FELINE Fiesta !!!

This was a BIG week!! The FIESTA’S went to the Vet on Friday to have their final exam which is a VERY thorough going over and can be somewhat embarrassing for them at times, if ya know what I’m sayin’!!! They do get lots of treats, kisses and hugs from everyone so that certainly helps. They got microchipped (BIG OUCH!), wormed again (yuck), and got a little poke ,that they didn’t hardly feel, for their first set of puppy shots. Checked hearts, lungs, eyes, ears, belly buttons, personals and yet another toe nail trim!!! All hearts sounded good, lungs clear, ALL testicles down - They are READY!!!

The Fiesta Litter have been busy, busy!!!! The final photo shoot went slow but well - Grandma was taking them alone!! and they don’t sit still for long!! They REALLY enjoyed meeting their first “BIG CAT”!!!! They are completely weaned now, though Momma Mini does like to play with them. She has to keep moving at all times or they still try to nurse, so she does lots of running and hopping and teasing them so that they get ALLLLLL riled up and go WILD !!!! This is a good thing!!! A tired puppy is a good puppy!!! Remember that!!! J

Grandma June has been VERY busy getting all their paperwork filled out, planning their trips home, and starting the process of letting go….. sigh. The Fiesta’s have been one big long party, BUT it is time to let them go PARTY at YOUR house!!!

Pinata Puppy Play

I have released the HOUNDS! – which means the Fiesta’s have lots more room to play and are learning how to enjoy every inch of it!!! Their playpen has tripled in size and every day new toys are introduced for them to destroy!!! Fortunately, that means ears and tails have gained a reprieve!! The Fiesta’s can run, jump, hop and flop which they do with loads of enthusiasm before once again CRASHING for power naps.

Mini Me only nurses them twice a day now, and they are down to being fed puppy mush 3 times a day as well. Smaller meals, more frequently, is still the name of the game. They are all pleasantly plump and growing FAST !!! Another week or so and they will be completely weaned. Mini likes to play with them, and is amazingly tolerant of them!!! She tends to be on the receiving end of their sharp little teeth too!!! Their teeth are pretty much completely in and all look GREAT !!! Yeah, another hurdle has been cleared!!! Health events of the week were – another toenail trim, and a second worming. This time I used a different wormer that doesn’t taste quite as good. Again, don’t ask me HOW I know that!!!

Still using the litter box like little troopers or poopers!!! I had to make that bigger too (12 pooping puppies requires a LARGE litter box!) and I started to use cedar saw dust as it smells really good, soaks up well, and cleans up well too. Crate training has begun – I use a GIANT airline crate made of plastic so they are getting 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.

This week, the Fiesta’s have begun to really be themselves!!! Personalities are showing, variations in coloring makes them unique. Here’s some comparisons that may help you tell them apart!! Keep in mind that most of the time these differences are very, very slight especially amongst the pups in the middle. Personalities will continue to develop, coloring for the most part tends to blend together with age, 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.


FEMALES:

Size – Biggest to Smallest

Chimichunga, Salsa, Chili, Chalupa, Gordita, Empanada

Masks – Darkest to Lightest

Chimichunga, Chili, Salsa, Gordita, Empanada, Chalupa

Coat Color - Reddest to Golden Red

Chili, Chimichunga, Gordita, Salsa, Empanada, Chalupa

Energy level – Wild to Mild

Chimichunga, Empanada, Salsa, Chili, Chalupa, Gordita



MALES:

Size – Biggest to Smallest

Tortilla, Nacho, Taco, Fajita, Burrito, Relleno

Masks – Darkest to Lightest

Tortilla, Fajita, Taco, Nacho, Burrito, Relleno

Coat Color – Reddest to Golden Red

Tortilla, Fajita, Taco, Nacho, Burrito, Relleno

Energy level – Wild to Mild

Fajita, Nacho, Tortilla, Taco, Burrito, Relleno

Frigid Fiesta!

We are fighting the frigid February by thinking HOT HOT HOT !!! Our twelve little “Fiesta’s” have the heat on high and have REALLY grown this first week! They are at least twice as big as they were on their Birth Day because they have eating and sleeping down to perfection!!! Because I nearly LIVE in the whelping box this first week, I regularly rotate the biggest 6 out so that the littlest 6 get a chance to REALLY get a good meal. We use Nutri-Cal, a very high energy paste, every day to help boost their little systems too.

I think we are just beginning to see a hint of eyes starting to come open!! Usually by two weeks they are definitely opening their eyes. Did you know that their eyes are ALWAYS blue when they first come open? They will darken every day and by the time they go home to their new families, they will be mostly dark brown. Their little ears have started to flip down and will open soon as well. They are pretty quiet for the most part except for tiny little whines and whimpers followed by enthusiastic sucking!! Toenails were the focus of the week.!!! On Monday, at four days old, they had their first checkup with the vet and had their dew claws removed which went very well. Did you know that we use veterinary super glue to hold the skin together after they are removed? Really makes scaring less likely. They also had their first toenail trim! It takes quite a little time to trim 4 toenails on the 4 feet of 12 puppies - especially when they are so squirmy!!! I know Momma Mini appreciates the removal of 192 little daggers!!! Check out how fuzzy they are!!! I don't know why this happens, but it always does - their fur gets real fuzzy making it quite difficult to see the ridge especially the crowns (hair colics) that form the ridge. They will be fuzzy for about two weeks and then one day they just AREN'T anymore!! Navels all look good - no 'outeys' I hope.

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

Obviously, I have chosen the litter theme!! - The Fiesta Litter!!! 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. Understand that this is simply a litter name, you can name your puppy anything you want to later. 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 a name like Nacho, Chalupa, Tortilla, Taco, Burrito …….!!!

What a day we all had!!! Miss Mini labored lightly all night with me at her side (albeit some what semi conscious sometimes !!) and FINALLY decided to have her first born at 10:01 am. She had her last at 9:00 pm !!! She really did not have any trouble delivering--- it is just that she birthed TWELVE puppies !!!! The delivery did NOT go as I planned; however, as I got a call from, Paul, one of my ‘adopted” children, at 8:00 am telling me that he was seriously ill and would I please come ASAP!!! I knew I could not leave Mini Me alone, so I begged for help from my son in law’s little sister, Theresa, who works at a doggee day care/boarding facility, is training to be a groomer, LOVES dogs, BUT has never delivered puppies !!! I assured her that I had everything ready to go, that Mini knows what she is doing and is a GREAT momma, and that I was pretty sure I would be back before she had any pups!!! Well……I spent 5 hours in the emergency room and ……..poor Theresa delivered the first 6 pups before I got home !!! Nothing like giving delivery instructions to someone over the phone!!!! Theresa was in tears, not from fear – she did FABULOUS! – but from the sheer joy of witnessing and participating in her first birth !!! She says it was one of the best experiences of her life!! I am MUCH relieved to have it turn out that way for her!! THANK YOU so much, Theresa, from Paul and I !!!!

I helped Mini Me finish up at a much slower pace, made my birthing chart documenting important things like gender, ridge, tail, feet coloring, chest coloring, body coat color, face coloring etc….. so that basically I can tell them apart beginning at birth. I documented that we had 7 girls and 5 boys - a LARGE, beautiful litter. All have ridges – might even have 12 perfect, showable ridges !!! As they age, I will really get picky and will note any that may have off set crowns or too short but at first look – a wet look ! – they all looked REALLY good to me!!! I have one female with a pretty little white foot which may be enough to be called “excessive” – we’ll see. I have a couple who may have tiny bumps in the tip of their tails, and a couple that have a bit of a kink at the top of their tails which can be either genetic OR, most likely, due to ‘fetal malpositioning” which means their little tails got SQUISHED !!! Sometimes, those kinks smooth out now that they can stretch their tails out, so again I will be making notes and letting you know what I find for sure.

Mini Me is a FABULOUS mother - so careful not to lay or step on any of them and a great milker !!! All are getting chubby already!!! They weighed between 13 and 17 oz at birth, and will generally double in size almost every week for the next 3-4 weeks !! Amazing food conversion !!!! All appear to be black nosed, some are REALLY dark red with really black masks and some are a little more golden red with a medium black mask. All have white on their chests – some almost none, some with BIG spots! As they age, they will each develop into their own little selves!!!

Last night, I sorted them out by gender to check belly buttons, compare coloring, and just give them another good go over. My piles had 6 pups in each pile !!!! WHAT……….???!!!!! Another very personal check and YOU GUESSED it ----- 6 Boys and 6 Girls !!!! I have figured out WHO got mis identified and it was the last one born at 9;00 pm. I plead exhaustion !!!!

Pretty much at this point they eat and sleep and then eat and sleep some more !! All is well.  Enjoy the pictures!!!