Litter L
June 2012
Click here for pictures of the puppies!
Kira delivered 6 beautiful puppies on Saturday, June 9th. I was mighty pleased to see them finally arrive, since Kira had pretty much kept me up all through the night. 😉 The first one arrived around 7:20 AM.
I will update the website when the pups are 1 week in age & have individual pictures up for each pup. Until then, here is a look at the pups at one day old. There are 4 boys (2 tri-colors, 1 b&t with minor white and 1 b&t) and 2 girls 1 tri-color and 1 b&t with minor white).
Week 1 - As with the previous litters, all the pups have been named for places located in either North Carolina (where I grew up) or South Carolina (where I was born). Pups have been growing like little weeds this week & all have doubled their birth weights. Our 2 biggest boys are weighing in at 2 pounds, with the other 4 pups not far behind! On Tuesday we made the trip to Sanford Animal Hospital to have rear dewclaws removed from 5 of the pups. They are all being handled every day, cradled on their backs, toes touched, etc. & seem to tolerate it all pretty well. Kira has been a great mom & has been keeping them all clean & well fed!
Week 2 - This week has brought about quite a few changes for the pups. Ears have opened, along with their eyes. They are beginning to walk (toddle) about within the pen & are still growing in leaps and bounds. The largest pups (Lee & Lane) are just over 3 pounds now, with the other 4 pups just under 3 pounds. Nails are being clipped as I can get to them. It's best to do it when the pups are fairly relaxed. Holly stops by the pen each time she is in the house & would love to go in & interact with the pups. I have told her after the pups are steadier on their feet, she may go in to play. They got to listen to a banjo & fiddle, while Brian & Laura played some songs this afternoon. Can't say that they were impressed at the beginning of the session, but they soon became accustomed to the sound. 😉
Week 3 - Wow, it has been hot around here! I was so glad that the pups didn't have to go outside with daytime temperatures hitting 100-105 degrees. Kira is still nursing full-time. This week their little teeth cut through. Ears are completely open & they do react to folks walking near the pen. Holly has spent some time hanging her head over into the pen, but doesn't seem too interested in getting into the pen yet. Once the pups are ready to play, I suspect she will be ready to play with them. All are steady on their feet, initiating play with one another & Kira. They will climb up in my lap now & seek me out if I am sitting down with them. I had commented with Holly's litter just how confident they were in new situations. Looks like Kira's litter may be a repeat of that. Time will tell, but they were walking out on the wood floor & getting fairly far away from me without panicking. I lost a couple of pups in the den, only to find one had gone around to the back of the sofa & walked under it. The other had crawled up in between the pen and the stuffed chair over there & fallen asleep. This coming week will bring outside play, plus introduction to food. At least the forecast only calls for 93-98 degrees this coming week! I am sure we will be picking and choosing our times to be outside! 😉 In the meantime, pups are getting a lot of handling everyday & will have a wide variety of toys to play with while they are inside.
Week 4 - What did I say about it being hot last week? They blew the extended forecast & once again the week was near or above 100 degrees everyday! Several nights it was still in the 90's at 9-10 pm. Fortunately Kira was doing most of the feeding this past week, so we opted to stay inside. Pups were very active this week & definitely have a preference for being loose as opposed to being confined to their pen. They have started on solid food on a limited basis & are doing great on it. By the end of the coming week, they will be mostly weaned. Pups tend to come when called. Will walk on carpet, rugs, bricks and the vinyl flooring without any problems. Playing under the table & chairs has been one of their highlights. 😉 Holly has done some limited playing with some of the pups. She was a little leery about getting up close & personal with them, but I figure that was because it hasn't been too long since her own pups left. Once she figures out that they are not looking to nurse, she will be a great playmate with the pups!
Week 5 - Finally .... the heat broke for a few days & we received some rain! The pups are going outside quite often each day. I am feeding them 3 times a day & Kira will give them some supplemental nursing, but the main food now is kibble. Pups took to the sidewalk & grass like they had always been on it. There was no trouble in that area. Going up the steps was a piece of cake as well. Going down took a little more work, but they mastered it within a day. They have been jumping through the Liriope, and having a great time doing so! I have tried to protect a few of my young flowering plants with some old tomato cages. Will let you know if it works or not in a few more weeks. Holly has been playing with the pups some this week. She is a little rougher than Kira, but most of the pups have adapted to big sister's technique & had a great time playing with her. Pups continue to come quickly when called, especially if they know they are heading inside out of the heat & humidity. Once inside, they head straight to the nearest AC vent & create a puppy pile on top of it. This coming week is supposed to be back in the 90's, so we will have to pick our outside playtimes early & late in the day.
Week 6 - It's hard to believe that in a couple of weeks most of the pups will have gone to their new homes. All are doing well & have continued to explore new areas outside this past week. Still not crazy about going out when it is extremely hot, but have learned that the side yard possesses enough shade to be a good area to play in during those hot times. They still come inside fairly easily & head for the nearest AC vent. We have had several T-storms over the past week. In general, they did well through the noise unless there was a really loud crack. Saturday night we were on the front porch watching the sky light up & listening to the thunder. The pups continued to play during this time. Pups are still fairly mouthy, but usually are gentle enough (or at least gentler) with people skin. Still working on that! They are pretty much sleeping through the night, for which I am grateful!
Week 7 - Wow, what a busy week we had around here! Tuesday morning found us making our way to Claire Apple's place for the pups' herding instinct test. All pups showed interest in the stock in spite of the heat! It's a pretty good little drive to Claire's & the pups were relatively quiet both there and back home. On Thursday, we headed out to Jan Santel's Autumn Winds Agility Center to do a little more testing. While there, I am watching to see how they react to strangers, are they willing to work with them, are they willing to try new things that are completely out of their comfort zone & to see how quickly they adjust to the situation. I was pleased to see all of them try and succeed in going up & down the A-frame. First time up always includes a lot of encouraging. It's always neat to see a pup be willing to get back on it to try their own "hand" at it. We've had quite a few T-storms come through, including a pretty strong one on Saturday night. Again, the pups tended to ignore the thunder. Hoping that will carry over for their new owners! 😉 This coming week will be their last week here. Most pups will be leaving next weekend to head to their new homes and families.
