The first vet visit is always stressful for both the pups and the rest of us. Never know what they may notice or feel or hear that we have not observed. But these guys have no issues. There are no hernia (umbilica that sometimes happen if where the umbical is attached does not close properly), no overbites, no heart murmurs. The boys both have two testicles (so unicordate is not an issue). Some of the girls do have vulvas that are somewhat indented, so I asked Dr. Nowle about t...

So this week we hope to have all the puppies selected. You have had a chance to watch them grow. I hope you have been able to join our Private Facebook group Chocolate Clan where I have been posting live videos (Uncut) of the pups. As well I have tried to post as many pictures as possible, although there is a limit to my photography skills, and it is a very time consuming process to select and resize each picture (again my lack of photographic knowledge). 

Hard to believe in 2 weeks the pups will be going home. We have continued to have a few visitors, and introduced the freedom of the deck. They love to run or hop, and are so happy to be outdoors.

A few questions have arisen about food, grooming etc. so I though I would try to answer them in a blog so everyone can get the information.

Food: We have been feeding the pups Purina Proplan Chicken and Ric...

Best week ever. The first week the pups got to go outside. And the weather was so cooperative: warm. And then the pups also got to meet some of our forever families. I do not like to take pictures of our families due to internet privacy and safety of the pups as they move out into the world. Therefore there are fewer pictures on visitor days (Like Days 30 and 31). As well I am finding that by doing the live-feed on Facebook, I am not picking up the camera as often to take stati...

Well the week was full of changes for the pups. On May 23 they moved from their natal nursery (the pool), to the big nursery. This change is equivalent to moving the baby from its crib to its toddler bed. It usually makes the pups look very small, but I did a design change this time, with the kennel/crates beside each other and then just a small area under the table and towards the crates as their bedding area. The rest is paper. In theory at least, the pups should not poo or p...

Exhaustion.What a week. Hope developed Diahrea and vomiting. She would not eat. We had to rule out infections to her mamary glands and uterus, as there are so many possibilities with a new Mom. Luckily, her blood work and x-rays came back clean, so the the vet decided that the answer to her diahrea and vomiting was colitis. So we had to cut her back from 15 cups of puppy food a day, to a mixture of rice and wet I/D (Hill's). We fed 1/2 a cup ten times a day. Small meals, but lo...

As I write this on May 24, Week 2 seems so long ago, and so much has passed since then. But Week 2 was so important. It was the week when the pups really came into the world, as their eyes and ears opened. And they learned how to walk. These were major milestones on their road to becoming pups that can go to their forever families.

Hope continued to be a diligent mama, feeding and cleaning her family. While she changed from never leaving...

So happy to have had a good first week. With a new mother, it is always a marvel at how so much of what she does is pure instinct. Just up to the humans to keep things clean and warm. And of course, keep Hope fed.  She is up to 12 cups of puppy food with additional wet food a day.The demands of nine pups is pretty high. To keep the whelping pool warm, we regularly place hot water bottles around the edges of the pool. These also help the pups not get crushed when Hope slide...

The pups arrived on May 1. Two boys and seven girls. The pups arrived a couple of days later than the stud breeder suggested and five days earlier than the vet, so I guess they were just right. Hope had a relatively easy time of it. The pups were all healthy and are thriving. We are all sleep deprived.

Today, April 21, was the big day to do the first puppy count!

Why? Well it helps us to know how many pups to expect on whelping day. If there are fewer than four, then we might opt for a pre-planned c-section as some or all of the pups might be too big for natural birthing. If it is more than ten, then we might also plan for a c-section as a very large litter can lead to complications with uterine inertia.