5 weeks and they are growing so fast. Put a teeter, ball, and soft rope toy in their room for them. Of course none of those are as fascinating as their sleeping mat, it gets dragged all over, so I'm not sure where I'll find them sleeping. It could be on the mat, wherever it happens to be or their food dish. Amazing that 5 puppies can sleep in an 11 inch pie pan. Kait started giving them a hard time with feeding about a week ago. Her milk was drying up, so I started them on a milk replacer and moistened kibble, biggest problem there was keeping Kait from drinking and eating it. She tolerates feeding them once, no more then twice a day now, and only for a very short time. They are all very vocal and active. They are also good about getting in the vicinity of their pee pad when necessary. Took some video of them yesterday while they were outside in an x-pen, and posted on the web site. I've started to let a few of the neighborhood children stop by and handle the pups for about an hour a day. Most of them are well behaved.
I've been going to do this for the last three days, and then I get distracted by something else. Oh well, any way had the pups outside both days during the weekend, Great weather. Kept them out about two hours each day. It was a great adventure for them. They cautiously poked around, nibbled on the grass a bit, and really stayed together most of the time. Kate positioned herself about 10 feet away, just out of mob action range. She stays near them, just not close. Kate almost reluctantly feeds them now, and except for the occasional butt wipe, has stopped cleaning up behind them. The pups moved themselves out of the nest box, and took up residence on an old blanket in their room. They must have developed their own watch roster, because should anything get near the door to their room, one yips, and they are all thundering over to check it out. The attitudes are starting to show too, and they all have one! They all scramble pretty good now, the clumsiness is all but gone from their little dashes. They are quite proficient with their barks, yesterday they had some kind of contest, all standing in a circle facing each other and barking. Their has to be a grumble gene that was passed on too, their mamma grumbles when disturbed, and more then one of these pups does the same. I've got a small teeter somewhere, I'll have to find it and put it in their room.
Wednesday, seems like a good day to make an entry. The pups have all found a way out of the nest box, and have started to display their individualism. Buster, smallest boy, and with a split face, acts the most independent. He is as likely to cuddle with a few others as he is to curl up by himself. Buster probably spends the most time out of the nest box, and typically is the first to trot over to investigate some thing or greet you. Another pup that stands out is the smallest pup, only one w/ two colored ears, is Kesa, she is the one most likely found by herself, she doesn't venture outside the nest box often and is typically the first to return to it. Reserved and quite, absolutely very content to be held, she acts the calmest of the litter. The remaining three are all in it together, outside their markings they all behave the same. The boy I'm calling Leon, and names for the two white girls have not come to me yet. There has been some attempted nibbling at the puppy food, they'll try suckling on my fingers, the braided fleece robes have their occasional attention. So everything is progressing ok. Hoping the weather is good this weekend, I'll put them outside in an X-pen for a couple hours.
Coming up on three weeks now, and the pups steadily grow. Their coordination improves daily, they are all up on all 4s now, still a bit wobbly, and they most often stand up to walk instead of crawl when moving around. They are eliminating on their own , and even at this young age, already move away from their sleeping area to take care of business. Kate comes in behind them and cleans up, she won't settle down and feed them until she is satisfied that all business is taken care of. They react to my voice. They will be sleeping in a pile until I call them, then the pile just kind of erupts, they are all up, noses in the air squeaking or trilling. I expect that one or two, females of course, are predisposed to grumbling when disturbed. Mama does it all the time. There is always one or two that approach the me or the sound of my voice. I expect that it is only a matter of a few days before they are tumbling out if the next box.
Wow!, already two weeks are gone, and these little ones are making their presence known. A little shaky on their legs, they are all up on them now. Kind of humorous, it is two steps then a roll. They sleep most of the time, and are already developing the alertness that jacks have. Kate just pokes her nose into the next box, and the the little puppy pile just erupts with squeaks, squeals, and wiggly bodies. A very insistent pursuit of her so they can eat. Regardless of how much they get knocked around while she cleans them, they are determined, and come back for more, burrowing in, under, over, in their determined pursuit to eat. I've placed a few more pictures in slide show to show their development.
Surprise, surprise, day 12, as I'm weighing the pups this morning, I realized that one of them was looking back me, wow! I went back and checked and identified two more with their eyes beginning to open. So, there was a girl w/ both eyes open. a boy with open and one partially, and another girl w/ just one open. I'm charging the camera batteries so I can get some good pictures. Need to try and find someone to help me, they get all wiggly when you isolate them from their litter mates. The ears open about the same time that their eyes do, so maybe next week this time they'll have begun exploring the world around them. Three of them are struggling to stand now, and they all squeak and cry, a couple started trilling a few days ago.
Actually, yesterday the pups were 10 days old, and I was very pleased to find that the smallest girl broke 8 oz. The two white girl puppies (one has a wee bit of color on her left ear tip) were over 12 oz, and the two boys were in the 10 - 11 oz group. I track their weight daily, twice a day the first few days and then once a day until their eyes open. I was surprised that the two largest pups were struggling to stand already. Their eyes and ears should begin to open this week end. Kate spends increasing amounts of time away from them, and she reacts differently to each of the JRs in the house. Gracie and Moose are fine as long they stay outside the room, their inquiring noses are only greeted with grumbles and growls when their noses stray beyond some line she drew at the door. Lorelei, Kate won't tolerate even the sight of her. She is out of the box, vaulted over the baby gate and challenging Lorelei the instant she sees her. I've never known Lorelei to back down from any challenge, even as a pup. Socialization and acceptance issues with the pups will need to be very closely monitored. Searching for names, time will bring them to me, although I've been informed by the boys that come by a few times a week to walk the dogs, that one of the boys is named Leon, I don't know which one or why, but one is a Leon. I'll wait a few more days and then post updated photos. Maybe about the time their eyes begin to open.
Well, the uncertainty should be over now. There are five (3girls + 2boys) healthy pups left in the litter. Lost one the second evening, and finally her twin last night. I don't know why this happens, and my efforts to keep them going just didn't do it.
So, now there are five healthy pups, gaining a quarter to half ounce a day. Kate is leaving them alone now for periods of up to an hour, but stays close, immediatly dashing into check them at every squeak. Kate has chosen to be a picky eater, I have to disquise or add extra stuff to get her to eat. She lets me check and weigh the pups now without growls and warning snaps. The first couple days were terrible, just being in the room set her off to growling, Now the growling is only when Moose or Lorelei are in the vicinity. Moose has enough sense to avoid passing near the pups room whenever possible, Lorelei, well she wants in, and I do not trust her, She gets to spend a lot of time in her crate.
I'll get some pictures in the gallery a bit later, the pups only eat and sleep now, eyes will start to open in about 10 more days. Then the fun starts.
Finally, yesterday (at 0230), Kate whelped the litter I've been expecting the last 5 days. Her first litter, and it kept me off center for the better part of 10 hours.
Kate started displaying nesting behavior on Thursday, spending less time w/me in the chair and trying out alternate nesting locations, rearranging bedding material. Somewhere about 9 p.m. on the 17th she was obviously very restless and agitated. Came midnight, she was clearly in labor, just wouldn't stay in any one place more than 5 minutes +/-. Eventually she wandered outside, when I considered she might crawl under the deck or into a gtg tunnel, I went out too. She wouldn't come when I called, so I went out into the yard where was sitting. Carrying her into the house, I observed she had partially pushed out a dark colored fluid sack, glancing at the clock, it was 0135.
I assumed she might want to be left alone and undisturbed, so I put Kate in her nest box, but the baby gate across the entry way to the room, and checked things at 10 to 15 minute intervals. I was running all the bad possibilities through my mind while I waited and checked. No change and it was 0215. I reluctantly concluded it was time to call the vet. I gathered up a crate and a few towels to transport Kate and mentally calculated how the 3 a.m. visit and potential c-section would affect my dismal bank balance. I heard Kate cry in pain once, then twice, as I started the call to the vets emergency number.
Kate pushed out the first girl pup as I got into the room to check her, she went immediately to removing the sack and cleaning the pup. It was 0235. I relaxed, everything was ok now. I recorded the pups marking and weight, a half mask and 4.4 oz. I stayed with Kate and her pup, expecting the rest to begin arriving at regular intervals, I noticed the clock displayed 0321 as I dozed off.
My eyes popped open and I read 0413 on the clock, checking, there was still only one pup and nothing was happening. Why wasn't there another pup? My concern quickly returned and the "what ifs" were loose again. I was seriously debating how long I could wait before I needed to call the vet when Kate pushed out the second female pup, a white one, about 0440. Three more pups quickly arrived at regular intervals, girl - boy - girl, and by 0645, I concluded she should be done.
I was wrong. I changed the bedding in the nest box, recorded the markings and weight of each pup, then stepped away to feed Moose and Lorelei, and make a fresh pot of coffee. I returned to Kate and her pups about 0730, there was a fifth female pup, and she was pushing out the last pup, the second boy, and only split face.
0930, no more surprises, everything seemed ok, I called the vet. I needed an appointment to get seven tails docked and fourteen dew claws removed.
Seven Den Kreeper pups: Weight 3.3. oz to 4.95 oz.; 5 female, 2 white, 2 w/patch or half mask on the right side, 1 with patch/mask on left w/ right ear colored; 2 males, one marked on the left and one split face.
The litter, out of Hidden Acres Kaitkandu by Persimmon Hill Falcon, was due two days ago, the 15th. All things considered, the dame and sire really complement each other. Both parents are unders, less then 12.5 inches, with good hard coats. Moose with a rough coat, Kate a broken coat. Temperaments are good, willing to co-exist with other dogs, they both accept challenges with out being aggressive. Prey drive, never a doubt for either of them. Kate holds the edge when it comes to performance and agility, then Moose edges her out in the nose department and field work. Moose is a very correct terrier and I just love Kate's tiny chest. There are strong working lines behind these two, with names like Garth, Flex, Derby, and Carla littering the peds, there is gonna be a Kreeper for sure from this litter, I'm excited.