Puppies are Nine Weeks Old Today!

I cannot believe how quickly time has flown! The puppies kept me so busy for about the first eight weeks that I lost all track of time. I guess it's about time to bring you up to date on what has been going on around here. :)

When the pups were 6 weeks old, Apollo went home with his new mommy. I was so sad to see him go, and yes, there were tears. But, I know that he is in a loving home where he is very spoilt and cherished. Apollo has also been given a new name, Bently. Isn't he a big boy? This is the last photo I have of me with Apollo/Bently before he went to his new home. (Sorry it's blurry)

Then there were 4 left: Clockwise from top right: Alcyone, Hyperion, Damia and Helios.

During the seventh week, prospective parents came over to visit Alcyone. Of course, the hubby fell in love with the wee pup. The prospective parents already have 2 Jack Russells, but they are the wife's babies and the hubby wanted a companion for himself. Yes, Alcyone now had a new home. Alcyone went to her new home the next Sunday, and I am sure that she is loving it there. :)

And then there were 3. Actually there were two as hubby and I had already decided that we (read I)were keeping Damia. I just could not let that wee bundle go to anyone else. She belongs with me. <3

So, that left Helios and Hyperion, the 2 males, waiting for adoption. The next weekend, a friend, "D", and her son, "I", had come up from "Down South". Their own beloved four-legged friend had passed over the Rainbow Bridge the year before and I knew that "I" missed his friend dreadfully. I walked one of the pups down to the library where "D and I" were helping out, and "I" took one look at Hyperion and fell in love. Because "D" has allergies, it was decided that Hyperion would stay with them for the week, to see how things went.

Well, at the end of the week, "D" let me know that Hyperion would now be a part of the family and that "I" was totally besotted with the pup. Yes, "D" has allergic reactions to to the pup, even though he is short haired, but they are going to work around that. So, Hyperion has become a best buddy to "I", hence his new name "Buddy." :)

Here is one of the last photos of Hyperion and Alcyone before they went to their adoptive homes.

And so, that left us with Helios and Damia. :)

As you can see by how cute and cuddly Helios is, there was no way I was giving up my little "furball", and besides, Damia needs someone her own age to play with. ;)

The only problem with Helios is that he is like a wee mop. I am continually washing him as he tends to absorb puppy piddle and his fur gets all matted and stinky. I'm using baby shampoo on him due to the frequency of his baths, and that way his skin won't dry up on him. ;) Talk about spoilt puppies! But who can resist them? <3

Then there is the expense of having four doggies in the house. Sheba and Lady on adult dog food, Helios and Damia on puppy food until they are a year old. More toys, meds and vet visits. I had to come up with a way to earn more money, without getting another job. So I came up with...

Furpal Greetings(TM). (Yes, I researched the trademark and the only furpal is a pet-sitting service, so I am in the clear there.) I decided that the puppies would be the focus of my new line of greeting cards, stickers, keychains and other gift wares, and my first "design" uses my favourite photo of Damia.

Get Well Soon card

And now, I must be off. Damia and Helios are crying for their lunch, and then it's playtime for the pups before they have their naps. Until next time, take care and "Puppy Hugs" for all!

Adventures in Puppy Land, Part Three

The Puppies Are Three Weeks Old!

On Sunday (Valentine's Day) the puppies turned three weeks old. There have been a lot of changes in the wee furballs since my last post! If you haven't read Part One - A Puppy or Two or Adventures in Puppy Land, Part Two, I suggest you read them first. ;)

One morning I noticed a wee bit of blood on the towel at the bottom of the puppies' bed. I picked up each puppy and checked it over for any wounds. Upon examining Damia, I noticed that her peri area was very swollen, red and raw. I immediately removed her from the other pups and made her a bed in a laundry basket. After I applied some Bridine to the open area, Damia went to sleep quite peacefully.

The reason that she was so swollen and raw in that area was that Alcyone, Hyperion and Helios were using her wee nou-nou as a teat when they were hungry. Now, after a week of Bridine treatments, careful monitoring of the pups during play and feeding times, and keeping them separate for sleep times, I am happy to tell you that Damia's peri area has pretty well healed up and returned to normal. Yes, the other pups do still try and suckle on her, but I move them away from her as soon as I catch them at it. Damia is also learning to keep her behind firmly on the ground when one of the other pups try to worm their way under her. I am sure that the pups will grow out of the suckling stage quite soon, then Damia will be safe from the wee terrors. ;)

Why am I so sure that the puppies will be out of the suckling stage soon? Because they all have developed little teeth in their wee mouths. They have wee sharp back teeth and a few pups have other front teeth poking through. Even Apollo has teeth now. I am quite surprised that Sheba is still allowing him to feed off of her, but I have yet to hear or see her nudge him away, so I guess he isn't biting her yet.

It is quite comical to watch the pups at play as they open their mouths to "play bite" each other and try to show who is alpha of the pack. Little Alcyone seems to be the toughie of the bunch, while Apollo just lets the pups crawl all over him, like a good "big" brother should. ;) The little furballs will soon learn however, that I am the Alpha Bitch in the pack. LOL

There is an adventurer in the pack. I am sure that Damia is a reincarnation of some great and fearless explorer. The little vixen has managed to escape from the laundry basket and went travelling all over the room. She finally ended up stuck in a corner between the wall and humidifier, crying for help. I removed her from there and plunked her down in the play area with her stuffed monster to play with. I switched the laundry basket for a tote bin and now Damia will have difficulty escaping form there. (I told you I am the Alpha Bitch). LOL

Another place that Damia has managed to free herself from is the "playpen". I normally put the four pups in there to eat and play and so that they are contained in one spot and I don't have to worry about them while I go and warm their bottles. Well, little Miss Damia decided not to eat her puppy mush and that, while I was in the bathroom filling the sink with hot water to heat their bottles, she would just crawl over the edge of the box and go travelling. I returned to the room after being gone not even three minutes and there was Damia, sitting by the gate in the doorway looking so very proud of herself as she looked up at me with the cutest little face. How could I give her heck? LOL Unfortunately, now she is trying to convince her siblings to "crawl over the wall" and join her in freedom.

The pups are now eating puppy mush three times a day. If you need a recipe for puppy mush (you can even use it for older dogs that have poor teeth and gums) here you go.
Puppy Mush
Grind up a whole bunch of dry puppy food ahead of time.

• 1/3 cup of hot puppy formula (I zap it in the microwave on high for one minute)
• 1/2 cup of ground dry puppy food
• Hot water

Add the ground dry puppy food to the hot puppy formula and mix it well.
Let mixture stand a few minutes until the puppy food has expanded and absorbed all of the formula
Mix in the hot water a little at a time until the mixture resembles baby cereal.
When the puppy mush is cool enough, let the puppies at it!

Yesterday, I decided to try Apollo on the puppy mush. I removed Sheba from the room and put the mush bowl on the floor outside of his "cave". Apollo timidly licked a wee bit and found that he quite enjoyed the taste and went on the eat more of the mush.

I'm not sure what Sheba thought of the whole thing, but when she was allowed back in, she promptly ate the rest of Apollo's mush, cleaned up her pup and then took him into the "cave" to nurse.

One wee problem that we are having with Sheba is that she will not allow the other pups to play with Apollo. I think that we have that problem solved. :)

During playtime, we remove Sheba from the room and close the door. Then the four "orphaned" pups are let loose in the play area outside of the "cave" where Sheba and Apollo dwell. Before too long, either Apollo is out of the cave and checking out his siblings, or the puppies are inside the closet and climbing all over him. After playtime, we return Apollo to his lair, put the pups into their beds and when Sheba is let into the room, she is none the wiser. You have to be one step ahead at all times in order to outwit her. ~~grins~~

Well, I think that this is about all the news from Puppy Land for now.  Tomorrow is another day and I am certain that there will be many puppy adventures to write about next week.  Do keep watch on my Facebook Puppy Album as new photos are added quite regularly and you can follow the puppies' development from birth until they leave home with their new adopted families. I have added in over 50 photos since my previous post. ;)  Enjoy and have a great week!

Adventures In Puppy Land, Part 2

When the pups were born a week past on Sunday, there was only 3 that Sheba allowed to suckle on a regular basis (Zeus, Apollo and Pan) and she nudged the others away. If they wiggled back toward her, she became aggressive and would push them away, often by putting her mouth over their heads and moving them that way.

We had managed to get her to lie down and allow all the pups to suckle for a few minutes to get some of those antibodies (see previous note), but we had to monitor them real close! Sheba (the mom) babied the three pups and pretty well ignored the other 4.

That night, we started bottle feeding them and doing the "piddle and poop" thing for them. On the Tuesday last week, Mark called me at work and told me that he had went to check on the pups and that one was dead (Pan) and he was working on a second one. I hurried home and he was doing puppy CPR on the one (Zeus). After an hour, I told Mark to let him go as there was no response from him. I couldn't find a heart beat and although his mouth would occasionally open and close, I am sure that was from the wee puffs of air that Mark was giving him.

We think that Sheba was accidentaly laying on the pups and smothered them as there was no blood or broken skin on the wee ones, and these two were favourites of hers.

When Zeus and Pan were gone, Sheba put all of her energy into Apollo, completely ignoring the others and pushing them away if they came close to her. She would growl at them and put their head into her mouth and make them cry. Mark and I quickly removed the 4 pups and made a bed for them in the dresser drawer.

They are quite happy in there with their hot water bottle and snuggling up to each other.

On Saturday, Mark decided to see what Sheba would do if he let her see one of the pups. She sniffed, and then started licking the pup and he voided and pooped. So, after that, each time we feed a babe, Sheba comes over and does her puppy grooming.

Sunday night, I was sitting on the bed feeding Damia with Sheba lying beside me. After Sheba cleaned her off, Damia wiggled toward her, and Sheba opened her legs to let Damia suckle. It only lasted about 10 second, but it's a start. We only allow her to be with the 4 pups under strict supervision and so far, she has only allowed two of her 4 "orphaned" pups to suckle for a few seconds.

Her favourite, Apollo, is a different story all together. She has him sleeping with her in her cave (the closet). She allows him to eat whenever he wants (methinks he is overfed) and is super protective over him. Apollo is twice the size of the other 4, and can barely move! The other pups are starting to try and lift their bellies off the ground and walk on 4 legs (it's funny to watch them lift their rear ends up, take a step and topple forward, then get up and try again). Apollo is too big and is still wiggling himself around. Hopefully, once the pups are started on their puppy mush, Apollo will do better weight-wise. ;)

The one drawback to all of this personal attention that the 4 pups are getting, is that I am falling in love with them. How can one not when you hold them in your arms and cuddle them while feeding? I am especially drawn to Damia for some reason. She loves cuddles and snuggles into me with contented sighs after being fed and burped. I know I can't keep any of the pups and it will be so hard to let them go when it is time. :(

Ahh well, such is life. Hopefully the pups will remember their "human mom" when they are older and will stop for a cuddle if we pass on the street. :)

Meanwhile, photos of the puppies' first week have been added to the puppy album. Puppies are a week old!  If you don't already have a Facebook account, you may need to sign up to view the photos.
Enjoy! :)