Puppies Squirming in
Momma's Belly

August 11, 2013

First Steps
August 23, 2013

Buzzing About
August 29, 2013

First Play Behavior
August 30, 2013

First Cereal Experience
September 8, 2013

The Puppy Cottage
September 14, 2013

First Kibble Meal
September 15, 2013

Chaos in the Cottage
September 20, 2013

Laz and the Doggy Door
September 28, 2013

Week 9

Lark flew to her new home today and I have to admit, putting her on that plane to Philly this morning was heart-wrenching.  That sweet little darling has completely stolen my heart this week since I brought her in the house after all her siblings left.  As you know I had seriously considered just keeping her for myself unless I found her the perfect home.  Well, that actually happened. She now has the PERFECT home!!  I couldn't be more pleased, and my heart will mend. Arriving back at the house, it feels so empty without her presence, even with three other dogs, something's just missing. She brought so much joy into the house and put a smile on my face every time I looked into her beautiful eyes. She was definitely a little Jimmy-mini-me, so much like her daddy in looks and personality.  I'm going to miss her so much!!

Zero pupperdoodles left in the Cottage... :'(
 

Week 8

Ok, so if I keep Lark, her call name should probably be the name of a shotgun brand, since her sister Benelli was named after the type of shotgun I myself carry (Benelli M2) and her FDSB name should also pay homage to her momma HOPE in the same fashion Benelli's does.  Benelli's FDSB registered name is "Hickory's HOPE for Birds".  

So, there are tons of cool shotgun names like Remington ("Remi" for short), or Baretta, or Weatherby, or... Oh! I've got it!! Just settled on the PERFECT name, not just her call name, but also figured out the perfect FDSB registration name which also includes an homage to her mother HOPE. Oh yeah, Wait.... SHE JUST SOLD!  She's going to live in New Jersey with her older brother "Keaton" from Litter K (now called Archie). See, I knew it! As soon as I thought up a cool name... such is life.  Just gotta keep that name on hold until the next pup comes along... Stay tuned...   
 

Lolly went home today with her new parents and she's going all the way to western Nebraska to live with four other Llews.  Her new name is Quinn and her new momma is a vet.  She will have the opportunity to hunt and may even have a litter of her own someday.

My heart was breaking for Lark as she watched her last sibling leave from the puppy run at the Cottage.  Lolly's new parents felt it too and after about 10 minutes of leaving Hickory Hollow they were back to visit with Lark and try to decide if they should take her too.  After some soul searching they left again without Lark and she was the last of Litter L to remain here at Hickory Hollow.

Only one pupperdoodle left in the Cottage...
 

Week 7

Both Llewla and Levi left for their new homes today. Llewla's new mom drove all the way from Grand Rapids Michigan to get her and she will be going to live with a very handsome big brother, Fenway from Litter F (now called Mac).  She will have a big beautiful yard to play in with a pool and two human parents that will love her to pieces!!  

Levi was such a good boy today, both in his kennel on the way to the airport as well as at the Delta ticket counter.  He barely made a peep he was so well behaved and made me very proud! I was teary-eyed to see him go... it's especially hard to put these precious babes on a plane and say good-bye through metal bars, I'd much rather see them happy and wrapped in the arms of their new families and giving wet puppy kisses as they drive away.  

Only two pupperdoodles left in the Cottage...  
 

This week's milestone: Pups go home.
This is the week that all the puppies will start to fly the coop and begin their exciting new lives with their new families. They are so ready to go too, they are just busting at the seams to explore something other than the puppy cottage play pen and puppy run.  While I will miss them, I am so excited for them and for all the adventures they will have.
 

Week 6

Laz went home today with his new dad and will travel to Michigan where he will live in the shadow of an uncle (also of Hank bloodlines) who was a once great dog but has crossed the rainbow bridge.  He's sure got big paws to fill, but we are confident he will live up to the expectations set before him.  He is keeping his name Lazarus too! I'm gonna miss his sweet personality and his adventurous spirit. Next week he will get to go fishing and camping and enjoy the outdoors, but this will only be the first of more exciting adventures to come.
 

This morning Laz cracked us up by dashing in and out of the Doggy Door which leads out into the Puppy Run. While the other pups are just finally learning what the doggy door is all about and timidly checking it out, Laz is already an old pro at it. The steps up to the door from the outside don't slow him down anymore, and neither do the flexible plastic door panels. He'd go out, dodge and dart around the outdoor run, chase a few moths or flies and then come barrelling back into the Puppy Cottage at full speed.  Then he'd pounce on a few littermates, take a few bites of lunch and dash back out the doggy door. He's just GOT to have one of these things at his new home, LOL!!   After a while the other pups started catching on to what Laz was up to ("monkey see, monkey do" as I always say) and pretty soon there were other pups following him out the door to play outside.  I think Laz enjoyed the company, finally!!  I did manage to capture one of his episodes on video.

(Video: Laz and the Doggy Door) - 12:53 pm
 

It is a beautiful day here today at Hickory Hollow, so I gave the pups access to the outdoor Puppy Run and returned to the house to do some work.  After about 15 minutes I heard a little voice and peeked out the window and sure enough, one pup was outside in the run.  Guess who was the FIRST pup to take the plunge through the door all by himself??  Why, Laz of course!! I guess I should not be surprised, as I evaluated him for puppy profiles, he was the one that seemed to always be the first to seek out the great unknown!!
 

Sorry guys, I haven't been feeling the greatest lately, plus I'm trying to get puppy documents ready to go and so my blogging and posting of photos and videos has lagged lately, but I am planning to try and catchup on miscellaneous litter photos sometime this week, so stay tuned!
 

The pups were microchipped today and all did really well.  It's amazing for as large as that needle has to be in order for the microchip to pass through it that the pups don't notice it more than they do.  I think they are so worried about getting back into the action with their siblings during playtime that they don't really notice.

Here's how they all measure up at 6 weeks:
 

This week's milestone: Eye color changes from blue to brown.

This week, the puppies eyes will transition from their current baby blues to their final adult color, brown or gold.
 

Week 5

Weaning is coming along great now, tonight was the first night the pups had canned food mixed in with their starter kibble and no more hot water or warm goat's milk.  I will be feeding them this mixture for about 5 days before I remove the canned food altogether and the pups will then be completely on dry kibble.
 

Last night was the first night that momma HOPE did not spend with her pups out in the Puppy Cottage. She wanted to come back into the house and sleep in her kennel which means to me that she is ready to get back into her old routine. She has started weaning the pups herself and there are longer intervals in between her nursing sessions.  So far the pups are doing great on the new food, but I am still mixing in some goat's milk and baby rice cereal to entice them.  Once my supply of goat's milk/rice cereal are gone, I will add some canned Royal Canin Puppy food to the mix.  My goal is to have the pups off momma starting at 6 weeks.

This morning I captured a fun video of playtime in the Cottage after breakfast. TOTAL CHAOS!!

(Video: Chaos in the Cottage) - 8:00 am

Mid-day today my sister Tasha, the self-proclaimed amature photographer, came out to Hickory Hollow to take Week 5 Puppy Portraits with her super powerful camera with zoom lens.  She does an amazing job and some of her shots of the pups are simply breathtaking! "Amature" my tushy, in my opinion she could go pro!  She took over 800 photos today in a 3-hour period and then it took me the rest of the day to review them and choose the gems that represent Week 5 portraiture.  Some of the other candids will be posted in the miscellaneous litter photos for week 5 as well as on Facebook in the Litter L album.  We hope you enjoy them!!
 

This morning while taking care of puppies in the Cottage, my "pupsitter" Quincy dodged his duties and instead took a walk through the woods. When I was done with pups this is what I found!! I just detest those little velcro balls!! They stick to EVERYTHING!!   

This is kinda what Benelli was like after her galavant in the woods last week, although they were completely matted in all her feathering on legs, tail and ears, cleaning up Quincy was a breeze compared to that.
 

Puppy selections have begun and things are going as I predicted.  We've had a good number of visitors lately to sit with pups and see personalities for themselves which makes selecting a pup so much easier in my opinion.

Lazarus was the first to be chosen a few days ago when we were visited on the weekend. Then Lancelot was chosen next and the couple was very happy to get their first choice as well.  Both Laz and Lance seemed to know who their new parents were before it was even "official" because they gravitated to their visitors and outshone all the others. Some instincts are just so strong!
 

This week's milestones: Puppy Socialization / Puppy Selection Week!

Puppy Selection is finally here! All the folks with reservations who have been watching that one pup for four weeks now and who are anxiously waiting on pins and needles to see if they will get their favorite will finally get some relief with the puppy selections.

Now that the pups are old enough to have visitors, they will have lots of opportunities for socialization with our big dogs, adults and children. We will also concentrate on acclimating them to noises of all varieties during "percussion sessions" where they will endure rapping on pans, opening and closing of doors, music on the radio, and whatever else I can think of to condition them for life after Hickory Hollow.
 

Week 4

At the recommendation of a fellow breeder, I ordered a bag of Royal Canin Starter puppy kibble to aid with the transition from momma's milk to kibble during weaning. Supposedly this food is such great quality that the pups don't go through any transition diarrhea which would be a great benefit. I'm giving it a try for this litter so we'll see.  The shipment of food finally arrived late yesterday afternoon, so this morning was the first time the pups were fed kibble.  Of course I soaked it in water to make it mushy but the pups couldn't have gulped it down any faster.  I caught those moments on video to share with you. ENJOY! :0)~

(Video: First Kibble Meal) - 8:50 am
 

Pups were moved out to the Puppy Cottage first thing this morning. I caught their first moments in their new playpen on video which I have shared on YouTube.

They also had a very special visitor today, Don White (first on puppy reservation list) traveled all the way from SW Michigan to see the pups and decide which of the three males would be coming home with him in a couple weeks. It was a beautiful warm sunny day here at Hickory Hollow, so we took the male puppies out into the yard for a play session.  I got a few really cute photos which I will be posting soon. One of the males really stood out and was selected to be Don's next hunting buddy.  Stay tuned to find out his decision...

(Video: Move to Puppy Cottage) - 10:12 am
 

I finally got the Week 4 Puppy Portraits taken this evening after work. WHEW! Geesh I figured if I didn't get them done soon they would be so close to Week 5 portrait time that you wouldn't see much of a difference between their photos for these two weeks.  I've been simply swamped at home and not much extra time for blogging or posting photos.  So sorry... I will get them online soon.

Things left to do in the Puppy Cottage are: new pine shavings need to be spread, the floors  swept, and doggy run sprayed out and dishes sanitized.  Once completely cleaned, all that's left is to figure out where the new LIVE Puppy Cam will be mounted.... Stay tuned!
 

Pups really need to get out to the Puppy Cottage asap! Tonight when I got home from work they were covered in poop! The whelping box is really great for the birth to 3 week timeframe during which momma HOPE can keep up with her housekeeping, however when the pups reach that 4 week mark it no longer can handle the puppy potty that is generated for 7 pups! Needless to say, all the pups got their first baths tonight.  They are still small enough that I can straddle them across my forearm and run them under the bathtub faucet to soak and rinse them.  Once bathed they were towel dried until their coats were silky and fluffy.  

While I cleaned the box the pups enjoyed some playtime together in the puppy room and had that post-bath friskyness that you see in most adult dogs after a bath.  It was so funny to watch them really jump about and explore the puppy room and get into all kinds of mischief.  Once they all got tired, I put them in a clean whelping box under the heat lamp.  They all snuggled in close and enjoyed the warmth of the lamp. Bedtime for me was almost mid-night again tonight!
 

Now that the pups are 4 weeks old already, I spent some of my evening prepping the Puppy Cottage for their move to the 9' x 5' playpen which they will call their home for the rest of their stay here at Hickory Hollow. Quincy and Benelli were out there with me to keep me company and supervise my work.

Bedding was washed, puppy play pen walls were scrubbed and sanitized and I got all the old sawdust vacuumed off the floor and the rubber flooring scrubbed and sanitized and hung to dry, but that's about all the farther I got before Benelli decided to take off and disappear for 3.5 hours!  

Throughout the cleaning process I had kept a close eye on her and when she "escaped" I had just checked in on her 2 minutes prior.  I immediately stopped what I was doing and went on a full out search for her, combing the timber and driving the country block in my truck calling her name.  I didn't find her, but she decided to return home on her own about 10:30 at night completely covered in stickers and weeds.  Then I spent the next hour and a half combing all the junk out of her hair.  Needless to say I lost three valuable hours of Puppy Cottage prepwork... SIGH... but Benelli is home safe, that's what really counts!
 

This week's milestone:  Move to Puppy Cottage / Rough Play

The pups are now big enough that the little 4x4' whelping box is no longer adequate to suit their needs.  They need a cleaner and larger environment where they can romp and play without getting dirty! 

Right now the pupperdoodles are very sweet and gentle and when they come to see you they are snuggly and want to be held and get some attention. For the most part, they like to crawl into your lap and go to sleep. In just a few days, this will all go away and they begin to become little "monsterdoodles" (lovingly referred to of course). They will bite everything they can get their little Pirahna teeth on including fingers, toes and their favorites... shoelaces! As their little personalities emerge this week, we will be posting puppy personality profiles in preparation for Puppy Selection Week starting next Tuesday.

Puppy Cottage Photos

Week 3

Today the pups had some very special visitors!  Nick and Amanda Staab, who are second on the reservation list, came to see the puppies along with Nick's mom. What they didn't know was that I had a very special "puppy first" planned for them.  During their visit they got to witness their little one trying a cereal meal for the first time. They loved the experience and were very thankful which made it all the more fun for me! I took a video so we could also share the experience with all of you!

The puppy porridge consisted of Gerber Baby Rice cereal mixed with warm goat's milk.  At first the pups weren't sure what to think about the bowl with the white colored porridge, but once they stuck their noses down into it to sniff it and got a taste after licking it off their noses, there was no stopping them!

Lexus was the first to get a taste, then Lance and Laz joined in. After that it was a downright race to see who could be the biggest piggy!  Num Num, bottoms up Piggydoodles!

(Video: First cereal) - 4:45 pm
 

This morning I awoke to find that the little stinkerdoodles had been playing with the LIVE Puppy Cam overnight.  It was unplugged from the power cord and was overturned from where it sat on the pig rail and was laying on the floor in the box. The lens was totally gooped up with doggy drool and had to be cleaned up otherwise the view was hazy. OOPSIE!  I had to get out the tripod and mount the cam above the box in the corner.  Hopefully the new location and view is just as fun as the other was.  Here's a looksie:

Second Worming (Pyrantel Pamoate)
 

This morning as I was weighing pups I noticed that their ears are getting much longer and flatter now and are no longer the little stubby newborn ears.  I also noticed that the hair on them is starting to get curly. So CUTE!

Here's how the pups measure up at 3 weeks old:

This week's milestones: Play behavior

I know I say this all the time, but this is my absolute favorite time with the pups. Their eyes and ears are open and they are becoming playful and inquisitive about their surroundings. This week the pups will really start playing and interacting more with each other, even though they have already started to display this behavior, it will be more apparent this week.  They will begin to exhibit play bowing, yipping, pouncing and chewing on each other. Their individual personalities begin to develop and they will begin to do some of their natural doggy behavior for the first time.
 

Week 2

As I've mentioned before the pups change so drastically from day to day at this point in time. They are cutting teeth now, you can see the little pirhanna-type teeth below the gum line and will break through literally any minute. The canines are the ones that will break first and then the incisors.

They are also noticing sounds and will wake up and turn their heads when I come into the room and start talking to them. And they've finally gone from merely whimpering and whining to actually barking and growling.
 

The pups were wormed today and they DO NOT like the wormer! A couple years ago they changed the formula from a creamy light yellow liquid that the pups really loved to a clear dark yellow liquid that the pups can't stand. They cough, gag, foam at the mouth and shake their heads trying to spit it out. What once used to be a pleasant ordeal has become horrible for them.  I don't understand why those companies have to take a good thing and mess it all up!! GRRRR!!

On a more pleasant note, I caught the pups playing together and got it on video. Those precious babes just make me giggle at the stuff they do. Every day is a new discovery with them and I love to just sit and watch them. They are now coming to the edge of the box to investigate me. I just love this time with them!!

(Video: First Play Behavior) - 5:15 pm

First Worming (Pyrantel Pamoate)
 

The pups are so amazing, they are getting around on all fours so much better now. They are actually up off their bellies more than they scoot on them these days. I love that they can see me when I come around and are starting to become investigative of their surroundings. They are already becoming interactive with both their momma and littermates, but pretty soon they will add me to their list!

Both Laz and Lolly's eyes are completely opened today!

This morning I caught the pups buzzing aound in their box after Momma came in for a brief check and sniff to make sure all was okay. At this age they only stay active for a few short minutes, so I was lucky to catch one of these moments on video.

(Video:  Buzzing About) - ~ 9:00 am

Week 2 Puppy Portraits were taken.
 

Today's new behavior is tail wagging! I noticed that the pups are wagging their tails when momma comes to sniff and check them out.  SO CUTE!! I love the interaction between pups and momma and between littermates now that they can see.

Here's today's eye opening update:

At this stage the pups are devloping rapidly, with new behaviors surfacing every day.  This morning I noticed that the pups have started exhibiting play behavior.  Now that they can see, they will start to interact more and more with their littermates. The first thing I noticed was that they are now chewing on each other and going after a littermate.

Here's today's eye opening update:

This week's milestones: Ears will open/Cutting teeth

Most of the pups' eyes are now open with a couple trailing behind but they will be open soon. They will be able to see clearer and clearer each day, starting with shadows for the first few days until their eyes can focus on specific objects. This will be a fun week and we are looking forward to having the puppies notice me when I come into the room and come over to the edge of the box to greet me. This week's milestone, although not as noticeable as the eyes opening, but just as significant for the pups, are that their ear canals will be opening. Later this week the pups will be noticeably affected by the sounds around them.
 

Week 1

The pups are now starting to find their voices and their once little whines and whimpers have now morphed into actual barks.

Here's today's eye opening update:

WOW, a lot has changed in just 24 short hours...
Here is today's eye opening update:

Pups are still gaining weight steadily at a rate of at least 1.5 to 2.0 oz or more per 24 hour period.  I try to weigh the pups at the same time each morning so the reporting period is as close to 24 hours as possible.  This makes it much easier to monitor each pup's progress and catch any signs of ailing as early as possible.
 

Today the pups had another exciting day,  despite facing the trauma of having their first toenail trims this morning, they had some special visitors during the afternoon. My sister and her family came out to visit! My two nieces LOVE snuggling puppies and are so calm and gentle, I never worry about the safety of the pups around them.  We all made sure to take off our shoes before entering the room and washed our hands thoroughly before handling the pups.   I laid a clean blanket on the floor and got all the pups out of the whelping box to come join us for some playtime.  It was a very precious and wonderful time.

Here is today's eye opening update:

What an exciting day today in the development of the puppies! Tonight I noticed that the pups are getting their bellies off the floor and balancing on all four legs. They are really shaky yet, but they are now actually taking their first steps! I've posted a new video to YouTube so you can see for yourself. SO FUN!!

(Video:  First Steps) - ~ 7:30 pm
 

According to my records, pups eyes should start opening tomorrow.  Over the next few days the crease that partitions the upper and lower lids will start to get deeper and finally start to separate from each other.  Usually this process starts at the corners of the eyes closest to the nose and spreads outward across the eye lids.  

I've been looking for signs of this process starting and I think we're getting close. Sometimes it will not be readily apparent, but I will catch a little glimpse of the eyeball which glistens in the light which indicates it's actually opening. The next few days will be really fun to watch!

Week 1 Puppy Portraits have just been posted.
 

Pups are strong and gaining 2 to 3 ounces per day at this point.  Here is how the pups measure up at 1 week old.

This week's milestone:  Eyes are opening!

This week the pups have an exciting milestone to "look" forward to, their eyes will open and then their little faces will take on a whole new personality. Usually the process starts at about 10 days after birth and for most pups, the timeframe from start to finish will be relatively the same, but we will provide an "eye opening update" regularly so you can follow along.  
 

Birth Week

So far from the day they were born, momma HOPE has had to lick the pups to stimulate them to pee and poo.  Yesterday I noticed one of the pups pooping on her own!! YAY! They are also getting much stronger day by day and are already trying to get up off their bellies and support their weight on all fours.  Their strength will continue to improve and it won't be long before they will be walking.  I hope to catch some of their first steps on video.
 

I think it's interesting to note that during the last week in utero, the pups' lungs are developing so that they will be ready to take that first breath after entering this world. But even at birth their tiny systems aren't fully developed yet,  now is when their nervous systems are hard at work. This is why the pups twitch and kick while sleeping and also why I do all the exercises in the Super Dog program to help the puppies in their neurological development.

I'm thrilled to report that pups are all strong and healthy, coats are soft and silky and are all gaining weight rapidly. Here is now the pups measure up today:

Good morning all!! I hope you are enjoying the feed from our new LIVE Puppy Cam. I know I am having lots of fun watching them remotely on my mobile phone. Sometimes it's quite comical; they make me giggle at the way they crawl all over each other to get the best position at the milkbar, how vigorously they kneed the faucet while nursing and how rolly-poly they are when moving about, not to mention those pink noses, I just want to give them Eskimo kisses! 

I think the new angle is tons more fun than the other camera which was mounted above the box looking down.  Our new camera is actually placed down in the box with the pups for a super up-close and personal view of the babies.   

While I love the video feed and pan/tilt/zoom functionality of the new camera, we are still having some firmware issues that cause the camera to crash when using the PTZ functions remotely.  I will try to see if we can get a firmware update that will help with that, other wise we will be switching out the Tenvis IPROBOT3 to a Foscam FI8910W in the next few days. There is no excuse for the camera not to function as it should. Unfortunately the Foscam we just purchased is not HD (720p), but I'm not sure how much of a difference that will make when the video feed is uploaded and broadcast through the iVideon cloud anyway.  

Tell us how you feel about the new LIVE Puppy Cam broadcast through iVideon, join the discussion on Facebook!

I started the Super Dog program this morning whereby all the pups are put in different positions for about 5 seconds which helps to stimulate their nervous system.  By now, their umbilical cords have all shriveled up and fallen off.

Everybody is gaining a good amount of weight as shown by todays weigh-in:

I'm so thankful to report at weigh-in this morning all the pups had gained a significant amount over yesterday's weights, even little Laz has finally gained a full ounce in a 24 hour period.  All pups are doing well, strong and healthy at this point.  

Dew claws were removed today.
 

Puppies are all doing great today! 3 males/ 4 females are all strong and healthy and suckling with great enthusiasm. Even little Laz after his rough start has gained momentum and is now finding the teat and suckling on his own as well as squirming with great strength just like his brothers and sisters. I'm still a bit reserved on his condition and am still monitoring him hourly, but very optimistic that he has pulled through this initial ordeal and will progress normally from here on out. Prayers are still welcome.

First puppy portraits have been posted (Pup Portraits).
 

Pup names:  A BIG Thank you to everyone who participated in the Name Game on Facebook and suggested your list of "L" names. You guys are so fun!! There were so many good ones to choose from it made it really hard to pick the most unique ones. Here's the final cut, did your name suggestion make it?

Other names on the short list to be considered were:
    Boys: Lambert, Llewis, Landon, Lazlo, Luka, Luxor, Lex, and Luthor.
    Girls: Laila, Lexi, Libby, Liberty, Lilah, Lilly, Luna, Lizzy, and Lucia.

Oh, so many good choices, not enough pups!!
 

Tuesday, August 13th, 2013

12:15 am - HOPE is really restless tonight, she's nesting and panting like crazy.  If I didn't know any better I'd think she was in labor right now and about to pop out a pup!  Needless to say I'm keeping an eye on her for a while. Weird though... I haven't seen the tell-tale drop in temp to 98.4 or lower so I'm skeptical, however I may have just plain missed it???  Usually when it drops it stays down and doesn't come back up. Her current temp is 100.0. Hmmmm......     

HOPE is definitely in labor!
3:20 am - presentation of the initial water sack
4:50 am - visible contractions are seen
5:18 am - hard labor begins

6:18 am - still having hard contractions but no pup after well over an hour. Gloved finger palpation indicates a pup in birth canal, but any forward movement gained on contractions is lost when contractions stop and pup retracts deep back into birth canal.  I suspect the pup is either stuck or the placenta has not fully detached and thus no further forward movement.

6:38 am - I'm getting worried since pup has been in birth canal so long, so I am calling the vet.

6:45 am - heading towards the vet hospital for the doctor to take a look at her.  I'm bringing along the puppy "ready box" with hot water bottle just in case she ends up having pups at the hospital I will have something to bring them home in.

7:30 am - Dr. Ryan Steen palpates puppy in birth canal and with gloved fingers tries to assist the pup in exiting the birth canal. He makes several good attempts to extract the puppy while HOPE aids with her natural contractions and when uneventful calls in a second female doctor with smaller fingers to give it a try.  Eventually Dr. Steen comes to the same conclusions as I did a while earlier.  He recommends C-section immediately and is worried about the viability of the puppy which is stuck. I agree.  

8:00 am - They take Hope in the back to start prepping her and the OR for surgery while Dr. Steen clears his calendar of his regular appointments.

8:45 am - HOPE  goes into surgery.  Being a prior vet tech myself, I am allowed to observe the surgery and assist the vet techs rub puppies awake immediately after they are taken from momma's womb.

9:05 am - the first boy which was stuck in the birth canal is brought out and handed to Ashley. He was covered in green goo and the placenta looked black.  Upon seeing him my heart sank, but bless her heart, Ashley gave it all she had, she used the bulb to suck fluid out of his mouth and nostrils and rubbed him intently and vigorously and I'll be darned if after about 5 minutes she didn't have that puppy screaming at the top of his lungs! He eventually pinked up and started squirming to get out of her grasp.  

9: 08 am - I am ready at the OR door to acccept pup #2 from the doctors. I immediately break the sac encasing the pup to let out the fluid and gain access to the pups head to dry it off and suck fluid from the mouth and nose as Ashley had done for the first pup. Then I started rubbing vigorusly too, pretty quickly the pup started blowing little bubbles out his nose which I promptly dried off.  I kept bulbing the fluid out of the mouth and nostrils and my pup luckily revived much faster than pup #1.  

9:11 am - Over the next 15 minutes or so, one by one all the pups were placed into the capable hands of all the vet techs at Frey Pet Hospital.  

9:24 am - The last little female pup #7 was not reviving as quickly as she should've been so I asked Ashley to work on her like she did pup #1.  She rubbed and rubbed and the pup didn't move.  I held my breath as I watched helplessly, praying to see some sign of life.  The pup was still pretty grey like they are when they are first born and haven't taken a breath yet and my heart was sinking.  Ashley got out the stethoscope and listened for a heartbeat and all hope was restored when she said she heard one.  She rubbed even hearder and bulbed the mouth and nostrisl again and again.  It felt like forever as we waited for some signs of life.  As a last resort Ashley did a couple long swings on the pup, from overhead down to between her legs she gently swung the pup with her head down a few times to let gravity help pull the fluid from her respiratory system. When the pup started blowing a few bubbles we knew we were heading in the right direction.  Then when pup #7 started crying Ashley put her next to the oxygen tube to give her even more support and within under a minute of seeing those first bubbles she had finally pinked up!!!

9:45 am - Once all the pups were pinked up and doing well, the umbilical cords were tied off with surgical suture and cut.  Once they were free of their placentas they were all placed into the "ready box" on a heated pad until they could be rejoined with momma in the recovery room.

I know I cried a few tears today over the joys of saving both pup #1 and pup #7 and told Ashley I wanted to hug her for what she did. I thanked all the vet techs for their participation.  Praise God for answering prayer! And I thank Him for Ashley and all the rest of the knowledgeable doctors and vet techs at Frey Pet Hospital who helped to save both HOPE and her precious litter today.

Here's the birth order list:

10:00 am - HOPE is finally out of surgery and moved to the recovery room where she is placed on a heating mat and covered with a heated blanket. One of the vet techs was sitting on the floor with her by her kennel, making sure she's okay, talking to her and softly stroking her head.  I am truly grateful for the heartfelt compassion that these great folks have shown HOPE.  

10:05 am - Dr. Steen told me that he did have a difficult time getting the placentas to detach from the first three pups during surgery, so he suspects that along with the fact the first pup was stuck was confirmation that doing the c-section was the right thing to do. He praised me for recognizing the signs and acting upon them to do the right thing. He says he doubts she could've had this litter naturally. Dr. Steen  did not spay HOPE during the surgery and says in the future she could have another litter.  

10:15 am - Once we got all the puppies in the ready box, I went to sit with HOPE in the recovery room.  She was still groggy and doped up, wide-eyed and seemingly confused.  Once I sat down next to her, she seemed comforted and eased up, layed down and releaxed.  

10:45 am - HOPE was introduced to her litter of puppies and they all were placed next to her so they could latch on and get some nourishment.

12:00 pm - HOPE is released from the hospital and we head home towards Hickory Hollow with a healthy litter of 7 pink-nosed puppies.   I'm so exhaused I can hardly stay awake for the drive home, but I'm thinking I will be able to hit the hay soon.

1:00 pm - I finally get the whelping box set up, heat lamp and heating tray warmed up and Momma HOPE and puppies settled into their new home for the next 4 weeks.  HOPE seems to be doing well, is walking around like she never had surgery and is taking good care of her little babes as she has always done.  I'm so impressed with her mothering skills.

3:00 pm - I begin to get worried about pup #1, he has been crying almost non-stop since the ride home from the pet hospital and refuses to latch on to momma for some nourishment. He feels cold and limp to me, so I need to make sure he's under the warming lamp.  Pups generally will only cry when cold or sickly, not necessarily when they are hungry, so first and foremost I need to make sure he gets warm and then reassess his situation.  Secondly, since he seems to be the only one that has not latched on for a meal yet, I gave him 1/3 cc Nutri Drops for puppies to provide nourishment until he decides to suckle.  I will keep a close eye on him today and keep trying to get him to latch on.  Some have suggested tube feeding and I had considered that, but I will only use the tube feeding method as a last resort.  Tube feeding is so traumatizing in nature for the little pup (and for me) to gag on it while it is being placed all the way into the stomach, not to mention the risks of aspiration are high which can further complicate the pup's health.

5:00 - 8:00 pm - I finally get a few hours of much needed rest.  By the time I actually went to bed my head was swimming and I literally could not see straight.  I promise to take puppy portraits and get the LIVE Puppy Cam going tomorrow... Just too tired...

8:30 pm - FINALLY got pup #1 to latch on and suckle!!  WHEW!! Again another Praise God moment among many this day.

11:25 pm - last check on pups before heading to bed for a FULL night's rest...  Pup #1 is doing much better now and has atually gained some weight since his first weigh-in earlier this afternoon. He went from 14.3 oz to 14.5 oz which is certainly a step in the right direction.  He also latches on more quickly when I mechanically open his mouth and put him on the teat. Now he readily accepts it and starts suckling whereas before would spit it back out. This time I even caught him using his front paws to instinctively kneed the teat to help extract milk.  I pray he will continue to improve and actually start finding the teat on his own to suckle.

GOOD NIGHT ALL!
 

Sunday, August 11th, 2013

It's time to play the Litter L Name Game!! Send me your "L" name suggestions for pups in this litter. If your suggestions are extraordinary or are unique enough, we might just use it to name one of our puppies!  Send your suggestions to puppies@hickoryhollowllewellins or join our discussion on Facebook.  It's fun to be part of the discussion!    
 

Saturday, August 10th, 2013

Since the whelping date is fast approaching, as of last evening I've been taking HOPE's temperature morning and evening to monitor her progress. Her normal temp is around 101.5 but this last week of pregnancy it drops to around 99 and hovers there until her due date. I'm waiting for the tell-tale temperature drop from about 99 degrees down to 98.4 or lower which will indicate she's going to whelp within the next 12 to 24 hours.   At that point I don't go anywhere and am pretty much house-bound until the little darlings arrive!

Also, good news! We finally got the LIVE Puppy Cam up and running wirelessly on the Hickory Hollow network. And although the firmware doesn't work quite like our last camera, we did get it published to our LIVE Puppy Cam page (coming onine soon).  Unfortunately with the way we had to broadcast this camera's live feed to the internet, the HD quality is lost in the upload process. The live feed looks great if you are behind the HHLS firewall on the Local Area Network, but as soon as it's broadcast up through a cloud service to the web it loses significant quality.  Hopefully it will still be better for our faithful viewers than the last camera.  
 

Friday, August 9th, 2013

Today HOPE had an x-ray to get a final head count on Litter L.  The vet counted 7 puppies, looking first for skulls and then the corresponding spines of each pup.  I concur with the vet.  

Here's the x-ray, see if you can count all seven for yourself!  (click to enlarge)

Also, if you haven't already done so, please join us on Facebook for more discussions on the topic and enjoy all the fun posts from other Hickory Hollow Llewellin fans. We've got a great bunch of folks on there. Here's the link:   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hickory-Hollow-Llewellin-Setters/131530150244398
 

Thursday, August 8th, 2013

Our new LIVE Puppy Cam arrived today and I've been working tirelessly to get it installed on the Hickory Hollow network and a port opened on our router to allow you all to see it from the internet. So far it's been a frustrating endeavor, whoever said Plug-n-Play should be easy was wrong on this camera! Fooey!   
 

Tuesday, August 6th, 2013

Bought a new LIVE Puppy Cam today, with Pan/Tilt/Zoom and in HD!! Can't wait to see how this one will work out as compared to the camera used for past litters. Stay tuned!  
 

Tuesday, July 16th, 2013

GOOD NEWS! As I'm sure you all have been anxiously waiting to hear, HOPE is indeed pregnant and is carrying Litter L.  Pups should be due around August 16, so we are at about five weeks gestation now.  Only four more weeks to go!

We confirmed HOPE's pregnancy today by ultrasound. The vet says that she counted at least 5 pups with healthy movement and strong heartbeats.  As in past litters, we anticipate more than the ultrasound usually shows, so we will be doing an x-ray in about 3 more weeks to get a total head count for the litter.  It always helps to know how many pups to expect on whelping day and takes away some of the guesswork and stress involved.  

Here are the ultrasound photos from today. ENJOY! :0)~

 

Sunday, June 16th, 2013

No breeding this morning before heading home, but we did get one final breeding last night before bedtime, so all is well. Now we just have to wait 28 days to confirm pregnancy.  Nothing will really happen between now and then, so stay tuned around July 17th or so.  
 

Friday, June 14th, 2013

All is going well, practically textbook perfect if you ask me!  HOPE's cycle is progressing exactly as expected and we've had successful breedings on day 8 (June 12), and day 10 (June 14) so far.  We hope to get one last breeding on Saturday night or Sunday morning (June 15/16) before she returns to Iowa.  
 

Saturday, June 8th, 2013

I met Jimmy's dad in Des Moines to transfer HOPE for her week of "vacation" partying with Jimmy next week in Kansas City.  Thanks Dick for meeting me, that saved me so much drive time! You're one in a million!

Dick reported that as soon as he arrived home with HOPE, she and Jimmy got frisky and the breeding has begun!  It seems she's standing earlier than expected, but a good thing that she arrived in Kansas City earlier as opposed to later in her cycle.  I look forward to regular updates on the progress from Jimmy's dad.
 

Tuesday, June 4th, 2013

HOPE is in heat and is scheduled to be bred next week, June 10-16, 2013. I plan to take her to Kansas City for her meeting with Jimmy this weekend.