Puppies alway put a smile on my face. I thought I would share a few pics of those adorable faces!
Puppies Going To Their Forever Families
This week was bittersweet – it was time to say good-bye. I have loved and care for Ruska’s puppies for the past (almost) nine weeks. I saw each come into this world, made sure they were fed, and introduced them to so many new experiences – all to prepare them for their forever families. This is Ruska’s final litter which made me more emotional than usual as I said good-bye to her babies. She has been an amazing mama and taught me so much over the past four years. I know that she will continue to help our other mama’s with our coming litters for years to come. Ruska has so much love to give!
Ruska wearing her “blanket scarf”. The puppy blanket that we send home smells like their mama. The familiar scent will be a comfort to the puppy in their new home.
Going Home Photo
ARCHIE – Light Blue Collar Boy 
MILO – Orange Collar Boy 
TWIX – Yellow Collar Boy 
BELLA – Purple Collar Girl 
MURPHY – Dark Blue Collar Boy 
ASHER – Black Collar Boy 
GEMMA – Green Collar Girl 
AUDIE – Pink Collar Girl 
MIKA – Red Collar Girl 
WILLOW – Grey Collar Girl
LOOKING AHEAD
I have spent the past two months loving, caring and teaching our puppies. I am so thankful that our puppies have joined such amazing families and know each will be loved!
Forever Families, continue to provide new experiences each day, always include play, and never stop training your puppy. It won’t be easy because they are still young but, with patience and consistency on your part, they will grow to become well-behaved adult dogs that you will enjoy for their lifetime.
Keep in touch ….. it always makes my day when I receive an e-mail from one of our puppies families! I love hearing how they are doing and seeing pictures ! When I started breeding, I came across this poem which describes just how I feel!
Ellie’s Puppies
Ellie’s puppies continue to grow and progress. Eleven puppies is a large litter to keep fed and clean. Ellie is an amazing mama that loves to care for her babies!
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Look At Ellie’s Sweet Babies Learning To Walk
Ellie’s Puppies
Ellie’s puppies are now learning to walk on all fours. Their hind legs are getting stronger with each passing day. The puppies are so adorable with their wobbly puppy walk. All the puppies eyes have now opened but their sight is not yet clear. Their ears are starting to open and if you listen closely and you can hear them starting to vocalize. The puppies are now wearing new adjustable collars made from parachute cord. (Light pink girl is now wearing a pink camo collar)
Ruska’s Puppies
Tomorrow the remaining of Ruska’s puppies will be leaving for their forever homes. Since all the puppies would be getting a bath anyways, I decided to take them on an adventure and let them play in the yard. Ruska was so excited to have her puppies with her. The other dogs joined in as well and the puppies loved their time running and exploring together. In the end we had some dirty tired puppies!
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Look At These Beautiful Eyes!
Ellie’s Puppies Are Two Weeks Old
LOOKING BACK
Another week older – Ellie’s puppies are now 2 weeks old. We have had a great week! Ellie continues to be a loving and attentive mama. She just loves to look after her babies! Monday was an exciting day because we could see the puppies eyes beginning to open. Their eyes will continue to open over the next couple days. I always think this makes them look more alive! The puppies have gained strength in their hind legs and are slowly moving around the whelping box . Ellie’s puppies are gaining weight daily and they have now all reached the milestone of doubling their birthweight. With all that eating and sleeping they can’t help but grow.
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK THREE
- Puppies will still eat and sleep most of their day
- Puppies will continue growing
- Eyes will continue to open wider and their sight will become clearer
- Ears will start to open and they will begin to hear
- Puppies hind legs will become stronger and they will practice walking on all fours
Ruska’s Puppies
Ruska’s Puppies have started to head to their forever homes. It is such an exciting time for the forever families. You have watched the puppies grow from that tiny newborn to the fluffy puppies they are today. On Friday, we will say good bye to the last puppies from Ruska’s litter.
Ruska is continuing to teach. Yesterday, I captured this video of Ruska teaching her puppies. It might look mean to us, but this is how mama dogs teach their puppies to submit which in turn produces well mannered puppies. Watch for one puppy submitting by lying on its back.
The five puppies that remain and are enjoying playing with each other. Today we had outdoor play in the morning, lunch and then the puppies spent a lazy afternoon sleeping in the warm fresh air.
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Eight-week Old Puppies Ready For Their Forever Homes!
Ruska’s Puppies
March 28, 2021 – DAY 56
LOOKING BACK
Eight weeks have passed since Ruska’s babies came into the world and filled our days. Remember how tiny they were…..I could hold them in the palm of my hand. They have learned so much over these past eight weeks. I have loved raising them to the point where they are ready to join their forever families. This week Ruska has been working on submission. This comes easier to some puppies than others. I love to watch to see how quickly the puppies will submit to their mama and which ones will need “extra coaxing” LOL. Just like children have different dispositions, so do puppies. As with each week, we have enjoyed our puppy cuddles and during that time we have been working on what is acceptable behaviour – mainly the difference between nipping and kisses. Puppies are not always consistent but, have made great progress in this area. I just love puppy kisses!!!
LOOKING AHEAD
Puppies are going to their forever homes. Lots of work lies ahead for your family as you continue teaching your puppy! They are still learning, but the time and work you put into them now pays off when you have a loving well behaved dog that will love you as only a dog can – unconditionally. You will be the most important person in the world to them.
It is always a bittersweet time when I have to say goodbye to our puppies. I have enjoyed every minute of their care and they have a piece of my heart. Why do I do this? It brings me joy to see their excited families smiles and to know that our puppies are joining such wonderful forever families. I know that our puppies will be loved!
Ellie’s Puppies
DAY 12 – Sunday March 28, 2021
Ideally puppies should double their birth weight between ten to fourteen days. We have had three puppies reach this milestone yesterday, three more puppies today with the rest of our puppies on track to double their weight by day fourteen. Ellie is doing a great job feeding her little ones!
We have a daily routine caring for our puppies. We weight each puppy daily and record their weight in the log. This helps us track each puppy’s growth. Healthy puppies should gain weight every day. At this time, we also check their collars and adjust any that have become snug. Puppies grow so fast, so it is important to check them a few times a day. Then we clean and disinfect their whelping box. Finally, we line the bottom of the whelping box with a clean “Vet Bed”, a product that resembles sheepskin. This man-made product is great because it is easy to clean and keeps the puppies dry, warm, comfortable and provides good traction. A puppy moves forward by pushing its hind legs backwards. When a newborn puppy is placed on a surface with inadequate traction, its feet can slide right out from under it and may cause the legs to extend and adduct. By providing a surface with great traction (Vet Bed) when the puppies are moving around and learning to walk helps reduce the stress on their growing joints.
Pics of Ellie’s sweet babies
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Something To Make You Smile On A Rainy Friday
Ruska’s Puppies
Today was a rainy day so Ruska’s puppies had to spend most of the day indoors. The sky’s finally brightened and the rain stopped making it possible for the puppies to get outdoor play time and use their built up energy!
It was damp and a little chilly, so I left the sliding door open allowing the puppies to come inside to warm up if they wanted to. They loved the different areas to choose from; running in the fenced enclosure, playing hide & seek on our BBQ deck and, wrestling inside on Ruska’s bed. We even had our sweet grey collar girl find her way beyond the puppy fencing and find the bag of Puppy Food! After a fun time playing, we brought all the puppies in and they settled down for a nap.
Ellie’s Puppies
Ellie’s puppies are now ten days old. Their fur has grown thicker on their faces and their little pink noses have disappeared – the pigment has now come in. Some of Ellie’s puppies have a black noses and some have brown. What ever colour they are they are adorable. The puppies eyes have also changed too. They are still sealed shut but not as tightly. They now look as if they are just sleeping. Any day now they will begin opening and we will see those beautiful eyes – so exciting!
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Puppies Exciting Day! – The Big Adventure To The Veterinarian
Ruska’s Puppies
Yesterday was a very busy day for us. I know I am busy every day but, we had to add a veterinarian visit to the schedule. The puppies had their regular routine in the morning. After their lunch and a quick time for outdoor play we packed the crate into our SUV and loaded the puppies in. Introducing new experiences to puppies is a good thing – the more, the better. This was the first car ride for our puppies! It can be a little frightening for them but I think it was a comfort that they could hear familiar voices and see me. There wasn’t any crying or whining from any of the puppies as I have sometimes experienced from other litters; they were very brave, well behaved puppies.
When we arrived at our vet I checked in at reception and let them know we had arrived. There is always an excited “Oh puppies” when we take our litters for their check ups. Who doesn’t love seeing puppies! Then the operation begins – taking 10 puppies is a big job – it takes two of us. Tom and I have finally figured out the best method of doing this. Instead of carrying the heavy crate full of puppies into the Vet (which we have done before) we now take the puppies in two at a time. Tom stays at the car with the puppies in the crate, and I shuttle the puppies back and forth two at a time. I have said it before, we are getting smarter with age! LOL
Our vet has just moved to a new location in a strip mall plaza that has a daycare in the storefront next-door. It didn’t take long for the daycare staff and parents picking up their children to come have a look at our adorable puppies. Each time I returned for the next puppies, different people were looking at our puppies and chatting with Tom who was proud to show off Ruska’s sweet babies!
We take our dogs and puppies to Stouffville Veterinary Clinic and Dr Westermann does a wonderful job caring for our dogs, keeping me informed and answering all my questions. He was kind enough to allow me to take a couple photos to share. Each puppy got a wellness check, weighed, first set of shots and finally their microchip. Most of our puppies were very brave and only let out a little whimper LOL
All our puppies got a clean bill of health and Ruska and I got praised for having such calm, clean, and well behaved puppies.
After everyone was done, Tom waited with all the puppies and I headed back to the reception desk. While paying my bill, the staff told me that they had a phone call from a passing motorist saying “Do you know that there is someone in your parking lot selling puppies out of the back of their truck?” We all had a good laugh!!! And NO, we did not sell your puppy 😂
Ellie’s Puppies
Yesterday my Daughter-in-law Chelsea was kind enough to come keep an eye on Ellie and her puppies while we took Ruska’s puppies to the Vet. She said there wasn’t much to do. She checked on Ellie every 30 minutes or so and either Ellie was feeding her puppies or they were sleeping. That’s what newborn puppies do, eat and sleep!
This video below shows puppies doing what they do best, yes, eating and sleeping. Look for the progress Ellie’s puppies have made. They are larger, their fur is starting to grow and their hind legs are becoming stronger which makes them faster! When Ellie comes back into the whelping box, the race is on. The puppies are always ready for another meal!
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Ellie’s Sweet Babies Are Now One Week Old
Ellie’s Puppies
March 23, 2021 – DAY 7 – 1 WEEK OLD
LOOKING BACK
Wow, our precious puppies are one week old today. We have had a busy week! For the first few weeks of life, a puppy cannot regulate their own body temperature. They need a warm space, their mother, and littermates to help keep them warm. We have been blessed with warm sunny days so it helps keep our bedroom where the whelping box full of puppies are, nice and warm.
Ellie is truly a wonderful mama. For the first few days of the puppies lives she spent all her time in the whelping box with the them, keeping them warm, clean and making sure they nursed often. She had a good appetite and drank plenty of water from the start which helps make lots of milk for her little ones. She has been spending some time away from her puppies in the yard for a little exercise but Ellie still likes to stay by my side. She soon wants back into the house, runs upstairs to check on her babies.
Puppies are born with their eyes and ears sealed shut; they cannot see or hear. They have to rely on “smell” and “touch” to find their mother. Puppies are born with a natural instinct to nurse but as the days pass, they have become more proficient at it. The puppies are now experts at nursing; they can smell when Ellie returns to the whelping box. They wake and make a mad dash to find her and begin their next meal. I sometimes have to remove three puppies and put them in the waiting box until it is their turn to nurse
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO
- Much the same as week one – Eat, Sleep, Repeat!
- Puppies will continue growing
- Puppies still crawl; hind legs will become stronger
- Eyes should begin to open towards the end the week – so exciting !!!
Ruska’s Puppies
Ruska continues to teach her puppies to listen. This morning after I had cleaned the puppy area she wanted in. Ruska let the puppies start to nurse and with a quick bark, the puppies had to stop and listen. In this little video, look how well the puppies are behaving. Good puppies! (excuse the mess on the window sills. I hadn’t put the toys back on the floor lol)
Ruska’s puppies had a new addition to their puppy area. We introduced the crate. Our little black collar boy went right in and had a sleep. LOL We won’t close the door, I just want them to feel conformable going in and out, playing and sleeping – what ever they choose.
I like to introduce something new to the puppies every couple of days. Today it was a empty water bottle with a odd sock over it and tied at the end. They had a great time playing with it! Look at them playing with it in the video below (it’s a blue sock)
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“Twenty-One Puppies To Love And Cuddle”
I am definitely very busy with twenty-one puppies to care for but, I love this job. Who could tire of puppy cuddles and looking at those adorable faces? Not me!
Ellie’s Puppies
During the first two weeks of a puppies life, they spend 90% of their time sleeping. Now that Ellies’s milk is in they are satisfied for a longer time in-between feedings. Ellie has started to spend short periods of time away from her puppies
When it comes to matters of the potty, puppies need their mothers help at first. For the first couple of weeks or so, newborn puppies do not instinctively know how to nor do they possess the ability to eliminate themselves without their mother cleaning them. Ellie has an around the clock job feeding and keeping her babies clean.
Puppies have already changed since they were born. Their fur is already growing, they are bigger and their pigmentation is developing. Notice in the photo below the puppy’s nose and pads. When the puppies were born, they had those adorable pink noses. They are now darkening and will soon be black or possibly brown. Elie’s puppies are growing up!
Pics of those adorable babies
Ruska’s Puppies
Ruska’s puppies are seven weeks old and have an important week of learning. Ruska will continue teaching and disciplining her puppies. This week she will teach her puppies to submit. In the pictures below you can see a couple puppies in the submit position – lying on their backs.
Ruska teaching her puppies to submit
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Look How Adorable Our Seven Weeks Old Puppies Are
Ruska’s Puppies
March 21, 2021 – 49 DAYS OLD
LOOKING BACK
Our puppies are now seven weeks old. They have grown bigger and are adorable little fur balls that are full of energy. The puppies are curious about everything and love outdoor play time. Our mornings are cold but our puppies still want outside first thing. Ruska takes them out to nurse for a couple minutes and she then begins her discipline. It is very chilly at 7 am so I only let the puppies stay out ten minutes before I bring them in for their breakfast. The puppies have now made the transition to eating dry kibble puppy food.
One of the highlights of raising our puppies is Selection Day. We love the excitement in the air as we introduce the puppies to their forever families. With covid restrictions we had no choice but to do selection outdoors, so I have been praying for good weather. I am thankful that God blessed our day with sunny warm weather to welcome the first day of spring and our forever families! Ruska, Tom and I so enjoyed meeting everyone and getting to know the forever families a little better!
The puppies had a busy day with so many families to meet. It was very tiring for them and they were taking naps any chance they could get. When all was said and done, they ate their dinner and settled in for a good long sleep LOL!
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK EIGHT
- Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoors as weather permits
- Puppies will continue learning from their Mama and the rest of our dogs.
- We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty area
- Puppies will be introduced to the crate
- Puppies will visit the vet for their check-ups, Immunizations and micro chips
- Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
- Puppies will start to leave for their forever families
Ellie’s Puppies
We have been busy both day and night taking care of and making sure all is going well with our tiny new arrivals. Puppies can loose up to 10% of their birth weight in the first 24 hours. I am happy to say, half of Ellie’s puppies lost only 2 – 5 % and the rest actually gained weight.
Ellie is an amazing and devoted mama. She is loving and protective and constantly caring for her babies. Because she has 11 puppies, she can not feed everyone at the same time; they have to feed in shifts. Most of the time some puppies are sleeping while the other nurse but, if everyone is awake at the same time, I put three puppies in the “waiting box” to settle and wait for their turn. I continue to be pleased at our daily weigh in – everyone is gaining nicely! Newborn puppies grow and develop so quickly it is no wonder that all they do is eat and sleep.
