We have moved!

It took me about two days to clean and reorganize the Puppy Room, but they have been moved from our office to their new digs! Yeah!! They seem very comfortable, don't you think?














Aren't they growing? I love these sweet heads and coats. :+)













More sleepy heads.













You can see here that they are on a blanket and the 'bathroom' is on top of the blanket in the corner. They really do try to move there, but don't have the ability yet to go very far before 'letting go' - hence, lots of laundry. But you need to begin training as soon as possible. In a day or two, there will be wood pellets in the tray instead of newspaper.














Another view. Annabelle insists on her babies having stuffed animals to 'keep them company'. So, it does add to the laundry chore. :+(

There will be many configurations of their space as they grow. Eventually, most of the room will be their playground and hopefully, if Mother Nature permits, I will get them to use the doggie door to go out!

We like gruel!

The introduction to food is a pretty messy process as you can see! The first trick is to smudge some of the gruel onto their little noses to entice them.













Then you get a larger bowl that allows them to crowd around in.













Once that is done, they really get the idea and begin to 'dig in'!













Of course, there is a 'porker' in every group and this guy is one of them!!













I believe they are full. :+)

Two Weeks Today!

Hello!

Well, we all made it through Christmas and now we await the New Year. This morning, after doing their daily Early Neurological Stimulation series and weighing, I put all new larger I.D. Bands on them. They are growing rapidly and all but #8 are 2 lbs. or over. They are trying to become airborne, but most still roll. :+) Annabelle is doing her very best to keep them full and satisfied.


Those who have opened their eyes today include numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9. I bet by tomorrow morning the rest will venture to see the world around them.


Here is a shot of one little 'porker'!


I no longer have a heating pad in the pool as their lovely coats (and sibling cuddles) keep them 'just right'.


By the time they are three weeks, they will need new collars and those will be color coded rather than numbers. They are all doing marvelously. :+)

By the way, I am still looking for two local Guardian Homes for two females. Please read about Guardian Homes on the AnnaBlog's left Index. Thanks!

...and all were nestled fast asleep in their beds....

Santa is watching them closely. :+)


They sure like to snuggle!


Dont' they look perfect on this chair near the tree? Merry Christmas everyone!!

Assorted pics of the litter taken this week.

Hello!

The pups and Annabelle are doing very well! All the pups are gaining and most are already at a pound a piece. Can you imagine eating enough to feed nine????


In the photo above, you can see they are quite satisfied and warm. :+)


In this shot, the camara angle was able to show the lovely fleecy waves beginning to develop on this black puppy.


One of Annabelle's trademarks is the necessity for her to have some of her stuffed animals in with her litters. For some reason, these are like her security blanket and she has never failed to include them!


After 'eating and feeding' both Annabelle and pups take a nice nap.


This was taken this morning. Annabelle is in this position many times per day and night. She is an excellent mom. Thank you, Annabelle. :+)

Here are the THREE girls for your viewing pleasure. :+)

Like the boys, all the girls are gaining weight and scramble for the comfort of the heating pad when mommy isn't around to coddle them. (not in sequential order)

This is 'Clara Belle' who will be retained for our breeding program to produce apricots and partis for the future. She is #7.


This little girl is #4 and I am considering keeping her as well because I love silky, fleecy black doodles and if she continues to catch my eye, she will be added to my program. Of course, both girls will be placed with Guardian Homes that live close to me to enjoy the life of a pampered pet. If any locals are interested, please let me know! :+)



#9 was the last born at 10 ounces. She has white under her neck and three of her feet have a bit of white on them too.

Here are individual shots of the boys.

They are three days old, gaining, crawling and enjoying the warmth of the heat pad when not nursing!


Baby #8 - Well, here is an interesting blooper! Upon closer examination, I have found that this pup above with the pink collar is going to have some identity issues, since she is a 'he' and he should be in a YELLOW ID band, not a pink one. (BLUSH!) Thankfully, all his sibling still have their eyes closed and no one is the wiser. (except me, of course!) That makes six males and three females.


Baby #1 - male will be a pale apricot at maturity.


Baby #2 is a bit deeper apricot in color than his brother above.


This is Baby #6 who has two white back toes, a small patch of white on his chest, and a 'cute as can be 'goatee' that you can't see yet.


Baby #3 that will be a solid light apricot.


Baby #5 has a large white chest patch and 4 white feet. The white on the feet many times goes away as they mature.

THEY ARE HERE!

Annabelle is tired, but happy to have all her babies delivered.


As you can see, we have NO CHOCOLATES! I knew this was a possibility, and confirms the findings of the PID genetic company I used to confirm or disprove the previous company's color formula.


And yes, Annabelle produced a lovely apricot/white parti female that I now will have a very hard time deciding which one I want to add to our program - her or the black female. Oi Vey!!


It will take a few more weeks, but I feel that this litter are all fleece coated. This means all their coats will favor the coat type of Rumple and Willis on the website. Of course, there could be changes, but for now....this is my prediction.

The whelping was quick once it started at 9:20 PM. Annabelle finished whelping the last pup at 12:18 AM - so just about three hours to deliver 9 babies!

This morning Annabelle feasted on chicken wings and goat's milk laced with supplements and vanilla ice cream. :+)

Puppy Identification:

• For a week or so, the pups will have yellow bands for the boys and pink bands for the girls. All the bands are numbered according to their delivery into the world.
• Puppy #5 is a black male with a large white chest mark.
• Puppy #6 is also a black male with a small white chest mark, and a tiny white goatee.
• Puppy #9 is a black female with a white mark under her chin and white back toes.
• Except for the parti female, the others are solid in color upon inspection with these tired eyes! :+)
• They were all between 10 and 11 ounces at birth except little #8 black female who tipped the scales at 8 ounces!!!

I will add more pics, so keep watching!! I am taking a well deserved rest along with Annabelle.

A 'full tummy'

Annabelle has been getting lots of belly rubs. She is in this position more often than not. She is taking the stairs slowly these days and is constantly looking for a spot outside to have her pups! Thankfully, it is very cold and she decides to ditch the idea!

We have her whelping area ready which is under my desk in the office where it is dark, warm and comfy. :+) We are counting down the days!