Ellie is taking such good care of her tiny babies. She spends her days and nights cleaning, feeding and cuddling them so they stay warm. Yesterday our puppies turned three days old so, it was time to undertake the task of getting Puppy Singles. With my daughter by my side, we began and were so amazed that this photo shoot went much smoother than Ruska’s puppies three day shoot. Ruska didn’t like her babies away from her and had to be right on the bed with the puppy making it harder for the puppy to stay still – they could smell their mama. Ellie didn’t fuss at all when I removed her tiny babies one at a time to take some photos, she stayed in the whelping box with her remaining babies. She did keep a watchful eye on us though and made sure she cleaned her baby when it was returned to her. Most of the puppies settle fairly fast and I was able to quickly capture them but some puppies would not settle; the fur carpet that they were on must of reminded them of their mama because they kept crawling around trying to find her LOL! We finally captured all of Ellie’s Beautiful Babies!
The Boys
Black Collar BoyGrey Collar BoyLight Blue Collar BoyDark Blue Collar BoyDark Green Collar BoyRed Collar Boy
The excitement of whelping day has been building since Sunday when Ellie’s whelping window week began. Everything is prepared in advance. The whelping box is cleaned and set up in our bedroom and all the tools needed are ready and waiting for the arrival of the puppies.
Whelping box ready and waiting
Ellie had started digging the past couple of days – on the carpet, on the couch and in her whelping box.; a sign that labor would begin any day. Ellie was following us everywhere we would go but, that is not different than usual – she is my “velcro” dog.
Tuesday morning I took a couple pics of Ellie – she looks so uncomfortable with such a big tummy and labor beginning.
Tuesday afternoon she started digging again on our corner sectional and my husband Tom informed me she was panting. I decided to take her upstairs to my bedroom and sat with her in the Whelping Box so she could labor their in peace, away from our other dogs. It wasn’t long before her first baby came into the world.
After a puppy is born the mother dog removes the puppy from its sac, severs the umbilical cord and begins the cleaning process. This is when the puppy begins taking their first breath. The pups stay with their mom for awhile after birth to keep warm.
Ellie cleans her first baby. The heater noise is in the background but, listen for the soft high pitched squealing from the puppy as she gets cleaned.
After mama is done cleaning, the newborn puppy which is unable to see or hear, can crawl to its mother and begin it’s first meal
Newborn puppy’s first meal.
After the newborn puppy has nursed, we then towel dry them, examine them,weigh them, and record their birth weight. Finally we put collars on – a different colour for each puppy – to keep track of their progress in the coming days and weeks.
After getting towel dried, weighed and the I.D. collar on, the puppy is returned to it’s mama. Ellie thinks her baby needs another cleaning!Ellie’s newborn baby cuddles with mama to keep warm before the next puppy arrives. Ellie has lots of work ahead of her.
The newborn puppy is placed in a “warming box” to keep warm while it’s mama brings her next baby into the world
When Ellie whelped her final puppy, number eleven, she settled in and began caring for her new tiny babies. Well done Ellie!
Ellie’s newborn litter – some puppies are nursing and some have fallen asleep cuddling with their mama to keep warm
The miracle of a new life is so precious and I never tire of watching these helpless tiny puppies come into the world. Again I am in awe at the instincts God has given animals; they just know what to do!
Ruska’s Puppies
Ruska’s puppies are almost seven weeks old and have an abundance of energy. My summer litters of puppies start getting the run of our yard at this age. With the melting snow and rain that spring brings, my yard is too muddy to let the puppies play in. So, when it is time for outdoor play, Ruska leads her puppies out the door and into the fenced enclosure on our deck. This doesn’t always work because Ruska wants her puppies to run in the yard with her. Sometimes instead of going into the enclosure she tries to lead them off the deck and into the yard. I have to call her back and reminder her to take the puppies into the fenced enclosure on our deck. Most of the puppies go in but we always get one or two that try to run and discover what’s beyond the deck. Our other dogs run after them barking and the explorers quickly come to me and join the rest of their littermates.
I have tried to challenge our puppies by introducing something new every few days. When I add new toys to our indoor play area, the puppies notice right away and suddenly they all have a new favourite toy – what smart puppies to have such good observation skills!
The past couple days during outside play we introduced a tunnel for the puppies. They were so curious and took to it right away. The puppies have so much fun running through the tunnel, playing hide-n-seek in it and chasing each other through it. It is so much fun to watch them!
A new blue tunnel for puppies to play in
Puppies playing in the basket – Ruska comes by and all the puppies stop their play to watch their mama
One more sleep until the puppies meet their forever families!
Today it’s raining, so the puppies had indoor play this morning. Willow is still fascinated with the puppies and loves to watch them play. They are becoming more active with each passing day! When they wake they have so much energy – they run, wrestle and play and then, quickly drop off for a nap to recharge. This afternoon’s weather forecast is calling for the rain to stop so, I’m sure our puppies will enjoy going outside and playing in a the larger outdoor area.
Saturday is approaching quickly and the weather forecast looks promising for our Selection Day – sunny and warm with a high of 12 c – Yeah! We are looking forward to introducing our puppies to their forever families!
Ellie’s Puppies
Ellie is such an attentive mama. Since the puppies were born, I have had to drag her out of her whelping box by her collar to go outside for a potty break. Yesterday afternoon when I took her outside for her break, I thought she needed a little exercise. We played her favourite game – Fetch with her Kong ‘squeaky’ tennis ball. She loves to run after it and then she will ‘squeak’ it all the way back, drop it at my feet and wait for me to throw it again. Usually Ellie never tires of this game but, yesterday after about five minutes, she headed to the door and wanted to go back inside. She headed right back upstairs to our bedroom, and back into her whelping box to care for her tiny babies.
A Few Pics Of Our Newborn Puppies
Newborn puppies spend their time eating and sleeping
L.A. Doodles Is Excited To Announce Ellie and Brinkley’s Puppies Have Arrived
Born March 16, 2021
They Welcomed 11 Puppies
6 Boys And 5 Girls
Yesterday evening was a busy time and a night of little sleep. Eleven puppies – WOW! Ellie did an amazing job! Whelping is hard work!. Over the next few days and nights, we will be staying right by Ellie’s side making sure things are going smoothly. Ellie now has a “round the clock job”. She will spend her days and nights cleaning, feeding, and keeping her babies warm. She doesn’t want to leave their side – It’s hard for me to get Ellie to leave the whelping box for a potty break – She is a such an amazing mama!
It has been on my “TO DO LIST” for the past few days to take updated puppy pic’s. Finally this morning we undertook the task. I am definitely not a photographer and the puppies never stay still long enough to get a good picture without a blur, however after many takes, we accomplished the task! I know that I am a bit bias, but don’t you think these puppies are so adorable!!!
The Boys
Black Collar BoyDark Blue Collar BoyYellow Collar BoyOrange Collar BoyLight Blue Collar Boy
Six weeks old today. We have had another busy week caring for the puppies and introducing them to so many new things. They have grown bigger and you can see each unique personality developing. Puppies have now progressed to eating softened kibble. The food which we switched them to seems to be agreeing with them. They enjoy running and chasing each other during outside play time and also have fun inside with their activity centre. Ruska is now teaching them to submit and our other dogs are helping out with this.
I am teaching “The Puppy Call” – Ruska and the other dogs are helping guide puppies into their fenced enclosure.
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SEVEN
Puppies time spent awake will continue to increase
Puppies will begin dry kibble by the end of week seven
We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty area
Puppies will continue to socialize and learn from each other through play
Puppies will continue exploring and playing together outdoor as weather permits
Puppies will continue learning from their mama as she disciplines them and teaches them to behave
Puppies will be meeting their forever families
As always, puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time.
This week we have had a couple technical difficulties making life a little more challenging. On Tuesday we had a power outage lasting eight hours so we had to feed and care for the puppies by candle light. Then Wednesday my computer developed a sudden problem. I opened it up and got a black screen even though the power was on. Since then, I have been using my phone for emails but I am borrowing my daughters computer to post our blog. (Hopefully my son will be able to figure out the problem and get my computer working again.)
The puppies are growing bigger and more active by the day. Even though this morning was a cold one, Ruska wanted her puppies outside. They got some exercise running and playing on the deck before they came back inside for their breakfast. The puppies enjoyed their morning playtime in our front hall.
Yesterday was an exciting day for our puppies, We were blessed with a warm sunny day, so I decided to take the puppies outside for some exercise. We set some fencing up on our deck and then brought the puppies out. Ruska was so excited that her puppies were finally able to go out with her and our other dogs joined in the excitement as well. The puppies enjoyed their time exploring, running, playing together and even ate their lunch outside.
Notice our puppies are now wearing “big puppy collars”. Our puppies look so grown up!
Our Five Week Old Puppy Huddle – it is now spread out LOL
LOOKING BACK
Five weeks old today. The puppies have developed from helpless newborns to “mini dogs”. They have learned so much over the past five weeks. We have been working hard on training the puppies to use the potty area. I was wondering if they would ever “get it” but finally is started to click. It’s amazing to watch puppies wake up or stop playing and walk over to use the potty area. They still have a long way to go and some of the puppies are more consistent than others but all are making progress! The puppies are now awake for longer periods and enjoy playing with their toys and each other. Nursing time from mama has decreased and the puppies are now eating puppy mush and drinking their water. During this past week, Mama has begun teaching her pups to listen to her. Ruska will go into the puppy area, let the puppies start to nurse and then start barking at them to stop. Most of the puppies listen on the first warning but we do have some persistent puppies that try a few more time before they listen.
Socialization for puppies is an important part of their development. My Grandchildren are a big part in this socialization which will make it easier when puppies head home to families with children! A watchful eye is always necessary when children are playing with the puppies – they have to be reminded to “Be Gentle”. The puppies love playing with my grandchildren!
Thursday play time with puppies
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SIX
Puppies time spent awake will continue to increase
Puppies food will become much thicker progressing toward the goal of eating dry kibble
Puppies will continue learning to use potty area
Puppies will continue to socialize with each other through play
Puppies balance will continue to improve.
Puppies will begin daily play time in our play area
Puppies will continue learning from their mama as she disciplines them and teaches them to behave
As always, puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time.
Ellie is now in the last trimester of her pregnancy with under two weeks left until her due date. I took a pic of her as she rested on the living room floor. It is hard to see with all her fur, but her tummy is noticeably larger. Ellie is now eating more and continues to get lots of rest – it takes lots of energy to carry puppies! She will continue to get pampered and spoiled until her puppies arrive.
A very shaggy Ellie Before her grooming
When Covid lockdown restrictions went into place, our dogs missed their regular grooming appointment. By the time our groomers opened again, we had some very shaggy dogs. Ellie went to the groomers yesterday for a much needed hair cut and got a tummy shave to make it easier for her puppies to nurse when they arrive.
Our Beautiful Ellie After a day at the spaSweet Dreams Ellie
Ruska’s Puppies
Ruska’s puppies continue to grow and are now spending longer periods of time awake, so we have set up a play area in our front hall for them. They are so much fun to watch!
