Masaya Dobermans

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Puppies Everywhere!





The Dobe puppies are becoming more and more active everyday. They have moved from the whelping box to the pen in the living room. They have started eating moistened food. They have had several visitors lately. A family came and visited them on Saturday. The puppies enjoyed spending time with and playing with everyone. There was someone to hold and play with each of the puppies all the time. The father seemed to be the resting spot as each time he got a puppy she decided to take a nap!
The girls are changing so much every day. They had started escaping the whelping box. Now their mom lets them out of the x pen in the living room. Its not uncommon for me to wake up in the night or come home from work and find dobe puppies quietly exploring the house. Nothing seems to faze them. Once the plastic baby gate fell on a couple of them. No one cried or anything. They just quietly tried to wiggle their way out. They climb on everything and sometimes I will hear a clunk or see one fall off of something it climbed on, but no one cries. They are pretty tough and only squeak when their mom squeezes them too tight! She is one of the best mothers I have seen, but ultimately she believes in tough love and has always been a little rough with them. I think that's why they are so tough. I was even quicked one of them when cutting her toenails and she jumped but didn't cry. Very quiet pups, but the bulldogs make up for it.
Its going to be interesting watching them grow. I am curious if the toughness carries over to the Schutzhund field. Cinders has never been particularly sensitive and I think her babies are the same way.
Its fun having them around. I have been holding and playing with two at a time when I watch TV in the evening. If the weather would improve, I think I can already start housetraining them. They seem really smart and most of the time even when they are running around the house, they go back to the middle of the x-pen to relieve themselves.
Weights
Burgundy/red 7.02lbs
Pink 8.07lbs
Purple 7.85lbs
Checker/stripe 7.32lbs

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Explorers











I took the puppies into the kitchen tonight to take their first real individual photos. I basically have a little table set up in there with a carpet on it for traction. Its interesting to see the difference in breeds. I took the Bulldog puppies in first. They have done this before and are 8 days older than the Dobes. For the most part they were scared and even though hey have been walking for a few days, the would only crawl and were obviously stressed. Personally, I don't believe that a little stress in a puppy is a bad thing. After I finished with the Bulldogs, I took the Dobes in by themselves to the kitchen. Other than a couple trips to the vet and sitting on my bed near the whelping box they had never really been out of the whelping box. The Dobes didn't seem stressed at all and immediately began to "walk" (they are really wobbly). I had to constantly keep bring them back where I wanted them. They each kept trying to explore their environment and I had to monitor closely so they did not fall off the table. Its amazing how early you can see solid temperament in puppies.

I truly don't think my Bulldogs are abnormal. I had the same type of responses from my Dane litter. None of my dogs would be considered shy or weak in nerve and I would never breed to any dog (regardless of breed) that was in any way shy or fearful. The difference is that the Dobes are so solid and such brave dogs. Cinders isn't scared of anything and neither is Arras (ok maybe Chris when shes mad, but I would be too;) I only wish Cinders was scared of me when I get mad at her. I am very pleased with these puppies. I think they are all going to be exceptional and have lots of nerve. They didn't miss a heart beat when put in a new environment on a raised table with a surface that they have never been exposed too. Little monsters are going to be into everything!

Its hard to see drive right now. I truly believe that Cinders goes and feeds those girls the minute she hears them move. Spoiled!!
Weights have moved to lbs
Burgundy 4.14
Pink 4.81
Purple 5.16
Checker 4.14

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Last Nights Puppy Weights

Everyone has their eyes open now. They are starting to get more demanding. For the most part they are very quiet puppies, but last night purple was throwing a fit. She was barking at Cinders. She wanted to make sure that Cinders knew she was hungry! Cinders seems to have recovered from the loss of Peanut. She went outside a lot and started jumping on me and trying to play. I think its almost time to put her back to work. My goal is to get her Sch 2 and 3 this year. Then maybe next year we will breed another litter. Cinders is such a good mom and has remained very vigorous and healthy throughout this litter. Maybe we will get some boys next time.

Burgundy 57.1 oz
Pink 59.9 oz
Purple 67.7
Checker 50.7

Monday, January 12, 2009

Loss of Peanut

I had begun to call the only little boy of this litter Peanut. He seemed to gain just enough weight every day not to put me in a panic, but not as much as he should have. I had been making sure he was nursing every time I walked in the room and had found that Cinders would often do the same thing. She would move him to wherever she was in the whelping box and set him down near her tummy to nurse. I took Peanut to the vet because of his lack of gain. He had pneumonia. He received an antibiotic and vit B shot and oral antibiotics. He didn't respond to the antibiotics and continued to weaken. I syringe fed him every 2 hrs all night Saturday and Sunday. Sunday afternoon he passed away. It was very sad. Cinders knew he was in trouble and would barely leave the whelping box. She had him between her paws and would gently lay her head on him in a sort of hug. It was sad. He died there in between his mommy's paws. Cinders was upset when I took him away and began to search for him.

I lost one pup in my Dane litter this year. It was much less dramatic as I just found her dead at 14 days. The mother didn't care when I took that pup away and never seemed to notice her loss. This was much more difficult. Cinders is a much more involved mother. She takes such good care of her babies and she loves them so much.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Eyes Starting to Crack Open


Purple's eyes are starting to open. I also caught Checker being very demanding to Cinders. She was basically barking (as close as she can get at this age) at a standing Cinders and following her around the whelping box because she was hungry. She wasn't crying. It was more like she was chewing her out. I think being hungry was a novelty to the poor pup. I changed the bedding and Cinders insists upon digging so then she doesn't have a soft place to lay. I think that was why she hadn't nursed them and Checker felt the need to be demanding. Purple out grew her collar. i am going to have to make her a new one.

Poor Miss Kitty just couldn't fit in with the dobe pack. Cinders tolerated her, but really wasn't very welcoming. Lulu is doing better on her milk, so Miss Kitty moved back in with the bulldogs.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Ugly Doberman


Cinders gained a new child. Lulu has had a limited milk supply. I have been increasing her food and doing some other things to increase her milk supply. Meanwhile the bullies are still doing well. Cinders has had lots of milk and she gets upset when she hears the bully's crying in the next room, so I decided to see if she would take one of the bullies. The poor little bullies are essentially orphans as Lulu doesn't clean them or really care for them. Last night I was washing the little bullies off in the bathroom and Cinders seemed really concerned. I started trying to introduce them to her. She really wasn't too interested. Finally, I got to Ms. Kitty and I put her down near Cinders teats and Cinders stood there and let me hold her on to nurse. She seemed not so sure about it. I took Ms. Kitty to my room and sat on my bed near Cinders' whelping box. Cinders came up and sat on the bed beside her, so I introduced them again and put Ms. Kitty on to suck. Eventually, we moved to the whelping box. So far, Cinders is not so sure about Ms. Kitty. Kitty is very content and happy to have a family. She likes her dobe siblings and enjoys cuddling with a mommy. Mommy still hasn't commited to Kitty though. We will have to watch and see.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Pups are feeling better


The lil dobes have recovered from their dock and dew claw experience. No more fussiness. Everyone is growing. Cinders is doing better and has let me remove her quilt for cleaning. I will likely try to avoid giving it back as the pups were getting under it. Cinders is back to eating in the kitchen and has a large appetite. I think the little tails look good and Cin hasn't been bothering the stitches like I was afraid she would. The purple puppy is still a moose and at 5 days weighs 32.5 oz. This is the size my Danes were at 7 days old! It seems like she is always sleeping when the others eat, but the truth is that she ate first and is already full.
Oh in case anyone is wondering - the wood chips are kiln dried hardwood chips. They were my first efforts to take away Cinders' quilt. They didnt work. So far they are not bothering anyone, but I will likely remove them in a few days as they are messy and Cinders has thrown out a lot of them on my bedroom floor. Thank goodness all my floors are hardwood.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Puppies Get Docked


The puppies went to the vet today and got their tails Docked and their dew claws removed. I think we got a really nice dock on all of them. I'll be able to tell better in a few days, but it looks like it is the length I wanted it. The vets kept commenting on how big the puppies were. Purple girl is especially large. Cinders waited in the car and dug around in the blankets while the pups were at the vet office. The trip in was uneventful. Cinders was very content with the puppies in the car. I think she was ready to go for a ride. Also, I think she would have been happy to have all her pups there as she is so used to being in the car. It is like a large dog crate to her.

She was a little upset when she got the pups back, but not as bad as I was expecting. The puppies are fussy and that bothers her, but for the most part everything went well.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Puppies Arrive!


Puppies were born Tuesday the 30th. It was a chaotic day as I had thought it was safe to go to work that morning for a few hours. I kept in close contact with my mom at home. I anticipated Cinders having the pups that night. She had been nesting the night before and I had stayed in the whelping box with her all night. However, a couple hours before dawn she had stopped and went to sleep. I got up and took care of the other dogs and fed them. She ate and was acting a little funny, but I didn't see the immediacy. Besides I knew my mom was there and would keep me posted of any changes. Mom called me at noon and said that Cinders had a puppy beside my bed on my quilt (in anticipation of this possibility I had been using an old quilt). I raced home (30 min) while talking to mom on the phone. The first puppy was a boy (black collar)! Before I got home Cinders had another puppy (burgundy). The girls had started to arrive. I got home and moved everyone to the whelping box including the quilt. About 10 minutes later with very little effort we had another girl (pink).

Not long after that, Cinders started pushing and she kept pushing. After she had been pushing for over an hour, I became concerned and consulted some long time breeder friends and then called the vet. We decided we needed to get Cinders to the vet ASAP. I had used a glove and checked her and could not feel the puppy being presented and so we were concerned it might be stuck at the "gate". Poor mom, I made her drive while I sat in back of the Rav with Cinders and the pups in a basket. The vet is about 30 minutes away and I swear , I believe my mom was going 80. It certainly felt like that as she was entering Louisville and going around some mondo corners. About 10 min from the vet I was finally able to see a puppy presented. With some maneuvering from both me and cinders I was able to pull the pup (rear first) out. I was really scared because the pup seemed huge. It was backward and the first sign I had of her was her rear where the sac was already broken and there was manure. I hurried up pulled her out and removed the sac from her face and rubbed her did some other things to make sure she was breathing well. I kept thinking when I pulled her out she had to be dead because I think her sac had been broken for a little bit. But she started to breath and kick and she hasn't stopped! What a moose! She's a little terror and pushes everyone around. She is already nice and fat and sassy!

Well we decided not to go the vet and we turned around and went back home. I knew there was one more puppy that had to present itself. Unfortunately, it was taking its time. At about 6pm, we took Cinders back to the vet. In the end she had to have a C-sec to get the last pup out.

Everyone is home and doing well now. Cinders is a very protective mommy and she gets very upset when I hold the pups. She hates it when I weigh them. She always tries to take them from me. She will barely leave the whelping box to get a drink or go relieve herself. I have been feeding her in the box. Gotta keep the milk coming! Surprisingly, she still let Lily come in the room to sleep on the bed. However, Lily keeps her head down and hugs the wall by the door and Cinders monitors her movements very closely.