Puppies Are 1 Week Old!

The puppies are one week old today and are getting chubby! It's hard to believe that these one-pound puppies will be full grown in about 8 months.  Here are the front and top views. Watch for their eyes and ears to be open in next week's pictures!

Vanilla Coke (White Check Male)

Vanilla Coke top view

Pepsi (Classic Fawn Female)

Pepsi top view

Sprite (White Male)

Sprite top view  

Ginger Ale (White Female)

Ginger Ale top view

Mr. Pibb (Brindle Male)

Mr. Pibb top view 

Dr. Pepper (Flashy Brindle Male)

Dr. Pepper top view

Sunkist (Flashy Brindle Female)

Sunkist top view

Squirt (Flashy Brindle Male)

Squirt top view

Bubble Up (White Check Female) 

Bubble Up top view 

Coca-Cola (Classic Fawn Female)

Coca-Cola top view

Protecting Your New Dog from the Sun

If we lather ourselves with sunscreen when we go to the beach or pool, why not protect our dogs too? After all, short-haired dogs--and especially white ones--are very prone to sunburn and skin cancer.  Some of you who will be bringing home a white puppy soon have asked what to do to help prevent this.  Here are two links to consider:

Dog Sunscreen
Playapup UPF Sun Dog Sun-shirt

Here is one source of information about dogs and skin cancer: WebMd: Dogs and Skin Cancer

The Morning Huddle

It's been a busy couple days here, but the puppies are doing great!  They had their dew claws removed and tails docked by Dr. Simpson on Wednesday. They all weigh about a pound (some a little more, some a little less). Watch tomorrow for their weekly individual photos. 

Breakfast Time

They squeak, they waddle, they roll, they bob. Here they are eating breakfast for the third time this morning. The one waddling in the background is Sunkist.

Daily Happenings

So what do these little ones do all day? Eat, sleep, eat, sleep...all day long.  At this stage, mom Eve cares for all of their needs. She feeds and cleans them all day. They eat about every hour or so. Moms are so focused on their duties, that they often neglect themselves, so we have to make sure she is getting the proper nutrition and rest to care for all of her pups. So here are a few pictures of what's been going on the last few days.

The puppies are removed from the whelping box and kept warm in a box, while Eve takes a potty and eating break. They are safe when she comes rushing back in to check on their well-being. One huge paw pounce on a little (less than a pound) puppy could really be harmful!

Then we weigh each puppy to make sure that they are getting enough to eat. Mom Eve is deeply concerned about what we are doing with her baby, 

The smaller puppies get first priority in the feeding line. The bigger ones tend to push the smaller ones out of the way and hog the milk. Once they have had time to eat, we bring in the bigger ones.

Last night, Mr. Pibb scooted himself onto Eve's neck and fell asleep there.

Mom's milk hasn't fully come in yet, and with 10 pups, supply is limited to feed everyone. So we had to start supplementing warm goat's milk this morning to help a few of the smaller ones. They are so precious.

Meet Our Soda Pops!

We've been busy here today keeping tabs on all these little ones.  Eve is an excellent mom to them, and they are all doing well.  The theme for their names this litter is soda, or pop (if you are from the midwest), or soda pop!  Our new owners are certainly welcome to change their names. These photos are arranged in their birth order.  Photo disclaimer: please be aware that newborn puppies might look more like small, furry aliens rather than cute puppies. In a few weeks, they will completely change.

Vanilla Coke: White Check Male

Pepsi: Classic Fawn Female

Sprite: White Male 

Ginger Ale ("Ginger") : White Female

Dr. Pepper: Flashy Brindle Male

Mr. Pibb: Brindle with White Markings Male

Sunkist: Flashy Brindle Female

Squirt: Flashy Brindle Male

Bubble Up ("Bubbles"): White Check Female

Coca-Cola: Classic Fawn Female

Special Delivery!

I get a lot of requests to make a video of a delivery, because many have not seen one. So here is the delivery of Eve's first puppy, a white check male.  Parents, you can decide if you want your kids to view. 

One Big Happy Family

Eve and her pups are doing great this morning.  I'll post individual pictures a little later, but here is the first family photo.

We've Got Puppies!

Eve did extremely well delivering her 10 puppies.  Her first one came at about 9 p.m., and the last one at 2 a.m.  5 boys and 5 girls. They all look fantastic, and we know they will make many families very happy. Here is the final tally:

White Check: 1 male, 1 female
White: 1 male, 1 female
Classic Fawn: 2 females
Brindle with white markings on mask: 3 males, 1 female

This was taken when we had 2 more to go!

We'll post more pictures tomorrow. Now for clean up! 

3 down...more to come

So far, Eve has delivered 1 classic fawn female, 1 white check male (has brown around one eye), and 1 white male.  They are all doing well. More to come!

Here We Go!

Eve's water broke, so we'll be seeing some puppies soon! Looks like it will be a busy night. At least it's not 2 a.m.!

Puppies Are On Their Way!

One indicator of the timeline for whelping is the dam's temperature. Once it drops to about 98 degrees, we know that puppies will be here in about 24 hours (give or take).  Late tonight, she started panting and her temperature dropped.  Puppies are coming soon! Stay tuned for updates.

Boxer Puppies Will Be Arriving Soon!

1...2...3...4...5...6...

7...8...9...

...10!

I think my jaw literally dropped this morning when Dr. Simpson had me come look at the X-ray.  Ten puppies, seriously. Even he was a little surprised by the number.  Average litter size for boxers is 6.  It's no wonder why Eve is so huge!  Well, we will certainly have a busy home for the next few months.  We're praying they are all healthy little ones and that Eve will have an easy time delivering them all.

If you haven't noticed from our past litters, our family picks a theme for their kennel names (the names we call them while at our kennel; new owners usually rename them).  Our first theme was Bible names, next was Santa's reindeer names (they were born December 23), and the last were candy names.  The theme of the names for this upcoming litter is sodas--or pop--depending on which region of the U.S. you are from.  We'll need to add a few more names to our list.

Any updates will be posted on this blog as soon as we get them, so check back in a couple days to see Eve's progress.  We anticipate that they might make their debut sometime this coming weekend.

You can't see it from this angle, but her sides are bulging.

With 10 inside, she's one tired lady. Lately, she spends her days like this, trying to be comfortable.

Hanging Low

Eve's belly is starting to hang low with her growing puppies, which are coming in about 2 1/2 weeks! She is sleeping a lot, and eating like she's feeding an army, but doing very well.

Boxer Puppies Coming This Month

Eve is now 5 weeks pregnant and has less than 4 weeks until her puppies will be born.  An x-ray is scheduled for August 19 to determine how many we can expect by August 26.  Eve, who is normally quite petite and full of energy, is getting plump and is tired!  We've updated the pedigree for this litter. Just scroll down to the bottom of this page to view it.  Check back here for all the current updates on Eve and the puppies, or sign up to the right to be notified by email when there are new posts.