One of my favorite things about breeding is the opportunity to meet and greet smiling faces coming my way. I had an opportunity to meet a few of the families waiting for pups yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed taking a moment to simply relax, chat and play with pups! We were fortunate to have sunny skies, glorious temps and some pups that were happy to receive some undivided attention! We had a repeat affair today when Jenny, her hubby and son arrived to check out the girls. Unfortunately today, lost in pups and conversation, I forgot to grab my camera... While our visitors still have no idea which pup they will eventually call their own, it was said on more than one occasion and I'll have to agree... "it really doesn't matter; they're all great"! Today, the four week countdown to Thanksgiving begins! We've made it over the hump! While I've got a captive audience I thought I'd pass on "a find" I came across on Facebook. Though I don't have one... yet; I absolutely love the collars made by ella's lead. Below are a few examples. They're not exactly cheap but they appear worth the price to me. But then, I think every Doberman deserves a gorgeous collar if they're going to wear one. :-) See more @ http://www.ellaslead.com
Another busy day and again I didn't get done all that I wanted to do. Tomorrow; or rather today now, is another day. I did manage to get all the pups pages updated. With the exception of Purple, who as planned rejoined the herd. She received her wormer and Reggie weighed her at 3 pounds 5 ounces but I'll hold off on posting her weight till I check it with my scale. I'll also take some photos and update her page. We're expecting several visits today so the pups will be enjoying lots of outdoor time... and yes, I'm sure there will be more pictures. Just have to find time to upload them. I'm sure some of you noticed that's what I didn't get done.... The slide show I promised. Instead, I welcomed home a pup from the last litter who wasn't fitting in with the long time resident pooch. I spent quite a bit of time incorporating him into the household. He loves the cats and is respectful of and getting along well with the Afghans. I'll have to get him acquainted, up close and personal with Serious and Majestic today. I figured meeting the whole clan including the rambunctious youngsters might be a little too overwhelming for one day. He did well for his first day but it's evident he needs some training. I plan to enroll him in the next round of obedience classes for a start. Training makes for good bonding and while I don't plan to keep him, I want to get to know him so I can find a home that's a perfect fit and forever. He's a good and good looking boy; tall and lean, natural ears, docked tail and coming up on 8 months old.
It was a busy day but a good one! A day @ home is always a good one for me... Even when it involves mowing etc... But a day spent messing with pups is a great one in my book! We celebrated with big bowls of Puppy Pate' followed by weights and wormers which they now love! Today marked the first of many outdoor adventures and our first outdoor photo shoot. And I awarded some prizes! First prize went to Orange for being most photogenic and Second to Sky for being most fun! Orange seemed to pose naturally and Sky was active, agile and already demonstrating that well known Doberman "Velcro" behavior! She was also, as a result, the hardest to capture in photo. True Blu received Third prize for being "Chunky"...!
I took the pups out in pairs for ease of identification and will create some slide shows of each pair, hopefully tomorrow. And as usual, I'll post the best of each to their individual pages. I'll get the weights posted before retiring for the evening. Your pups are growing well and as expected. :-) Last week before starting my work week, I swapped out the whelping pool for the corral with shavings. Yes, that's right... I'm probably the only person you know who has shavings covering the floor of their bedroom. To top it off, soon I'll add a garbage can and a stall rake to the decor! lol ... Whatever works is all I have to say. The pups have lots of room, the shavings keep them dry and since it's a concrete floor, they also keep them warm. And for the most part I'm able to contain them within the pup den. Last night the pups welcomed their first visitors. Nick and Michelle dropped by in an effort to get an idea of who to call their own. At the end of their visit, I think each had a couple favorites but they both agreed it's going to be a difficult task to pick a pup. They'll continue to watch the photos and return for a second visit in a couple weeks. We're expecting visits from a couple other families on Wednesday and have a date set for Jeff and his family to visit mid November. Purple is scheduled to return home tomorrow and I'm looking forward to having the whole pack together again. I spoke with Reggie today and it sounds like she's ready. She's eating her Pate' with gusto, running the floors at times, crating and going outside to go potty.... and getting spoiled. First: Solids... then the first out of the whelping pool... Red. Kind of funny really because the first out of the whelping pool from the last litter was also Red. The Red Devil I called her though now they call her Darby. I found Darby curled up along side my bed one morning upon wakening. This one caught me off guard and startled me. I walked into a fairly dimly lit bedroom and thought "what the heck is that dark thing in the dog bowl"??? Upon closer inspection I had to laugh. Apparently Red enjoyed her earlier outing and decided to venture out on her own. She must have enjoyed the food too because she wasted no time finding another bowl. I doubt she ate any of mom's food... they're just beginning to get their teeth. Hello all... I finally got new weights posted and some photos uploaded on the puppy pages. I even remembered to take my camera when visiting Purple today. Unfortunately though, it seems the timing of my photo shoot caught most of pups during nap time this week. Some are better than others but none are really great. Hopefully next week the pups will be a bit more wakeful, a tad more photogenic and I'll have better luck. Your pups are getting more active each day and if the weather holds, they'll have their first outdoor adventure next week. The great outdoors seems to really bring them to life! Awakens the senses... The 4th week brings dramatic changes. They'll begin to sleep a lot less, interact a lot more and start to become fun. At this point, they acknowledge me and watch me when I'm close but the only thing that really seems to get them riled up is when mom is near and doesn't join them in the whelping pool. They can certainly make their displeasure known at times but they're good pups and are pretty quite in general. They're still sleeping a lot and growing.... but.... I'm starting to see the beginnings of play, though short lived, in the form of gnawing and pawing each other as well as "real" barking. I'm also starting to get a glimpse of individual personalities. As far as the weights go, in comparing this litter to those of the past, these are some large pups... with the exception of one. It seems they're taking full advantage of getting her share.
Today I went to visit Precious Purple and I've gotta say, she looks FABULOUS!!!!
I wish I would have taken my camera. It was lunchtime. She had just finished eating and felt solid and full! Reggie's still tube feeding her but reports she took to the bottle last night when offered it by Reggie's daughter and attempted to lap when her re-placer was offered in a bowl. All music to my ears! After seeing her today, I have no further doubts that I did the best possible thing I could have done for her by leaving her in Reggie's care. I also have no doubt we'll be seeing more of Precious Purple. In preparation to leave I placed the pup back in her box along with a fresh towel carrying the scent of her litter mates. Reggie and I continued to chat and Purple, standing on her back legs clambered and clawed attempting to escape her temporary habitat. When I say she looks fabulous I'm not kidding. She's alert, active, solid and strong! Seeing her made my day!!! This weekend I'll be working and Purple will be included in a get away Reggie had previously planned; to visit with and celebrate her mom's birthday. With that said, Purple will be experiencing her first camping trip. Yep that's right, believe it or not, at 2 1/2 weeks of age, she's goin' camping!!! Fortunately though, there's an RV involved because Purple, simply due to her age, still requires a heating pad to stay warm. My fear today is that this is going to be one rotten pup when it's all said and done. Yep, spoiled rotten to the core! :-) I had planned a couple days ago to only post about Purple on her individual page and figured everyone would eventually discover the posts. That's still my plan, at least until she rejoins the litter but for today, she's way more than earned a spot on the blog! Yay! Ha! I just received my first puppy kiss; delivered by "Black" and smack on the lips! Not something I find particularly endearing from an adult or even an older pup but for right now it was sweet. I picked him up because while all the other pups had zonked out after just having a meal he wasn't quite ready. He drew my attention with a sweet little bark and growl. When I looked over I found him happily rolling back and forth, stretching and building those muscles. CUTE! I know you all are jealous! Sorry :-)
I successfully opened the pups pages... there's not much to them at this point but it's a start. For the most part, in their photos, they're all in various stages of "flat out", with the exception of White who sat up for the occasion! I bought a little monkey that I had planned to use as a prop but in actuality it didn't add too much to the session... Maroon checked to see if it was edible but that was about it. Maybe Mr Monkey will resurface in the weeks ahead. Or not... Lexi apparently approved of it; I left it on the bed just long enough to grab a cup of coffee and when I returned I found it, still in one piece I might add, in the whelping pool. Stuffies don't typically last long around here so I appreciate her gesture. The photos in the slide show are basically just some extras... I threw in one of the earliest photos of all the pups together to demonstrate the growth these guys have experienced in just two short weeks...and a day. I made a decision today to take Precious Purple in for a Vet check. She had a great day yesterday, eagerly nursing and as I mentioned walked across her little habitat with purpose. While I've been spending time with her and Lex individually assuring she gets several meals a day, she just isn't picking up the weight I want to see. And of course I have to continue to work so I can't always be home to monitor her. I believe in my heart of hearts the problem with the pup is simply one of not receiving adequate nutrition. And everyday, every hour, the circle becomes more viscous! The vet was out of the office when I called so I spoke with the tech who has worked there for years. She's knowledgeable and a person I hold a lot of respect for. Long story short, she offered, without seeing the pup, to foster her and to do essentially whatever she felt would be in her best interest. She offered no guarantees but that she would do the best she could. So, for now, I've placed Purple in foster care. Regi, who for many years raised pups herself, will bottle or tube feed her if necessary and call me with daily updates. It was a tough decision to leave her but I know she's in good and capable hands. And I could tell when I dropped her off, Regi was hopeful.... and above all caring. She said she looked a little thin but liked the look of her in general. I'm hopeful too... hopeful that Precious Purple will live to be one of those pups that outgrows her litter mates.
Well, it was nice to be home and get some stuff done but as frequently happens I didn't get quite everything done that needed doing. I did however manage to make some new collars and have retired the old. The pups were weighed again and weights posted. As I suspected our smallest pup is almost exactly 1/2 the weight of the next one up. She continues to do well though. In fact I watched her navigate nearly the whole width of the whelping pool with a pretty brisk and steady gait. It may actually have been the best attempt at walking I've seen from any of them. I also got everyone wormed for the first time and clipped the tips of their little nails. They're getting quite used to being handled and seem to enjoy being scratched and tickled. I spent some time today sitting in the kiddie pool with 'em and they're already attempting to crawl on my lap as they begin to work their magic on me. I developed their pages but unfortunately ran out of time and didn't get every bodies photos taken. Tomorrow is a new day though and hopefully they'll cooperate and I'll get their pages published before I have to head out. I'm anxious to show them off in their new gear! lol
|
Got My Back DobermansAiming to produce quality pets for quality pet owners. Archives
December 2014
|