WEEK TWO of the Piper Moon x Thomas litter.

They all made it to two weeks of age! All are doing well and adjusted beautifully to the puppy room environment. Their eyes are now open but they see cloudy images. Each day, it will get more and more clear and then the world becomes a frightening place! This is why I wanted them to be in the pup room now so they adjust to the light and TV sounds - it is a much more gentle 'awakening'.

We went for a car ride today! I bundled them up in my laundry basket and already had my car warmed. It was just around a country block but they all did well. We will continue to do this on occasion.

Soon there will be more activity and taking pics will be more fun. Right now, they are still inactive. They eat, they sleep and mom takes care of their bathroom needs. Every now and again, I offer a bottle to those that want more to eat but Piper is doing a great job.

Green Boy weighs 2.2 lbs.

Purple Girl is 2 lbs.

Blue Boy is at 2.4 lbs.

Pink Girl is 1.9 lbs.

Yellow Girl weighs 2 lbs.

So does Teal Girl.......

and Pumpkin Girl is 2 lbs. as well! Four out of the five girls weigh the same!

Black Boy weighs 2.4 lbs.

Red Boy is 1.6 lbs.

 

Tan Boy is at 1.14 lbs.

We moved! (The puppies that is!)

I decided to move the pups to our puppy room which is off our kitchen instead of staying in my office until Monday.  Typically, I wait until they are around 2 1/2 weeks, but this is a very 'uncomplaining group' so far and they moved into their new location without a whimper and settled right in. :+)

I am keeping them in the green Perla Bed for a few days because it has high sides; soon it will be switched to just the fleecy bedding. The move will allow them to adjust to light and sound as their eyes and ears open which will be happening in a couple more days.

WEEK ONE of the Piper x Thomas litter.

It started out with a very long labor and ended with a healthy litter of ten chunky babies that are growing and filling out quickly! Piper Moon is a good mommy who is taking very good care of her brood with a little help from me.

I am sure the pics below will testify to how cute they are developing and the beautiful coats these pups have.

Piper Moon does not shed but she IS a hormonal shedder (sheds during pregnancy, lactation and recovery). Her coat is very easy to manage with a good brushing and combing every two weeks or so. She does not have an undercoat and mats just slip right off her hair when you use a quality brush. It is very low maintenance. This coat is perfect for both busy families or people who love to fuss and brush their doodles. What it may not be good for are people with severe allergies to hair/fur. Right now, Piper's hair can be seen in clumps on my floor! When I brush her, lots come off on my brush. However, when Piper is not bred or nursing babies, you will find very little hair anywhere but on the brush when you groom. This is a huge difference from a 'shedding' breed that drops hair everywhere, every day. So be aware.

I don't expect these pups to shed at all. The coats on them are beautiful - especially on the sparkling black pups! None of you will have to deal with hormonal shedding because they will not be reproducing for you. It is important to realize the difference when you visit though, which is why I bring it up.

Enjoy their week old pictures!

Meet Pink Girl! A tiny thing at 15 1/4 ounces.

This little round darling is Pumpkin Girl. She weighs 1.3 lbs.

Blue Boy is a chunky one at 1.6 lbs.

Miss Yellow Girl weighs 1.1 lbs.

Black Boy is the heaviest this week. 1.8 lbs.

Beautiful shade of apricot on Teal Girl. 1.4 lbs.

Red Boy is the smallest male today. 15 3/4 ounces.

Purple Girl weighs 1.4 lbs. - will be a solid medium.

Green Boy is tracking to be one of the smaller boys. 1.2 lbs.

So is Tan Boy at 1.1 lbs.

When I take these close ups, it is so you can see the details of the face. They are still quite small. This group pic shows their size better.  :+)

Piper Moon was at the vets today. :+(

Sometimes with large litters, canine mommas will develop a condition called Eclampsia or  'milk fever'.  I am very familiar with this condition and recognize the symptoms right away. Piper showed early signs this morning; so we headed to the vet to take care of the matter.  The treatment takes a while because they first have to measure her Iodized Calcium through blood work and then she needs to be hooked up to a heart monitor while they S L O W L Y  feed a calcium drip into her blood supply.

So it was not until 5:15 this evening that Piper was back at home with us and her pups. She was fully recuperated and very happy to see her babies! While she was gone, I had to be nursemaid and feed all ten pups, and that took all afternoon! Most hated the nipple I had (actually, I tried three different ones!) and had to resort to the 'sponge feeding method' which takes a very long time to fill up a pup! For those curious, you use a 100% cotton make up sponge (triangular ones) and cut the pointed end to fit the opening of their mouth, soak it in the formula you prepared and then coax the pup to drink from it. As they do this, you use a syringe to keep the sponge fully engorged with the formula until the pup is done. It can take up to 20 minutes or more per pup. Then you must stimulate them to urinate and defecate afterwards. So, add on another five minutes or more. You can see why I was very busy all afternoon. I barely finished when my vet called to say Piper Moon was ready for pick up. I was SO delighted!

Once home and fed, etc., while Piper nursed some of the pups, I was back at it with a Playtex Nurser bottle to try and fortunately a number of the pups liked that nipple - yea! So I fed half the litter and Piper did the other half as well as the 'clean up'. All is good. Whew, so very happy this did not happen in the middle of the night! Been there, done that!!!

Tomorrow morning, I will take her to the vet again just to be sure she is maintaining her calcium levels.  The good news is that she bounced back wonderfully and the rest of her blood work was totally normal.  :+)

Piper has such a bright smile.

A perfect portrait of a content momma and her well fed babes.

Piper and her 10 four day old pups.

Presenting Piper Moon x Thomas litter of ten pups!

It certainly has been a grueling 24 hours but both Piper and I are unscathed. Of course Piper has to nurse all those babies 24/7! She continues to eat and drink well; and the trip to the vet this morning to check everyone out and remove the dew claws on the pups went great. All are doing well and gaining. I am feeling pretty blessed that it has been so uneventful as most large litters with long labors can take a toll on both mom and pups.

Here they are!

Pink girl's newborn weight was 8 1/8 ounces.

Pumpkin girl's newborn weight was 11 3/4 ounces - look at that chubby face!

Purple girl's newborn weight was 11 1/2 ounces - another big girl!

Teal girl's newborn weight was 9 5/8 ounces.

Green Boy's newborn weight was 9 7/8 ounces.

Yellow girl's newborn weight was 9 3/4 ounces.

Blue Boy's newborn weight was 11 7/8 ounces - another chunker!

Red Boy's newborn weight was 9 3/4 ounces.

Black Boy's newborn weight was 11 5/8 ounces - favoring his dad's side!

Tan Boy's newborn weight was 9 7/8 ounces.

The litter of 10 newborns.

                                     

Piper and I have been up all night....

One pup has been born, a black male but it is now the wee hours of the morning and there are many more to come and welcome the sun as it rises.  Definitely taking a nap today when this is over!

Will post in order of birth:

•   4:34 am - Black Male
•   8:00 am - Apricot Female
•   8:02 am - Apricot Female
•   8:35 am - Apricot Female
•   8:49 am - Apricot Male 
• 10:50 am - Apricot Male
• 10:58 am - Apricot Female
• 12:00 pm - Black Male
• 12:45 pm - Black Male
•   1:42 pm - Apricot Female (I pray we are finished!)

Some of the apricot pups may deepen to a red but I would rather wait to see if that happens than just call them 'Red' because they could carry the 'Rufus' gene which there is no test for but if one carries it, the apricot color deepens to red.  ADNE's Keefer did this and I had no idea he carried for the Rufus gene.