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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.