Puppies Visited by Little Friends

My friends came over yesterday and enjoyed the puppies. They are so cuddly and fun right now. The puppies like to be scratched on their bellies and rubbed from head to tail. My daughter loves holding the puppies and had fun showing the other kids how to put a hand under the puppies tail and gently around their body. She calls all the ones with white paws Totoro after the forest spirit, Totoro, in "My neighbor Totoro" movie, checkout: http://www.totoro.org/

Walk Around the Farm

Lucy and Yo Bear went on a walk with me around the property today sans puppies. Lucy has been taking longer leave of her babes, and she seems to know just when to wake them all up to nurse. She is now sleeping outside of the whelping box most of the time. I think it gives her more of a break and more space to stretch out and relax.

Here's Yo Bear


<-------Here's Lucy

Big Blue Eyes

Here's Lucy taking some time out to gnaw on a bone. She even went on a short walk with me yesterday.




The puppies' eyes have opened all the way. They seem to be a little cloudy still and are looking blue, at least for the time being. Mama Lucy has been getting ravenous and is being fed 3 meals of food a day, with some snacks. It seems like every couple of days I notice a puppy that seems so much bigger than the others, then I realize that they all have grown! It is really quite incredible how quickly they are growing. They still sleep and nurse a lot. They are beginning to use their four legs to stand on, rather than scooting and sliding to their mom or the puppy pile.

Eyes are Opening

The puppies eyes began to open 12 days after they were born. They are halfway open right now. Look closely at the pictures above. I imagine it will only be a day or two before they are all the way open. The puppies eyesight will develop even after they open and over time they will be able to see clearer and clearer.
Another interesting development has been that the puppies are beginning to stand on their four legs. Before, and even now, they would scoot and crawl. They are going to be romping around playfully so quickly!

The Male Pups

I thought I'd focus this entry on the male puppies, and next time the females. Here are some pictures of the males. There are five, two are perfectly black and the other three have some combination of white on their paws, chests, and/or chins. There is a picture of the puppies with our cat Kiki and her kittens. We are getting the puppies used to the cats early on. Kiki purred and purred while this little puppy slept next to her, and she put her arm gently over it.
All the puppies are growing and thriving. They are so perfectly present and enjoying of each moment, as they nurse and sleep together. They are still just sleeping, eating, sleeping, eating, and on and on . . . Their naps are of a longer duration now then they were just a week ago. Now mama Lucy can leave the house to chew on a bone or lounge in the sun. She spends more time out of the whelping box during the day when the puppies are sleeping, and then she returns to nurse and clean each one, oftentimes napping with them.

Plump and Content Puppies and the Meaning of a "Dog Pile"

The puppies are getting plump and growing quickly. They have become more vigorous in their nursing and are better able to navigate toward their mom when they are hungry. They were born with their eyes and ears closed, so they rely on their sense of smell to find their mother's breasts and other puppies to pile up on. They enjoy lying on top of each other and sprawling out while looking incredibly content. So the term "dog pile" came from puupies cuddling up on top of eachother in one or two big heaps. They seem to enjoy draping themselves over one another. As I am writing this the babes are making sweet "yeep-yeep" and "arrrp-arrp" and nursing "smack-gulp" sounds, while mom is snoring away. She understands that you need to get sleep when you can while you have little ones!

Lucy's Post-Pregnancy Diet

Lucy needs good nutrition to feed all of her 12 babies. She is also recovering from the birth. As it should be, the birthing process was smooth and natural. It was Lucy's first litter of puppies and after birthing two of them she knew what to do. She takes the water sack off of the babies and then licks them vigorously while eating their placenta and cutting the umbilical cord about and inch from the puppies bellies. Each puppy comes with their own placenta, unless they are twins, which we had one set of, and twins share a placenta.
At about every one and a half to two hour interval during the birth we offered Lucy an egg mixed with warm raspberry leaf tea water. She also had a bowl of oatmeal in warm water during the birth. She chose to not eat any of her dog food until around midnight (after 9 of the 12 babies were born). We are offering her warm water frequently today, about six hours after the last baby was born. Raspberry leaf is a wonderful herb for new moms, dogs or human! It helps nourish and tone the uterus and the nutrients increase Lucy's strength, mineral levels, and milk production.
For milk production, besides Raspberry leaf, we use fennel seed tea and nettle leaf tea, which help increase milk supply. Fennel seed is very effective, so if you use it, use it in moderation (at least at first, until you are able to gauge its effectiveness). With 12 puppies to feed, Lucy will need to have good food and lots of water.

New Puppies Arrive on Whidbey Island

Lucy had her first litter of pups May 7 and 8th. Lucy is a black Labrador, 4 years old and a great mama. She cleans and cares for the puppies carefully and patiently.
The babies were born on Lucy's due date and into the morning of the 8th. She went into active labor May 7th and had her first puppy at 8:15pm. She had a total of 12 pups and they are all thriving! We hope to find great homes for all of the puppies through our blog and advertising on Whidbey. They will go fast, so let us know be e-mail if you are interested. There are 7 females and 5 males. Enjoy the pictures. The puppies are selling for $150 each. Please email us at esme365@gmail.com for more information or to reserve your puppy now!