Puppy close ups

 Apollo

 Odin

 Pandora

Venus

Puppy pics

 Soaked kibble and milk.  I am already feeding in shifts. 

 Pups in bed

 Symmetrical puppies taking a nap

 Pele with ball

 Venus, Isis and Pandora.  Once again, the big stuffed animals are a hit.

 Silly Apollo

Apollo, repositioned himself

Merry Christmas

 Big black boy Zeus

Nancy's present to the pups

Puppy pics 3 weeks old

 Apollo

 Apollo again

 Apollo sleeping on the big white stuffed bear

 Athena and Odin

 Pandora and Venus

 Pele, you can barely see the white stripe on her chest

Apollo after a trip to the litter box.  I had called all the pups down to the litter box as a group, and we had lots of action.  Afterwards, everyone returned to the other end of the pen except Apollo.  Apparently too much of an effort for this boy to make the journey back.  He is the mellowest pup of the litter and is often the first pup to fall asleep.

3 weeks old

Pups in the puppy pen

Three weeks old on Christmas Eve.  The pups gained about 1 lb each last week, and this morning's weights ranged from 3 lbs 5 oz (Athena) to 4 lbs 3 oz (Odin).   Instead of a Christmas tree, I have a puppy pen in my living room.  The pups have been busy growing up.  They moved into the puppy pen full time on Wednesday morning after Venus climbed out of the puppy pool during the night.  And then within a day, Zeus climbed over the low half gate on the puppy pen.  So I added a "roller bar" on top of the half gate which contained them for another couple of days, but last night, Apollo and Pandora climbed out and I woke up to crying lost puppies.  I found Apollo just hanging out on a dog comforter some distance away from the pen, but Pandora was at the half gate, trying to figure out how to get back in.  The pups are already using the litter box, not just when we put them in it, but trucking down to the litter box on their own to take care of business.  They had their elastic tie collars swapped out for real puppy collars and they look all grown up.  Still doing lots of sleeping, but when awake, much more interactive with each other and their toys.  They are a ravenous hoard and enjoying canned food, soaked kibble & milk, goat milk by bottle, and of course Bridget's milk bar.   In the next few days, they will be transitioning to just kibble & milk plus whatever Bridget can produce.

Lots of changes

The pupsters are turning into little dogs.  This morning for the first time, I saw some of them react to sound, so their ear canals are opening.  They are interacting with each other, pawing, mouth wrestling, etc.  Their vocalizations have expanded, still lots of puppy mewing, but also the wonderful puppy trill, and more adult like yips and growls.  The pups had their first taste of canned food this weekend, and gave it four paws up.  They are up to 1 tsp 3x daily and I will be increasing the amount gradually to prepare them for their introduction to soaked kibble this weekend.  Sunday night, the pups were fussy, so on Monday night, I gave them a bedtime bottle (and had a much quieter night).  Most of the pups took to the bottle immediately (lots of milk FAST), but the two big boys thought twice.  Odin took a bit of coaxing, and Zeus took two attempts.  The pups are rapidly outgrowing the puppy pool, and I have caught Zeus looking over the edge.  When people are home, the pups are spending more and more time in the puppy pen, and getting lots of practice being put in the litter box.  I have already had to change the litter box once.  Time to go get the evening bottle ready.

Puppy pen

Saturday afternoon, the pups had their first big adventure in the puppy pen.  Mary, Bridget's caretaker, drove up to visit the gang and was amazed how much they have changed in the 10 days since she last saw them.  This introduction to the puppy pen was just that, an introduction.  The pups are still living in the puppy pool in my bedroom where is warmer. 

Into the puppy pen 

 Odin checking out Mary's slipper

 Over the mountain

 Titan hanging out in Mary's lap with Bridget looking on

 Odin sleeping on my foot

 Isis sleeping on my lap

Titan sleeping in my hand

Sleeping in the puppy pen after a busy afternoon

Puppy pics 2 weeks old

 Apollo on his back next to Isis

 Puppy pile

 Isis on toy

 More puppies in the pool

 Isis on her back

Pele sleeping next to Venus

2 weeks old

The pupsters are doing great, but poor Bridget looks a bit worn out.  Amazingly, Bridget is still keeping up in the milking department, and the pups have been consistently gaining 1 to 1/2 lbs total per day.  Bridget chow is getting bumped up to 8 cups of high calorie kibble this weekend.  My guide for feeding a retriever dam at peak lactation is 1 cup per pup.  This morning, the pups weighed in at 2 lbs 3 oz (Athena) to 3 lbs 3 oz (Zeus), so a big spread in weights.  And notably bigger than Bridget's spring litter which had weights ranging from 1 lb 14 oz to 2 lb 10 oz at 2 weeks.  These pups easily made their 2 week milestones, doubling their birth weight by 10 days, eyes all open, and each weighing at least 2 lbs by 2 weeks.  Interestingly, the small girls had their open first and Zeus was the last pup to open his eyes, not until Friday evening.  Pups can very 2 to 3 days in maturity since the eggs are ovulated and fertilized over a 2 to 3 day period.  Occasionally you have a pup who seems a bit developmentally delayed, and it is probably because it is younger than its sibs (although I doubt that is the case for big boy Zeus).  And 3 days age difference  is huge for a baby puppy developmentally.  The pups are very mobile and I have introduced some soft toys to the puppy pen.  We are making a point of giving each pup individual attention at least 3 times a day, holding them in our laps and stroking them.  They are already showing an interest in a person sitting in their puppy pool.  I will hopefully get some pics posted later today.

Time for some names

I have been trying to figure out a theme for this litter.   Went back and forth between a few ideas and finally settling on a Mythology theme since these pups are so robust and precocious.   The big black boy seemed like a perfect Zeus.

Males
Black male - Zeus (Greek king of the gods)
Black collar - Odin (Scandinavian king of the gods)
Red collar - Titan (Greco-Roman elder god)
Blue collar - Apollo (Roman god of prophecy, music, intellectual pursuits, healing, and sometimes the sun).   Also in memory of a special collie service dog who has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Females
Black female - Pele (Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes)
Pink collar - Venus (Roman goddess of love)
Purple collar - Pandora (first woman in Greek mythology, i.e., Pandora's box)
Green collar - Athena (Greek goddess of wisdom)
Orange collar - Isis (Egyptian mother goddess)

Starting to see the world

The pups continue to thrive and are developing rapidly.  Purple girl has her eyes 90% open, and multiple pups are starting to react visually to movement.  Eyes open at around 10 days of age is the youngest I can remember for my litters.  The pups are quite mobile, and it is amazing how fast they can move towards the milk bar, especially if Bridget returns from a stint away from the pups.  They are toileting on their own, and we have even seen pups purposely get up and move away from the puppy pack to toilet.  Instincts are strong to keep the "den" clean.  My other dogs have returned from dog sitters, and Bridget is being perfectly civil.  Last litter, she was not tolerant of the other dogs being around for the first week.  She has been more relaxed for this litter.  Bridget is already spending time away from the pups, sometimes an hour plus in the main part of the house (the pups are in my bedroom).  Last night, I pasteurized a gallon of goat milk, but still no need to bottle feed.  I am monitoring both weight gain and attitude.  If the weight gain drops and especially if the pups start getting fussy, we will begin some bottle feeding.  Bridget is eating 7 1/2 c of kibble per day and I plan to bump her up to 8 c this weekend.   The one perk of raising a litter, lots of chow - ever retriever's dream.

Pupdate

The pups gained an amazing 23 oz over the last 24 hours.  Purple girl is lagging behind, but by no means a runt at 1 lb 10 oz.  Three pups weigh over 2 lbs, and 3 more should be over 2 lbs tomorrow.  Bridget is currently eating 7 cups of high calorie kibble + egg and turkey.  I figure she is consuming over 3000 kcal per day to keep up with this brood.  The pups are starting to enjoy being stroked or held in laps.  Green girl has her eyes half open.  Now the fun really begins.

More puppy pics

 The pups are almost filling the pool these days.

 Green girl practicing her walking, I have added a piece of faux fur for environmental enrichment

 And Black boy not to be out done by his sister is also practicing walking

 Blue and Black boys

 Orange girl, a good view of how much lighter she is.  Blue boy is one of the darker yellow pups. 

 Close up of Orange girl

Black boy

1 week old puppy pics

 The three little girls (Pink, Purple, Green) at a private nursing session.  These pups are very similar in size and color. 

 Little black female

 Big black boy

 Black collar boy

 Blue boy sleeping next to his sister Green

Red boy and Purple girl falling asleep after lunch

1 week old

Hard to believe these pups are only 1 week old.  Everyone is doing great.  Red boy has joined Purple and Green in the private nursing club.  He is doing fine, just not as aggressive of nurser as his big brothers.  The pups seem so mature for their age.  They are already trying to walk, and some are speed crawling around the pool.  Their eyelids are starting to open at the corner closest to the midline.  We should be seeing eyes later next week.  And a very important milestone for a baby puppy, they are starting to poop on their own.  The first couple of weeks, the dam helps out in the toileting department by vigorously licking the pups.  Bridget is doing an amazing job keeping the brood fed.  The last couple of days, the pups have mostly gained 2 oz/pup/day - that means her milk is producing approximately 1 lb of puppy mass per day!!  This morning, weights ranged from 1 lb 7oz (Purple) to 2 lbs (blk male).  In comparison, Bridget's spring pups at 1 week of age weighed 1 lb 3 oz to 1 lb 10 oz.