The Silver Litter

Our first week..............

February 12, 2004

Well after about a restless 6 hours of some nesting,
pacing and panting Rave started the first signs
of a push about 12:40. Things went very smoothly
only pup that caused me some worry was Red – biggest
pup of course and Rave worked very hard to push
several tries with some rests in between for about
12 min before the pup was born. Rave did all the birthing
of these babies, bags, cords the works, I did rub and swing
a few pups as they sounded really mousy but for the most
part this was Rave (thank god for great mommy dogs!)

12:45 “silver” boy 13.5 oz no white

12:57 “black” girl 13.5 oz white kite shape on chest

1:15 “purple boy 13.5 oz no white

1:30 “gold boy 10 oz no white

1:45 “pink” girl 13.5oz white dot on chest

3:09 “green” girl 12oz white dot on chest rear dewclaws both feet

3:20 “Christmas” girl 13oz white splash on chest

4:46 “red” boy 14oz white splash on chest and throat

5:01 “blue” boy 12oz no white


here we are at 6pm the day we were born

 

I don’t think any of the white on these pups will be too
much white on their chest on Red some of it is very fine,
and will not show as he gets older. These are the largest
pups I have ever had, these are also the “flashiest” pups
I have ever had (most white) But I think the few with “dots”
on there chest will not even show as an adult.

I don’t think I have any tail kinks but I will check
later today when I weigh them.

Pups have an appt for dewclaw removal on Monday.


February 13, 2004

Pups are all doing well, all gaining weight and feel
good in my hand. The best way to describe this I read
in a book. A healthy puppy feels like a glove with a
hand in it, a sickly puppy feels like a glove without
a hand in it. It is hard to explain exactly but they
all feel good when I pick them up. They are also all “acting”
normal twitching and moving like pups do. They lack
the ability to regulate their body temperature right now
so they manage that by staying close to each other or moving
away if they are warm. The pups are pretty quiet for the
most part this is also good! Happy puppies are plump
gaining weight and not fussy. This does not seem
to be a fussy litter. It is early and things can go wrong,
but in most cases each day of life raises the
odds that all these pups will make it!

February 14, 2004

The pups continue to do well, Blue, Green and Gold
are the smallest pups so I’m making some effort to put them
on Rave a few times a day for an extra meal.
On Sunday I will start the DEVELOPING HIGH ACHIEVERS program
originally published as Early Neurological Stimulation.
Do go read the link above as I think it is interesting information.
Does this program make better dogs?
I’m not sure, I still think genetics play a very big part,
I don’t think this program could EVER
take the place of breeding sound temperament.
However, I don’t think it can HURT so why not?


February 15, 2004

The pups are now all over 1 pound! It is amazing for me to think
about how much weight Rave is putting ON these pups per day!
Close to one pound for all 9 pups each 24 hours!
Pups did start their DEVELOPING HIGH ACHIEVERS program today.


Here are the pups and Rave 3 days old


February 16, 2004

Pups had their front dewclaws removed today.
The Green girl also had single rear dewclaws that
were of course also removed. All went well and the pups
seem no worse for wear. Rave was VERY happy to
have them home. The pups continue with
their Developing High Achievers program.


February 17, 2004

Pups were fussy and restless the night after their
dewclaw removal appointment but are back into more
normal behavior today. When I weighed them today
I was thrilled to see that they had all again made good
weight gains and was thrilled to see that both the
Purple and Gold male have doubled their birth weight!
Weight double is a goal for their one week birthday.
To have 2 pups from such a large litter of rather big
pups double their weight at 5 days is amazing to me.

February 18, 2004

Pups are doing well, I even had pretty darn good sleep
last night. The only noise that got me up was Rave
wanting to go outside to go potty. She is eating so much
food to feed these babies that she can’t make it through
the night! Black girl, Pink girl, Green girl and Red boy
have also now doubled their birth weight. I think the rest
will make it on Thursday as they were with in 1 or 2
ounces of making I today. (This will meet a normal weight
gain as one would like to see pups double their birth
weight by one week of age.) Pups continue to do well with
their “work” (Developing High Achievers program). And
I have also started to trim toenails, lets see 9 puppies
times 16 nails per puppy – yup that is a lot of trimming!
They were BORN needing their nails trimmed and
I hope to have everyone trimmed by the weekend.
I’m starting with back feet because I knew that their front
feet would be sore because of dewclaw removal.
But by the weekend everyone should be trimmed back.
I learned with the Diamond litter to trim their nails
while they sleep! I will be able to do this for the first few weeks
as they pretty much just sleep or eat!


back to the first page of our diary
Week 2 of the Silver litter

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