Monster Puppies News

Update on me and my dogs

2009-12-19T04:41:00.001-08:00

You would think it would be easier to not breed a dog, but it isn’t. Raina is on a break right now, but is also in heat. I realized it was happening a couple of weeks ago when Gus started using his “hey baby” tail wag. If you saw that wag you would know exactly what I mean. The “boys” Gus and Moose have been barking their desire for a week and a half. I am not sleeping well.

Raina has reached her fertile days during the heat cycle. When they get to that point the females are aggressive about seeking a male. I can’t let her out without supervision even in the fenced yard. Yesterday Raina was humping my new 11-week old puppy. Today while Raina was at the groomer, the puppy was being humped by Gus. Now that Raina is home, Reggie who is an elderly, spayed female is humping Raina. This drive to procreate seems almost desperate. I am glad I am not a dog.

Beanie Baby is my new Yorkie puppy. She is a character. She sticks to my ankles like she is fastened there with Velcro. I originally tried to have her sleep in the puppy room but she screeched all night. I tried it for 4 nights. On the 5th night I put her in the crate next to Gus hoping the company would calm her. She screamed even louder! Now she sleeps in a dog bed on the floor of my bedroom, quietly and all night. I got one good night of sleep then Gus started howling his desire to mate. Oh well, my life would be very boring if it weren’t for these dogs.

Raina's September 2009 puppies

2009-10-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

I should have done something for the new puppies. I plead floods since a lot of the area around me was devastated by flooding. I was very lucky and there is only a small amount of damage to my driveway from flooding. It’s amazing to see how high the water got. I applied to FEMA to see if they will help with the repair. It rained last night and more of the driveway washed away. I have my fingers crossed.

The pups are so fat and healthy. I just love picking them up. None of them has a nickname yet since all they do is sleep and eat. Only one of them has fallen out of the bed, but I think that was really Raina’s fault. They were nursing and she jumped up to come after me. The last puppy still attached held on until it was free of the bed. I don’t remember which it was or a nickname may come out of that incident.

I scared myself the Saturday after the pups were born. I weighed them to check their progress and it appeared that they had all lost weight! I almost called the vet right then. I did some checking on the Internet and of course everything said to get them to the vet immediately. I just kept thinking that there wasn’t anything wrong. They were eating. Raina was nursing them on demand. Their behavior was appropriate. Later in the day it suddenly occurred to me that they had been wrapped in wash cloths when I weighed them the day they were born. I didn’t use wash cloths on Saturday. DUH! By the way there are 2 boys and 1 girl. Green and blue are boys and the yellow is the female. This time there aren't any big differences in size. They have been about the same size since birth.

The next milestone will be their opening their eyes. It should be happening any day now. The female has been exercising her front legs already. Serious walking work won’t start until they are 3 weeks old. They do remind me of human babies. It’s just that things happen at a more accelerated rate. I begin offering softened puppy food at 4 weeks because that is when you can feel their teeth about to come in. Raina will probably keep nursing them regularly until 6 weeks and then sporadically until the age of 9 weeks. By then I have them eating dry puppy food, but why not get milk when they can? It is instinctive for the mother to offer milk even though the puppies have teeth. I knew Raina was pregnant when she was only 3 weeks along. There was still some of Wookie’s last litter of puppies here. They were about 11 weeks old but Raina’s still let them try to nurse and she washed their faces and bottoms as if they were her puppies. I wish I would have the video camera that day because the pups were almost as big as Raina. She had to stand and they would lie on their backs. It was a shame she didn’t even have milk at that point.

John Stamoose

2009-09-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw Moose he was orange in color from the Georgia clay. His hair was one big mat. My daughter-in-law and I had gone to see a female Maltese and they said they had a male they would let us adopt as well. After one look at him, there was no question he was coming home with us.

Moose is healthy now and a dirty white. He is very good about being brushed as long as it doesn’t pull. The dog has the worst overbite I have ever seen on a dog. “He could eat corn through a picket fence”. It doesn’t affect his eating, but he does have a different method.

We did get the pair of dogs to breed. After trying twice we decided that Miss Squirrel was infertile and set about finding her a wonderful home. She is now pampered and really loving life. Moose misses her a little. He spends a lot of the day outside and Squirrel was usually with him. Wookie plays very well with Moose, but she is in heat right now and on a puppy break.

I love to play with Moose. He is a little shy, but very enthusiastic. He loves to tussle after a toy. Fetch is not his strong suit. The other day I carried him around like a baby for a long time. He seemed so happy and not tense at all. You can tell Moose is in his crate when you are in the basement. He bounces around in that crate so much that he moves it. If there weren’t other crates in the room, I think he would make a full circuit. He just does not seem to get tired. I try to keep newspaper in front of his crate. I think Moose lets go of a little urine when he is excited. There always seems to be a spray pattern of pee in front of his crate. I think we should called him Tigger. He is bouncy, trouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun. And he is most certainly the only one.

Busy thoughts on a rainy day

2009-08-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

It’s raining today and I think it is the first rain that Bear has experienced. He is standing at the door watching Gus go out in the wet. Bear had his trip outside earlier and I don’t think he is ready to get wet again. I guess all of the dogs want to stay in out of the rain. Moose and Reggie are in the dog room. Wookie is in the puppy room and the others are loose with me. Gus and Moose are barking at each other and I may go mad before the day is over. I was going to scrub the floors today. I guess that plan is shot. Maybe the rain will be a good excuse for me to read today. I need to get into the room with Wookie. She took her morning dump and it is very fragrant.

Last night I could feel Raina’s puppies. They are just undefined, quiet bumps in her belly right now. They are due September 18. By then they will be a squirming mass. I love to feel the little heads and feet as they exercise their legs. Raina will get a rest after this litter. She is a good mother and deserves this break. She will turn 4 next March. I am considering retiring her from breeding by her 5th birthday. I just can’t imagine how anyone can have a dog produce puppies 2 or 3 times a year for years. I guess to them the dog is simply an asset and the puppies are inventory. Raina is my baby. She will be with me her entire life. When I retire her, she will be spayed and still sleep in my bed. Her babies are so precious to me. I am with Raina through her labor and delivery. I stand by to help if necessary. I take notes and record the times of the births. I try to weigh the puppies on my postage scale. It’s a little difficult with them still being wet and slippery. I fret over them being able to nurse and making sure they are warm. I put little colored neckbands on them so I can tell them apart. Yorkie puppies all look alike! The puppies grow so fast at first that I have to check the neckbands daily to see if they are too small and need to be replaced. I don’t leave the house for 2 weeks when I have a new litter of puppies. They cannot maintain their own body temperature until then. If there are trips to the vet during that time, mother and puppies all go. The Yorkies are easier to carry than a Shih Tzu mother and litter. I worry about the babies and can’t sleep well. I wake when a baby falls out of the bed and the mother needs help getting it back in. The washing machine runs 2 to 3 times a day with puppy beds and towels. I did this much laundry when my own son was a baby.

A woman on Twitter treated me as if I were some sort of criminal and blocked me. I don’t care that she blocked me that is her prerogative. I was upset by the way that she characterized me. I do not run a puppymill. I have rescued dogs like Squirrel and Moose. Squirrel never did get pregnant. She did not go to a shelter or get dumped out of the car somewhere. She has a new home with a family member who will love her and dote on her. I am careful about the people who buy puppies. I really want someone who has had dogs or has dogs now. That way I know they how to treat a pet. If this is their first dog, I want them doing research and asking tons of questions. We placed a Cocker Spaniel with a family that had never had a dog. The mother sat here for 2 ½ hours asking questions and taking notes. I know this dog is safe and well loved.

Maybe the rain is affecting my shunt and making me introspective. Time to get busy, I still have to clean up after Wookie.

Cutest Dog Competition

2009-08-10T06:39:00.001-07:00

This is one of Raina's Twitter pals. She is a beautiful Maltese and we want her to win!

The Flirtacious Miss Raina

2009-07-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

It is Yorkie mating time at my house and I am so sick of it. Females are not receptive to mating when they first come into heat. Once they are ready they signal the males and all hell breaks loose. At least they haven’t mated on my bed this time. Males are ready to mate all of the time, but especially now. Gus displays his frustration by letting out this constant shrill bark. I feel like my hearing is suffering. Moose is also in “lust” right now and is barking. At least his voice is lower than Gus’, but he howls too. After a day of Gus’ “yarking” at Raina and Moose scratching at the back door, I put them to bed and retire to my room. I take Raina with me, but the boys still vocalize their yearning. Sometimes they decide to compete with each other and bark ferociously at each other from the safety of their crates. It’s hard to believe that those two used to play together. Since the first stirring of testosterone in their systems, they have to be kept apart or someone’s ass is going to get kicked. I am just too soft-hearted to let them injure each other.

Raina does not help things either. She will play coy and fetching with Moose just as quickly as she will with Gus. Monogamy does not exist among dogs. I had to pin Moose to the floor with my grabber tool the other day. I forgot Raina was not gated into the living room and let Moose in to be fed. As soon as I saw them sniffing each other, I went after Moose. Fortunately he is a little skinny dog and the grabber fit around his neck long enough for me to grab him with my hands and put him in his crate. He may have had nightmares about that grabber coming at him.

At least I know that all of this will mean little Yorkie babies coming in September. Raina is acting pregnant already. Two weeks ago if Wookie’s puppies were loose, Raina didn’t want anything to do with them. She would nip at them and growl. A few days ago that all changed. Now she washes them like they were her puppies and even lets them attempt to nurse. It’s a good thing it doesn’t bother Wookie. She is done nursing them anyway. I saw her on the couch staying out of their reach a little while ago. I don’t blame her, those little teeth are sharp.

Miss Wookiee-licious

2009-07-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

Her name was not Wookie originally, it was Ewok. Her face looks exactly like the little Ewok that finds Princess Leia. It was a perfect name, but she would not answer to it. She likes Wookie. We have noticed that some dogs prefer names with a long E sound at the end. Maybe it is pleasing to the canine ear.

Wookie was just a baby when she arrived in my home. I didn’t get to know her then. She was my daughter-in-law’s dog. Wookie even worked as a demo dog at PetSmart for a while. Some of the folks there still remember her and ask about her when I go into the store.

I really got to know Wookie when she was pregnant with her first litter. I moved her into my bedroom with me. She decided that also meant that she slept on the bed. It was OK with me but she is a bed hog. She would wake me during the night and tell me it was play time. Maybe on her schedule it was but it wasn’t on mine.

I was a little worried about Wookie becoming a mother. Truthfully I did not think she was the brightest dog. That’s fine; sometimes a so-called dumb dog is the best pet. If you have read “Marley & Me” then you know what I mean. Wookie fooled me. She just likes being outside, so I just had not gotten to know her. She was and is the best mother. She has also turned out to be the best companion. She asks to sit in my lap rather than just appearing there like Gus. She is not demanding of attention but enjoys every moment of it that she gets. The only thing she and I disagree about is grooming. It is hard to brush a dog that is chewing on the hand holding the brush! So periodically she gets very extreme haircuts. Her topknot is very unruly. I try to keep it banded so that it does not fall in her eyes, but she rubs her head on things to remove the band.

Wookie’s favorite thing is eating. If we didn’t control her diet, she would look like a blimp. She also has a fondness for eating dog droppings. Yuck! Sometimes she and I race to clean up. Unless the dog that left the droppings behind has parasites, it isn’t harmful. Some dogs just have a taste for poop. She is also one of my best cleaners of accidental food spills. She has to compete with Reggie for those.

Spotlight on AsparaGus

2009-07-14T05:47:00.001-07:00

Gus is my leaping dog. He will stand next to a gate and jump straight up. If he went forward, he would clear the gate. He did jump one of the gates when Wookie was in heat. I missed seeing him do it, but it is the only way he could have gotten into the room.

Gus is very affectionate and he thinks he owns me. If another dog is on my lap, Gus has to climb on but higher. He has also decided that his spot on my recliner is between my calves on the foot rest. If I have my ankles crossed, he will poke me with his nose to let him into his favorite spot. Gus uses that nose a lot. I am beginning to think this nose bumping is a Yorkie thing. Raina has always bumped my legs with her nose to get my attention. Gus will poke Raina in the ribs pretty hard. She will usually put up with it, but when she is not in the mood Gus will get a sharp correction from Raina.

When one of the dogs ignores him or has a toy that he wants, Gus’ voice becomes very shrill. He will “yarp” repeatedly until he gets what he wants or gets bored. That’s when I want to choke him!

He is a handsome fellow with a beautiful long coat. The only problem is that he hates to be brushed. I am going to have his hair cut short. I hate to do it, but he runs if he sees me with a brush in my hand. At his last grooming, I had to pay for over an hour of mat removal! It is easy to prevent mats in a Yorkie’s hair. The trick is that it needs frequent brushing. Even with it shorter, I am going to have to come up with a way to restrain him so I can brush him. What a monster!

Gus is now a proven stud dog, but I think he will always remain a puppy at heart. He was so gentle playing with his own puppies and seems to like playing with Wookie’s pups. If another dog or puppy has a toy, he wants it. He also has this crazy thing about squeakers. He just can’t leave them alone and will remove them from toys. I have to take the squeakers away from him or he will eat them! He also does not seem to believe that the stuffing belongs in toys. I get tired of retrieving polyester stuffing from the floor.

After a day of pissing me off, Gus will jump up on me and get into his cuddle spot on my left arm. That’s when all of the things that bothered me are forgotten and my Gus becomes my buddy.

Reggie and Me

2009-07-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

Reggie is sitting there staring at me. Now she groans to make sure that I know she is there. I can’t figure out what she wants today. Usually she is a dog of simple desires. She wants food, treats and to be let outside. If I ask her if she wants to go out and she trots off to her crate, it means “no”. If she trots to the door and jumps on it that is an enthusiastic “yes”. That is about as enthusiastic as she gets. I almost forgot; the question “are you hungry?” will actually get her running. She runs straight for her crate, hops in and squirms around making her mooing noise.

I just checked and she has put her head down. I have the feeling I am being stalked. If I were to stand she will jump up and charge at me. I will still not know what she wants. I thought she could tell time by the position of the sun or something, but then I realized she knows that bedtime is after dinner. It should be 3 or 4 hours after dinner, but Reggie just knows that she has had her dinner and is waiting for her bedtime treat. She does not seem to care if it is only 10 minutes later or even last night as long as she gets a treat.

I want to take a picture of her, but the camera is in the kitchen and I know she will move if I move. This is a battle of wills.

We don’t know how old Reggie is. She came from the local shelter in 2005. Her heritage appears to be hound and dachshund. (Oh oh, she is sitting up again. She is getting aggressive, for Reggie that is.) She bays like a beagle on those rare occasions when she goes outside and something engages her hunting instincts. If she is feeling frisky, she will even do her vocalizing atop a tree stump. Her nose and face are grayer now and sometimes she seems to be feeling her joints. She is good with the puppies. She will bark if they get too playful with her. I have never seen her even try to hurt one. If they learn to wash Reggie’s face, the old girl will sit there forever.

I think she gave up on me. She has left the room. I am betting she is in Gus’ crate. She always seems to go in there, even when I take his bed and give it to her. Gus has the best vantage point for the door. It looks like she is still stalking me. I try to sneak up on her with the camera and Wookie is in Gus’ crate! After I disturb Wookie, Reggie practically pushes her out of the way. At least I got a halfway decent picture of Reggie.

She followed me back out to the living room. I ask the “outside” question and she trots to the door. That’s it for Reggie’s day until it is dinner time again. Like I said, a dog of simple desires.

Due to technical difficulties...

2009-07-03T14:47:00.001-07:00

It seems that every time I have computer problems it takes 3 to 4 days to get things the way I want them. I learned the hard way about backups since I have now lost the pictures taken with my digital camera. Fortunately I can recover some of them from emails and my website. I am also lucky that my sister gave me a laptop. I am using it to write this while my desktop goes through a complete wipe of the C drive. This is the computer I use when pain forces me to stay in my recliner or in bed.

I received some wonderful pictures of one of my babies! Rina’s new mommy is a professional photographer and she has magical ability to photograph dogs. I had seen pictures of her Golden Retriever when she first came to see Rina. I loved those pictures and knew that Rina would have a wonderful home. I will post some of the pictures of Rina with her big brother on my “Earlier Babies” page. They look great together.

I have only one of my March babies left. She is so sweet and so good. I need to update the ads online. She has been sleeping in a crate since her brother left. Every morning I check and she has not messed in her crate. She runs to a newspaper to urinate when I let her out. She is timid about new things but does explore and will get comfortable quickly. Her daddy is being groomed next Sunday so I made an appointment for her to get her cleaned up and have her pretty face trimmed. Mouse will look so pretty!

The one thing I seem to have to do every day is scrub a floor somewhere in the house. I actually scrubbed all of the rooms except the living room yesterday. I need to get off my butt and take care of it. You see I am writing about it just to put it off a little longer. Silly me!

Bambam is now Hobbes

2009-07-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone asks me how I can let my puppies go. I do it very carefully and sadly. I like for the new families to have at least one dog already or have had one recently. That way I know that they understand the responsibility of being a pet parent. I know I have made a good decision if I get pictures, even if it is just a few or hear nothing at all. I would love to hear that my babies are thriving, but in this situation I believe that no news is good news.

I have had 2 puppies leave in as many days. I now have only a female Yorkie available. So that she would not be alone last night, I put her in the crate next to her father’s. She did not cry or fuss. This morning when I let her out, she ran to the nearest newspaper to urinate. Unfortunately the BM went on the floor. I think she wanted to be near me and I was in my bathroom. I don’t keep newspaper in my bedroom so that the dogs will not go there. I think Mouse just wanted to be able to see me and would have gone on newspaper if one had been available. I checked the crate she slept in and it is clean. I am so proud of Mouse!

How do I let them go? I know from the moment they are conceived I am responsible for babies that will bring joy to another family. I know that someone out there loves Yorkies or Shih Tzus or Maltese and wants to find a puppy they can afford to add to their family. Even though I am with the puppies from the moment they are born, I know I must detach at some point. That is why I give them nicknames. Nicknames are not permanent to me. Even though the pups may begin to respond to their nickname, dogs will adjust to a name change very easily. They attach to the person who feeds them, talks to them and plays with them. I think it is more recognition of the person’s voice. Wookie’s 4-week old puppies react to my voice already and will come to the gate on their room when I talk to them.

Dogs have been a loving and wonderful presence in my life since I met my first dog as a toddler. I got my first dog when I was 5. Casey was a family dog, but I always considered him my dog. I think he did too. There have been a few gaps without dogs, but I think the longest may have been 5 years. I started introducing my son to my dogs before he could walk. I started with him inside the house in a highchair where the dogs could see him. I moved the highchair outside and then moved my son to a playpen. Eventually my son crawled on the patio in a diaper while the dogs sniffed and licked him. Luckily I had captured that moment on a Super 8 movie camera. When my son graduated from college, I created a montage of his art that included that clip of him crawling with the dogs. When he got married in 2006 he and his wife included their Corgis in the ceremony. My daughter-in-law’s dream is to have her own dog training and pet boutique business. I hope she will realize that dream. She is very talented at training dogs. We are just a family of dog lovers.

Star has a home now

2009-06-20T04:21:00.000-07:00

Little Star is the latest of our babies to get a home. It was a contest between her and Whitey. Whitey was tired and did his usual hiding under the baker's rack to get away from the other puppies. That tipped things in Star's favor. But I do have to admit Star had claimed her mommy because even after a nap, Star was more outgoing and pretty much told her brother that she had chosen this person. Whitey's time will come.

Wookie's illness cleared up quickly. So quickly that if there were a way to fake diarrhea, I would think she did fake it so she would get to eat chicken and rice. Her pups continue to grow. I need to go back over my records on previous litters to see if they really are giants. I could not resist taking this picture of Bear on his back. He looks so comfortable. The puppies are creeping a lot. Their front legs are very strong and every once in a while I hear one crying because it followed Wookie out of the bed and now is lost. It was the sound of one of these lost babies crying that got me out of bed this morning. They are working on their hind legs and I expect we will have some stumbling around in the next week. It still amazes me how much their development is similar to a human baby.

Sick dogs are not fun or funny

2009-06-16T04:01:00.000-07:00

Poor Wookie, I gave her something to eat yesterday that did not agree with her. I saw the diarrhea before I went to bed, but woke to Wookie barfing in my bedroom doorway at 4:30 a.m. I did some cleaning, but did go back to bed. It can really ruin a day by being awakened in that manner. Wookie was not eating or drinking by the time I got up at 8:00. I made a call to the vet and even though he was slammed with appointments. It appears that there was not bacteria in the food I gave Wookie, but we needed to make sure she would eat and not be sick. So one shot later and 3 prescriptions for home, I got Wookie to eat some boiled chicken and rice. If she were a kid, I would wonder about her faking it to get the chicken and rice. I am still tired since I didn’t get a nap and still had some cleaning to finish.

I didn’t have to take Wookie’s babies with her. They are 2 weeks old today and fat. They are so fat that some of them have rolls of it. One of them looks like Alfred Hitchcock to me. SHE may end up with the nickname Alfred or Hitch even though they are not very feminine. The nicknames have to be something that describes the puppy or they make me think of when I look at them. Hitch’s twin brother may be called Bear. He has a face like a baby bear. I try not to think to hard about the nicknames otherwise it is too difficult to remember them.

There are still 2 Yorkie puppies and 2 Shih Tzus here. The fear I have now is that I will become too attached to them. The last puppy from Raina’s first litter was here for a while and I called him “Little Man”. The day he left, I was so devastated that I cried for 2 hours. I almost called the man to tell him to return my puppy! Only my logical side stopped me. I try very hard now not to become attached. I have enough dogs that I am attached to, like Wookie and Raina. Right now I am not sure how attached I am to Gus.

Squirrel is in heat and Gus is in lust. He did manage to mate with her once. I have kept them apart since then. There have been several matings with Moose. Now the question is will she have all pure Maltese puppies or Maltese and a few Morkies? At least it will make the birth even more interesting since there is the possibility of surprise.

Wookie gets a bath

2009-06-06T04:54:00.000-07:00

Friday was a busy day here. I got up early to get everything together for Miss Olivia to go to her new home. She also needed a bath which means that I got a bath too. I worked around the house for a little while in a wet nightshirt until it was time for a shower. This was one of the few times I have not cried when one of my babies left me. I think it is because I knew she was going to a loving home. I have already received pictures and she looks right at home. I need to give a birthday shout-out to Olivia’s new buddy Grayson. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with a new puppy.

Wookie’s babies are thriving. They are so beautiful, fat and sleek. I need to weigh them today to see just how much she has been feeding them. They are very strong. One woke me at 4:15 a.m. by crying. It had crawled out of the bed after Wookie. Wook does not seem to know what to do except keep the puppy warm until I can rescue it.

Poor Wookie, her pups weren’t due until today. We thought we had time to bathe her and give her a haircut. Since the puppies surprised us by coming early, Wookie was already dirty and stinky and then it just got worse from giving birth. Last night my daughter-in-law took the clippers to Wookie in an extreme makeover. She does not even look like the same dog! I have a bag of hair big enough to stuff a small pillow, but I would not want it. Wookie then got a bath so now she looks good and smells sweet.

Surprise puppies

2009-06-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

I am tired tonight. I got a surprise this morning with my third cup of coffee-puppies! We were expecting Wookie’s puppies to come this week, but not until Saturday. I should have paid attention last night when Moose kept digging on the side of his crate closest to Wookie. When I went in to get the dogs up this morning, Wookie was vomiting. I was a little freaked out when I checked her bottom and saw an amniotic sac protruding from her nether end. I texted my daughter-in-law the news and she woke my son to come and help me in case Wookie needed to see her doctor. Luckily Wookie handled everything and the first puppy was born at 7:57 a.m. It took a while, but in the end Wookie became the mother of 2 boys and 2 girls. One is black and white and all of the others of variations of Wookie’s own parti-color.

I got some other news later when things had calmed down. The people who had put a deposit on the female Yorkie that they had name Mia, changed their minds. So I guess we are back to the nickname of Mouse and she is available. My only regret is working so hard to teach her the name Mia.

Hardy goes home

2009-05-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

The first of the puppies left last night. Hardy is going to a good home. His new mommy had a countdown on her calendar to the day she could pick up her little guy. Now the morning after, I realize that I should have gotten a picture of them together. She was so excited. I had given Hardy a bath in the morning so he was looking good and smelling nice. He had a chance to play with the Yorkie puppies while I was cleaning their room. He did very well playing with strange puppies. I did notice that both he and the male Yorkie kept humping the other pups. It amazes me how soon that testosterone gets into their systems!

I am hoping for a quiet day today. I feel like my life has become scrubbing floors daily, washing dog beds and toys and feeding puppies. I feel like I am running a day care.

Wookie is huge now. Based on the date of her mating with Ozzy, she is due June 2. I don't mind having another litter coming along while a litter is leaving. Having the 2 litters within a week has really worn me out. I am excited to see Wookie's puppies. She had 4 last time. Two of them were so similar that they were almost twins. She is due for a hair cut which will make things easier for me. Wookie is a bit of a wild child. I really mean she is ditsy. The funny thing is that when she has pups, she calms down. It is an amazing transformation. Right now she is just tired from the load she is carrying. She spends most of her time just resting. I seem to remember doing the same thing late in my own pregnancy.

First baths

2009-05-08T05:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I bathed 9 puppies. I was very wet by the time I finished. At least they smell better. This is the Yorkie puppy I had called Mouse. Her permanent name is Mia. Mia's mom is planning to visit her this weekend. The Yorkie pups are also getting their first puppy shot this weekend. I am also going to start worming treatment on the Shih Tzu pups. I am really looking forward to this, not.

My babies are growing up

2009-04-26T05:46:00.000-07:00

All of the pups are eating solid food now. The Yorkies have even tried to eat their mother's kibble. I would give them dry puppy food, but their teeth haven't even begun to erupt. The Yorkies are beginning to get their shaggy faces.

Two of my Shih Tzus have families already. Apollo and Spot have chosen their mommies. Spot really did do the choosing. He sniffed the lady over thoroughly and then bestowed a puppy kiss on her. I hope she can stand the wait until he is 9 weeks old.

Today I am going to try to puppy-proof the room the Shih Tzus are in so they will have more freedom. I don't like restricting my pups to cages. When they are about 6 weeks old, I will begin having them sleep in crates so that they become accustomed to the nighttime restriction.

I have a live webcam on the Yorkies. It only gets them when Raina is nursing or they are sleeping since they have started exploring. I put new videos on the available puppy page so the viewer can see how cute my babies are. I do my breeding to make good pets for people, but I still miss each one as they leave. It's even harder now with Apollo and Spot because I know approximately when they will leave. I will need to get my time with them now.

The Weekend Ends

2009-04-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

I think Gus and Squirrel have worn each other out. They have been playing. They chase around the living room from dog bed to dog bed to the couch and around again. The two of them have become good friends and frequently will nap in the same bed. I think this friendship will last until the next time Squirrel comes into heat. Then I will be keeping Gus away and only allowing Moose access to her. Gus is going to want her, but I am not ready to try a Yorkie/Maltese mix.

My back is killing me this morning. I am waiting for the Darvocet to kick in. I was awakened shortly after midnight by my weather radio. I had been asleep for about an hour. It took me a while to realize what was going on. Then I heard the county’s emergency sirens going off. I checked the TV and there was one of the infamous “hook” formations coming this way. I packed the puppies into laundry baskets and made 2 trips to the basement. I could not do anything about the other dogs which made me feel badly. I am glad that I hooked up a TV in the basement bedroom so I could check the weather. My sister had come to visit last week so the bed was made. I got the mothers and their pups settled and then got into bed. I fell asleep with my glasses on and a flashlight in my hand. I woke a little later and checked the TV. Since the weather crew was no longer on, I figured it was safe to go back upstairs. So as a result my back is killing me.

I started Kitty’s puppies on soft puppy kibble this weekend. They were licking my hands a lot Friday night which is the signal wild dog pups give the adults to feed them except that they lick the adults’ lips. The first time I gave them some kibble, they went at it with a lot of enthusiasm. Of course Kitty wanted at it too. I don’t know why the adults find the soft puppy food so attractive. I have been giving them puppy food every 4 hours since then. I checked last week and I can feel their teeth beginning to erupt. I decided to try Raina’s pups on the kibble this morning although they are a week younger than Kitty’s. They did very well. Mouse didn’t seem as interested as the other two, but then she is the smallest.

Raina received 2 packages in the mail on Saturday. She got prizes from attending the #pawpawty on Twitter in celebration of @BrewskiButt’s 5th birthday. She got a beautiful art print from Brew’s Mom. I claimed that since it will look good in my bedroom. She also got a flappy toy from DogToys.com. It’s perfect for a terrier. She likes to shake it. Gus managed to get the toy and now it no longer has a squeaker. Gus has some problem with squeakers that I am at a loss to explain. The toy is still intact and can be used, it is just silent.

Puppies growing so fast

2009-04-01T20:17:00.001-07:00

This little chubby Shih Tzu I call Starbuck. I picked her up today and there were her eyes looking back at me! The Shih Tzus are 12 days old today. They are very mobile crawling around in the whelping box. I checked on the other pups and most of them have at least one eye open. Next their little ears will open up, then comes walking. It still amazes me that by the end of the next 7 weeks they will be barking, running and even have their teeth. I really love raising these little critters. The Yorkies are also doing very well and growing. The male is the largest. They are also getting very mobile and crawling all over the bed.

I have been making new beds for the dogs which leaves me with a lot of scraps of the fleece fabric I have been using. I have a pattern to make tug toys by braiding strips of the fleece together. I made a couple of those and they are a big hit with Gus, Reggie and Squirrel. My daughter-in-law was here yesterday and noticed the toys. She asked me if I could make at least 1 for each of the new puppies. I have lots of scraps so I can make plenty of them. She had a wonderful idea. Give them to the pups to play with and then send one with each of them when they go to their new homes. That way they will have the scent of their littermates and mother on the toy. I had been giving pieces of baby blankets with the litter's scent as a comfort item. I like this idea much better.

My daughter-in-law has been checking on Jill at the Paulding County Animal Shelter. She called them today and told them Jill's story. Now Shannon has offered to go to the shelter on Saturday and work with Jill to see if she still responds to her obedience training. Then Shannon is going to work on getting Jilly adopted. I know that if anyone can do it, Shannon can. When she volunteered at the Douglas County Shelter on weekends, they placed a lot more animals. Shannon is very good with people and she knows her stuff about dogs. My son picked out a great woman to marry. This is the link to Jill's listing on Petfinder: see Jilly. Her eyes glowing red and green was a give-away to me that it is Jill. I tried to do the best thing for her and thought she had a forever family. She just may be a victim of the bad economy.

On the lighter side Raina has discovered Twitter. She spends part of her day following her friends. She has participated in a couple of events and even won some treats. Those treats were very good. I tried them myself. There is another Pawpawty this Sunday to celebrate the birthday of Brewski Butt. The pawty is also used to raise donations for Kitten Rescue in Los Angeles. Romeothecat chooses a group every month and challenges his Twitter followers to donate $1 each. It's a great way to have some fun, make people aware of the groups Romeo supports and raise some money for them. There is something good coming out of simple fun.

Why was Jill wandering loose?

2009-03-30T04:56:00.001-07:00

I had two calls over the weekend that disturbed me. I was contacted by the Paulding County Animal Control and Home Again informing me that a dog registered to me was at the shelter. I know the dog and I did have her for several months. It is a bit of a story.

In late 2004 through to June 2005 I was caring for my late sister. During that time I had to have my 16 year old Bichon put to sleep. Muffet was suffering grand mal seizures and the cause was unknown. For his sake I made the decision to have him put to sleep because my time needed to be spent with my dying sister. I felt horrible about it, but still believe it was best for Muffet.

After my sister passed away, I felt the need for a canine companion. I went to the local shelter and fell in love with Jill. She was 10 months old and very friendly. I wanted a dog her size because my son's girlfriend had a dog she had adopted that was about 45 pounds. Jill was about the same size and age. The fit was perfect.

For months Jill and Shannon's dog Jack got along wonderfully. Jack was a female inspite of the name. In late 2005 something changed in the dogs' relationship and Jill attacked Jack inflicting several bites in Jack's legs. We thought at first that it was a display of dominance and the matter had been settled. Jack was now submissive to Jill, but Jilly continued to be aggressive toward Jack. I also have severe arthritis in my hands and arms and had to use a Gentle Leader to control Jill. She really was too much for me to handle on my own. In late 2005 I made the very hard decision to find Jill a new home.

I advertised her on Craigslist and LiveDeal, but did not have any takers. After about 8 weeks of trying to find her a home, I felt I had no choice but to take Jill back to the shelter where I had adopted her. I took along her flea and heartworm medicine. I also wrote a letter to potential adopters about Jill and what a wonderful dog she was. I did stress that she needed to be in a home where she was the only dog. I cried as I signed over the dog that I loved.

I received a call from the shelter in less than 24 hours. A family was adopting Jill! They came to my home to pick up Jill's crate. I was thrilled to meet them and felt this was the family for Jill. They even called a few months later to tell me that Jill was doing well and how the whole family loved her.

Now I have had these calls about Jill being picked up by animal control. It distresses me terribly. I don't have a phone number and can't even remember the name of the family who adopted Jill. I can only hope that they are looking for her. I wonder if I should go and claim her myself, but I still have other dogs and the arthritis is worse. I can only hope that this family loved Jill as much as I did and are looking for her.

Raina's puppies

2009-03-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Raina gave birth to 4 puppies on March 26. Unfortunately we lost one the next day. It was pretty hard for me. This is the first puppy we have lost. I felt personally responsible for it. That somehow if I had noticed that the puppy was in distress sooner, I could have done something. Oh well, we have 3 puppies to raise and they are thriving. I take them to the vet on Monday to have their tails docked.

Kitty's puppies are growing so fast. They are very mobile considering that all they can do is crawl. They crawl out over the side of the bed chasing after their mother. Sometimes I find all of them out of their bed and sometimes under it. This ought to be fun. I have not had 2 litters born this close together before. There may come a time when I can put all of the puppies together after they are weaned.

Update on the pups

2009-03-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

Kitty's puppies are growing like weeds! I weighed the one that I nicknamed "Starbuck" and she is 13 ounces today. She weighed 6.9 oz. at birth! That is almost doubling her weight in 1 week. The pups are creeping around enough to get out of the bed to reach their mother. I don't think they can go the other way yet since I have to put them back about 6 times a day. You would think that with the puppies to worry about, Kitty would ignore Raina. No way! She still has to snarl when she sees Raina go by. I hung a blanket over the baby gate to give Kitty some privacy. I already have a blanket over the gate on Raina's room.

Raina has been in early labor since yesterday. Now it's getting really serious. She drank some puppy formula a little while ago, then barfed it all up. She refused to eat some boiled liver which is a good sign. I want to bring her into the living room to deliver so that I can be comfortable. When it gets close, I am going to put the other dogs in their crates. Of course it has to be raining hard today and all of the dogs are inside. Hopefully I will have new puppy pictures before bedtime.

We have new puppies!

2009-03-20T10:41:00.001-07:00

Whoa am I tired! I’ve been trying to get used to a machine that helps me with my sleep apnea and it doesn’t seem to be helping. I was fatigued already, so spending the night as the dog midwife has been the cherry on top. I fell yesterday and then fell again this morning. And I still have a Yorkie who is due to have her pups in the next few days. The good thing is that I love these little critters so much that I don’t really mind the fatigue and bruises.

Kitty Cat is a real champ. She was in labor most of the day. There was a lot of panting and pacing. She was also very irritable with the other dogs. I tried to stay awake with her, but faded out after seeing President Obama on Leno. I woke to the sound of Squirrel barking repeatedly. Then I realized that I was also hearing the cries of puppies. Kitty had 2 of her babies while I was sleeping! I called Sean and Shannon to let them know that the puppies were being born. I stayed with her for the rest of the delivery. She drank a couple of bowls of puppy formula to fortify her. When I was sure that Kitty and the pups were OK, I climbed into bed to sleep. Just as I was dozing off, Shannon called to see how things had gone. It didn’t take much time to get back into my slumber.

The puppies are beautiful. I didn’t manage to make my usual notes during the births, so I had to sort of fill in the blanks later. There are 4 black and white pups and 2 brown and white. Four of them are males and 2 are females. I weighed them finally at about 6 to 8 hours after they were born. Of course by then their little bellies were full of milk. Kitty had a fit every time I took one away to the scale. I had forgotten how attached she was to her last litter. She did leave them long enough to empty her bladder. I had to hold the bowl to get her to drink and she did gobble up some boiled beef liver. She will be fine. Then I can look forward to the birth of the Yorkies.

Waiting is awful!

2009-03-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

What you are looking at is Kitty's belly. There are 6 little puppies in there waiting to be born. Our vet was wonderful in helping me get the best pictures I could of the x-rays. Raina had her picture taken too and she is having 4 puppies.

I am now a basketcase. I do not wait well and having 2 pregnant dogs is making me especially ansty. Kitty has managed to wake me during the past two night and ended up sleeping with me. I am such an easy touch.

Both dogs are resting a lot. I guess I would be too if I was carrying around that much of a load. I check their temperatures daily waiting for the drop to occur. It's not easy taking a dog's temp without assistance. Kitty is easier with more tail for me to grab. I am giving them extra formula and yogurt right now. The calcium is crucial for them since the puppies are taking a lot of it. I am just trying to keep busy sewing and taking care of the house. My delivery supplies are all ready and I feel better that both dogs were seen by the vet this week. Now it is just a waiting game.

Happy St. Pawtricks Day!

2009-03-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's Raina, I get to blog today. Mom loves St. Patrick's Day. She is a genealogy nut and has traced her family back as far as she can without leaving the U.S. She has Irish ancestors on both her mother and father's sides. She hasn't been able to find records of them entering the country, so she may be descended from illegal immigrants!

Mom has also discovered Twitter. The details of my daily life are being spread all over the world! It's fun to follow the other Anipals on Twitter. They even get together for parties. I have a picture with my St. Pawtrick's Day bling, but it won't show up on Twitter, so I decided to show it here.

Kitty and I are going to the vet this afternoon to find out how many puppies we are having. Too bad we don't get ultrasounds like humans so we would know the sexes of the puppies. Mom could be thinking up nicknames ahead of time. Kitty's first due date is tomorrow and Mom has been getting her stuff ready. I will just be glad when these little wiggly critters are wiggling in a bed instead of wiggling in me!

Squirrel was supposed to go to the vet today, but she is still skinny. She may not be as far along as Kitty and I are or maybe she didn't get pregnant. Mom says we just have to wait.

A later update..One of my friends on Twitter has been putting together everyone's pictures with their St. Pawtrick's Day bling. It's is really neat!

Terriers can be a "pain"

2009-03-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

My cousin calls her Jack Russell a "terrorist". I had been calling Raina simply a Yorkshire Terror. Today she proved that she is all terrier. For some reason several months ago Raina decided that she no longer wanted the friendship of Kitty one of our Shih Tzus. At first I thought I would let them fight it out and settle who was going to be top dog. When they started to draw blood, I had to break it up. Fortunately I have baby gates all over the house, so it is possible to keep them apart. Today I was shifting them around to let Raina have some time with me. I put Kitty in her room, but forgot to close the gate in the hall to keep Raina as far away as possible. Even though there was a gate between them, they were snarling and snapping at each other. I leaned over the gate to give Kitty some water. I had commanded Raina to back off, but she decided to override that, ducked under my legs, snapped at Kitty and BIT ME! I only have a bruise. I even needed a moment to realized that she really had bit me. My feelings are hurt more than anything.

I know it is not necessary to be bitten to be a pet parent, but I think it does help to at least be nipped so that you can know what it feels like and that it is nothing to fear. A couple of years ago I learned the correct way to break up a dog fight (grab by the rear legs, not the collar). Because I did it the wrong way, I spent New Year's Eve in the ER. The bite was not serious because I remained as calm as I could. I saw my hand in the mouth of a Boston Terrier and thought "don't pull, don't struggle". I went to the ER to get a tetanus shot. The scar barely shows.

My daughter-in-law and I were discussing the housing of our dogs once she and Sean buy a house. She suggested that since Raina and Kitty were getting along better I should keep the Shih Tzus with me. Maybe we need to reconsider.

Gus is in trouble

2009-03-09T06:46:00.001-07:00

I get just as worried when the dogs are too quiet as I did when my son was a child. I was on the computer when I turned to see this mess. I woke up a little congested this morning and grabbed a roll of toilet tissue since I didn't have kleenex. I made the mistake of leaving it on the table next to my chair. Ever since Squirrel got on that table to nab a piece of pizza crust the other day, all of the dogs seem to think it is OK to explore in MY territory.

Gus was having a grand time when I saw him. He was tossing the roll into the air and tearing pieces off. I would have tried to get a video, but he stopped as soon as I stood up. He knew he was in trouble and kept nuzzling my hand as I was trying to clean up his mess. He even jumped up in my lap while I was uploading these pictures. He started licking the keyboard. I wondered if he was planning to rebut anything I reported on his behavior.

Maybe I need to move the chair and couch farther away from the table. Reggie gets into my coffee cup if I leave it for a few minutes. I know caffeine is bad for dogs, but she seems to love coffee. She even went after a glass of OJ. No wonder I am so tired all of the time. I am constantly cleaning up after the dogs and watching out for them.

News on one of my babies

2009-03-04T03:53:00.001-08:00

I love hearing from my puppy parents. This one made my day yesterday. Bailey is such a pretty little dog. She has mask markings over only one eye just like her mother Kitty. Bailey is obviously well loved and very well cared for. I can't ask any more for one of my babies.

Winter is still here!

2009-03-03T08:35:00.001-08:00

Snow is rare in Georgia which is why I moved here from Ohio 30 years ago. At least here people stay home and I don't have to dig my car out every morning. The dogs enjoy the snow so of course they had to go out for a short play. Squirrel disappears in the snow with her white coat. The play session didn't last long. After all they are southern dogs. Fortunately this all took place before the pregnant girls had their bellies shaved.

We are getting ready for 3 deliveries. Unless we have a false pregnancy, it looks like Kitty, Raina and Squirrel are pregnant. Kitty's first due date is March 18, Raina is due March 21 and Squirrel is due March 25. My daughter-in-law shaved their bellies and "toots" for the sake of nursing puppies and hygiene. I have one whelping box in place and cleaned. The other needs to be brought up from the garage. One dog will have to give birth in the living room! Some time after the 14th we will be making a trip to the vet for x-rays. I feel more secure about safe deliveries when we know how many pups are coming. I have all of my supplies in one place. I need to cut down some of the colored neckbands for the puppies. Yorkie puppies all look alike and I assume the Maltese will look alike too. Shih Tzus are much more interesting in all of their colors and markings.

These days when people ask me what I do, I don't say that I am a retired systems analyst. I am now the caregiver, housekeeper and midwife to a pack of dogs that allow me to live with them!

Waiting and anticipating

2009-02-12T11:40:00.001-08:00

These are the new dogs Moose and Squirrel. She may be pregnant. I don't know what they did behind closed doors, but they mated every time they were with me. I am so tired of witnessing doggy love.

Since we are familiar with Kitty and Raina we are sure they are both pregnant. Squirrel seems a little rounder than she was when she arrived, but then she was so skinny what we may be seeing is just healthy weight gain. I hope not. I may be really crazy in wanting 3 litters of puppies all coming within a week and a half to 2 weeks of each other. Kitty should be first, then Raina and finally Squirrel. I just told my son that if two of the dogs come into labor at the same time, I am calling for help immediately. And I mean at 3 a.m. if necessary.

I am always excited by the impending arrival of new puppies. By the second week of March I will know for certain how many litters are coming. I will have to prepare the whelping areas for each dog. With the Yorkies and Maltese I'll need my colored bands to identify the puppies since they will all look the same as their litter mates. I will have make sure my camera batteries are all charged up and ready to go. I need to order supplies for puppy kits too. I have pink leashes, but no pink collars! I decided to figure my "worst case" scenario of litter size and prepare for 15 puppies. I could wait until the puppies come, but then I may run into the situation that I did with the pink collars. Bring on the puppies!

The Hazards of Wishing

2009-01-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

There is an old saying, “be careful what you wish for because you may get it”. That’s me right now. I was sad that I do not have any puppies right now and so I have 2 dogs that have come into heat! We noticed Kitty Cat’s condition the other day and were planning on watching for signs that she was ready to breed. Within 24 hours she was “presenting” herself to old Reggie who is a female! I guess when you are in the mood you let the closest dog know. I called my son and had him bring Ozzie over. Ozzie was here with Kitty for all of 5 minutes when we had a successful mating. (I just checked on them and they are at it again. They need a little private time.)

Now my Yorkie Raina is in heat. Why do I always find out by a stain on my jeans? Gus is our male Yorkie and he lives with my son and daughter-in-law. He will be arriving tomorrow so that he and Raina can get acquainted again. She has not seen him since he was a puppy. I guess Raina is going to be a “cougar”. She is almost 3 and Gus is just coming up on his first birthday. This is a big deal for Gus because it will prove him as a stud.

We obtained a male and a female Maltese a couple of weeks ago. We call them Moose and Squirrel. I confess that we are all Rocky and Bullwinkle fans. Squirrel is now looking like she may be coming into heat. If she does we are going to let them mate. I will go from not having puppies to potentially having 3 litters in 58 to 63 days. I will have to come back to my blog to remind myself that I was missing the puppies.

Empty Nesting

2009-01-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

I miss every puppy when they leave, but I think I miss Bob the most because I am without puppies for the first time since August. I guess I did ask for this. I had told my daughter-in-law that I needed a break, but I have changed my mind. Kitty Cat is showing signs of being in heat, but it’s the early stages. The poor dog is going to have to put up with being swabbed daily for a little while. Ozzie must be in the mood to make puppies too. He has been practicing on Gus and Gus does not appreciate it in the least.

Bob is a very lucky little guy. He got a new family of dog lovers. It seems like all of the puppies got their own little girls this time. I do enjoy the pictures I get of my babies after they leave me. I know then that I have launched a little dog off to a good life.

Reggie's adventure in rodent control

2009-01-05T05:41:00.001-08:00

It seems to be feast or famine with my blogging. Right after I published the puppy news, I remembered Reggie’s adventure the other day. Reggie is an aging beagle-dachshund mix. Food is the only motivator in her life. Well maybe some scratching is appreciated too.

The other day I was trying to nap. Raina was bothering me and I had finally gotten her to settle down. Then there was a strange noise. It was the crackling of plastic and Reggie making her “mooing” sound. When I got up Reggie had a mousetrap glue board stuck to her face, both front feet and a rear foot. All for a little dab of peanut butter! I thought we had removed the last of the glue boards. I have no idea where she found it.

I removed the glue board and cleaned Reggie off as best I could. I couldn’t think of anything non-toxic, so I risked a little nail polish remover. Fortunately Reggie didn’t suffer any ill effects from the polish remover. Later my son suggested vegetable oil which worked very well. Reggie managed to get the rest of the glue off, but did it by walking it off in every room in the house! After waiting a few days so that the dirt would show me where the glue was, I started cleaning with vegetable oil. It was a big hit with the dogs! They followed me and licked the floor where ever I had cleaned it. Wookie wanted to get the freshest oil so she was right with me. I had to push her head out of the way to clean. Now I just have to scrub the floors to clean up the oil the dogs missed. I wonder how I can get them to clean the bathtub?

I got a picture today!

2009-01-05T05:07:00.000-08:00

I love to hear from people who have gotten a puppy from us. Today I got a picture of Bailey. She was one of our August Shih Tzus. I called her Dorothy. I like her permanent name better. She is just beautiful and obviously well loved. I can’t ask any more for one of my babies. Thank you to Christina for the picture.

It always seems that we have one puppy in a litter that is around for a while. This time it’s Bob. He is adorable. He plays with the older dogs and takes their rough playing in his stride and comes back for more. Bob also loves the dead leaves the other dogs bring in from the outside. He carries them proudly like a treasure. I just wish he was big enough to reach a wastebasket to dispose of them himself. I guess that’s my job.

I am of two minds about Bob leaving. It would be nice to know he has a good home, but I would be without puppies for the first time since August. I have become accustomed to all of those tasks I perform to take care of them. It might leave a hole in my day. I have been whispering to Raina and Kitty Cat that they need to come into heat soon so that I will have more puppies. I am missing that stage where trying to walk among them is like wearing puppy slippers, except that the slippers are licking my feet!

Wookie's babies are a week old

2008-11-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

I was so glad when Wookie delivered her pups last Sunday. They are growing so fast that they have actually doubled their birth weights! Sometimes I hear them crying and thinking there is a problem. It usually turns out to be one of the pups complaining that they want to nurse. Wookie worries me that she is not drinking water, but then why should she when I keep her supplied with puppy formula. I have also been trying to get her to eat puppy kibble, but she wants only canned puppy food and boiled beef liver. What a wonder thing for me! I get to remember those days of my childhood when I choked down fried liver with lots of catsup. At least this is boiled so the aroma is a little different. After boiling, I grind up the liver in a food processor. I suppose it is worth the bother since it produces the most beautiful and healthy babies.

A brand new litter!

2008-11-04T04:55:00.000-08:00

I am pretty fatigued today. I have not been sleeping well because of the impending birth of a litter of Shih Tzus. This time the mother is our Wookie. Normally she is full of energy and constantly in motion. The last week or so she has been resting a lot. Since no one witnessed the mating, we did not know Wookie’s due date.

At 3:30 a.m. Sunday I was awakened by a loud moan. I got to Wookie in time to see the first of the puppies arrive. By 6:30 a.m. all of the big work was over and Wookie became the mother of four puppies. The first three are females and number four is a male with the most beautiful reddish-brown spots. Two of the females could be twins! They are both mostly black with white toes, small white patches on their chests and faint white stripes on their heads.

Wookie is proving to be a good mother. I was a little worried since she is usually a goof. Now she is all business.

A day later I get back to this and Wookie is acting nuts. I had forgotten how weird Kitty Cat behaved for the first few days. Wookie is not eating or drinking unless I hold the bowl for her. I think I need to let her get very hungry and thirsty so she will take care of her needs. She does get out of the whelping box to go potty. I need to change out the bedding today. She seems distressed that it is soiled. I found two puppies wrapped in a blanket this morning. I am going to try the tray I have used with other litters to see if that makes Wookie feel better.

I am so glad I voted by absentee ballot. I don’t feel like I can leave Wookie for more than a few minutes. I just have to remember that Kitty did settle down and relax after a few days and Wookie will too.

The pups have nicknames now!

2008-10-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have been busy moving back upstairs. I thought I would sleep better with the puppies in their own room. They can whine really loudly at 3 AM if they are hungry! Kitty Cat helps by adding her barks to the whining.

They are so cute now. Their coats are longer and curly. I have given them all nicknames by now. Of course one got his nickname because he did not have one. We took the pups to the vet for a check-up. When we got to the one puppy with no nickname, he suddenly became “Uno”. After all he was the only one. They are Domino, Princess, Ralphie, Dorothy and Uno. It would take too much time to explain each one. I think Uno and Ralphie are my favorites. Uno barks at me to get my attention. Ralphie comes when I call his name. I just hope it does not confuse him when he gets a real name.

My babies are 7 weeks old now. When they get their second puppy shot at 9 weeks they will be ready to go out into the world. I think Kitty Cat may miss them too. She spends a lot of time playing with them. They still get to nurse once a day, but that’s it. If they try any other time, Kitty gets a little pissy with them. I am hoping that Wookie is pregnant so I can have more puppies. I never thought I would find something that I felt I could do well and gave me satisfaction. My puppies give me that.

Update on my dogs

2008-08-29T08:18:00.001-07:00

I swear dogs will do anything to get something to eat. Winston has been helping me when I load the dishwasher. He starts “pre-cleaning” any dishes or utensils he can reach. Winston is a real champion at responding to a “leave it” command except when it comes to the dishwasher.

Winston has been getting accustomed to dealing with the newest dog, our Yorkie male Gus. My son and daughter-in-law will be moving in September and Winston and Gus are going with them to the new apartment. Usually Winston does not react well to dogs jumping on his back. He has figured out that Gus is just a baby (about 5 months old) and is not challenging him. The day will come when Winston will let Gus know the behavior will not be tolerated any more.

That will leave me with 6 dogs. Three Shih Tzus, a Yorkie, a Corgi and a beagle-dachshund mix. This bunch will be manageable for me since they fit in one room and are well behaved together outside. They do bark a lot. The Corgi is a barking machine! Kippy can bark non-stop for hours. It amazes me. The beagle-dachshund mix is also a barker. I can tell her voice because there is a distinct hound baying sound to it. The Yorkie, Raina, thinks she is queen of the yard. She thinks she is queen of everything. When there is something to bark about, she does it from the top of a tree stump. The Shih Tzus are much more easy-going and are usually playing around while the others are barking. I wish there were some way to translate the barks into English. Would Kippy be yelling “if you come near my yard, I will gnaw your ankles”? I guess in English her threats would not be as effective.

I will be glad to move back upstairs. Right now the new puppies are in my bedroom. I am very fatigued during the day and I wonder if it is that I am not sleeping well with the puppies near me. Upstairs I will be able to put the puppies and their mother in a room of their own, away from my bedroom! I may find out that I don’t sleep worrying if the puppies are alright. I may start spoiling my Yorkie again. Raina was accustomed to sleeping in my bed until I moved Kitty Cat into my room during her pregnancy. Since I will have a room set aside for the pregnant dog, Raina will be able to sleep with me all of the time.

I am going to end up being the weird lady with all of the dogs!

Miss Kitty skips the rails

2008-08-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

The new puppies are 5 days old now. It's amazing how fast they are growing. I haven't weighed them since Aug. 16. In just those 2 days they went from weighing between 5.4 oz. and 6 oz. to 6.5 oz. to 7.2 oz. Kitty isn't gaining any weight, the puppies are getting it all.

I think Kitty has skipped the rails because she gets stressed out easily. It only seems to be in the morning hours though. She will feed her babies and then get under my bed and dig on a plastic container. She sometimes vocalizes while she digs and I mean yodeling! At other times she will hear the babies cry out and runs over to them to bark as if to say "Shut up!" By the afternoon she is cuddling with them and nursing them. I took the picture of her and the pups around 3:00 pm. Maybe it's because they are afternoon babies.

When we all move upstairs, I am going to turn the office into a puppy nursery. It has a gate to protect the pups from the other dogs. I can also put a low fence across the doorway that will allow Kitty to escape from the puppies when it comes time to wean them. I like to start crate training the puppies at the age of 7 weeks and they will be far enough from my bedroom that they can yell all they want to and not bother me!

It's been a while AGAIN

2008-08-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

I know I haven’t been very regular in updating my blog. It seems to take a major announcement with the dogs to do it. Well, we are having Shih Tzu puppies sometime in the next 2 weeks. If feel for Kitty Cat, her belly is huge! She didn’t gain any weight this week, but I also have not noticed her eating a lot. She has to be eating because she still poops! She is getting a little stir-crazy. I’ve had her in my room for about 2 weeks. She is accustomed to spending part of her day outside. We just don’t want her out there unsupervised right now. The temperature has been in the 90’s. Plus we don’t want to risk her having pups under the shed! I guess I need to walk her a little more. It should help move the puppies along too.

At the same time we are getting ready for son and daughter-in-law to move into an apartment. It’s not like they have much time to work on it. My daughter-in-law changed jobs and works 50 to 60 hours per week. My son is headed to California next week for a seminar. And their moving date is September 10. It’s a good thing they are living here and not somewhere they will have to vacate quickly. Then I will be moving back upstairs where the bathrooms are! That is the one thing I have not liked about having my room in the basement. The privacy is great, but to take every trip to the bathroom under consideration due to my bad knees was getting old.

Some of our dogs are getting new homes because only 2 can go to the apartment and I can only handle so many. The ones I am keeping are all small and for the most part very well behaved. Hopefully a couple of the dogs will be going with family members so that we can visit with them. My dogs are such a big part of my life, but life seems to be changing and so it is best that things change for some of the dogs as well.

08/18/2008

From what I read, I started this around the first of August. I write on MS Word and then publish to my blog. Every time I do start writing something interferes. Since I started this Kitty has given birth and I turned 54. I have to tell the family no more birthday cakes for me. I had a gastric bypass in 1999. Sugary stuff like decorated cakes causes “dumping”. It is very unpleasant and painful. I decided in spite of knowing what dumping feels like, to eat some cake. It has finally passed, but I still feel yucky!

Kitty had 5 puppies; 3 males and 2 females. She was very frightened with the first and cried out. It scared me to death since the puppy was in a breach presentation. Luckily she pushed hard and out it popped. It was mostly white with black spots on its head and back. I think I am going to nickname him Domino. She waited a couple of hours and the next 2 came back-to-back. One is black and white and the other is brindle and white. The girls were born last. One of them is black, gray and white like her father Ozzie. The last is the most beautiful. She is white and golden brown. I think Kitty has post-partum psychosis. She looks for hiding places and digs on top of a plastic container under my bed. Fortunately she is leaving the puppies where they belong when she goes off on one of her forays. She is so thin and bony since having the pups. I feed her boiled beef liver and puppy chow softened with puppy formula. I hope she gains some weight. The puppies certainly are.

By the way, Hamburger had a false pregnancy. Too bad, her puppies would have been really cute. She has been spayed now and lives with my daughter-in-law's brother.

Hamburger moves in

2008-05-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

Raina is very unhappy. She is sleeping in a crate like the other dogs rather than in my bed. All of her puppies have gone to their permanent homes and it is time to make room for a new mother.

I have never seen a face like Hamburger's before. She actually sticks her lower lip out when she is not getting her way. Normally she has what my son has described as a "swimmer's body". Hammy is very muscular without any fat on her body. She is an athlete. The dog runs and can jump incredibly high. Her hindquarters are so slim that it almost looks like we never feed her. Everything that dog eats goes into muscle. Since she spent time with Ozzie while she was in heat, Hamburger's belly has been getting bigger. I can't quite feel the puppies yet, but I am very sure that Hammy is about to become a mother.

Based on her private time with Ozzie, the first due date is June 5. Around June 2 I want to get an x-ray so that we know how many puppies we are expecting and if Hammy will need a C-section. Hamburger is a Boston Terrier and the breed is prone to needing help with delivery. Our other Boston was not able to deliver her puppies. We lost both pups and decided to have Penny spayed. We were just happy we did not loose our Penny. Now Penny happily spends her days playing with our Shih Tzus. The problems with Penny convinced us to breed Hamburger with a Shih Tzu instead of a Boston. We are hoping the heads will be smaller than pure-bred Bostons and that Hamburger's pelvis is large enough to birth the pups. If the x-ray shows that she may have trouble, we will schedule a C-section and probably have Hammy spayed so that she does not breed again. I would not put her through surgery again for another litter. No matter what, our main concern is Hamburger's health and happiness. You just can't resist that face.

Our puppies are leaving!

2008-05-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Our babies have been getting wonderful new homes. I could not have chosen better new families for them. One was even given a name very similar to that of my last sister. It was total coincidence, but I could not be more pleased. My sister would have been pleased.

It will feel so empty when the last of the Yorkie puppies goes to its permanent home. The good news is that it looks like we will be having BoShih puppies in June. The BoShih is what you get when you have a Boston Terrier mother and a Shih Tzu father. I have not seen one myself, but my daughter-in-law says they are adorable. I need to get current pictures of them and post them. Our male Shih Tzu was groomed just the other day and he looks like a different dog. Hamburger, the Boston female, didn't even recognize him. He used to look like a large angry cat. Now he is a handsome devil. I'll update this post as soon as I have new pictures.

These are such loving puppies

2008-04-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

The pups have grown enough that their colored neckbands were too tight. Instead of replacing the bands, I checked our supply of puppy collars. There were 3 colors, so they all have their first collar. They have been wearing something around necks since birth, but they still had to fuss about the collars! I am taking a puppy on a leash every time I take Raina out. It worked with the last litter to have them follow their mother. After a couple of times, I could get the puppy to walk on the leash by themselves. I forgot that I took Xena out in the backyard to play the other day, so Rastus still has to get his turn to go out.

The pups have different levels of energy. Spazz moves almost constantly. When I pick him up he just keeps wiggling. Rastus and Xena love to cuddle. They even nap at different times. I just felt someone bite my toe! I knew it was Spazz before I looked. I have a feeling he would be great with someone who runs or walks everyday. These puppies are so sweet, they had better leave soon before I get too attached.

Three seem like four!

2008-04-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

I thought the work would reduce by 25% when Gidget left. Ha! These three are like wild animals when they get going. The one I have nicknamed Rastus loves to run with newspaper. Once he has it in a new location, he begins shredding it. I have to carry my squirt bottle with me all of the time.

What you see in the picture is a big mistake. Never put puppies on your bed without being within arm's length. I had to wash the comforter and the sheets. It happened so fast I could not do anything about it.

Raina seemed to know that I had goofed. She watched as the whole thing happened. Without thumbs, she was helpless to remove the pups. She could have at least barked or grunted. I wonder if she was thinking that I was such a dimwit.

Then the little monsters settle down to nap and look so sweet. They cannot possibly be the animals that were running and growling like wild dogs 20 minutes ago. Can they?

This is the best part of being a breeder. I get to play with the puppies! All the while I am trying to mold them into puppies that will be good pets for some family. I have heard from Gidget's family. She is adjusting well and being a good pet. It's the best I can hope for.

Sad and Excited

2008-04-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

The first of the puppies leaves today. I will be sad to see her go. Since I raise the pups in my little "mother-in-law suite", I become attached to each of them. My son does not allow me to name them, so I give them nicknames. Gidget has a real name. Her family picked her out when she was only 2 weeks old and they had already decided on a name. The others I have nicknamed Spazz because he is so active. That boy is really a terrier. Then there is Xena the Warrior Queen. She tries to dominate the other puppies. And last we have Rastus. It was a favorite silly name of my late sister. This little guy thinks it is funny to run through the room with a sheet of newspaper! I get mad and yell at him when he starts shredding it. They are all sweet, cuddly and affectionate. My Raina was terrified of people when I first brought her home. I raise my puppies to love people. They run to the door when they hear someone coming.

Gidget is a very lucky puppy. She will be the pet of my daughter-in-law's cousin Lily. Lily is 5 and very precocious. Her parents got her a book on dog care with a DVD. She is so excited. Lily held Gidget when the puppy was 2 weeks old. She is in for a surprise when she sees her puppy now. I have been emailing pictures, but it is not the same as seeing and playing with a 9 week old ball of energy. I hope I remember to take pictures.

Almost Weaned!

2008-04-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

I can claim that I have been too busy with the puppies to update the blog. They do take a lot of my day, but most of it just watching them play. They seem to have different biological clocks and nap at different times. If they are active at night I am not noticing, but then I might not notice a bomb going off.
I turned Raina into a burrito today. I don’t want the puppies to nurse anymore and she seems very willing to let them continue. So she is wrapped in an elastic bandage. I tried putting 2 shirts on her with one of them going over her back end, but the pups managed to nudge them aside. We will see how this works.

Two of the pups have learned to climb the steps for my bed. The orange female instinctively knew how to get down. The pink male fell off the first time. It didn’t stop him from climbing up again. I’ve tried showing him how to place his feet. I guess he will just figure it out for himself.
The orange female seems to be the dominant puppy. The other female, Gidget, is quiet and will stand off sometimes when the others are wrestling. All of them are very affectionate. The pink male is the most adventurous. He had been trying to figure out the steps for a week. I guess his legs just reached the right length yesterday. The green male sleeps the most and is the most willing to play by himself. I have seen him spent 20 minutes in the same basket with one toy. I think that toy will have to be his when he goes to a new home.

I may have to use earplugs tonight to fall asleep. I plan to separate the puppies for the first time tonight. Gidget’s family plans to have her sleep in a crate so each one will be in their own carrier tonight. I have bedding lying around on the floor for the puppies and Raina to put their scent on so that they will have that familiarity. I’ll line the floor of the carrier with newspaper so that they will have somewhere to potty. The carriers are large enough so that they will have bedding area and space to go potty without messing in their bed.

So many changes

2008-03-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

The puppies are growing beautifully. Their eyes are so bright, coats soft and shiny. Now that they are up walking and playing, I can see their personalities. The firstborn, the green banded male, is the slowest developing. I think he is just more deliberate in learning. The orange female is asserting herself as the boss. The blue female, Gidget, is so playful and cuddly. The red male is bold and adventurous.

Now that they are walking the next milestone is their teeth. I certainly know how that is going since they like to chew on my fingers. I have started feeding them ‘puppy soup’. It’s their baby food that I make with softened puppy food, puppy formula and water. I start them by letting them lick it from my fingertips. Sometimes I smear some on their muzzles for them to clean off. A couple of them are actually lapping it up out of a shallow bowl. When their teeth come in I’ll add some of the soft puppy food to the soup.

I like to hold them and brush their coats. I trim their nails so that they become accustomed to having their feet handled. We had one dog that had panic attacks if her feet were touched.

They are waking from yet another nap. The orange female wakes first and is gnawing on the blanket. She even shakes it. She will get out of the bed soon to go potty. They have been learning to go on newspaper and all but my green boy are doing great. Again I think he is just a little more deliberate about his actions. The orange girl is trying to wake her siblings. She gives up and goes back to sleep when chewing on her brother foot does not rouse him. Back to being a pile of sleeping puppies.

Puppies!! Finally an update

2008-03-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

I had forgotten how wonderful is it to have small puppies. They are so adorable. And undemanding of me at this age! Raina does everything. They are at the point where they are being to toddle. Until I became a breeder there was so much I was did not know. I knew the puppies would be born with their eyes closed, but I did not know that their ears are sealed too. They do not have teeth yet. I think Raina is grateful for that. The mother uses the eruption of the puppies teeth as the signal to begin weaning them. I certainly would not want 4 hungry critters with teeth nursing on me!

I have begun the first step in paper-training the puppies. Before Raina feeds them, I remove them from their bed and put them on the newspaper. Having their mother near seems to stimulate them to urinate. By having them on the newspaper, I begin the association of urination with newspaper. The last litter was newspaper-trained so easily. It was amazing to see 7-week old puppies seeking out newspaper before it moved its bowels. I know I'm nuts, I get thrilled over puppies peeing and pooping!

One of the pups has a name, Gidget. I did not name her! She was picked out by my daughter-in-law's young cousin. Lilly will become Gidget's new owner in April. I told Lily that I would teach Gidget her name so that when it is time for her to go to her new home, the pup would recognize it. I'm excited for Lilly. She was so gentle in holding Gidget, I wish I had gotten a picture. I'm sending pictures to Lilly's father by email so that she can watch her puppy grow and change.

Now I want Kitty Kat to come into heat so that we can breed her. I just love the new puppies.

We have new puppies!

2008-02-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

I have been remiss in keeping up the blog. A lot has happened, but the only thing I want to cover right now is our new litter of Yorkshire Terriers! Raina had 4 which surprised us. She was so miserable and looked like a bowling ball on legs. We figured she would have 5 or 6. From now on we are going to get an x-ray before the due dates so that we know how many puppies to expect.

The picture was taken before their tails were docked. Raina had a very easy delivery and is an excellent mother. She has not figured out how to pick them up. One was accidentally pushed out of the bed today and Raina came to me for help.

These puppies should be smaller than the last litter. The father, Andy, is a teacup Yorkie. He only weighs 4.6 pounds. I had some concern about he and Raina being able to mate. I definitely underestimated Andy's abilities! It's exciting and I will keep the blog up to date as the pups grow. I'm ready to hear the growl of Gremlins when they are about 5 weeks old and I let them loose in my room.

The cats go to new homes

2007-12-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

I love all animals, but I am allergic to cats. I had Harley and Eliot because of a family member who got Harley and could not take care of her. I got Eliot from the shelter to be a companion to Harley. Lately living with them had become very uncomfortable. I was zonked on Benedryl most of the time.

I waited until the right people came along to place them in new homes. Harley is living with another cat named Bugs. She is fitting in very nicely.

Eliot went to a lady who fell in love with her from her picture. I turns out that Eliot likes children since she has chosen the son as her favorite.

I am so happy they have new homes. I didn't brush them or hold them like a good cat mommy should. They each live in homes where cats are properly appreciated.

We do have another cat in residence temporarily. His name is What, as in "that is not what I sent you to Walmart to get" and that is exactly how he got his name. My daughter-in-law's parents have sold their house and are living in a horse trailer/camper. It's a little small for both their dog, Reuben and the cat. So Mr. What will be staying with us for a while. He spends most of his time in my son's office/studio. It makes him feel safe from all of the wild dogs. My son put up a window shelf for What and I loaded the bird feeder on the front porch. What spends a lot of time bird watching now.

A couple of the girls are in heat

2007-12-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

We are hobby breeders and are excited when we have a dog ready for breeding. First was Kitty Cat, but she is only 8 months old and it is too soon for her. Then Raina showed signs. She will be going to Dahlonega the week of Christmas to meet her mate. When she returns home hopefully she will be pregnant. The puppies would be due in late Febrary. I am very excited.

I enjoyed caring for her last litter and have been having "puppy fever". We are expecting Hamburger and Mim to come into heat too. When one female starts, the others follow shortly after.

I will have to be making a lot of puppy soup in March when the babies start on semi-solid food. I let the puppies run loose in my bedroom. It means a lot of newspaper on the floor, but it is so much fun to be raising puppies. I cried when the last puppy left the last time.

I put a lot of time into the puppies and can't help getting attached to them. I am not allowed to name them, so I give them nicknames. The Yorkie puppies get colored neckbands at birth so we can tell them apart. By the time they are 8 weeks old they look different and have personalities. The colored neckbands allow me to give the new owners a history in pictures of their puppy from birth. I wish I had that for Raina. I expect the Bostons and Cavalier puppies to look different at birth unlike the Yorkies. I will still use the neckbands. It just the systems analyst in me that needs that. I'm excited.

A death in the family

2007-11-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

I feel awful. The squirrel that Shannon has been hand feeding died. I was supposed to take care of it today while Shannon was working. I was still a little groggy when she was leaving for work. I couldn’t remember if she said to feed it at 1 and 6. Around noon I decided to go check on the squirrel. I had a little trouble finding him. He was on the bare heating pad. I was afraid that he had been burned, but he was not. He was lethargic, his ribs were showing and his skin was flaccid. I gave him a little formula anyway. To keep a closer check on him, I brought him to my room. I fed him an hour later and he took a little then. The next time I tried to feed him, he was gone.

Shannon was so successful with the first squirrel. I feel like I may have let her down. I should have called her before she got to work. Then I would have at least known for sure the last time the squirrel had been fed. Well, good-bye little fellow.

I'm am too anxious

2007-11-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

I goofed the other day. Mim has a bump on her belly and I mistook it for her being pregnant. I had a long talk with her yesterday and told her it was time for her to come into heat. Get busy! She just looked at me with those big buggy eyes of hers. I love the Cavies. I always thought that the breed was really beautiful. I just didn't think I would ever have a pair of them. I can't wait for puppies!

We may be pregnant!

2007-11-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

I am so excited! We have been waiting for one of the female dogs to come into heat. I have been privately disappointed about Mim because Deb and Charles had assured us that she would be coming into heat any time. Today I was petting her and for some reason got the urge to feel her tummy. Her teats feel like they are filling with milk. I think she is pregnant! It’s possible we missed the whole thing. She may not have spotted which was the first sign we were looking for. Since she and Merlin are together almost constantly, they could have mated during the night and we would have missed it. When they first got here, Merlin was trying to mount Mim every 5 minutes. In the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that the behavior has dropped off considerably. I want Sean and Shannon to feel her belly too to see if they think I might be right.

I finally took pictures of the baby squirrel. (It’s a good thing I started telling about the squirrel; I was supposed to be feeding it!) Its little tummy is so translucent that the formula I feed it is visible through the skin. It has a good appetite and eats well. It was actually digging its way out of the towels in its carrier when I went in to get it. I’m glad its fur is growing. It’s not quite so ugly now. Since Shannon was hand-raising a squirrel so recently, we still have baby cereal for when it is ready to start on something more solid. The more perishable foods like strained sweet potatos and apple sauce will need to be purchased when the time comes.

News on the Cocker Spaniel puppy

2007-11-01T19:54:00.001-07:00

I was wondering the other day how the Cocker Spaniel puppy was doing. We had not heard from the Buckholts since the day they picked her up. I received a lovely email today. Besides that we have another squirrel in residence. Someone walked into PetSmart with another baby squirrel that had fallen out of its nest. I will have to take a picture-it is UGLY! I got to feed it twice today. I never fed the first squirrel. This little guy (my guess) eats better than the first one. I had to make him pee and poop after he ate and he produced so much urine that it got on my clothes!

GOOD MORNING MAMA MARTA!

WE WERE SO GLAD TO GET AN EMAIL FROM YOU-----THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD PICTURE OF ME, MOM SAYS!

BUT THEY HAVE BEEN TAKING LOTS OF PHOTOS OF ME TO PUT IN MY ALBUM, SO MOM ASKED DAD TO MAKE THEM SO THAT SHE CAN SEND THEM TO YOU AND SHANNON TO LOOK AT!

MY WT WAS 8LB WHEN I HAD MY 9WK SHOTS AND CHECK UP----IT WAS A GOOD ONE, JUST THE FACT THAT THE PATELLA, MY KNEECAP IS A LITTLE SLIPPERY, BUT SHOULD NOT CAUSE ANY PROBLEM, BUT A SURGERY IF WHEN I GET OLDER AND I SHOULD NEED IT----

OF COURSE MY EARS HAD MITES AND MOM AND I HAVE BEEN HAVING FUN USING THOSE DARN DROPS 2XDAY, BUT LOOKS LIKE WE GOT RID OF THEM------I GO TO THE DR TODAY FOR MY 12 WK SHOTS AND MOM SAYS SHE KNOWS I HAVE GAINED SOME LBS-----I AM HEAVIER TO CARRY WHICH I LOVE TO DO----

I AM EATING WELL, JUST HAVE A FEW PUPPY PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE ALL TRYING TO WORK THROUGH-------WITH SANITY!!!!!!

LEXI, MY SISSY AND I LIKE TO GO AT SOMETIMES OVER NEW TOYS AND LOTS OF BONES MOM GETS US-----SHE MIGHT BE SMALL BUT OH MY, SHE THANKS SHE IS A GREAT DANE!

I THINK WE ARE LEARNING TO LOVE EACH OTHER AND SHE LETS ME KNOW SHE IS THE ALPHA DOG HERE, BUT MOM SETS HER STRAIGHT THAT, MOM IS ALPHA!!!!

I SLEEP IN A HUGE CRATE AT NIGHT BESIDE DADDY AND DO WELL----

I AM USING THE PEE PADS GREAT! ONLY A COUPLE ACCIDENTS BECAUSE I MOVED MY BUTT OVER TO FAR AND KIND OF MISSED THE PAD!!!

I LOVE TO RIDE IN THE CAR ON OUR DRIVES AND I LOVE THE NEW BOOSTER SEAT----

NOW SISSY HAS ONE TOO----

I HAVE GIVEN MOM SOME NICE MARKS ON HER HANDS AND ARMS WHEN I WANT TO PLAY AND MOUTH BUT MY TEETH ARE VERY SHARP, SO WHEN I GET ROWDY AND OUT OF CONTROL OR EXCITED, I NOW HAVE A MUZZLE FOR TIME OUT

AND IT HELPS ME CALM DOWN AND BEHAVE----

WE WENT TO THE PARK AND I WALKED ON THE LEASE VERY WELL---ALL THE KIDS LOVED ME AND SAID HOW CUTE I AM----I WAS VERY GOOD WITH ALL THE PEOPLE!!!!!

WE WILL GET THE PHOTOS OFF TO YOU ASAP

AND YOU WILL SEE HOW I HAVE GROWN

MOM GOT MY PEDIGREE AND HISTORY, BUT NOTHING WAS WRITTEN ABOUT MY MOM-----

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHERE SHE CAME FROM? LOTS OF STUFF ABOUT MY DAD

IT WAS VERY INTERESTING

I LOVE YOU ALL FOR ALL YOU DID FOR ME AND FINDING ME A NEW HOME----

WE'LL GET BACK SOON

"LILLY LEE" AND MOM!

After I cried when the last Yorkie puppy left, I wanted to check on the other pups. I just need to email a couple of people. Maybe I will learn to let go of them after a couple more litters. I feel better when I know the puppies are being properly spoiled.

The felines in our house

2007-10-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to find a new home for my two cats for a couple of months. I hate to do it, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to care for them and give them the attention they deserve. When we still had puppies, Eliot spent most of the daylight hours sleeping. She loves to look out the window, but didn’t even do that. Harley started playing with the puppies when the number decreased to two. They are both urinating on the newspaper I was putting down for the puppies. I have to keep putting down the newspaper because of the cats. They still use the litterbox, but this new habit is making me nuts. Harley jumps up on me at the most inconvenient times and often scratches me. It’s a problem because I am allergic to their saliva and I have to take benedryl once or twice a day. Eliot is very demanding when she wants attention. She will get on my desk and push her head under my hand while I am trying to use the mouse. I just think the situation is not fair to them and would like to find someone who has more time for them.

In spite of my trying to get a new home for my cats, we have a “new“ cat in the house. My daughter-in-law’s parents have sold their home and don’t want to keep their cat in the camper they are using for living quarters until they build a new house. His name is “Not What”. It is very unusual and comes from a comment made by my DIL’s stepdad when she and her mother brought the cat home. He looked at the cat and said “that is not what I sent you to Walmart to buy”. The funny thing is that he is very attached to What. He is living upstairs with my son and DIL. They made room for him in my son’s office/studio. I went in to look for him last night and had to follow the rustling noises. He was on top of a bookcase. Fortunately What already knows me, so we had a very nice greeting. My Yorkie views the cat as something to bark at and looks for it every time she is upstairs. What is suppose to be with us until my DIL's parents have built their house. Of course my DIL is hoping they will decide to leave What here with us.

Beware of Internet scams

2007-10-17T19:40:00.001-07:00

Last year I was taken by a person who advertised Yorkie puppies on the Internet. I learned the hard way how to spot the phony ads. What follows is my correspondence involving one of these ads. They do need to be read in reverse order.

Notice that when I started to shy away from the transaction, "the Pastor" offered to share the shipping cost with me. That way he would have gotten at least half of the money he was after. If I hear from him again, it will be to wail about how I have wronged him.

Please be wary of ads on the Internet. I use it to advertise my pups, but I insist that people visit my home to see the puppies, I will not ask for funds to be wired and I will not ship puppies.

*************************
From: Marta Rawlings [mrawlin3@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:39 PM
To: 'Pastor Jacob Seraile'
Subject: RE: Yorkie puppy

Dear Pastor,

I lie just as well as you do. My daughter-in-law received the same email from Dr. Martin when she inquired about an English Bulldog. I only hope that I can unmask scammers like you and educate people so that they are not taken in by the lies. I am doing everything I can to warn people about wiring funds especially out of the country. However, you may not even be in Africa. Of course you refused the money order; that would have been mail fraud.

I was taken by someone like you just once. He also claimed to be a man of the cloth.

Marta

From: Pastor Jacob Seraile [mailto:pastorjseraile@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 3:24 PM
To: Marta Rawlings
Subject: RE: Yorkie puppy

I am still awaiting your response marta.

Marta Rawlings wrote:

Dear Pastor,

Thank you for trusting me. I need to discuss this with my husband. I will email you with our decision in the next 24 hours.

Marta

From: Pastor Jacob Seraile [mailto:pastorjseraile@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:45 PM
To: Marta Rawlings
Subject: RE: Yorkie puppy

Marta,

I am God fearing and cant take people money for pleasure, I am looking for the best for my baby and no more, I would have love to do other form of payment with you in order to feel secure but here in west Africa,paypal,money order or other forms are not yet set up here.

I think the only thing I can do now to let you know that am God sent to you is by sharing the trust between ourselves,I mean I can only give you the chance of paying half of the money now while I will also add half to it to complete the shipment and you will balance me with the rest money when you recieve the baby.

I hope that works,let me know so that we can proceed.

Thanks and God Bless You

Marta Rawlings wrote:

Dear Pastor Seraile,

I am just a little concerned. I have been hearing on the news that people are being taken advantage of when they wire money by Western Union. Would a US Postal Money order or PayPal work? It would make me more comfortable.

Marta

From: Pastor Jacob Seraile [mailto:pastorjseraile@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:27 PM
To: Marta Rawlings
Subject: RE: Yorkie puppy

Marta,

I am very excited that you have a playmate for my baby,I want you to know that the baby will be coming with all paper works and particularly custom clearance to allow her to re enter the state back with out going into quarantine, She will be fine on the trip in God's name that I believe,I have prayed over that several times and God has finally answered my prayer.

She will be coming by airline which is the best way of getting her back to the state,Rearding the payment, You will be sending the payment by western union.

Let me read from you on your full mailing address and the nearest Airport to your home for the delivery.

Thanks and God Bless You.

Marta Rawlings wrote:

Thank you for responding so quickly. I have a female Yorkie, Raina, who is 1 ½ years old. I want to get a playmate for her. Raina is an inside dog, but does have a fenced yard to play in. I live in the Atlanta suburbs on 3 acres of land.

How would shipping be handled? I would be worried about shipping a puppy. Are you sure it is safe? Are there any quarantine requirements for the dogs to re-enter the US? How do I send payment to you?

I am very excited. I would love to be able to give your puppies a home and let Raina have playmates.

Marta

From: Pastor Jacob Seraile [mailto:pastorjseraile@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:07 PM
To: Marta Rawlings
Subject: Re: Yorkie puppy

Hello Marta,

First of all, I must thank my living Lord that I found an intending parent for my babies, I also give thanks to the breeder that directed you
to me.

I`m giving them out for adoption. They are 3months currently and Akc registered all their shots are up to date.They are $400 each shipping included the two are $800.I got relocated to west africa recently and could not take care of the babies anymore. I want a great home for them because they are my real babies.
The weather here is not conducive for them that is why I want to get them out as soon as possible and I will be very happy if you will be one to take them as your babies.I have a male and his name is Harry while the female name is Kelly they are both very good with kids and love to play alot this is one of their many charact

I never wanted to sell them but the weather here in West Africa is not helping matter at all. If you are interested kindly get back to me with your full maling address.such as your full name.address and phone number asap so that the babies can be on their way to their new home as soon as their shipping arrangement is concluded! Kelly have good attitude and she love playing with toy while Harry always jealous. They love eating biscuit, Beaf and Milk. Always listen to my attention. They do attend pet school. They listen to this languaage. Come,Go, Eat ETC .... I would be happy if you can help me to continue their schooling if they get to your lovely home.I have already make some gifts for the new parent of my babies.I will be making use of the agent that shipped them into west africa.

Get back to asap to tell more of your apartment where you going to keep my babies indoor or outdoor? I will always remember you in my daily prayers.

God Bless You

Marta Rawlings wrote:

Pastor,

I received your name from a Dr. James Martin. I am very interested in obtaining a female Yorkie puppy. Please let me know if you have one available.

Marta

From: martins [drjamesmartins2@myway.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:51 PM
To: mrawlin3@comcast.net
Subject: RE: Lead From Your Listing (AKC YORKIE PUPPY)
Hello,
You are a bit late, I just sold the babies you saw on the ads. But you can contact one of my buyers that bought puppies from me. he is Pastor Jacob Seraile, he just contacted me that he is now in West Africa posted by his church and he went there with the two puppies he recently bought from me. According to him, his commitment with the God's work did not give him the needed time he needs to be with the puppies, and he needs a caring parent who can adopt the babies back to the state asap.

Below is his email address, contact him and request
for the puppies he needs a parent for. he will be
very happy if he knows you are from me.

Write Pastor Jacob Seraile on: pastorjseraile@yahoo.com

Get back to me when you adopt the babies

Little Man has a home!

2007-10-16T05:03:00.000-07:00

The last puppy left last night. I had to let him go, I was getting too attached. I felt really silly sitting at the computer crying. I even had this irrational urge to call the man who bought Little Man and tell him to bring my puppy back. I need to enjoy the quiet while there aren’t any puppies in residence. The Cavies should be mating soon, so there will be puppies again. It will probably be spring before Raina is ready to breed again. Hamburger should be coming into season too. We plan on breeding her with a Shih Tzu. It should be an interesting mix.

Another puppy goes home

2007-10-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

One of our male Yorkies got a home today. The very nice woman who fell in love with him is lucky enough to have a boss who will let her leave during the day to get a puppy.

The only one left is the little male. He is tiny, but he is bossy! A little dog with a giant voice, he will sit right in front of me and bark until I pay attention to him. This one needs someone who will either let him walk all over them or they will straighten him out on who is really the boss. I’m hoping he will sleep by himself tonight. If he cries, I’m throwing Raina into the pen with him. I will only let him push me just so far!

I just wish it would have been apparent that he was going to be teacup size from the beginning. We have had a lot of people call wanting teacups and we told them we didn’t have any. Hopefully we will get more inquiries from people wanting teacups.

I keep waiting for Mim to come into heat. Merlin is ready for it at a moments notice. I can’t wait for the next bunch of puppies. I’ve had fun raising these babies. I got really good at making “puppy soup”. I get to have the fun of having puppies, but then they move on to their permanent homes. I’ve met some very nice people and that has been part of the fun.

Scam Alert-please don't get taken

2007-10-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

The old saying goes “a fool and his money are soon parted”. I got scammed last year trying to buy a Yorkshire Terrier puppy on the Internet. I learned the hard way never to wire money. There is no recourse to you as the victim as there would be if it were a credit card transaction. That is why I will not ask for money to be wired to me and I will not ship my puppies.

Tonight I received a call through the Relay system. It is used by hearing-impaired people to communicate by telephone. An operator speaks for them and types responses back. From that call I received an email address of a person supposedly interested in one of my puppies. When I got the return email the person is out-of-state and they will send me a money order or certified check. The payment would be in excess of the amount needed to pay for the puppy and shipping. The remaining amount I was to return to the purchaser by Western Union. Chances are the money order or check would be a phony. In the end, I would have been on the hook for the funds.

These people pull stuff like this just because they can. We just have to be smarter and question what seems too good to be true. Don’t wire money to anyone except family and never cash a money order or check for a stranger. There is another old saying: “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”. I just hope that I have made at least one person more wary.

One of our puppies gets a home

2007-10-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last night our beautiful Cocker Spaniel puppy got her own family. I cried a little when they left. The couple who bought her have a Yorkie already. When they saw that our Cocker Spaniel was raised by a Yorkie, they thought she was perfect for them. This is why we got into breeding. I am proud that we could offer someone a healthy, well-socialized puppy.

Missing the Cocker, I put all three Yorkie puppies up on my bed to play. Wouldn’t you know it, the minute I let my guard down one of them wet on the comforter. I should have remembered how many times I washed my bedding when Raina and Penny were puppies. No more puppies on the bed!

They look so adorable and innocent right now napping together on a blanket on the floor. When they get going and playing like wild dogs, it sounds like something from the movie “Gremlins”. They love Harley the cat. They think she should play with them like a dog and she wants them to play like cats. Eliot just hides from them or hisses if they manage to corner her. It’s a good thing Eliot has learned to jump so far. She can make it from her bed to the food and the litter box without setting a foot on the floor. She is slinking by me right now to get to the window while the puppies are napping. If they wake up before she decides to leave the window, she will just have to stay there for a while.

It looks like Mim, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is coming into heat. We won’t have to worry about breeding her. Merlin is with her constantly. I have already volunteered to take Mim in my room when she is due. I loved the birth of the puppies and caring for them and their mother. Raina will be upset with me since she will have to move upstairs while Mim and the puppies are with me.

Once Mim is in heat, Hamburger and Kitty Cat will probably come into heat too. Kitty is too young to breed now. We are considering a Boston Terrier-Shih Tzu mix with Hamburger. We are all still smarting from the problems that Penny had. We don’t want the same thing to happen with Hamburger. I think I would call that mix a “Bo-Tzu”. We will have to see what other names we can come up with.

Catching Up With The Puppies

2007-09-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

I swear I started a new entry for this blog last week. I guess that shows how tired I feel and how busy I have been. I have really enjoyed the puppies. They are now old enough to go to new homes and I am ready for that. Raina may suffer “empty nest” syndrome. She is in the other room playing with them just like she is a puppy again. I know she will not miss the commando nursing. They will still nurse if she lets them and I guess she just has a soft heart. She has to stand because they are so big. Their sucking is so loud that I just imagine Raina feels like she is being turned inside out. The Cocker puppy is almost the same size as Raina and it’s almost hysterical to see her nursing. It looks more like she is a mechanic checking Raina’s undercarriage.

They are actually weaned and eating regular puppy food. Sometimes they even get into Raina’s bowl. That’s a little funny with the Yorkie pups. The kibble is big enough that they have to gnaw away at it until it fits inside their mouths. The Cocker has a preference for softened kibble but does eat it dry. I’ve been worming them over the past three days and have had a tough time getting them to eat all of the food with the medicine in it, except for the Cocker. I’ve tried milk, canned dog food mashed up and softened kibble. I even added some broth from soup my daughter-in-law made for me. At least that is over. They have all had their first puppy shot. None of them cried and fussed.

They are showing different personalities now. I have given them nicknames. My son will not allow me to name them because he is afraid I will become too attached. The Cocker seemed to stay the same size for so long. I just knew that I had done something wrong with her bottle feedings. Then one day she shot up. I had to start calling her “The Weed” because she is continuing to grow like a weed. The Weed does not like going outside. She cried and howled pitifully. I took her out of the pen to see if exploring a little would make it better. She found the puppy pouch I carried them out in and tried to climb back in. She is the one who complains the most when she is hungry. She is a beautiful puppy and so sweet. She does not use her larger size to dominate the other pups. The Yorkies however take advantage of her floppy ears and pull on them.

A couple of weeks ago I gave up moving the pups from the playpen to the bigger play area pen. I put the playpen away, they had outgrown it. Now I use the bigger pen for sleeping and to contain the pups when I need to. The Weed yowls when she does not want to be in there. Now my room is their play area. They discovered the cats very quickly. Eliot just hides in her bed. Harley tries to ignore them, but has given a whack to the head when they get too playful with her. I am so proud of the pups, they are paper trained and I didn’t really do anything. When they were in the playpen they would instinctively get out of their bed to “go”. That end of the pen had newspaper in it. Now that they are running around my room, I have placed newspaper here and there. They always go to the paper. Sometimes they miss, but I figure that is due to a lack of coordination. Sometimes they do go on the floor, but that is usually because I did not put paper down where they are accustomed to having it or they have moved it. Dogs are creatures of habit. I plan to recommend crate training. When I get up in the morning their pen is usually clear of mess. They scatter to the newspapers to potty first thing. That’s pretty amazing for 4 puppies in a 3’ square pen.

Two of the Yorkie puppies have gone to their new homes. It was a little more hectic when there were six puppies rather than four. I have nicknamed the remaining three. Bruiser got his early. He has been the biggest since birth. Then Little Big Man got his name. He started the same size as his brother, but since then he has not grown as fast. I think he will be the smallest. He is just as feisty as the others. No one gets the best of him. “Green Girl” has the least interesting name, poor girl. It just refers to the green neckband she wears. She is the most interested in getting my attention. She will get on the doggie steps and woof at me until I look at her. She loves to sit in my lap. I take those opportunities to get the pups used to being groomed by brushing them. I also trim their toenails then. I am determined to socialize these pups. When I got Raina, she and her littermates were very shy. It was almost as if they had not had much contact with people. The males hid so far under furniture that I would have had to have gotten down on the floor to reach them. All four pups run to the door when someone knocks. One has to shuffle their feet to avoid stepping on them. That’s what I want when someone comes to see them.

I’m going to put together their puppy kits today. I don’t want to be rushing to put them together when it’s time for a pup to leave. We are providing everything needed to start out except for a crate. Hopefully we will be putting an ad on LiveDeal.com today. We have always had good response to ads placed there.

I will miss the pups when they are all gone, but will be happy that someone is getting a healthy, well-adjusted and beautiful puppy.

Weaning, feeding and pooping

2007-08-16T03:51:00.000-07:00

I am really tired! We finally tried holding CC down to nurse her puppy. It works and we thought maybe she would catch on to caring for the puppy on her own. The minute we let go of her she jumps up and walks away! I have always said that dog is a big dumb blonde. So I meet Shannon during the night when she is getting up to feed the squirrel. I get CC and hold her until the puppy finishes nursing. CC will lick and clean the puppy too, but she obviously does not like it. At first we thought it might be because she only had one puppy and if there were more she would have taken care of them. After all this work, we have pretty much decided to spay CC and retire her. I don’t think she will be any better with a larger litter. I skipped taking the puppy to CC at 8:00 a.m. because I am just too tired and in too much pain.

Raina has been a wonderful mother. My only concern is her weight. It’s like every ounce of nutrition she takes in goes to the pups. She has obviously lost weight so I feed her constantly. She gets puppy formula so she gets enough calcium and lots of calories. I am also giving her puppy food for the same reason. I think when she begins to wean the pups she will retain some of what she is losing to them. I check their mouths daily to see if the baby teeth have started to erupt. That’s when Raina should want to start weaning.

The three females in Raina’s litter are spoken for already. The couple that owns the Cocker Spaniel stud is getting 2 females to cover the stud fee and we are getting a breeding pair of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in exchange. They want to stop breeding the spaniels and I think we will do well with them. Shannon and I saw the dogs last week and they are beautiful! We are planning to use one of their Yorkie studs the next time we breed Raina. They are really nice folks and give lots of advice.

This is a few days later..I’ve been too busy with weaning Raina’s pups and bottle-feeding the Cocker Spaniel puppy. I took my cue from Raina about weaning; she just gets up and walks away when she has had enough. The Cocker puppy finally started taking a bottle after a night of not being fed and a change to a Nuk bottle. My hands hurt so badly! I have severe osteoarthritis in my thumbs and it takes some work to get a wiggly puppy to settle down to nurse. At least she is thriving!

Sean offered to feed the puppy for me and got pooped on for his efforts! Usually it takes a little work to get her to go, but I guess she likes him and gave him a gift!

Everyone is doing well

2007-08-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

I’ve got a few minutes to catch up. Raina’s pups are doing great. Two of the girls have opened at least one eye as of 11:30 a.m. They are very healthy and thriving.

Penny has become so clingy. She tore a hole in the portable playpen, so now she is in a crate in the dog room. She wants to cuddle constantly and shrieks when she hears anyone around. She did not want anything to do with Raina’s puppies. So we are making sure she is well fed, she gets her medicine and spend as much time as we can with her.

CC surprised us Sunday evening by dropping a single puppy on the floor. The pup is a healthy female. We waited, but no other puppies arrived. At first CC seemed interested in the pup. She would lick it, but every time it tried to nurse, CC would walk away. Shannon spent the night with them in case CC had more puppies and to switch the heating pads on again every two hours. Early Monday morning, Shannon came to my room with the puppy. CC would just not feed it and it was crying pitifully. Rather than attempting a bottle-feeding at that point we decided to see if Raina would accept the pup. I love that dog! She took the additional puppy without any fuss. We have been holding Raina to nurse the Cocker puppy separately since she is not as developed as the Yorkies, even though she is almost the same size. I guess we don’t really have to hold Raina; I just put the puppy down alone in a bed to look for a dropper for formula. When I got back, Raina was nursing the puppy.

I was beginning to feel like the only one on baby animal detail until Shannon brought home a baby squirrel! It looks to be only days old. She is feeding it kitten formula with a dropper. Shannon has a great touch with animals. The little thing is perking up and eating like crazy. When it reaches the point that it can lap up food on it’s own, we should be able to take it somewhere like Yellow River Game Ranch.

Shannon suggested we try getting Penny to feed the Cocker puppy. She held Penny while I held the pup. After a few minutes of nursing, Penny calmed down and even stopped the shivering she has been doing for days. We returned the pup to Raina for bathing and will try letting Penny nurse her again later. A big hoorah for Penny!

Penny's bad day

2007-08-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Today I am tired and sad. Penny was in labor all day yesterday. I watched her while Sean and Shannon were at school and work. They took over the watch from me allowing me to go to bed at 11 p.m. I was called at 2:30 a.m. when Penny went into active labor. Unfortunately she was only having 2 puppies and both were breach. Our vet tried to save the second puppy by doing a C-section, but it could not be revived. He advised us to have Penny spayed since it look like her pelvis was just too small. We love our Penny and decided that spaying was the best thing to do. It’s very sad that we do not have either of her puppies and she will never have any. She will always have her special place in our home whether she can have puppies or not. In the entire world there is only one Penny.

More puppies today?

2007-08-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

Raina’s puppies are growing so fast. When I last weighed them, they ranged from 8.2 ounces to 9.2 ounces. The vet said they were “nice and plump” the day he docked their tails. They did very well with the tail docking. Raina was a good girl even though she could hear her puppies whimpering. I am not crazy about altering anything on puppies, but after being hit by C.C.’s monster tail there may be a reason for some of the changes; it may not just be for fashion.

Today I am spending the day with Penny. She is obviously miserable. She’s been lactating for a couple of days and also has a pink mucus discharge from her vulva. I’ve been just letting her sit with me. She wants to go to Sean and Shannon’s bedroom, but I don’t think they really want puppies born in there. I decided to try walking her like I did with Raina. I don’t know if the walk did any good, but Raina delivered the next day. Penny is lying on her side at my feet. She just looks very uncomfortable. Maybe I’m wrong; I noticed that she is asleep. I’m trying to hurry things along and maybe I need to slow down and let them happen at their own pace.

I want to bring my camera upstairs. Not just to get pictures of Penny. I need to get shots of the ferrets too. Goose has settled in very nicely. They are probably wondering why I have not let them out. Shannon usually lets them out twice a day. I would have to put Penny in her playpen and I want to keep her with me. Shannon’s spending the day with her dad and stepmom. She has her cell phone with her so I can call her if her Penny starts to have her pups.

Puppy Update

2007-07-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

Raina and the puppies are doing great. She is a very devoted mother. I have been able to take her outside off-leash and she always heads back for the pups.

I was worried that Raina was not eating. That's where my books save me. The mother could be tired enough to not be interested in food for a day or two. I tried offering her canned puppy food and she is very happy eating that. I am also giving her some puppy formula to supplement her calcium intake. I guess I am doing it right. I weighed the puppies this morning and all of them have gained at least 9/10 of an ounce. I am using my postage scale to weigh them. It works.

On Monday I am taking the pups to the vet to have their tails docked and dewclaws removed. I almost hate to do it to them, but Yorkies are supposed to have shortened tails and no dewclaws. Three of them have rear dewclaws. Two have 2 hind dewclaws and one has only one.

One of the girls is spoken for already. We don't know which one yet because the request is for the smallest of the female puppies. I believe another is also taken. I will be picky about who gets my baby's babies!

Penny is due in 8 days. I have my bag of supplies ready for her delivery. We are keeping her inside and taking her out when she has the need to go. I'm excited we are going to have another litter. At least Boston Terriers are born with short tails so we don't have to go thru that again until C.C. has her puppies.

Raina is a mother!

2007-07-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

It’s 11:20 a.m., The View is on and we are waiting on Raina’s sixth puppy to be delivered. Six puppies!! I am so amazed that her first litter is so large. Her belly looks like a deflated balloon. The puppies are beautiful and perfect. We have 3 girls and 2 boys so far. I color-coded the pups with neckbands. Sean could not understand why I wanted to band them immediately. The second time I said “Because I need to” with my teeth clenched, he backed off. I don’t think he understands it yet, but I don’t care. I know why I did it.

It’s now 1:06 p.m. and number six has not yet appeared. There definitely is a sixth puppy. About 20 minutes ago I called the vet to see if I should be concerned. He says that Raina may just be taking a rest. She may rest for a few hours. We are supposed to give the vet a report on her condition at 5:00 p.m. They may want her to come in for a shot of oxytocin to restart her labor. Hopefully it will restart on its own. When she is in active labor, she digs in the bed and bites the side of it. I think that pink bed is going to become Raina’s birthing bed. Once everything is over, I’m going to wash the bed and all of the towels I’ve used this morning. We still have 2 more litters to deliver.

I’m so proud of Raina. She is being a very good mother. When we take her out of the playpen, she gets frantic if she can’t see her pups. She is cleaning them and nursing them. I know it is instinctive behavior with dogs, but not all dogs are meant to be mothers. Kippy proved that.

Now its 6:04 p.m.; around 4:30, the vet’s office called to check on Raina and recommended she be brought in for an injection of oxytocin. Dr. Morgan examined her and said he felt that there were no more puppies to be born. Raina may have retained a placenta. She showed some signs of increased labor, but it has calmed down and she is busy caring for her 5 babies.

For myself, I am pooped. It has been a very long day. I think it was the adrenalin rush that has me worn out. Shannon had been in the middle of baking dog treats for the dog park fund-raiser and had to stop to transport Raina, the puppies and me to the vet. He did say her puppies looked very good and Raina seemed to be taking good care of them.

Well, Raina finished up with 5 puppies. I took her out for a short walk. After she finished the business part of the walk, she kept looking up at me as if to say “I’m done, can we go back now?” When I turned around, she almost pulled me all the way back. She just wanted to get back to her puppies. This really was a good day.

Waiting on puppies and a new ferret

2007-07-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Raina’s first official due date. I admit to being nervous. On Friday my daughter-in-law had trouble finding Raina and nearly freaked out. It turned out she was in a very small corner of the room sleeping. We thought maybe it was the big day. Poor dog, we have been taking her temperature twice a day. We need to get an idea of her normal temp so that we can tell when it drops a couple of degrees. I hope the puppies come soon, I think she is miserable. I remember my due date passing by and still being pregnant. At least I really understood what was going on.

Even though it was Raina’s due date, Shannon and I spent most of the day on ferret matters. Miss Bourbon, Shannon’s ferret, has being acting very bored lately. She even figured out how to open her cage. I had found an article about 2 ferret rescue groups. I had no idea they existed. We visited one of them to introduce Miss Bourbon to some other ferrets in hopes she would choose one as a friend. Hooray! She liked one young male named Reuben. We promptly changed his name to Goose and brought him home. When the ferrets started bothering Sean and his friends, Shannon and I made a fast trip to Home Depot to make a ferret-proof gate for the living room. Luckily Sean took pity on me after I had whacked my thumb for the second time and finished nailing up the quarter-round strips that hold the gate in place. The next time I saw the ferrets, they were romping around the living room.

We are positive Penny is pregnant. She should be due in about 2 weeks. We think she will have a small litter this time since she only mated twice. C.C. may have a small litter too having only mated once. I let Raina and Ray mate 6 times and I am beginning to think that is why she is so huge. I am so excited about Penny. She is a brindle color and the male was also brindle. It will be interesting to she how many of her puppies will be brindle. We have been keeping her inside during the day lately. If a dog fight breaks out Miss Penny in always in the middle of it. She usually has scabs on her face and ears.

We had a small dog visit us for one night. I was returning from the convenience store and saw a couple of neighbors out walking and being followed by a small dog. I stopped to say hello and they asked if the dog was mine. He was adorable! A purebred Shiztzu or Shiztzu-mix with only one eye and he was very well groomed. Sean and I ended up driving around showing that face to everyone we could find. Finally we gave in to defeat and brought him home. I made up signs with his picture and put them out Sunday morning. Another sign showed up shortly thereafter, “missing: dog with one eye”. It turned out the dog is the pet of one of our neighbor’s grandchildren. I’m glad we didn’t just turn him over to Animal Control. Just what I like a happy ending.

Pregancy update

2007-07-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Raina is getting bigger every day. Next Saturday is her first due date. Since the mating took place over several days her due date could be 63 days from any of those days. She is getting bigger and sleeps a lot. I try to feed her several times a day remembering how I would get indigestion while pregnant. She loves having her tummy rubbed. I guess it feels good to her. I can feel the pups moving and can even see them moving now. I’m guessing the litter will be 3 or 4 pups. I have my delivery supplies together including the map to the emergency clinic in Marietta in case of problems.

Penny is coming along with her pregnancy. She is getting wider where Raina’s belly is becoming more low-slung. My daughter-in-law called me a little while ago to tell me that she could feel Penny’s puppies. I ran upstairs as quickly as I could and sure enough I felt them squirming around! I thought I was excited already.

We are pretty sure that C.C. also pregnant. I have been measuring the dogs’ girth every week and there has been a steady increase for all of them.

Over the weekend my son and daughter-in-law bought a used treadmill to exercise the dogs. Penny, Hamburger and C.C. have taken to it very easily. Winston is not sure about it yet. The one we really want to use it, Jack is terrified by it. I have faith my daughter-in-law will get Jack on that treadmill.

Good luck to Ray!

2007-07-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Our Ray has a new home! The family has 2 pugs already and brought them along to meet Ray. He will have his own person now, a lovely teenager who cuddled up to him. I miss my Ray, but he will be very happy in his new home.

Moody Raina

2007-07-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

I guess pregnant dogs suffer hormonal changes just like humans. Yesterday Raina picked a fight with Kippy who is bigger than her. Of course when two dogs start fighting, they all get into the act. I found out about it when my daughter-in-law brought Raina downstairs to me.

I have been measuring Raina’s belly to check her progress. The first measurement of 14 inches was taken on June 26. On July 2 it was 14 ¾ inches. Today the measurement is 15 1/8 inches. I dug up an old stethoscope last night and was able to hear tiny, rapid heartbeats. I must sound like a nut. Who worries this much about their dog? Me, that’s who.

I took measurements on Penny and C.C. yesterday. They are both showing bulges in their bellies, so it looks like we will be having 3 litters.

We have had their whelping areas set up for a while now. My daughter-in-law is very excited too and bought the playpen for Penny months ago. The dogs are all sleeping in their individual whelping areas so that they will be acclimated. Shannon got some advice from a co-worker about the set up. To keep Penny and C.C. from seeing each other, a long dresser is sitting in the center of the room. In the wild, only the alpha female of the pack is permitted to reproduce. Domesticated dogs still carry some of that instinct and will fight if they are exposed to another female with puppies.

I need to get my whelping supplies together. I’ve read two books on the subject. One recommends cotton thread to tie umbilical cords. The other says to use dental floss and never use cotton thread since it will absorb moisture. I think I will use dental floss, but need to buy some since all I have is peppermint flavored. Raina’s first due date is July 21. That is 63 days from her first mating with Ray.

Speaking of Ray, we are looking for a good home for him. We had not planned to keep a stud dog. Buying Ray was the quick answer when the stud I had arranged was not available at the time. I personally prefer female dogs. Having an un-neutered male around is causing some friction with the other dogs. He needs to be in a home with not more than one other dog. He is very cuddly and loves to sit in my lap. When he is outside and hears my voice in the kitchen, he goes nuts scratching on the door. I think he will transfer his affection to another owner easily. I will miss him at first, but I think he will be happier in the long run.

Hopefully we are pregnant

2007-06-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Our Cocker Spaniel C.C. came home a week ago. I am only now getting around to this entry because the day after she came home my son and daughter-in-law went on vacation. That left me home with 9 dogs, 2 cats, a ferret, a bearded dragon, several fish and my finches. The family got home last night and I was really glad to see them. By Wednesday I was ready to start adopting out dogs and releasing the cats in the front yard. Luckily the madness passed. Plus one of my son’s friends came over to stay with me on Thursday and took over much of the work.

We only know of one time that C.C. tied with her stud. Hopefully there were other ties that were not witnessed. I think it will be very exciting to have three pregnant dogs. Someone needs to develop a pregnancy test for dogs. Believe it or not I actually tried an EPT stick when Raina urinated on the bathroom rug. It did not work. We can only guess and hope at this point. Raina is behaving differently. She usually is aggressive with the other dogs thinking she is the boss. I just watched her roll over on her back and allow them to sniff her belly and “stuff”. It may be only that she hasn’t been spending much time with the others. It’s easier for me to keep the two Yorkies together. I still have to keep Ray away from Penny and Hamburger until I am sure they are no longer in heat. We should be able to feel puppies in a couple of weeks.

The "heat" goes on!

2007-06-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

Our Penny is home! She was away from home for almost two weeks for breeding. Now comes the hard part; waiting to see if she is pregnant. Her full name is Monster Shiny New Penny. She arrived in our home about a year ago, a tiny, flea-ridden puppy. Now she is a beautiful young lady. Penny is very attached to my daughter-in-law and Shannon feels the same about Penny. When we arrived to pick Penny up, the dog began whining and straining at the leash the moment she saw Shannon.

I forgot to take my camera along to get a picture of the stud dog. He was also brindle color. His name is Bugs and he is just a little smaller than our Penny. She was away for so long because she was not ready for breeding yet. Bugs’ owner called after Bugs and Penny had managed to do the deed a couple of times. Shannon and I left the next morning to pick up our dog. When we got hung up in construction traffic, Shannon got so agitated I thought she might just park the car and start walking. She really missed that dog!

It looks like Sean and I will be going to pick up our third prospective mother on Sunday. Shannon got an email yesterday that C.C. and the cocker spaniel stud had successfully tied for the first time. By Sunday they will have had a few more opportunities. The stud is a beautiful parti-color. They should make some really pretty puppies. His picture is above.

I feel certain that Raina is pregnant. Her belly looks larger and her teats are swollen. By the end of June, we should be able to feel the little puppy fetuses. We are so optimistic that we have set up separate birthing areas for each of the dogs. We also have puppy food, formula and feeding bottles in case we have to hand feed puppies. I bought two books several months ago in preparation for this entire process. One of them is “Breeding Dogs For Dummies”. It seems that there is a “Dummy” book for everything and I felt it would be just about the right speed for me. I’ve had books on other subjects in the “Dummy” series and found them very useful. I’ve seen a calf born and tended to a friend’s cat while it gave birth, but I’ve never had a pregnant pet. I don’t think that having been pregnant and giving birth myself is going to help prepare me for this.

The way things have timed out, the births should be staggered, but the puppies should be ready to go to new homes in mid-September.

The "heat" of spring

2007-05-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

Life never turns out the way we expect it to. I look back on my blog and see that we were expecting the dogs to come into season in January. I was really being optimistic. It is now May and all four of our breeding dogs are in heat. It must be like “dorm syndrome” where women living in close proximity will be in the same menstrual cycle.

Raina was the first to show signs. The owner of the Yorkie stud we had lined up was 9 months pregnant herself, so there was no way she could handle breeding Raina with her dog. In desperation my daughter-in-law and I began a frantic search of the Internet. We didn’t find any Yorkie studs in our area and even looked in neighboring states. We did find an adult male for sale just across town. We both fell in love with Ray at first sight. Luckily so did Raina. We should have a litter coming in mid-July.

The other females followed Raina into estrus (heat) very shortly including our youngest, Hamburger. We won’t be breeding her this time since she is still too young. Penny and C.C. are with their respective studs right now. We miss them both. Hopefully they will be coming home pregnant. We were lucky enough to find proven stud dogs.

We are all very excited and looking forward to having three litters of puppies. They should be ready to go to new homes in September. I look forward to keeping up the news of pregnancies, births and new puppies. I also expect to look back on this and think I had lost my mind at the time.

Let's hope for some puppies

2007-01-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

The three breeding dogs, Raina, Penny and C.C. are showing signs that they may be coming into heat. The last time C.C. had some inappropriate bathroom behavior that has started again (she has BM's in her pen). They have all been sexually aggressive and there has been a lot of bottom sniffing. We check each day for other signs. Hopefully they won't really start until after time for heartworm and fleas medicines since these should not be given to pregnant dogs.

Shannon is starting the younger dogs on a different food since what they were eating was upsetting Hamburger's stomach. Shannon is careful to check the content of the food we give them and watches the quantity as well. We can't feed Reggie as much as Kippy even though they are about the same size. Kippy is a high energy dog and gets a lot of exercise. Reggie is much more laid-back and only moves fast when there is a treat or a meal at the end of her run.

Welcome to Monster Puppies

2007-01-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

We are dog lovers and endeavor to produce good quality pets. We have chosen our mothers very carefully. They are also special because they are our pets. My Yorkshire sleeps in my bedroom, frequently in my bed with me. She curls up in my lap while I am watching television. We choose our stud dogs carefully and do not keep studs ourselves so that if we notice undesirable results from a litter, we can choose another father or retire the mother. We care for all of our dogs as any responsible pet owner would. They all receive good quality food, veterinary care and preventive treatment for parasites and fleas.

We’ll be posting news about our dogs, our mothers, litters on the way and any puppies we have available. Please contact us if you have any questions.