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In With a BANG!!!!
Miss Tusi’s bouncing babies arrived with a BLAST over the weekend which gave us a HUGE reason to start celebrating early!!!! 11 beautiful little ridgebacks were born - 6 girls and 5 boys !!! Unfortunately, the 4 th pup born, a boy, did not make it and was the catalyst for us to realize that something had gone wrong with the delivery. A trip to the vet, ultrasounds, x-rays, lots of tests and anxiety and finally a c-section revealed that Tusi’s uterus had twisted and there was no possible way for her to have continued to give birth naturally. We were very fortunate that our vets were able to diagnose this quickly and take the puppies in time to save them and Tusi as this is a very dangerous event for all. They had to stay with the vet all weekend but all are home now and doing well – 6 girls and 4 boys!!!! Tusi is doing well and is a SUPER mom, just like her incredible mother, Mink!!! She has LOTS of milk, loves her babies dearly and is very concerned and gentle with them.
All the pups are ridged, although a couple of the girls have extra crowns/colics, no dermoid sinus’s so far, no cleft palates, no excessive white, no white tipped tails. The most I can note at this time is a couple little tails that have bumps in them - what the vets call ‘fetal malpositioning’ which just means their little tails got squished!!!! Most are dark red with black masks, a few are a little lighter red gold but still with black masks, which is very striking!!!
All is well !!!!
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The BEST Part of Waking Up!!!
Incredible as it may seem, Tusi’s little wigglers have DOUBLED in size in only a week!!! They are chubby, fuzzy and NOISEY!!! . Mostly just whines, whimpers, and squeals followed by enthusiastic sucking!! Tusi has lots of milk and genuinely loves to lay with them and snuggle!!! They have already begun to go thru the fuzzy coat stage where it gets a little hard to see their ridges. In another week or so, the fuzz goes away and the ridges will be very easy to see again. Still no dermoids!!! Yeah!!!
They had a busy week for being so young. On DAY 3, they had their first check up at the Vets and had their dew claws all removed. We were very happy that NONE of the pups had rear dew claws!! Both my vet and I HATE dewclaw removal cause they DO cry, and Momma has to wait in the van or she would go nuts!!! BUT it is the right thing to do at the right age, as I know from my past life as a Vet Tech that torn dewclaws and removal as adults is much, much harder on the dog. Eyes and ears are still tight shut – it will be another week or so before we start to see squinty eyes and their ears start folding down. First toe nail trim which they HATE!!! Some things never change!!!
We have started them on the ‘Super Dog Program” which was developed by the military after years of research to determine what, if anything, will help a dog become a healthier, more intelligent, easy to train, confident and capable canine companion in the future. In short, it requires doing some very simple exercises with each pup from 3 days old until 16 days old. For more information, check out this website:
http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html
We are working on the “Litter Theme’ for these 10 little darlins!!! Every morning I get to wake up to 10 little sugar cubes that go VERY well with my morning cup of coffee!!!
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WHATZ BREWIN”
We have EYES!!! Little squinty eyes, but eyes none the less!!! I don’t think they see too well, if at all, but every day they have opened more. Their little ears are starting to flip down and lay against their heads instead of being pinned open and flat against their heads. Honestly, I really don’t think they hear all that well yet either!!! They are starting to look more like PUPPIES rather than fat little mice!!!
Got a few that have already figured out the GI Joe crawl and are making some pretty good tracks around the whelping box!!! They can sort of sit up a little, but have a tendency to tip over a lot too!!! They also do a lot of 'leaning' against what ever is handy, and then they tip over!! I expect within in few days that I will see them trying to stand, then they rock, then they tip over some more !!! I think you get the picture!!! Just in the last day or two they have begun to play with each other just a little. Mostly they have to concentrate on just being UP, but I do notice a little bit of mouthing and chewing on each other’s ears, tail, and mose. !! Mostly, the puppies just eat and sleep at this point which seems to be fine with Tusi as that is pretty much all she does too!
They have started vocalizing already too. It is not a growl and it is not a bark – we call it ‘trilling’ and that is exactly how it sounds. High and vibrating. Very, very cute and sweet. The ‘real’ growling will start soon, followed by barking and then we will never hear them trill again!!! But we will HEAR them a lot!!!!
Dew claws are all healed up just fine as are the belly buttons. ANOTHER toe nail trim!! Tusi feels fine and looks great except for she is already starting to ‘blow coat’ which is somewhat normal for a lactating momma. Means she will have a whole new hair “do” by the time the Coffee BEANERS are ready to go home!!
Which leads me to NAMES!!! We have decided that this is the COFFEE Litter as I am sure you have guessed. Not too sure who is who necessarily just yet – I need to play with them a little more and match the right name with the right puppy!!! But here are the names we will be assigning soon:
The Boys: Tazo, Baristo, Macciato, & Frappuccino
The Girls: Café’, Latte, Espresso, Mocha, Java & Chai
I think we have a very good “BLEND” brewin’ up here !!!
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COFFEE BREAK!!!
I NEED a coffee break so that I can take a chill pill and get OVER my computer taking a major BREAK !!! GRRRRRR….rrrrrrr
Anyway, I am up and running and the Little Coffee BEANERS are growing like CRAZY!! They are doing GREAT at walking, jumping, hopping and wrestling around with each other! MUCH better at the growling and barking, and no more trilling!!! Even a pathetic little howl once in a while when someone gets lost!!!! They still seem to think it is some sort of spontaneous reaction that comes from someone else however and look around like ‘DID that come out of ME ???!!!
Another weekly toenail trim and first worming was this week’s events. The wormer apparently tastes good to them cause they don’t mind the banana -ish flavor. Don’t ask me HOW I know it tastes like bananas!!!! Let’s just say I probably don’t have worms!! For that matter I probably will never get Rabies or Distemper either!!! Stuff occurs!!!
Tusi is getting a little bit sick of them now and has a tendency to lie outside the whelping box more and more. She is starting to have trouble keeping up on the milk demands so I started supplementing them with puppy mush. Let the snorkeling begin!!!!! They seem to love it and thank goodness Tusi is happy to give them a tongue bath afterwards cause they are a mess!!!!
Weather has been very nice for puppies, so they got to go outside for the first time and play in the grass. Didn’t seem to enjoy the tummy poking they got but they have gotten used to it now!!!! I have begun litterbox training them which amazingly goes very, very well as long as you start young. They use it during the night in their whelping box the majority of the time. The idea is that I am teaching them that they have a designated area where they must go potty so this will help you housebreak them when they come home to you. All you need to do is select WHERE the bathroom is going to be in YOUR yard and be sure to CARRY them to that spot the very first time you get home with them and that will help you get started on the right foot at your home.
Enjoy the pictures!!! ALL is well!
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GOOD to the Last Drop
The Blend justifies the BEANS and our little beaners are OVERFLOWING with flavor!!!!! They can run, jump, hop and are even learning to climb!!! Which means they are trying to climb out of the whelping box already!! NOOOoooo……. Neither Tusi or I are ready for that yet!!! We both need our ‘away’’ time from them where we know they are safe, not getting into trouble, and we can go do something else!!! Fortunately, I have lots of X-pens and can cage them in a little higher out in the flower garden under the trees where they can play and play but NOT get into trouble!!! They are great at barking, growling, and rolling each other around. Ears and tails are fair game!!! I have added a number of soft chewey toys to their play pen for them to start learning to play with which really saves the ears and tails!
This week they had ANOTHER toenail trim – something they endure!!! Puppy mush snorkeling is going very well for them. It is NOT pretty, but oh so satisfying!!! Tusi is still nursing them 3-4 times a day and she enjoys cleaning them up just fine, but I think she also appreciates the help keeping them FULL!!! From now on, I will have Tusi stay away from them for longer and longer periods of time during the day. The weaning process begins!! We have begun training them to follow and come when called. I wonder a few feet away, call them, and reward them when they come with GREAT pets, then wander away again. Eventually, a call of ‘puppy, puppy” has them following me all over the yard and me feeling like the pied piper of puppys!!!
They are getting easier and easier to tell apart, though you have to know them VERY well in order to do that!! Sometimes I still have to use my little birth chart to cheat and match up ‘telling’ characteristics like how much white on each foot, what size and shape is the spot on the chest, or how much mask they have. Personalities are just barely starting to show as are their teeth!!!
Here’s a quick shot of each little “Cup of Character”:
Tazo – Perfect Male, golden red, least amount of mask, small spot on chest, little bit of white on all four feet. He is fun and full of himself- couldn’t take a bad picture!!
Baristo – Perfect Male, dark red, black mask, big white spot on chest, little bit of white on front feet. He was sleepy and laid back for these pictures, but he can be a little go getter and likes to strut his stuff.
Macchiato – Perfect Male, darkest red with a black mask, almost no white on chest or feet. He is very out going, independent and always looking for adventure!! The FIRST one out of the whelping box, the FIRST one to figure out how to jump off the railroad ties into the flower patch!!!
Frappaccino – Perfect Male, dark red with a black mask, big white spot on the chest, little bit of white on the feet. Easy going, happy go lucky galoot who tends to follow Macchiatio into adventures.
Chai – Perfect Female, dark golden red with a black mask, almost no white on chest or feet. She is goofey and full of fun but still likes to snuggle too!!!
Java – Pet Female, dark golden red with medium black mask, big white spot on chest and a little bit of white on all four feet. 4 crown ridge. She is the smallest in the litter, but she is spunky and takes no guff off of her big brothers. She likes to sit in my lap and observe the world from my lap.
Café – Pet Female. golden red with the least amount of mask and almost no white anywhere. 3 crown ridge and a minor kink in the tip of her tail. She is a lap lover and likes to snuggle.
Mocha – Pet Female, darkest red with a dark mask and a squiggley crazy spot on her chest and minimal white on her feet. 3 crown ridge. Always happy and goofey and full of play.
Latte – Pet Female, golden red with a minimal black mask, HUGE spot on chest but minimal white on feet. Largest female. Kinked tail. Very expressive, happy go lucky, and fun!
Espresso – Pet Female, dark red, very black masked, big spot on chest and four white feet. 3 crown ridge. Big girl. She is a little fire ball, very outgoing, and adventurous. Very animated and full of adventure.
This age is just SOOOOO much fun. They are truly just little sweeties, so innocent, so affectionate, so huggable!!! They are good to the LAST DROP!!!!
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Blend Justifies the Beans
The Beaners have turned into their own little selves !!!! Personalities are definitely starting to show and I hope that I was able to capture some of that in their newest pictures!!! At this age, the picture taking has become a 3 person job. 1 cameraman, 1 props and set dresser, and 1 puppy wrangler and noise maker!!! It is a production, believe me!!! The outtakes are hilarious and much more numerous!! Not suitable for public viewing however!!! J If I ever manage to figure out a puppy cam, it would be GREAT fun to have you watch the process!!!!
Hopefully, the pictures give you a better idea of the individual coloring of each pup. Some are dark red (Espresso, Mocha, Macchiato), some are golden red (Café, Latte, Tazo), some have big white spots (Latte, Espresso, Java, Frappucinno, Baristo), and some have almost no white on the chest (Tazo, Café, Macchiato, Chai). As their personalities continue to develop, I can tell that Espresso, Latte and Macchiato are my ‘adventure’ pups and Java, Chai, and Tazo are just as happy being my lap lovers!! Obviously, most of them are sort of in between on everything!!!
Weaning has gone very well. Tusi is done nursing them but likes to play with them and sleep with them still. They are VERY good at eating their puppy mush. I have switched them to chicken and rice as I just can’t take the smell of that lamb anymore!!! Yikes!!! It is bad going in and HORRIBLE coming out!!! J Just as a point of reference, the ice cream bucket that I use to soak their food is no longer big enough to hold what they eat at one meal!!!! I had to switch to a larger bucket!!! I’m telling ya, they are GOOD little eaters. And nice and chubby!!!
Another toe nail trim of course!! This week they also got wormed for the second time – still that good tasting banana stuff!!! Their teeth are coming in nicely and they are beginning to know how to use them REALLY well !!! No wonder Tusi has ended the nursing sessions!!!!
I have started to have them sleep in a big crate so that they are getting used to the idea that a crate is their den or bed. This should help crate training go better later! They spend all day outside now in the small puppy play pen and have learned to potty in the grass. I believe this helps them understand housebreaking later as well. Plus it is easier to clean up after them!!! This coming week, they will get to start playing in the BIG puppy plan pen that has big live trees, a big downed tree trunk and big rocks to run and chase around. They are really into abusing their toys!!! I try to give them something new and interesting to play with every day or so. Actually, that is about all the longer the toys last!!! Kongs and ropes are the best.
No GROUNDS for complaint on anything with the little BEANERS!!! I’m trying to brew them to perfection so the BLend will justify the beans!!!
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Man’s BEST Blend
The Coffee Beaners have been brewed to perfection into full bodied cups of character!! This week they enjoyed the BIG puppy playpen where they have big trees, big rocks and LOTS of room to PLAY!!! They love running, jumping, climbing and getting into every thing they are NOT supposed to be into!!! It is nearly impossible to keep track of them at the same time OR keep them from getting each other in trouble!!! They are soooooo much fun!!!
They are completely weaned from Momma and eating very well on their own. All are still gaining weight and size expotentially!!! Teeth are very definitely in and being used!!! Tusi likes to play with them daily, but she has gone on to her new life – Therapy Dog!!! She and Lori are one of my teams in our Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog class and will be a phenomenal Therapy Dog team. The whole litter, plus parents Tusi and Walley, went with us on a Therapy dog adventure to visit the kids at Volunteers of America. What fun they had with the kids!!!! Each pup is their own little self, so the end justifies the BEAN!!!
Coming up will be a BIG week!! We are off to the Vet tomorrow for their final check up before going home. I don’t anticipate any problems, but the vet will check for things like heart murmurs, clear lungs, all testicles down, etc….. My vet fills out a LONG checklist for each pup, so that every possible health check has been done and documented. A copy is included with all other health documents for each puppy. They get their first puppy shot (OUCH!), wormed AGAIN (yuck!), and microchipped for permanent identification (BIG OUCH!!) Considering the size of the microchip needle, it is pretty impressive how well our little Beaners take it!!! No crying!!! It helps that we rather quickly give them the good tasting wormer!!! Don’t ask me how I KNOW that it is good tasting!!! They like going to the vet because everyone takes their turn holding and playing with them so they get lots of attention and treats.
This has truly been a litter GOOD to the LAST DROP !!!! I have no grounds for complaint and KNOW that GREAT and LUCKY new families await them to be their “Man’s BEST Blend”!!!!
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