Puppy Journal
Mar 2, 2004 - Megan started having puppies at around 9:00am Feb 29th. She had 5 of them by 3:00pm that same day. After staying with her until 9:00pm that night, we thought she was done. She didn't seem to be comfortable though. The following morning she had two more. One dead and one alive. Because she was having problems we gave her a shot of oxytocin. Since she did not have any more within an hour or so of the shot, she was suppose to be done. We kept an eye on her until 9:00 - 9:30pm that night since she still was not acting relaxed. This morning we came out to find that she had whelped another puppy that was not alive. So, we gave her another shot of oxytocin and kept an eye on her. She seemed to be a little more relaxed and by tonight she was starting to be back to her self again. Final results - 6 puppies ( 5 Female, 1 Male ).
Mar 4, 2004 - The puppies are growing!! Megan seems to be taking very good care of her little ones. Molly, our other dog, just doesn't know what to do around the little ones. When they start whining and making noise, it seems to stress her out. I think she gets more worried about them than Megan does. :) A bit of sad news, last night we come home to find that a puppy was not alive. Turns out that it was the male puppy. That was the puppy that was born on March 1. We had our doubts whether that puppy would make it or not. It would eat a little, but nothing like the other ones. The remaining 5 puppies are quite a sight. They love to eat and sleep. They seem to be quieting down some now and sometimes don't even make a peep. Maybe now, Molly can get some sleep. :) Well, tomorrow they go to get their dew claws removed. That should be interesting.
Mar 6, 2004 - The puppies had a big day yesterday. At 8:30am they got their dew claws removed. None of the pups had any on their hind legs, just the front ones. This was the first time that I had ever seen the procedure done. First the claw was pinched with some sort of a dull pair of scissors, then the claw was cut off. They really didn't bleed that much, but the vet applied glue to the area to help seal the area so no bleeding would occur. Other than that it has been pretty quiet. The puppies are keeping pretty quiet and mostly eating and sleeping.
Mar 10, 2004 - Well, the puppies are starting to open their eyes. One of them has its eyes open half way or better. They are getting so big. They are starting to do more of a walk now instead of just crawling around. They sure can tell when mommy comes into the pen. You can't stop them from heading towards her. Tonight we heard one of them find their bark for the first time. Once it started, it didn't want to stop. It was pretty funny. I don't think Megan or Molly knew what to do.
Mar 14, 2004 - The puppies have their eyes open!!!! Along with that they are gaining strength in their legs. With some time they can get from one spot to the other pretty good. Once they get their balance, we are in trouble. :) After watching them this afternoon, we might have to modify their pen a bit. They can see mommy now and when she walks by the pen, they like to get up to the door and are starting to stick their head through the opening. It's amazing the mobility they have gained in the last 2-3 days. Can't wait for the next 2-3 days.
Mar 17, 2004 - Just a quick entry to say that the puppies are doing great. They are getting bigger and more active each day. Tonight the first puppy made it outside of their pen. It seen mommy sitting there and decided it would climb out the door and go visit her. Hopefully we can make it until this weekend before we have to modify the pen so they can't get out. We don't need puppies wandering out and about.
Mar 21, 2004 - Today was day 22 for the puppies. We introduced them to their first taste of water and puppy food. Not every one was quick to pick up on these new tastes, but a few of them couldn't get enough. As you see in the pictures, Cloey (the one we are keeping) got right into the dish and helped herself while the rest just liked to be fed from our fingers. They are getting more active and are starting to play with each other. They are also starting to recognize our voices and when they hear us, their little ears perk up and they look up at us. Until next time.
Mar 24, 2004 - Tonight the puppies broke out of their shell. They started to explore the garage. If there was an opening, they wanted to check it out. They now like to wrestle with each other and bark back and forth. They really are starting to get their own personality. Shelley and I laughed and laughed at their behaviors and little quirks that they seem to have. They are in their fun stage now. We also got all 5 of them to eat out of the pan tonight. They were hungry as they ate every little piece that was given to them. Sounds like it is going to be warm this weekend, so maybe we will take them outside and let them explore.
Mar 29, 2004 - Well, we took the puppies outside this past weekend, but they were too scared to move. So, we brought them back in. Boy do they like to terrorize everything and everyone in the garage. They like to explore and run around now. They also like biting and barking at each other. They are getting into their chewing stage so we gave them 2 old socks tonight. They enjoyed playing and chewing on them. Cloey even got into a tug of war match with Molly. Cloey would pull a bit, then it was Molly's turn to pull. They are really starting to eat now. They eat a pan full twice a day. I'm sure Megan doesn't mind us feeding them. :) The weeks seem to fly by and the puppies are already 4 weeks old.
Apr 8, 2004 - The puppies got their 6 week shots today. They all took it pretty good. No major whining from any of them. They were also wormed and had their weight taken. We had 3 at 8lbs, 1 at 9lbs and Cloey came in at 10lbs. They enjoy being outside and running around. Hopefully the weather will keep warming up so they can spend more time outside.
Apr 21, 2004 - One of the puppies (Sweetie) had a dew claw come back so we took it in today to have it removed. They had to put the puppy under to do the procedure. They put stitches in to help the incision heal and put a wrap on it that will need to be removed in a day or so. The stitches need to come out in 10 days. The puppies are getting so big.
Apr 24, 2004 - Well, Shelley's brother came and got their puppy. They ended up taking Angel. The kids seemed excited to take her home with them. Well, that's one down, 3 more to go. We have another one spoken for so that leaves us with 2 left to find homes for. They are growing and have lots of energy. Between the puppies and Megan and Molly, we went through about 70lbs of dog food this week. We won't be able to keep up with them pretty quick. :)
Apr 29, 2004 - We put an ad in the Gazette yesterday for the puppies, and the phone is ringing off the hook. Someone came and got one of the puppies tonight. They left a message and when we got home, we called them back and they said that they would be over to pick one out. Shouldn't be hard to get rid of the last one. We need to return some calls see.
May 1, 2004 - Well, we got home late last night and had 8 messages on the phone from people wanting to see the puppies. We called one back and they came and took the last puppy. Ends up, that they are neighbors to the ones who came and got the other puppy. We called them back first because we thought it would be nice if the puppies can see each other once in a while. Sounds like they will get to play with one another. Down to one puppy left and that goes to Shelley's brother.
May 23, 2004 - It's been a while since I updated this, but there hasn't been any activity. We still have Shelley's brother's puppy. They can't take it until they get moved so we are keeping it for them. Her name is Lady. Her and Cloey just love playing with each other. They are getting big and are starting to gang up on Molly. She doesn't appreciate that either. I think this is the last entry here, seeings how there isn't much to update. Good-bye.