they are dry and that takes a few hours what with birthing fluids and wet babies crawling over each other. The house is 70F this morning with no draft and I've draped Sera's crate in sheets to trap her body heat. Don't want her hot but don't want the pups chilled. I'll watch to see if they stay warm against her while she's whelping. She (Nature, instincts) knows what she's doing. I'm just supervising.
We have 9 puppies:
10/8/07 (Day 61) Sunday - Sera's as big as a barn. Had our bath yesterday, lots of time on the table to power out the hair she's loosing on her belly. Toenails and hair on the pads of her feet snip-snip. Have added to her diet "K9 Puppy Gold" for fat and milk production. She's in the house with me when she's not taking walks outside with me. Have assembled all the towels and wee pads and rubber-backed bathroom rugs. She's restless and during our hourly belly rub we had fetal movement -- distinctive paddling against my hand! She naps heavily, flat out on her side, and then whines and paws at the crate door -- right next to my desk and the couch mind you -- until she gets a belly rub. We are NOT having these puppies on my couch! Her mom Singer already did that in 2003 and destroyed the first couch. No more of that! My worry is that she doesn't have any milk yet. Belly hair has gone and she's getting the very slightest pooch, but her dam Singer had milk 10 days early, so maybe that's not so good either. Here's hoping she holds off delivering until her body's ready to nurse. The puppy chant -- "Happy healthy puppies, Mom lives to be 12 years old, and plenty of milk!"
9/22/07 (Day 46) Sera's belly has finally thickened and she no longer leaps about like a ballerina, she's a little deliberate about her movements because she's a little off balance. Appetite is up and have increased food. She's on Pro Plan Adult Chicken and am switching her to Eukanuba Performance this week for the extra calories. She wants nothing to do with Yogi now, and is very abrupt with him. Her brother Maestro is OK because he's completely cowed by her gruffness, sounds too familiar (Singer's their dam). He lets her do anything she wants. Yogi thought their previous relationship would continue -- Sera coy, Yogi macho. Not likely.
9/13/07 (Day 37) Sera went to Rocky Hill Elementary School and met EVERYONE, wooed and charmed them and was petted by everyone, even Tom the janitor who was a little intimated by big dogs -- not Sera.
8/7/07 - Yogi & Sera tied, 10:45p, of course. Today was the day we were going to send Yogi back to his co-owner Nannette's house. We had transportation already arranged. But we are having record highs, dangerous highs, and there is this rescue Malamute puppy named Tundra that Nannette can take in if I keep Yogi for a little while longer... So, it's all a good thing that he stayed just one more day, because otherwise, I'd be driving Sera all the way to north of Nashville tomorrow when I realized she was in standing heat finally...
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~ Contact
Wayeh * 423-365-6039
* Spring City, (East) Tennessee Member Oak Ridge Kennel Club since 1996, member TN Working Dog Association since 2008 Temperament, health, structure, working
ability, and then type -- |
