Week 7

The last pup to leave HHLS is Parker (10 lbs, 9.0 oz).  

He's been the most well-behaved little pup this week for being on his own in the Puppy Cottage since Pippen and Presley left last Tuesday.  He has had the opportunity to come into the house in the evenings and snuggle on my lap for a few hours. He's the most content and happy little puppy I think of all the pups in this litter. I've been really impressed with this one-on-one personality this week.

His new parents, the Paytons, traveled 8 hours from Michigan to pick him up and they will call him "Norman". He will have an older Llew sister with whom to romp and play if she will accept him into the family. Usually the "acceptance" process doesn't take long because puppies are irresistable, even to other Llews!

We are now empty nesters once again as all the pups from Litter P are gone home. We wish all the puppies the very best in their new lives and would love to get updates and photos once in a while. Our next litter is planned for Summer 2016 out of Benelli and Jimmy (new pairing). Stay tuned...
 

Two more puppies flew the coop today, literally: Pippen and Presley.

Although going to live with two separate families, these two pups were fortunate enough to be flying into the same airport so they could travel together in the same sky kennel.  They flew via American Eagle from Cedar Rapids to Washington DC to start their new lives in that area of the country.

Pippen (8 lbs, 15.0 oz) will be called "Harper" living with the Weavers and will have "Gauge" (Filson from Litter F) as a nearby relative in the family.

Presley (12 lbs, 15.5 oz) was probably the largest of all the HHLS pups to date at this age. His new name is "Beau" and will be living with the Beattie family.
 

Another pup left today: Pierce

I'm super excited about the new home Pierce (10 lbs, 3.0 oz), now called "Duke" will have. He's staying in the Cedar Rapids area with the Staab family and will have an older Llew brother (Lancelot from Litter L) now called "Deacon".  Deacon and Duke are sure to become best buds as well as hunting buddies. I can just picture the amazing team they will make in the field. Deacon is a seasoned hunter and Duke will have the opportunity to learn all kinds of new stuff from his big bro. Pierce/Duke is also a future breeding prospect, so we will anticipate the results from his health testing in a couple years. Look for future HHLS puppies sired by Duke as early as 2017!!
 

Three more puppies went home today: Peanut, Paisley, and Pandora

Peanut (9 lbs, 14.0 oz) will be going to live with the Bortnicks down in the Kansas City Kansas area. He will be loved, cuddled and completely spoiled rotten by his new parents! They will call him "Harrigan (but now recently renamed to "Higgins") and will have the opportunity to hunt and work as a therapy dog.  He's got big shoes to fill since a close family relative used to breed and raise Llewellins in the early 1900's.  Here's to living up to his legacy!!

Next to leave was Paisley (8 lbs, 3.0 oz).  She won't be too far away, living near Des Moines, IA with the Baker family.  She will be doted upon by three loving kiddos who will call her "Trigger", the oldest of them is named Henry.  "Hank" will take most of the responsibility for raising this new puppy, including her new name, and has big plans for his little hunting buddy.

Lastly, it was Pandora's turn (9 lbs, 8 oz). She willl be heading to northern Oklahoma to live in warmer climates with her new mom and dad, the Fogelstroms. They will call her "Kimber", and she will have the opportunity to travel with them when they retire in a few years and will also learn to hunt with her new dad. She may be a future breeding prospect, so stay tuned for information on her health testing and future litters. My heart nearly broke when I saw this little one leave as she has been my little lap lover along with her sissy Pippen. Those two chose to love me like none of the other pups did, always wanting to be in my lap during playtime, so it makes it especially hard when they go.
 

Week 6

Two puppies went home today: Petey and Patch

There were a couple families who had made special requests to pick up their puppy a few days early so he could be home for Thanksgiving and meet the entire family including visitors who might be stopping over for the holiday. The pups have all been eating well on dry kibble and are literally bored in their playpen and are ready to spread their wings, so I allowed the pups go early.

Petey was the first puppy to leave today (9 lbs, 1.0 oz) and will be living near Spirit Lake Iowa with the Carlson family who plan to train him for hunting. He will be well loved and fought over by two adoring kids who just learned the real reason for their visit to Hickory Hollow after  they arrived. They were thrilled they were getting to bring home a new puppy! As of this time Petey's new name is unknown.

Next to leave today was Patch (8 lbs, 11.5 oz).  He will be living in northern Missouri with the Blessing family and they will call him "Chip". He is also to be a future bird machine and will be well loved by a darling little girl named Mallory.  
 

This afternoon, the pups and I had fun preparing a neat momento for their new puppy parents. We took footprints for the pups' Birth and Development Certificates which is something I've always done for each and every puppy throughout history, but the process has never been captured on film before (I can only do so much at once, LOL).

First I tap the paw into the inkpad, then I do a test print on a small sheet of paper to make sure the paw has enough ink.  Then I reload the paw with ink again and then print the paw on the certificate. They turn out just so cute it makes me smile.  I've kept all the "test print" sheets (below, far right photo) from all my litters which is such a special token of rememberance; I may have to frame them all some day. My wonderful husband Johnny offered to help me out and took a bunch of photographs documenting today's event.  I've shared a few of them here with you.  ENJOY! :0)~

For those of you who wanted your puppies microchipped, this was done today. The pups did really well and hardly flinched during the procedure.  The microchip is a small chip which contains a unique 15-digit number and is the size and shape of a grain of rice which is inserted with a sterile needle just under the skin on the back between the shoulder blades. You MUST make sure that after I give you the microchip paperwork that you register the microchip by sending the enrollment form with your contact information into the Home Again database. Then if your dog is found and the chip scanned, they can contact you.  If you fail to send in the microchip enrollment form with your contact information, your pup's chip will be ineffective.
 

Week 6 Developmental Milestone: Eye color changes from blue to brown.

This week, the puppies eyes will start to transition from their current baby blues to their final adult color, gold (chestnuts) or brown (tri-colors).
 

Week 5

Life must go on... This is my first post since reporting the details of what happened with little Pixie and I am still very sad and miss her so very much, she was such an inspiration to me with her strong spirit and sweet attitude. However, I still have 9 beautiful and demanding pups to tend to and need to redirect my focus from pain to pleasure with them.

The pups are well on their way to being weaned.  They do still nurse from momma about 4 times per day, but are also getting fed dry kibble that has been soaked in warm water to soften it and are eating that very well.  Their poops are well formed meaning their digestive systems are handling the food well too.

Today at lunchtime my husband and I went out to feed the puppies and as always we are greeted by the pups with barks, yips and lots of enthusiasm.  John took a video entitled "Puppy Greetings" so you all can see these darling little faces we get to experience every day. How can these faces not brighten your day? 
 

Day 38 - 11/17/15

Today was a really rough day here at the Hollow...  Yesterday, I had made an appointment with my vet for this morning for a puppy wellness exam for Pixie.  Since there has been so much interest in her, I wanted to get her completely checked out to ensure she was healthy before promising her to a new family.

Last evening Pixie was doing great, ate a good dinner, prancing and playing, all seemed well. But then this morning when I was feeding the pups their breakfast I noticed little Pixie was acting like she didn't feel well, droopy attitude no energy and sad puppy eyes. I was worried that maybe she was hypoglycemic and made sure she ate some canned food and lapped some goat's milk from a bowl, but she didn't eat with gusto like she normally does. I was thinking I was very thankful to have already made an appointment for her and would be leaving to take her within the hour.

At the point we went to get her to leave for the appointment she appeared to be in respiratory distress.  Needless to say we got in the car and promptly headed to our appointment.  At some point during our half hour journey into town, I noticed that her gums were pale and gray, not pink like they should be and immediately became extremely worried about her condition.  

Upon arriving at the pet hospital, the vet tech got us right in, took us back into the treatment room and immediately put her on oxygen until my vet finished up her prior appointment. After a little while Pixie's gums started pinking up.  While we were waiting on my vet, one of the other vets came over to take a quick look at her and listened to her heart... she indicated it was not good. When my vet was finally able to take a look at her she confirmed it was heart failure, more specifically Patent Ductus Areteriosus (PDA). Short of surgery to repair the condition at an animal cardiac center, the prognosis was grave.  

My mind is always questioning things, how, why etc... My vet said that runts can happen in larger litters because of crowding and/or when the egg has chosen a non-optimal spot for implantation on the uterus wall causing the fetus to be deprived of optimal blood flow and nutrition during growth which in effect causes the pup to be "premature" at birth. HOPE had a C-Section in the past, so I'm thinking that she may have internal scars in her uterus where she was stitched back together after that procedure which may have contributed to the birth of our first runt that combined with the fact she was carrying 11 pups. She also said that the reason this happened now versus earlier is because her heart was unable to keep up with the growing demands of her body.  She said they usually see the condition manifest itself during weaning when the pups are transitioning from milk to solid food and they start to grow more rapidly which causes extra stress on the heart. Makes sense to me...

My heart is breaking that I have to bring you this very sad news. I'm so sorry to report that Pixie did not make it through this. She was such a little trooper, and a fighter and had such a strong desire to live and thrive, she was just held back by her congenital physical condition. Bless her sweet heart.  

Thank you to all our "Pulling for Pixie" warriors on Facebook, your support and encouragement throughout this ordeal has meant a lot to me. I'm just sorry that despite my best efforts I was not able to pull her through.
 

Puppy Selection is finally over, WHEW! Talk about stressful, I know many of our puppy parents were on pins and needles waiting to hear something and several of the picks ended up being different than anticipated which upset the apple cart down the line. I was just as stressed and you guys were and I'm SO GLAD IT'S OVER! Now we can concentrate on these final couple weeks and getting the paperwork all ready for pups to go home. I'll be working on final invoices and will e-mail them to everybody in the next couple days. If you haven't done so already, please take the time to read our Purchase Contract at your leisure so that you aren't pressured during your pick-up appointment.  

Pups currently available are Pixie and Pierce.
 

PUPPY SELECTION STARTS TODAY!! This is such an exciting time! I will be speaking with each of our puppy parents very soon, asking for their final selections on which puppy they would like to add to their families. As word comes in, I will post a status update in the Pup Stats Section and set the pup to "RESERVED". At this point we know we will have one pup available after selection is complete.

Here's how the pups weigh-in at 5 weeks:

I know many of you have been asking about Pixie, so I've just posted a cute video or her snarfing down her breakfast entitled "Little Chow Hound".
 

Week 5 Developmental Milestones: Puppy Selection / Noise Desensitization / Puppy Socialization

This is one of the most anticipated weeks for many because Puppy Selection finally happens. At the start of this week, the puppies are not officially spoken for but within a few days will be assigned to a new family and in a couple short weeks will get to go to their new homes.

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 continue to concentrate on acclimating them to noises of all varieties including rapping on pans, opening and closing of doors, blenders, christian pop music on the radio, and whatever else we can think of to condition them for life after Hickory Hollow.
 

Week 4

Pups are continuing to eat well during the weaning process. I am now feeding a mixture of canned food and dry kibble which has been soaked in warm water to soften it.

Third Deworming - pups had their 3rd deworming treatment today along with a nail trim to keep their sharp little claws under control.

I also posted tons of miscellaneous litter photos on this page above, starting with birth week through week 4.  As you can see in some of the photos, I throw a blue sheet down on the concrete floor and feed the pups on that which I do for a few reasons: 1) it provides a cleaner area for them to eat rather than on the concrete floor and then I can throw it in the wash afterwards which makes for easier clean-up, 2) it is an insulator against the cold concrete, 3) it provides more traction for the pups during dinner so their feet don't slide out from under them, 4) it becomes a fun play toy to shake and tug during playtime. Can't beat that!

I should also mention, now that the pups are demanding more of my time for meal prep, socialization, noise desensitization, playtime and clean-up, I will have less time for blogging, so posts may start to become short and sweet and/or less frequent as these final weeks wrap up.
 

I have been evaluating puppy personalities and am starting to get some of their profiles posted in preparation for Puppy Selection this weekend.  These are my initial thoughts and observations that I would like to share, but by no means are complete yet.

For all Litter P puppy parents, please start prioritizing your puppy choices and when ready please e-mail me your first, second and third choice pups and tell me the reasons for choosing them. This will help determine which pups to recommend for final placement and so that when puppy selection begins we can keep the process moving along swiftly.  If you want to talk about personalities, please feel free to call some evening and we can chat. Hickory Hollow reserves the right to place puppies in the home that we feel best suits the pup's personality.
 

I love it when the pups are in the Puppy Cottage,  I have all the comforts out there to aid me in caring for the pups to the best of my ability.

I have a kitchenette with deep sink and hot and cold running water, a can opener, mini-fridge, microwave and my most important piece of equipment, my puppy weigh scale. Usually starting at 4 weeks I only do weekly weigh-ins going forward, but am still planning to monitor Pixie on a daily basis for a while to ensure her continued weight gain and development progress.

This morning the weaning meal consisted of Darwin's Zoologics Chicken, which is a fully nutritional raw chicken meat meal including minced bone and vegetables. The pups couldn't get enough and between the 10 of them, scarfed down a full 2 pounds of it! 

Right now the pups are so sweet and gentle and when they come to see you they are snuggly and want to be held and get some attention. I am definitely forming a few favorites out of the bunch. For the most part, they like to crawl into your lap and go to sleep. In a few days, this will all go away and they begin to become little monsters (lovingly referred to of course). They will bite, chew and pull on everything they can get their little mouths on including fingers, toes and their favorites... shoelaces!  Let the socialization begin!

Speaking of socialization.... the pups had some special visitors today. Two families came, one all the way from Kansas City, the other from Northern Missouri, to see the litter and evaluate personalities in preparation for puppy selection. Client visits are always so fun!

Here's how the pups weigh-in at 4 weeks:

Week 4 Developmental Milestone: Rough Play / Weaning Begins / Move to Puppy Cottage

Play behavior started last week, but this week it will turn rough and rowdy with pouncing, pinning, biting, head shaking, chewing and growling.  By the end of this week I will lovingly refer to them as "my little monsters", because they will bite and chew anything they can get their mouths on, including their siblings, show laces, toes, ankles, fingers and long hair.  A play session on the floor with the pups can be painful at times and sensitive areas of the body need to be protected!

This litter is growing up really fast and even though the need to begin weaning along with their move to the puppy cottage was a few days early, this was a big transition for them.

As their little personalities emerge this week, I will be posting puppy personality profiles in preparation for Puppy Selection starting next weekend!
 

Week 3

I've been very impressed with the cognitive abilities of the pups in this litter.  They are so smart and within hours of introduction into their new playpen, a few of the pups were already using the automatic waterer and lapping water from the bowl. The sound of the water refilling was a little startling at first but they are already used to that sound now. Even more amazing, after only TWO meals/play sessions in the Puppy Cottage, a few of them are already returning to the box to do their potty business instead of out on the concrete floor, way to go Pierce, Presley and Paisley!

Several of the pups were munching on momma HOPE's kibble dinner and are ready to progress from goat's milk and baby rice cereal to a more substantial meal already.  The pups are adjusting to their new surroundings and new experiences amazingly well for a young as they are.

During meal/playtime this evening we had a percussion session where I rap and tap on all kinds of things and make new noises for the pups.  I start out softly so as not to traumatize the pups, but increase the volume as they get used to it.  They are currently listening to Christian pop music on the radio and were enchanted with my singing voice as I sang and hummed along to a tune, so they are doing very well with noise and voice desensitization.
 

It has become more and more apparent during morning weigh-ins that HOPE is struggling to keep up with the caloric needs of her pups.  Even though she eats 10 cups of food or more each day (her normal ration is 2 cups), several of the pups are barely gaining any weight in a 24-hour period. Each day it's usually a different set of pups that doesn't gain which means they are rotating through the milkbar, just not effectively enough.  So, to me this indicates it's time to start the weaning process a little early and help momma out, so this evening the pups experienced their first cereal meal.

I captured these moments on video and have posted a new clip entitled "First Meal Faceplant".  Since the pups are new at this and don't have good balance yet, leaning over the bowl and lapping up the food is a new position for them. At one point during the meal, Pierce lost his balance and took a faceplant right into the cereal and got it all over the side of his face! The pups usually get pretty messy the first few times, but not to worry, momma HOPE is an expert face washer and paw cleaner, so after the pups are finished with the meal, I call in the cleaning crew. I hold up each pup for her to thoroughly clean faces, noses and chins and she does a really good job.  

After the pups finished their dinner, I moved them from the whelping box out to their new home in the Puppy Cottage a few days earlier than originally planned. Luckily (due to my impeccable timing), it was amidst strong winds and thunderstorms.  I had half the litter transported when the downpour began so I had to finish moving them so they could stay together.  I couldn't have timed their transport any better since I wanted so badly to get completely soaked! At any rate, even though I looked like a drowned rat, the pups stayed cozy and dry while snuggled into me during the move.

None of the pups seemed phased by the thunder, they were all too focused on their new surroundings and finding a cozy place to snuggle in for a nap after their big meal. Once in the Puppy Cottage they snuggled right into their new cozy bed to ride out the storm. When the pups wake, they will enjoy romping and exercising in their new 9'x4.5' playpen lined with a bedding of soft curly pine shavings.

This is where the pups are when they are not viewable on camera.  Sorry I know... the pups are not viewable 100% of the time anymore, the playpen is too large for the camera's field of view. As they age and have more waking time playing instead of sleeping, you will see them more often.

This afternoon I spent several hours cleaning and preparing the Puppy Cottage so that the pups can move out there later this week.  They are getting so big and there are so many of them in that little 4x4 whelping box that it's hard to keep clean anymore.  I put in a fresh carpet and it's soiled within a few hours.  They will have much more room and stay much cleaner in the puppy playpen.  The pups are also really finding their voices now too.  They hear a thump or thud and bark or growl in response, it's kinda comical to hear their little voices, however at 3 am it's not so comical.  

Second deworming - Puppies had their second deworming today.
 

NEW DEVELOPMENT: Momma HOPE is now standing to nurse. The pups are big enough now that she doesn't have to lay down anymore to provide a meal... This presents a small problem for Pixie though since she's not as large as her siblings.  I'm back to supplemental bottle feedings for her.  

While catching up on my blog today I had a puppy nestled in my arms.  I love snuggling puppies; they are so cute and cuddly at this age, but it's very difficult for me to type with one hand. Pierce was demanding some extra attention from me today, he loves to be cuddled and loved upon and for about an hour that's all he wanted and wouldn't be happy with anything less. I'd pick him up and snuggle him and he'd settle right down and fall asleep in my arms, but as soon as I put him back in the whelping box so I could go back to whatever I needed to do, he'd start howling again. This happened twice before I decided to no longer reward his bad behavior and just let him howl. I caught some of it on video, so I posted a clip entitled "I WANT MY MOMMY!".  After about 20 minutes of this non-stop behavior he finally cried himself to sleep. Pierce definitely lives up to his name with his "pierce"-ing voice, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he's still so stinkin' cute!  Love this little tyke.   
 

Week 3 Development Milestone: Play behavior

This is my absolute favorite time with the pups.  Their eyes and ears are now open and they are becoming playful and inquisitive about their surroundings. This week the pups will really start playing with each other, 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

The pups' teeth will be cutting soon, you can see them forming just below the gum line. Petey proudly shows his pearly whites in the photo to the right, albeit not without protest (the little squirrel). It won't be long before those little sharp knives are poking through.  Don't they resemble little pirahna teeth? Poor momma HOPE... First deworming - Puppies had their first deworming today. Pandora demonstrates how easy it is to dose the pups using Evict DS, they lap it up like candy and when it's all gone they still want more.  This formula effectively kills roundworms and hookworms in dogs and puppies.  I LOVE THIS STUFF and apparently so do the pups!

The pups are SO FUN to snuggle with at this stage. They are still relatively slow and cuddly and just melt into you. Their coats are super soft and plush right now too. I love getting me some puppy snuggles in the evening while catching up on my favorite shows.   

NEW DEVELOPMENT: Momma HOPE is now sitting to nurse. The pups are able to crawl their way to her and find the milkbar. The problem this presents is when she gets tired of sitting and lays down right on top of some of the pups. GEEZ!! It's a good thing I am able to work from home a few times per week, because when I hear puppies screaming because momma is laying on them, I can run to their rescue. For the most part the pups are strong enough to crawl out from under her, but I still worry about Pixie being so small.
 

I got a new camera!!! I bought a Nikon Coolpix S9900 and LOVE IT! The one I had been using was also a Nikon Coolpix, but was a much older model, however I still liked all its features.  This new camera can actually keep up with my fast moving pups by focusing in a mere millisecond instead of taking up to 5 seconds which was what I was dealing with when using the older camera.

It still has all the great features of my old camera, but much improved, it even has a WiFi option so I can download photos directly to my smart phone. I can even use my smartphone as a remote which allows me to be several feet away from the camera, see through the viewfinder and snap the photo FROM MY PHONE! Amazing what technology can do these days!

It was beyond frustrating to miss a great shot or to have a portrait session take way longer than it should because your camera isn't cooperating, so I bit the bullet, made a purchase and now I'm back in business. I took portraits of all 10 pups in less than half the time as compared to using the older camera just because of the ability to auto focus faster.  I just posted 2 week portraits and as you can see the color and clarity of the photos are wonderful!!

Pups are getting so big and all have their eyes open for the most part, at least good enough to take this week's photos.  Here's today's eye opening update:

As we start another week, the pups have yet another major milestone coming up. Much to momma HOPE's dismay, her pups will be cutting little piranha teeth this week after which it will be even more painful to detach a suckling pup before they are ready. Poor momma encounters many cuts and battle scars during this period going forward until her pups are fully weaned which starts around 4 weeks.  Pups will be fully weaned by 6 weeks and on solid food before going home.

Here's today's eye opening update:

Since a few of the pups don't have their eyes quite fully open yet, I am going to postpone the 2 week puppy portraits until tomorrow or beyond if necessary in order for them to fully open for the photos.  

At 2 weeks old, here's how the pups weigh-in:

Pixie has FINALLY crossed the 1 pound mark, that is a huge milestone for her!
 

Week 2 Development Milestone:  Cutting Teeth / Ears will open

Now that the puppies eyes are open, they will begin to see clearer and clearer each day. Supposedly they can only see shadows for the first few days, but pretty soon they will begin to notice me as I come into the nursery and will wander to the edge of the box for some love and attention.  

Just as significant as the eyes opening, the ear canals will deepen this week until they will become completely open and allow the pups to hear crisp noises and not just muffled sounds. Later this week, the pups will be noticeably affected by all the new sounds around them, so we must be very careful for the first few days to introduce them to noises gently and not harshly. They will also begin to cut teeth, first the canines will poke through followed by the incisors a few days later.
 

Week 1

The pups are now at the stage where their eyes are mostly open and are getting around better and better each day.  They are now able to pee and poo on their own without stimulation from momma. The eye opening stage is still progressing nicely, here's today's update:

Tonight I took another video entitled "Walkin-n-Talkin" of the pups all stirred up after momma HOPE returned to the whelping box after a trip outdoors, awoke them and then promptly proceeded to leave the box.  The pups were all a little peeved after their milkbar left the scene so they were all too happy to tell momma about it. Once they awake from a snooze their first instinct is to eat so they readily seek out momma's milkbar.  Now that their eyes are somewhat open, they could see that momma was just outside the box giving their little sister Pixie a private nursing session and a few tried to jump ship and join her, thus the reason you don't see Pixie in the video.

HOPE is now eating and drinking about 4 times more than she normally does in order to keep up with the milk demand from her babies.  I think she is literally drinking 2 gallons or more per day and it just amazes me what the body can do in these situations.   
 

This is such an exciting time, a couple more pup's eyes started opening today! The interesting thing is that sometimes both eyes don't open at the same rate, one eye will be half open while the other will be lagging a bit behind at only 1/4 open.  I have not noticed that situation in these pups yet, this litter appears to be pretty symmetrical so far. Here's today's eye opening update:

I know those of you watching the LIVE Puppy Cam on a regular basis have already noticed this, but for those who aren't watching, the little wigglers are really starting to get up off their bellies and walk.  I just posted a comical video entitled "Walking Wigglers" for your enjoyment.  It shows them wobbling and falling over like they're drunk, and plowing each other over.  ENJOY!
 

Today I noticed during weigh-in that the pups eyes are finally opening! They will continue to open for the next few days and hopefully will be fully open for their 2 week puppy portraits this weekend.

So far, here's the eye opening update:

Good news, Pixie continues to improve day by day, today she was up a whopping 1.7 oz! I am continuing to weigh her at other times during the day to ensure weight gain and have only been supplementing with goat's milk when I don't feel she's gaining appropriately since the last weigh-in.  In the past two days I've only supplemented once, so things are going great!

On another note, I'm keeping an "eye" out for the pups eyes to start opening, but so far no signs yet, but it won't be long now.

Here's how the pups weigh-in today:

Weigh-ins went well again this morning with all pups gaining nearly 2 to 3 ounces or more per day now. Pixie is up another 0.8 oz,  the most she's gained overnight yet!! YAY! I am no longer bottle feeding her goat's milk, but every time I go check on the pups, which is frequently, I stick her on the milkbar to get a little extra nourishment, especially while the rest of the pack is sleeping.  

I took the pups' one week Portraits and have them posted above! They also got their first nail trim during weigh-in because they were becoming sharp little hooks that were getting caught in the carpet fibers.  

Here's how the pups weigh-in today:

Week 1 Development Milestone: Eyes will open!

I think the most exciting developmental change happens for the pups this week, their eyes will be opening in a few days. Once they do, the pups take on a whole new appearance and personalities start to emerge. The process starts when the crease between their eyelids starts to deepen until they separate, first at the middle corner of the eye and then working across to the outside edges. The opening process can take a couple days from the first peak of the glistening eye beneath until we are able to entirely see those beautiful baby blues.
 

Birth Week

I cannot believe the pups will be one week old already tomorrow, this week has flown by!  Their eyes will be opening in only a few more days which is another milestone to look forward to.

Here's how the pups weigh-in today:

Little Pixie was up 0.6 oz from yesterday's weigh in, which is a double the amount she gained overnight yesterday.  I am still getting up every couple hours through the night to check on Pixie, however she is now holding her weight pretty well so I have discontinued the supplemental bottle feeding with goat's milk. YAY! Thanks for all your continued prayers and support.
 

Here's how the pups weigh-in today:

Little Pixie was up 0.3 oz from yesterday's weigh in, which is a 3 times the amount she gained each day for the last three days.  YAY! Keep it up little one!
 

I'm happy to report that Pixie is hanging in there and holding her own. She has finally started to gain some weight, today at weigh-in the scale showed exactly 1.0 ounce since birth.  I know that doesn't sound like much, especially since her littermates are gaining at least that much per day if not more, but for the first couple days the scale only moved 0.1 ounce, so that is major progress.  We are definitely taking baby steps and progressing much slower than I'd hoped, but she is progressing in a positive direction so I'll take that and be happy for now.  She is a strong nurser and very persistent, the main problem is there are only 8 milk faucets and 10 pups, so her bigger and stronger littermates wrestle her facuet away from her on a regular basis. I am still bottle feeding every couple hours round the clock, I will not give up as long as she doesn't give up and she's proven to be a fighter.  Tiny but mighty! Praise the Lord, God is good!

The rest of the pups are all doing fantastic and literally growing like weeds. The fact that there are only 8 faucets and 10 pups doesn't phase these little piggies. They are all very strong and have fat bellies.  

Dew claws were removed yesterday from all pups except for Pixie (for obvious reasons) and all areas are healing nicely.  

Each morning at weigh-in I'm doing Super Dog exercises which stimulate the developing nervous systems which has proven to aid in cardiovascular performance, as well as increased tolerance to stress and disease to name a few.  
Read about the Super Dog Program.
 

Day 2 -
10/12/15

I have been bottle feeding little Pixie about every two hours today as well as making sure she gets special alone time with momma at the milkbar. She has barely gained 0.2 oz since birth, much less a normal amount like her siblings. I have posted a video of her nursing, she may be tiny, but she's got a mighty strong will to live. Please keep this precious pup in your prayers. The next few days will be critical for survival as she desperately needs to put on weight and get stronger.

Here's how the pups weigh-in today:

Day 1 -
10/11/15

All 10 puppies are doing great and nursing well.

The LIVE Puppy Cam is now online and the first puppy portraits have been posted. Click on any photo to enlarge it. I also posted a bunch of photos on Facebook yesterday as the whelping was happening, so if you haven't checked it out yet, you can visit my page here:  Hickory Hollow Llewellin Setters

Bless her heart, little Pixie (#6) is nursing like crazy and is an active and fairly strong little pup, but she's not gaining much weight, only 0.1 oz since she was born. This afternoon I offered her warm goat's milk from a syringe and she sucked on it really well. I am planning to keep a close eye on her and also supplement momma's milk with goat's milk when needed. I'm a little worried with her being so tiny, she could go downhill very quickly. Please continue to keep that precious little pup in your prayers that she starts gaining weight and continues to thrive.  She's definitely a fighter and is doing her part to survive.
  

PUPPIES ARE COMING!!
Last night HOPE refused to let me sleep in my own bed, she kept yipping repeatedly in a high-pitched manner because she didn't want to be alone.  I finally gave in and joined her in the living room whelping space I had created last night and then we both proceeded to get about 4 hours sleep.  HOPE woke me up at 4:00 am saying she needed to go outside.  I knew with her frantic attitude that pups were coming soon.  

Sure enough, her first water bag broke around 4:45 am, visible contractions began around 4:55 and the first pup was born around 15 mins later.

Here's the final pup stats:  

This was one of the longest, if not THE longest whelping session I have had to endure in my breeding career.

The first 6 pups were easy, coming at regular intervals for the first 2.5 hours, all strong and healthy from the moment their water bag was broken open after birth.

Then there was an agonizing wait of 6+ hours between pups #6 and #7, but HOPE was resting comfortably nursing her first 6 pups so I was not too alarmed.  When pup #7 was born, she was limp and lifeless and my heart sank thinking I had a still born pup, but something in me prompted me to spring to action and try to save her.  I felt I had nothing to lose in trying to revive her using more desperate measures.  I cleaned her airways and administered CPR.  After a couple minutes of chest compressions and small puffs of air into her lungs through her nose, and keeping her body tilted head downward to let gravity draw any additional fluid out of the lungs and blood toward her brain, I saw her tongue move.  At first I thought it was maybe the chest compressions I was doing which caused it to move, but then I saw it happen again and saw a small bubble come out her nose.  After seeing such a small glimpse of life, now I was even more determined to revive her. I discontinued chest compressions, but I kept aiding in respiration by blowing a few small puffs of air into her lungs, just kept working with determination for what seemed like an eternity (but in reality it was probably about 5 more minutes) until I saw her taking breaths on her own.  I continued to keep her airways clear by opening her mouth and pulling her tongue forward, and wiping bubbles from her nose, all the while keeping her body tilted downward and as she continuted to gasp, she got pinker and pinker.  As she got pinker and pinker she started to move her body and got stronger and stronger.  My heart soared and I praised the Lord for giving me the knowledge and ability to save her.  One small triumph for today, but little did I know that I would have to try that same technique on another pup very soon....

Pup #8 came so quickly after #7 that I was still working on reviving her when he was born.  Luckily he was a wiggler from the moment he arrived, so not as much time needed to be spent on him when I was juggling two at once.  

Then another agonizing wait for 3+ hours for #9.  Like #7, she was born limp and lifeless and again my heart sank, but after successfully reviving #7 I had renewed faith that I could pull this pup through too. I followed the same techniques I had tried for #7, chest compressions and blowing small puffs of air into her lungs... I tried for a solid 10 minutes but never did see any signs of life... as much as I had wished it,  had faith in it, prayed for it, I could not make it happen, I could not save my precious little chestnut belton that I had prayed and hoped for in this litter... I was heartbroken... and also now very worried about the remaining unborn pups... Upon palpation of HOPE's belly, I could feel at least two more pups in there, but I was hopeful since I felt them moving and knew they were still alive.  

There was another agonizing wait for #10 to arrive, but thankfully she was alive.  Her protective water bag had broken at some point during the contractions, so she was not gliding through the birth canal as easily as normal pups and got somewhat stuck inside her momma. Thankfully, she was born head-first instead of breech, so I could clean her head and open her airways and make sure she was breathing before helping to ease her the rest of the way into this world.  She is fine.

The last pups came into this world about 15 minutes later without any issues.

After 15 hours of whelping and the live birth of 10 beautiful pups, momma HOPE and her pups in Litter P are all tucked into their cozy whelping box under the warmth of the heat lamp for the night.

Final litter count = 11 (6 males / 5 females, one deceased).
 

It's confirmed, we are now officially on 24-hour puppy watch! HOPE's temp is finally dropping, this morning it registered at 98.9°F (again the lowest since starting to monitor it on Sept 30th). I didn't want to say anything until after taking a second reading and confirming temp is still dropping. Reading at 4pm indicated 98.5°F which is hovering just above the red line of 98.4°F. My prediction is that puppies will start coming sometime tomorrow.

Watch as it all unfolds, I'll be posting puppy birth stats in real-time as it all happens. Stay tuned to this blog or for more up-to-date news and photos during whelping, follow us on Facebook. You don't have to have a Facebook account to visit our page.

I've decided I'm getting too old to spend the day on the floor breaking my back by bending over and sitting on my rear and knees in the puppy nursery for hours on end during whelping, so I'm making the living room my temporary whelping space so I can enjoy some TV and the comforts of the furniture between pups. I've laid down an 8x10 tarp and then a soft flannel sheet over that. I've also cordoned off the exit from the room with baby gates to make the whelping space.  I think this will work out great!  
   

Pups were predicted to be due today at the earliest, but there are no signs of any changes with HOPE at the moment. I am still monitoring her temperature and as of this morning it was still holding steady at 99.7 degrees Fahrenheit. The pups are pretty active in her belly these last few days and can be seen moving underneath the skin. Before that they could only be felt swirling under the palm of your hand when placing it on her belly, but now you can actually see them moving. Really neat!
   

We are now accepting applications and reservation deposits for this litter. If you've been wanting a pup from the "Hunting with Hank" bloodline, now is your opportunity!  We have had several inquiries about pups from HOPE's "next" litter in 2016, however there are no guarantees that can happen, so I would strongly suggest considering a pup from this litter.  We had originally thought this would be her last litter anyway due to her age.
   

Today was a day to get the puppy nursery ready.  I spent the day dusting, cleaning and vacuuming the room and preparing whelping day record sheets, getting laundry done so I have clean fresh towels to dry newborn pups, and getting the LIVE Puppy Cam and web server ready.  I now feel prepared for whelping day which is coming very soon!  
   

This morning we took HOPE to the pet hospital for an x-ray to try and get a final pup count.  At log-in time, her weight registered 69.7# on the scale. WOW! She is almost 20# over her normal body weight.

First pup count predicted 7-8 pups, however because the first image was clouded by stool in the colon, we ended up taking a second x-ray after taking HOPE for a walk outside to do her business.  The second x-ray revealed a few extra pups that has been hidden in the first x-ray, so the new pup  count indicated many more. To quote the vet, "definitely 9, probably 10 and cautiously optimistic about 11", but after personally studying the x-ray in great depth myself, I think there may be a possible #12 lurking in there somewhere. Either way this is going to be a large litter for HOPE which is not surprising when looking at her expanding belly.

The vet  called HOPE "a Fertile Myrtle" which made us laugh, but she also indicated that the pups all seemed to be uniform in size, meaning there is less worry about a large one getting stuck in the birth canal, and since there are so many pups there's a good chance she could whelp earlier than the predicted date of Oct 7th.  We'll see...
 

Today is when all the fun begins! It's Day 56 post-breeding so I have started taking HOPE's baseline temperature to monitor her last few days of pregnancy and also predict when the whelping process will begin.

A few other important things to note about this chart:

• Day 63 is the target date for whelping. The pups will be fully mature and at their optimum for survival.
• Day 58 is an important threshold in pregnancy. If the pups were to be born this early, they could possibly survive, anything before that date is almost impossible because their bodies have not matured enough to sustain life outside the womb.
• In the last week of pregnancy, HOPE's temperature should hover just under 100°F. Usually we will see a small spike in her temp (usually around 100.2°F) before it starts to drop significantly. The red line is the temp (98.4°F) which indicates that hormonal changes are happening and whelping should begin within 24 hours. This is the temp we are looking for around day 62 post-breeding.

WOW! We've had a wonderful response to the Name Game on Facebook.  Here are the names that have been suggested so far:

Petey, Posy, Penelope, Peanut, Parsley, Parsnip, Pepper, Priscilla, Poppy, Paris, Presley, Pax, Paisley, Pandora, Peck, Pippen, Pip, Penny, Pooh, Pickle, Peony, Pin, Pokemon, Preston, Packer Backer, Pan, Peppy, Popeye, Popcorn, PU, Prince, Princess, Pearl, Pal, Perfect, Precious, Punk, Pumpkin, Pumpernickel, Patriot, Pinochle, Parchessi, Phoebe, Pierce, Petunia, Periwinkle, Pistol, Pesky, Pepsi, Partner, Pharoh, Porky, Petunia, Pedro, Piddle, Pablo, Phillip, Pike, Puddle, Percy, Persimmon, Parker, and Patch.

A few of these have really caught my eye and I'm going to use them, stay tuned to find out which ones during the Litter P reveal!
   

I have an x-ray scheduled for HOPE on October 2nd to get a final pup count for the litter! I will post photos from the x-ray as soon as the pet hospital forwards them to my e-mail address.

Also, is it too early to start playing the name game? Logon to our Facebook page and post your comments in the Name Game thread.
 

Even without the aid of an ultrasound, I'm still fairly certain that HOPE is indeed pregnant. All the tell-tale signs that could be present are there. The past couple weeks she hasn't had much of an appetite which is highly unusual for her normal self, but makes sense if she's got morning sickness and is hormonal. Upon palpation about a week ago, I thought I felt egg sized pups, now her belly is more swollen, she's super clingy emotionally, and her ravenous appetite has resurfaced. She also has clear mucous discharge (again normal) and expected for this stage of pregnancy. Pups should be due around October 7th. Stay tuned...
 

We had another witnessed breeding this morning between HOPE and Jack which is very good news!  HOPE has been with Jack since last Sunday, so we are planning to pick her up this afternoon and bring her home. Then we wait for about 4 to 6 weeks until we can determine pregnancy.  Stay tuned!
 

GOOD NEWS! This morning bright and early reports came in from Chuy that we had a successful breeding! HOPE and Jack were tied for a good 20 minutes!! YAY!!   Chuy decided to give them one last shot before loading HOPE into the car and meeting us at the drop-off point and we're so glad he did because it sure paid off!

In light of this most recent news, we've decided to leave HOPE with Jack for a few more days to increase the chances for the development of a litter.
 

Still no breeding today, but HOPE and Jack are getting along better.  We are still a little worried that we missed the HOPE's fertile window, because there are many indications she's past her prime and still no breeding...

After further discusssions with Chuy later in the day we all agreed that we probably missed the time period and are planning to pick her up tomorrow and bring her home... We are saddened by this development, but with Mother Nature involved, nothing is for certain.  
 

Reports from Chuy indicate Jack is trying his hardest to flirt and play with HOPE and get her to like him, but still no breeding today to our dismay, but we are still hopeful and waiting patiently for good news...