Great News!!! Brinkley's mating to Diesel was a success!!

 The happy news was well received by Brinkley, her guardians and myself!  I was hopeful but the breeding days were a bit hectic and Diesel was a bit shy about meeting his girlfriend.  Brinkley was a great 'hostess' though and was patient.  :+)

This is a pic of the Ultra Sound done today.  Those dark 'circular' lumps are tiny fetuses.  There could be around six in all but we will not know for sure until she delivers.  I will be contacting those in her file to see if they are committed or have moved on.

Happy day here at ADNE!

THREE WEEKS - Easter is coming! JONNIE X HOBBS

 With eyes and ears now open, the pups are just beginning to interact with each other, especially after nursing.  They still move slowly and wobbly, sometimes rolling rather than 'walking'.  

They are learning to use the potty box which always amazes me given their age.  It just shows the ability of these youngsters to identify where the 'bathroom' is.  As the week progresses and they become more steady on their feet, I will switch potty boxes and add small changes to both size, type and space within their environment.

Given that I am bottle feeding little Brown Collar boy because his robust siblings don't give him space at the nursing bar, I sometimes add some extra formula for the pups.  Introducing them to the feeding saucer will take some pressure off of Jonnie as their appetites increase.

As you can see, Jonnies' little 'bunnies' are welcoming the Easter season this week.  :+)

Miss Purple is 1 lb., 15 oz. at 3 wks.

Miss Teal's weight belies her size.  She is 1 lb., 15 oz. as well!

Oh golly, Miss Peach.  Biggest in the litter - 2 lbs. 15 ozs.!

Mr. Green is 2 lbs., 7oz.

Mr Red weighs 2 lbs., 12 ozs.

Mr. Blue is 2 lbs. 12 ozs.

Our resident midget weighs 12 1/2 ounces!!  With such huge siblings, you can understand why he needs to be bottle fed.  There is no way, he can compete with them.

Mr. Black is 2 lbs. 4 ozs.

 Here are some pics of them attempting to lap up formula.  This is a learning curve for them and they will become quite proficient in a few more days.  Then, they actually become such gobblers that in seconds, the food bowl is emptied.

Most of the pics have seven pups in them.  I do believe I snapped one with all eight.  :+)

A couple of pics of the pup pile sleeping.

 They looked so peaceful and snuggly, I could not resist sneaking a pic or two.

TWO WEEKS - JONNIE X HOBBS

 Aside from moving into the Pup Room last week, not much has changed.  Pups have gained weight, some more than others but that is normal.  Most of them have opened up their eyes but that changes from day to day.  As the pics will show, the eyes are still quite cloudy and won't clear out for another week or so.  The ears are also beginning to open.  They move around a bit but still mostly scoot. 

In another week, they will begin to actually look like puppies rather than neonates.  Until then, it still is eat, sleep, eliminate - not necessarily in that order.  :+)

It appears Purple Girl is smelling the daisies.

Little Teal Girl may be thinking of eating one!

Peach is one chunky monkey - being the biggest in the litter at the moment.

I think sleepy Green Boy is enjoying the First Day of Spring.

Brown Collar Boy does NOT want to open his eyes to welcome Spring.

Red Collar Boy nestles into the artificial greenery.

Just a smidgen under 2 lbs., but a handful of hunk, Blue Boy will challenge Peach Girl 

for the biggest pup.

Mr. Content is Black Collar Boy.

Jonnie.

 I gave Jonnie a bath last week and today I finally groomed her.  She was super, super good about being brushed, combed, clipped and trimmed.  Kudos to her family for all the touching on toes, face, ears, tail and body.  Her professional groomer is also commended for doing a great job with clipper noises and handling.  Just makes what I do less stressful for mom.  :+)

Thought you would enjoy some pics.  :+)

I think Jonnie is very happy to have her 'figure' back.

Freshly groomed and back to nursing her babes.  Some of these pups are really chunky!

We are a week old today! (Jonnie x Hobbs Litter)

All eight pups have made it through their first week - yea!  Jonnie continues to eat well and takes care of her pups. It is a very time consuming job for moms as we human mothers know. 

The pups don't do much but crawl, cry, sleep, eat and eliminate round the clock.  In the upcoming weeks, their personalities will begin to show and pictures will be more fun.  Till then, 'school portraits' will be the norm.  :+)

Blue Collar is a hefty boy and weighs in at 1 lb. 4 ounces.

Mr. Brown Collar is a little guy with a lovely two toned suit of chocolate and tan.  He reminds me of a Twix candy bar.  :+).  Weighs only 10 1/8 ounces.

Red Collar boy is a solid 1 pound today.  I love his white 'goatee'.

Another chunk is Green Collar boy.  He weighs 1 lb. 1 oz.  

His 'rusty' color will become more intense as he grows.

This girl will rival Blue Collar for biggest in the litter.  

Peach Collar is also1 lb. 4 oz!

Purple Collar girl is another one the favors her daddy, Hobbs, for being

little.  She weighs 10 3/4 ounces today.

This phantom male is Black Collar boy.  He just missed the one pound marker.

Black Collar weighs 15 5/8 ounces this morning.

Teal Collar is the tiniest in the litter weighing only 9 5/8 ounces.  She fights

for her nipple like the big guys do and does not give up!  She looks like a tiny YODA' with those ears!

Such a blessing...

 I am so thankful to my dear husband and wonderful grandson for building this wonderful device to save my back (and numerous head bumps).  This makes taking care of the pups and moms more functional and convenient.

My litters are always delivered under my 'table' desk in the corner of the office.  It is dark, free from drafts and cave-like which helps moms feel safe and secure.  However, crawling under to check on pups and moms is hazardous to my knees and head!  So, after reading an article on hydraulic lifts (not what I wanted) for whelping puppies my brain started churning.  

This is what we came up with:

A solid piece of plywood that was cut in a circle to fit perfectly under the kiddie pool.

Casters that roll in every direction were added to the bottom and then tips ground off so it had no pointy edges to cause injury.  Our grandson is hard at work on this with Gramp's supervision.  :+) 

Next, the comfy cover was added with a 'traction mat' so pups can move easily to find mommy.  This prevents knee, elbow or hip slippage on the newborns.

Now, I can easily pull out and push in the pool as needed.  I can't tell you what a difference this makes for taking care of pups, mommy, changing the covers or simply watching these dear ones sleep.  Big hugs to hubby and grandson for doing this project!  SMOOCH!!