Four Peas in a Pod

We are two weeks old. Our eyes are open and we know when our mom sticks her head in our whelping box to check on us. We can now make growling noises, little barks and soon will be playing with one another. Tomorrow, Grandma says we get to start on solid food, whatever that may be!
Above from left to right:
Blue boy: Gray sable 3lb 9.5oz
Fuschia pink: Dr gray sable 3lb 10oz
Hero: Red-Br sable 3lb 1oz
Green boy Gold-br sable 3lb 6.5oz

We're ten days old!

And we are growing, growing, growing! Three of us are now at or over 3 lbs, Mom is feeding us well. Tomorrow we will get our nails trimmed. Soon our eyes will open and we will be able to see our Mom! But for now, all we do is eat, sleep and.....well you know what puppies do best!

Grace's puppies, Week One

Top Left: Green Boy 2 lbs
Top Right: Blue Boy 2 lbs 2 oz
Bottom Left: Hero 1 lb 10 oz
Bottom Right: Fuschia 2 lb 10 oz

The puppies are one week old and growing like bad weeds! They have doubled in weight, are moving around and making those wonderful "puppy snuffling" noises. Grace is a great mom, loving, gentle and very clean.

A Little Story about Grace

Grace decided to play a huge trick on me that gave me heart failure! I stayed home with her for two days, but then returned to work, split into two short shifts, so I could run home and check on her half way through the day. I left her all settled in her whelping pen, which is a large 4' x 6' pen with 36" high walls and an opening for a door that leads into another area that has an x-pen around it. The whelping pen is located in what used to be our laundry room, and has a nice ceramic floor.

When I came home early in the afternoon, and looked into the pen, Grace and her puppies were gone! Now there was no way for her to get out or for my other dogs to get to her. Where did she go? For a split second I panicked. And there, in the small corner, underneath where our laundry chute drops from the second floor, in just enough room for a laundry basket, was Miss Grace and her four pups, all curled up on a blanket. Now she had to pull that blanket from the pen and then carry each and every pup out to that blanket. She worked hard while I was gone! She just doesn't like that pen, but feels more safe in the corner. I tried to move them all back, but she promptly grabbed a pup and returned it to that blanket as if saying "THIS is where I want them, leave them be!"

So I gave in, just want her comfortable. In time we will move the babies to the pen as weaning time arrives. For now, she has her "den".

Grace's puppies have arrived!

Shortly before 5 AM, Grace's first baby arrived. A 18 ounce boy, now known as Blue, is a dark sable. Soon after, a 21 ounce girl made her appearance and was given the Fuscia collar. She is also a very dark sable. Both of these pups have huge heads.

Third to arrive was the Green boy weighing in at 15.5 ounces. He is a rich brown sable. Last was also a boy, who we are calling Hero. Hero had a little bit of a rough start, but is doing great now. He weighs 14 ounces and is also a rich brown sable.

Welcome to the world, little ones!

Countdown for puppies begins!

As the weeks have gone by, Grace has continued to be her normal self with the exception of a little bit of morning sickness around week 3-4. But the past few days, she is starting to slow down, has to potty more often, and is looking for a place to have her babies. We have her whelping pen set up in a quiet place where she can devote her time to her babies.
Today we started taking her temperature. With dogs, there is usually a big drop in temperature 24 hours before labor begins. Wouldn't that be great if it happened to humans too! Today her temperature is 100.5, which is normal for a pregnant bitch. Her milk is coming in, she will have plenty to feed her crew.
I also felt movement today for the first time. That usually happens in the last week. Dogs carry their babies for nine weeks, so one week would compare to one month in a human.
So it is official, we are on puppy watch. The next post should be announcing the arrival!