Even while napping there is work to be done. The puppies practice eating, running and taking in their sleep.
Being a puppy is hard work.
Evie had her first litter on March 20th, 2021. After two whole days the nine puppies are doing everything we ask them to. Eating and sleeping and eating some more.
If the embedded video is slow, try it on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/L6LyiY7vhSg
At three weeks we got our first taste of formula.
Yum!
It takes a lot of sleep to get this big.
The puppies nap after one of their midday meals.
Fiona from the inside.
Our reproductive vet tells us that ten puppies (at least) are inside Fiona. With a January 3rd, 2021 due date we are told that she looks like a healthy girl.
Of the four dogs, only Evie gets excited watching television.
Sophia went outside and found a belly rub.
The puppies spend less time eating but haven't slowed their growth. With the extension on the whelping box they are eating in shifts again. Tomorrow they will be introduced to formula.
Daphne got to see her aunties Lilibet and Genevieve. Her grandma Penelope even stopped by to inspect her daughters and granddaughter. Fiona stayed out of it, having just fed Daphne and her ten siblings.
At two and a half weeks old and with the help of the fleece, the puppies are getting about on their own and making friends with each other.
When the puppies were two weeks old they got a new floor. They were confused at first by the similarity between the fleece and their mom but were soon set straight.
Puppies are growing fast and eating all the time. Except when they're sleeping, which they also do all the time.
Fiona and her puppies.
Sometimes mom gets tired.
About half the puppies having breakfast the morning after being born.
The morning after the night before. Fiona’s been feeding the puppies on and off since they were born. Darcy was the first one out and he didn’t even wait to be completely born before starting to nurse.
We track their weight and put them on in shifts. Someone is watching them all the time for the first two weeks to make sure everyone gets enough to eat and stays safe. Fiona is a super-attentive mom.
Her first litter is about to arrive. Fiona is getting kicked.
When Lilibet was just over three months old she found hail to be an irresistible plaything.
Cole was the last of Penelope’s third litter to go home.
Bruce and Jenny picked him up and immediately realized that his name is Ollie.
Of course it is.
Cole (as he then was) sat for his final Official Portrait just two days before going home.
Jenny and Bruce with Cole (later called Ollie) on Picking Day.
Older, wiser and ready to go home with his family who will spoil him something silly.
Eleven week old puppies looking around the kitchen with their mom and big sisters.