The pups are doing great. Becoming more playful by the day. Mid night last night I woke -or was awakened by them and after a quick trip to the girls room I returned to see them all fired up! Each gnawing, pawing and bouncing off one another in their still clumsy fashion. As I watched them I noticed their overall chunky appearance. They seem large to me but I think maybe I've just forgotten what they generally look like at three weeks. Kind of roly poly now which will give way to some leanness a couple to a few weeks down the road. Regardless I'm curious to see how their weights measure tomorrow.
Remedy's hanging in there well but is spending less time with them each day. She's also venturing up to my bed at intervals through the night which she hasn't done since her days before pups. As far as nutrition goes, I start my pups on mash at about the 4 week mark or a little earlier so that's just around the corner. I started Blue with his first helping last night to supplement followed by a couple spoonfuls today. He seems to be tolerating it well and needs the extra calories.
The slide show below is comprised of what I call extras. The photos that I held back but that didn't make the cut for the pages. Sometimes it's because I liked the photo but wasn't sure who it was. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and the pages. These guys are growing and changing rapidly.
I doubt any of you are following the "running blog" at this point but I have some news that's been posted there. I just received confirmation of pregnancy on Ritz by ultrasound. When her time came I was a bit worried about a missed breeding based on progesterone levels when I first started tracking them. The vet wasn't all that encouraging and I feared the need to make a bunch of disappointing calls. Never a pleasant experience but especially dreaded around the holidays. Fortunately for those waiting, Serious was a better indicator of these things than the lab values proved to be.
Anyway, long story short, I'm going to be on whelp watch during the time I have set aside for pup selections for each of you. I generally start them at the six week mark which for this litter begins December 23rd. The stickler is Christmas! Since I'm unsure of any of your schedules or plans for the Holidays appointments are something I've decided I better be proactive with. We've already got two scheduled. Peter and Annette will be here on the 22rd to choose their girl and Melanie and Glenn scheduled the 23rd to stake a claim on one of the boys. I'm waiting to hear back from Gina and will proceed forward from there. In the meantime scheduling a time is something for each of you to start thinking about. Ritz's official due date is New Years Eve but since pups generally come early I'm trying to avoid scheduling appointments after the 26th. From there I'm also anticipating a need for a few uninterrupted days post whelp to make sure Ritz is settled and comfortable. I don't anticipate any trouble getting everyone here despite the constraints. Hoping a time of convenience can be set for everyone.