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.