Well, I must say, as always, it's really nice to have my work week behind me. What a fabulous feeling. Really! I was a little surprised by the greeting I received when I got home... I walked in to a bunch of barking little pups! Yep... they're barking. And growling. Orange girl has been working pretty hard on her bark the past few days and I guess some of the others discovered their own barks today. They're adorable and getting stronger every day. Anxious to focus my camera on them once again this week.
Well, I didn't get much in the way of pictures this week... And what I've got I don't have time to post tonight but will work on a slide show tomorrow night or at least over the course of the weekend. The pups are doing great but I think Majestic's comfort level in her mom duties is beginning to show. This litter is running a little light on weights compared to previous. I think maybe she's spending a little too much time on the bed slacking. I have absolutely no concern though so none of you should either. Everybody's gaining and each has a nice round little belly. Soon I'll be feeding some pate' and they'll pile the weight on quick. Eyes are fairly well open on most and all the way on some and they're getting around well. It's fun to watch their first attempts at walking and the inevitable flop to the side or nose dive after just a couple steps. And I love listening to them. They're pretty noisy in a quiet kind of way.
I must confess, I took some time for myself today which is something I probably, well definitely, don't do enough of. I wrapped up the week by trailering my Walker to a sweet little spot within the Ocala National Forest for a much needed and appreciated trail ride... Rhyzja's first big outing! He did well and made me a proud and happy happy woman. Most importantly, I came home in one piece which is always a good thing. Once home it was back to life as I know it... work as usual. Planted a little tree that's been waiting on me, cleaned the grounds and the kennels and finished up by weighing the pups and administering the first of a series of their dewormers. Now, with work still left to do it's time for bed and a few days of real work. Yep, time to go in and save some lives! :-) Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoyable Easter Sunday! Time is ticking and these babies are growing! Growing, eating and sleeping. That's about the extent of it.. I expect to see their eyes begin to open in the next day or two. From there they begin to change rapidly. While their vision is poor early on it's obvious they can identify mom in a new way and really begin to move around with purpose. They're getting stronger and using their muscles to move one and another in order to get prime position at the milk bar. I'll weigh again this evening to make sure the smaller girls are keeping up with their pushy brothers. I'm just beginning to see some effort and determination to get up on all fours. White seems to be taking the lead in that department. Majestic is doing great and eating like a horse. Always good to see! She's also gaining comfort with her new family and has been caught on occasion out of the whelping box and on my bed. For the most part though, she remains bedded down with her kids. She's an incredible mom! Calm content and nurturing!
Well it seems I'm back to busy days and late nights but since I've got to head back to work for a few days I knew it was now or never to post a week one update. The pups had their tails docked as planned on Monday and are healing well. They're eating well too and are obviously growing. I measured their weights again this morning and will post them shortly. White takes the lead for the boys and Purple for the girls... we'll see if the trend continues. Sometimes; sometimes not. They were in need of a collar adjustment already and fortunately my shipment of snazzy new paracord collars appeared in the mail today. Perfect timing! In the past I've used Velcro collars but I think I'm going to like these better. It seems with each litter I've come home to a pup who had managed to shed it's collar. Fortunately only one at a time. The new and improved paracord model seems like it'll likely be a little more difficult to get out of and they're super easy to adjust. Colors should hold up and hopefully will remain easy to differentiate in photos. Jess continues to be a superb mom and has made my life easy. It seems I've pretty well worked out the kinks as far as puppy rearing goes but even so I keep my eyes open for anything I may come across to simplify or increase safety. Hope you enjoy the photos... my personal favorite has to be the one of Purple using Majestic's leg as a pillow. Cute puppies! Weights have been measured and posted. And dang if I didn't do it again!!! I mistook one of the girl pups for a boy!!! Chalk it up to whelping in dim light and umbilical cords that can when on quick glance look like boy parts. Fortunately with what I though was an extra of each sex originally, we still have the proper number of each sex to satisfy those on the wait list.
So sorry for the mix-up! Typical Doberman... Always one step ahead of the game! I think it's pretty safe to say whelping is complete and I'm happy to report Majestic came through for all on the wait list! We even have one extra pup of each sex if I counted correctly. Jess and her pups are doing fabulous. Jess, calm and motherly and her pups, all about the same size, are behaving exactly as I would expect from pups in the first few hours of life. They're squirming and squeaking and alternating eating and sleeping. This evening I'll get them all weighed and post the results as well as complete a final check regarding sex. I was caught wrong in my posted count once before so I've learned to confirm sex along with their first weights. Then it's on to scheduling appointments. The vet that does my tail docking is out on maternity leave but fortunately she informed her clients in advance of her expected and extended absence. When I called to check if anyone else in the office was qualified to do the procedure I was told to let them know when the pups arrived and she'd work something out. Hopefully, tails will be docked and dew claws removed tomorrow. As far as cropping goes, I'll try and schedule that tomorrow as well. I've been informed through the grapevine my cropper of choice is cutting back so I want to get them scheduled as soon as possible. Cropping will probably be done in two groups and on two different days. Hope you enjoy the slide show of your babes first few hours! |
The First
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