4/14/2017 Stressed outthis is always the hardest week. The week I move them and they forget all about were to potty. The week they just go and go and go. I already have went through 10 rolls of paper towels, 100 pee pads and an entire gal of natures miracle. It always happens. No surprise. I know a couple days makes a big difference. With the nice weather we may try to get out a little more today. Happy cleaning. Lol.
4/13/2017 Moving outthey have officially moved out of pool. They were not happy the first day. It's a lot to adjust to and they like to tell me about it. We also went outside 2 afternoons and again they were not happy campers. But each day it gets more comfortable for them. We also graduated to hard food this week. Curly is still nursing once a day and she has started regurgitating for them. I don't mind as long as its kibble she is feeding them. I posted updated weights and pictures. We are on the home stretch now. Only 1 more week till pick day. This will be the week I start posting on personality. Each has one for sure.
4/8/2017 Bella is Bellabella will forever be a mother. A good mother. A hard headed I'm doing it my way mother. As much as curly growled the first 3 weeks she has loosened up now that they are mobile. So Bella is making up for it. She takes toys into the pups. When I give her treats, she gives them to the pups. She always has done this with her litters but doing to curly's is something new. No matter what I give her, she wants to share it with the pups. And curly and dolly know not to retrieve it. It just cracks me up to watch her so insistent on being a mother when they are not even her babies.
4/7/2017 Picky eatersi tried something tonight. I went ahead and gave them water soaked kibble. It worked. I'm thinking we just skip the dense mush all together and continue on this path. They gobbled it up. It's soft enough to chew for the ones that don't have teeth yet.here are some pics from today.
4/7/2017 Pictures are postedi updated the current puppy page with weights and pictures. Now is when they change so much from day to day. Once they start eating it's like someone gives them miracle grow pup. They pack the weight on then you start seeing other changes. Hair growth. Personalities. Mobility. It's amazing in just a couple days how much they change. Most have at least a couple teeth through. Some have all. But I'm still feeding mush for the ones that can't chew yet. This litter has been very picky with the texture of the mush. They don't like it thick. So I'm still making it very runny. This is actually the first time in all my breeding that the mother has started weaning this early. They are 5 weeks old. This is ideal. Most times the vet is having a cow that they are still nursing some at 8 weeks. But I let my mothers determine when to stop. I've tried stopping them and it just creates anxiety on the mom. She will go to great lengths to get to pups to feed if she feels they need it. So I'm delighted that curly has started weaning this early on her own. However, she started regurgitating. Bella always has. I'm use to this. To make a long story short, I have been feeding 1 raw meal a day for weeks. My dogs love raw. I have not transitioned completely just because it is a lot of work to feed raw. Kibble is so much easier. But I noticed they were just bored with kibble and the raw they get excited to eat. I feed everything from liver, gizzards, neck, back, wings. Anyway, Bella always regurgitated liver for her pups. And that's fine. Pups can have raw. But this week I caught curly regurgitating a chicken neck for the pups. That's a no no. They don't have teeth yet to chew. Needless to say I have changed what raw I feed so that if she does, it's nothing with bones. And trust me, the whole oh just keep mom away for an hour till she digests it is nonsense. Because she can do it hours later if she wants. So there is always something going on. Lol. Anyway the pups are ready to be moved out of the pool and into the play yard. I will probably do this Monday. And if the weather is good I may take them out in the yard for a little while. I need to see if they are big enough to go up and down the steps. I think we are probably still a couple days from that but we will see.
4/5/2017 Messy group feedingi tried to group feed tonight and it tuned into a mess. And curly decided she wasn't having any of it so she nursed and ate their food. They are by no means starving. They packed on the pounds the last couple days. So I was not to concerned that they didn't eat much. Just that they are a mess. We have mush everywhere.
4/3/2017 Updates later oni post and blog to keep everyone updated. I like for everyone to follow on the journey as they grow. From the time I can feel movement in the mommas belly I'm attached to them. Each time I pick one up, I kiss them. When it's night time I tell them good night. When they leave, I have a void. I always ask that each of you send pictures or notes to keep me updated. There is not a week that goes by that I don't think of each of the pups. I'm not a larger breeder for many reasons. But most important is because I would not be able to be hands on with each pup. I ask for updates to know that they are happy healthy and doing good. I also put in my contract that for any reason you are unable to care for the pup at any time that you contact me first so I can place or take the pup. I'm listed on the micro chip first and would also need to be the one that changes ownership info if you no longer have the pup.
4/3/2017 Learning to eat and drinki fed them twice today. I missed the lunch feed because curly just kept nursing on and off all day. So I did a little bigger dinner than I would have. I made it very runny and added liver blood to it. They loved it. I took a picture of them drinking after eating. It's fun to watch them. They still associate eating/drinking with pushing. The stretch back legs out. Just like they would be nursing. I dewormer again today. They hate the taste of it. I always feel so bad giving them this nasty tasting stuff. I'm starting to see some personality. It's just starting. See who runs to me. Who just watches everyone else. Who stands up to follow my voice. Who is always playing. Speaking of playing, I will be putting the jungle gym in soon. I need to add a couple age appropriate toys.
4/3/2017 End of week 4here are the weights from the end of week 4. I started mush yesterday. They each ate a little bowl full. I wasn't happy with th consistency so today I'll be adding more liquid. It was a little thing for them. Today I added liver water to it and I'm about to feed them breakfast. As we wean from nursing I will be feeding them 3 very small meals. By the end of the week we should be at full feeding and this will decrease what they need from curly. In turn she should start to produce less unless she decides it's not time and keeps going in. I'm posting pictures of the feeding yesterday. I like to feed independent for a couple days so I know everyone is eating. It's time consuming to feed 8 pups this way but that way I know they are not rushed and bullied by someone else.
4/2/2017 Growingi think we have hit that platue. I did weights Thursday and again today and I think it's time to start mush. Most have teeth through. You never want to start too soon, it can cause allergies and a ton of other issues. It changes everything. Once you introduce foreign food it changes their systems. I let them tell me when it's time and I think we have hit that point. I will grind food up in the food processor add milk additive. Once they start eating anything other than milk they need fresh water 24/7. So you have to make sure they are old enough to lap and stand well ect... I will be reconfiguring their area in the next couple days to add water bowl and then we will start.
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