Three Days Old

The puppies had another great day. I am really pleased with their continued progress today. In addition to good weight gain, today marked a first milestone, the last of their umbilical cords has fallen off. They are also starting to feel a bit more solid when you pick them up, they are still relatively light but they just feel a bit less delicate than they did at birth.


male - head (top), female - head (bottom), male - shoulder,
female - shoulder, female - back

 

Female - bum, female -tail, female - hip, male - bum,
female - elbow, male - shoulder

We continue to rotate the puppies, a few hours with Maddie and then a few hours under the heat lamp to rest. They usually sleep quietly for at least two hours but nurse with a sense of urgency when they are back with Maddie. The video below was taken a few minutes after the puppies started nursing. I love the way they kick their legs and you might notice the male in the middle actually rolls himself the whole way over.

It was also nice enough outside today that Maddie got a bit antsy being inside so much of the time (she really loves to sit in the grass on sunny days) so we let her be away from the puppies for about an hour to just sit and enjoy some time alone.

Two Days Old

all eleven puppies

The puppies continue to nurse and sleep well. Most have gained about an ounce in the past twenty four hours. The extra time with Maddie has seemed to make a difference for the girls and they too gain a more acceptable amount today.

They are still very young but they are able to scoot
themselves around a bit already.

Maddie continues to recover well. It was really almost warm outside today so we took a short walk in the afternoon and she really seemed to enjoy being outside.



the seven girls

Maddie and the puppies are staying in the basement, this is a new set up but it seems to be working our really well. Maddie has always been a bit nervous about having the girls or too many people around while she is whelping and we have been able to keep Maurie and Miley upstairs and away from Maddie and the puppies. 



and four boys

It has been a long and stressful few days for the girls, they have been sniffing under the basement door and cocking their heads to listen to the cooing sounds and they just couldn't smell us enough when we would go upstairs after spending time with the babies. They knew that something had happened and I think they knew it was babies and were just beyond excited to come and see them.



Today we decided Maddie seemed relaxed enough to have a few "guests". I should have taken a video but didn't think of it in the moment, perhaps I'll take few tomorrow, but the girls raced down the steps and to the side of Maddie's area (the gate is secure enough that they can't get through) but the just stood and stared. Miley especially loves puppies and I think she really wanted to smell and lick them all but that will have to wait for another day. Instead they sat with me for most of the day, watching over the puppies. It won't be long before they are running away from the whole pack of little ones!

Big Sisters, Maurie and Miley
(please ignore the crazy eyes)

The First Full Day

Maddie with half of the puppies (before their new colored spots)

The puppies have had a very good day today. After the expected loss of an ounce or two most of the puppies are back to their birth weight or have even gained a bit. I am watching two of the girls as they are still below their initial weight, they nurse well but just haven't gained as fast as the others. I do have some formula that I might give them tomorrow if they have not caught up yet but for now they are just getting some extra time alone with Maddie as I think it is better for them to get as much of her milk as possible for the first few days.

 

Maddie with some of the puppies.

Maddie is also doing great. She is eating really well, although the rotisserie chicken and liver gravy might be helping make her food a bit more appetizing! She is very attentive to the puppies but does get a bit worried when it is almost time to switch the puppies and the hungry ones are getting a bit vocal.

 

 

Below is a video of some of the puppies (females - spot on the bum, tail and hip and males - spot on the back and bum) sleeping in the box. There are rare moments when they are all quiet at the same time but usually someone is cooing. It is also common that they twitch as they sleep and dream. There is a heat lamp above the box to help ensure the puppies stay warm but it distorts the color in the video.

 

 

I also got some new nail polish for the puppies' spots today. You will notice in the photos from this point forward that the girls have pink spots and the boys blue.

The wait is over!

The puppies have arrived! Last night we were all able to get a few hours of sleep as Maddie waited until 2am (the second 2am after we turned the clocks back) to start giving birth. The first little girl was born just three minutes after two and nine hours later the last female arrived a few minutes after eleven. In those nine hours Maddie gave birth to seven girls and four boys, totally eleven puppies!

Maddie did a great job during her delivery. The puppies came rather quickly and Maddie's maternal instincts were quick to kick in. She is also eating and drinking well again. She had not been eating as much in the last few days but I think the puppies had started pushing on her stomach making eating a bit uncomfortable. Maddie has also not lost her love of playing fetch, as an incentive to leave her puppies and go outside to walk and use the bathroom, we took a ball outside today and tossed it a few feet and she is feeling well enough to run (although slowly) after it.

All the puppies appear healthy, their birth weights ranged from 17.75oz to 20oz. They are all nursing well. We have divided them into two feeding groups, this makes it easier for me to ensure they are all nursing well without having to ward off so many siblings. It also makes it easier for Maddie to move around without needing to worry about her laying on a stray puppy. When they are not eating the puppies are under the heat lamp, they sleep well for just about two hours before they need to be rotated back with Maddie.

As the puppies are born I use nail polish to mark them so I am able to track their weight gain. If I find a puppy has not gained much weight over a twelve hour period I will make sure they get extra time to nurse. It also makes it easier to distinguish the puppies in photos. (I usually use different colored polish for the boys and girls but was unable to find my blue and green polish today so for today they all have the same sparkly pink polish)

Here are the first photos of the puppies that I took this evening. Hopefully the baseball will give you a better sense of how big they actually are.

Female - spot on the head
born at 2:03am   weight 20oz

Male - spot on head
born at 2:43am   weight 18.5oz

Male - spot on shoulder
born at 2:49am   weight 19.25oz

Female - spot on shoulder
born at 4:28am   weight 18.5oz

Female - spot on back
born at 4:52am   weight 17.75oz

Male - spot on back
born at 5:21am   weight 20oz

Female - spot on bum
born at 6:47am   weight 18.75oz

Female - spot on tail
born at 7:32am   weight 18.5oz

Female - spot on hip
born at 7:52am   weight 17.75oz

Male - spot on bum
born at 10:02am   weight 18.75oz

Female - spot on elbow
born at 11:06am   weight 18.25oz

Waiting...

We are now waiting and watching closely and expecting to see the first puppy in the next few hours. Maddie's whelping space is prepared and I think we are ready for the arrival of Maddie's babies.

Maddie is still doing really well but has become much more restless in the past twelve hours, although at the moment is she sitting with her head under the couch napping. She wants to be close to us, when we walk out of her line of sight she is quick to get up and come looking for us and promptly sits as close as she can. She has also started trying to craw into any and all small spaces she can find (under the table, into the closet, or behind the couch) we are careful to not let her into rooms where she may find a place where she could easily get stuck.

I am hopeful that we will have some puppies in the next few hours, although I would not mind getting a few hours of sleep before they arrive. But for now it is back to waiting.

Maddie is expecting!

We are excited to announce that Maddie is expecting a litter of puppies the first week of November! She is doing really well with this pregnancy. She enjoys the fall weather and loves to spend as much time outside as she can get, especially when she can just sit in the sun with her ball "guarding" the house. She is still keeping up with the girls on their morning walks and enjoys chasing her chuck-it, although she has stared to slow a bit with that. She is eating well and enjoying the added perks of pregnancy especially the extra chicken or liver gravy that come with her dinner!

We hope to get her settled into her whelping area in about two weeks and then the waiting will begin.

Happy New Year!

girls - spot on shoulder and back

 I apologize for not keeping up with the blog over the past two weeks. I had every intention of posting Christmas pictures and had intended to take more videos to share. The puppies have been so active and cute that there would be so much to share but I admit that I have been a bit distracted with the holidays. Or all too often when I am outside with the puppies or when they are playing in the house that I forget that I should capture these moments to share with you.

It seems that so much has happened since I last blogged. The puppies have grown so much and are now really starting to look like German Shepherds. Their ears are entering the awkward, funny stage, most of them are sticking out and occasionally the puppies will have one ear that will stick up but then the next day they seem to have flopped back down. The puppies are also getting much faster, when we go outside to play it is much harder to evade them they are gaining stamina. We are now taking short ten minute walks in the field behind the house, the puppies are eager to follow their mom and sisters and seem to enjoy romping in the open space. It takes a bit longer now but they are usually pretty tuckered out when we come back inside.

Below are eight week old pictures of the puppies. Some of the puppies will be joining their new families this weekend but we are still looking for some loving homes for a few of the girls.



girl - spot on head

girl - spot on shoulder

girl - spot on back

girl - spot on tail

girl - spot on ear

boy - spot on head

You may notice that we are a few puppies short today. In the past few days we have said good bye to the first few puppies. I am so happy that they have all found some fantastic homes! It is a bit hard to see them go but I am confident that they will have great lives with their new families.



girl - no spot

 

"SADIE"  girl - spot on bum

boy - spot on back

"RILEY" boy spot on shoulder
He was too excited to sit still for a picture

I am having a bit of trouble uploading video tonight, but here are a few more pictures from the last week.

girl - spot on head
I'm really not sure why but they LOVE boxes!

More puppies in a box, at one point six of them were in this box.

playing in the yard

playing with the big girls' toys

this is the picture I take all too often, I just don't snap it so enough and
am left with a blurry flash or really large nose

again, just not quite quick enough

They have tons of play things but chose to chew on the one thing that isn't a toy