Another busy one for me... trying to stay caught up. Trying to get my retirement account switched over to IRA... trip south for the dentist. Bla bla bla... But still enjoying my dogs and pups. Shine graduated her her basic obedience class last week and we followed up by obtaining her Canine Good Citizen certificate last weekend. She passed with ease, making me very proud. Our obedience instructor fell in love with her early on in class and routinely used her as the demonstrator dog. Also made me proud and was fun to watch her in action handled by someone other than myself. Duke was having some issues with overnight accidents in his crate. Very unusual for him. Took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with a UTI. First time I've experience the problem with a dog and my mind was racing with all sorts of ailments he "could" have had after researching the topic online. Never could I have imagined I'd ever be happy to hear diagnosis off UTI. Fortunately he's responding well to antibiotics and the issue seems to be resolving. Hopefully no further issues in the future. Sunday Galtero celebrated his fifth birthday. Seems like it was just yesterday when he was a pup! I generally like to take my dogs on an outing and do a birthday photoshoot with them but the weather Sunday wasn't the least bit cooperative for either. I got his photo shoot done yesterday but kind of think he could benefit from a redo. He's a beautiful dog with amazing movement but I seem to have difficulty capturing him with a camera. I got a couple good ones but took many. He doesn't stand still long enough to grab a good shot unless he's laying at my feet or peeing on something. Historically I've found the girls easier to photograph. As far as the pups go, they've changed pretty drastically over the course of the week. While they still sleep the bulk of the time, when awake their ability to propel themselves around the whelping box has taken a huge leap! Walking well and at times trotting around. But their sense of hearing has brought about the biggest change. They hear things, such as a video played near them on phone, and the entire pack gets to barking. And they're responding well to my voice which is something I always look forward to. I talk to them, and they quickly perk up and look my direction. I believe their hearing is far more advanced than their actual eyesight is at this point. Eyes have been open for a while but acuity continues to develop for some time. As far as form goes, they're beginning to lose their roly-poly look and are looking like little Dobermans. Cuter by the day. Both in look and function. I took quite a few pics of them mid week but when I uploaded to the computer I was pretty disappointed with the results. The orange blanket I had them of cast an odd shadow around them. I guess due to the use of flash and the blankets fluorescence. Lessons learned. I guess going forward I'll have to find a different use for that particular cover. General purpose dog blanket maybe. With that, I've got the best of what I've got... I grabbed a few more photos yesterday after discovering the ones I took earlier in the week weren't up to par. Hope everyone has a happy and festive Thanksgiving. I think I'm down to one last quick trip to the store and I'm set to do it up! My Birthday Boy... And Sire To Our Litter. Galtero Pup Pics Coming Soon... A work in progress but will have them up by this evening. Week Three... Round Two Exploring The Pasture Two weeks and counting! These little rascals are growing... already maxing out the milk bar! Getka's hanging in there though and has about another week and a half to go before I'll step up to the plate to help with feeding. So far I haven't had to take any measures to assure the smaller pups of the gang are getting in for their fair share. All are strong and capable. Getka's beginning to spend more time out of the box... especially during the day. At night she stays with them for the most part I think. Often when I wake up she's snoozing and all pups content. Generally a couple nursing. The rest sleeping. But a gentle weaning process has begun. Tails and dew claws are healing well and their senses are coming alive with newly opened eyes. All are doing a pretty good job of walking short distances. But neither open eyes or upright position tend to last long so it's kind of hard to catch them with a camera. Noticed in one of the pics that everyone's due for their first nail trim so I'll get that done. Probably Thursday along with another round of weights. And the first of a series of dewormers. Other than that, there's not a whole lot new to report... all is well in the land of pups. We've got a full week under our belts! The pups are doing great! Growing and beginning to get a bit plump all thanks to Getka who's doing a marvelous job. They're stretching and crawling and a couple, at least one, already has demonstrated a pretty good rendition of a bark. Pretty early from my experience. Sorry about the delayed response to your comments on my earlier posts. I didn't have notifications set up so wasn't aware of them until I signed on. That issue has been remedied. There's actually not much to report this week which sometimes can be a good thing at this stage in the game. No weak or struggling pups which I'm quite thankful for. I'll get them all weighed again tomorrow but can tell by looking at them and watching them, none are falling behind. Had hoped to get this post up a bit earlier in the day but ended up in various projects. Decided I better do a bit of securing of the grounds in case wind comes our way from ETA... then it was off to spend a bit of training time with Shine so I wasn't completely embarrassed during class tonight. We missed last week and I've had little time to work with her since. But she's doing well. Our instructor routinely uses her as the demonstrator dog. Makes me feel good and it's fun to watch her as she's handled by another. Next week is graduation and I have to decide where to go from there. Skip a session or jump right back into it. I did manage to get our cropping appointment scheduled. Pups will be done December 29th and can be picked up the day following as long as everyone is behaving as I know them to. So mark those calendars. A few shots taken over the course of the last couple days. Collars are already filthy. We'e had quite a bit of rain and little to no sun so things outside have been consistently damp. And Getka's one who frequently likes to wade in the trough as she drinks... then brings the dirt back to bed with her. I'll get the collars washed soon and it will be a little easier to identify who's who. At this point not a whole lot of difference between them. Other than color. Apologies for the late entries. It usually takes me a few days to get the blog up and running as I don't like to leave mom and pups in the earliest days for the sake of safety. Getka's pretty settled now and the pups getting a bit stronger... so today I finally found the time to tend the web. Playing catch up. Admittedly I did get a little wrapped up in the election and continue to be a bit wrapped but to a lesser degree each day. What a fiasco! I would imagine I'm not alone. Probably a large percent of the population are a bit preoccupied with it. But life goes on and it looks like it's going to be a while before we know who's going to be running the country for the next four years. I got the pups weighed on Thursday and I'm happy with the numbers. Fairly typical if not on the larger side with each coming in at over pound. None exceptionally large or small. Friday we took our first road trip to visit the vet for round one of breed specific beautification. Tails and dew claws. I'll try and get ears scheduled tomorrow and post the date so everyone can mark their calendars. Yesterday I was surprised with visit from friends and pup pals from prior litters. Mike and Lisa stopped by with their dogs Phoenix and Athena on their way back home from Jacksonville. it was great to see them after being holed up in the house for the most part of several days. And it's always great to see my pups from previous litters. And now that I've got this project behind me I'm feeling fairly well caught up. I'll try and post some updates fairly frequently. every few days or so. Please don't be shy about commenting on posts... and if you have questions you can ask them in comment as well. I'm always available by phone or email though if theres anything you'd like to discuss on a more personal level. Hope you enjoy the process. I'll try and make your wait as pleasant as possible. Hard to believe we've already got close to a week under our belts!!! And right on schedule! This is the first time I've had a litter arrive on the expected due date. Most commonly a few days early. And fortunately I was able to enjoy a daytime delivery for a change. Doesn't happen often. Getka did a great job throughout the course of the day yesterday delivering 8 healthy pups. 4 boys and 4 girls. Five black and rust and three red. A pretty nice mix. All pups are doing great and all seem to be pretty close in size without and obvious runt in the litter. I'll get them all weighed in the next day or so and then will continue to pos their weights weekly. Roughly. Today I watched... both mom and pups as well as results of the election trickle in.... Another thing that doesn't happen often... a missed opportunity to hit the polls on election day. though... Anticipating a high likelihood I would be otherwise occupied I took advantage, last week, of the early vote in person option. Did my part.... and it turned out to be a great experience. Friendly staff, a smooth process and absolutely no wait. Living in a small town does in fact sometimes have it's advantages. Below a few pics of day one of new life. Settling in and getting the hang of things! Getka, settling in and checking out the whelping box that will be home to her pups for the next few weeks. I love it's location next to my bed. Leading up to, and for the first few days post whelp it's basically a 24/7 job of watch and monitor. Sequestered, it's great to have a space of my own to settle in comfort. Glad I planned ahead and got some meals made ahead.......... Still eating, but not quite as eager. So.... I think I've likely got a restful night ahead of me. Tomorrow is election day and also Getka's official due date. Hoping to usher in a bunch of Republicans! FYI
Clicking On Smaller Pics Will Enlarge Them.... Getka's doing great and still feeling pretty comfortable from all outward appearances. Appetite remains ravenous and I keep waiting for her to miss that pre whelp meal.... not today.
Maybe tonight? |
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