Wookie's babies are a week old

I was so glad when Wookie delivered her pups last Sunday. They are growing so fast that they have actually doubled their birth weights! Sometimes I hear them crying and thinking there is a problem. It usually turns out to be one of the pups complaining that they want to nurse. Wookie worries me that she is not drinking water, but then why should she when I keep her supplied with puppy formula. I have also been trying to get her to eat puppy kibble, but she wants only canned puppy food and boiled beef liver. What a wonder thing for me! I get to remember those days of my childhood when I choked down fried liver with lots of catsup. At least this is boiled so the aroma is a little different. After boiling, I grind up the liver in a food processor. I suppose it is worth the bother since it produces the most beautiful and healthy babies.

A brand new litter!

I am pretty fatigued today. I have not been sleeping well because of the impending birth of a litter of Shih Tzus. This time the mother is our Wookie. Normally she is full of energy and constantly in motion. The last week or so she has been resting a lot. Since no one witnessed the mating, we did not know Wookie’s due date.

At 3:30 a.m. Sunday I was awakened by a loud moan. I got to Wookie in time to see the first of the puppies arrive. By 6:30 a.m. all of the big work was over and Wookie became the mother of four puppies. The first three are females and number four is a male with the most beautiful reddish-brown spots. Two of the females could be twins! They are both mostly black with white toes, small white patches on their chests and faint white stripes on their heads.

Wookie is proving to be a good mother. I was a little worried since she is usually a goof. Now she is all business.

A day later I get back to this and Wookie is acting nuts. I had forgotten how weird Kitty Cat behaved for the first few days. Wookie is not eating or drinking unless I hold the bowl for her. I think I need to let her get very hungry and thirsty so she will take care of her needs. She does get out of the whelping box to go potty. I need to change out the bedding today. She seems distressed that it is soiled. I found two puppies wrapped in a blanket this morning. I am going to try the tray I have used with other litters to see if that makes Wookie feel better.

I am so glad I voted by absentee ballot. I don’t feel like I can leave Wookie for more than a few minutes. I just have to remember that Kitty did settle down and relax after a few days and Wookie will too.

The pups have nicknames now!

I have been busy moving back upstairs. I thought I would sleep better with the puppies in their own room. They can whine really loudly at 3 AM if they are hungry! Kitty Cat helps by adding her barks to the whining.

They are so cute now. Their coats are longer and curly. I have given them all nicknames by now. Of course one got his nickname because he did not have one. We took the pups to the vet for a check-up. When we got to the one puppy with no nickname, he suddenly became “Uno”. After all he was the only one. They are Domino, Princess, Ralphie, Dorothy and Uno. It would take too much time to explain each one. I think Uno and Ralphie are my favorites. Uno barks at me to get my attention. Ralphie comes when I call his name. I just hope it does not confuse him when he gets a real name.

My babies are 7 weeks old now. When they get their second puppy shot at 9 weeks they will be ready to go out into the world. I think Kitty Cat may miss them too. She spends a lot of time playing with them. They still get to nurse once a day, but that’s it. If they try any other time, Kitty gets a little pissy with them. I am hoping that Wookie is pregnant so I can have more puppies. I never thought I would find something that I felt I could do well and gave me satisfaction. My puppies give me that.

Update on my dogs

I swear dogs will do anything to get something to eat. Winston has been helping me when I load the dishwasher. He starts “pre-cleaning” any dishes or utensils he can reach. Winston is a real champion at responding to a “leave it” command except when it comes to the dishwasher.

Winston has been getting accustomed to dealing with the newest dog, our Yorkie male Gus. My son and daughter-in-law will be moving in September and Winston and Gus are going with them to the new apartment. Usually Winston does not react well to dogs jumping on his back. He has figured out that Gus is just a baby (about 5 months old) and is not challenging him. The day will come when Winston will let Gus know the behavior will not be tolerated any more.

That will leave me with 6 dogs. Three Shih Tzus, a Yorkie, a Corgi and a beagle-dachshund mix. This bunch will be manageable for me since they fit in one room and are well behaved together outside. They do bark a lot. The Corgi is a barking machine! Kippy can bark non-stop for hours. It amazes me. The beagle-dachshund mix is also a barker. I can tell her voice because there is a distinct hound baying sound to it. The Yorkie, Raina, thinks she is queen of the yard. She thinks she is queen of everything. When there is something to bark about, she does it from the top of a tree stump. The Shih Tzus are much more easy-going and are usually playing around while the others are barking. I wish there were some way to translate the barks into English. Would Kippy be yelling “if you come near my yard, I will gnaw your ankles”? I guess in English her threats would not be as effective.

I will be glad to move back upstairs. Right now the new puppies are in my bedroom. I am very fatigued during the day and I wonder if it is that I am not sleeping well with the puppies near me. Upstairs I will be able to put the puppies and their mother in a room of their own, away from my bedroom! I may find out that I don’t sleep worrying if the puppies are alright. I may start spoiling my Yorkie again. Raina was accustomed to sleeping in my bed until I moved Kitty Cat into my room during her pregnancy. Since I will have a room set aside for the pregnant dog, Raina will be able to sleep with me all of the time.

I am going to end up being the weird lady with all of the dogs!

Miss Kitty skips the rails

The new puppies are 5 days old now. It's amazing how fast they are growing. I haven't weighed them since Aug. 16. In just those 2 days they went from weighing between 5.4 oz. and 6 oz. to 6.5 oz. to 7.2 oz. Kitty isn't gaining any weight, the puppies are getting it all.

I think Kitty has skipped the rails because she gets stressed out easily. It only seems to be in the morning hours though. She will feed her babies and then get under my bed and dig on a plastic container. She sometimes vocalizes while she digs and I mean yodeling! At other times she will hear the babies cry out and runs over to them to bark as if to say "Shut up!" By the afternoon she is cuddling with them and nursing them. I took the picture of her and the pups around 3:00 pm. Maybe it's because they are afternoon babies.

When we all move upstairs, I am going to turn the office into a puppy nursery. It has a gate to protect the pups from the other dogs. I can also put a low fence across the doorway that will allow Kitty to escape from the puppies when it comes time to wean them. I like to start crate training the puppies at the age of 7 weeks and they will be far enough from my bedroom that they can yell all they want to and not bother me!

It's been a while AGAIN

I know I haven’t been very regular in updating my blog. It seems to take a major announcement with the dogs to do it. Well, we are having Shih Tzu puppies sometime in the next 2 weeks. If feel for Kitty Cat, her belly is huge! She didn’t gain any weight this week, but I also have not noticed her eating a lot. She has to be eating because she still poops! She is getting a little stir-crazy. I’ve had her in my room for about 2 weeks. She is accustomed to spending part of her day outside. We just don’t want her out there unsupervised right now. The temperature has been in the 90’s. Plus we don’t want to risk her having pups under the shed! I guess I need to walk her a little more. It should help move the puppies along too.

At the same time we are getting ready for son and daughter-in-law to move into an apartment. It’s not like they have much time to work on it. My daughter-in-law changed jobs and works 50 to 60 hours per week. My son is headed to California next week for a seminar. And their moving date is September 10. It’s a good thing they are living here and not somewhere they will have to vacate quickly. Then I will be moving back upstairs where the bathrooms are! That is the one thing I have not liked about having my room in the basement. The privacy is great, but to take every trip to the bathroom under consideration due to my bad knees was getting old.

Some of our dogs are getting new homes because only 2 can go to the apartment and I can only handle so many. The ones I am keeping are all small and for the most part very well behaved. Hopefully a couple of the dogs will be going with family members so that we can visit with them. My dogs are such a big part of my life, but life seems to be changing and so it is best that things change for some of the dogs as well.

08/18/2008

From what I read, I started this around the first of August. I write on MS Word and then publish to my blog. Every time I do start writing something interferes. Since I started this Kitty has given birth and I turned 54. I have to tell the family no more birthday cakes for me. I had a gastric bypass in 1999. Sugary stuff like decorated cakes causes “dumping”. It is very unpleasant and painful. I decided in spite of knowing what dumping feels like, to eat some cake. It has finally passed, but I still feel yucky!

Kitty had 5 puppies; 3 males and 2 females. She was very frightened with the first and cried out. It scared me to death since the puppy was in a breach presentation. Luckily she pushed hard and out it popped. It was mostly white with black spots on its head and back. I think I am going to nickname him Domino. She waited a couple of hours and the next 2 came back-to-back. One is black and white and the other is brindle and white. The girls were born last. One of them is black, gray and white like her father Ozzie. The last is the most beautiful. She is white and golden brown. I think Kitty has post-partum psychosis. She looks for hiding places and digs on top of a plastic container under my bed. Fortunately she is leaving the puppies where they belong when she goes off on one of her forays. She is so thin and bony since having the pups. I feed her boiled beef liver and puppy chow softened with puppy formula. I hope she gains some weight. The puppies certainly are.

By the way, Hamburger had a false pregnancy. Too bad, her puppies would have been really cute. She has been spayed now and lives with my daughter-in-law's brother.

Hamburger moves in

Raina is very unhappy. She is sleeping in a crate like the other dogs rather than in my bed. All of her puppies have gone to their permanent homes and it is time to make room for a new mother.

I have never seen a face like Hamburger's before. She actually sticks her lower lip out when she is not getting her way. Normally she has what my son has described as a "swimmer's body". Hammy is very muscular without any fat on her body. She is an athlete. The dog runs and can jump incredibly high. Her hindquarters are so slim that it almost looks like we never feed her. Everything that dog eats goes into muscle. Since she spent time with Ozzie while she was in heat, Hamburger's belly has been getting bigger. I can't quite feel the puppies yet, but I am very sure that Hammy is about to become a mother.

Based on her private time with Ozzie, the first due date is June 5. Around June 2 I want to get an x-ray so that we know how many puppies we are expecting and if Hammy will need a C-section. Hamburger is a Boston Terrier and the breed is prone to needing help with delivery. Our other Boston was not able to deliver her puppies. We lost both pups and decided to have Penny spayed. We were just happy we did not loose our Penny. Now Penny happily spends her days playing with our Shih Tzus. The problems with Penny convinced us to breed Hamburger with a Shih Tzu instead of a Boston. We are hoping the heads will be smaller than pure-bred Bostons and that Hamburger's pelvis is large enough to birth the pups. If the x-ray shows that she may have trouble, we will schedule a C-section and probably have Hammy spayed so that she does not breed again. I would not put her through surgery again for another litter. No matter what, our main concern is Hamburger's health and happiness. You just can't resist that face.

Our puppies are leaving!

Our babies have been getting wonderful new homes. I could not have chosen better new families for them. One was even given a name very similar to that of my last sister. It was total coincidence, but I could not be more pleased. My sister would have been pleased.


It will feel so empty when the last of the Yorkie puppies goes to its permanent home. The good news is that it looks like we will be having BoShih puppies in June. The BoShih is what you get when you have a Boston Terrier mother and a Shih Tzu father. I have not seen one myself, but my daughter-in-law says they are adorable. I need to get current pictures of them and post them. Our male Shih Tzu was groomed just the other day and he looks like a different dog. Hamburger, the Boston female, didn't even recognize him. He used to look like a large angry cat. Now he is a handsome devil. I'll update this post as soon as I have new pictures.

These are such loving puppies

The pups have grown enough that their colored neckbands were too tight. Instead of replacing the bands, I checked our supply of puppy collars. There were 3 colors, so they all have their first collar. They have been wearing something around necks since birth, but they still had to fuss about the collars! I am taking a puppy on a leash every time I take Raina out. It worked with the last litter to have them follow their mother. After a couple of times, I could get the puppy to walk on the leash by themselves. I forgot that I took Xena out in the backyard to play the other day, so Rastus still has to get his turn to go out.

The pups have different levels of energy. Spazz moves almost constantly. When I pick him up he just keeps wiggling. Rastus and Xena love to cuddle. They even nap at different times. I just felt someone bite my toe! I knew it was Spazz before I looked. I have a feeling he would be great with someone who runs or walks everyday. These puppies are so sweet, they had better leave soon before I get too attached.

Three seem like four!

I thought the work would reduce by 25% when Gidget left. Ha! These three are like wild animals when they get going. The one I have nicknamed Rastus loves to run with newspaper. Once he has it in a new location, he begins shredding it. I have to carry my squirt bottle with me all of the time.

What you see in the picture is a big mistake. Never put puppies on your bed without being within arm's length. I had to wash the comforter and the sheets. It happened so fast I could not do anything about it.


Raina seemed to know that I had goofed. She watched as the whole thing happened. Without thumbs, she was helpless to remove the pups. She could have at least barked or grunted. I wonder if she was thinking that I was such a dimwit.


Then the little monsters settle down to nap and look so sweet. They cannot possibly be the animals that were running and growling like wild dogs 20 minutes ago. Can they?

This is the best part of being a breeder. I get to play with the puppies! All the while I am trying to mold them into puppies that will be good pets for some family. I have heard from Gidget's family. She is adjusting well and being a good pet. It's the best I can hope for.

Sad and Excited

The first of the puppies leaves today. I will be sad to see her go. Since I raise the pups in my little "mother-in-law suite", I become attached to each of them. My son does not allow me to name them, so I give them nicknames. Gidget has a real name. Her family picked her out when she was only 2 weeks old and they had already decided on a name. The others I have nicknamed Spazz because he is so active. That boy is really a terrier. Then there is Xena the Warrior Queen. She tries to dominate the other puppies. And last we have Rastus. It was a favorite silly name of my late sister. This little guy thinks it is funny to run through the room with a sheet of newspaper! I get mad and yell at him when he starts shredding it. They are all sweet, cuddly and affectionate. My Raina was terrified of people when I first brought her home. I raise my puppies to love people. They run to the door when they hear someone coming.

Gidget is a very lucky puppy. She will be the pet of my daughter-in-law's cousin Lily. Lily is 5 and very precocious. Her parents got her a book on dog care with a DVD. She is so excited. Lily held Gidget when the puppy was 2 weeks old. She is in for a surprise when she sees her puppy now. I have been emailing pictures, but it is not the same as seeing and playing with a 9 week old ball of energy. I hope I remember to take pictures.

Almost Weaned!

I can claim that I have been too busy with the puppies to update the blog. They do take a lot of my day, but most of it just watching them play. They seem to have different biological clocks and nap at different times. If they are active at night I am not noticing, but then I might not notice a bomb going off.
I turned Raina into a burrito today. I don’t want the puppies to nurse anymore and she seems very willing to let them continue. So she is wrapped in an elastic bandage. I tried putting 2 shirts on her with one of them going over her back end, but the pups managed to nudge them aside. We will see how this works.



Two of the pups have learned to climb the steps for my bed. The orange female instinctively knew how to get down. The pink male fell off the first time. It didn’t stop him from climbing up again. I’ve tried showing him how to place his feet. I guess he will just figure it out for himself.
The orange female seems to be the dominant puppy. The other female, Gidget, is quiet and will stand off sometimes when the others are wrestling. All of them are very affectionate. The pink male is the most adventurous. He had been trying to figure out the steps for a week. I guess his legs just reached the right length yesterday. The green male sleeps the most and is the most willing to play by himself. I have seen him spent 20 minutes in the same basket with one toy. I think that toy will have to be his when he goes to a new home.


I may have to use earplugs tonight to fall asleep. I plan to separate the puppies for the first time tonight. Gidget’s family plans to have her sleep in a crate so each one will be in their own carrier tonight. I have bedding lying around on the floor for the puppies and Raina to put their scent on so that they will have that familiarity. I’ll line the floor of the carrier with newspaper so that they will have somewhere to potty. The carriers are large enough so that they will have bedding area and space to go potty without messing in their bed.

So many changes

The puppies are growing beautifully. Their eyes are so bright, coats soft and shiny. Now that they are up walking and playing, I can see their personalities. The firstborn, the green banded male, is the slowest developing. I think he is just more deliberate in learning. The orange female is asserting herself as the boss. The blue female, Gidget, is so playful and cuddly. The red male is bold and adventurous.

Now that they are walking the next milestone is their teeth. I certainly know how that is going since they like to chew on my fingers. I have started feeding them ‘puppy soup’. It’s their baby food that I make with softened puppy food, puppy formula and water. I start them by letting them lick it from my fingertips. Sometimes I smear some on their muzzles for them to clean off. A couple of them are actually lapping it up out of a shallow bowl. When their teeth come in I’ll add some of the soft puppy food to the soup.

I like to hold them and brush their coats. I trim their nails so that they become accustomed to having their feet handled. We had one dog that had panic attacks if her feet were touched.

They are waking from yet another nap. The orange female wakes first and is gnawing on the blanket. She even shakes it. She will get out of the bed soon to go potty. They have been learning to go on newspaper and all but my green boy are doing great. Again I think he is just a little more deliberate about his actions. The orange girl is trying to wake her siblings. She gives up and goes back to sleep when chewing on her brother foot does not rouse him. Back to being a pile of sleeping puppies.

Puppies!! Finally an update

I had forgotten how wonderful is it to have small puppies. They are so adorable. And undemanding of me at this age! Raina does everything. They are at the point where they are being to toddle. Until I became a breeder there was so much I was did not know. I knew the puppies would be born with their eyes closed, but I did not know that their ears are sealed too. They do not have teeth yet. I think Raina is grateful for that. The mother uses the eruption of the puppies teeth as the signal to begin weaning them. I certainly would not want 4 hungry critters with teeth nursing on me!

I have begun the first step in paper-training the puppies. Before Raina feeds them, I remove them from their bed and put them on the newspaper. Having their mother near seems to stimulate them to urinate. By having them on the newspaper, I begin the association of urination with newspaper. The last litter was newspaper-trained so easily. It was amazing to see 7-week old puppies seeking out newspaper before it moved its bowels. I know I'm nuts, I get thrilled over puppies peeing and pooping!

One of the pups has a name, Gidget. I did not name her! She was picked out by my daughter-in-law's young cousin. Lilly will become Gidget's new owner in April. I told Lily that I would teach Gidget her name so that when it is time for her to go to her new home, the pup would recognize it. I'm excited for Lilly. She was so gentle in holding Gidget, I wish I had gotten a picture. I'm sending pictures to Lilly's father by email so that she can watch her puppy grow and change.

Now I want Kitty Kat to come into heat so that we can breed her. I just love the new puppies.

We have new puppies!

I have been remiss in keeping up the blog. A lot has happened, but the only thing I want to cover right now is our new litter of Yorkshire Terriers! Raina had 4 which surprised us. She was so miserable and looked like a bowling ball on legs. We figured she would have 5 or 6. From now on we are going to get an x-ray before the due dates so that we know how many puppies to expect.

The picture was taken before their tails were docked. Raina had a very easy delivery and is an excellent mother. She has not figured out how to pick them up. One was accidentally pushed out of the bed today and Raina came to me for help.

These puppies should be smaller than the last litter. The father, Andy, is a teacup Yorkie. He only weighs 4.6 pounds. I had some concern about he and Raina being able to mate. I definitely underestimated Andy's abilities! It's exciting and I will keep the blog up to date as the pups grow. I'm ready to hear the growl of Gremlins when they are about 5 weeks old and I let them loose in my room.