The cats go to new homes

I love all animals, but I am allergic to cats. I had Harley and Eliot because of a family member who got Harley and could not take care of her. I got Eliot from the shelter to be a companion to Harley. Lately living with them had become very uncomfortable. I was zonked on Benedryl most of the time.

I waited until the right people came along to place them in new homes. Harley is living with another cat named Bugs. She is fitting in very nicely.

Eliot went to a lady who fell in love with her from her picture. I turns out that Eliot likes children since she has chosen the son as her favorite.

I am so happy they have new homes. I didn't brush them or hold them like a good cat mommy should. They each live in homes where cats are properly appreciated.

We do have another cat in residence temporarily. His name is What, as in "that is not what I sent you to Walmart to get" and that is exactly how he got his name. My daughter-in-law's parents have sold their house and are living in a horse trailer/camper. It's a little small for both their dog, Reuben and the cat. So Mr. What will be staying with us for a while. He spends most of his time in my son's office/studio. It makes him feel safe from all of the wild dogs. My son put up a window shelf for What and I loaded the bird feeder on the front porch. What spends a lot of time bird watching now.

A couple of the girls are in heat

We are hobby breeders and are excited when we have a dog ready for breeding. First was Kitty Cat, but she is only 8 months old and it is too soon for her. Then Raina showed signs. She will be going to Dahlonega the week of Christmas to meet her mate. When she returns home hopefully she will be pregnant. The puppies would be due in late Febrary. I am very excited.

I enjoyed caring for her last litter and have been having "puppy fever". We are expecting Hamburger and Mim to come into heat too. When one female starts, the others follow shortly after.

I will have to be making a lot of puppy soup in March when the babies start on semi-solid food. I let the puppies run loose in my bedroom. It means a lot of newspaper on the floor, but it is so much fun to be raising puppies. I cried when the last puppy left the last time.

I put a lot of time into the puppies and can't help getting attached to them. I am not allowed to name them, so I give them nicknames. The Yorkie puppies get colored neckbands at birth so we can tell them apart. By the time they are 8 weeks old they look different and have personalities. The colored neckbands allow me to give the new owners a history in pictures of their puppy from birth. I wish I had that for Raina. I expect the Bostons and Cavalier puppies to look different at birth unlike the Yorkies. I will still use the neckbands. It just the systems analyst in me that needs that. I'm excited.

A death in the family

I feel awful. The squirrel that Shannon has been hand feeding died. I was supposed to take care of it today while Shannon was working. I was still a little groggy when she was leaving for work. I couldn’t remember if she said to feed it at 1 and 6. Around noon I decided to go check on the squirrel. I had a little trouble finding him. He was on the bare heating pad. I was afraid that he had been burned, but he was not. He was lethargic, his ribs were showing and his skin was flaccid. I gave him a little formula anyway. To keep a closer check on him, I brought him to my room. I fed him an hour later and he took a little then. The next time I tried to feed him, he was gone.

Shannon was so successful with the first squirrel. I feel like I may have let her down. I should have called her before she got to work. Then I would have at least known for sure the last time the squirrel had been fed. Well, good-bye little fellow.

I'm am too anxious

I goofed the other day. Mim has a bump on her belly and I mistook it for her being pregnant. I had a long talk with her yesterday and told her it was time for her to come into heat. Get busy! She just looked at me with those big buggy eyes of hers. I love the Cavies. I always thought that the breed was really beautiful. I just didn't think I would ever have a pair of them. I can't wait for puppies!

We may be pregnant!

I am so excited! We have been waiting for one of the female dogs to come into heat. I have been privately disappointed about Mim because Deb and Charles had assured us that she would be coming into heat any time. Today I was petting her and for some reason got the urge to feel her tummy. Her teats feel like they are filling with milk. I think she is pregnant! It’s possible we missed the whole thing. She may not have spotted which was the first sign we were looking for. Since she and Merlin are together almost constantly, they could have mated during the night and we would have missed it. When they first got here, Merlin was trying to mount Mim every 5 minutes. In the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that the behavior has dropped off considerably. I want Sean and Shannon to feel her belly too to see if they think I might be right.

I finally took pictures of the baby squirrel. (It’s a good thing I started telling about the squirrel; I was supposed to be feeding it!) Its little tummy is so translucent that the formula I feed it is visible through the skin. It has a good appetite and eats well. It was actually digging its way out of the towels in its carrier when I went in to get it. I’m glad its fur is growing. It’s not quite so ugly now. Since Shannon was hand-raising a squirrel so recently, we still have baby cereal for when it is ready to start on something more solid. The more perishable foods like strained sweet potatos and apple sauce will need to be purchased when the time comes.

News on the Cocker Spaniel puppy

I was wondering the other day how the Cocker Spaniel puppy was doing. We had not heard from the Buckholts since the day they picked her up. I received a lovely email today. Besides that we have another squirrel in residence. Someone walked into PetSmart with another baby squirrel that had fallen out of its nest. I will have to take a picture-it is UGLY! I got to feed it twice today. I never fed the first squirrel. This little guy (my guess) eats better than the first one. I had to make him pee and poop after he ate and he produced so much urine that it got on my clothes!

GOOD MORNING MAMA MARTA!

WE WERE SO GLAD TO GET AN EMAIL FROM YOU-----THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD PICTURE OF ME, MOM SAYS!

BUT THEY HAVE BEEN TAKING LOTS OF PHOTOS OF ME TO PUT IN MY ALBUM, SO MOM ASKED DAD TO MAKE THEM SO THAT SHE CAN SEND THEM TO YOU AND SHANNON TO LOOK AT!

MY WT WAS 8LB WHEN I HAD MY 9WK SHOTS AND CHECK UP----IT WAS A GOOD ONE, JUST THE FACT THAT THE PATELLA, MY KNEECAP IS A LITTLE SLIPPERY, BUT SHOULD NOT CAUSE ANY PROBLEM, BUT A SURGERY IF WHEN I GET OLDER AND I SHOULD NEED IT----

OF COURSE MY EARS HAD MITES AND MOM AND I HAVE BEEN HAVING FUN USING THOSE DARN DROPS 2XDAY, BUT LOOKS LIKE WE GOT RID OF THEM------I GO TO THE DR TODAY FOR MY 12 WK SHOTS AND MOM SAYS SHE KNOWS I HAVE GAINED SOME LBS-----I AM HEAVIER TO CARRY WHICH I LOVE TO DO----

I AM EATING WELL, JUST HAVE A FEW PUPPY PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE ALL TRYING TO WORK THROUGH-------WITH SANITY!!!!!!

LEXI, MY SISSY AND I LIKE TO GO AT SOMETIMES OVER NEW TOYS AND LOTS OF BONES MOM GETS US-----SHE MIGHT BE SMALL BUT OH MY, SHE THANKS SHE IS A GREAT DANE!

I THINK WE ARE LEARNING TO LOVE EACH OTHER AND SHE LETS ME KNOW SHE IS THE ALPHA DOG HERE, BUT MOM SETS HER STRAIGHT THAT, MOM IS ALPHA!!!!

I SLEEP IN A HUGE CRATE AT NIGHT BESIDE DADDY AND DO WELL----

I AM USING THE PEE PADS GREAT! ONLY A COUPLE ACCIDENTS BECAUSE I MOVED MY BUTT OVER TO FAR AND KIND OF MISSED THE PAD!!!

I LOVE TO RIDE IN THE CAR ON OUR DRIVES AND I LOVE THE NEW BOOSTER SEAT----

NOW SISSY HAS ONE TOO----

I HAVE GIVEN MOM SOME NICE MARKS ON HER HANDS AND ARMS WHEN I WANT TO PLAY AND MOUTH BUT MY TEETH ARE VERY SHARP, SO WHEN I GET ROWDY AND OUT OF CONTROL OR EXCITED, I NOW HAVE A MUZZLE FOR TIME OUT

AND IT HELPS ME CALM DOWN AND BEHAVE----

WE WENT TO THE PARK AND I WALKED ON THE LEASE VERY WELL---ALL THE KIDS LOVED ME AND SAID HOW CUTE I AM----I WAS VERY GOOD WITH ALL THE PEOPLE!!!!!

WE WILL GET THE PHOTOS OFF TO YOU ASAP

AND YOU WILL SEE HOW I HAVE GROWN

MOM GOT MY PEDIGREE AND HISTORY, BUT NOTHING WAS WRITTEN ABOUT MY MOM-----

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHERE SHE CAME FROM? LOTS OF STUFF ABOUT MY DAD

IT WAS VERY INTERESTING

I LOVE YOU ALL FOR ALL YOU DID FOR ME AND FINDING ME A NEW HOME----

WE'LL GET BACK SOON

"LILLY LEE" AND MOM!

After I cried when the last Yorkie puppy left, I wanted to check on the other pups. I just need to email a couple of people. Maybe I will learn to let go of them after a couple more litters. I feel better when I know the puppies are being properly spoiled.

The felines in our house

I have been trying to find a new home for my two cats for a couple of months. I hate to do it, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to care for them and give them the attention they deserve. When we still had puppies, Eliot spent most of the daylight hours sleeping. She loves to look out the window, but didn’t even do that. Harley started playing with the puppies when the number decreased to two. They are both urinating on the newspaper I was putting down for the puppies. I have to keep putting down the newspaper because of the cats. They still use the litterbox, but this new habit is making me nuts. Harley jumps up on me at the most inconvenient times and often scratches me. It’s a problem because I am allergic to their saliva and I have to take benedryl once or twice a day. Eliot is very demanding when she wants attention. She will get on my desk and push her head under my hand while I am trying to use the mouse. I just think the situation is not fair to them and would like to find someone who has more time for them.

In spite of my trying to get a new home for my cats, we have a “new“ cat in the house. My daughter-in-law’s parents have sold their home and don’t want to keep their cat in the camper they are using for living quarters until they build a new house. His name is “Not What”. It is very unusual and comes from a comment made by my DIL’s stepdad when she and her mother brought the cat home. He looked at the cat and said “that is not what I sent you to Walmart to buy”. The funny thing is that he is very attached to What. He is living upstairs with my son and DIL. They made room for him in my son’s office/studio. I went in to look for him last night and had to follow the rustling noises. He was on top of a bookcase. Fortunately What already knows me, so we had a very nice greeting. My Yorkie views the cat as something to bark at and looks for it every time she is upstairs. What is suppose to be with us until my DIL's parents have built their house. Of course my DIL is hoping they will decide to leave What here with us.

Beware of Internet scams

Last year I was taken by a person who advertised Yorkie puppies on the Internet. I learned the hard way how to spot the phony ads. What follows is my correspondence involving one of these ads. They do need to be read in reverse order.

Notice that when I started to shy away from the transaction, "the Pastor" offered to share the shipping cost with me. That way he would have gotten at least half of the money he was after. If I hear from him again, it will be to wail about how I have wronged him.

Please be wary of ads on the Internet. I use it to advertise my pups, but I insist that people visit my home to see the puppies, I will not ask for funds to be wired and I will not ship puppies.

*************************
From: Marta Rawlings [mrawlin3@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:39 PM
To: 'Pastor Jacob Seraile'
Subject: RE: Yorkie puppy

Dear Pastor,

I lie just as well as you do. My daughter-in-law received the same email from Dr. Martin when she inquired about an English Bulldog. I only hope that I can unmask scammers like you and educate people so that they are not taken in by the lies. I am doing everything I can to warn people about wiring funds especially out of the country. However, you may not even be in Africa. Of course you refused the money order; that would have been mail fraud.

I was taken by someone like you just once. He also claimed to be a man of the cloth.

Marta

---

From: Pastor Jacob Seraile [mailto:pastorjseraile@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 3:24 PM
To: Marta Rawlings
Subject: RE: Yorkie puppy

I am still awaiting your response marta.

Marta Rawlings wrote:

Dear Pastor,

Thank you for trusting me. I need to discuss this with my husband. I will email you with our decision in the next 24 hours.

Marta

---

From: Pastor Jacob Seraile [mailto:pastorjseraile@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:45 PM
To: Marta Rawlings
Subject: RE: Yorkie puppy

Marta,

I am God fearing and cant take people money for pleasure, I am looking for the best for my baby and no more, I would have love to do other form of payment with you in order to feel secure but here in west Africa,paypal,money order or other forms are not yet set up here.

I think the only thing I can do now to let you know that am God sent to you is by sharing the trust between ourselves,I mean I can only give you the chance of paying half of the money now while I will also add half to it to complete the shipment and you will balance me with the rest money when you recieve the baby.

I hope that works,let me know so that we can proceed.

Thanks and God Bless You

Marta Rawlings wrote:

Dear Pastor Seraile,

I am just a little concerned. I have been hearing on the news that people are being taken advantage of when they wire money by Western Union. Would a US Postal Money order or PayPal work? It would make me more comfortable.

Marta

---

From: Pastor Jacob Seraile [mailto:pastorjseraile@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:27 PM
To: Marta Rawlings
Subject: RE: Yorkie puppy

Marta,

I am very excited that you have a playmate for my baby,I want you to know that the baby will be coming with all paper works and particularly custom clearance to allow her to re enter the state back with out going into quarantine, She will be fine on the trip in God's name that I believe,I have prayed over that several times and God has finally answered my prayer.

She will be coming by airline which is the best way of getting her back to the state,Rearding the payment, You will be sending the payment by western union.

Let me read from you on your full mailing address and the nearest Airport to your home for the delivery.

Thanks and God Bless You.

Marta Rawlings wrote:

Thank you for responding so quickly. I have a female Yorkie, Raina, who is 1 ½ years old. I want to get a playmate for her. Raina is an inside dog, but does have a fenced yard to play in. I live in the Atlanta suburbs on 3 acres of land.

How would shipping be handled? I would be worried about shipping a puppy. Are you sure it is safe? Are there any quarantine requirements for the dogs to re-enter the US? How do I send payment to you?

I am very excited. I would love to be able to give your puppies a home and let Raina have playmates.

Marta

---

From: Pastor Jacob Seraile [mailto:pastorjseraile@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:07 PM
To: Marta Rawlings
Subject: Re: Yorkie puppy

Hello Marta,

First of all, I must thank my living Lord that I found an intending parent for my babies, I also give thanks to the breeder that directed you
to me.

I`m giving them out for adoption. They are 3months currently and Akc registered all their shots are up to date.They are $400 each shipping included the two are $800.I got relocated to west africa recently and could not take care of the babies anymore. I want a great home for them because they are my real babies.
The weather here is not conducive for them that is why I want to get them out as soon as possible and I will be very happy if you will be one to take them as your babies.I have a male and his name is Harry while the female name is Kelly they are both very good with kids and love to play alot this is one of their many charact

I never wanted to sell them but the weather here in West Africa is not helping matter at all. If you are interested kindly get back to me with your full maling address.such as your full name.address and phone number asap so that the babies can be on their way to their new home as soon as their shipping arrangement is concluded! Kelly have good attitude and she love playing with toy while Harry always jealous. They love eating biscuit, Beaf and Milk. Always listen to my attention. They do attend pet school. They listen to this languaage. Come,Go, Eat ETC .... I would be happy if you can help me to continue their schooling if they get to your lovely home.I have already make some gifts for the new parent of my babies.I will be making use of the agent that shipped them into west africa.

Get back to asap to tell more of your apartment where you going to keep my babies indoor or outdoor? I will always remember you in my daily prayers.

God Bless You

Marta Rawlings wrote:

Pastor,

I received your name from a Dr. James Martin. I am very interested in obtaining a female Yorkie puppy. Please let me know if you have one available.

Marta

From: martins [drjamesmartins2@myway.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:51 PM
To: mrawlin3@comcast.net
Subject: RE: Lead From Your Listing (AKC YORKIE PUPPY)
Hello,
You are a bit late, I just sold the babies you saw on the ads. But you can contact one of my buyers that bought puppies from me. he is Pastor Jacob Seraile, he just contacted me that he is now in West Africa posted by his church and he went there with the two puppies he recently bought from me. According to him, his commitment with the God's work did not give him the needed time he needs to be with the puppies, and he needs a caring parent who can adopt the babies back to the state asap.

Below is his email address, contact him and request
for the puppies he needs a parent for. he will be
very happy if he knows you are from me.

Write Pastor Jacob Seraile on: pastorjseraile@yahoo.com

Get back to me when you adopt the babies

Little Man has a home!

The last puppy left last night. I had to let him go, I was getting too attached. I felt really silly sitting at the computer crying. I even had this irrational urge to call the man who bought Little Man and tell him to bring my puppy back. I need to enjoy the quiet while there aren’t any puppies in residence. The Cavies should be mating soon, so there will be puppies again. It will probably be spring before Raina is ready to breed again. Hamburger should be coming into season too. We plan on breeding her with a Shih Tzu. It should be an interesting mix.

Another puppy goes home

One of our male Yorkies got a home today. The very nice woman who fell in love with him is lucky enough to have a boss who will let her leave during the day to get a puppy.


The only one left is the little male. He is tiny, but he is bossy! A little dog with a giant voice, he will sit right in front of me and bark until I pay attention to him. This one needs someone who will either let him walk all over them or they will straighten him out on who is really the boss. I’m hoping he will sleep by himself tonight. If he cries, I’m throwing Raina into the pen with him. I will only let him push me just so far!


I just wish it would have been apparent that he was going to be teacup size from the beginning. We have had a lot of people call wanting teacups and we told them we didn’t have any. Hopefully we will get more inquiries from people wanting teacups.


I keep waiting for Mim to come into heat. Merlin is ready for it at a moments notice. I can’t wait for the next bunch of puppies. I’ve had fun raising these babies. I got really good at making “puppy soup”. I get to have the fun of having puppies, but then they move on to their permanent homes. I’ve met some very nice people and that has been part of the fun.

Scam Alert-please don't get taken

The old saying goes “a fool and his money are soon parted”. I got scammed last year trying to buy a Yorkshire Terrier puppy on the Internet. I learned the hard way never to wire money. There is no recourse to you as the victim as there would be if it were a credit card transaction. That is why I will not ask for money to be wired to me and I will not ship my puppies.

Tonight I received a call through the Relay system. It is used by hearing-impaired people to communicate by telephone. An operator speaks for them and types responses back. From that call I received an email address of a person supposedly interested in one of my puppies. When I got the return email the person is out-of-state and they will send me a money order or certified check. The payment would be in excess of the amount needed to pay for the puppy and shipping. The remaining amount I was to return to the purchaser by Western Union. Chances are the money order or check would be a phony. In the end, I would have been on the hook for the funds.

These people pull stuff like this just because they can. We just have to be smarter and question what seems too good to be true. Don’t wire money to anyone except family and never cash a money order or check for a stranger. There is another old saying: “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”. I just hope that I have made at least one person more wary.

One of our puppies gets a home

Last night our beautiful Cocker Spaniel puppy got her own family. I cried a little when they left. The couple who bought her have a Yorkie already. When they saw that our Cocker Spaniel was raised by a Yorkie, they thought she was perfect for them. This is why we got into breeding. I am proud that we could offer someone a healthy, well-socialized puppy.


Missing the Cocker, I put all three Yorkie puppies up on my bed to play. Wouldn’t you know it, the minute I let my guard down one of them wet on the comforter. I should have remembered how many times I washed my bedding when Raina and Penny were puppies. No more puppies on the bed!


They look so adorable and innocent right now napping together on a blanket on the floor. When they get going and playing like wild dogs, it sounds like something from the movie “Gremlins”. They love Harley the cat. They think she should play with them like a dog and she wants them to play like cats. Eliot just hides from them or hisses if they manage to corner her. It’s a good thing Eliot has learned to jump so far. She can make it from her bed to the food and the litter box without setting a foot on the floor. She is slinking by me right now to get to the window while the puppies are napping. If they wake up before she decides to leave the window, she will just have to stay there for a while.


It looks like Mim, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is coming into heat. We won’t have to worry about breeding her. Merlin is with her constantly. I have already volunteered to take Mim in my room when she is due. I loved the birth of the puppies and caring for them and their mother. Raina will be upset with me since she will have to move upstairs while Mim and the puppies are with me.


Once Mim is in heat, Hamburger and Kitty Cat will probably come into heat too. Kitty is too young to breed now. We are considering a Boston Terrier-Shih Tzu mix with Hamburger. We are all still smarting from the problems that Penny had. We don’t want the same thing to happen with Hamburger. I think I would call that mix a “Bo-Tzu”. We will have to see what other names we can come up with.

Catching Up With The Puppies

I swear I started a new entry for this blog last week. I guess that shows how tired I feel and how busy I have been. I have really enjoyed the puppies. They are now old enough to go to new homes and I am ready for that. Raina may suffer “empty nest” syndrome. She is in the other room playing with them just like she is a puppy again. I know she will not miss the commando nursing. They will still nurse if she lets them and I guess she just has a soft heart. She has to stand because they are so big. Their sucking is so loud that I just imagine Raina feels like she is being turned inside out. The Cocker puppy is almost the same size as Raina and it’s almost hysterical to see her nursing. It looks more like she is a mechanic checking Raina’s undercarriage.

They are actually weaned and eating regular puppy food. Sometimes they even get into Raina’s bowl. That’s a little funny with the Yorkie pups. The kibble is big enough that they have to gnaw away at it until it fits inside their mouths. The Cocker has a preference for softened kibble but does eat it dry. I’ve been worming them over the past three days and have had a tough time getting them to eat all of the food with the medicine in it, except for the Cocker. I’ve tried milk, canned dog food mashed up and softened kibble. I even added some broth from soup my daughter-in-law made for me. At least that is over. They have all had their first puppy shot. None of them cried and fussed.

They are showing different personalities now. I have given them nicknames. My son will not allow me to name them because he is afraid I will become too attached. The Cocker seemed to stay the same size for so long. I just knew that I had done something wrong with her bottle feedings. Then one day she shot up. I had to start calling her “The Weed” because she is continuing to grow like a weed. The Weed does not like going outside. She cried and howled pitifully. I took her out of the pen to see if exploring a little would make it better. She found the puppy pouch I carried them out in and tried to climb back in. She is the one who complains the most when she is hungry. She is a beautiful puppy and so sweet. She does not use her larger size to dominate the other pups. The Yorkies however take advantage of her floppy ears and pull on them.

A couple of weeks ago I gave up moving the pups from the playpen to the bigger play area pen. I put the playpen away, they had outgrown it. Now I use the bigger pen for sleeping and to contain the pups when I need to. The Weed yowls when she does not want to be in there. Now my room is their play area. They discovered the cats very quickly. Eliot just hides in her bed. Harley tries to ignore them, but has given a whack to the head when they get too playful with her. I am so proud of the pups, they are paper trained and I didn’t really do anything. When they were in the playpen they would instinctively get out of their bed to “go”. That end of the pen had newspaper in it. Now that they are running around my room, I have placed newspaper here and there. They always go to the paper. Sometimes they miss, but I figure that is due to a lack of coordination. Sometimes they do go on the floor, but that is usually because I did not put paper down where they are accustomed to having it or they have moved it. Dogs are creatures of habit. I plan to recommend crate training. When I get up in the morning their pen is usually clear of mess. They scatter to the newspapers to potty first thing. That’s pretty amazing for 4 puppies in a 3’ square pen.

Two of the Yorkie puppies have gone to their new homes. It was a little more hectic when there were six puppies rather than four. I have nicknamed the remaining three. Bruiser got his early. He has been the biggest since birth. Then Little Big Man got his name. He started the same size as his brother, but since then he has not grown as fast. I think he will be the smallest. He is just as feisty as the others. No one gets the best of him. “Green Girl” has the least interesting name, poor girl. It just refers to the green neckband she wears. She is the most interested in getting my attention. She will get on the doggie steps and woof at me until I look at her. She loves to sit in my lap. I take those opportunities to get the pups used to being groomed by brushing them. I also trim their toenails then. I am determined to socialize these pups. When I got Raina, she and her littermates were very shy. It was almost as if they had not had much contact with people. The males hid so far under furniture that I would have had to have gotten down on the floor to reach them. All four pups run to the door when someone knocks. One has to shuffle their feet to avoid stepping on them. That’s what I want when someone comes to see them.

I’m going to put together their puppy kits today. I don’t want to be rushing to put them together when it’s time for a pup to leave. We are providing everything needed to start out except for a crate. Hopefully we will be putting an ad on LiveDeal.com today. We have always had good response to ads placed there.

I will miss the pups when they are all gone, but will be happy that someone is getting a healthy, well-adjusted and beautiful puppy.

Weaning, feeding and pooping

I am really tired! We finally tried holding CC down to nurse her puppy. It works and we thought maybe she would catch on to caring for the puppy on her own. The minute we let go of her she jumps up and walks away! I have always said that dog is a big dumb blonde. So I meet Shannon during the night when she is getting up to feed the squirrel. I get CC and hold her until the puppy finishes nursing. CC will lick and clean the puppy too, but she obviously does not like it. At first we thought it might be because she only had one puppy and if there were more she would have taken care of them. After all this work, we have pretty much decided to spay CC and retire her. I don’t think she will be any better with a larger litter. I skipped taking the puppy to CC at 8:00 a.m. because I am just too tired and in too much pain.


Raina has been a wonderful mother. My only concern is her weight. It’s like every ounce of nutrition she takes in goes to the pups. She has obviously lost weight so I feed her constantly. She gets puppy formula so she gets enough calcium and lots of calories. I am also giving her puppy food for the same reason. I think when she begins to wean the pups she will retain some of what she is losing to them. I check their mouths daily to see if the baby teeth have started to erupt. That’s when Raina should want to start weaning.


The three females in Raina’s litter are spoken for already. The couple that owns the Cocker Spaniel stud is getting 2 females to cover the stud fee and we are getting a breeding pair of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in exchange. They want to stop breeding the spaniels and I think we will do well with them. Shannon and I saw the dogs last week and they are beautiful! We are planning to use one of their Yorkie studs the next time we breed Raina. They are really nice folks and give lots of advice.


This is a few days later..I’ve been too busy with weaning Raina’s pups and bottle-feeding the Cocker Spaniel puppy. I took my cue from Raina about weaning; she just gets up and walks away when she has had enough. The Cocker puppy finally started taking a bottle after a night of not being fed and a change to a Nuk bottle. My hands hurt so badly! I have severe osteoarthritis in my thumbs and it takes some work to get a wiggly puppy to settle down to nurse. At least she is thriving!


Sean offered to feed the puppy for me and got pooped on for his efforts! Usually it takes a little work to get her to go, but I guess she likes him and gave him a gift!

Everyone is doing well

I’ve got a few minutes to catch up. Raina’s pups are doing great. Two of the girls have opened at least one eye as of 11:30 a.m. They are very healthy and thriving.

Penny has become so clingy. She tore a hole in the portable playpen, so now she is in a crate in the dog room. She wants to cuddle constantly and shrieks when she hears anyone around. She did not want anything to do with Raina’s puppies. So we are making sure she is well fed, she gets her medicine and spend as much time as we can with her.

CC surprised us Sunday evening by dropping a single puppy on the floor. The pup is a healthy female. We waited, but no other puppies arrived. At first CC seemed interested in the pup. She would lick it, but every time it tried to nurse, CC would walk away. Shannon spent the night with them in case CC had more puppies and to switch the heating pads on again every two hours. Early Monday morning, Shannon came to my room with the puppy. CC would just not feed it and it was crying pitifully. Rather than attempting a bottle-feeding at that point we decided to see if Raina would accept the pup. I love that dog! She took the additional puppy without any fuss. We have been holding Raina to nurse the Cocker puppy separately since she is not as developed as the Yorkies, even though she is almost the same size. I guess we don’t really have to hold Raina; I just put the puppy down alone in a bed to look for a dropper for formula. When I got back, Raina was nursing the puppy.

I was beginning to feel like the only one on baby animal detail until Shannon brought home a baby squirrel! It looks to be only days old. She is feeding it kitten formula with a dropper. Shannon has a great touch with animals. The little thing is perking up and eating like crazy. When it reaches the point that it can lap up food on it’s own, we should be able to take it somewhere like Yellow River Game Ranch.

Shannon suggested we try getting Penny to feed the Cocker puppy. She held Penny while I held the pup. After a few minutes of nursing, Penny calmed down and even stopped the shivering she has been doing for days. We returned the pup to Raina for bathing and will try letting Penny nurse her again later. A big hoorah for Penny!

Penny's bad day

Today I am tired and sad. Penny was in labor all day yesterday. I watched her while Sean and Shannon were at school and work. They took over the watch from me allowing me to go to bed at 11 p.m. I was called at 2:30 a.m. when Penny went into active labor. Unfortunately she was only having 2 puppies and both were breach. Our vet tried to save the second puppy by doing a C-section, but it could not be revived. He advised us to have Penny spayed since it look like her pelvis was just too small. We love our Penny and decided that spaying was the best thing to do. It’s very sad that we do not have either of her puppies and she will never have any. She will always have her special place in our home whether she can have puppies or not. In the entire world there is only one Penny.

More puppies today?

Raina’s puppies are growing so fast. When I last weighed them, they ranged from 8.2 ounces to 9.2 ounces. The vet said they were “nice and plump” the day he docked their tails. They did very well with the tail docking. Raina was a good girl even though she could hear her puppies whimpering. I am not crazy about altering anything on puppies, but after being hit by C.C.’s monster tail there may be a reason for some of the changes; it may not just be for fashion.

Today I am spending the day with Penny. She is obviously miserable. She’s been lactating for a couple of days and also has a pink mucus discharge from her vulva. I’ve been just letting her sit with me. She wants to go to Sean and Shannon’s bedroom, but I don’t think they really want puppies born in there. I decided to try walking her like I did with Raina. I don’t know if the walk did any good, but Raina delivered the next day. Penny is lying on her side at my feet. She just looks very uncomfortable. Maybe I’m wrong; I noticed that she is asleep. I’m trying to hurry things along and maybe I need to slow down and let them happen at their own pace.

I want to bring my camera upstairs. Not just to get pictures of Penny. I need to get shots of the ferrets too. Goose has settled in very nicely. They are probably wondering why I have not let them out. Shannon usually lets them out twice a day. I would have to put Penny in her playpen and I want to keep her with me. Shannon’s spending the day with her dad and stepmom. She has her cell phone with her so I can call her if her Penny starts to have her pups.

Puppy Update

Raina and the puppies are doing great. She is a very devoted mother. I have been able to take her outside off-leash and she always heads back for the pups.

I was worried that Raina was not eating. That's where my books save me. The mother could be tired enough to not be interested in food for a day or two. I tried offering her canned puppy food and she is very happy eating that. I am also giving her some puppy formula to supplement her calcium intake. I guess I am doing it right. I weighed the puppies this morning and all of them have gained at least 9/10 of an ounce. I am using my postage scale to weigh them. It works.

On Monday I am taking the pups to the vet to have their tails docked and dewclaws removed. I almost hate to do it to them, but Yorkies are supposed to have shortened tails and no dewclaws. Three of them have rear dewclaws. Two have 2 hind dewclaws and one has only one.

One of the girls is spoken for already. We don't know which one yet because the request is for the smallest of the female puppies. I believe another is also taken. I will be picky about who gets my baby's babies!

Penny is due in 8 days. I have my bag of supplies ready for her delivery. We are keeping her inside and taking her out when she has the need to go. I'm excited we are going to have another litter. At least Boston Terriers are born with short tails so we don't have to go thru that again until C.C. has her puppies.

Raina is a mother!

It’s 11:20 a.m., The View is on and we are waiting on Raina’s sixth puppy to be delivered. Six puppies!! I am so amazed that her first litter is so large. Her belly looks like a deflated balloon. The puppies are beautiful and perfect. We have 3 girls and 2 boys so far. I color-coded the pups with neckbands. Sean could not understand why I wanted to band them immediately. The second time I said “Because I need to” with my teeth clenched, he backed off. I don’t think he understands it yet, but I don’t care. I know why I did it.

It’s now 1:06 p.m. and number six has not yet appeared. There definitely is a sixth puppy. About 20 minutes ago I called the vet to see if I should be concerned. He says that Raina may just be taking a rest. She may rest for a few hours. We are supposed to give the vet a report on her condition at 5:00 p.m. They may want her to come in for a shot of oxytocin to restart her labor. Hopefully it will restart on its own. When she is in active labor, she digs in the bed and bites the side of it. I think that pink bed is going to become Raina’s birthing bed. Once everything is over, I’m going to wash the bed and all of the towels I’ve used this morning. We still have 2 more litters to deliver.

I’m so proud of Raina. She is being a very good mother. When we take her out of the playpen, she gets frantic if she can’t see her pups. She is cleaning them and nursing them. I know it is instinctive behavior with dogs, but not all dogs are meant to be mothers. Kippy proved that.

Now its 6:04 p.m.; around 4:30, the vet’s office called to check on Raina and recommended she be brought in for an injection of oxytocin. Dr. Morgan examined her and said he felt that there were no more puppies to be born. Raina may have retained a placenta. She showed some signs of increased labor, but it has calmed down and she is busy caring for her 5 babies.

For myself, I am pooped. It has been a very long day. I think it was the adrenalin rush that has me worn out. Shannon had been in the middle of baking dog treats for the dog park fund-raiser and had to stop to transport Raina, the puppies and me to the vet. He did say her puppies looked very good and Raina seemed to be taking good care of them.

Well, Raina finished up with 5 puppies. I took her out for a short walk. After she finished the business part of the walk, she kept looking up at me as if to say “I’m done, can we go back now?” When I turned around, she almost pulled me all the way back. She just wanted to get back to her puppies. This really was a good day.

Waiting on puppies and a new ferret

Yesterday was Raina’s first official due date. I admit to being nervous. On Friday my daughter-in-law had trouble finding Raina and nearly freaked out. It turned out she was in a very small corner of the room sleeping. We thought maybe it was the big day. Poor dog, we have been taking her temperature twice a day. We need to get an idea of her normal temp so that we can tell when it drops a couple of degrees. I hope the puppies come soon, I think she is miserable. I remember my due date passing by and still being pregnant. At least I really understood what was going on.

Even though it was Raina’s due date, Shannon and I spent most of the day on ferret matters. Miss Bourbon, Shannon’s ferret, has being acting very bored lately. She even figured out how to open her cage. I had found an article about 2 ferret rescue groups. I had no idea they existed. We visited one of them to introduce Miss Bourbon to some other ferrets in hopes she would choose one as a friend. Hooray! She liked one young male named Reuben. We promptly changed his name to Goose and brought him home. When the ferrets started bothering Sean and his friends, Shannon and I made a fast trip to Home Depot to make a ferret-proof gate for the living room. Luckily Sean took pity on me after I had whacked my thumb for the second time and finished nailing up the quarter-round strips that hold the gate in place. The next time I saw the ferrets, they were romping around the living room.

We are positive Penny is pregnant. She should be due in about 2 weeks. We think she will have a small litter this time since she only mated twice. C.C. may have a small litter too having only mated once. I let Raina and Ray mate 6 times and I am beginning to think that is why she is so huge. I am so excited about Penny. She is a brindle color and the male was also brindle. It will be interesting to she how many of her puppies will be brindle. We have been keeping her inside during the day lately. If a dog fight breaks out Miss Penny in always in the middle of it. She usually has scabs on her face and ears.

We had a small dog visit us for one night. I was returning from the convenience store and saw a couple of neighbors out walking and being followed by a small dog. I stopped to say hello and they asked if the dog was mine. He was adorable! A purebred Shiztzu or Shiztzu-mix with only one eye and he was very well groomed. Sean and I ended up driving around showing that face to everyone we could find. Finally we gave in to defeat and brought him home. I made up signs with his picture and put them out Sunday morning. Another sign showed up shortly thereafter, “missing: dog with one eye”. It turned out the dog is the pet of one of our neighbor’s grandchildren. I’m glad we didn’t just turn him over to Animal Control. Just what I like a happy ending.

Pregancy update

Raina is getting bigger every day. Next Saturday is her first due date. Since the mating took place over several days her due date could be 63 days from any of those days. She is getting bigger and sleeps a lot. I try to feed her several times a day remembering how I would get indigestion while pregnant. She loves having her tummy rubbed. I guess it feels good to her. I can feel the pups moving and can even see them moving now. I’m guessing the litter will be 3 or 4 pups. I have my delivery supplies together including the map to the emergency clinic in Marietta in case of problems.


Penny is coming along with her pregnancy. She is getting wider where Raina’s belly is becoming more low-slung. My daughter-in-law called me a little while ago to tell me that she could feel Penny’s puppies. I ran upstairs as quickly as I could and sure enough I felt them squirming around! I thought I was excited already.


We are pretty sure that C.C. also pregnant. I have been measuring the dogs’ girth every week and there has been a steady increase for all of them.


Over the weekend my son and daughter-in-law bought a used treadmill to exercise the dogs. Penny, Hamburger and C.C. have taken to it very easily. Winston is not sure about it yet. The one we really want to use it, Jack is terrified by it. I have faith my daughter-in-law will get Jack on that treadmill.

Good luck to Ray!

Our Ray has a new home! The family has 2 pugs already and brought them along to meet Ray. He will have his own person now, a lovely teenager who cuddled up to him. I miss my Ray, but he will be very happy in his new home.

Moody Raina

I guess pregnant dogs suffer hormonal changes just like humans. Yesterday Raina picked a fight with Kippy who is bigger than her. Of course when two dogs start fighting, they all get into the act. I found out about it when my daughter-in-law brought Raina downstairs to me.


I have been measuring Raina’s belly to check her progress. The first measurement of 14 inches was taken on June 26. On July 2 it was 14 ¾ inches. Today the measurement is 15 1/8 inches. I dug up an old stethoscope last night and was able to hear tiny, rapid heartbeats. I must sound like a nut. Who worries this much about their dog? Me, that’s who.


I took measurements on Penny and C.C. yesterday. They are both showing bulges in their bellies, so it looks like we will be having 3 litters.


We have had their whelping areas set up for a while now. My daughter-in-law is very excited too and bought the playpen for Penny months ago. The dogs are all sleeping in their individual whelping areas so that they will be acclimated. Shannon got some advice from a co-worker about the set up. To keep Penny and C.C. from seeing each other, a long dresser is sitting in the center of the room. In the wild, only the alpha female of the pack is permitted to reproduce. Domesticated dogs still carry some of that instinct and will fight if they are exposed to another female with puppies.


I need to get my whelping supplies together. I’ve read two books on the subject. One recommends cotton thread to tie umbilical cords. The other says to use dental floss and never use cotton thread since it will absorb moisture. I think I will use dental floss, but need to buy some since all I have is peppermint flavored. Raina’s first due date is July 21. That is 63 days from her first mating with Ray.


Speaking of Ray, we are looking for a good home for him. We had not planned to keep a stud dog. Buying Ray was the quick answer when the stud I had arranged was not available at the time. I personally prefer female dogs. Having an un-neutered male around is causing some friction with the other dogs. He needs to be in a home with not more than one other dog. He is very cuddly and loves to sit in my lap. When he is outside and hears my voice in the kitchen, he goes nuts scratching on the door. I think he will transfer his affection to another owner easily. I will miss him at first, but I think he will be happier in the long run.

Hopefully we are pregnant

Our Cocker Spaniel C.C. came home a week ago. I am only now getting around to this entry because the day after she came home my son and daughter-in-law went on vacation. That left me home with 9 dogs, 2 cats, a ferret, a bearded dragon, several fish and my finches. The family got home last night and I was really glad to see them. By Wednesday I was ready to start adopting out dogs and releasing the cats in the front yard. Luckily the madness passed. Plus one of my son’s friends came over to stay with me on Thursday and took over much of the work.

We only know of one time that C.C. tied with her stud. Hopefully there were other ties that were not witnessed. I think it will be very exciting to have three pregnant dogs. Someone needs to develop a pregnancy test for dogs. Believe it or not I actually tried an EPT stick when Raina urinated on the bathroom rug. It did not work. We can only guess and hope at this point. Raina is behaving differently. She usually is aggressive with the other dogs thinking she is the boss. I just watched her roll over on her back and allow them to sniff her belly and “stuff”. It may be only that she hasn’t been spending much time with the others. It’s easier for me to keep the two Yorkies together. I still have to keep Ray away from Penny and Hamburger until I am sure they are no longer in heat. We should be able to feel puppies in a couple of weeks.

The "heat" goes on!

Our Penny is home! She was away from home for almost two weeks for breeding. Now comes the hard part; waiting to see if she is pregnant. Her full name is Monster Shiny New Penny. She arrived in our home about a year ago, a tiny, flea-ridden puppy. Now she is a beautiful young lady. Penny is very attached to my daughter-in-law and Shannon feels the same about Penny. When we arrived to pick Penny up, the dog began whining and straining at the leash the moment she saw Shannon.

I forgot to take my camera along to get a picture of the stud dog. He was also brindle color. His name is Bugs and he is just a little smaller than our Penny. She was away for so long because she was not ready for breeding yet. Bugs’ owner called after Bugs and Penny had managed to do the deed a couple of times. Shannon and I left the next morning to pick up our dog. When we got hung up in construction traffic, Shannon got so agitated I thought she might just park the car and start walking. She really missed that dog!

It looks like Sean and I will be going to pick up our third prospective mother on Sunday. Shannon got an email yesterday that C.C. and the cocker spaniel stud had successfully tied for the first time. By Sunday they will have had a few more opportunities. The stud is a beautiful parti-color. They should make some really pretty puppies. His picture is above.

I feel certain that Raina is pregnant. Her belly looks larger and her teats are swollen. By the end of June, we should be able to feel the little puppy fetuses. We are so optimistic that we have set up separate birthing areas for each of the dogs. We also have puppy food, formula and feeding bottles in case we have to hand feed puppies. I bought two books several months ago in preparation for this entire process. One of them is “Breeding Dogs For Dummies”. It seems that there is a “Dummy” book for everything and I felt it would be just about the right speed for me. I’ve had books on other subjects in the “Dummy” series and found them very useful. I’ve seen a calf born and tended to a friend’s cat while it gave birth, but I’ve never had a pregnant pet. I don’t think that having been pregnant and giving birth myself is going to help prepare me for this.

The way things have timed out, the births should be staggered, but the puppies should be ready to go to new homes in mid-September.

The "heat" of spring

Life never turns out the way we expect it to. I look back on my blog and see that we were expecting the dogs to come into season in January. I was really being optimistic. It is now May and all four of our breeding dogs are in heat. It must be like “dorm syndrome” where women living in close proximity will be in the same menstrual cycle.

Raina was the first to show signs. The owner of the Yorkie stud we had lined up was 9 months pregnant herself, so there was no way she could handle breeding Raina with her dog. In desperation my daughter-in-law and I began a frantic search of the Internet. We didn’t find any Yorkie studs in our area and even looked in neighboring states. We did find an adult male for sale just across town. We both fell in love with Ray at first sight. Luckily so did Raina. We should have a litter coming in mid-July.

The other females followed Raina into estrus (heat) very shortly including our youngest, Hamburger. We won’t be breeding her this time since she is still too young. Penny and C.C. are with their respective studs right now. We miss them both. Hopefully they will be coming home pregnant. We were lucky enough to find proven stud dogs.

We are all very excited and looking forward to having three litters of puppies. They should be ready to go to new homes in September. I look forward to keeping up the news of pregnancies, births and new puppies. I also expect to look back on this and think I had lost my mind at the time.

Let's hope for some puppies

The three breeding dogs, Raina, Penny and C.C. are showing signs that they may be coming into heat. The last time C.C. had some inappropriate bathroom behavior that has started again (she has BM's in her pen). They have all been sexually aggressive and there has been a lot of bottom sniffing. We check each day for other signs. Hopefully they won't really start until after time for heartworm and fleas medicines since these should not be given to pregnant dogs.


Shannon is starting the younger dogs on a different food since what they were eating was upsetting Hamburger's stomach. Shannon is careful to check the content of the food we give them and watches the quantity as well. We can't feed Reggie as much as Kippy even though they are about the same size. Kippy is a high energy dog and gets a lot of exercise. Reggie is much more laid-back and only moves fast when there is a treat or a meal at the end of her run.

Welcome to Monster Puppies

We are dog lovers and endeavor to produce good quality pets. We have chosen our mothers very carefully. They are also special because they are our pets. My Yorkshire sleeps in my bedroom, frequently in my bed with me. She curls up in my lap while I am watching television. We choose our stud dogs carefully and do not keep studs ourselves so that if we notice undesirable results from a litter, we can choose another father or retire the mother. We care for all of our dogs as any responsible pet owner would. They all receive good quality food, veterinary care and preventive treatment for parasites and fleas.

We’ll be posting news about our dogs, our mothers, litters on the way and any puppies we have available. Please contact us if you have any questions.