And the time is flying! For me anyway. Another three and selections begin! Hard to believe how much they'll change in that span of time.
This is a pretty active group of pups and vocal in their play at times. Lots of growling and an occasional bark. Thus far Ritz hasn't deemed correction necessary... unless instigating them is a form of correction. She herself riled one up the other day to the point he was ferociously growling back at her. I think he surprised her! Her response was to jump away, dance around a bit and bump him with her nose to instigate a bit more. Moms always win the battles it seems. I've never seen any type of back talking this early in the game though. Somewhat odd behavior I guess. Shall be interesting to see how things develop from here. Every mom is different and there are some subtle differences between litters but generally speaking they're all sweet, playful and relatively innocent at the 6-8 week mark. Occasionally there's a pup that will surface as a bit of a bully but nothing that's been particularly obvious.
In all honesty, there's not a whole lot to report during week three. The pups are gaining strength. They're maneuvering better, though still very clumsy, and they're honing their early play skills of gnawing and pawing. The only significant change I think is the appearance of teeth. Teeth that prepare them for what lies ahead in week four. The week of major change. Week three serves mainly as a wake up call for me... the realization that I better get caught up on anything that needs doing before mom hands the bulk of pup care over to yours truly.
So, with that in mind, this previous week as I often do when the pups are around this age I play catch up and usually tackle some project or another. It seems there's never a shortage of projects around here... I pick the one most in need of doing. With the weather finally on my side I spent Friday and Saturday dismantling and then rebuilding the walk that leads from the back door to a somewhat deteriorating gazebo. Plans at some point include sprucing up the gazebo but the wooden walk leading to it was getting to the point of treacherous. The wood was rotting and a few nail heads exposed. I worried one of the dogs would fly around the corner and catch a paw on some jagged piece of nastiness. Admittedly the project has been on the back burner longer than I care to acknowledge but finally, as of yesterday, I can check it off the to-do list. Project complete!
For moral support, and serving as project supervisor, I had Remy -the blue collared boy and my ongoing project from Remedy's litter who was diagnosed with pneumonia somewhat late in the game. He remains here with me completing a lengthy course of antibiotics, receiving nebulizer treatments and frequent check ups. Hopefully soon he can join his family. A family that's anxiously but patiently waiting for him. And a family most deserving of a healthy pup. He's getting there I think.... slowly. I look at him now and see a normal healthy pup but still a pup in need of official medical clearance.
Speaking of Remy, something regarding his and this litter comes to mind. Some may have noticed there's something a little off on the reservation list for the current litter... this litter. Four pups available -but five people waiting... Unfortunately a couple pups and a couple very understanding people hang in the balance. I guess, with the exception of the people directly affected by Remy's delayed and unsure departure I've never really discussed the situation.
So.... a brief synopsis.
When I took my last litter in to have their tails done, I noticed one of the pups breathing pattern seemed a bit labored. Based on observation and history, the Vet who we saw for tails and dewclaws gave him a preliminary diagnoses of diaphragmatic hernia assuming he'd been stepped on or otherwise injured. But that diagnosis remained speculative. He was too young and too small to confirm diagnosis and even if confirmed he was too young to do anything about it. An X-ray at 6 weeks of age was recommended. I informed Sandra, who was last on the list for a pup from the litter that I had concerns about one of the pups. I felt it only fair to inform her early and keep her in the loop based on an unknown condition that could potentially lead to the loss of a pup. From there all there was to do was wait. So I waited. We waited... and spoke at length and on a regular basis contemplating the best course of action to take going forward. A week or so in, with too many unknowns, while leaving Sandra on the list for one of Remedy's pups I added her name, based on timing of deposit, to the list for this litter as well. As a back up. The days drug on and despite low weight gain, Remy hung in there... I made sure he had some alone time with mom to eat and started feeding him small amounts of solids a bit earlier than the rest of the litter. But the labored breathing continued. Behaviorally he wasn't noticeably different than the rest of the pack with the exception of slight less stamina which made sense to me. When he was approaching the six week mark I decided to have him seen and assessed by my cropper. He was pre-scheduled for the procedure with the rest of the litter and it made sense to have the Vet who would be responsible for the surgery, if there was to be one, aware of his status and provide input to go forward with. She shot the X-ray and I was relieved she saw no evidence of a diaphragmatic hernia but the X-ray did show a pretty severe case of pneumonia. His condition has steadily improved and began improving quickly once on antibiotics. But last check confirmed much improved =but still lingering pneumonia. The saga continues but I'm here for the duration wanting nothing but the best for everyone involved. Pup included. For now I'm assuming all aspects of his care. Physical, mental and social. And he's thriving. A sweet doll of a pup with a big name to live up to. A name that evolved with him. Over time.
And with that I'm sure each of you are wondering, assuming you're following "your" puppy blog, where are the pictures? Well... all I can say is tomorrow is a new day and it's planned to be a dog, blog and posting day. I actually planned a bigger chunk of today for that purpose but ended up putting Christmas away instead. More tidying of loose ends. My apologies. Photos are due and will be forthcoming... For now, I leave you one.... The ever growing puppy pile. Weights are posted.
This is a pretty active group of pups and vocal in their play at times. Lots of growling and an occasional bark. Thus far Ritz hasn't deemed correction necessary... unless instigating them is a form of correction. She herself riled one up the other day to the point he was ferociously growling back at her. I think he surprised her! Her response was to jump away, dance around a bit and bump him with her nose to instigate a bit more. Moms always win the battles it seems. I've never seen any type of back talking this early in the game though. Somewhat odd behavior I guess. Shall be interesting to see how things develop from here. Every mom is different and there are some subtle differences between litters but generally speaking they're all sweet, playful and relatively innocent at the 6-8 week mark. Occasionally there's a pup that will surface as a bit of a bully but nothing that's been particularly obvious.
In all honesty, there's not a whole lot to report during week three. The pups are gaining strength. They're maneuvering better, though still very clumsy, and they're honing their early play skills of gnawing and pawing. The only significant change I think is the appearance of teeth. Teeth that prepare them for what lies ahead in week four. The week of major change. Week three serves mainly as a wake up call for me... the realization that I better get caught up on anything that needs doing before mom hands the bulk of pup care over to yours truly.
So, with that in mind, this previous week as I often do when the pups are around this age I play catch up and usually tackle some project or another. It seems there's never a shortage of projects around here... I pick the one most in need of doing. With the weather finally on my side I spent Friday and Saturday dismantling and then rebuilding the walk that leads from the back door to a somewhat deteriorating gazebo. Plans at some point include sprucing up the gazebo but the wooden walk leading to it was getting to the point of treacherous. The wood was rotting and a few nail heads exposed. I worried one of the dogs would fly around the corner and catch a paw on some jagged piece of nastiness. Admittedly the project has been on the back burner longer than I care to acknowledge but finally, as of yesterday, I can check it off the to-do list. Project complete!
For moral support, and serving as project supervisor, I had Remy -the blue collared boy and my ongoing project from Remedy's litter who was diagnosed with pneumonia somewhat late in the game. He remains here with me completing a lengthy course of antibiotics, receiving nebulizer treatments and frequent check ups. Hopefully soon he can join his family. A family that's anxiously but patiently waiting for him. And a family most deserving of a healthy pup. He's getting there I think.... slowly. I look at him now and see a normal healthy pup but still a pup in need of official medical clearance.
Speaking of Remy, something regarding his and this litter comes to mind. Some may have noticed there's something a little off on the reservation list for the current litter... this litter. Four pups available -but five people waiting... Unfortunately a couple pups and a couple very understanding people hang in the balance. I guess, with the exception of the people directly affected by Remy's delayed and unsure departure I've never really discussed the situation.
So.... a brief synopsis.
When I took my last litter in to have their tails done, I noticed one of the pups breathing pattern seemed a bit labored. Based on observation and history, the Vet who we saw for tails and dewclaws gave him a preliminary diagnoses of diaphragmatic hernia assuming he'd been stepped on or otherwise injured. But that diagnosis remained speculative. He was too young and too small to confirm diagnosis and even if confirmed he was too young to do anything about it. An X-ray at 6 weeks of age was recommended. I informed Sandra, who was last on the list for a pup from the litter that I had concerns about one of the pups. I felt it only fair to inform her early and keep her in the loop based on an unknown condition that could potentially lead to the loss of a pup. From there all there was to do was wait. So I waited. We waited... and spoke at length and on a regular basis contemplating the best course of action to take going forward. A week or so in, with too many unknowns, while leaving Sandra on the list for one of Remedy's pups I added her name, based on timing of deposit, to the list for this litter as well. As a back up. The days drug on and despite low weight gain, Remy hung in there... I made sure he had some alone time with mom to eat and started feeding him small amounts of solids a bit earlier than the rest of the litter. But the labored breathing continued. Behaviorally he wasn't noticeably different than the rest of the pack with the exception of slight less stamina which made sense to me. When he was approaching the six week mark I decided to have him seen and assessed by my cropper. He was pre-scheduled for the procedure with the rest of the litter and it made sense to have the Vet who would be responsible for the surgery, if there was to be one, aware of his status and provide input to go forward with. She shot the X-ray and I was relieved she saw no evidence of a diaphragmatic hernia but the X-ray did show a pretty severe case of pneumonia. His condition has steadily improved and began improving quickly once on antibiotics. But last check confirmed much improved =but still lingering pneumonia. The saga continues but I'm here for the duration wanting nothing but the best for everyone involved. Pup included. For now I'm assuming all aspects of his care. Physical, mental and social. And he's thriving. A sweet doll of a pup with a big name to live up to. A name that evolved with him. Over time.
And with that I'm sure each of you are wondering, assuming you're following "your" puppy blog, where are the pictures? Well... all I can say is tomorrow is a new day and it's planned to be a dog, blog and posting day. I actually planned a bigger chunk of today for that purpose but ended up putting Christmas away instead. More tidying of loose ends. My apologies. Photos are due and will be forthcoming... For now, I leave you one.... The ever growing puppy pile. Weights are posted.
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