No Pups For You!

No pups at Kimberlite this December.  Neither Sparkle or Ophie conceived.  Oh well - at least I don't have to set up whelping boxes and lose sleep....sigh.

December Puppies!

While I have not taken either Sparkle or Ophie for an official pregnancy test, I am 99 percent sure Sparkle is pregnant. She is displaying all the symptoms - super sucky, wanting to lick me, not wanting me from her sight, and taking very precious care of her "delicate" self :-). She is 5 weeks into her pregnancy and I can see the tell-tale swelling of her belly.

Ophie is being a bit different this time round and so I think she may have conceived also. She's also on the suckier side and wants to cling to me. She would be 4 weeks pregnant.

I will be bringing both girls in on their last week of pregnancy to determine puppy count.

I will also be putting the "Pup Cam" back online once the action starts. Maybe we will be lucky this time and the girls will deliver their pups at home.

Stay tuned.

Sunday Morning Update

Everyone is doing just great. The Tenors are walking along on jelly legs and starting to do little barks. They are beginning to recognize each other and also respond to my voice. This next week will make a huge transition - they will become more aware of their surrounding and soon we'll see them playing. Now the fun beings.

Sunday Morning Puppy Update

The Three Tenors are doing very well. Their eyes are opening and I suspect their ears have also begun to open. In a few days they will be seeing and hearing everything. Red is the whiner of the bunch - hear a puppy complaining and you can count on it being Red. He's also the most active of the three and has actually walked across the box. In my mind the lines from "Midnight Cowboy" going through my head..."I'm walking here!"

Sparkle continues to be a wonderful and attentive mother. She is starting to feed them sitting up now. The boys are gaining weight steadily and I am quite pleased with their size. They are robust, strapping boys.


Purple
4 lbs - 8 oz





Red
4 lbs - 7 oz







Gold
4 lbs - 6 oz

Day 8

8 days old.

Sleeping Beauty?

I sleep by the whelping box for the first 2 weeks of the pups lives.

Nursing Sounds

I took this short video this morning. When the puppies are nursing they furiously pump on the breast area to stimulate milk flow. Once the milk flows, they cease this pumping action and just suck it back. They make this little grunting noise and that's how you know that the milk is flowing.

Sorry, I Cannot Possibly Do Housework

We are still alive. We plan on doing puppy pictures tomorrow. Every Sunday will be "new" puppy pictures. Pups are doing great - gaining weight and just hanging out at the milk bar. Sparkle is a great mom and watching her at night is easy because she doesn't change position all night. In case anyone was wondering - either Peter or I sleep by the box. We watch the puppies 24-7 for the first two weeks. They are just too precious and even the most doting and careful mother can easily smoother a puppy by laying on it. By the time they approach 3 weeks of age they are much stronger and can pull themselves out of tight situations. This is my perfect solution for letting my housework/cleaning lapse..."gee honey, I have to watch the pups, I can't possibly cook supper tonight."

I would enjoy people sending me their suggestions for "Q" names. These are the rules. The name must start with my kennel name "Kimberlite" and then begin with the letter "Q" and it cannot be longer than 30 characters including spaces. For example, if I keep a boy I am thinking of naming him "Kimberlite's Quenten Tarantino". Here is an nice little link for names http://words-that-start-with-q.wordover.com/p/q*/

First Night

Sparkle is going to be a super mommy. These pups are never going to be dry because she just cannot get them clean enough. The pups are doing very well and I hope to get weights on them later this morning along with individual pictures and introduce them properly.



Having a wee bit of trouble trying to keep Sparkle's temperature down. I hope it is nothing serious and only due to the surgery. I put wet cool towels on her and that helps. Apart from her having a temperature she is attentive and is very upset when I either remove the babies to change sheets or ask her to go outside for potty.



I think I also forgot to mention that all the pups are boys.

Q Litters Birth - Phase 1

Unfortunately, Sparkle was unable to delivery her babies naturally and she underwent a C-section around 1:15 pm today. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Note some of these are graphic - so don't click to enlarge if you are a bit squeamish.

Masking down.

Belly shaved and prepared.

Ready and waiting on the table.