Here are all 8 babies, warm, dry, clean and hungry!
We will update the web site again in about 10 days, we will post
individual pictures and let you know how much weight puppies have gained
and how fast they are growing.
Talk to you soon!!
One more shot of our beautiful Ellie and her gorgeous puppies!
Update 5/27/2008
The puppies are growing fast - they have already doubled their birth weight. As of last night, everyone except the petite Miss Yellow was over 2 pounds! Everyone eats very well!
We started the Early Neurological Stimulation on the 17th, these exercises are reputed to give puppies these benefits, improved cardivascular performance, stronger heartbeats and adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease. See http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html for more information.
The puppies had a busy 12 days. On the 19th we took them to the vet for their first check up and dew claw removal. Dr. O'Rourke (http://desertdovevet.com/) says they are all in great shape. The puppies and Ellie spent over an hour with the good doctor and her techs - they all love when we come to visit!
On the 21st all the puppies had their nails cut, a little sponge bath and new ribbons. We keep their nails clipped to avoid scratching Momma Ellie and also to accustom the puppies to being handled and nails clipped and fur brushed. Much easier for grooming when the puppies go to their forever homes!
On the 24th the puppies started walking - it is a rolling unsteady walk, much like little drunken sailors but they are moving rapidly around the whelping box. We put blankets and towels down to give their feet purchase to learn how to keep their balance. Tabitha and I spend a lot of time in the puppy pen snuggling with puppies, we believe socializing can never start too early!
And the wonderful surprise early this morning - the puppies have started to open their eyes! Master Orange (was light blue) and Miss Yellow were the first, by this evening Miss Pink had one eye open as well. We will save the individual pictures until everyone has their eyes open, but here is a glimpse of Master Orange.
We will update again in about 10 days or so, give you all some individual pictures and updates on forever homes. A last posed shot from May 26th! Talk to you soon!
6/06/2008
The puppies are 3 weeks old now and boy have they changed! All the puppies have their eyes wide open, can walk (wobbly, though it is), bark, growl, and recognize Tabitha and Momma Theresa. They have all tripled their birth weight. Miss Yellow (the little peanut) is weighing in at 2 pounds 14 1/2 ounces, and Miss Pink (Miss Piggy) is topping the scales at 3 pounds 15 1/2 ounces! Take a look at us now!
The babies have already had 2 sponge baths, their nails trimmed 3 times and this week we will start with puppy food! We mix milk replacer with a bit of puppy chow, soak it and then run it through the food processor for a thin porridge type meal. We also start spending individual time with each puppy, about 5 minutes a day. We take them through the house, out side (in our arms, yet!) and let them meet all the adult dogs. All these new experiences and time spent with us non-furry folks gets them ready to be confident and happy dogs. We added toys to the whelping box for more stimulation and the pups have already started play biting and chasing each other.
The puppies still spend about 70% of their time sleeping - growing is hard work! We will take them outside later this week to smell and experience the outside world on the ground. We will also allow brief visits from families that have chosen or are interested in a pup.
6/20/2008
Happy Summer Soltice to you all! Sorry to have been delayed, our DSL went out and it took forever to get a new modem. Then the digital camera decided to join the modem - thanks goodness for Father's Day sales that made a new camera within reach! We are back at high speed with new and improved picturses - we have so much news to share about the babies!! We started feeding puppy chow (Purina Pro Large Breed) with milk replacer and sending it through the food processor to turn into a gruel. This was a big hit!
Beginning the 8th we start the puppies on this ambrosia (at least to them), we feed them twice a day and Momma Ellie takes the middle of the day off. Our peanut, Miss Yellow is very excited by this new stuff, she and Miss Purple are the first ones to dig in. Then they need a bath and new ribbons 'cuz puppies eat with them feet, heads and tails! We will now have the puppies inside in the whelping pen during the day, while the big dogs are outside. Momma Ellie feeds the pups morning and afternoon and spends the nights with them as well. On Wednesday the 11th, we took the puppies outside to the kennel to find out about grass! What a scary marvelous time for them!
Miss Pink was our first adventurer off the blanket and into the grass! Then Maroon, Yellow and Blue all followed!
Now we spend about 2 hours outside twice a day, early in the morning before it gets hot and then again after 6:00 at night when the cooler makes the kennel nice and cool! We take the puppies out in our little red wagon -
The puppies had their first de-wormer on the 12th at 4 weeks, they will get a second dose in 10 days. All the puppies are drinking water from the bowls and are learing to go potty on the puppy pads or in the puppy litter. It makes clean up a snap! Now the challenge is keeping them in the box when it is time for bed!
The babies are now 5 weeks old, we have met 10 new people, been outside in the grass, on the dirt and on cement, tile and carpet. We are learning to sit in the wagon and not jump out, we try to only potty on the paper and we are especially loved by everyone who sees us!
7/5/2008
Happy 4th of July - just a little late! The babies are 7 weeks old now, they are all completely weaned from Momma Ellie and eat solid food with a little water to soften it. We are all learning to walk on a leash and we all know sit and stand and are working on down and stay! We also have a puppy pool that is just for the babies! Nobody is real sure about it yet, but they are looking at it and thinking about it.
We have the puppies all eating from individual bowls and trying to learn manners when we feed them. We ask them to sit before setting the bowl down and then keep them away from the other babies bowls.
The babies spend all but the hottest part of the day outside - they have the whole puppy pen to play in and the pool and of course, their own cooler to keep them from getting overheated. We have 3 videos down below the individual pictures, or you can check us out on You Tube under Sundacer Labs. The puppies will get their shots, microchips and eye exams Monday and will start going home on Thursday when they are 8 weeks old.
Here are the Independence Day puppies with their names and where they will be going!
Master Blue is now Watson, he will live in Tucson with big brother Sherlock and Momma Jan.
Master Green is now Calvin - Martin - Luther (not positive yet) and will fly off to live in Pennsylvania with the Stoney Ridge Labs (http://www.stoneyridgelabs.com/)
Miss Pink is still available, we call her Dora as she is an explorer!
Miss Purple is now Scout and will live in Phoenix with Janay and train to be a therapy dog
Miss Yellow is still available, we call her Angel becuase she is so sweet!
Miss Maroon is now Daisy Mae and will live in Tucson with Kara and Jim
Master Orange is now Bauer (yes, that Jack Bauer) and will live in Tucson with Laura, Doug, Andrew, and Luke
Master Brown will stay with us for further evaluation -Sundancers Road to Shambala - call name Champ!
06/29/2008
A quick update with a video link to YouTube to see the babies playing! Hoping this will work!
