Random pictures

I love frog legs.  It is even cuter on puppies.

The babies are loving training!  We make sure they are comfortable and in the shade in the heat.  We let them out to play a couple of times a day and they entertain the whole training group.

Here is little Stanley checking out the pups.

Speaking of Stanley...I thought I should introduce him.  He is a 12 week old pup I bought out of California.  His sire is FC AFC Wood River's Franchise (same sire as Libby) and his mother is the very nice AFC Flyway's Ruby B Gonia.  I am very excited about this pup.  Here he is shown chasing his first live duck.

And he had no problem with it.

And oh ya...Kenny and I got married yesterday.

:-)

Miss Libby

Libby was going to run her first derby next week-end in Louisiana.

She came into season last week.

Oh well, she could use more training.

She's coming along real nice and looks like she's going to be a fun dog for me.

Unfortunately Libby is going to have to be spayed.  She will not pass an eye CERF.  I wanted to let her have one heat cycle and we're going to spay her as soon as it's convenient.

She's one of the reasons why I'm a little leery about getting puppy eye CERFs.  Her condition should have been caught at her eye CERF at 7 weeks old, but it wasn't.  It happens.  CERF vets are humans too, and the puppy's eyes are changing so much at that age.  I've always gotten puppy eye CERFs and probably always will though.

A bit heartbreaking for me as she's the first pup I've kept out of one of my breedings.  But, she marks great and can see fine.  I'll have a nice trial dog where I won't have to worry about heat cycles after this one.

I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Save You $$$

Darbi loves her Gallery Furniture T-Shirt.

Training days

I'll post more pics/videos soon...I promise!!

Pups have come to training with us for 2 days now.  They stay in an x-pen and have a blast.  They are obviously becoming well socialized to gun shots, 4-wheelers, dogs barking, etc. etc.  They haven't turned a hair with this all going on.

And the pups have moved in to their new digs as well.  I use a "potty box" with my litters and they learn to go potty in one area and play/sleep in another.  This litter is catching on to the potty box concept faster than any other litter I've had.  It's a win/win as they learn to stay clean and I have an easy job of cleaning up after them.

I'll post pics and/or a video tomorrow.

Darbi is still nursing, but only once a day now.  She stills hangs out with the puppies more often then that, as I put a t-shirt on her at the other times.  This lets her spend time with her brood without being chased around relentlessly.  Another win/win.

Pups are always fun, and I think it's because of the beautiful weather and the ability to have them outside all the time, but this litter is just so easy.

Didn't take long

Darbi went in to nurse this evening and jumped out when they latched on.  And it happened twice more.

Then she gave me the stink eye.

I got it loud and clear...full steam ahead with the weaning.

On a cute note, yellow jumped out of the whelping box (more like crawled and strained) just to poop on my carpet.  She was trying to be clean.  It was precious (other than the poop part).  So pups will be moved to their new digs where they will have a "potty" box in the next day or so.  It teaches them to be clean and are much easier to housebreak that way.

Weaning

The puppies are in the process of weaning.

Sort of.

Usually at about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks, I introduce the pups to moistened puppy kibble.  I wait until their mother hasn't nursed them for awhile and then present it to them.  Sometimes they take right to it, and sometimes they sit in it, play in it and basically do everything except eat it for a few days.  During this time, the mom has as much access to the pups as she wants.  I continue these once or twice daily feedings until momma looks at me and says "they are yours now".  And thus, we would begin full fledged weaning.

This particular litter took right to the puppy kibble.  First day, they ate it all up.  And so I started feeding them every day, twice a day.  The moms usually back off at this point and I pick up the slack with feedings.  Darbi hasn't backed off much yet.  She hasn't regurgitated any food for them (normal for my two girls) and is still spending time in the whelping box and letting them nurse regularly.

I believe in gradual weaning and doing it at mom's pace.  It seems Darbi isn't ready to start full-fledged weaning yet, so I will continue with our schedule of daily kibble feedings to get them used to the food.  She will tell me when she's ready by throwing up some food for them, or letting them nurse for only short periods before jumping away (those sharp puppy teeth!).  She still goes in and lays down and falls asleep with them.

I can't say enough what a great mom she is and raising pups out of her is just too easy.

She'll be ready soon enough though...it's almost time.

Outside Playtime

Puppies are starting to go outside a few times a day now.

I'll tell you, it's different for me to have a litter NOT in the middle of winter.  This is a first for me.  In the past, I've had to plop them in a snowbank for 5 minutes at a time to introduce them to the great outdoors. they were not happy campers.

It was 28 degrees C today and they were outside several times.  Once for a couple hours...when it cooled down to 22C.  What a treat!!

They were initially overwhelmed by being outside their whelping box at first, but now they seem to enjoy their time in the sun.  I can't wait to take them for little adventure walks and puddle jumps in the coming weeks.

Bright and Early

First thing in the morning is one of the most active times of the day for the puppies.

So, I took this video as soon as I got out of bed.  The whelping box hadn't been cleaned (excuse the mess), and I most certainly hadn't had my first cup of coffee yet.

I wanted to share what I wake up to every morning.  It is SO much fun.

Chicken

While Darbi is well over her chicken fetish...I still don't have the heart to take it out of the box.

More Video

The little guys are becoming more active every day.

And Darbi is spending less time with them every day.

Unsteady Gait

The puppies are starting to walk short distances, although on wobbly feet.

They still sleep most all of the time, but in about a week, they will start becoming very fun and active.

A Prime daughter

I got this picture of "Harper".  She is a Prime x Darbi daughter and has a fabulous life in Alaska.

Harper is on the right in the photo and is pictured hunting with her buddy Skeeter.

Good Bye Prime

FC AFC Tartan Prime Time

2001-2011

Prime (left) winning the Amateur at Centennial in 2009.

Darbi (right) getting the second in the Amateur behind Prime.

He was unbeatable that day.  And on many other days.

It's hard to find the words to say how sad I was to hear that Prime passed away 2 days ago.

He was special to me in so many ways.

I first met Prime when I loaded Darbi into my car and made the 16 hour drive to Colorado to breed her to him.  What most impressed me about Prime was his consistency.

I would not know for some time after that breeding, but that road trip changed my life in so many ways.  I got to see Prime every day the past year or so and it was still his consistency that awed me.  He shared a special relationship with his owner Barb and it was an honor to watch them run as a formidable team.

Prime placed in the last Open he ever ran last year and I was there to see it.

He leaves a legacy with many, and most of all in his many "kids".  I was fortunate enough to have 7 great pups by him and although they have big paws to fill, I hope they make their daddy proud.

My heartfelt condolences to Prime's family, Barb & Jim Howard.

Nose to nose

Orange had a nice nose to nose visit with his mom.

Miss Pink decided that she was going to try spooning tonight.

And then Darbi did her one better and showed her how it was done.

Got Milk?

There's nothing like an evening milk moustache.

Miss. Libby says "I don't sit for boring camera shots".

New video!

New puppy video!

Now you can see what I mean about everyone being fat and happy.

Their eyes started opening today, so big milestone day for them!!

Day 10

Pups are 10 days old today!  

Because this is not a huge litter by any means, they all get ample time at the buffet.  The puppies are subsequently becoming little tubs and relish in the all-you-can eat mentality of this whelping box.

The above is a typical picture of the daily goings-ons.  Eat, sleep and eat some more.  As usual, Little Red is sprawled out on something or other...this time he chose his momma's leg.

And you may have missed her in the first photo, but Miss Pink chose a more intimate spot to sleep with her mom.  It's moments like these that make my heart swell.

This is not a good photo, but will give you the idea of how much the little porkers are eating.  There is nothing wrong with being chubby at this stage of course.  The pups are putting on about 3 oz a day now and weigh around 2 1/2 pounds.  So they have almost tripled in size since their birth!

Cute, sweet faces.

Their eyes should start to open in the next day or so.  They are also doing little push-ups on their wobbly legs, so walking should not be far off as well.

No news is good news

No new updates.

I need to take some more pictures of the babies, and will soon.

They are as big as trucks and are fat & happy little guys (and girls).

Days are getting really warm here and training has been great fun.

I promise I'll be better with pictures...tomorrow.

Must sleep now.

Tired all around

There is a lot of sleeping going on.

Miss Pink took her afternoon siesta to a whole new level.

And Miss Yellow thought it best to go off and sleep on her own.

On the other hand, Red is a serial spooner and always needs someone to cuddle up to.

Big foot and little feet.

I think it is safe to presume that Darbi is the most tired of all.

But the creepy chicken is always awake.  Always watching.

Wee Babies

The babies are doing wonderful.

They are gaining 1-3 oz a day and are very content.

Darbi, as always, is a great mom and I don't have much to do at this stage except make sure Darbi is looked after and happy.

I will start the Early Neurological Stimulation on the pups this evening, to go along with their nightly weighing.  I've already cut the little gaffers' nails once as well to keep them from poking mom too much when they nurse.

Little Red decided that spooning was the way to go.

Got milk?

It was a busy night at the buffet tonight.

Pups will get their dew claws removed tomorrow.

Here we go again

For anyone who has been following this blog for a long time, you may remember Darbi's obsession with a stuffed toy when she had her last litter.

It seems she has a new obsession.  The chicken from Miikka's "intelligence building" toy.

I can't take it out of the whelping box.  Hopefully it will make smart puppies.

Miss Pink enjoyed a nap on Momma D's tail.

Cute faces.

The pups had a great day today.  I'm going to weigh them shortly to be sure they've all put on weight in the first 24 hours, but they look fantastic.

First video

I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

I shouldn't complain in front of Darbi.

I hope this little iPhone video shows up okay.

Puppies are here!!

It's been awhile since I worked a night shift.  I had forgotten two things.  1) How exhausting it is and 2) There's nothing on TV other than infomercials in the wee hours.

As predicted earlier today, Darbi had her babies tonight.  There were moments of doubt early this evening though, as her and I had a staring contest that lasted an eternity.  

She did not have the 6-8 I was hoping for and there will be a couple of disappointed people on the waiting list I'm sure.

The delivery went smoothly, although there was a tense moment to start.  Darbi had been in hard labor for almost an hour and I was starting to get worried.  I was minutes away from calling a vet and possibly taking her in for a c-section.  She had been pushing and pushing with no results and we weren't getting anywhere.

Well, out came a little sac.  Then it disappeared and reappeared a few times.  Darbi worked hard for a few minutes, but we weren't making any progress.  So, I just reached in a couple fingers and grabbed some puppy and started to help Darbi out.  I was careful not to pull too hard, but I needed to get that little guy moving.  He came out healthy and strong, and the rest of the pups delivered easily.

So, introducing.

ORANGE: male/born at 10: 24 pm/1 pound

PINK: female/10:42/15 oz.

BLUE: male/11:40/1 pound

YELLOW: female/1:11 am/15 oz.

RED: male/2:41/13 oz.

A nice uniform litter.  Mom and babes are resting comfortably and I'm going to stay up with them the rest of the night.

They are a healthy looking little bunch. 

Darbi is a tired momma.  6 hours from onset of labor until we were done.  She sure worked hard to get the first guy out.

Maybe tonight?

Tonight may be the night.

Darbi didn't want to eat her breakfast this morning, but instead wanted to bury it.  She eventually ate it though.

She then nested a little bit for the first time...a little digging around in her pillows in the whelping box.

Now she is laying in her box panting a bit.  Not much panting, just a little.

She does look like her patience is wearing thin.

All quiet

All quiet on the home front.

Darbi is doing great and showing no signs of any impending delivery as of this morning.

Of course, when the big event starts to happen I'll update here.

I'm looking forward to a beautiful week ahead weather-wise and of course...puppies!