Tessa's girl at 7 weeks.


These posts are becoming few and far between as the puppies get bigger and leave bigger poops in more places.

The big news is this week is that the puppies are old enough to go to their homes! YAY!!!! LOL Actually, it's always sad for me, and a bit anxiety provoking hoping that each puppy is happy and has a good family. Typical mother!

Yesterday I trekked Tessa's puppies to MD to meet Tessa's co-owner so she could see the puppies. First off, it wasn't supposed to snow! HAHAHA! The joke was on me! Though, the snow wasn't steady, it squalled half the time, decreasing visibility to about 3 feet. LOL It was hairy at times. But, we got to Rocky Gap State Park and took out the boys first, then the girls to look at. It took about an hour and a half to decide who we liked, and we only set up the 3 girls! The temperature was dropping to near absolute zero (or so it felt like it) and the wind picked up...a perfect combination for winter fun. We froze to death! We had to go to the ladies' room to get warm. That's how desperate we were. LOLOL

Then I got home and let the puppies out, and led them back into the basement. We then met 3 lovely families who went home with puppies. :-) This week ALL of the puppies and I travel to PA to go the rest of the families.

See you soon...

Introducing the actual bosses of the family...Smokey, Slinky, Pixie, and Lulu.

We made it through the vet appointment with 14 puppies! My husband devised a plan to carry 3 in at a time in a puppy crate. Better him than me! LOL We piled 14 puppies into my van in 3 adult crates, and were serenaded all the way and from the vet's. Somehow, by divine intervention, no one was carsick or pooped. So, now I have the million dollar secret...puppies stuffed in a crate in a car=no poop! I'm rich, I tell ya! LOL

The fecal smear was negative for worms, etc. Yippee! They get one more round of worming this week. The protocol is 3 weeks in a row. Weights ranged from 7.4 lbs to 11.8 lbs!! All are in good health, which we knew. Their second round of vaccines are due in about 3-4 weeks. I space mine out a bit only because I am of the thinking that puppies are babies, and I try to keep to a recommended schedule, but extended.

Getting them to the van was a hoot! I felt like the Pied Piper of Hamlin. LOL I let them all outside in the back yard, and enticed them to follow me by banging on one of their feeding dishes. LOL They were like little ants scurrying around my feet. After the appointment we reversed the trail back to the back yard with my beating on my stainless steel drum. LOL

I am going to email everyone about times to pick up their puppies on Feb 27. I will be leaving Sunday around noon to return home, so it's Saturday 2/27 and Sunday a.m. 2/28. My work is coming to a close, but YOURS is beginning!

Like I have nothing to do but make photo cards! LOL After the puppies get cleaned up and go outside, we will be getting ready to take all 14 to the vet this afternoon! My husband already devised a plan of running puppies to and from the van. I'll post on here as to how it all went after the appointment. I just love this vet! He's so easy, respects any input I have, and just loves labradors! Not to mention that he's experienced and bright. :-) I feel lucky to have found him here. Later....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I forgot to resize these pics, so they are pretty big. LOL And the puppies nursing on Mai are Tessa's!! They "share" the duties. Tessa likes to play with the puppies, and Mai is guarding her most favorite posession in the world...her orange ball! Notice how she is looking more like a buffalo now as she loses her coat after weaning. Tessa molt is more subtle, since she is black.

We went outside again today, only this time I brought the camera! The puppies marked on their heads are Tessa's, and the puppies marked by their tails are Mai's. The little girl with the pink on her bum is Eve. :-) Just for Jen! I will be moving the computer downstairs today, too, for a live stream. I have now run out of newspapers!!! Egad, I'm relegated to using their old towels until I get more.

What a bunch of goobers! Tessa's puppies playing!

This is Eve. One of the puppies going to a family in MD. Click to see the larger photo.

Puppies are 6 weeks old this week!! And what an outlandish week we had! I know I've been lax about posting videos, pics, etc, but during the week, 99% of my spare time is cleaning puppy poop! LOL We have a 3 day weekend (Presidents' Day Monday!!!), and I plan on having the puppies on live streaming video again for the 3 days.

Wednesday night we had a tremendous wind storm. Winds at the Allegheny County Airport in Pittsburgh were recorded at 92 mph! We woke up to no power on Thursday a.m., and only had it restored last evening at about 5:00 p.m. So, any computer activity was hampered, of course. You don't realize how much we depend on electricity until you lose power. I found myself still flipping on light switches out of habit!

New news is that the puppies have been outside every day this week! They absolutely LOVE it, and yesterday we walked the crew up to the middle yard where the "puppy playground" is located...an empty dogloo, and a Fisher-Price baby play cube and a tunnel. Several of the intrepid puppies climbed onto the cube slide and actually slid down the slide! LOL One made it UP the slide to slide down! They crash after their playtime outside!

They have their first vet appointment on Monday afternoon. Something tells me we will be there a while! LOL 14 puppies will take about an hour or more to examine, vaccinate, etc. They will have an allover exam, vaccinations, and fecal exam for parasites. They should be ok, since they are being wormed weekly for 3 weeks.

I am finalizing the trip out to PA where most of them have homes. I'll send emails this week. The weekend of Feb 7, 28 and March 1 is the date I should be traveling out there to my brother's in Upper Bucks County to stay while we meet their new families. :-) It's been unbelievably busy these past few weeks, but it's always sad to see them go. Each one has a special place in our hearts. Take good care of our babies!

Hoping this works...

Mai and Tessa's puppies, 5 weeks old

Oh my, how life has become intensely busy here at the Mariwyl homestead! We are puppy "servants" now, and cater to their cries, needs, wants, whims, etc. LOL

I have begun feeding the WHOLE crew, 14 of them (both litters) together in my kitchen. Everyone is marked clearly, so I know which puppy belongs to which dam! It takes less of my time at home to clean their boxes while they eat and play. Of course, when that is all done, then I wash my floor! I bet I do 3 or 4 loads of puppy laundry a day, and that's when I'm HOME! But, the more work there is, the cuter they get!

We are moving them downstairs today to the finished (almost) basement. It has a tile floor, so the cleaning is a bit easier. They won't be in their whelping "cribs" anymore. I have pens to put them in, and it will have a "litter" box with wood pellets for their "duties." The litter is called Equine Fresh, wood pellets used in horse stalls. It is very absorbent, and has a fresh odor. Certainly better than eau de puppy poop! I fill their pens with toys, crates, cots, water bottles (the rabbit type...makes for less spillage), and of course, newspaper. The puppies have always been very good about doing their business in the litter area. I clean it daily, but it's easier than moving everyone from the box to the kitchen and back again, and it keeps their eating, sleeping, play area cleaner.

The puppies all know the sound of their feeding dishes, too. What a shriek of voices when it's feeding time! LOL I'm sure the decibel level is near that of an F-14 Tomcat taking off! Only shriller. LOL

We start feeding everyone 3 times a day now, and backing the moms down to twice a day with less food. The goal for the moms is to be back at their regular meal size and type by the time the puppies are 8 weeks. The puppies are completely weaned by then, though it doesn't mean they don't try to still nurse! By that time, it looks pretty funny to see a miniature dog nursing on an adult dog! The puppies no longer look like little infant babies.

Also, this week, albeit a week later than usual, we have started worming puppies. This time around I've used the Safeguard liquid for goats (same as Panacur for dogs) in puppy doses according to their weights. This is given 3 days in a row for 3 weeks orally by syringe. I mix it with equal amounts of corn syrup, since it tastes very bitter. It takes care of all the worms that plague dogs, and is effective. Then it's up to the new families to continue to check and treat, if needed, for worms periodically. I treat my kennel twice yearly.

We have our first vet appointment for check ups, vaccines, fecal exam, etc next week after they are 6-7 weeks old. I will have their vaccine documents for each one to give to their new families, and a list of dates of worming, as well.

This is the first time I have bred and whelped 2 litters together. It wasn't as horrendous as I'd thought it might be, mainly because the litters were delivered 3 days apart. This is like raising a very large litter. I think if I had bred them weeks apart, it would be much harder to manage them and the dams at different stages of development and nursing. Plus, I DO have help from my puppy sitter, Lynette!!!! Thanks, Lynette!

Well, it's now time to start cleaning the basement and trekking puppies downstairs. That also means that my 2 older girls, Wist and Wren, who have been living in the basement kennel, get to move back upstairs. I KNOW they will be ever so grateful for that! Now next on my agenda is to have a puppy room built to accommodate puppies, dams, so that EVERYONE gets to stay inside. It's been very, very cold this winter to leave my dogs in the indoor/outdoor kennel. The garage (the indoor part of the indoor/outdoor kennel) is not insulated, so the kennel dogs come inside when the temp is below freezing. We plan to insulate the garage and add heat this summer for next winter. All the comforts of home! Oh, and there IS a/c in there, too!

Don't forget Westminster this week!!! Tuesday on USA is the sporting group! Also, on the westminsterkennelclub.org you can see the actual breed videos showing before BOB is awarded for that dog to compete at night in the group! That is uploaded after the group is judged, of course.

Pictures to come later this weekend!!!