Wednesday, 24 March 2010

Abbot and Monk have joined the pack!  We usually bring our puppies into the kitchen (but not outside) to meet and mix with the other dogs when they are quite young.  They get sniffed and licked as soon as their dams can handle it (generally within the first week), and once they are steady on their feet and have some substance (usually by four or five weeks), they come down to the kitchen, two or three at a time, to toddle around.

Well, Abbot and Monk turned four weeks old on Monday, and they are certainly big enough to spend some time with the pack.  So, Monday afternoon, we brought them down to the kitchen, along with their dam, and let them hang out.  They did really well--and so did Banger, nine months, and the yearlings--so they stayed until dinnertime.  On Tuesday, they came down after breakfast and went up just before supper.  I think the pattern works.  They had been pretty lazy, hanging around in the whelping box and getting fat.  But now they are more adventurous up in the bedroom at night, and this can only be a good thing.

Saturday, 13 March 2010

As usual, I've gone on for a bit without posting.  But this time I sort of have an excuse.  February was a busy month.

There were lots of good things in February, but one awful thing.  Our sweet TeeTee came in one night from last outs with a broken leg.  I was away at the time, but was actually on the phone with Charlie as he discovered it, and I think we both knew it was osteo immediately.  Charlie took her to the emergency vet, and the cancer was not obvious to the young vet on duty, but the next morning, our vet read the xray, and the diagnosis was confirmed.  Charlie elected to euthanize her.  She was his special girl, and we both miss her terribly.

The good things came along about two weeks later.  Kibby produced two of them, two big boys, currently known as Abbot and Monk, on Monday the 22nd.  And then her half-sister Bronwyn, not to be outdone, had nine puppies on Thursday!  Jedburgh is the sire of Kibby's little dirigibles, and Bronwyn's brood--the BBs--were sired by Beau.  There are four boys (Busby Berkeley, Bugs Bunny, Bilbo Baggins and Buster Brown) and five girls (Betty Boop, Brigitte Bardot, Bonnie Brae, Blondie Bumstead and Big Bertha).  All mothers and babies are doing well!  You can see some snapshots here.  There are captions as you mouse over each photo.