In other news I bought a bag of puppy chow on my way home from work so I've got it ready for the pups when they're ready. I think I may have mistakenly told someone I planned to feed the pups Pedigree as I did the last litter. I actually meant Iams. As I always do though, I'll supply enough kibble with each pup so everyone can wean them appropriately to whatever food they select to raise them on. If you've not already decided on a brand, I generally recommend people take a look at http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com . It's a good starting point for researching the various foods but another nice service they offer is recall notification. Add your name to the list on their site and you'll promptly be notified whenever recalls occur. I think every brand out there has had recalls at some point or another.
Two weeks down... two to show and six to go!
In other news I bought a bag of puppy chow on my way home from work so I've got it ready for the pups when they're ready. I think I may have mistakenly told someone I planned to feed the pups Pedigree as I did the last litter. I actually meant Iams. As I always do though, I'll supply enough kibble with each pup so everyone can wean them appropriately to whatever food they select to raise them on. If you've not already decided on a brand, I generally recommend people take a look at http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com . It's a good starting point for researching the various foods but another nice service they offer is recall notification. Add your name to the list on their site and you'll promptly be notified whenever recalls occur. I think every brand out there has had recalls at some point or another.
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Yay! Amazon just updated my tracking info! The scale is scheduled to arrive by 8 pm Tuesday!!! I love Amazon... A great alternative for people that hate shopping and long drives to town.............
Things are going great here! Even for my little half pint, Purple. I was beginning to get a little concerned about her ability to keep up with her siblings but she's gained a tremendous amount of strength over the past few days and seems to have learned how to burrow! Between that and some individualized attention she's thriving. She's determined; I'll give her that. Still quite a bit smaller than her female siblings though and her male siblings are dwarfing her! The males are getting fat, strong and huge! For that reason, this litter is going to keep me busy busy busy... If Lexi only had a couple more jugs on her... Kidding. She's perfect just as she is!!! She continues to be a wonderful mom to her pups.
The pups eyes have opened and we'll start to see some big changes within the next week or so. For the most part they remain flat out, sound asleep between feedings. They're just beginning to walk but remain very wobbly, fall after a few steps, give up and return to sleep where the land. The males seem to be doing a little better in the walking department than the females. If history repeats itself, and it seems it will, somebody will manage to make it out of the whelping pool in about a week and a half... I'll put them back in and within a day or two they'll all be out. I'll get some photos of each pup Monday, open up their individual puppy pages and begin their weekly photo shoots from there. And of course we'll have lots of photos and slide shows here on the blog throughout the weeks ahead. I'll also get them weighed again Monday if my scale will cooperate one more time. Not having a good feeling about the ability to weigh though. The scale wasn't working again Friday when I had intended to weigh Purple. Technical difficulties! I hate them :-( I had some brief computer issues with the last litter and let me tell ya that was aggravating. So in comparison, if I can't get it to work I guess I can deal with a week of not having the scale I had counted on. I ordered another one, however it's not scheduled to arrive till sometime between the 17th and 20th. Well, I guess that's about it for tonight... Ah... one more thing! And this is directed @ Jenny and Jenny. While I don't know any of you personally, I've developed the beginnings of a relationship with each of you through emails and phone conversations. The problem is, and it's not really a problem because I love reading the comments to the posts but because I've got two Jenny's I never know for sure which one I'm replying to. I've noticed that Jenny and Marc sometimes comment together and I've noticed that Jenny comments but don't know if that's consistent. Sooo, maybe if the Jenny's out there would include the first letter of their last name with their comments??? That would work ;-) So that wraps up my rambling for the evening. Your pups are doing great. I hope all of you are too and that you're getting things in place for your new family members. I understand several of you have already been shopping! ;-) Yes, I'm officially ready to say it. We have a runt. Purple's collar fell off several days back and I never bothered to put it back on because at that time it was obvious she was smaller than the other pups. She remains smaller today; quite a bit smaller. I'll weigh them again on Monday but I don't need a scale to tell me she's most definitely the lightweight. In watching the litter, it's pretty obvious she's getting pushed away as I feared. And that of course creates the proverbial vicious circle. I've been making sure she gets some alone time with mom several times a day but she's most certainly not getting the opportunity to eat as well as the others. In general she's doing well. Although she feels more fragile and doesn't have the "fat puppy" look to her she isn't ribby either. Her mobility seems up to par with the others and when she's eating she seems eager but not frantic. Since I've never had what I would call a runt in a litter I've been goggling like mad. I've heard wives tales over the years regarding runts and what I've been reading doesn't conflict with what I've always heard. Sometimes the runts end up outgrowing their litter mates; sometimes they stay smaller. Sometimes they end up with health issues down the road but that is usually the case when the "runt" is also a "sickly" pup or a pup that mom herself may have pushed away. That fortunately doesn't describe Purple.
Even so, I've got a watchful eye on her and my job as her breeder is to make sure she stays healthy until she is able to eat from a bowl. Fortunately that time is nearing. Sorry if any of you have been checking for updates... There just aren't really any updates to share yet. All is well. The pups are growing and Lexi continues to take great care of them. I'm taking the short time I have left to try and get the rest of my life in order before she lets me take over and the pups leave me with barely a moment to myself... or to anything else. I'm kind of hoping one more mow will do it for the season. Had to take a little time today to freshen the horses stalls and run in and the morning brings the farrier for their pedicures. Gotta get the Affies groomed and Majestic to Rally tomorrow night... Then there's the house that seems to always be in some sort of disarray. It comes last... lol That's my life though; the one I chose and the one I love. The animals get theirs and I get what's left. Photos tomorrow; that's a promise. Then it's back to work Friday. Things in the land of pups will pick up soon. That's also a promise :-)
Just when everyone else is about to head to work, I've got my week wrapped up! Tonight I'm right back where I love to be, with my critters and a pack of pups!
I took the time last night to weigh everybody and will get them posted tonight. Once again Lexi has taken fabulous care of her babies their first few days of life. Each is growing appropriately and at about the same rate with the larger pups in general gaining a bit more than the others. If history repeats itself that trend will change a bit in the not too distant future and we'll see some of the larger pups gaining less from one week to the next and some of the smaller ones gaining more. I'll take some photos to share throughout the week though it's hard to tell in photos what can be seen and heard in person. These pups change so rapidly! They're plumping up, their scoot is quicker, their whimpers stronger and I occasionally hear what sounds like a bark! lol Mid week their eyes should begin to open and they'll begin to move with more purpose. Hard to believe they'll be playing with toys, running with pretty decent speed and begging for attention in as little as 7 weeks! ..... I have secured two appointments for Cropping. 4 pups will be done November 20th and 6 will be done November 25th. I will obtain all Health Certificates on the 25th and, if all goes according to plan, those that were Cropped on the 20th will be ready to join their families the 25th. The others will be ready the 26th just in time to join you for your Thanksgiving feasts! In order for everything to fall into place, Nick, Brian and Allison... in that order will have to select their pups prior to cropping. Scheduling and such can get a little hairy toward the end but things should fall into place fairly easily. Five Males and one Female, likely my own will be included in round two. It's along way off yet, but a good time to start planning.
Weights Are Posted This morning was a busy one here @ GMBD's. First up; get all resident critters fed and out to potty then back to the job at hand. The pups! I started my online search for a new scale then as I walked by mine on my way for a cup of coffee I decided to give it one last try. I hit the button and Vuala! Lights.... Just a flash but it gave me hope and with a fresh set of batteries I'm back in business. I was able to get all the pups weighed and as I suspected Purple is officially our lightweight but not by much. She as well as Mr Blue lost an ounce since birth. The other pup weighed Monday, Maroon, gained one. No worries though. It's typical for pups to loose a bit of weight during their first 24 hours but should gain steadily thereafter. Because she's the smallest, Purple will receive a token of extra attention over the next few days. She's active and eating well and I have no concerns. I just don't want her to fall behind and get powered out by anothers few extra ounces. I've found in previous litters the smallest pups starting out don't necessarily hold that position when they're ready to join their new families. And often the smaller pups turn out to be the feisty ones. We'll soon see what Purple's made of. One thing's for certain; she's a Doberman and their no such thing as a bad one. Enough said. I'll develop a page later tonight or in the morning and get started posting weights. I'll weigh again in a few days to make sure everyone is gaining appropriately and then weekly thereafter.
Next on the list of chores we checked off today; our first Vet visit which included docks and dewclaws. It's the one aspect of rearing Dobies that I in fact dread. Fortunately, it's a quick procedure and the pups are just as quick to settle when returned to the comfort of their siblings. Nevertheless, I'm glad it's behind me and the pups are once again content and at ease with mom. Next up... clean sheets and a goodnight. All pups are doing great. It seems they are sleeping a great deal as pups do but I made sure each had a good appetite by separating them into two groups in order to observe the sucking activity and abilities of each. I had intended to weight them this evening but when I turned on the scale it wasn't cooperating. I thought maybe I had inadvertently left it on killing the batteries but unfortunately it wouldn't work plugged in either. I see a new scale in the not too distant future but for now I'll have to rely on the old tried and true method of observation and feel to assure each pup is gaining as it should. They are scheduled for dewclaws and docking in the morning and I'll have the vet weigh each of them while we're there to get a baseline. I
managed to get a few of them weighed yesterday while the scale was working. I decided to put the rest off when Lexi started to get a bit antsy with the idea. Purple, a girl, was the lightest weighing in at 13 ounces. Next up was Pink, another girl at 15 ounces and Blue, a boy at 1 pound. Again, I see no obvious runt in the mix and if I had to guess, I'd say purple is likely the smallest of the bunch. The photos above were taken both today and last evening and if you look closely it's pretty evident these pups are already getting around well under their own steam. I was shocked to see a pup had already managed to climb on top of Lexi to rest against the pool wall.... All is well but I'm exhausted and I'm sure my poor girl is doubly exhausted. As previously posted Lexi whelped her first pup @ 6:18. The last one came @ 5:45 this evening. As I write this, two hours later, she's had a chance to rest, has recovered well and is being an awesome mom to her pups. The only thing left to do is place everybody on some clean bedding, fix my girl and I some dinner and call it a night! I'm very happy to report Lexi came through for everyone on the list. We had a total of 12 pups and an even mix of 6 Boys and 6 Girls. I'm sad to report however, we lost a female at birth. She was a long time coming, breech and stillborn. The remaining pups are healthy, thriving and doing what pups are supposed to do; squirm, squeak, eat and sleep. I snapped a few shots along the way and will try and get some posted tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great night!
And we are getting close to satisfying everyone's request....
0930: A Girl and A Boy... One right after the other. I was beginning to get worried with the long stretch between these and the first but both seem to be doing well
Nothing yet other than a big "no not tonight" to dinner. She was still willing and eager to share my chicken with me however. We've got some intermittent panting going on but in general Lex is still very calm. No pacing, and no nesting though she rarely does much of either so that doesn't tell me much. Hope we all get some sleep.
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Got My Back DobermansAiming to produce quality pets for quality pet owners. Archives
December 2014
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