Ten Gorgeous Goldens!

Cindy captured the fabulous litter picture with a little help from her friends!!

We are enjoying our final day with the wonderful O litter. Tomorrw Cindy and Valle will pick up Omeeka and her pups for their final week before they start their adventure at the NW Puppy Park on September 14th. It will be a very busy day for Cindy and Valle as they are turning in Caro's L litter before picking up Omeeka, the O pups, and Vito. Whew! As the O's head out, it is bittersweet. Omeeka and her puppies have been a joy to have for the past few weeks, but as the pups grow up, their need for nurturing and one on one attention becomes more challenging, not to mention that the poop from 10 pups can be daunting!

Adventures In "O" Land

The "O"s are soon off to new adventures but for today they had a great time playing outside. Olina showed her sister Onora how to climb onto a chair. They were so proud! Otto enjoyed carrying around his toys. We let some of the pups play on the grass today, one at a time and closely supervised. They really enjoyed playing on the grass and walking in the dirt. No time for pictures of that big adventure as the pups are way too young to learn to swim with the big dogs!

O's On The Move

Otto, Ohana, Orin, Oz, Oma, Olina, Ossa, Omar, Onora, and Osirus are enjoying the cool weather this morning out on the patio. Yesterday, they were disappointed when the mercury topped the century mark and they had to move inside to their smaller but cooler puppy pen. All are doing well with only some minor tummy upsets as they get used to life without their mother's milk. Omeeka has done a fantastic job with her puppies and now she gets some down time before she starts litter number three. Six weeks old tomorrow, the time has flown by!

Playing Outside

The "O" litter enjoyed some quality play time this morning in their new pen on the patio.

Five Weeks Old

Time is flying by . . .

Weaning is well underway and the pups have taken to kibble, as long as it isn't too crunchy! They are good eaters and their roly poly tummies tell the story. After they eat, they quickly fall asleep and dream about their next meal. Sometimes, not making it far from the pan o' kibble.

The "O" litter is five weeks old today, and to celebrate the occasion, the "O"s ventured outdoors to the puppy pen on the patio. A bit tentative at first, they soon enjoyed the extra space to explore and run. After a couple of hours, the pups moved back inside as it was beginning to get quite warm. They were exhausted from the fresh air and took a really long nap! As they slept, my neighbor called to say she had looked out her window to see if the pups were in the pen. No pups, but she saw a RAT running across the backyard. YIKES! We live quite near a creek and ocassionally see a roof rat crossing the backyard on a telephone wire, but never on the ground. Makes you wonder what kind of crazy rat would run through a yard where SIX dogs and TEN puppies play!

Four Weeks Old - Every Picture Tells A Story

Omeeka's "O"s are four weeks old today. As the song goes, Every Picture Tells A Story, enjoy!

Time For Gruel

The "O" litter enjoyed their first meal today. Tentative at first, they soon stepped up to the plate, and slurped their way to the bottom of the bowl. Omeeka anxiously watched from outside the pen until it was time to clean up her babies. She told me that she will be so happy when her little ones are weaned so that she can gain some weight and play all day!

The No Longer Nameless "O" Litter Have New Digs

It's been quite a week for the "O" litter - Thursday brought their tentative new names (NOTE: names not final till the PPM sings on September 14th :) and today brought new digs!



Since the first "escapee" from the whelping pool happened on Monday, we have been transitioning the puppies to a more spacious sleeping / play area. The pups are a bit on the cautious side, so we slowly acclimated them to life outside the pool.

To do this we placed a pen around the pool allowing some extra space where the pups could walk on the slippery linoleum. Then, all week as they woke up, we took them out of the pool and let them get their sea legs on the floor. At the same time, we also introduced a few toys. The pups really enjoyed their time out of the pool but were also happy to return to the safety of the pool to sleep and nurse.

Today was the BIG DAY.

We removed the whelping pool while the pups were cruising the pen and voila, the "O"s graduated from the whelping pool to a puppy pen. Fortunately, the slow introduction to life outside the pool really paid off. The puppies are having a great time in the new puppy pen. They really seem to enjoy the additional space that the pen provides and are having a blast playing with their new toys. Next up, litter box / pooch pad training, then on to puppy gruel next week!

Although the pups' names won't be finalized until they turn into CCI puppy park on September 14th, they have been given the following "tentative" names:

RED Male Otto

BLUE Female Ohana

PURPLE Male Orin

NEON GREEN Male Oz

NEON PINK Female Olina

BROWN Female Oma

LIGHT PINK Female Ossa

TURQUOISE Male Omar

ORANGE Female Onora

DARK GREEN Male Osirus

The pups little teeth get sharper every day - Little O can't wait till the pups start on gruel next week! Who could blame her, she has been an outstanding mom. With today's weigh in, the pups have gained over 23 pounds on mother's milk and devotion!! Way to go Omeeka, the end is in sight.

With A Song In Their Hearts

Check out the video below for the latest musical release from Omeeka's "O" litter. I think it sounds a little like the Wizard of Oz Scarecrow tune, If I Only Had A Name, oops, I mean Brain.

A Rose By Any Other Name

A rose by any other name . . . PSYCH, no names for Omeeka's Bambinos yet - they are still the nameless "O" litter!

Although nameless, the "O"s continue to grow and are developing into the cutest puppies on the planet. As of this morning, all of the puppies, even little brown, are over two pounds. Mr. Dark Green, aka Whopper Junior, is heading toward three pounds. As you can see from the photos, their eyes have opened. Although, it doesn't seem like they actually see all that well!

All of the pups are up on all four legs and are showing signs of play behavior - biting on each other and waving their little paws at the faces of their siblings. It doesn't last long though; after just a few minutes of play, they fall over and konk out. So cute to watch. I have started to spend a few minutes a couple of times per day cradling each puppy. For the most part, they relax and enjoy our time together. They are such mellow little puppies, and have I mentioned - the cutest puppies on the planet . . .

As for their growth, last night their aggregate weight gain since birth was 212.7 ounces. That translates into over 13 pounds in two weeks, more than double their aggregate birth weight. Way to go Omeeka, mother's milk and maternal devotion = priceless!

Two Is Today's Number

Day Two:

• of August

Two pictures:

• X-Pens air drying after washing down with disinfectant
• Puppies in a pile

Two puppies over two pounds:

• Red, first born
• Dark Green, last born

Two weeks old:

• Tomorrow

Two swimmers nursing:

• Check out the video below

The "O" litter continues to do well. Several have found their voices and are starting to bark on occasion. Although, for the most part, they are a very quiet group. Lucky me! Mom, Omeeka is enjoying more and more time out of the puppy pool and continues to swim everyday.

Day Eight - Too Cute For Words

Omeeka's puppies continue to thrive. They are getting so big they now have to compete when they, literally, belly up to the bar. They are such nice little pups, they snuggle in when I pick them up to clip their nails. Much easier than reaching into the pool. Thanks for that tip Cindy!

Omeeka is patiently waiting for a dip in the pool with her buddy Yorba who just happens to be her nephew (brother Omsi's boy with Ember). Yorba is learning to play nicely in the pool - thank goodness I figured out how to stop him from jumping onto Omeeka as she swims. It's a simple trick really. I just spray him with the garden hose. Now, all I have to do is pick up the hose and Yorba is a much better nephew!

One Week Old

The O litter is one week old today. They continue to be wonderful quiet little puppies who are growing by leaps and bounds!

Omeeka has started to leave the puppy pool unattended for short intervals. She is a very relaxed but conscientious mom. She enjoys her time away from the pups by cooling off in the swimming pool. It's a little challenging to dry her off when she is done swimming, but want to make sure that she is dry so that the babies don't get wet / cold.

Yesterday Cindy and Valle stopped by to see their girl and her pups. Omeeka was happy to see them and showed off her swimming skills for her family. Cindy took these fabulous photos recording the pups 6th day of life for posterity. Enjoy!

O Litter By The Numbers

The O's continue to thrive under the watchful eye of supermom, Omeeka.

I thought it would be interesting to track the pups' aggregate weight gain over the course of the next few weeks. (Ok, maybe it will be interesting or maybe I'm not adjusting to retirement as well as I think . . .) Anyway, here goes:

• On Monday evening (July 20th) the total puppy weight was 9.1 lbs.
• Four days later, Friday morning, the total puppy weight increased by 2 lbs.
• Nine of the pups are now one pound or better, only little brown who weighed 11.5 oz at birth is hovering just below the one pound mark.

As the work associated with caring for the litter increases over the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see how much time I will have for this kind of fun trivia!!

"O" Litter - Day Two

Omeeka and her 10 bambinos continue to do well. All of the pups gained weight overnight, are nursing well, and are so quiet.

Omeeka is a very attentive mom who is patient and gentle with her babies, keeps their pool sparkling clean, and rarely takes a break. Yesterday she had to be encouraged to go outside for potty breaks but today she is getting up and going out without being cajoled. In fact, this morning she stuck her toes into the swimming pool but came right out when I said, NO!

Zorba, Baby Daddy

With two good looking parents like Omeeka and Zorba, it's no wonder the "O" litter is so darn cute! Zorba is very handsome!

OHMYGOSH OMEEKA!

Omeeka's 10 bambinos arrived last night between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. There are 5 boys and 5 girls. The pups are all good size, with weights ranging between approximately 11.5 oz and three one pounders. Everyone is doing well after a night of rest and a good breakfast and hurry break for mom. Pictures to be posted soon.

Everything's Ready

Everything is ready, whelping room with pool, newspapers, towels, colored yarn, pedilyte pops in the freezer, the one big exception is . . . Omeeka. She is resting comfortably on the cool tile floor in the kitchen, no signs of labor yet today.

Her puppies seem to be taking up all the space in her belly, leaving her little room for dog kibble. Thankfully, Omeeka is a very talented girl who is able to extract every last speck of the turkey burger mixed in her dog food without taking even one bite of the kibble!

Omeeka Keeps Her Cool

While waiting out the final days of her pregnancy, Omeeka enjoys keeping cool in the HOT HOT weather with a few laps in the swimming pool. Although she makes it quite clear to us that she would prefer to leap through the air into the water, she has been very cooperative in using the steps instead. She told me that she feels light as a feather in the pool, no small feat considering all the puppies she is carrying around! Omeeka is such a good girl.

Omeeka Arrives

Cindy and Val dropped Omeeka and all of her supplies off this afternoon. They are sure to miss sweet "Little O" while she is away. The good news is that Omeeka will have a few days of fun in the sun before she has to get down to business with her 10 bambinos. But, Omeeka likes to play hard; it will be quite a challenge to keep her from belly flopping into the pool after a tennis ball. So far, so good.

And the xray says . . .

Omeeka had her prenatal xray today. Although Mo can't guarantee a number, she spotted at least 10 puppies. woooowhooo! Omeeka definately has babies on board.