Ginny Nightingale's Blog (125)

We are now in the final countdown with 8 days to go until Lyric has her puppies--for those of you who are interested here is what I am doing--today, i set up the whelping box and got all the equipment and towels, etc ready to go. I shaved Lyric's belly today, preferring to do it while she is still comfortable and not in labor. Saturday we go to the reproductive vet for Xrays to do a puppy count. Lyric has gained 8 pounds so that COULD mean 8 pups. (about 3/4 to 1 pound per…

Lyric is due in exactly three weeks! She is so big I am beginning to think there are two litters in there--compared to last time, when she had 8, she seems bigger at this stage of the pregnancy. But, it is probably just my mind playing tricks on me.....she is eating well now that we found out that pregnant doggies LOVE Freshpet Select, which is refrigerated and expensive--I don't mind buying it for a month or so though if it keeps the weight on--she eats better after noon, so I feed her a…

Here is an update on Lyric--she is definitely expecting and due around Feb 6-8th--she gets so queasy during the 3rd-5th weeks that I have to feed her her favorites and give her several small meals during the day and evening--she has no appetite until noon! Boiled Chicken, scrambled eggs, cheese and anything else she will eat! She is doing well though and not losing weight--and her appetite should return big time in just a week or so.

Rio is fine after his neutering and has the same…

Cross your fingers everyone--Lyric was bred on Monday--this time it took forever for her progesterone levels to rise, the the breeding was about a week later than usual, so who knows what will happen. But if it worked, she will be due in early February--the dad this time is white and curly so the pups should be creams--what fun!

In the meantime, Rio has been quite a mess since Lyric has started her heat and, of course,  he can't go near her--she was with the breeder for a week…

This may make you a bit dizzy, but this is what it is like in my yard every day--Lyric and Rio love to run and Rio hides under the bush in the back yard, then comes out and attacks his mom--Mattie (the red one) stays out of the fracas most of the time--preferring to do a sneak attack then run back to the porch to protect herself from Lyric, who loves to HERD poor Mattie by grabbing at her neck and forcing her into a corner. Mattie is smart, though and knows how to avoid it. Rio is too fast…

I got some pictures of 6 of the 7 pups that Lyric had last September--they are now 1. You can check out my older blogs to see what they all looked like then! I do not have a picture of Rosie--by the way, Daisy and Rosie kept the puppy names I gave them when they were born!  

Here is Daisy--she was the tiniest but now weighs in at 55 pounds--5 more than her mom!…

I just had the pleasure of attending a puppy reunion!  Back in June, I hosted 7 week old pups for a week and they all went off to new homes and grew and grew! This Saturday, the owner of the momma dog, who had the pups at her house for 7 weeks before they came to me thought it would be fun to get them all together again. What fun the dogs had--running and chasing, playing and hanging out--some have had haircuts and others are very fluffy still, some are bigger, some quite small! It was great…

I just had the privilege of hosting 7 seven-week-old pups for a week and then getting them all to their new families. The first 7 weeks they were with the momma dog's owner in her home and she did a fabulous job of socializing them. She lives in a neighborhood with many families and there was a parade of young kids that would come by and play with the pups every day. When I got them, they never nipped!…

Some of you may know that Lyric's 7 month old pup Enso has an owner that is on DK and has osted pics, but he is here now and I thought some may want to see the difference 7 months can make! He is bigger then momma now and is heading for 60 pounds--mom is 50 pounds and dad is 38 pounds--so I guess you never know!

He had all of his puppy hair when he came yesterday and I got him down to just 3/4 of an inch of hair--he was VERY good on the grooming table. He stayed overnight and…

Nigel (a.k.a. Sugar Donut) from Lyric's first litter came over for a haircut today--now that he and Rio are 15 months old, they can hang out together without wrecking the whole house--so they got reacquainted and spent some quality sniffing time--Nigel looked so funny when he first arrived. The owner had taken him to a student groomer and he came out poodle-y. Now he is back to his old self. Notice how they have the exact same curled tail--Rio was much smaller as a pup but they are almost…

Yup, I still have two puppies here! Kodi is the new name for the chocolate pup who will fly to Canada on April 24th. I am keeping him until he is old enough to get his rabies shot and make the trip. The other male is named Capi--he will go to a guardian home once Kodi leaves--I am getting pretty tired, but the end is near and they are such good boys. They are making good progress with housebreaking and sit nicely for a cookie or their dinner bowl. 

Here is Capi doing his best "sit and…

Here are the latest new puppy owners with their babies--I forgot to take a picture of Hazel (the chocolate female) who went home to the owners of the momma dog--I will have to ask them to send a picture!

I still have 5 here and they are so active now at 9 weeks old! March is vacation time for three families, so they are staying a bit longer while the families travel. The other two are going to a breeder and a guardian home so will be with me for a while. Exhausting!!

I…

Today, the first puppy is leaving for her new home and 3 more will leave by Sunday. I will post pictures of all the new owners and their pups. All the puppies are doing really well and are ready to go but 5 of the 9 will be here for a while longer. March vacations are making it difficult for some families to pick up their pups at 8 weeks old, so I agreed to board them until everyone is back. That means one extra week for one pup and two extra weeks for two pups. Then there are two others…

it is about time--it is almost March and we have had no snow for months--so today it is really coming down and covering up all the dead grass--hooray! I got some of the puppies outside right after it started--I will take a few more pictures tomorrow when it is deeper--that should be fun.…

Just a short entry to say that all the puppies' new owners came today to choose their favorite puppy--it all went beautifully so far and each pup will have a great home that suits them to a T. It is an exhausting process since each family came an hour or so apart--and a few more tomorrow and then we are in the home stretch...momma dog leaves tomorrow and she will be joined by her daughter Hazel, a chocolate female who is staying in the breeding program and was in the last blog entry. Momma…

The breeder and I met today to take some "glamour shots" of some of the puppies that she is keeping in her program. It was hard work, but what a result! Enjoy!

Our tiny black male--he is so cute--this is "Star" named after Joanne's dear departed "Starlit" --this guy has a big personality in his tiny body. You can just barely see the small bit of white on his chest.…

The pups I raised for a week came back again after two weeks at the breeder's (my vacation!) They are so cute and friendly! They are growing, playing and getting teeth now- They have just moved from the whelping box to the pen which is in the dining room since Momma dog is not too thrilled with my dogs hanging around her. I can close off the dining room and keep it warm and isolated--so everyone is happy now. The pups were a bit unhappy with the move, but quickly settled into the attached…

It took all day, but I am ready to post some brand new pics of the 5 day old puppies--be prepared for an overload of cuteness!!

The chocolates--a female and two males--first one is the tiny one--nickname is Snickers--…

Now, i know you breeders out there will find this story ho-hum, but to a newbie like me, this was BIG! Here is what happened.

I agreed to host a pregnant dog for my breeder to whelp her pups and keep them for a week or so while she settled in after a long trip. As usual, the breeder would come right over as soon as it looked like the whelping was imminent and I would call her when we were close to that point.

Rafi, one of the puppies from Lyric's first litter born Jan 1, 2011 who was affectionately called "Porkchop" has come for a visit! he had not been here in 6 months and remembered all the dogs, toys and poopie spots in the yard immediately! Smart poochie! He has learned to do a "high five" with his paw for a cookie in just two days--my three doods do that every time they get a treat. He is a really good boy who listens well and is very cooperative. 

He and Rio play really well together…