One Month Old!!

The "C" litter is one month old today - they have done some serious growing over the past 4 plus weeks. At weigh in today, Cyrus (blue collar) weighed 6.1 lbs and the smallest pup, Carlin (neon pink) weighed 5.5 lbs. Most of the others weigh in around 5.10 lbs. Good eaters make strong puppers! The "C"s are a bit too young for Frosty Paws so they settled on some well soaked kibble to celebrate the big one month milestone. They seem to enjoy the kibble as much or more than the baby gruel. Wooohooo!

Kibble and Bits

The "C" pups love their mom. Mom loves to spend time with her pups, especially when they are full!

A couple of CUTE black puppies, who are these two? Your guess is as good as mine!

Carlita loves to sleep in the crate.

Cameron got soooooooo tired playing with his toys, he fell asleep right on top of them!

Omeeka and the pups continue to blossom everyday, in spite of our cold and wet April. These dang showers better bring flowers! Omeeka is itching to get back into the swim of things.

Pups have moved up to litter boxes lightly filled with wood stove pellets (thanks Karen and Kathy - I will return the favor!). We started the litter training process with easy to walk on pooch pads, voila, pups took to those almost instantly. Today, I added a layer of the pellets, not so fast said the pups. Initially, they really didn't care for the feel of the pellets under their little paws but after spending a couple of hours with them throughout the day, things are going much better in the pellet toileting department. In fact, as I returned to the pen with their last meal for the evening, I was pleased to find a couple of piles of poop in the litter box. Ahhh, this must be a "you know you are a breeder caretaker moment" when you are pleased about poop piles.

Pups continue to take to the weaning process. Today I soaked kibble and added it to the gruel, yum yum! The pups seemed to like the kibble more than the gruel - good to the last drop! This new food development is sure to add to their continued growth - weigh in day tomorrow!

Every Picture Tells A Story

Gruel - um, um, good!

Movin' On Up

Carlita, Cyrus, Charlene, Carlin, Costello, Cheri, Cameron, and Carter have a new puppy pen. After a week or so of playing on the linoleum and then returning to the security of their puppy pool, the "C"s were ready for more space. They are doing very well in their new surroundings and have their sea legs (or should it be "C" legs??) on the slippery surface.

Today the pups had some visitors. My good friend brought her almost 13 year old granddaughter, Alex, to visit the pups. Alex and Carter fell in love . . . Alex has a bit of history with CCI dogs after spending time with facility dogs Hazel and Millie while she was in treatment for cancer. Thankfully, Alex is fully recovered now and gets to enjoy CCI, the early years.

Hump Day

Yep, hump day for the working folks, for us retirees, just another Wednesday with the puppies. Watching, cleaning, laundry, toe nails, floor time in the big pen!

The pups are really starting to act like "big pups". They are toddling over to pooch pads to pee and poop, barking and biting at / on each other, and playing with toys! When I sit on the floor of the pen they like to crawl on my lap, occasionally falling asleep there and melting my heart.

The cold wet weather has put a damper on Omeeka's swim time, here's hoping tomorrow will bring back some sun and fun for little "O".

New Digs

At three weeks old today, the C pups could be called "the almost ready for prime time pups" . . . Today I rearranged the "puppy room" to serve as a puppy pen for the next 5 weeks. Took out the bed (human that is!) and set up the plastic xpens. All of the pups got some floor time today while I sat with them and watched their exploration. They all did great but were pretty happy to return to the familiarity of the puppy pool. Last night they were peeking over the edges of the pool with their front paws and chins resting on the edge of the pool - I expect they will soon outgrow the pool.

Puppies Take A Stand

Although she is a terrific momma dog, Omeeka sometimes wants to rush through her materal responsibilities. Fortunately, the puppies have adjusted and have learned to nurse while standing. Other developmental milestones include new and improved voacalizations, i.e., real barking and the always fun game of bite your sibling's face. Looking forward to another fun week with the pups!

"C" Litter Have Names!!

CCI sent the "C" litter names today, and wooowhoo, they are good ones:

Red - Female - Carlita

Blue - Male - Cyrus

Purple - Female - Charlene

Neon Green - Male - Costello

Neon Pink - Male - Carlin

Brown - Female - Cheri

Light Pink - Male - Cameron

Turquoise - Male - Carter

Pupupdate - Day 17

At just over two weeks old, the "C" pups are a mere ounce away from the three pound mark. They have graduated to a full fledged walk rather than the neonate puppy scoot as they move around the puppy pool. Omeeka gets their full attention now whenever she enters the puppy room. They are instantly aware of her and greet her with shrieks of joy and excitement. (Translation, mama where have you been, we are starving!) In honor of their advancing age and size the pups have started to wear their new puppy jewelry, i.e., cat collars in the appropriate color. It is so fun to watch them change and grow every day.

C Pups Enter Transition Period

The transition period (from neonate to PUPPY!) is from 13 to 20 days and is marked by a number of physical changes. At the beginning, the puppies eyes will start to open - on average around day 13. While their eyes react to light, the retina is still undeveloped and the puppy is unable to see objects or movement until around 21 days. The puppies are now crawling backward and forward and have begun to stand on wobbly legs. Their first teeth will erupt later this week, around day 20. Tail wagging will begin during this period indicating that tail wagging is not reliant upon seeing or hearing since the pups cannot see or hear yet. Pups begin to react to sound on average at day 19 when they startle to sounds but cannot usually locate the source. Another big week in store for the C litter.

YES, we are . . .

Barack said YES we can, the C's say, YES we are.

YES, we are getting big.

YES, we are starting to open our eyes.

YES, we are happy to have visitors like Kathy and Karen who think we are very very cute.

YES, we are almost ready for cat collars.

YES, we are working toward pound number 3.

YES, we are very loud when we are hungry.

YES, we are ready and patiently waiting for our names.

Two Pounders!

Yep, that's right, most of the pups are two pounds or better. They are growing like weeds and getting cuter every day. Notice in the new pictures, puppies ears are starting to look more like ears and less like antennas! Now that's progress.

One Week Old!

Just one week ago the pups were making their way into the world. Time flies by and pups are growing by leaps and bounds. Their collective weight at birth was 8.15 pounds and at tonight's weigh in their collective weight is 13.5 pounds, wow, 5 pounds in a week, must be good mama's milk.

Omeeka is enjoying some time away from the babies but still spends the majority of her time with them. She is sweet and patient with their nursing and climbing all over her. With today's blue skies "O" decided to take a break from motherhood and take a quick dip in the pool. Since she was standing on the steps and already pretty wet, I threw a tennis ball for her. In her own indomitable style she got out of the pool, ran to the other side, and LEAPED through the air to get the ball. What a girl!

Happy Easter

The "C" litter is enjoying their first Easter sleeping, eating, and GROWING! Omeeka is now enjoying some brief time away from the pups and yes, she did go into the pool yesterday in spite of the freezing weather. All in well in "C" land!

Mamamamamama - we're starving!!

Tiny Toe Nails

Day three - time to work on all of those toe nails. Eight puppies x 4 paws x 5 nails per paw = better stay on top of this job! I noticed how quiet and settled the pups get when they go into the "pup incubator" or hold box as the manual calls it. So, I decided try to use this to my advantage. I put the heating pad on my lap and covered it with the fleece from the hold box and then picked up each pup in turn. The heated fleece worked like a charm - each pup settled in on my lap with hardly a wiggle as I trimmed their nails. I sure hope this trick will continue to work!

All of the pups are over one pound now and seem to be gaining an ounce or more per day. Omeeka continues to be a devoted mom but for the first time since the pups were born, she got up for a potty break without my coaxing. What a good girl. She's eating well and seems very comfortable with her new babies. Well, ok, she did one short lap in the pool today - I'm thinking it was a vanity lap, she just wanted to tidy up a bit.