Nikki x King Litter

7 Weeks Old

2010-11-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

A day late, again.

So, we had our CERF eye exams on Thursday. I was joined on my hour long ride North by one of our new owners, Kim. We had a nice quick lunch at my favorite Seafood place, Bob Chinn's in Wheeling. It's directly across the street from the eye clinic. After reverting to highschool mentality to fill out all the little circles on 10 forms (make that 12 - we screwed two up), the pups were seen two at a time by a doctor I hadn't yet seen. He said he's one of four retinal surgeons in the US, so I took my time asking him some questions I had about previous exams and the benefits of doing early CERF on our litters, as not all breeders do this. He examined all ten pups and we got the good news that everybody was normal. Off we went, in Chicago rushhour traffic, but the pups were so tired out from the stressful experience that they pretty much slept the whole way home.

On Friday my son Al and I took the pups on another car ride to our reproductive vet in Westmont. The pups were equally well behaved and had their first shots and puppy exams. They all did great, with just a couple of self-correcting developmental things noted. Still waiting on two boys' family jewels to descend. The pups were very sweet and gave the vet and tech lots of sweet puppy kisses.

We came home to a case of the runs, pretty typical for after shots. It's clearing up but I haven't stopped cleaning up. Yuck. I spent a cold afternoon scrubbing down my patio outside and the floors inside. So much still to do. I'm actively taking picutres and will be posting some tonight. I was able to get some decent ones of most of the pups this evening.

Anyway, looking forward to sending the puppies off with their new families next week. Our pups are heading to MA, MD, PA, WI, MN, IL and FL. I'm busy, busy, busy getting all their papers and stuff finalized.

6 Weeks Plus

2010-11-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! The pups have had a great morning. First they ate their warm Honest Kitchen meal outside, despite the wet and cold concrete they were forced to stand on. Then they emptied all of last nights dinner outside. I got to clean the pen really nicely and then the pups came in the house to play for a good hour or so (before they turned into pooping machines on the carpet I spent hours steam cleaning last night). So, back outside they all went to finish that up. Then they had some play time in the house again with the big dogs. They just love to watch their mommy run from them. :-)

The floor is well picked up these days, so I can handle letting the pups run around unsupervised when they aren't in potty mode. How great it was to come to the stairs to find Campbell half way upstairs and totally calm about it. When I went to retrieve her, several others followed me up to the landing and back down again. Very nice to see that they are making progress on their own.

We introduced a wiggly ball that runs on batteries. Let's just say they all had a blast following that ball all over and nobody cared when it ran the baseboard and made loud noises. Seabrook and I spent some time face to face with a mirror. She didn't care much about the puppy in the mirror, but she went straight for my face with a thousand sweet little kisses.

What a happy bunch of puppies on this cool Monday morning!

6 Weeks Old

2010-11-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

Growing...like...weeds. That's my description of the puppies over the past week.

The puppies are doing wonderfully. They are getting more and more used to the cooler weather and they actually like to go outside to eliminate, even if it's chilly or rainy and then they come back in. I'm not saying they always go potty outside, but they definitely seem to try to avoid pooping in the pen for as long as they can. With all ten pups running loose in the house for a few hours today, amazingly two went to the door and whined (and I have lots of witnesses to prove it) and went straight out to poop. Some seem to know to head towards the paper to pee instead of just squatting where they stand. Any which way, I appreciate having less of it in the house and more of it outside.

This week was full of visitors again. I seldom have a day or evening for that matter without them. The puppies are very receptive to new people, new places, new surfaces and I must say this seems to be an intelligent bunch of pups.

They've been eating solid kibble for the past week, though they do get a nice warm Honest Kitchen soupy meal for breakfast every morning outside, as they are so hungry that they forget how cold it is. Then they poop and pee outside, I clean the nasty morning pen and within a few minutes they can have free reign of the house. Of course they spend most of that chasing mom down in a group. Kinda sounds like thunder, all those little puppy paws charging through the house after her. :-)

Nikki remains a super mom. She is still nursing the pups at least once or twice a day, whatever she can handle. She likes to spend one on one time with each pup, teaching them how to play bow, growl, bite gently, roll over, take a heavy paw - and whatever else dogs do in play. Some pups easily submit to her (which she seems to find pretty boring) and the challenging ones get the paw. I love watching her with them!

All ten of the puppies have homes in PA, FL, MA, MD, IL, and MN. We aren't keeping one, but let's just say we were tempted. Thank Goodness there are laws to how many dogs one can own because I think I might have kept all of them otherwise. They are a very, very, very good litter of puppies and I think they are all going to make amazing family members for the wonderful owners we've selected for them.

So, I'm back to work on puppy books and yes - a photo shoot is due! When it's yucky outside and we are stuck inside, my pictures just aren't good. And when I have a lot of company, I don't get a lot of photo time. I've taken some, but not individuals yet. I'll have an update soon, I promise!

5 Weeks - New photos too cute not to post!

2010-11-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Nieme 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:40:00.001-08:00

Skille 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:37:00.001-08:00

Brophey 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

Campbell 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Crawford 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:34:00.002-08:00

Kaner 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:34:00.001-08:00

Madden 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:32:00.002-08:00

Seabrook 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:32:00.001-08:00

Sharpie 5 Weeks Old

2010-11-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

Tazer 5 Weeks old

2010-11-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

5 Weeks Update

2010-11-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I'm feeding these pups too much or what, but they are getting BIG! The pups were between 4.2 and 6.4 pounds at the 5 week mark and they are super poopers! I had two years of newspaper saved and we're almost out. Thank Goodness for Facebook, as someone I didn't know all too well from highschool answered my plea for mounds of newspaper that was no longer wanted and I'm driving over the next town this morning to make a pick up! Good people! Unlike the local news printer who never returned my call forcing me to buy $50 worth of paper already.

My newspaper woes are my only trouble, thank Goodness, and the rest of the report is all good news. The puppies are doing fantastic. As with all of our other litters, it appears that all of the puppies are very healthy. No hernias, bad bites, or other defects that I can see. They are active and playful and keep me busy. I've been spending a lot of one on one time with the puppies in our living room and they get to come out as a group about two times daily as well. It's been cold and the pups have not acclimated too well to going outside yet. It's 60 degrees today and I owe a lot of people pictures, so after my newspaper pick up and a trip to the store, I hope to come back during the warmest part of the day and get these little critters outside for a little while and take some cute pictures of them - hopefully without them huddled at my feet trying to keep warm.

Their personalities haven't changed much from last week. Little Peachy, um Nieme, is my favorite little one right now. She has the most amazing personality. Her ears have gone straight up, matched with her four pound body...she looks a lot more like a Chiuhauaua than a Chinook right now. And she's the perfect dainty little size that I can carry her around like my Paris Hilton Princess pooch. And she loves to be picked up and held, so it works out perfect. Peachy and I do the dishes and the laundry together and spend lots of quality bonding time. The others are getting too big to hold all day. :-)

We're down to one puppy, a female, that still needs placement. And a couple of owners who are still having trouble making their pick up arrangements due to the Thanksgiving weekend pick up date. Time is flying by and I'm getting a little sad that the pups are going to be leaving us soon. But, I know my owners are going to be good owners and keep in touch and send photos so that I know they are happy! Right? :-)))))

Anyway, need to run my errands. Sorry that I don't have the individual pix yet, but we intend to do a photo shoot today. My mom has been sick and not available to help me and my right hand Kim (a local owner to be) has been out of town. Kim's mom did take some good video for us on Friday though and hopefully I'll have that next week. Do check the Flickr site though, as I posted quite a few of a few of the puppies there...but not all of them. Not enough time in the day!

FLICKR Link - http://www.flickr.com/photos/75946804@N00/

Four Weeks Old

2010-10-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Kaner & Icy

"Toy Box"

Awesome Mama

Skille 4 weeks old

2010-10-30T13:48:00.001-07:00

Crawford 4 wks old

2010-10-30T13:47:00.002-07:00

Brophey 4 weeks old

2010-10-30T13:47:00.001-07:00

Seabrook 4 weeks old

2010-10-30T13:46:00.001-07:00

Madden 4 weeks old

2010-10-30T13:45:00.002-07:00

Sharpie 4 weeks old

2010-10-30T13:45:00.001-07:00

Campbell 4 weeks old

2010-10-30T13:44:00.002-07:00

Kaner 4 Weeks Old

2010-10-30T13:44:00.001-07:00

Nieme 4 weeks old

2010-10-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Tazer 4 Weeks Old

2010-10-30T13:42:00.001-07:00

4 Weeks

2010-10-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

I really can't believe it's already been a whole month since Nikki's puppies entered the world. Time certainly is going by very fast for me, though the owners seem to feel like it's been forever since they've been waiting for their new addition. There are still two puppies (likely both female) available, by the way.

The pups have had a lot of visitors. I haven't kept count, but I would have to say we're already close to, if not over 50 people who have visited. I think that I've only had one day completely alone each week without visitors, so we've been pretty busy around here. The puppies LOVE visitors and their little tails wag a million mph when they see a happy face greeting them in their pen. Right now, there are a few puppies that stand out as the most people friendly and those are Kaner, Nieme and Tazer. They seem to prefer people to anything else. Skille and Sharpie are definitely our most doggie oriented, always looking to play with a big doggie or another puppy. The others are just friendly and sweet, but not standing out in any way this particular week. Things will change week to week and that's always fun to watch.

The puppies have outgrown the whelping box and that needs to go back down to the basement. I can't even put the puppies in their while I clean their pen because there just isn't any room to play and potty all in one place. It's a little chilly to put them outside still, so cleaning the pen has really been a nightmare this past week. I swear all these puppies do is eat and poop!

They have been eating gruel for a week now and are doing great. We're finally seeing a good weight gain and the pups are now between 2.13 (Little Nieme is just a peanut) and 4.8 pounds.

The pups have had a few adventures with our help and by their own escape, wandering the kitchen and family room. They seem to enjoy having freedom, despite having a really good sized playpen. At some point this week, I'd like to be able to take them outside for a little while, but we'll see how they do in the cold temps. Watch the Flickr page for more pix, but here comes the first of them.

Seabrook 3 weeks old

2010-10-22T18:10:00.002-07:00

Madden 3 weeks

2010-10-22T18:10:00.001-07:00

Sharpie 3 weeks

2010-10-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

Crawford 3 weeks old

2010-10-22T18:08:00.001-07:00

Green 3 weeks old

2010-10-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Nieme 3 weeks

2010-10-22T17:59:00.001-07:00

Skille 3 weeks

2010-10-22T17:58:00.003-07:00

Campbell 3 weeks

2010-10-22T17:58:00.001-07:00

Tazer

2010-10-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Brophey 3 Weeks

2010-10-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

3 Weeks Old

2010-10-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

What an amazing week it's been! So many firsts!!!

The little ones are growing, but they are still pretty teeny tiny. They probably aren't much bigger than a ground squirrel and are in the 2-3 pound range still. I anticipate that they'll start putting on more weight this week as I introduced them to "gruel" today. I'm sure it's more appetizing than it sounds. Goat's milk, water and puppy kibble in liquid form. Yummy. They had milk yesterday and lapped it up with ease, so they are ready to move forward.

They also cut their teeth on Wednesday and Thursday. Nikki loves nursing them now...NOT. She's spending less time in the pen now and she is finally getting comfortable letting the younger girls interact with the puppies. Lailah and Icy are being excellent "big sisters". Calm, gentle and nurturing.

The puppies have also made their move into the big pen today. I tried yesterday, but they seemed a little frightened. Today they seemed to enjoy having so much space to run and play. And poop!

The puppies make cute little growling sounds, whining, barking, screaming (for mama) and howling. Several of the puppies have howled now, but Sharpie takes the award for vocal puppy of the week, hands down. Followed by Skille. Their little personalities will change a lot, as they are just starting to emerge. The ones that really stand out to me right now are Sharpie, who seems to have a lot of energy and really loves to play rough with the other puppies (when he's not howling). Campbell, Nieme, Kaner and Madden always seem to be the first to greet and cuddle with the humans. Big boy Brophey spends a lot of time sleeping and eating. And the others haven't done anything to make them stand out just yet.

I can't believe 3 weeks are up already. One more week and half of my time with the puppies is already gone. Hard to believe it! On that note, I better go snuggle them close because before I know it, they will be heading off to new homes.

There are still three puppies not spoken for from the litter, so if anybody's looking - get in touch. These are some mighty sweet and adorable little ones.

Sharpie Howls!

2010-10-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

Dinner Time @ 2 Weeks Old

2010-10-16T09:31:00.001-07:00

Black - Sharpie at two weeks old

2010-10-15T16:45:00.001-07:00

Yellow - Brophey at 2 weeks old

2010-10-15T16:42:00.003-07:00

Red - Tazer at two weeks old.

2010-10-15T16:42:00.001-07:00

Purple - Campbell at one week old.

2010-10-15T16:41:00.002-07:00

Pink - Skille at 2 weeks old

2010-10-15T16:41:00.001-07:00

Peach - Nieme at two weeks old.

2010-10-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Green - Kaner at two weeks old.

2010-10-15T16:39:00.002-07:00

Brown - Crawford at 2 weeks old

2010-10-15T16:39:00.001-07:00

Blue Madden at 2 weeks old

2010-10-15T16:38:00.001-07:00

Seabrook - Aqua 2 Weeks

2010-10-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

2 Week Update

2010-10-15T16:32:00.001-07:00

It's been two weeks...where does the time go??? The pups are doing excellent. While they haven't put on a lot of weight, they have gained steadily since they were a few days old and their coats are growing and changing all the time. I'm sure they'll look plenty different in these photos now their eyes are open. Our photo session was during sleepy time since I didn't have any help taking them today, but I'll get some cute awake play shots for you soon. Photo shoots are a chore and a half!

We are still seeking 3 pet quality homes...so do get in touch if you know someone who might want a Chinook to love.

Day of Discovery!

2010-10-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

The speed at which puppies grow never ceases to amaze me. On Sunday, the puppies were learning to walk. They are quite wobbly, walking blindly, only following their sense of smell.

Yesterday, they seemed to take notice of their appendages. I saw several puppies bite their legs, lick their legs and use their legs to scratch their heads. They smelled their private parts and seemed like they were taking notice of all of these different parts of them.

Overnight last night, I heard all kinds of licking. The puppies learned that they have tongues and seemed to be practicing licking. They licked the air, they licked themselves, they licked each other. It seemed as though they wanted a little taste of everything.

As of this morning, the puppies are certainly showing their Chinook personalities. They are more and more eager to be held and cuddled and if you cuddle them up to your face, they will kiss you over and over again. Ah, the sweet smell of puppy breath! I am in love.

A few of the pups are starting to open their eyes too. I notice they are playing with each other, pawing at each other and wrestling a little bit too. We're only a day or two away from leaving the newborn phase and entering into toddler times. And the fun begins!

Day 9

2010-10-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

We have a cute first - well, many firsts today. The puppies are walking. Their eyes are still sealed shut, but they are wobbling around blindly in the dark. So cute!

Red - Tazer at one week old!

2010-10-08T17:09:00.003-07:00

Peach - Nieme at one week old!

2010-10-08T17:09:00.001-07:00

Green - Kaner at one week old!

2010-10-08T17:08:00.003-07:00

Purple - Campbell at one week old!

2010-10-08T17:08:00.001-07:00

Black - Sharpie at one week old!

2010-10-08T17:07:00.001-07:00

Blue - Madden at one week old!

2010-10-08T17:06:00.001-07:00

Aqua - Seabrook at one week old!

2010-10-08T17:05:00.001-07:00

Yellow - Brophey at one week old!

2010-10-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Brown - Crawford at one week old

2010-10-08T17:03:00.002-07:00

Pink - Skille at 1 week old

2010-10-08T17:03:00.001-07:00

1 Week Birthday today!

2010-10-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

The little munchkins are celebrating being one week old today. All of the visitors remark on how much they've grown over the past week. See for yourself!

PUPPY/BIRTH WEIGHT/ONE WEEK WEIGHT

Red/Tazer - 13oz 15 1/2 oz

Peach/Nieme - 12oz 14 1/2 oz

Green/Kaner - 10 1/2 oz 1# 1/2 oz

Purple/Campbell - 14oz 1# 1 oz

Black/Sharpie - 14 1/2 oz 1# 4 1/2 oz

Blue/Madden - 13 oz 1# 5 oz

Aqua/Seabrook - 12 1/2 oz 1# 1/2 oz

Yellow/Brophey - 13oz 1# 6oz

Brown/Crawford - 12oz 1# 3 1/2 oz

Pink/Skille - 13oz 1# 3 oz

Day 4

2010-10-05T19:26:00.001-07:00

It's a bummer, but Karen couldn't make it today to see the puppies. My mother and I are trying to recruit someone to help us with a puppy evaluation tomorrow because it takes 3 people to pull it off, plus some time and patience. Any takers?

Day 2

2010-10-03T17:34:00.001-07:00

Well, this is our second full day with pups and things continue to go smoothly. I'm excited to see all the little umbilical cords drying up and falling off and their little pink noses darkening up. Nikki has a better than pre-baby figure and a good appetite. I'm getting more sleep than I have with other litters, but am up and down all night and tired. I am happy though that these little ones are hearty and well.

We're looking forward to a visit from Karen Hinchy/Bashaba Chinooks on Tuesday and hopefully will do an early puppy evaluation - Great Mountain style. I'm looking forward to learning something new and visiting with Karen.

So, back to puppy duties - you know, nuzzling and snuggling. I feel so lucky!

Day 1 Photos

2010-10-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

Whelping Photos

2010-10-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

Maggie was snapping away while a couple of the puppies were born and got some good photos of Kaner (green) and Campbell's (purple) arrivals.

Welcome new puppies!

2010-10-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

So, welcome to the world Channahon Stanley Cup Litter of 10 - 6 boys and 4 girls! I normally don't do a theme or give pups temporary names, but this special litter is getting temporary names (their owners will pick out their registered and call names later) while they are with us.

Thank you to everyone who visited and helped me. My dear dog walker Maggie (from Fetchpetcare.com/Chicago South) has been a huge help, as was my awesome mom. I also want to give some credit for certain things that are making our lives easier. My girls are normally pretty picky about eating at the end of their pregnancy and with new puppies, but thanks to The Honest Kitchen dehyrdated raw foods we've been feeding, Nikki has continued to eat and get fluids on a regular basis. Her milk production is excellent, the best we've ever seen in any of our litters. Some of the puppies even got milk mustaches on the first day of life! I'd also like to thank Pat Berger, from Animal Care and Reproductive Services for the awesome little collars she made for us. They are just a little too big for the pups right now, so some of the pups are wearing rick-rack ribbon, but in a few days they will upgrade to their first very cute buckle collars in the colors described on the puppy updates. And both of my vets, Dr. Pat Meiser (ACRS) and Dr. Joe DeMoor (Colonial Manor A.H.) for continuously checking up on us and assuring us that everything was running smoothly despite the lenghty labor and delivery. Thank you to Nathan and Jess, King's owners and to King, for without his contribution to these puppies - none of this would have been possible.

And I really appreciate all of the well wishes I've received through email, facebook, text and phone calls. I'm tired and have been obviously busy and haven't gotten back to everyone yet, but I think things are going exceptionally well and I expect to get more and more free time now that Nikki seems totally fine doing most of the work. I think, no, I know, that I'm going to really enjoy my time with this litter!

From - a lucky and proud "grandma"

Very content mommy!

2010-10-02T12:13:00.001-07:00

Well, after a night of suprisingly decent rest, a belly full of food, and several visitors - I finally have time to update you with our new photos. I'll have plenty of time on working to get more today. Here is a picture of Nikki and the litter. She is very happy, and very content. The pups are doing great!

# 10 is here! Oh yah!

2010-10-01T21:07:00.001-07:00

I finally caught a few minutes of sleep and woke up at 10pm to a wet new puppy! We have a black and tan, 13oz female who is beautiful and sweet! Her collar is pink and she is called Skille (pronounced Skill-eee).

9th puppy

2010-10-01T17:38:00.001-07:00

This boy was born at 4:27pm - tawny with black masking and a little bit of white spotting and 12oz. He's getting the Brown collar and his temporary name is Crawford.

8th puppy has arrived

2010-10-01T12:08:00.001-07:00

I thought it might get things going to take Nikki outside, so she decided to take the long way through the family room and deliver a puppy (and she delivered a big old mess) in there. He is a tawny male with black masking, 13oz and is wearing the yellow collar. His temp name is Brophey.

7th Puppy

2010-10-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

Silver fawn female born at 11:10am. 12.5 oz. Her collar color is aqua/teal and she shall be called Seabrook.

6 pup litter nursing

2010-10-01T07:40:00.001-07:00

6th puppy

2010-10-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

Things are settling down around here, which is nice. Number 6 was just born, a vigorous 13oz tawny male with black masking. He is wearing the blue collar and will be called Madden. Born at 9:08am.

5th pup

2010-10-01T06:03:00.001-07:00

Our 5th puppy is a tawny male with black masking, also with some white markings. He's a big guy at 14.5 lbs. I will update this later - but all of these pups are exceptional nursers and are doing great. Nikki's taking the long labor very well. He is black collar - name Sharpie.

4th pup

2010-10-01T05:07:00.000-07:00

This is a tawny female with black masking, also with significant white blaze and is probably pet quality also. She was born at 6:51am. Collar color Purple , name Campbell.

3rd pup

2010-10-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

This male was born at 6:21am and weighs 10.5oz. He is tawny with a black mask and significant white blazing - and is pet quality due to his white markings. Green collar - name Kaner.

# 2

2010-10-01T03:38:00.000-07:00

Silver fawn female born at 5:23am. Peach collar, temp name Nieme.

FINALLY!!!!

2010-10-01T02:05:00.000-07:00

Our first puppy was just born! It's a boy and his name is Tazer. He is wearing the red (star) collar.

Cozy spot

2010-09-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

2010-09-30T16:47:00.001-07:00

2010-09-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

Long Day

2010-09-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

12 hours later and Nikki has finally found a comfortable position and is getting some rest. She's been up and down nesting, panting, whining, but the hard labor hasn't started yet. We've called both vets and are just waiting it out this evening.

Think I might try to take a little nap while I can.

Nesting

2010-09-30T04:01:00.001-07:00

Well, things are looking good over here for Nikki. She has finally entered her nesting phase. She's been up since 5am, seeking the perfect spot to have her babies. She currently feels that is under the living room table. We could still be hours or days away from her producing a puppy, but this is a good sign that everything is on track.

I'm going to go shower and brush my teeth, as it may be a while before I get a few minutes away from mama.

7-10 Days left to go!

2010-09-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

X-ray and Puppy Count

2010-09-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day and we believe we are expecting a litter of nine puppies. Dr. Meiser is happy with Nikki's physical condition and we are all hoping for a smooth natural delivery next weekend. We have emergency plans set however in case we need some assistance.

We are still seeking homes for a few puppies, so referrals are appreciated.

Three weeks to go

2010-09-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry for taking unflattering pictures of you, Beautiful, but I really want everybody to see your pregnancy glow. :-)

Love, Mom

Nikki is looking rather round these days. With her first litter in 2008, she carried her puppies high and wide, like a saddle and we could hardly tell that she was pregnant until a week before her due date. I was pretty surprised when she delivered seven pups.

This time Nikki started about five pounds heavier, but as soon as day 30 came around, it became obvious that she was expecting. She is carrying high and low and her round belly is apparent even through her fur. She sleeps a lot and has started nesting both under the guest room bed and digging under our small porch. She's welcome to continue to enjoy her time in the guest room, but I just purchased some more cinder blocks to prevent her from nesting under the porch.

She's had a ravenous appetite until the past couple of days, where she just can't eat as much in one sitting. She's now getting her food split up into 3 or 4 daily meals, plus her eggs, liver, vitamins and yogurt. She does think it's cool that she's being spoiled and gets to eat so much and such good stuff too.

Looking foward to her x-ray in about 10 days.

X-ray Scheduled

2010-09-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Our x-ray is scheduled for September 23, 1010 at 11am. We will get a more accurate puppy count then by counting heads and spines on the x-ray and can possibly determine if any puppies may be too large to pass naturally or that may be positioned in a way that blocks the birth canal.

Nikki's appetite is ravenous and she's eagerly checking the sink, the trash or anywhere she can for extra food, even though she's already being fed extra premium kibble, liver, and boiled eggs. I think she's definitely eating enough for the whole team!

And she is big. Nikki became obviously pregnant within a couple of days of her ultrasound. During her first pregnancy, she didn't start looking pregnant until the last week. I just hired a dog walker to help us prime Nikki for delivery and to take Lailah and Icy for walks to expend some energy and get some one on one attention once the puppies arrive. Life pretty much stops for everyone in the home once the puppies arrive.

We are still accepting applications for breed potential and pet quality homes. Email me to ask for an application. Abays11@aol.com

Pregnancy Confirmed

2010-08-30T15:25:00.001-07:00

We confirmed that Nikki is pregnant on Saturday August 28th through palpation and ultrasound. We were able to see several puppies on the screen at once during her ultrasound, which is a good indication that she is carrying an average to large sized litter.

Nikki is starting her puppy diet, which means she'll be eating tastier food, some fresh meats, and supplements to get the puppies off to a good start. We'll also be taking more frequent walks to get her into shape before the big D-day.

It's time to clean out and clean up the office in preparation for puppies too. I'm not looking forward to going through and dragging up all the whelping supplies that have been buried for the last couple of years, but that's a task that must be done over the next few weeks too.