My babies are growing up

All of the pups are eating solid food now. The Yorkies have even tried to eat their mother's kibble. I would give them dry puppy food, but their teeth haven't even begun to erupt. The Yorkies are beginning to get their shaggy faces.

Two of my Shih Tzus have families already. Apollo and Spot have chosen their mommies. Spot really did do the choosing. He sniffed the lady over thoroughly and then bestowed a puppy kiss on her. I hope she can stand the wait until he is 9 weeks old.

Today I am going to try to puppy-proof the room the Shih Tzus are in so they will have more freedom. I don't like restricting my pups to cages. When they are about 6 weeks old, I will begin having them sleep in crates so that they become accustomed to the nighttime restriction.

I have a live webcam on the Yorkies. It only gets them when Raina is nursing or they are sleeping since they have started exploring. I put new videos on the available puppy page so the viewer can see how cute my babies are. I do my breeding to make good pets for people, but I still miss each one as they leave. It's even harder now with Apollo and Spot because I know approximately when they will leave. I will need to get my time with them now.

The Weekend Ends

I think Gus and Squirrel have worn each other out. They have been playing. They chase around the living room from dog bed to dog bed to the couch and around again. The two of them have become good friends and frequently will nap in the same bed. I think this friendship will last until the next time Squirrel comes into heat. Then I will be keeping Gus away and only allowing Moose access to her. Gus is going to want her, but I am not ready to try a Yorkie/Maltese mix.

My back is killing me this morning. I am waiting for the Darvocet to kick in. I was awakened shortly after midnight by my weather radio. I had been asleep for about an hour. It took me a while to realize what was going on. Then I heard the county’s emergency sirens going off. I checked the TV and there was one of the infamous “hook” formations coming this way. I packed the puppies into laundry baskets and made 2 trips to the basement. I could not do anything about the other dogs which made me feel badly. I am glad that I hooked up a TV in the basement bedroom so I could check the weather. My sister had come to visit last week so the bed was made. I got the mothers and their pups settled and then got into bed. I fell asleep with my glasses on and a flashlight in my hand. I woke a little later and checked the TV. Since the weather crew was no longer on, I figured it was safe to go back upstairs. So as a result my back is killing me.

I started Kitty’s puppies on soft puppy kibble this weekend. They were licking my hands a lot Friday night which is the signal wild dog pups give the adults to feed them except that they lick the adults’ lips. The first time I gave them some kibble, they went at it with a lot of enthusiasm. Of course Kitty wanted at it too. I don’t know why the adults find the soft puppy food so attractive. I have been giving them puppy food every 4 hours since then. I checked last week and I can feel their teeth beginning to erupt. I decided to try Raina’s pups on the kibble this morning although they are a week younger than Kitty’s. They did very well. Mouse didn’t seem as interested as the other two, but then she is the smallest.

Raina received 2 packages in the mail on Saturday. She got prizes from attending the #pawpawty on Twitter in celebration of @BrewskiButt’s 5th birthday. She got a beautiful art print from Brew’s Mom. I claimed that since it will look good in my bedroom. She also got a flappy toy from DogToys.com. It’s perfect for a terrier. She likes to shake it. Gus managed to get the toy and now it no longer has a squeaker. Gus has some problem with squeakers that I am at a loss to explain. The toy is still intact and can be used, it is just silent.

Puppies growing so fast

This little chubby Shih Tzu I call Starbuck. I picked her up today and there were her eyes looking back at me! The Shih Tzus are 12 days old today. They are very mobile crawling around in the whelping box. I checked on the other pups and most of them have at least one eye open. Next their little ears will open up, then comes walking. It still amazes me that by the end of the next 7 weeks they will be barking, running and even have their teeth. I really love raising these little critters. The Yorkies are also doing very well and growing. The male is the largest. They are also getting very mobile and crawling all over the bed.


I have been making new beds for the dogs which leaves me with a lot of scraps of the fleece fabric I have been using. I have a pattern to make tug toys by braiding strips of the fleece together. I made a couple of those and they are a big hit with Gus, Reggie and Squirrel. My daughter-in-law was here yesterday and noticed the toys. She asked me if I could make at least 1 for each of the new puppies. I have lots of scraps so I can make plenty of them. She had a wonderful idea. Give them to the pups to play with and then send one with each of them when they go to their new homes. That way they will have the scent of their littermates and mother on the toy. I had been giving pieces of baby blankets with the litter's scent as a comfort item. I like this idea much better.

My daughter-in-law has been checking on Jill at the Paulding County Animal Shelter. She called them today and told them Jill's story. Now Shannon has offered to go to the shelter on Saturday and work with Jill to see if she still responds to her obedience training. Then Shannon is going to work on getting Jilly adopted. I know that if anyone can do it, Shannon can. When she volunteered at the Douglas County Shelter on weekends, they placed a lot more animals. Shannon is very good with people and she knows her stuff about dogs. My son picked out a great woman to marry. This is the link to Jill's listing on Petfinder: see Jilly. Her eyes glowing red and green was a give-away to me that it is Jill. I tried to do the best thing for her and thought she had a forever family. She just may be a victim of the bad economy.


On the lighter side Raina has discovered Twitter. She spends part of her day following her friends. She has participated in a couple of events and even won some treats. Those treats were very good. I tried them myself. There is another Pawpawty this Sunday to celebrate the birthday of Brewski Butt. The pawty is also used to raise donations for Kitten Rescue in Los Angeles. Romeothecat chooses a group every month and challenges his Twitter followers to donate $1 each. It's a great way to have some fun, make people aware of the groups Romeo supports and raise some money for them. There is something good coming out of simple fun.

Why was Jill wandering loose?

I had two calls over the weekend that disturbed me. I was contacted by the Paulding County Animal Control and Home Again informing me that a dog registered to me was at the shelter. I know the dog and I did have her for several months. It is a bit of a story.

In late 2004 through to June 2005 I was caring for my late sister. During that time I had to have my 16 year old Bichon put to sleep. Muffet was suffering grand mal seizures and the cause was unknown. For his sake I made the decision to have him put to sleep because my time needed to be spent with my dying sister. I felt horrible about it, but still believe it was best for Muffet.

After my sister passed away, I felt the need for a canine companion. I went to the local shelter and fell in love with Jill. She was 10 months old and very friendly. I wanted a dog her size because my son's girlfriend had a dog she had adopted that was about 45 pounds. Jill was about the same size and age. The fit was perfect.

For months Jill and Shannon's dog Jack got along wonderfully. Jack was a female inspite of the name. In late 2005 something changed in the dogs' relationship and Jill attacked Jack inflicting several bites in Jack's legs. We thought at first that it was a display of dominance and the matter had been settled. Jack was now submissive to Jill, but Jilly continued to be aggressive toward Jack. I also have severe arthritis in my hands and arms and had to use a Gentle Leader to control Jill. She really was too much for me to handle on my own. In late 2005 I made the very hard decision to find Jill a new home.

I advertised her on Craigslist and LiveDeal, but did not have any takers. After about 8 weeks of trying to find her a home, I felt I had no choice but to take Jill back to the shelter where I had adopted her. I took along her flea and heartworm medicine. I also wrote a letter to potential adopters about Jill and what a wonderful dog she was. I did stress that she needed to be in a home where she was the only dog. I cried as I signed over the dog that I loved.

I received a call from the shelter in less than 24 hours. A family was adopting Jill! They came to my home to pick up Jill's crate. I was thrilled to meet them and felt this was the family for Jill. They even called a few months later to tell me that Jill was doing well and how the whole family loved her.

Now I have had these calls about Jill being picked up by animal control. It distresses me terribly. I don't have a phone number and can't even remember the name of the family who adopted Jill. I can only hope that they are looking for her. I wonder if I should go and claim her myself, but I still have other dogs and the arthritis is worse. I can only hope that this family loved Jill as much as I did and are looking for her.

Raina's puppies

Raina gave birth to 4 puppies on March 26. Unfortunately we lost one the next day. It was pretty hard for me. This is the first puppy we have lost. I felt personally responsible for it. That somehow if I had noticed that the puppy was in distress sooner, I could have done something. Oh well, we have 3 puppies to raise and they are thriving. I take them to the vet on Monday to have their tails docked.

Kitty's puppies are growing so fast. They are very mobile considering that all they can do is crawl. They crawl out over the side of the bed chasing after their mother. Sometimes I find all of them out of their bed and sometimes under it. This ought to be fun. I have not had 2 litters born this close together before. There may come a time when I can put all of the puppies together after they are weaned.

Update on the pups

Kitty's puppies are growing like weeds! I weighed the one that I nicknamed "Starbuck" and she is 13 ounces today. She weighed 6.9 oz. at birth! That is almost doubling her weight in 1 week. The pups are creeping around enough to get out of the bed to reach their mother. I don't think they can go the other way yet since I have to put them back about 6 times a day. You would think that with the puppies to worry about, Kitty would ignore Raina. No way! She still has to snarl when she sees Raina go by. I hung a blanket over the baby gate to give Kitty some privacy. I already have a blanket over the gate on Raina's room.

Raina has been in early labor since yesterday. Now it's getting really serious. She drank some puppy formula a little while ago, then barfed it all up. She refused to eat some boiled liver which is a good sign. I want to bring her into the living room to deliver so that I can be comfortable. When it gets close, I am going to put the other dogs in their crates. Of course it has to be raining hard today and all of the dogs are inside. Hopefully I will have new puppy pictures before bedtime.

We have new puppies!

Whoa am I tired! I’ve been trying to get used to a machine that helps me with my sleep apnea and it doesn’t seem to be helping. I was fatigued already, so spending the night as the dog midwife has been the cherry on top. I fell yesterday and then fell again this morning. And I still have a Yorkie who is due to have her pups in the next few days. The good thing is that I love these little critters so much that I don’t really mind the fatigue and bruises.

Kitty Cat is a real champ. She was in labor most of the day. There was a lot of panting and pacing. She was also very irritable with the other dogs. I tried to stay awake with her, but faded out after seeing President Obama on Leno. I woke to the sound of Squirrel barking repeatedly. Then I realized that I was also hearing the cries of puppies. Kitty had 2 of her babies while I was sleeping! I called Sean and Shannon to let them know that the puppies were being born. I stayed with her for the rest of the delivery. She drank a couple of bowls of puppy formula to fortify her. When I was sure that Kitty and the pups were OK, I climbed into bed to sleep. Just as I was dozing off, Shannon called to see how things had gone. It didn’t take much time to get back into my slumber.

The puppies are beautiful. I didn’t manage to make my usual notes during the births, so I had to sort of fill in the blanks later. There are 4 black and white pups and 2 brown and white. Four of them are males and 2 are females. I weighed them finally at about 6 to 8 hours after they were born. Of course by then their little bellies were full of milk. Kitty had a fit every time I took one away to the scale. I had forgotten how attached she was to her last litter. She did leave them long enough to empty her bladder. I had to hold the bowl to get her to drink and she did gobble up some boiled beef liver. She will be fine. Then I can look forward to the birth of the Yorkies.