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| October 26, 2007 - It's hard to tell from the picture of Xoie above that she has gained almost 16 pounds. The puppies were delivered by C-section by Dr. Heather Price at Poquoson Veterinary Hospital. There are four girls and three boys, weighing between 16.2 and 19.9 ounces. All the puppies are healthy and strong and acting like Mexican Jumping Beans (thanks, Ruler). Mom is doing great after her surgery and is already taking care of the babies in her groggy, post-anesthesia state. |
| October 27, 2007 - The puppies and Xoie (and me) have survived the first 24 hours. Xoie is being a October 27, 2007 - The puppies and Xoie (and me) have survived the first 24 hours. Xoie is being a her. I have taken some pictures of the individual puppies. I have also given them their puppy names. Super Mom, staying in the whelping box with the puppies all night and letting them feed and cuddle The first litter puppy names were based loosely on their collar colors. This time, I went with science fiction TV/Movie characters. The see the pictures, click here. |
| October 30, 2007 - Dew Claw Removal Day. Dr. Price removed all the dewclaws today. All seven puppies had single front and rear dew claws. The incisions are healing nicely so the puppies will have pretty feet! |
| November 2, 2007 - The puppies are one week old today and have more than doubled in size! Click here to see their one week glamour shots! |
| Follow the puppies' growth. Click here to see their daily weights. Cheer for your favorite puppy to win the "Biggest Puppy in the Litter" contest. |
| November 5, 2007 - Will Robinson has one eye partially open. The puppies are also attempting to walk on all four paws. Xoie went to see Dr. Price to have her incision checked. Dr. Price pronounced her perfect!!!her perfect!!! |
| November 8, 2007 - All the puppies have their eyes open. Now when I pick them up, they blink at me! They are also trying to walk on all four paws instead of swimming across the whelping box. They aren't too steady and have very wide stances but walking is taking place! |
| November 9, 2007 - The puppies are two weeks old already. They are still very wobbly but are trying hard to walk like "big dogs." I'll take pictures tomorrow. Click here to see their two week pictures, complete with open eyes! |
| November 17, 2007 - The puppies were three weeks old yesterday. They are starting to play with one another and are steadier walking around the whelping box. Dakara growled at me yesterday when I picked her up and several of the others are making sounds more like dogs with barks and growls and less like monkeys and parrots. Click here to see their three week pictures. |
| November 20, 2007 - While Xoie was taking a break from being the best mom ever, Auntie Future and Brother Strider checked in on the babies to make sure they were okay and behaving like proper Berners. Click here to see pictures. |
| November 24, 2007 - The puppies were four weeks old yesterday. They are really growing! I trimmed their nails on Thursday and accidentally cut one of Dakara's too short. She bled a little. Her foot was too big to fit in my bottle to styptic powder... Xoie is still occasionally feeding them and I am supplementing their meals with puppy paste (baby rice cereal, evaporated milk and warm water). Holly Mitchell came by today and helped me take their pictures (thank you, Auntie Holly!). Click here to see the current pictures. |
| November 30, 2007 - The puppies are five weeks old today. They have transitioned from puppy paste and are now eating soaked Pro Plan Chicken and Rice puppy food, three times a day. They are doing a great job of cleaning out the bowl each meal. They are getting big so I will have to take down the whelping box soon and put them in the x-pens (known by the "A" Litter as puppy prison). |
| December 1, 2007 - The puppies got their first baths today. Julie Barry came over and helped me bathe and dry all seven babies. We were able to get the stuck on puppy food, stuck on poop, and sticky peepee off of them. They were beautiful, for about four hours.... |
| December 4, 2007 - The whelping box is gone and the puppies are now in a four foot by four foot exercise pen in the front bedroom. We are starting with papers on the floor for a potty area and will transition to a litter box. Hopefully, these guys will get it. The first litter didn't... While I have no "official" five week pictures (they are getting too big to handle by myself and take the pictures), I do have some candids that you can view by clicking here. |
| soaked in water) and finishing all the food in the bowl in about three, that's right, 3, minutes. They have figured out how to use the litter box and manage to get there about 90% of the time. It is making clean up much easier and the room smells a little better. To see their six week pictures, click here. |
| December 14, 2007 - The puppies are 7 weeks old today. It's hard to believe that the first two puppies will be going to their new homes next week. They had their first vaccines today and everybody did great. The puppies were very cooperative and there wasn't too much screaming. They got to all play loose in my training room and thought that was great fun. They explored behind all the crates and equipment and helped to find dust bunnies that I haven't found with the vacuum cleaner. To see their 7 week pictures, click here. |
| December 21, 2007 - The puppies are 8 weeks old today and were supposed to start going to their new homes. However, a round of coccidia has postponed their leaving. All puppies are doing well on their medication and eating like little piggies. |
| December 24, 2007 - The first puppy went to his new home today. Sulu is now named Adam and living in Knoxville, Tennessee with his mom Kay, grandma Dee, Berner sister Carly, Berner brother General and feline siblings Gabriel and Lex. Kay reported that he rode home well, has had dinner and already been whacked by one of the cats. |
| December 18, 2007 - The puppies got microchipped today. Everyone was very stoic, only two were squirmy. Hopefully, none of the puppies will get lost now that they have all been "low jacked." |
| December 19, 2007 - The puppies went to visit Dr. Heather Price for their well puppy check today. She pronounced them all healthy with good, strong hearts and a couple of umbilical hernias. Everything else was A-okay. Thanks, Dr. Heather! |
| December 27, 2007 - The second puppy went to her new home today. Vala is now named Penny and is living in McLean, Virginia with her mom Joan, dad Brian, sister Katie and brother Kenneth. Penny is the new princess of the household, being the only pet. However, she takes her dog duties very seriously as recently reported by Joan. She played guard dog to one of the neighbors coming up to the house, growling and barking, until he talked to her and then she ran to him and licked him to death.... |
| December 27, 2007 - The third puppy also went home today. Muffitt is now named Scotty and is living in Suffolk, Virginia (very close to me, yeah!) with his mom Natalie and dad Wade. He also has a doggie sister, Ami, who is a Shiba Inu and already smaller than he is... |
| December 28, 2007 - The fourth puppy went home today. Will Robinson is now named Boomer and is living in Poquoson, Virginia (also very close to me, yeah!) with his mom Brenda, dad David and three human siblings. He's already the hit of the neighborhood and the kids are thrilled with him. |
| December 30, 2007 - The fifth puppy went home today. Chianna is now named Riley and is living in Blythewood, SC (near Columbia) with her mom Jennifer, doggie sister Sadie and a group of cats. Jennifer reports that Riley and Sadie are getting along beautifully and even a couple of the cats have come to investigate. |
| January 1, 2008 - Only two puppies left, Ishta and Dakara. One will stay with me and the other is still looking for a home. They had a Big Busy Baby Day today. I took them with me to the training facility while I was working on breed match information and then they went to Grandma's house and played in the yard with Charlie the Pug and Calypso the Tibetan Spaniel. They slept the rest of the day! I have now nicknamed them Inno and Cent because that's the look I get when I see the two puddles on the floor. "Honest, Mom, we didn't do it, we are Inno Cent!" |
| Georgia with her mom Sharon, her dad, three human siblings and two doggie siblings. |