MaddieLitter2

Maddie and Schooner

Pups Born 6-20-09

Maddie delivered 10 beautiful pups, 3 girls and 7 boys. A very healthy and vigorous litter!

I was so surprised when I actually saw this photo at the right. The flash on the camera makes it appear we have highlighted this little boys hair!! We have some beautiful dark chocolates, just like their mama.

Maddie has proven to be a wonderful mother, attentive and very nurturing. She is also quite alert and protective. She likes to gather the pups in a pile and actually lay her head on them ... letting everyone know-"these are MINE." She does not like to leave them and seems to always be sleeping "with one eye open" just to keep watch over them.

ONE WEEK OLD

Here's the gang at one week old. We lost our little white collared boy, though he gave it a valiant effort. The pups are great at zeroing in on the feeding stations now, and Maddie has developed her own way of saying "kitchen closed!" (pictured below!)

The babies had their dew claws removed this week and were troopers! They are all gaining quickly and are about 2 1/4 pounds each already. Maddie is taking excellent care of them--she is keeping the whelping pen immaculate and the pups are always clean and well-fed!

THREE WEEKS OLD

The youngsters will be three weeks old this Saturday(7-11)

They opened their eyes on the fourth of July and have been honing their mobility skills this week. Now they can see mama come to the side of the whelping pen and it's a mad dash to see her. They also recognize Sadie and I and are coming to greet us. We have mighty Maxwell (green collar boy) topping the litter at 4 pounds, 12ounces and our sweet petite Rosie (pink collar girl) at 3 lbs, 4 ounces. The rest are scattered in between. Next week they will get their first puppy mush meal and will undoubtedly have a ball making their very first mess!

Yellow Collar Boy and Green Collar Boy (Maxwell)

Blue Collar Boy, Chocolate Girl, and Black Collar Boy

Orange Collar Boy and Red Collar Boy

Rainbow Girl (Molly) and Pink Collar Girl (Rosie)

FOUR WEEKS OLD

The pups have grown in so many ways this past week. They are now getting really cute as their faces develop, their personalities are just starting to emerge, and they are actively exploring their world and interacting with one another. Though still brief, their wake time is growing as well..........

........even though it doesn't appear so from these photos!!

The pups have started wrestling with one another......

.......eating on their own; First goat's milk Esbilac; Then puppy mush of puppy food soaked in hot water and goat's milk Esbilac........

Smart puppies learn to "guard" the bowl till the next meal, or maybe it was just good to the last drop!

Finally, all that learning this week makes a puppy very, very tired!!

......and of course, cleaning one another after a meal.

JoJo

Hank

Molly

Tuco

Kianne

Rosie

Maxwell

Cole

FIVE WEEKS OLD

Caleb

The babies had their first real bath today and I had not one little yelp among them. They all loved the water and a couple of them just lay there and "soaked it in!" They are getting far more active and have gotten the basic handle on the litter box routine. They are chasing the ball and are wrestling with one another and getting stronger every day. I'm proud to introduce the Maddie-Schooner babies as Sadie has named them.

That's Molly asleep in the water bowl. They now play in a little wading pool to keep cool on these hot summer days. Below is Caleb, sound asleep and giving the camera the raspberries.

( L to R) Tuco, JoJo, Caleb, Cole and Maxwell making a great escape from the indoor pen.

Six Weeks Old

The pups have had a big week with microchips done and introduction to the wading pool. Of course, they have been "swimming" in the water bowl for some time now, so that wasn't a big leap. They all like water and a few of them seem to always be wet! They tested their first dry food and there wasn't one piece of kibble left. They loved their new toys and some are tracking the ball really well now. This is definitely one of my favorite ages!