If THIS isn’t cuteness, I don’t know what is….

Puppies plus chicks===cuteness incarnate! We just got a fresh batch of Cochin chicks, and by adding a few puppies, voila! A perfect combination of fluffy and fluffy!
The puppies will be four weeks old this Saturday. Their weight is currently ringing in at 5 pounds, some more, some less.
Today they ate their first water-downed puppy kibble. I decided that since they’d gotten their first little teeth (or should I say little needles, ouch!) they could start eating more than just mama’s milk. And boy! They thought they were in heaven! I had a low, tin dish, thinking it plenty big to feed all of them, but there were a few little naughties who were convinced that they had to be standing in the dish in order to eat.
Enjoy the pics. Goldie’s doing very well, but getting rather restless, taking care of her babies all the time. I know she’s ready to be outside exploring, directing traffic, and bossing the cats around again.

 

Pictures of the Parents as Puppies

Rewind back to about two years ago…back to when Bomber and Goldie were pups. We got them in the summer, so we were actually able to take pictures of them without having to give them a bath each time in order to remove the Montana mud! Wish I could say the same for now…mud and dogs should never even be in the same sentence.
Enjoy the pictures. Bomber is the darker one, Goldie’s the lighter. She’s the one with all the quirky expressions. That still hasn’t changed!  The third dog in the one picture is our Basset Hound Russel. He’s four years old and loves Goldie.

Bomber here. Still makes the same face.

Here’s our Goldie girl. She was pretty lanky as a puppy.

Fresh Pictures of Our Puppies

Hi! My sister was able to get some up-to-date pictures of our little darlings. They are gaining weight steadily, all between three and four pounds. They are starting to make the cutest little arfs and walk around on their feet instead of scooching. I now have to shut the whelping box door, due to the escape artists (generally our two females) who think they can now venture into the wide unknown! Goldie continues to be the dedicated and Very Patient mommy, happy to sleep and to tend to her babies. Even Bomber, the daddy, waits at the door and looks in, hoping to get even the tiniest glimpse of one of his babies. Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Each and Every One

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but with those puppies, I have been pleasantly busy! Here’s a picture of every pup, in birth order, with a small description of each. Their personalities are growing as fast as they are! I can already tell who’s going to be mellow and who’s going to be trouble. They’ve been gaining weight steadily, about a quarter of a  pound every day. Today they began opening their eyes, just at the corners, though. For a while, their sight and hearing will be cloudy, but with time they will grow more distinct and clear. Pardon the quirky names! Enjoy.
This is Diesel 10, or Bomber Jr, as my mom calls him. He is THE BIGGEST, weighing in at 3 pounds today. Very sleepy and mellow, not to say beautiful, he’s most likely the pick of the litter.

Next is Bubbles (don’t ask me where this name came from), or Bubba, as I now call him, since he’s rapidly gaining weight. He’s 2.75 pounds, has a very pretty, dark coat, and is quite a sweety. I love how his coat is so swirly and dark.

Here’s Toola Roola. Another odd name, I know. I actually call her Suzy Q more often, though, because she has an S shape on her back. She’s a little over 2. 75 pounds. I think she and her sister are Goldie’s favorites. I love to watch Goldie with her girls…she likes to hold them in her paws,  really giving them a lot of attention.

Next comes Bibbity. He has two other brothers, Bobbety and Boo. If these names don’t ring a bell, you’ve never seen Cinderella. He’s a little squirrely, with  lots of energy and smaller in size, weighing in at 2.5 pounds. Very cute.

Bobbety’s number six. He’s the pup with the least white. Tonight he weighed 2. 75 pounds, finally gaining weight after a little relapse last week. He prefers to stick to Mama Goldie, or sleeping with his litter mates.

Chuzzles, (another crazy name) has little Z’s on his back, which add some weight to his name. Another gorgeous pup, he weighs 2.75 pounds. He’s very sweet and acquiescing, allowing me to weigh him all I want. He also has a little Cape Horn on his back.

 

Boo! Yep, he’s the last of the three Cinderella namesake’s. He’s my personal favorite out of all the boys, even though he’s the one that keeps me up most at three in the morning. Boo thinks that when everyone else is happily asleep, all peacefully nestled together, it’s time to sing opera. Or get lost behind mom’s back. ANYTHING but to go to sleep like everyone else. Today he’s started these adorable little barks, and as I was watching him sleep, he made these little growls and arfs that about put me over the edge. He has the most beautiful markings (in my opinion, at least) and is darker than everyone else but Bubbles. A little bit smaller than the others, though, weighing 2. 65 pounds at the most.

And last but not least, though the smallest, is Pookah! Ever watched Harvey? Then you’ll know where this name came from. Pookah’s my girl, weighing in at barely 2.25 pounds. She’s lightly colored, and has a little whale tail on her shoulders. She is sooo sweet and sleepy, loves to be held, and always scooches over to me when I’m in the whelping box. I hope my darling goes to a home as loving as she is.

A couple more pics….

Mama with the brood.

As you can see, they’ve doubled in size since I’ve last posted. More photos to come!

Dapper Daddy

All’s well here! Today we got a few cute pics of Bomber wearing my brother’s hat. Well, he had to have some assistance to put it on….actually, to keep it on. But anything to get a good photo of the dog, right?
Mama and pups are doing great! All the pups have gained at least a quarter of a pound since yesterday. The biggest one, Diesel 10, is 2 pounds. The smallest one, Pookah ( my personal favorite ) is 1 and 1/2. All the rest are in between, ranging from 1 and 1/2 to 1 and 3/4. Mama Goldie got a bath yesterday, and I think is feeling much better now. Tomorrow I will post on each individual pup and its name and personality. Thanks for reading!!

 

 

 

Here’s Some Pics of Our New Arrivals

I have FINALLY gotten around to putting up some photos of our pups, thanks to my friend’s reminders!! Thanks Beth 😉

I’m guessing that the posts will be rather inundated with pictures of our new babies, but bear with me. The puppy fever has now subsided, and recovery is on the move!  As a reminder, we have seven boys and two girls, all named according to their personality. Yes, to us, even three day old puppies have personalities. Some are  very sweet and mellow, others are energetic and noisy. We love them all, and each of us has our favorites. Mama is doing very well, healthy and soooo proud of her babies. I can’t say as I’ve ever seen her this perky before!! She takes good care of them, just like I thought she would. I knew she was the matronly type as I watched her grow up. Well, enjoy the pics! More to come.

All lined up….

Mama nursing EVERYONE

These next two are some of my favorites. Talk about brotherly love!

 

 

The Puppies are Here! The Puppies are Here!

Well, I guess today WAS the day! Beginning at 1:30, and ending at 7:40, Goldie gave birth to nine puppies : seven males, 2 females. Everything’s looking good! Goldie’s VERY proud of her puppies and of herself. Right now, they are all doing fine, some sleeping on the heating pad, some nursing. Most of them are 1 and 1/2 pound, and two of them are 1 and 1/4. I will be posting some pics of the pups shortly.

Day 67…puppies, maybe?

STILL no puppies, and she’s several days overdue from the first breeding. However, I’m pretty confident that they are coming today. All night she licked and panted, with a little whining and moaning. This morning, her temperature is down to 97.5, the lowest it’s ever been. She’s very listless and uncomfortable, panting heavily with a glazed look over her eyes. So, maybe today’s the day!

Yesterday she spent a lot of time playing in the snow, which is around 1 1/2 feet deep where we are, and in some places even deeper. She was actually jumping through the snow, telling the horses what to do. I think all that exercise and play time might have set her up for labor. I have everything prepared, all the blankets and supplies assembled, so we’re just waiting on her to give us the signal. I will post any news that comes up. Thanks!