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Bye, Bye, Love! Bye, Bye Happiness!
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What a “BOSS” week our little ankle biters are having!!! They have really grown and are now in the big puppy play pen where they have lots of grass, big rocks, and a huge downed tree trunk to run and chase around. What fun they have exploring their new world, and how tired they get!!! Remember, a tired puppy is a GOOD puppy!!! Every day we work on “come” and “kennel” which earns them “COOKIES”! They like “K” sounding words!!!
They had their final vet check yesterday. Everyone weighed in between 10 pounds (ChaChi) and 14 pounds (Lenny). They got 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 Happy Dayers handle it!!! It helps that we rather quickly give them the good tasting wormer!!! Don’t ask me how I KNOW that it is good tasting!!! Lets just assume that I don’t have worms nor will I ever have Rabies or Distemper! I have a check list my vet fills out that lists every possible body part so that she can make notations if she thinks there is anything you or your vet should be aware of. I will send a copy in each puppies going home packet.
All pups have great hearts, all lungs are good, teeth are beautiful, one tiny hernia that will not need to be corrected, missing one or two testicles yet, but there is still time for them to come down. Very nice healthy litter!!! We have LOADS of fun visiting with all the Ridgeback Lovers at the vet clinic!!!
Each pup has become their own little selves!!! Fonzie, Potsie, and LaVerne continue to be full of themselves, energetic, confident, and loads of sassiness and fun. Lenny, Squiggy, Richie, Ralph, Shirley are right behind always spunky and playful, even just goofey!!! And then there are ChaChi and Al who are so sweet, kind & gentle and just want to be snuggled and hugged!!!
These “HAPPY DAYS” have been mine and now it is time for them to be YOURS!!!!
Sooo…. It’s time to say BYE, BYE LOVES! BYE BYE HAPPINESS!
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They ain’t nothin’ but HOUND DOGS!!! Cryin’ all the time!!!!
I have RELEASED the hounds!!! Their very “Happy Days” are spent outside most of the time playing in the portable exercise pens that can be moved easily around the lawn to follow the shade or the sun depending on the temperature!! They experienced grass, bugs, birds, and worms but “ain’t never caught a rabbit” – yet anyway!!! I am teaching them to come when called and to follow me around the yard. I sometimes feel like the pied piper of puppies as the trail after me on our twice daily ‘walk abouts”! They especially enjoy “helping’ me pick the prickly raspberries, the fuzzy green beans, and the super sweet sugar peas, but they are a little hard on my 80 year old mother’s lilies!!! The purpose of teaching them to follow me is not only so they learn to come when called, but also it is part of the house training process. The idea is that they learn that they have a designated area where they must go potty. 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. Crate training has also begun! I use a GIANT plastic crate so they get the idea that their bedroom is cozy and dark like a den. Hopefully, this will help you continue crate training when they come home to you. One big difference, however, they will be ALONE for the first time!!! Hang in there – it is worth it!!! – and will help you housebreak your puppy!
Momma Aiko is getting pretty tired of them and will not lie down to feed them at all anymore, so they just nurse hanging off of her which appears to be extremely uncomfortable especially now that they have TEETH!!! Even another weekly toenail trim can’t compensate for TEETH!!! She feeds them only once or twice a day if I make her, so this week we will finish the weaning process. They have been snorkeling in their puppy mush 2-3 times a day now for almost a week. Thank goodness Aiko is willing to clean them up!!! Another yummy flavored worming!!!
Just in the last few days, I have begun to notice little differences in color, size and even personalities as they each become their own unique little selves. Keep in mind that these differences are generally VERY slight, but do make it possible for someone who pretty much lives with them to tell them apart!!! Personalities will continue to develop, coloring for the most part tends to blend together with age (if you like the white – enjoy it now as it will freckle and fade), size will constantly change as they go thru their own growth spurts. The males are already getting bigger than the females, however which is typical.
Let me introduce you to the Happy Days Cast:
Faultless Females:
LaVerne – dark red, dark mask, medium spot on chest, white left front foot
Feisty and up to mischief!
Shirley – dark red, dark mask, medium spot on chest, minimal white on feet
Laid back but can be pretty spunky
Pet Males:
Potsie – very dark red, dark mask, large spot on chest, big, 3 crown ridge
Full of himself and very outgoing
Al – medium red, minimal mask, large spot on chest, bump tail
Snuggle bug and lap lover
Faultless Males:
ChaChi – medium red, minimal mask, big spot on chest, smallest male
Sweet, kind, and loves to observe from my lap
Fonzie – very dark red, dark mask, small spot on chest, big
SASSY and full of himself, always up for a new adventure
Ralph – very dark red, minimal mask, medium spot on chest, big
Happy go lucky galoot, easily joins in the latest fiasco
Richie – golden red, dark mask, large spot on chest, big
Independent, leader in training, easily influenced by LaVerne & Fonzi
Squiggy – very dark red, dark mask, squiggley lines on chest, big
Funny, goofey, easy, easy going
Lenny – medium red, dark mask, large spot on chest, biggest male
Explorer, likes things and attention
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Shake, Rattle and Roll!
We have puppies!!!! The Rockin’ & Rollin’ has turned into Shakes, Rattles and more Rollin’!!! Our little darlin’s can walk and hop, sometimes even muster up a couple jumps and runs!!! They love to play with each other and that’s where the shakes, rattles and rolls come in as they tussle with each other!!! Ears, tails and toes are fair game!!! And that includes Momma’s ears, tail and toes!!! They are really fun at this age as they discover their new world. Soon, they will be big enough to go outside – “Cruisin for a Bruisin”!!!
Their whimpering, whining and trilling has turned into full fledged barks and even pathetic attempts at a growl once in awhile!! Then they flip out and bust some new moves as they don’t know where that strange noise came from!!!
Healthwise, they got wormed for the first time – yummy!!!! They actually like the strongid as it tastes like bananas! (Don’t ask me how I KNOW that!) They will be wormed again at 5 and 8 weeks right before they go home – all preventative!!! Another weekly toenail trim which again Aiko really appreciates! Still no teeth yet, but I think they will begin to emerge soon. Aiko is not looking forward to that! She seems to be getting a little sick of the whole process and does not lay with them all the time anymore which is fine as 10 little hot bodies produce a whole lot of heat!!!
All the baby fuzz has split from their hair and the ridges are easily seen again!! Crazy, but the ‘off crown’ boy is actually a “3 crown” boy!!!
The Happy Days gang has NAMES!!!
The girls are LaVerne and Shirley
The boys are Fonzi, Richie, Potsy, Ralph, Lenny, Squiggy, ChaChi and Al
Now that they are becoming ‘cool cats’ rather than ‘ankle biters”, I will begin to assign the right name to the right puppy!!!
Be sure to do some eyeballing and put your dibs in on which pups are catching your eye!!!
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Rockin’ & Rollin’ at the HOP !!
Our chubby little Rockers and Rollers have figured out how to Rock & Roll!!! Well sort of anyway!! They have begun to do their G-I Joe crawl and occasionally manage to get up on all fours to do some rockin’, and well …… then they do some serious rollin’ !!! Rhythm is a serious issue and takes practice!!!
We have EYES!!! Some are a little squinty yet, and all are blue! I really don’t think they see too well yet, but that improves daily. Eventually, their eyes will turn a deep amber to dark brown. Their ears have opened and are starting to flip down into proper hound position. Honestly, I don’t think they hear to well yet either!! They are pretty quiet for the most part, a few little whines and whimpers, generally followed by enthusiastic sucking noises. They will be cranking up the sound soon – believe me!!!
They are going to their ‘fuzzy’ stage where their ridges sort of disappear into an afro!!! Kind of jumped to the next decade, but I’m sure I could get them to slick right back if I would just use a little ‘Grease” on them!!! Not to worry, their ridges will be back again soon. Dew claws are completely healed over, no outey bellybuttons, another toenail trim!!!
Aiko continues to be a fabulous momma. She has lots of milk, takes very good care of them, and she likes to do what they do which is eat and sleep, eat and sleep!!! Her enthusiastic tongue baths add a whole new element to their rockin’ and rollin’ efforts too!!!
We are having great fun with our litter theme – Happy Days! – and speculating on who will be whom!! Understand that this is simply a litter name - you can name your puppy anything you want to later. We think it is much more fun to talk about the puppies by a name rather than by a number or a color, hence the themes. It will be a few weeks yet before we actually assign the names to each pup because we kind of like to match the right name to the right pup!!! It’s going to take some power play time to decide which puppy fits each name!
Feels so Right, it can’t be wrong!! Rockin’ and Rollin’ all Week LONG!!!
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HAPPY DAYS!
Or should I say HAPPY “DAZE” ??!! Aiko and I are still struggling to keep up with all the requirements of being a new mom and ‘Grandma’!!! It takes a lot of time and attention to deal with 10 new babies especially when you are tired to begin with!! But it IS a HAPPY DAZE!!!
Aiko is a GREAT momma and the puppies have nearly doubled in size this week. All are about the same size and all are chubby!!! Their belly buttons have healed up very nicely and so are their dew claws. My veterinarian prefers to use “super glue” to seal them up rather than stitches which works amazingly well. It will take another week or so for them to completely heal but all look good so far. Aiko appreciated the first toenail trim the babies all received!!! The removal of 80 little daggers happily signals the end of another type of painful daze!! They will have weekly toenails trims from here on out.
No eyes yet, and ears are still closed too, which means our little pups happily live in silence and darkness - blissfully unaware of any thing other than ‘Where’s Lunch?” On day 3 they started their “SUPER DOG” program to help them grow up to be smart, capable, calm and obedient adults. It is a series of simple exercises that we do from day 3 to day 19 that really helps them get started on a sure foot. You can check it out at http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html
Obviously, we have chosen our litter theme – HAPPY DAYS!!! We are checking into all the name possibilities involved with that great TV show and era!!! Then we will have to wait to see who fits a name like Fonzi, Potsy, Ralph, Chachi, Squiggy, Laverne or Shirley!!! Takes some BIG paws to step into those Blue Suede Shoes!!!!
Happy Days are HERE !!!!
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We are PROUD parents of PUPPIES!!! 10 PUPPIES!!!! They were born in a somewhat lengthy marathon birth that had me a bit concerned at times, but Aiko was a real trooper and delivered all of them ALIVE which is such a relief!!!
Our first baby, a girl, was born at 7:45 am on Wednesday, followed by another girl about 1.5 hours later and then…….8 boys in a row!!! The last boy was born about 6:30 am on Thursday morning so both Aiko and I were pretty much exhausted!!! A trip to my vet Thursday morning for x-rays and a check up to make sure she was done having puppies and that she was as good as could be expected made us all feel better. As a precaution and to be proactive, my vet suggested an antibiotic to make sure Aiko recovered without any complications. Which she IS!!! She is eating A LOT!! – about 6 cups of high fat puppy chow (for HIGH fat milk !), twice daily with lots of little extra flavorings added to tempt her into eating! She looks wonderful and is a VERY, very good momma!!!
So our 2 girls and 8 boys, who took an entire day to arrive, are already getting CHUBBY!!! They weighed between 12 oz and 17 oz with the majority of them weighing in at a very nice 14 oz. Most are quite dark, reddish black with black faces. There are a couple who have less black mask, and there is one male with a dark mask but he is a light golden red – very, very striking coloring contrast. All have black noses, all are ridged, no dermoid sinus’s so far, no excessive white on any pups but all have white on their chests - some have lots some have just a little! So far the only faults I have noted are one male has crowns/colics that are a little ‘off’ or unsymmetrical, and one little male has a ‘kinked’ tail which just means that his little tail got squished and there for bent in the wrong direction while he was crammed together with the rest of his litter. Now that he is no longer being squished, I believe it will straighten out some, but he will probably always have a ‘kink’ that can be felt but not necessarily seen. Time will tell!!!
Saturday morning, Aiko and her pups were back to the vet again to get another check up and the pups had their dew claws removed. All of the pups had front dewclaws and none of them had rear dew claws, which both my vet and I, (to say nothing of the puppies!), appreciate!!! It is the right thing to do at the right time of their lives, and is sooo……much easier on them as a puppy than it is as an adult especially if they have torn them. They will have a small scar on the inside of their front legs which should not bother them at all in the future.
Now that they are all safely here, pretty much all they do is eat, sleep, then eat and sleep some more!!!! Enjoy the BIRTH Day pictures and I will work hard at coming up with a PERFECT litter theme for this male heavy group of cuties!!!
All is well!!
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