Matchless Dals

Tubby Time

2011-08-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

It has been a VERY busy week for the kids - and us. Trying to keep up with eleven of them takes more and more time. They got a bath this weekend and Alan recorded it for posterity and we're just getting around to adding it to the blog. But better late than never, so enjoy the puppies' tubby time. Since Yaeger has been our poster child for everything so far, we'll start with him

Yaeger - Just Add Water

Yaeger - I am SO outta here!

Yaeger - I give.

Lindy tries Yaeger's move

Sikorsky - aww Mom, not the face

Yaeger - Clean between the toes

Week 6 Photos - The Girls Part II

2011-08-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

And now for our lovely, liver ladies:

Allison - Front

Allison - Offside

Allison - Rear

Allison - Showside

Lindy - Front

Lindy - Offside

Lindy - Rear

Lindy Showside

Piper - Front

Piper - Offside

Piper - Rear

Piper - Showside

Week 6 Photos - The Girls Part I

2011-08-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

And now for our two Black girls:

Amelia - Front

Amelia - Offside

Amelia - Rear

Amelia - Showside

Cessna - Front

Cessna - Offside

Cessna - Rear

Cessna - Showside

Week 6 Photos - The Boys Part II

2011-08-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

And now for the second half of our handsome boys:

Sikorsky - Front

Sikorsky - Offside

Sikorsky - Rear

Sikorsky - Showside

Wiley - Front

Wiley - Offside

Wiley - Rear

Wiley - Showside

Yaeger - Front

Yaeger - Offside

Yaeger - Rear

Yaeger - Showside

Week 6 Photos - The Boys Part I

2011-08-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

This was a busy weekend for the kids. They got baths and I'll have a post on that (with pictures) soon. And then last night, we took "official" stacked photos. They handled the process pretty well but do you know how LONG it takes to take photos of 11 puppies and then edit and get them ready to post. They were pooped last night and so was I. So take a look ... always open to comments and opinions.

Doolittle - Front

Doolittle - Offside

Doolittle - Rear

Doolittle - Showside

Orville - Front

Orville - Offside

Orville - Rear

Orville - Showside

Wilbur - Front

Wilbur - Offside

Wilbur - Rear

Wilbur - Showside

Week 5.5 - Just for Fun

2011-08-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

And just a couple more pix for fun. (oh, and let me know when you get tired of them and I'll cut back!

Piper (with the Sport Ear going), Wiley and Cessna

Is it the 3 Musketeers or the 3 Stooges?

Allison, Sikorsky and several unidentified sibs

practice their coach dog skills by falling in place

under their chariot!

Week 5.5 The Girls Part II

2011-08-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

And last but certainly not least, our Black Beauties, Amelia and Cessna

Amelia - rrreadddyyy to rumble! LOL

Cessna - on the move!!

Week 5.5 The Girls Part I

2011-08-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

And look how our pretty brownies have grown up in the last 7 days. Just like any chocolate, they just do your heart good!

Allison - the littlest puppy with the heart of a giant.

Lindy - sitting pretty

And our lovely Piper

Week 5.5 The Boys Part II

2011-08-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

It is just SO hard to believe how big these guys are getting. Time is going way too fast and before we know the chicks will be leaving the nest. But in the meantime, enjoy Week 5.5 with us

Sikorsky - not such a little guy anymore

Wiley - he IS the cuddlebug of the litter

And then there's our handsome ham - Yaeger

Week 5.5 The Boys Part I

2011-08-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

You know once those little buggers get movin' and eatin' they're a lot of work. But it IS a labor of love. Anyway my apologies for the delay in getting out Week 5 photos. The babies have spent a lot of time outside this week and that's where we opted to take their photos this week. I love digital ... you can take TONS of pictures and then narrow down to the best without wasting a thing. So here are the lastest of the crew. Let us know who YOU like!!

Doolittle - what a handsome fella!

Orville - just add a red cape and he's SUPERDOG!

Sweet Wilbur - what a doll!

Mr Photogenic

2011-08-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

And then we have our Next Top Model, Mr Yaeger. He was just too cute so he gets his own post today

He's cute and he knows it.

"I'm so cute!"

And a ham too.

Well, now what?

He looks innocent enough.

Take time to smell the flowers.

More Fun in the Sun

2011-08-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

Alan took the kids outside again yesterday and, although they're still not quite sure what to do with all that wide open spaces, they LOVED it. The sniffed and explored and listened as mom, Jenga, showed them the ropes. And before you knew it, they were ready for a nap. They're still sleeping a lot but it gets less and less each day and soon they'll be playing and romping much more than sleeping and napping. I also have to commend my very innovative husband for the very slick transport he arranged to get them in and out of the house. Necessity IS the mother of invention.

Allison and Sikorsky power nap so they're ready for Round 2

Amelia Sitting Pretty

Jenga and Cessna

Solo Cessna

Their chariot awaits

Home, James!

Are we there yet?

Week 5 Candids

2011-08-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

The kids had a VERY big day yesterday. They had visitors AND they spent about 3 hours playing outside. The day was lovely and cool with, at times, a hint of mist in the air. They romped and ran and tumbled and explored to their hearts' content. And as you can see from some of the photos the outing was a complete and total success. And the best part - no clean up required for potty accidents! LOL Thanks to Tim and Amanda Ebert for sharing these photos of the babies.

Allison and Cessna - all tuckered out!

The "twins" - Wilbur and Orville (l-r)

Cessna before she succumbed to her nap

Pile O'Pooped Puppies

Sikorsky Snoozin in the Sun

Yaeger, Wiley and Allison take 5

Week 4.5 Photos - The Girls Part II

2011-08-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

And now, finally, we close with our Black Beauties ... Amelia and Cessna

If Wiley is Mr Congeniality then Amelia is Miss Congeniality

She's always one of the first puppies in line for a Meet and Greet

And then there's our Cessna who is such a sweetie and

loves when you pick her up for a cuddle.

Week 4.5 Photos - The Girls Part I

2011-08-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

And now for our lovely ladies. This first post will be our brownies ...

Allison may be our littlest in size but she has the biggest spirit.

She refuses to accept the fact that the other puppies are bigger

than she is and does what she has to to prove it

Then there's our pretty Piper. She has a more laid back personality

but she is still a brownie through and through.

Lindy was our last born but definitely hold a high place

in the rankings - at least in her mind. She like Allison

and Piper is a brownie to the nth degree

Week 4.5 Photos - the Boys Part II

2011-08-11T06:12:00.000-07:00

And now for the second half of the boys ... it's really fun too to see how their personalities are starting to shine through. And they're really starting to interact with each other now. We'll try to get some candid shots of them playing soon

Sikorsky was one of our littler boys but now that

they're eating "real" food, he's catching up to the others.

Wiley gets the title of Mr Congeniality. He is another

puppy who will come up to you looking for your attention.

A real sweetheart.

Yaeger has the tendency to be our resident busybody.

He's always looking, exploring and making new discoveries.

Week 4.5 Photos - The Boys Part I

2011-08-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

Well, we FINALLY got the chance to take some current photos of the puppies last night. We were hoping they'd at least sit for their photo op but they were kind of slumpy so I had to "help" them a bit. Of course it may have had something to do with the fact they had just eaten and were sleepy ...

I really have to admit I LOVE this little guy. I had no plans

to keep a boy but, pending BAER tests, he might have to hang around a bit

And then here's our "big" twin - Orville. He has the nicest, most outgoing

personality. He's one that will come up looking for you.

And then there's Sweet Wilbur. He has such a sweet

and gentle spirit. He's a real cuddlebug.

Sleeping Beauties

2011-08-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

Now that Jenga is spending less and less time with the babies and they're getting old enough to (semi) fend for themselves, we decided it was time to move them into their "Toddler Bed." We took the pig rails out since we don't have to worry about Jen squishing them anymore and put in a raised dog bed. Granted it's not as raised as our other dog beds scattered around the house but enough so they're now suspended (somewhat) in their own personal hammock. At first they didn't "get it" but with the help of an added step in front of it, it took them no time to figure out how this new thing works ... and they LIKE it! They still sleep in their preferred Puppy Pile but seem to be quite comfy with their new bed.

This will also hopefully reinforce the notion of a separate bed area and a separate potty area. Although we have paper down in front of the bed, they are starting to climb into the gymnasium for the rest of their activities, which are basically eating and pottying. In the next week, I'm sure we'll be adding playing to the list of gymnasium activities. But in the meantime, because they have a little trouble clambering over the threshold from the pen to the gym, we'll make sure the floor of the pen is covered with papers and easily clean up-able.

So enjoy this posts updated photos and I'm going back to help Alan play with puppies.

The babies in their new "toddler bed."

It fits perfectly into the whelping box

Allison finds a new use for her brother, Orville

Amelia (and Yaeger)

Like the carnage on a battlefied after the fight

Doolittle may be sleeping but he's ready to go if necessary!

First Meal

2011-08-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, the first feeding is now history and it was a rousing success. And, as I knew, there was no hesitation on their parts and they literally waded right in. A couple of them did take a couple of sniffs to figure out this new stuff but not Cessna. She walked up to it, stuck her face in the pan and I don't think she ever came up for air. The vote from the puppies was unanimous: "More Please!"

Like little piggies at the trough!

I really admire Allison's technique: lay in it face first and lap.

Doolittle proves Shark Week isn't just on the

Discovery Channel this week with his Jaws impression.

As my mom used to say about my sister,

"Everything they eat looks good on them."

Done!

and, then the Aftermath.

Needless to say, Jenga took special

care to get everyone cleaned up for bed.

Week 3 - Piper

2011-08-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

I love them all but I have to admit, right now - today, I love this

little girl. She has such a sweet temperament and what a pretty face.

We think she's only going to get better.

Week 3 - Lindy

2011-08-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is Miss Lindy - one of our Lovely Liver Ladies. Just like her Grandma Summer, Lindy

too has an On/Off switch - the little dot right between her eyes. We have a feeling she's going

to be more On than Off as the days go by.

Week 3 - Cessna

2011-08-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

This is our other Black girl, Cessna. We love her little freckled face and think she's

going to be a real charmer.

Week 3 - Amelia

2011-08-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

And you sure can't miss Amelia - she is STILL our biggest puppy (boy or girl) and is now

over the 3-pound mark. She's our big white girl and we think she's adorable.

Week 3 - Allison

2011-08-01T13:47:00.001-07:00

Poor Allison, when it was her turn, she'd just had her fill of Mom and was snuggling down for a nice nap and we snatched her up for her photo op. Can you tell we woke her? She's our littlest girl but continues to gain weight steadily, as she approaches the 2-pound mark.

Week 3 - Doolittle

2011-08-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

And now say "hello" to Doolittle. He is such a nice boy - handsome and snuggly.

Can't ask for more than that in a fella!

Week 3 - Orville

2011-08-01T13:42:00.001-07:00

Then there's our "big" patch boy, Orville who is knocking on the three-pound door. He doesn't care what we call him as long as we call him to Dinner.

Week 3 - Sikorsky

2011-08-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, we only have one photo of Sikorsky this week. He, unlike his brothers, is a feisty little man and when we downloaded the pictures realized they were all blurry because he was fussying.

He might be small but he's got ATTITUDE.

Week 3 - Wilbur

2011-08-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

And may we now present our "little" patch boy (at least in comparison with his brother Orville). We may be prejudice but we think he's pretty stinkin' cute.

Week 3 - Wiley

2011-08-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

And then we have our Lone Liver Boy, Wiley. He was born pink as a bunny but if you look closely at his nose you can see he's starting to get some nose pigment. He's another sweetheart with a mellow laidback personality.

Week 3 Photos - Yaeger

2011-08-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the puppies were three weeks old yesterday and once again it was time to pull out the camera and record the changes for posterity. They are actually PUPPIES now, interacting with their world and with each other. It is simply AMAZING how quickly they are developing. First to be recognized this week is our very handsome firstborn, Yaeger. He's one of the most mellow puppies we have.

Expanded Digs

2011-07-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

It may be a trifle premature but Alan has finished up the "gymnasium" to go with the whelping box and he installed it last night. Now the puppies' lives have gone from a 4 x 4 box to an added 4 x 8 front yard to explore. We took the tall door down from the whelping box so they now have access to a world twice the size that it was just 2 days ago. They look SO little in it but we know from past experience just how quickly they will fill it up - especially when there are ELEVEN of them.

Right now they're still eating and sleeping a lot but we know that in the next week, they'll explode into puppyhood and soon be chasing each other around the "gymnasium." The next big milestone in their young lives will be the introduction of (semi) solid foods in the next day or two. Stay tuned for that as that is ALWAYS a sight. I always think they'll wear more of the food than ingest it but I'm usually surprised to see just how good a job they do at cleaning their first place. But as you can see from the picture below, Mom is still their first choice for a good meal. Poor Jenga - what a good and patient mom she is.

Wiley - Better Late Than Never

2011-07-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

OK, OK. I want to know just WHO told Wiley we forgot his picture on Sunday. As you can see by this photo he is NOT happy about being forgotten.

When I find out who told him ... well I guess I'll just send him to YOUR house and let him scream at YOU! LOL

In the meantime, in an effort to make amends for our very serious oversight, we are including not one, not two, not three but FOUR photos of the little man - more than any other puppy had posted. Maybe, that'll get us out of the hot seat.

Wiley is the puppy we affectionately call Moose Boy and who was born at the vet's office.

Alan says he will NEVER forget the way Wiley made his appearance -

he came out swinging as he was born.

Can you believe he's now a PUPPY. Look at this - he's got eyes open and you

can now tell there is someone officially at home in there.

Our big/little brown guy really is a sweetie (well, except when you miss his photo op)

As you can see, he's still a mite upset about it, but he is getting over it.

But thankfully now, all's well that ends well!

Week 2 Photos - Wilbur and Yaeger

2011-07-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

This is sweet Wilbur - he's the smaller of the "twins" but he's

Mr Mellow in comparison to Orville's take charge puppy attitude.

He is such a good boy.

And then we have our Blue boy, Yaeger. He is a real sweetie too.

And our choice to demonstrate Nail Clipping 101.

PLEASE don't tell Wiley we forgot to take his picture last night. We will get that remedied tonight and give him his own blog posting to make up for the slight.

Week 2 Photos - Piper and Sikorsky

2011-07-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

This is Piper doing her Popeye impression. One eyeball open, one to go.

She's another of our brownie girls.

Then we have Sikorsky - our little boy, although he IS up over a pound and a half

so he's thriving just like everyone else.

He's Mr Feisty too. Maybe, like Allison, it has something to do

with being the littlest ... but Sikorsky will NOT let you lose him in the pack.

2011-07-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

In this post, we have one of each: A brown girl, Lindy and her black brother, Orville.

Lindy is another of our bigger puppies - ok not quite two pounds but at the upper one-pound area.

As you can see, she's the first to have two peepers open. Let's see if she continues to be our first in other areas of development

And then there's Orville, our right ear patch. He's a BIG BOY and is right behind Amelia in size.

And he's got ATTITUDE - and has already mastered the fine art of puppy howling.

Week 2 Photos - Cessna and Doolittle

2011-07-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

And here now we have two of our beautiful black babies:

Cessna our girl (in pink of course) and Doolittle (in yellow). Cessna is a spunkly littly thing with attitude o'plenty.

Mr Doolittle - like so many of the boys - is much more mellow and laid back. He's also another one of our Two-Pound puppies. I guess when you're a "big boy" you don't have anything to prove.

Week 2 Photos - Amelia and Allison

2011-07-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

It's time for the update with new weekly photos. The big news? Eyes are opening. Some more so than others. This first post is the Big and the Small of the litter. Allison is our peanut but she, like everyone else now, is over a pound. Amelia, our Amazon Princess, now tops the weight leader board at 2.3 ounces.

As you can see, Allison is definitely a "brownie" and although her eyes are still closed it won't be too much longer before she's looking back at us. The other thing we're noticing is personality displays. Allison may be the littlest in size but she's the biggest in attitude. She takes no guff whatsoever from her older and bigger littermates, and routinely crawls over them to get to Mama in search of a meal. She is gonna be a real charmer

who will have no problem finding her place in the

world.

And then we have Amelia who is a little more laid back but still will let you know when she's ready for a meal. Don't get between her and Mama when she's hungry because she turns into a bulldozer. She started out being kind of "squawcky" but is becoming calmer and easier to handle every day. She IS a nice puppy. Don't get me wrong - it's not that Allison ISN'T a nice puppy - she's just a little more assertive than her sister.

Week 2 Milestone

2011-07-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness it doesn't seem possible that it's been two weeks since Jenga expanded our family. And what changes have taken place just even in the last week. Everyone has crossed the One Pound mark and we even have a couple of Two-Pounders - yes, I'm talking about you, Amelia and Orville. They're starting to get up on their legs and actually walking instead of scooting around. They don't walk very far before they fall down but they are walking. They also got their first nail trim this evening (at Jenga's request). Yaeger seems to be our Poster Child for illustrating big moments so once again he steps in to "model" how big boys get their nails done.

And the noises don't sound so much like seagulls anymore. There have been actual barks and howls coming from the pen now.

And the biggest milestone? Eyes are opening and there is someone looking back at us now. Lindy officially has two eyes open and Piper (our Popeye impersonator) has one open. When you look at the others, their eyes are slit where you can see light glinting off their eyes. It is simply AMAZING to see how quickly they are developing. Jenga, too, is more comfortable with leaving them now. About the only time she spends with them now is to feed and clean them. In fact, she's lying right beside me as I make this blog entry. She has been an amazing Mama. Here are a couple of pix we took this evening of some of the Milestone Moments. I'll try and get everyone's Week 2 photos posted tomorrow.

Proud Papa

2011-07-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

In case anyone is wondering about the other half of this puppy extravaganza we have going on here, I thought we'd include some photos of the Proud Papa, BIS (Best in Show) BISS (Best in Specialty Show) Grand Champion/Champion Glen Oaks Firekeepers Gambler, known as Gambler to his friends. In addition to being a pretty handsome fellow as evidenced by his show record, Gambler is a sweet and loving boy who doesn't know a stranger. We're thrilled to have Gambler's contribution to this pedigree and think these babies are going to be very, very special ... whether in the show ring or on a couch or both.

Job Well Done, Gambler!!!!

Week 1 Photos - The Girls Part II

2011-07-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

And then our two brownies:

Lindy's goal in life is to catch up to her sister, Amelia.

She's not too far off the pace.

Piper - a lovely little brown baby.

Week 1 Photos - The Girls Part I

2011-07-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

And now for our lovely ladies:

Allison is our peanut but still racking up the ounces every day

Our Warrior Princess, Amelia is our biggest puppy, including the boys.

I'm sure her mouth is open so she can more easily shovel in Mom Food.

And then we have Miss Cessna - I couldn't resist using all those "S"s

She's looking Pretty in Pink.

Week 1 Photos - The Boys Part II

2011-07-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

And now for the second half of the group:

Doolittle is another big boy, now over one pound

Our littlest guy, we know Sikorsky will grow into his big name

Yaeger is a little smaller (for now) but he's almost a pound now too.

Week 1 Photos - The Boys Part I

2011-07-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

The kids celebrated their 1 Week birthday with another photo shoot:

Orville is now up over one pound in weight.

Smaller than his "twin" Orville, Wilbur is closing in on a pound in weight.

Affectionately, known as "Moose Boy," Wiley is a Pound Puppy too.

New Digs

2011-07-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Cue the theme song from "The Jeffersons" ...

Jenga and crew made the move to their new digs this weekend. Alan finished the whelping box and I have to say I'm just a mite envious. Not really - I don't want to live in a box. But I must say, he did a FABULOUS job with it. I've dubbed it "Dog Mahal." It's 4' square and the bottom and sides are made of a melamine-type material so it's super easy to clean up - and that will become more important in the next few weeks when Jenga finishes up her duties as puppy clean-up agent and passes that particular torch to Alan and me. (Counting the minutes on that one!) And they have the industrial loft feel to their new place with the PVC pipe pigrail that runs along the sides. For those of you not familiar with the function of a pigrail, it's to keep Mama from squishing babies up against the side of the box and smothering them.

The kids think it's just great but Jenga is needing some time to make the adjustment and be 100% comfortable in it. This morning about 4:30 I heard thrashing around and got up and found her wedging herself under the raised dog bed (about 2" high) in the living room. I assume this was her attempt at denning. Anyway, I'm sure she'll sort things out in the next day or two and be as comfortable as the babies are.

First Photos - The Girls Part II

2011-07-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

And last but certainly not least:

Even though she was the last born,

we think our brownie Lindy has the Spirit to

accomplish great things.

And the last of the girls - little brown Piper

will be a real Ace

First Photos - The Girls Part I

2011-07-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

And now, we introduce our lovely ladies:

For those who don't know (like I didn't), Allison is very famous type of airplane engine.

We think our little brownie, Allison, will "engineer" her way to the top someday.

Like her namesake, Amelia is a woman with a strong mind and personality.

She's a blackie with the personality of a brownie.

And we think Miss Cessna, another blackie,

will take off and fly with the eagles.

First Photos - The Boys Part II

2011-07-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

And the rest of the boys include:

Doolittle is a handsome black boy who will Doo a Lot More than just a Little in his life.

Sikorsky is another black boy who will hover in someone's heart and family

Yaeger I'm not 100% sure of color but think he's black too. Time will tell.

First Photos - The Boys Part I

2011-07-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

We took individual photos last night and proudly present our newest batch of high-fliers:

You can't tell it from here but Orville has a black ear patch

And brother Wilbur is the other bookend with a left ear patch

And then there's Wiley - he's one of the pups I'm not sure of color yet

but I THINK he's a brownie. What do you all think?

Road Trip

2011-07-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the kids took their first road trip on Tuesday when they went to the vet to have dewclaws removed. Actually, we had an appointment for a C-Section but since Jenga took care of that one Sunday, I called and told them we just needed dewclaws removed. Poor Alan, he had to load everyone up, including Mom, and make the trip to the vet's office. He said Jenga was frantic when he took the basket o'babies out of the car into the office. However the old Switcheroo Game kept her from panicing too much. When he brought her into the office, the babies were already moved to the exam room and she didn't even KNOW she should be looking for them in there.

Just like always, the babies are no worse for the wear. When they're less than 3 days old that bone in the dewclaw hasn't ossified so it's not like we're lopping off any of their toes It's more like clipping a toenail. As you can see, courtesy of our lovely assistant Yaeger, it's little more than a scab that will eventually drop off, leaving a nice clean leg. It's not a "cruel" procedure at all - in fact, removing it now could save a lot of grief, pain and expense if, as an adult, the dog happens to catch the dewclaw on something (like a chainlink fence) and tears it. MAJOR OUCH!

So Jenga and family "survived" the Road Trip just fine and Mom was content to bed down with her kidlets. A friend of mine at work saw this photo and laughingly said, "Yep, nursing mother! Gotta keep the food right there in front of you at all times!"

Alan's putting the finishing touches on the whelping box he built so hopefully we can move everyone into their new digs today or tomorrow. Stay tuned for more updates.

Puppies!!

2011-07-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Well Puppy Watch is over and (the New and Improved) Puppy Watch begins. Jenga who always marches to the beat of her own drummer, decided to do puppies early. After a long hard day, and a trip to the emergency vet, we have 11 beautiful babies - 6 boys (2 black ear patches) and 5 girls (no patches). We've got them in both colors but I've not sorted that out exactly.

Jen was doing great until she got to #8 and then she just stopped. She was having hard contractions but no puppy. So off we went to the emergency vet where she promptly delivered #8 (oh yeah, wait until we get there!). Since we were there we decided to have her x-rayed and we were informed there were 3 more to go. Good Grief Jenga! While we were there (and waiting for the vet again - he had a higher level emergency) Jenga decided to produce #9 and #10. Knowing there was only one more we opted to take her home and let Nature take its course. Well, we did help her out with a shot of Oxytocin the vet sent home with us. We got her home and settled and administered the meds and within a half an hour, #11 made her appearance - and I'm pretty sure she's a liver.

We've decided to do an Aviation Theme for the litter this time, so the girls are Amelia, Lindy, Cessna, Piper and Allison. The boys are Orville and Wilbur (the 2 patch boys of course), Wiley, Yeager, Doolittle and Sikorsky. we'll try and get photos up tomorrow of everyone but in the meantime here are a couple Alan took last night. Now, off to cuddle puppies.

Puppy Watch Begins

2011-07-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well today is Day 58 and Jenga looks like she's ready to pop. It's hard to believe she's still not technically due until Wednesday. If she makes it till Monday morning, I'll be surprised. If she does, I think we're going to go ahead and do a C-Section. She has a history of very large litters, 14 and 12 puppies, respectively, and rather than take a chance on her getting into it and getting too pooped to push (which happened with her first litter of 14), I think we'll let the vet give her a hand.

We took her temp this morning and she was at 100.4, which is about doggy normal. Once she drops below 100 and stays down around 98, puppies should arrive within 24 hours. Unfortunately, for her temp taking is going to be a twice a day procedure until it's time. But she still has her appetite which generally means no puppies for awhile but she has been eating smaller meals more frequently. Hmm, babies are squishing her tummy. We'll keep you posted.

Dottie Rose - Living the Life

2010-06-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we've just heard from Dottie and the Reinard family in Ohio and I think we're going to have to change Dottie's name to Riley since that is apparently the life she is living these days. Mom Jennifer reports she's a "wonderful" dog - but then again she's a Dalmatian so that's just a given.

According to Jennifer, Dad Scott is her favorite but she adores her entire new family and as you can see from the pictures the feeling is mutual. There's nothing we enjoy more than to get great puppy updates like these.

Hopefully, everyone is enjoying them; and even if they're not, Alan and I are so please, everyone, keep them coming.

Clemente/Lyla Back Home Again in ARIZONA ???

2010-06-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

It seems our little Globetrotter, Clemente, now Lyla, made the 2000 mile trip between Indiana and Arizona like a seasoned traveler. She took to her sherpa - her travel bag - like the proverbial duck to water. From what we hear she snoozed her way across the Rockies. So it would have been much easier being next to the Eberts and Lyla with their baby than one of those crying human ones. LOL.

Amanda and Tim report Lyla is settling in nicely and is trying to figure out her new sisters, the cats. We don't have any of those at our house so they're a brand new experience for her - among so many others.

We hear too that she's Queen of the Household which is only appropriate since she is the daughter of "Jengis Kahn," lord of the Mongrel Horde in our house. But being queen can be very tiring as evidenced by this picture on her new humongous dog bed (hard to believe she's going to grow into it all too soon). Note the camo design of the pillow so appropriate for our military brat.

The Eberts report that Lyla is learning the ropes of how to live in the Great Southwest. She stays in the shade during the heat of the day, only venturing out during the cooler morning and evening times.

But when she does you'd better look out because she's living her life large and attacking every day of it. If you're not on board with her you'd better get out of her way. I LOVE this picture

DiMaggio/Bentley Checks In

2010-06-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

We are getting reports of DiMaggio (now known as Bentley) sightings in Indiana - and even have the photos to back up our claims. The Little Prince, Bentley, can be seen surveying his new kingdom in this photo. Mom Nicole says she survived her first week with two Dalmatians and thinks everything is going fine. She says Bentley is a curious little guy who's not afraid of anything (well, other than grass - in our experience). He's been to a pool party at Nicole's mother's home and met folks from 1 to 81 and won them all over. Yep, he's quite the charmer.

It also appears he and Reagan are getting along famously and Reagan is quite pleased to have a baby brother around that she can play doggy games with. This photo was taken during a hiatus of one of their play-fests. Everyone assumes (incorrectly) that having TWO Dals is twice the work. It's actually about half the work since they now can amuse each other don't require their humans to provide a100% of their fun and games.

And, as you can see by the last picture, this theory is working and Reagan has successfully worn the little man out - what a good and PATIENT big sister she is.

A tired puppy is a good puppy!

Riot Update

2010-06-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, the updates are starting to come in and we LOVE it. Brandan and Jeri report Riot is quite taken to being an only dog and is thriving on their love and attention. This is the main reason I don't feel too bad when puppies start to go home. When they reach 6 weeks of age they are just screaming for one-on-one that is impossible for two people to dole out to ten puppies. And, when you factor in, how long people have been waiting and counting the days until they get their puppy ... well, I just love a happy ending - although in these cases I would guess it's more of a happy beginning.

In this picture the Kelters have shared, Riot seems to be putting his Golden friend in line with a little friendly "woofing." Being an only puppy doesn't preclude one from having friends. And leave it to a brownie to take charge of any given situation. But it was all in fun and from what we hear, this Big Guy is Riot's new BFF - and you can't have too many of those in this life.

Riot also shows he's taken to the great outdoors and is getting down and dirty in the grass. Looks kind of like he's doing his lion stalking game in this picture.

Thanks to the Kelters for the updates. I plan to keep this blog going with pix and updates of all the kids and things that are happening in the Matchless world. Hope you'll all stick around and stay in touch. One of the best parts of puppies is the new friends we make.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

2010-06-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today, Clemente's new mom and dad swooped in to take her home. And when we say "swooped" we mean SWOOPED as Tim and Amanda Ebert flew in from Arizona to pick up their new little brownie. Clemente, now to be officially known as Matchless The Great One and "Lyla" to friends and family, was all happy wiggles when Mom and Dad showed up this morning and took her into their arms and hearts. The Eberts are thrilled to have their 2-year wait for a puppy FINALLY over - see, good things DO come to those who wait! Although she was already a "brat," Lyla will now be a MILITARY Brat as Dad Tim has been in the Marines for 6 years (oh, to make it a career or not to make it a career, that is the question!) and Mom Amanda grew up in a military family. So, while she may start in Arizona, who knows where our globetrotting little Lyla will be deployed when she gets her new orders. Thanks to the Eberts for their loving home and their patience. We hope she was worth the wait. And, DO let us know how Miss Lyla handles the in-cabin flight home!

Maris - Our Louisville Slugger

2010-06-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Maris is now living life with the Whyte family in Kentucky. In addition to mom and dad, Maris - now to be called "Maddie", Matchless Lady Madilyn Theia - has two big brothers that she'll have to keep in line. As we all know brownies have a way of taking charge so we're sure Maddie/Maris will have those boys ship shape in no time - especially if she's anything like her mama, Jenga. From early reports we've gotten she has definitely moved right in and settled right down. I loved Dad's comment when he said yesterday that he finally had his daughter. Aaaawwwww.

Hmmm I just noticed as I posted this picture - I wonder if the Whytes specifically wanted a liver girl so she could pass as one of them - just another redhead in the bunch.

And Rizzuto Makes Three

2010-06-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Our brown boy Rizzuto also found his way to his new mom and dad, Brandan and Jeri Kelter, and is the other puppy who will keep his Indiana roots. The Kelters were on board with the baseball theme and Rizzuto will now be known as "Riot" in honor of Jeri's favorite ball player Ryan Theriot. I did warn them though about being careful what you name your puppy as they have a way of living up to it. Hmm, Riot ... this could prove interesting.

Rizzuto/Riot is also a wedding gift to themselves as the Kelters are newlyweds, having just tied the knot in March. So the family has now increased with the addition of their new baby boy. Thanks Kelters for taking Rizzuto into your hearts and home.

DiMaggio Scores a New Family

2010-06-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

DiMaggio also packed up and moved out yesterday but he's not going to miss his siblings at all because his big sister Reagan from our Brighton x Jada litter of December 2008, was waiting for him. Mom Nicole Turner has been in on the process of this litter from literally Day One when we discovered Jenga in season at the February dog shows at the Indiana State Fairground. So she's been through all the highs and lows - breeding accomplished, pregnancy confirmed, puppies born, hearing tests passed and FINALLY the day she got to take her baby boy home.

Not only does DiMaggio have a new Big Sis but he's also sporting a new name, Matchless Who's On First, and will be known as "Bentley" to family and friends. We were playing with baseball names and realized his registered name had to be "Who's On First" since Reagan's registered name is Matchless First Lady. Had to stay with the First Theme.

DiMaggio/Bentley is one of only two puppies who will be staying in Indiana. Nicole got us some pictures of the homecoming and it looks like this Brother/Sister team was meant to be. No strike outs with this choice - a home run all the way.

Off To Wisconsin

2010-06-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

Our pretty Mays also took off yesterday and she has two new sisters just like Dottie Rose. She is now the baby of the Grzesiak family in Wisconsin. This family has a love of the Hawaiian islands and Mays is now officially known as Matchless Mauna Lani and will be answering to "Lani." She has a big Dalmatian sister too who goes by the name of "Kona" (gotta keep that Hawaiian theme going!)

Mom Beth tells me Kona loves it when they go boating and that Lani will get her sealegs by studying big sister, Kona. So if you're ever in Wisconsin and see a Dalmatian riding like the figurehead of a ship, with the breeze blowing through her ears, stop and say hello to Lani Mays.

The Nest Is Emptying

2010-06-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for us. Our babies are now becoming other people's babies. The first to leave the nest was little Rose who is now living in Ohio with the Reinard family. Dad Scott made the 6 hour trek yesterday and was here by about 9:30 - this family really wanted this puppy. You do the math and see what time he had to leave to be here as early as he was. Rose's new "official" name is Matchless Wrigley Ivy, (thanks to the Reinards for continuing the baseball theme) and will be affectionately known as "Dottie." Dottie joins her two new sisters and it looks like a match made in Heaven. We took a picture of Scott as he left with Dottie Rose for the blog but this one he sent from home was too cute not to too. I think if these were my three girls, this would be my new computer wallpaper.

Best wishes to the Reinards and Dottie and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for giving her such a wonderful, loving home.

The Test Results Are In

2010-06-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well, the kids went for their Excellent Adventure and while it wasn't totally excellent it was still pretty darned good. Of the ten puppies tested, we had 6 bi's (as in bilateral hearing), 4 uni's (as in unilateral hearing) and ZERO bilaterally deaf. YAY! All perfectly fine hearing Dalmatians. Everyone was bilateral with the exception of Rose, Gehrig, Koufax and Rizzuto who have one good ear each.

While we wish we could have had 20 good ears you have to realize that if you're going to have Dalmatians, you're going to have deafness. Yes, there are things we can do to reduce the number of bilaterally deaf dogs but we'll never totally eliminate it. Hearing is tied to color and the whiter the animal the more likely there is to be deafness. Dals have the highest incidence of congenital deafness but other breeds are not immune: Boston Terriers, English Setters, Jack Russell Terriers, Whippets, Australian Cattle Dogs (who have Dalmatians in their make-up) are all breeds who can produce deaf dogs.

Blue eyes are also statistically linked to deafness which is why I won't incorporate a blue-eyed dog in my breeding program. Some breeders say, "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," and use uni's and blue-eyed dogs but in my opinion Dals have a large enough gene pool that you can eliminate those dogs from a breeding program without sacrificing quality or compromising the breed standard.

For those of you not familiar with how BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) testing is performed, it's process virtually identical with how babies and children who can't communicate yet are tested. The dogs are hooked up to in essence an electroencepholograph machine and their brain waves are monitored to see if the sound is reaching the brain. Each ear is tested individually and you can tell by looking at the printouts which ears are transmitting sound to the brain. Peaks and valleys on the tracings = good; flat lines = BAD.

But the dogs who are deaf in one ear have so totally compensated for it that we didn't even know they could be deaf in one ear until we started BAER testing in the late 80's. We always figured it was all or nothing.

So we took 10 puppies for testing and brought 10 puppies home and now they're waiting for YOU to come take them to their forever homes.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

2010-06-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

Just a short post tonight but the picture was just too good not to share with everyone. Jenga is pretty much done with the puppies as nurturer and provider. She still plays with them, teaching them all those important puppy lessons but Alan and I are now the food providers. And just when you think they're getting all "grown up" they find a way to show you they're still babies. And I think it speaks volumes to the temperament of other breed, Margo the Boston Terrier. She was playing with the babies and she's only a little larger than they are themselves so it didn't prove too difficult got them to convince her to step in as babysitter. We looked over and there was Margo letting the puppies nurse off of her. They didn't even seem to mind the fact that they were at a "dry well" because we literally had to pull them off of poor Margo. So while they weren't getting any official nourishment Margo provided them with the emotional support of a pacifer. Good girl Margo.

Rub A Dub Dub ...

2010-06-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

10 puppies in the tub. Yep. They all took the plunge and had their first bath this weekend. None of them were too thrilled about the experience. Wait, I take that back - Maris actually stood while I was rinsing her and seemed to enjoy the sensation of warm water running off her back. Here she is all wrapped up like a little papoose.

Rose, on the other hand, was less than pleased with the entire notion of this nasty thing called a "bath." It's a good thing looks can't kill because, well Alan would have been cashing in the insurance policy about now. The only upside to being one of the first ones in the tub was she got to gloat at the rest of her siblings did their bathing beauty routines.

Poor Aaron, forced to endure the indignities of being zapped with the water spout as if he were little more than a dirty dish. But they all survived and came out smelling, well maybe not like roses (and a little more like wet dogs) but certainly a lot fresher than they were before the Big Dunk.

Ruth & Maris - In a League of Their Own

2010-05-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day for the kids. They got to experience grass under their toes for the first time. Some of them thought it was terrific and some of the others - who we won't mention Aaron and DiMaggio will we? - were less taken with the great outdoors.

However, Ruth and Maris both LOVED it and from the minute their tootsies touched the grass they never looked back.

We don't know what it is .... but we LIKE it!!

Maris says

"OMGosh! Did you see that!!??!!"

Maris proving she can run the bases

Maris considers stealing second base

Ruth passes third base and heads for home

And ... SHE'S SAFE!!!

Enjoy the pix. We'll try and get more up this week.

Aaron & DiMaggio

2010-05-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

OK - I have to warn you all ... these two were total duds outside.

Big tough boys - yeah right!!!

These were the best of the bunch as these two wouldn't leave our sides long

enough to get a decent picture. They were either blurry because they

were moving or we got rear ends as they moved away.

"I'll cover right field, you take left field."

DiMaggio checking things out in the outfield.

Aaron says,

"Put me in coach."

Mays & Rose - Doubleheader

2010-05-31T17:37:00.000-07:00

Rose & Mays

No girls! The game is baseball not hunting.

They've got to quit hanging out with the Setters!!

Oh and just so you know,

Rose shucked her shirt today so she's going au naturale

Mays on the Move

Mays says,

"Holey moley! The view is great from up here!"

Rose says

"If Mays can move, so can I!!

Get outta my way, I'm coming through!"

They may be competitive but they're still teammates!!

Clemente & Rizzuto - Up to Bat

2010-05-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I think of Clemente and Rizzuto as the Twins -

Hey wait, they can be the Minnesota Twins in Alan's honor

Clemente Sitting Pretty

Clemente says

"Mom says to stop and smell the flowers. What are flowers?

Rizzuto says

"Stick me in the outfield!"

Rizzuto says,

"Wait ... the ball ... it's coming my way!!!

I got it coach!!!"

Rain Out - Koufax & Gehrig

2010-05-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we started outside but the clouds and the rain rolled in so we had to finish these guys inside.

Gehrig says,

"What is this stuff???"

Gehrig says

"This is even better than the green stuff!"

Koufax says,

"I don't know what the big deal's all about."

Rained Out - game canceled

You too Koufax.

Back to the locker room until things dry out.

Play Time

2010-05-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

The milestone this week for the puppies is their discovery of “play!” Up until the end of last week all they would do was totter to the food bowl, eat, poop and go back to sleep. This week is the week they’ve discovered toys and are finding out just how much fun it is to attack them as well as each other. I’ve gone to the thrift store and sorted through their stuffed toys bin, picking out size appropriate soft toys and, after a good spin through the washing machine, have introduced them to the puppies. They growl, they pounce, they carry their “prey” off to a corner, warning their siblings off with mini-growls. They are so stinking adorable.

Although Jenga is spending less and less time in official mother capacity – nursing, cleaning – she is now spending her time with them teaching them exactly how to play. At this stage puppies are learning – from Jenga and each other – the rules of dog play. If you bite too hard, someone will correct you with a yelp or a nip back or maybe even a roll on their back by Mom. This is a critical time for them as they learn what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior.

One trick I encourage is for owners to use the Nose Hug when disciplining a puppy. In Nature, Mom (who has no hands) will take the puppies muzzle in her mouth and give them a brief shake of the snout. When playing with your puppy and s/he gets too mouthy, just take the puppy’s muzzle in your hand and give it a gentle shake. It’s dog language for “I am dominant and you’d better knock it off.”

As the dogs get older you can continue this practice as a gentle way of affirming your higher place in the pecking order. If you’re sitting with your dog or walk by, grab their muzzle in your hand and give a gentle shake. Believe it or not, they will see this as not a “mean” or “threatening” but as an action that confirms their place in the pecking order. Dogs have no problem being low man on the totem pole; however, they can develop anxieties if you don’t reassure them you’re in charge and will take care of things. They are pack animals and need a hierarchy. They are comforted in knowing exactly who is boss and are content knowing it doesn’t have to be them. Use this to both of your advantages and you’ll have a happier, well-behaved dog.

But in the meantime, all the world is a playground and the puppies are making full use of their gymnasium. It is incredible to see the changes in them every day. We’ve gone from adding yogurt to softened, ground puppy food to just warming up softened puppy food. They handle it just fine and this time next week we’ll probably not even have to soften it before hand. They’ll be crunching away on their kibble like pros. It’s so hard to believe that just 4+ weeks ago they were blind, deaf little things that could only root around looking for Mom’s warmth and milk. Now, they are real puppies and distinct personalities are developing. More on that in the next post. In the meantime, enjoy the photos.

Rizzuto says

"Just move along - there's nothing to see here. Everything's fine."

Quick Update

2010-05-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Gotta hurry through this blog. It's 7:52 and I want to see the Dancing With The Stars final that begins at 8:00. We took pictures last night and I was really surprised at how much the puppies had changed in just a couple of days between photo sessions. They're losing that lumpy newborn look on their heads and are looking like mini Dalmatians now. They're more steady on their feet and we've even caught a couple of them making an attempt to run across the pen. We tell them we're laughing WITH them. And we made a breakthrough tonight. No more grinding of food. All I did was dish up a bowl of softened puppy food, splashed some milk on it, nuked it and MAN did they ever tie into that bowl of food. Finally, someone who appreciates my "cooking." But they're still such babies: as soon as they get done eating and pooping (oh yes, the pooping has begun) they tumble over into little sleeping puppy piles. It's hard work growing! as demonstrated by Aaron and Maris.

We'll try and get some candids for tomorrow or Thursday. In the meantime, it's time to DANCE. LOL

Week 4 - The Girls

2010-05-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

Our lovely ladies as of Week 4. And they truly are ALL lovely. I don't know why but we are having a tough time trying to get good shots of some of the girls. Rose and Maris are so much prettier in person than is reflected in their photos. The boys are all fairly photogenic but I guess the girls are a treat that just must be savored in person.

Our Lady in Brown

Simply "A-Mays-ing!"

You have to see her to believe her

She's ready for her close up

A face only everyone could love.

Week 4 - The Boys

2010-05-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

The Boys of October in May

Rizzuto - Just keeps getting cuter

Koufax - Getting to be such a big boy

Aaron says,

"Koufax may be a 'Big Boy' but I'm the biggest and baddest of us all!"

DiMaggio - Has his eye on you!

Gehrig - Just a mite sleepy

Week Long Photo Shoot

2010-05-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

I simply cannot believe it has taken ALL week in order to get Week 3 photos up and ready to go. Monday was Dog Class so it didn't happen then. Tuesday night - OK I admit I was watching Dancing With The Stars. Wednesday the puppies just wouldn't cooperate - they had all just eaten and looked like they were in a coma. Thursday night the camera malfunctioned and all the pictures were blurry and we were just too tired to try again last night. FINALLY Friday things clicked and we present the latest batch of baby pix. As "proof" of our problems we're attaching some photos of the Week That Was.

Oh sure it looks cute here - but try and make it look cute one-on-one

"Enough is enough!!!"

Tomorrow we are hosting the annual Indy Dal Club annual picnic AND the puppies will be getting their first visitors, including some of their new moms and dads. You can be sure tomorrow will be a Photo Op of the first magnitude. Looks for updates and photos soon.

The Girls - Week 3 Almost 4

2010-05-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Say Hello to our Lovely Ladies

Sweet as sugar but full of spice

Can you tell we woke Maris for the shoot?

Sitting Pretty

Our American Beauty

Ruth - still The One

The Boys - Week 3 Almost 4

2010-05-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

And last but not least The Boys ...

Koufax Looking Sly

Handsome Gehrig

DiMaggio The King of Cool

With his build, Aaron is better suited for football

Can't get any cuter looking than this!

First Meal

2010-05-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I was going to post pictures of the puppies first “real” meal this weekend but, well, I obviously didn’t get it done. Until today. We gave the babies their first taste of something other than Mom and it seemed to be a success as you can see by all the little piggies at the trough.

Our weaning formula consists of Pro Plan puppy food softened in water in the refrigerator and then run through a food chopper so it becomes the consistency of ground meal. We then add a big dollop of yogurt (gotta get that good bacteria into their digestive tracts), some evaporated milk and then add water until it has the consistency of a mushy gruel. YUM!

We nuke it until it’s warm (after all, they are used to Jenga doing that for them) and then it goes into the flying saucer pan, which allows them all to pony up to the bar – and not only TO the bar but often INTO the bar. Some of them get so excited by the new experience they’re just not willing to wait their turn and charge in head first.

Koufax pretty much sums up everyone’s appearance when they’re through. We were hoping for a Buddha Belly shot but it didn’t quite turn out. Hopefully, in the future we’ll get a better shot of how their little tummies expand. It’s priceless.

I have to admit though these guys aren’t as food driven as some of my larger litters. Yes, they did clean their plate but they’re starting to leave some so I guess we need to cut back for awhile. My other litters have always been members of the Clean Plate Club from their first meal on. These guys must still have a preference for Jenga, as they all “attacked” her and finished of their meal with a drink of Mom.

We are planning to take Week 3 pictures this evening and will get them posted in the next day or two.

New Digs

2010-05-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the previous post, Alan worked really hard this afternoon and came up with a nice spacious place for the puppies to grow into. They look so tiny in their new big room but it's amazing how quickly they will grow and fill it up. The first step was to remove them and the laundry basket seemed just right. In fact they were SO comfortable they all promptly zonked out. Can you tell who's who?

Alan then laid out the tarp, stapling it up the wall 2' - something that we will be grateful for in another couple of weeks with TEN of them to clean up after. Then he put the two X-pens together and we have promptly given up our dining room for the next month. But they're SO worth it.

They seemed a little confused by all the space but in another month they will have outgrown this great big world and will be ready to make their homes with their new families.

WE NEED FOOD

2010-05-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

It was definitely time to introduce everyone to "real" food. We were feeding Jenga last evening right outside of the pool and a couple of the little beasties decided they needed to investigate what Mom was up to. Before Jenga knew what was happening, she was sharing her dinner with Mays, DiMaggio, Koufax and Aaron. Poor Jenga, she just looked at us with a "Help" expression on her face.

Today was also the day we set up the gymnasium for the babies. Alan spread out the tarp totally so we have an area 6' x 10' enclosed with 2 X-pens. We took the pool out, replacing it with the bottom of an airlines crate that will now serve as their watertight bed.

We will post a new blog in a bit showing their new digs as well as, TAH DAH - their first group meal for everyone and not just the greedy four from last night.

Stay tuned!!!!

"More food please!"

A Little Light Reading

2010-05-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

Actually, this is absolutely engrossing reading. This has to be one of the best books on puppy raising I've ever read and for those of you with puppies in your life - now or in the future - it's a must read. The Monks of New Skete are a monastic order located in upstate New York. Some orders make wine, some make cheese, these guys raise and train German Shepherd Dogs and this book, as well as their other title, How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend, give some of the best insight on dogs and their behaviors of any I've ever read. In The Art of Raising A Puppy, they discuss the stages of puppy development and how best to utilize those periods in training; preparing for your puppy's arrival; learning to "read" your dog; solutions to common puppy problems and, oh, so many more topics a dog lover will find fascinating. So, for those of you bringing home a baby next month you might want to consider acquiring a copy of this book - it will become your puppy-raising Bible. I don't think it's in print anymore but I know you can find it on sites like http://www.ebay/, http://www.half.com/ and http://www.amazon.com/ and for probably a fraction of its original purchase price.

Speaking of reading, I think I've finally made my way through that all important reading material that won't actually be used for reading - newspapers!!!! And once the babies start eating for real this weekend we will go through newspaper faster than you can even imagine. I told friends once who were having their first litter they would need TONS of newspaper and they came up with this pathetic little pile of papers maybe 6" high. Needless to say, they were raiding the local newspaper machines within a day or two of starting to use papers.

Anyway, I have a co-worker who saves all of his newspapers - even when he's out working or vacationing out of town - and he is my source for this OH SO important commodity. He recently donated FOURTEEN bags of newspaper to the cause. Unfortunately, not all of a newspaper is useable. Those slick sales fliers are too small and not very absorbent. So I've been sorting 14 bags of newspapers, pulling the useless stuff out and I finally finished last evening. Believe me you want it ready to go when you need it and don't want to be sorting the useless stuff out when you're trying to clean up puppies. So, we now have 3+ stacks of paper each about 3½ feet tall and I sure hope it's enough. and for those of you who are into the "green movement," don't worry. The useless stuff is going to the recycle bins outside one of the Martinsville schools - so it won't truly be useless.

I know the picture with this post is pretty boring since it's not a puppy picture but we'll work on that and get some current photos real soon.

My Bad - Here's Ruth

2010-05-11T15:33:00.001-07:00

Please don't tell Ruth I forgot to put her picture up with her sisters' pictures. Anyway, here is our Amazon Queen - she's the biggest of the girls (she prefers to think of her self as "full-figured" thank you very much!) Anyway, here's our pretty Ruth and maybe there's an upside to having been "forgotten" - she doesn't have to share this post with any of her sisters!!!!

Here's Looking At You Kid

2010-05-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s official – eyes are now open for business. DiMaggio was the first to show the world his peepers but, not wanting to be left out, everyone else is now either “eyes wide open” or doing their very best Popeye impressions. How nice to finally have someone looking back at us. Personalities should really start to shine through as they begin interacting with their new world. DiMaggio is peeking at us in this picture, although Alan says it looks like he's winding up for a Fast Ball.

I got home from work yesterday and was greeted with the announcement that we’d had our first escapee from the pool. Mr. Gehrig decided it was time to check things out and Alan found him outside the pool. Actually, I think he just rolled off the blanket the puppies had pushed up against the side of the pool. But then again the blanket was tied into a knotted rope that was going over the side … Alright, maybe not but a knotted rope but I think this is just an omen of things to come. Once they all start the “everyone outta the pool” routine it will be time to move the pool out and bring out the bedding and newspapers and attach a second x-pen so they have tons of room to romp.

They had a couple of milestones in the last two days. We made it to Day 16 so they are officially done with their Super Puppy exercises. Those of you taking a puppy home next month, be forewarned … I have no clue what their kryptonite is.

They also had their first nail trim last night at Jenga’s request. She was looking a little scratched up on the belly. I don’t know what the big fuss was all about but Mays sure expressed her displeasure. I PROMISE I left all of her toes attached to her feet!! Might as well get used to kids … it’s going to become a way of life.

The next two posts are Week 2 pictures taken last evening. Enjoy and let us know who you like.

Week 2 - The Girls

2010-05-11T12:51:00.001-07:00

We think Mays is darling and think she has the potential to shine.

Lovely Maris - one of the brownies in the batch. She already told us her goal is to grow up and be "just like her mother." Heaven help us!

Rose is our first born baby girl, surrounded by "thorns" Koufax and Gehrig in the birth order. We think she's a real American Beauty.

And our darling, Clemente. I think we woke her for her Photo Op.

The Boys - Week 2

2010-05-11T12:14:00.001-07:00

Say "Hello" to Koufax our first born. He's our spot over achiever ... with the most spots so far - but all nicely and evenly distributed.

Mr. Aaron ... our Big Man on Campus, weighing in at 2 pounds, 10
ounces. But the sweetest most laid back puppy you could ever hope
for.

Joltin' Joe "DiMaggio" - he may be one of the smaller fellas but he's not taking a back seat to anyone. He was the first to look at back at us.

Gehrig is our little man who loves exploring - or maybe it was just accidentally falling out of the pool. I guess we'll have to see if he continues to be our Mover & Shaker.

And then there's Rizzuto - such a nice boy with an adorable face.

Seeing Spots - At Least Starting To

2010-05-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Babies are growing SO much. Everyday they are visibly bigger than the day before. They're starting to transform into puppies too ... we've had some mini-barks in the last day or two. And, Cruella would be so relieved because spots are starting to fade in. Koufax, right now, is the one who looks most like a Dalmatian but the others not too far behind.

It looks like eyes are just starting to slit open too. I picked up DiMaggio this morning and you could see right in the corner beside his nose the eye was opening up and there was a little gleam of eyeball visible. We've also seen a couple of them - Ruth, Gehrig and Aaron specifically - were actually up on all four legs and taking their first tottery steps today. Aaron made it half way across the pool and then all of a sudden his legs gave out and he ended up rolling across the other half. All I can think of when they're at this state is the old kid's toy Weebles and the saying "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down." Well, I guess they're not exactly like Weebles because these guys DO fall down. Everyone is well over a pound now (does that make them Pound Puppies?) and Aaron has actually crossed the two pound mark with Ruth and Koufax hot on his tail. It's hard to believe but this time next week they'll be up, eyes open and ready to try their first (semi) solid food. You can bet we'll have pictures of that big event. But in the meantime here are a couple we took this afternoon ... you can see how big they're getting and see spots appearing. Too bad you can't be here to smell the puppy breath.

Week One - The Girls

2010-05-04T16:19:00.001-07:00

Here are our lovely ladies as of Day 8. Our two brownies are Maris and Clemente. Just like the boys they are getting bigger and bigger and bigger every day. Clemente is our peanut but has gone from 9 ounces at birth to 15+ ounces so she is making steady progress. Ruth is our Amazon in the litter. She's almost as big as the biggest boys, Koufax and Aaron, tipping the scale at 1 pound, 10 ounces. The next big hurdle for these guys are eyes opening, which normally happens around 10 days to 2 weeks so hopefully we'll be seeing somebody looking back at us soon. Ears usually open about the same time so please, everyone, think positive thoughts or say a prayer that everyone will have at least one good ear. The puppies can go deaf if the hairs in the inner ear die as the ears open. If that is going to happen it will happen before 5 weeks of age. Once they hit the 5 week point, they either hear or not, which is why we have to wait a minimum of 5 weeks before BAER testing them. I don't know if there's anything to it with the "Use It or Lose It" theory but I err on the side of caution and make sure they're exposed to noise all day when we're not home. These guys are going to be very well educated as they listen to talk radio all day long. LOL. Enjoy the pictures ... we'll be updating more as they cross their developmental milestones.

Week One - The Boys

2010-05-04T16:07:00.001-07:00

Say "Hello" to the boys - these pictures were taken last evening so that would make the puppies all of 8 days old. They are growing like proverbial weeds. Everyone is now over one pound with the exception of Rizzuto and his lovely sister, Clemente, who are hovering around 15+ ounces. They should bounce over the one pound mark any day now. Jenga is doing a remarkable job with them ... talk about having your paws full ... but is now spending more and more time away from them which is normal. She's still very attentive but now joins the rest of the family for short periods of time. Not a whole lot to report right now - they just eat, sleep and grow for now. Posts will come more frequently once they become "real" puppies.

Busy Week

2010-04-30T09:05:00.001-07:00

Well, the babies have had a productive week so far, as Daddy Brighton looks on. OK, it was really the bunny that ran by at the most opportune moment when we took him outside to take his picture. But really he has been very interested in his kids.

Wednesday the babies had their dewclaws removed. And for those of you cringing thinking we whacked off their thumbs - not so. The dewclaw is a vestigal digit that serves absolutely no purpose other than running the risk of getting caught on something like a fence and tearing. And if that happens, then you have problems. When puppies are just a couple of days old the bone in that toe hasn't ossified so removing it is very similar to merely clipping a fingernail. They do squeak but almost immediately fall asleep again, no worse for the wear.

We also started their Super Puppy exercises. For those of you unfamiliar with the program, no they won't be leaping tall baby gates in a single bound or gait faster than a speeding bullet in the show ring. Developed by the US military for their dogs, it, in essence, is a series of 5 exercises performed daily from Days 3 - 16, that take less than a minute to do for each puppy. The theory is that this exposes them to neurological stimulation to which they would not normally be exposed. This "unnatural" stimulation seems to jump start their metabolic systems and has shown benefits that may include improved cardio-vascular performance, stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease. You know, I'm handling everyone every day so I figure it doesn't take but a minute to do and it may be of some benefit. And it sure won't hurt them.

With the help of our lovely assistant, Aaron, we will go through the exercises for you. Alan very kindly took photos of the process.

The first exercise is a tactile stimulation exercise performed by tickling the puppy between the toes for between 3 - 5 seconds. The next three exercises are a series of positions the puppy is held in, again for no longer than 3 - 5 seconds. They are held head up, supine (on their backs) and then head down. Something they would definitely not experience naturally. The final exercise is to place them on a damp cloth that has been chilled for 5 minutes in the refrigerator. They're permitted to crawl off. Although puppies cannot maintain their internal body temperatures until they're about 2 weeks of age and it's very important to keep them warm, this very brief exposure does no harm (and supposedly a lot of good) at all and they're back in the puppy pile warming before they even know what "hit them."

If you'd like to read more about the Bio Sensor or Super Puppy method and the theory behind it, you can check out this link: h ttp://www.taylordcanines.com/biosensor.html

They're still pretty uneventful - just eating, sleeping and growing. Everyone has put on weight and seems to be thriving. The other dogs are enthralled with the squeaky noises they're hearing. English Setter baby, Kyndle, is quite intrigued by them. I can only imagine what she'll think when they turn into "real" puppies and start to play.

Clemente

2010-04-26T17:11:00.000-07:00

And say hello to Clemente - another of our lovely liver lasses

Look for her in the Big Leagues!

Mays

2010-04-26T17:09:00.001-07:00

Meet Mays - one of our (obviously) black girls

We think she has the potential to hit it out of the park.

Maris

2010-04-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

And this is the lovely Maris ...

She'll run the bases of your heart

Ruth

2010-04-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

Say hello to our Baby, Ruth (sorry, couldn't resist)

She's our Grand Slam Girl

Rose

2010-04-26T16:59:00.001-07:00

And this is our first born girl ... our lovely Rose

We think she's World Series class

DiMaggio

2010-04-26T16:56:00.001-07:00

Say hello to "Joltin' Joe" DiMaggio as we like to call him

We think he could be a real All-Star

Rizzuto

2010-04-26T16:53:00.001-07:00

This is Rizzuto - one of our liver boys.

You better look out.

He may steal your heart while he's stealing home.

Gehrig

2010-04-26T16:49:00.001-07:00

This little guy is Gehrig - another of our Black boys and our third born

Keep your eye out for Gehrig. He's here to play the game.

Meet Koufax

2010-04-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

And this little guy is Koufax. He was our self-starter. Alan had run to the store for some birthing supplies and when he came home he was welcomed by the distinctive sound of puppy cries - little Koufax, our first born.

We think he has the Look of Eagles.

Meet Aaron

2010-04-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

Please meet Aaron - Puppy #11 mentioned in our first post.

He's one of our Black boys. We think he's quite a handsome fellow - just like his Dad.

The Final Count

2010-04-26T16:11:00.000-07:00

Whew, it was a long night but we made it. We have a total of 10 puppies - 5 boys and 5 girls and I THINK 3 blacks and 2 livers in each sex - and most importantly a healthy mom with 10 thriving babies. She actually whelped 12 but two of them were, unfortunately, stillborn - a liver boy and girl. We thought she was done at ten but she had an ace (Alan said a Joker) up her proverbial sleeve. I looked down and saw a little nose making its way into the world. He was a bit of a slow starter but perked right up with some brisk toweling. I just love to make them mad and squealing like that - their version of slapping butts I guess. Anyway, again I thought she was done and had walked away. When I got back a few minutes later - there was #12. Unfortunately, she was one of the stillborn and, try as I might, there was no reviving her. I was hoping and praying Jenga was finally finished but she was still trembling and quivering. After some thought and discussion, Alan and I loaded her up for a trip to the emergency vet about 2:00 AM. He took an x-ray and, thankfully, showed no more babies. So we brought her home so she (and we) could get some much needed rest.

This afternoon, we introduced Daddy Brighton to one of his new sons and recorded it for posterity. He seemed quite fascinated by this squirming, squealing little bit of dog but seemed to sense he needed to be gentle with it and was a total and complete loving father ... no deadbeat dads here.

We have decided on a baseball theme for this litter because we think they're going to be an All-Star team. So please welcome the boys: Aaron, Koufax, Gehrig, Rizzuto and DiMaggio and our girls: Rose, Ruth, Maris, Mays and Clemente.

It seems I can only include 5 pictures per post so I will add individual posts for the babies and include their Day 1 Photo Op on their respective posts.

We'll try and keep things current and plan weekly photos of the kids. Stay tuned for more puppy posts and future updates.

BABIES!!!

2010-04-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

I got a phone call at the show today from Alan, informing Jenga was acting "strange." Seems she was panting and trembling ... hmmm. Needless to say, I headed home. About half way home I got another call from Alan "We have a puppy" and so it begins. As I post this, we have 5 babies - 3 girls and 2 boys - all black so far (although Alan thinks one of them may be a brownie). Trim is finished on most of them (they have color around their eyes and on their noses). We took a quick picture to include with this blog. I'll post a complete report tomorrow when she's finished.