The puppies seem to be growing faster every day and look older every time I go out to see them. They have started to become quite noisy at times and though they still spend a lot of time sleeping, they are taking an interest in some small rope toys, paying attention to the world around them, and - of course - playfighting. Some of the fighting is not entirely playful, as they are establishing dominance and working out what is or is not acceptable behavior. Some milestones for this week: Started lapping milk from a dish in addition to nursing, grew razor sharp teeth, ventured outside the kennel when I left the door open. Ollie is hilarious! He is the high-drive, jolly, friendly, bossy guy in the bunch. He's almost always the first one to greet me at the door and investigates everything he can poke his little nose into. He will need plenty of training, though - the high drive pups need the most activity and training to keep their brains (and bodies) busy. Mac got to meet his future family for the first time this week, but he probably won't remember the meeting much, if at all. He is quiet, thoughtful, and intelligent. As you can see in the video, he was the first one to really figure out how to drink from the dish and he makes such good use of his opportunities that he is catching up to his bigger brothers in weight. He is not overly timid, but is not as outgoing as Ollie. (On a quick sidenote, an outgoing nature can also be a sign of a dominant puppy.) He likes to sit back and consider whether he really wants to come over to be petted, but when he does decide to come, he stays for awhile. Logan now weighs about 3 pounds and should gain more rapidly now that he can drink from a dish instead of being dependent solely on nursing. He likes to be petted and is pretty laid back, with a tendency to sit in the corner and watch everyone else instead of joining the action. I think that as he gets bigger (and gets extra attention) he will kind of outgrow this. As you can see in the pictures, he was not impressed with the wide world outside the kennel, but his mama showed up just after I took these photos and I think he decided that if being out in the grass meant an opportunity for a meal without his pushy brothers, then it must not be too bad. Relic officially passed Churchill in weight this week, but only by a couple ounces. He is big, strong, handsome - and a little bit timid of fast moves and loud noises. He was really scared of anything noisy early last week, such as a dropped food dish, an unexpected shadow, or if I spoke loudly, but since they have been out of the whelping box and falling into dishes, stumbling through shadows, and barking more, he has calmed down a lot. He loves to be petted and is quite affectionate. Churchill is no longer the heaviest puppy, but he still weighs in at a hefty 5 1/2 pounds or thereabouts. He is one of the friendliest pups and is not timid or overly bold - overall, he has a nice, balanced temperament. You may notice that in most of these pictures, he is running toward the camera. When I set them down in the grass, most of the other puppies spent a little time sniffing around and/or crying while stationary, until I called them and they realized that they didn't have to be alone out there in the yard, and came to me. Not so Churchill! The minute I set him down and backed away to take his pictures, he was up on his feet and following - so I spent the next five to ten minutes trying to get far enough away to get some decent pictures of him. Here are some video clips taken at different times over the last week. As you can see, my family members are beginning to handle the puppies a little (under supervision!) They will probably get much more handling and petting today because we are having a New Year's Day get-together and there will be around 20 children in addition to my younger siblings. Of course, I will be out there with them when it is puppy petting time. I should have some pictures to share next week of their early socialization. :)
For those of you who are interested in a behind-the-scenes look at the birth of this litter, I videoed most of it and just uploaded it to YouTube, mainly as an educational look at whelping for people who are expecting their first litter. Be warned, it is almost an hour long and is some pretty up-close-and-personal footage of whelping. *For some reason, YouTube cut it off at 7:37, so I'm working on uploading the right version... Will post link here when it's finished.
1 Comment
The puppies have grown a lot this week. Their eyes are fully open and their sight and hearing are developing, though they still don't respond much to sights or sounds. They got their first nail trim (mainly for Cleone's sake) and they did not appreciate it at all, but I think Cleone will. They are also much more active and are beginning to play a little bit with each other. It won't be long now before they are out of the whelping box. Enjoy the pictures, and take a few moments to think about the reason for this special season of the year - the humble coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Ollie (was Magnus) Ollie is hands-down the noisiest, wiggliest puppy of the bunch. He does not like to be held, so I try to spend a little extra time handling him every day so that he realizes that being held and petted is not a bad thing; it's a good thing. Echo was exactly the same way at his age and still does not like to be held, but she loves to be petted. (Just wait until you come out here - you'll see for yourself.) Ollie is very alert and is in the mid-range for size, and has an adorable face (in my opinion.) Mac Mac is pretty laid-back, but I have seen him starting to wrestle his brothers a little bit. He's still on the smaller side, but that's okay. He is turning into a handsome puppy and becoming more active every day. Logan Logan is still the little guy but he finally hit the two-pound mark and is growing more every day. He cracks me up sometimes by the funny expressions he puts on and the way he scrambles over to the milk bar and burrows in to find a spot. Relic Relic is chunky, handsome, and pretty level, so far. He is the one I've seen wrestling a little bit with Mac and he is one of the more alert pups. All the puppies seem to have a special radar system to detect when their mama gets into the box and they will go scrambling and rolling over to her the second they wake up. Relic likes to sit up and look around sometimes, just keeping an eye on things. Churchill Churchill's "mommy radar" works splendidly. Sometimes I will try to get Cleone in the box and lying down for Logan and Mac to get a little extra nursing in, without waking up the others, but Churchill, Ollie, and Relic always wake up and join the party. As a result Churchill has a beautiful roly-poly conformation. He is pretty level and doesn't get over excited about things (except for mealtimes, of course.) He is growing into a handsome fellow! The puppies grew a lot this week and there is still quite a big difference between the biggest (Churchill) and the smallest (Logan). They are all doing well and have opened their eyes. I would like Logan to gain weight a little faster than he does, but he is growing and seems to be feeling pretty well, so that's the important thing. I never did get around to putting together last week's video - sorry! (It is currently sitting on my computer, neatly organized in a folder to be edited, along with several others waiting to be finished. Hopefully I'll get it posted sometime.) So, with that experience last week, this week I decided to just take a raw video, upload it to YouTube, and stick it at the bottom of this post. I hope you enjoy! Magnus did not want to cooperate with getting his picture taken so this was the best I could do. He reminds me of Echo, in that he screams every time I pick him up. I think he may be high drive, but time will tell. Mac seems to be quieter and thoughtful. I experienced something unusual this morning with him: I had taken him out of the box and let him nurse for awhile, then put him back in. A minute later he lifted his nose up, like he was looking for my hand. He found it, sniffed a bit, and tried to lick it - not like he was searching for somewhere to nurse, but actually trying to lick my hand, like his mama, Cleone, does. He ended up just laying his muzzle in my fingers and resting there, apparently just enjoying being with a person. Logan - the little guy. I always have a special affection for the smallest pup in the litter. Sometimes that puppy is my favorite; sometimes not, but they always get special care and are usually the first one I think about when I get up early in the morning and head out to check on the pups. Logan has a good appetite trapped inside his small body and he works hard to get a decent spot at the milk bar with his husky brothers ("husky" as an adjective - not a noun!) He is growing and getting stronger, but still can get shoved aside by them, so I usually separate him and Cleone from the other pups for awhile and spend some time watching him feed, just to make sure he gets enough. He'll probably catch up to them eventually; it might just take awhile. Relic is getting bigger and more active every day. He has started trying to walk off the cold towel when I am doing the neurological stimulation exercises (last day is tomorrow!) and he is definitely more alert. Today he decided to sit still and let me take pictures of him, which was a blessing, because sometimes it can become rather interesting trying to get a photo. He is pretty fat and happy, and just kind of goes with the flow - so far, at least. The hilarious thing about Relic is his growling. He growls (loudly!) whenever he is hungry and his mama is not available for instant nursing, or if he is having a hard time finding a teat, or, in fact, if anything is not going his way. Churchill the Chubby is still exactly that - chubby. He is fat, happy, and beginning to explore his options with these things called "legs" which he recently discovered. (See video.) He also has discovered that he can growl and I was told by a younger sibling that, "The puppies are starting to growl at each other and playfight!" I suspect he was the one starting something, but if so, it's still a bit early. He might just be an early learner - time will tell. And now, just for fun, here are a few pictures of the two big puppies, Echo and Flora, when we had a heavy frost a few days ago. Stay warm, enjoy the pups, and take a minute out of the rush of life to reflect on what this Christmas season is all about. I'll take a few moments while sitting in the kennel with the pups - and of course, I'll try to share those moments with you. Oh, and I hope you can enjoy the video below - in spite of the shakiness, noisy lens adjustments, and my faulty narration. Here's another peek into the SandSpur kennel - in motion! Last week passed really fast - almost too fast - and it looks like this week is heading the same way. Of course, the dominant factor in my life last week was the new litter of puppies. The first two weeks of a puppy's life can be the most time-consuming because they are most vulnerable at this age to just about anything that comes along - a chill, a cat, parasites, digestive upset, and so on. But in another way, the first two weeks are the easiest. You see, once they pass this "danger age" (which really isn't all that dangerous if you're careful) they start getting into the active age, which is synonymous for finding all the ways they can get into trouble. Once they are active and cutting teeth, they learn to do fun things like chew through electrical cords, fall out of their bed without knowing how to get back in, and try to squeeze their curious little heads through the wire sides of their run. They also begin to LOVE attention, which means that my interaction with them may take longer and become more meaningful, and once I start trying to do some preliminary training - well, the mornings start getting shorter, or so it seems. Sorry for the digression. The important items on the puppies' schedules this week were: 1: Nurse as much as possible, and 2: Sleep the rest of the time. I am trying out early neurological stimulation with this litter and interested to see if it really produces all the great effects which researchers and other breeders say it does. I am also weighing every puppy at least once per day and charting their weights so that I can keep track of their growth and spot problems before they become too big, if any arise. Below are individual pictures. Enjoy! Magnus (was Jolly) Magnus is somewhere in the middle of the litter, weight-wise, so he has a ways to go to earn his name, but he is strong, vigorous, and hard to photograph because he likes to hike all over the place, hunting for lunch (which I interrupted.) Mac (was Melchior) Mac is the second smallest pup in the litter, but that can easily change later on. The biggest/ littlest pups often switch positions, so it is too early to tell what size he will be. Mac strikes me as being fairly quiet and laid-back, but quite energetic when energy is needed. He can sure shove his way in to the milk bar! I tried to get a photo of him with Duncan, but as you can see, Duncan did not want to cooperate. Logan (was Star) "Star" is the little guy in the litter, but he has some serious energy when it comes to hunting for dinner. He was definitely the most difficult pup to photograph today because he insisted on "swimming" all over the place in an effort to find his mommy, and his lunch. Needless to say, I popped him back in the box as soon as possible. I also gave him a little homemade goat milk formula to help him catch up to his brothers in weight. I usually have to do this with one or two pups in every litter and it's not a big deal. He would probably be fine without it, but it makes me feel better to give it to him when he seems a little extra hungry. He is doing his best to catch up to his look-alike, Churchill, but it's going to take awhile. Relic (was Gaspar) As far as markings go, Relic is by far my favorite puppy in this litter. He is absolutely gorgeous. (The others are too, just I like the arrangement and color of Relic.) He is the second biggest pup, weighing in this morning at 28+ oz, and right now has a sleepy, happy-go-lucky temperament - when he's not too hungry. Dinner time is very serious, though, and he'll muscle his way over, under, through, or around his brothers to get to the milk bar. Churchill (was Balthazar) Churchill was the last puppy born, arriving at 12:20, December 3rd, so technically he has a different birthdate from his four brothers. Currently we are coming up with all kinds of nicknames for him, ranging from "Plumpy" to "Humongo-mungo," because he is so fat. Actually, I love it when puppies are fat, so I'm happy he is such a chunk. There's really not much to see about his temperament at this age; he's just fat and happy. But I know he will be a great dog! And, just for fun: Yours truly, attempting to take a father/son picture with Duncan and Mac. As you can see, the father abdicated his position and claimed protection from his son, who was left out in the cold (momentarily!)
I took video of the morning weighing/ neurological stimulation routine and am in the process of editing it. I will attempt to post it tonight or tomorrow and will add it here, to the bottom of this blog post when it is complete. But I thought y'all would probably rather get the pictures of your puppies right away. I hope you enjoyed them! As always, feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or comments. There is also a comment form below. |
AuthorMy name is Alayna Feldman. I have been greatly blessed and am thankful, first and foremost, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has saved me. I am also deeply thankful to my parents, who have raised me in a stable, safe, loving home and taught me about what is most important in life. Archives
February 2022
Categories |