Friday 31 July 2015

3 weeks old

In only one week's time the puppies will be moving downstairs and starting to meet people and going out into the garden to experience the big, wide world for the first time.  It's all going by so quickly.  They are having 4 or 5 little meals a day now - it started with porridge last weekend, and this weekend we are graduating to their first raw meat paste.  In a few more days they will have some scrambled eggs and we will start on the soaked kibble.

They are developing characters already, if such a thing is possible with 3-week-old puppies.  Andy started out at the noisy one, but he has calmed down now and is quiet & chilled.  Stan is the little adventurer and Serena is the wiggly one.  Roger is super cuddly and Novak is the noisy one this week, although Roger has been known to give a squawk or two from time to time as well.  In fact, I wouldn't call any of these puppies quiet, exactly.  They all like the sound of their own voices so the quietness training starts right now. 

But first, the photos.  You will notice I had to change backdrops partway through the photo shoot and if you check out Stan's standing photo you will see why.  It may be hard to believe, but that's the first time a puppy has ever had a wee on set during a modelling gig.  I think we know who the trouble-maker of this bunch is going to be.


















happy birthday

What's the joke?

























It's the 7th birthday of this blog and the 7th birthday of the puppies who inspired the blog.  Is it possible that Maija and her siblings, affectionately known as the Devon Nine, are now veterans?  You can see how irresistible they were at 7 weeks way back here.

 And of course it's also the 3-week birthday of Emmi's puppies, so check back later today for photo updates.

Thursday 30 July 2015

a bit more cuteness

A couple more days' worth of cuteness before the big three-week milestone tomorrow.

But first, a funny one of Jaana from when Jane & Mark visited last weekend.

Am I allowed to come up & see the puppies?


Nom nom

My plate!
Zzzzzz

Wednesday 29 July 2015

week 3 in pictures

There has been playing, there has been barking, there has been growling, there has been porridge!

Happy mama, big babies

Serena sitting up like a big dog

Novak sitting up like a big dog

RAWR!



Porridge time

Nom nom

Getting sleepy

You can almost hear the snoring

Playing is hard work!










Friday 24 July 2015

2 weeks old

The puppies have reached the next big milestone and everything that goes with it.  At 2 weeks old they are walking (sort of), barking (again, sort of), their eyes are open and they are squatting to do their wees and poos instead of waiting for mama to do the honours.  And they are just starting to think about playing.

They are moving pretty quick when they put their minds to it, and so it can be difficult to get photos - at least to get any that are sharp.  I don't think I have taken a single picture of Serena yet that wasn't at least a teeny bit blurry.  There is a fuzzy one or two in this selection, but the good news is that Emmi's hu-parents, Jane & Mark, are coming to visit tomorrow.  Those of you in the know will know about Mark's famous skills with the camera.  You may remember he took some really outstanding shots of Tuuli's first litter at 2 weeks old.  I'm hoping he doesn't forget his camera tomorrow.  Chances are he will remember.  Do you suppose I should remind him?  Perhaps that would be better than risking sending him immediately back home when he turns up without it...

Normally no one is allowed to visit in the first 4 weeks of the puppies' lives.  I'm careful not to introduce too much in the way of new germs to the house.  It is a moot exercise, perhaps, when you consider the rest of the dogs have their daily walks, coming into contact with all sorts and then coming home.  Emmi doesn't mix with the other dogs a lot, but there is some fraternization - we don't keep her locked up in a room with the puppies, after all.  So I do what I can. 

In addition to the germs, I really don't want to do anything that will unsettle the nursing mum.  Before the puppies came I had warned Jane & Mark that they would not be able to visit before the 4 weeks under any circumstances.  I know what a close bond Jane & Emmi share and I was worried about Emmi abandoning her puppies in the hope of going back home if she saw her hu-parents.  However, now that I have seen what a wonderful mum Emmi is, and how protective she is of her babies, I have no worries whatsoever about her trying to leave them behind and heading for the car and home.  I'm looking forward to seeing how proud she is when she gets to show off her brood to Jane & Mark.

And so to the photos, blurry and all.






































Thursday 23 July 2015

mobility

Working long hours is playing havoc with my blog.  I can't believe I am only managing 2 updates a week.  This is the worst documented litter of puppies I've had.   

Rest assured I have been taking photos - just not quite managing to get them edited and posted.  You'll just have to take my word for it how cute the puppies are.

Naw, just kidding.  This is how Emmi is doing - great!  She often nurses sitting up now with her puppies in a skirt around her.

Emmi with her puppy skirt





















Nose & toes

Kisses

Yaaawwwn





































Since the last update, lots has been happening in the whelping box:  No longer content to crawl around on their bellies, they have been hoicking themselves to their feet to lurch around the box.  Andy hit the 1-kilo mark.  Roger was the first to open his eyes at 11 days old, quickly followed by Stan and then Serena and Andy.  Little Novak was the last, opening his today at 13 days. 

Now that they can see, the fun really starts as they begin to interact with each other, playing bitey-face (or bitey-tail, as the case may be).  They are also learning to bark and growl, and today someone even had a little howl.

Although I don't manage to post here as often as I would like, you can always check out what happening over on Instagram.  I do manage to post a pic or two there each day. 

And I was just lucky enough to catch this funny video today.  In the beginning you can hear Tuuli in her normal position, whining at the top of the stairs, until Jay calls her away.  She has been absolutely frantic to see the puppies.  I'm looking forward to getting them downstairs so she can have access to them and see what she thinks of them then. 

Later in the video you can see Stan is stuck behind Emmi.  But these days, getting stuck doesn't result in panicked squawking that brings me running to the rescue.  These days, they can rescue themselves.




Sunday 19 July 2015

1 week weights

On the puppies' one-week birthday they all had their nails cut, were weighed, handled, stroked, poked, prodded & generally made a fuss of.  Ok, so apart from the nail cutting, the rest of that stuff happens every day.

The puppies are weighed every day for the first two weeks of life and then weekly thereafter.  I keep an eye on them to make sure they are all getting a fair crack at the milk bar and that everyone is growing as they should.  For the first week the puppies are expected to gain approximately 10% of their weight per day and roughly to have doubled their birth weight at one week.  Here's how the daily weigh-in went - with tables and graphs and everything.




















Novak is officially the smallest puppy I've ever had.  Sybbie who was "Spot", the first-born of the Devon Nine, was only a few grams heavier at birth, although she did more than double her weight in the first week.  But right from the beginning Novak was strong & healthy and he's developing as he should, so no worries there.  And if you're thinking that baby size somehow implies eventual adult dog size - nope.  It seems to make no difference.  As he was Emmi's first ever puppy to be born, I'm sure she is grateful he was on the small side. 

You might also be thinking that surely Andy must be the biggest puppy I've ever had.  After all, he's head-and-shoulders bigger than the rest of his littermates (so to speak).  But, again, no.  Usko, who was "Dino" (as in the dinosaur) in the Tuisku litter holds the record for the biggest puppy.  As he was a whopping 467 grams at birth, and 840 grams at 1 week, I'm hoping he keeps his record.

Here's what's been going on in the whelping box the last couple of days.  And I'm putting it out there now that it would not surprise me a bit if one or two of the puppies had their eyes open before 10 days old.  They are already hoicking themselves to their feet for an unsteady step or two.  I really need to capture that on video.

Clockwise from bottom: Roger, Andy & Novak

Novak.... or maybe Andy.  With milky chops.

Roger with little tongue

Serena asleep on a brother

Stan cutie pie







Friday 17 July 2015

1 week old

The puppies have reached the first milestone of their lives.  They are all strong, vigorous and developing well, and we hope that by now they are well out of the woods for any of the sorts of tragedies that can occur with newborns. 

And I can assure their new owners-to-be that there is nothing at all wrong with their lungs.  Plenty of power there - which comes in useful when one gets stuck on the wrong side of mum and can't find the way back around.