Individual Pictures of 10 day old puppies

Ellington, 1#6oz

Ethan, 1#9oz today

Entei has white gotee and lip, 1#7oz today

Everly weighed in at 1#8oz

Enrique weighed in at 1#9oz

Emmitt weighed 1#10oz

Etienne has white on her toes with white on the pads of her feet, plus a white chin, 1#80z today.  We arn't sure if she will lighten with the white or stay black with white on her

Elyria has one back foot with two white toes and her chin is white, she's been the smallest all along, weighed in at 1#3oz.  She also might be black with the white or could turn silver,

Please note:  any of the puppies that will be silver will have silver faces and feet

the blue puppies won't have silver faces, this is our first sable litter but we will know if they keep the dark edges around their ears

puppies are 8 days old today

weighed and examined and neurally stimulated the puppies, they are all doing well, momma Tigre' is so calm and sweet with them, they are also clam and sweet, they are not noisy puppies, they eat well and rest well, about 90% sleeping with the rest of the time rooting and eating, had to put the big puppy collars on to keep good track of each puppy,

little puppy pile, laying around the family room getting use to regular house noises,

about four weeks old they will start to show signs of what color they will be, any of them that will be silver at 6 wks old will have silver face and feet,

this is our first sable momma litter, if they get lighter and keep the dark ears time will tell, Emmitt (red collar) has a definite brown to his coat, he will be silver and/or sable for sure

as a reminder, colored collared nicknames

Elyria is purple

Everly is blue

Ethan is yellow

Enrique is green

Entei is light blue or now pink/blue rickrack

Etienne is pink

Emmitt is red

Ellington is white

got to go, the other girls are nosying around Tigre's puppies, she doesn't really like it ... and now they know momma is here, did I say quiet puppies?  hahahaa

Volhard Aptitude Testing

The testing is done when the puppies are 49 days old, with this tester and litter, we needed to arrange the testing done on June 8th.  We are thrilled with this tester, will be the most professional testing done so far with our litters.  The test results will be very accurate.

For the new owners, get use to looking over the Volhard categories, http://www.volhard.com/ to be familiar with them to pick confidently from the results of this litter. 

Luckily we have testing for both Everad, the sire of this litter, and Tigre' the dam of this litter.  You can see how different they are in personality, we should have puppies a bit like him and a bit like her and combiniations of the two.


Scoring system and Everad's results when he was 49 days old.Social Attraction  Everad's Score 3
instructions:  place the puppy in testing area about four feet from the tester, tester kneels, leans backwards and coaxes the pup to them by clapping hands gently.
purpose:  degree of social attraction to people, confidence or dependence.  Pack drive.
score:  (1) came readily, tail up, jumped bit at hands, (2) came readily, tail up, pawed, licked at hands, (3) Came readily, tail up, (4) came readily tail down, (5) came hesitantly, tail down.

Following  Everad's Score 3
instructions:  the tester stands up and slowly walks away encouraging the puppy to follow.  Make sure puppy sees you walk away.  Coax puppy to follow by talking to it and attracting its attention
purpose:  Willingness to follow a person.  Pack Drive
(1) followed readily, tail up, got underfoot, bit at feet, (2) follwed readily, tail up, and got underfoot, (3) followed readility, tail up, (4) followed hesitantly, tail down, (5) followed hesitantly, tail down, (6) did not follow or went away.

Restraint Everad's Score 3
instructions:  tester crouches down and gently rolls the puppy onto its back and holds down with light pressure with one hand for 30 seconds.
purpose:  Degree of dominance or submissive tendency and ease of handling in difficult situations. 
Fight or Flight Drive
(1) struggled fiercely, flailed, bit, (2) struggled fiercely, flailed, (3) settled, struggled and finally settled with some eye contact, (4) struggled then settled, (5) no struggle, no eye contact, (6) no struggle, straining to avoid eye contact.

Social Dominance  Everad's Score 3-2
instructions:  puppy sits or stands on crouching tester's left side as tester gently strokes puppy from head to back, continue stroking until a recognizable behavior is established.
purpose:  Degree of acceptance of social dominance by a person.  Pack Drive.
(1) jumped, pawed, bit growled, (2) jumped, pawed, (3) cuddled up to tester and tried to lick face, (4) squirmed, licked at hands, (5) rolled over, licked at hands, (6) went away and stayed away.

Elevation Dominance  Everad's Score 4
instructions:  the tester cradles the pup under its chest with both hands fingers interlaced, palms up and gently lifts puppy two feet off of the ground, holding it there for 30 seconds.
purpose:  Degree of accepting dominance while in position of no control.  Fight or

Flight Drive

(1) struggled fiercely, tried to bite, (2) struggled fiercely, (3) struggled, settled, struggled and settled, (4) no struggle, relaxed, (5) no struggle, body stiff, (6) no struggle, froze.

Retreiving Everad's Score 4
instructions:  tester crouches besieds the pup and attracts its attention with a crumpled up piece of paper.  Then the pup shows some interest, the tester toesses the paper (no more than four feet) in front of the puppy, encouraging it to retreive the paper.
purpose:  Degree of willingness to do something for you.  Together with social attraction and following, a key indicator for ease or difficulty in training.  Prey Drive
(1) chased object, picked it up and ran away, (2) chased object, stood over it, did not return, (3) chased object, picked it up and returned with it to tester, (4) Chased object and returned w/o it to tester, (5) started to chase object, lost interest, (6) did not chase object.

Touch Sensitivity  Everad's Score 1
instructions:  tester locates the webbing of one of the puppy's front paws and presses lightly between his index finger and thumb.  Tester gradulally increases pressure while counting to 10 and stops the pressure when the puppy pulls away or shows discomfort.  (do not pierce with fingernail).
purpose:  Degree of sensitivity to touch and a key indicator to the type of training equipment required.
before response:  (1) 8-10 counts, (2) 6-7 counts, (3) 5-6 counts, (4) 2-4 counts, (5) 2-3 counts

Sound Sensitivity  Everad's Score 4-3
instructions:  the puppy is placed in the center of the testing area and an assistant stationed at the perimeter makes a sharp noise, such as banging a metal spoon on the bottom of a metal pan (loudly).
purpose:  Degree of sensitivity to sound (also a rudimentary tet for deafness).  Prey Drive.
(1)  listened, located sound, walked toward it, barking, (2) listened, located, barked, (3) listened, lcoated, showed curiosity and walked toward sound, (4) listened, located the sound, (5) cringed, backed off and hid, (6) ignored sound, showed no curiosity.

Sight Senstiviity  Everad's Score 3
instructions:  the puppy is placed in the center of the testing area.  The tester ties a string around a bath towel and jerks it across the floor two feet away from puppy.
purpose:  Degree of response to a moving object, such as chasing bicycles, children or squirrels.  Prey Drive
(1) looked, attacked and bit, (2) looked, barked with tail up, (3) looked curiously, attempted to investigate, (4) looked, barked, tail-tucked, (5) ran away, hid.

Stability  Everad's Score 1
instructions.  an umbrella is opened about five feet from the puppy and gently placed on the ground.
purpose  Degree of startle response to a strange object, Fight and Flight Drive
(1) looked and ran to the umbrella, mouthting or biting it, (2) looked and walked to the umbrella, smelling it cautiously, (3) looked and went to investigate, (4) Sat and looked, but did not move toward the umbrella, (5) ran way from the umbrella, (6) showed no interest.

Structure (conformation)  Everad's Score Good +
instructions:  the puppy is gently set and held in a natural stance and evaluated for structure in the following categories:
*  straight front
*  straight rear
*  shoulder lay back
*  front angulation
*  croup angulation
*  rear angulation
purpose:  Degree of structural soundness.  Good structure is necessary.
(1) good, the puppy is correct in structure, (2) the puppy has a slight fault or deviation, (3) the puppy has an extreme fault or deviation.
(first published in the AKC Gazette, March 1979, an article by Melissa Bartlett)

Everad's personality is out of his skin in love with people, he loves to show off and do good, doesn't like to be told that he's not doing it right, he wants to be praised and loved every step of the way, he's proud and loves everybody. 

He is what you call socially dominant ... in a good way.

He's very good with other dogs, loves puppies, 100% without a doubt loves people and kids.  Most people that come over think he will "get enough" attention and back off .. hmm, not Everad, you let him kiss your face and you enjoy it, you've set a precedent with him, from then on, you love him and love to be kissed by him.  Around the house?  yes, he does get enough attention and affection, now that he's 2.5 yrs old he's decided yes he does get to kiss lots of people and has a more mature nature about him.  Take him to class or have someone come over, and you are here to be kissed and that's all there's to it.  Everad is fast as lightening, fastest dog I've ever seen.  I love to take him to class, he loves it and so do we.  He has all of his points in conformation to be a UKC champion and one major.  He loves people so it was nearly impossible to get him to hold still for a judge to look him over the weekend he turned one year old.  We look forward to him growing up some and taking the gold, b/c this guy is gold through and through. 


and here's Tigre's testing summarized:
Social Attraction:  Score 4
Following, Score 3
Restraint, Score 5
Social Dominance, 6
Retreiving, 5
Touch Sensitivity, 3
Sound Sensitivity, 4
Sight Sensitivity, 2

two 3's, two 5's, a 2, 4 and 6.
the test says she will be outgoing, friendly and will adjust well in situations, flexible temperament, the 5s say she is submissive and bonds closely to owners but is aloof from the score of 6 with one 2 as being dominant and self-assured.  (she has moments of both, a protector and loves to be hunged and play catch.  In obedience class she feels insulted to be told that she's not doing it right when she doesn't understand what to do, but, by the end of class she was tail wagging and happy to be there.  oh, could be she was ready to come into season, once she did she was her regular wagging tail self)

She is outgoing, friendly, wagging tail that clears tables, she is everybody's best friend.  She does dominant with a big bark with someone coming towards the yard or house, we are her priority, she's a total sweetheart.  When there's discord in the house amongst the canine (over a bone, otherwise never), she is the peacemaker.  She's a perfect girl around the house, stays out of the crate at night without any trouble, never distructive.  She is a wonderful balance of a sweet and loving standard poodle.  She would be perfect for a family with small children, she's always gentle and thinks about the other poodle, dog or human before herself.  Tigre' has a fantastic personality and we love having her around.

Puppy Development - Week Two

puppies are right on schedule with their development, they've matured so much in the past week, they fuss less, their momma is starting to want to come out and play with her canine friends and get the usual hugs and snacks in the evening, they are growing out of their collars.  I'm able to tell them apart, but a growth splurt can cause complete confusion which they are so the collars must stay

Week Two (Days 8-14)

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PUPPIES

• Eyes should open around days 8-10
• Ears should open around days 13-17

CARE OF THE PUPPIES

• Keep whelping box around 80-83F
• Begin holding puppies in different ways (applying light stress)
• Trim nails weekly

CARE OF THE BITCH

• Bitch should get three times her normal amount of food

TO DO LIST

• Continuously watch them root around, eat and sleep

Puppy Pictures

first day they are in the family room laying on the heating pad, getting to hear regular house noises

see the puppies white hairs on the pads of their feet?

 and the group, everyone's showing in this picture

purple girl, Elyria

blue boy, Everly

yellow boy, Ethan

green boy, Enrique

light blue boy, Entei (on-tay)

pink girl, Etienne

red boy, Emmitt

white boy, Ellington

Six Days Young

puppies are doing wonderfully... momma patiently cleans them and feeds them, she's awesome

One week old tomorrow here's their weights for today

Elyria weighs 1#

Everly weighs 1#3oz

Ethanac weighs 1#3oz

Enrique weighs 1#4oz

Entei weighs 1#3oz

Etienne weighs 1#3oz

Emmiitt weighs 1#4oz

Ellington weighs 1#3oz

Elyria is the small girl, I will guess she will be about 18"

Emmitt and Enrique have grown to be the big boys, I'll guess they will be about 24"

the mid puppies will be 21-23" full grown, the girl probably on the shorter end of the scale

"Emmitt" is very brown looking on top of his black coat, could be light silver

the other "silvers or blues" are both of the girls, Ellington, Entei also has spot on chest, lip and gotee

Enrique, Ethan and Everly are the black boys

note about my color guessing:

this is our first sable momma's litter, if the silvers lighten and keep the dark ears of a sable is a mystery yet

A regular sized standard poodle at two weeks old is usually about 2.5#, these puppies are definitely small standards.  Will know more as they grow, about 4-7 wks anyone making a splurt of growth we will see it then.  They are all doing fine, sweet bunch of black puppies.

Dewclaws removed and tails docked, will see about getting individual picutres by this next weekend,

Updated Reservation List

#1 pick female goes to Alice in Maine

#2 pick is Kristen and familiy in Washington

#3  pick might be Sandy from Hilde's litter for a silver boy

#4  available

#5  available

#6  available

#7  available

#8  available

personality testing has been schedule for June 8th

if you have a deposit on the litter, I will forward the info of time/place

please note, do not be late, we can't let you in once it starts



blessings
Paula and Jim

Saturday Afternoon Pics

just relaxing, feeding my puppies,

they are all tagged to measure their growth daily, can you see your favorite?

Pictures of two day old puppies

pictures first, explanations after

Last puppy born, "Ellington" the smallest male with the biggest name

see his little white haired pads on his feet?  he looks to be silver to me!

what's interesting, his nails are pinkish, no other white on him, will be fun to see what color he'll be

(ok, this will be a poster card picture of this litter)

 

 pink girl is "Etienne" has back feet with white toes and white chin, white on the pads of her feet

light blue boy is Entei, pink girl with the white chin is Etienne, yellow boy is Ethan, Red boy is Emmitt

purple girl is on the move "Elyria" 

I've had time to get to know the individual puppies (not in birth order)

they all seem active and healthy to me, and, I think we've got mostly silvers and two blacks

couple of the puppies' faces look light light black to me with lots of white on the pads of their feet, this is our first sable parent litter, not sure how much other color they will have,

Pink Girl is "Etienne" her back feet have white toes and she has a white chin, white on the pads of her feet.  Her name means "a keeper, one you really care about.  Weighed 1# today, she was 15.1oz at birth

Purple Girl is "Elyria" has one foot with two toes with white and a white chin, white on the pads of her feet.  Purple girl was the first puppy born.  She weighed in today at 15oz, at birth she was 13.6oz

White Boy which is Ellington, the last puppy born has lots of white on the pads of his feet, no other white.  Weighed in at 15oz today.  He was born after 3:30am after I had somehow fallen asleep. 

Light Blue Boy is Entei with a white chin and lip, very white pads on this feet and a tiny white slash on his chest, probably will turn very silver and the spots will not be noticable.   His name Entei means legendary fire type beast from pokeman.  Weighed 15oz today, born in the car on the side of the freeway, he did not get weighed at birth.  He's the little fellow I put in my T-shirt and wrapped him in my coat to stay warm.  We are very connected!

Red Boy is Emmitt named after Emmitt Smith from Dancing on the Stars and the greatest running back of all time, the "all time leader of rushing yards".  Emmitt lays in my hand -- sweet baby -- some white on the pads of his feet, pink transluscent nails, he most likely will be a silver boy.  He was born breach had to fight to catch his breath at birth.  Weighed 1# today, at birth was 1#4oz (momma's milk will come in soon)

Green Boy is Enrique, he is an active black puppy, weighed 14oz today, at birth he was 14.9oz (hmm, not unusual for a brand new puppy to loose a little the first few days)

Blue Boy is Everly, he has a tiny white on his chin, couple of white hairs on the pads of his feet, I will say he will look black but will be "blue" meaning a few white hairs throughout his black coat.  Weighed 1# today, at birth he was 14.8oz

Yellow Boy is Ethan (the street before our street on I-74 is Ethanac, thought it was cute to add to the names of the puppies).  Ethan has a little white hairs on the pads of his feet.  Weighed 1# today, at birth he was 14.5oz

PLEASE NOTE, any puppy that will be "silver" will have a silver face probably and feet by the time they are six weeks old.  When picking your puppy you will know which is black and which is silver or any other color

this is our 8th poodle litter, it has not gone anything according to plan, we love them just as much as any other litter, but I have not gotten all of the stats and info onto a piece of paper until today

ok, that's all for today, enjoy!

Paula and Jim

http://www.barefootpudels.com/

Continuing with BIRTH DAY

2am this morning I woke to Tigre' digging and shaking, got up and all of the puppies were soaked with amniotic fluid, etc.  I wiped them down and put them in the little heating pad incubator.  After a few she's persistent to have her babies so a little more dried off I give them back to her.

by 3:30am I'm so tired I can't even think, Tigre' is still slightly shaking and not whimpering as much.  I think I remember laying down.

6:30am I wake up, ready to get everybody outside to potty.  I count Tigre' puppies ... 8 puppies!  I counted them again, they are all black, four unmarked so I count one more boy.

total count this moring  6 boys and 2 females, I did notice one had a tiny white slash on the chest, while they were nursing last night, one of the foot had all white toes, there's a couple with a tiny white gotee.

Momma is exhausted, we've pushed and prodded to get all of those puppies out safely.

I had decided at 3:30 this morning I'd have to take her into the vets to flush the last puppy

the vet explained yesterday that the puppy only has about six hours to survive with only placenta air, once they start being born the chain of oxygen is broken

this skinny little black boy had 14 hours or more ... since I really don't know when exactly he was born, I'm guessing at 3:45am, he’s got an awesome momma that took care of him all by herself.  Tigre' is the bomb!

How do I register 7 puppies born 4/19 and one puppy born 4/20?

Introducing Tigre' and Everad's 2011 beautiful sea of black puppies
#1 female puppy born at the vets at 12:35pm on Tues April 19th, "Elyria"
#2 male puppy born at the vets at 12:54pm "Everly" blue ribbon
#3 male puppy born at the vets at 1:07pm "Ethan" yellow ribbon
#4 male puppy born at the vets at 2:10pm "Enrique" green ribbon
#5 male puppy born in the car on highway 215 at 6:00pm "Entei"  (on-tay)
#6 female first puppy born at home at 6:28pm "Etienne"
#7 male puppy born at home at 7:48pm, "Emmit"  he had to fight to catch his breath
#8 male puppy born after 3:30am with no assistance from the humans on Wed April 20th "Ellington"

puppies are black, some have white/silvery hairs on the pads of their feet which means silver, couple have white on their feet and toes, they look related to D'Angelo and Demi but they are not.

Will take a couple of days to get acclamated with the pups, weigh them again, start getting use to this sea of beautiful black puppies ...  just so you know, we might have a couple of silvers out of the bunch.

Puppies will be small standard poodles about 18-23" ... about 30-45#, will be able to tell more once they start to grow up and become their little personalities and bodies.  I have to tell you though, they are a bunch of sweet loving puppies.  Momma is very calm and cuddly with them, her head is usually over a couple of them, she curls around them to keep them safe.  There's usually one under her neck as she cuddles with them and the whole litter.

... and momma has had a bath....

see the tiny white foot (below) ?

blessings abound, thank you for your prayers
Paula and Jim
... and the pudels

Birth Day still birthing

wowzer what a day!

and Tigre' can say that 7-8 times!

Tigre' has what they call uterine neurusha (wildly misspelled), which mean her uterus does not get enough contractions by itself to push the puppies out.which means she was given oxipertocine to get her uterus to ush the puppies out.  Starting this morning with the first puppy out at the vets at 12:35pm, a beautiful black girl.  The next two came out relatively quick at the vets.  We then had a five hour rest after I brought Tigre' and four tiny puppies home. 

Getting worried and not wanting to injure Tigre' either, I headed to doggy emergency in Temecula.  On the 215 while I was on the phone to the vet, Tigre' had #5 puppy, a black beautiful little boy in the crate in the car, I pulled off the freeway in heavy traffic to find a puppy still in his sack.   After getting him out of such an auspecious situation, I dried him off with my T-Shirt and finished warming him up in my jacket.

Quickly put him in with the other puppies I turning around and came home to add another two black puppies. 

I know people are watching the blog, so I'm updating this pretty quick.  In all of the commotion I spilled my ice tea into the lap top ... not sure it will work again, but we are hoping it will.

so far, and we have one more in there,

Tigre' had two girls and five boys (plus one if it survives) oh, all of them are black.  A few have a kiss of white on a toe, a chin, one had a tiny white slash of white on the chest.

Names have been assigned but will geet to that tomorrow.

congratuations to all, these are really beautfiul puppies.  The blue collared boy has already gotten the nickname Everly (Lil' Ev).

oh, thought this was funny ... the "E" litter was born, well have of them in Lake Elsinore ... ha!  how 'bout that?!

congrat's we still need prayers for that last puppy, but looks like we have an entire litter that's black.

peace out
Paula and Jim
... and the pudels

BIRTH DAY!

just got home with Tigre' and four black puppies, four more to go. X-ray showed 8 not 10

went to the vets this morning, we said she wasn't going to be able to deliver with a puppy sideways at the cervix

vet gave her oxitosin and 30 minutes, within five minutes after the shot she had the little girl



he sent us home with four babies and momma not done delivering...

so far we have
1 black girl and 3 black boys, they are all small, the girl has been eating, she's chunky, there's a puppy with a kiss of white on his/her chin ... first glance is puppies that look like they will be silvers and blacks


momma is being quiet with them and they are nursing, will get weights and get use to them

there's more to come.....

stay tuned, no c-section that's the best news of all, momma is slow and methodical, she's taking excellent care of them already.

April 19th

Tigre's progress

she's been in light labor for a couple of days, it's Day 65 so we were off to the vets first thing this morning,

the x-ray shows a puppy laying across the cervix blocking the exit

c-section scheduled for tomorrow

pray for a small miracle the puppy either heads down or comes out butt first

until later,
Paula

Temperature Update

... at a time like this?!

her temperature is 97.9, like they say "it's bottomed out"

I keep the instructions in mind as an experiment which of my females actually follow what's expected and which are so far off ya wonder why you even bother.

For Tigre' ... today ... with this litter ... she dropped Saturday morning to 98.3 degrees farenheit

since Sunday morning about 9am she's been no higher than 99.7

this morning's temp was 99.1, two hours later was 98.6, two hours later was 98.4,

shaking and early onset labor starts but not active labor

2pm 98.6, two hours later its 97.9 ... what they call "bottoms out"  she's sleeping and not worried about a thing

As part of this observation and experiment we will continue to watch the temperature.  She's laying across the room staring at me and watching Hilde eat ... not even considering eating at this point.


"the instructions" say from the time the bitch bottoms out she should whelp within 12-24 hours


hmm, she would have to get busy to get that done ... I think, again, my guess has not been accurate yet


but as the human observing this miracle of life, I'm only reporting the facts!

wish us luck!  we've got a long ways to go before presentation

bye for now, keep checking back, could be quick, could be days

ok, maybe today

it's so weird, I'm sitting at my desk, I look down at Tigre's jumping tummy to 
watch the puppies romp around.  She's sound a sleep.  Then I see the puppy make 
a quick movement towards her hip, then down then up towards her spine.  Her woo 
(vulva) and tail jump up and looks like there's a puppy starting to come out, 
like all she has to do is a tiny push and the puppy would be free.  She's asleep 
through this and then it stops.  She lets out a fart and then curls up. 
If her body would do any tiny thing as in labor, these puppies would be jumping 
out of there. 
 
she's back to sleep, her body rocking with every breath.  From here she doesn't 
look like she's going to be in hard labor to get those puppies out, looks like 
all she has to do is a slight push. 
 
12:35 pm, Monday

few minutes later we go into the kitchen, Tigre' is trying not to throw up

I take her outside she's stands so we go into the house,

she starts to shake,

get the clock, get the computer ... it's 1:05pm and she's curled up and slightly moaning

ok, so probably today

1:25pm she's shaking, doesn't want to push and then stops, does some moaning, looks early yet

well.... it's almost 3:30pm, she's sleeping, she keeps starting and stopping.  We just did this with Hilde, but, Hilde was in shaking mode for 24 hours, Tigre' is starting and stopping.   She will panic - look at her tummy/vulva, not sure what to do, obviously it's strong movement in there. 

right now she's asleep under my desk on top of my feet ... I would say we can call this restless and hiding, finding an appropriate place to whelp. 

it's going to take a while, maybe today, maybe tomorrow ... or early Wed?  Havn't I already said this?  hmm, that was about three days ago.  At this point, I'll just tell you what's going on and let you know when we have that first puppy that's so willing to find its way out ... yeah a strong initiative and we will start having this litter.

stay tuned, thankfully looks like we will have puppies naturally

Day 64

still waiting

no signs of distress, anxiety or restlessness ... just uncomfortable

puppies are kicking strong, momma had a little breakfast and now sleeping, poor girl, very uncomfortable

not uncommon, some litters take longer than others

blessings,

Paula 

Temperature Update

we got the drop!


her temp has been at 100 degrees for 24 hours, we just got the drop to 98 degrees ... should be today or tomorrow ... she's restless to get comfortable


stay tuned

Tigre' is still packin'

Day 62

shaved her down for her comfort with the warm weather

Tigre' does not mind having her picture taken this morning which is unusual, she looks up at me without moving her head, can ya say uncomfortable!

ok, well, looks like she's going to make her due date (at least)!  She's in good spirits, rattled around in her whelping box last night but nothing serious.  She's stretching, puppies have big movements with kicking and rolling ... honestly?  too much movement for delivery day

she's hungry and eating just fine.  We know when she was bred, but -- we don't know when the migration actually attached.   

have a great day,

blessings,

Paula and Jim

she's getting started

will have an update of puppies pretty soon,

she's starting but slowly, could be by morning, could be 24 hours, could be sunday ... sound decisive enough?  well it's not a science, every new mommy is a whole experience,

will let ya know

blessings,
Paula and Jim

Our Boys

they look so cute with their new do's I wanted to share both of their pictures,

Sire of this litter with Tigre', "Everad"

see his perfect teeth?

this is the sire to Hilde's litter that whelped April 3rd, 2011, Joaquin

Friday April 15th

Day 61

we are still here!

Half amazed the puppies havn't just slipped out, she's huge!    Temperature is low, Girth is 33"

DAY 60 April 14th

she clearly is not energetic, doesn't really want to go outside, wants to be under my feet, a little confused what she's feeling ... went to bed early last night, she was uncomfortable, little short breathing all night, her tummy is so full it's difficult to eat,


wow huh, can't believe she hasn't kicked into labor

her Girth is 31", temperature normal, sleeping under the coffee table and really doesn't want to talk to anyone,   Hilde is like ... ?   what's with Tigre?  she doesn't want to play

yesterday she played in the water outside, she jumped around and ran in circles, but mostly just doesn't want to move around much, lots of sleeping and lots of 'I want hugs' and under my feet

will be soon,

blessings
Paula and Jim

Day 58 April 12th

another picture added below for DAY 58

everything is normal today, she's very uncomfortable, I heard her getting comfortable throughout the night, little whinning, puppies are getting close and the weight is starting to push on the birth canal.

Today's pictures of Momma Tigre'
poor girl, she really is usually more photogenic, not sure if she wants to eat, she is prancing around outside, the camera just isn't a welcome sight lately.

Temperature is normal this morning, puppies are rolling around in there, looks like they are starting to shift toward the tail to me.  Girth today is 31" (fluctuating)

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Tigre' in her newly set up whelping box, usually have the mommies have their puppies in the puppy pool and then transfer them to the whelping box.  With Tigre's size and the size of the litter on the way, I put the whelping box up today.  It's 48"x48" with very tall walls, puppies can stay in there for a while with the walls that tall.  It's our first Dura Whelp I definitely will get Hilde's puppies one too, just to keep them safe and enclosed.  Tigre' is all set, she's got the Dura Whelp Box, the lamp and transmitter, we've reviewed the whelping video, whelping kit ready to use, whelping pad under the newspaper for the actual whelp, have a supply of newspapers and puppy pads ... we are ready!

she likes it, she's just not comfortable and for the first time ever, doesn't really like the camera

Watching Momma Tigre' like a TV

she can whelp any time, we prefer her and the puppies wait until Day 63 but will see how it works out,

measured her girth this afternoon, it's 32" she just might make 34" (1" for each puppy) by the time she whelps!

*******  Week Nine ******* 

It's countdown time!

Development of the Puppies

*  Growth and Development continues

Changes in the Bitch (technical term)

* Nesting behavior may be seen

* Bitch may become distressed (panting, pacing, acting uncomfortable)

* Temperature should be around 100.2-100.8 degrees Farenheit

* When the temperature drops to around 97-98 degrees Farenheit, puppies should be born within 24 hours

* Appetite probably disappears the day of whelping.

To do List for us?

* Keep detailed records on temperature and behavior of bitch

* Notify your vet if anything seems weird or pushing for several hours and no puppy

What is Tigre' doing today?

she's very affectionate, takes cat naps and sleeps deeply, plays, barks, stretching, her tummy is very white and with milk coming in and the warm of the puppies, her tummy is pinkish/red in areas.   She's is hungry ... no real signs this morning of onset labor ... but can change within a half of a day ... or can take until sunday ...

stay tune,

if you don't have your gender and color guesses in, please do, cut off is the delivery of the puppies when we all know for sure what's in there.

blessings

Paula and Jim

DAY 56 we are on the last week

one more week, next sunday by this time I expect puppies!

geez, poor girl not her best picture, but to see the tummy and shaved back end it's effective.  Tigre' is a beautiful, sweet, warm personality standard poodle.  She's a sable cream/white parti with long eye lashes and dark circle eye liner around her eyes.  She's shaved way down for the puppies at 8+ wks pregnant.

I start taking her temperature 3x a day tomorrow, already started
She is very playful yesterday and today, she's eating well but not as much at a time

she's huge!

Her temperature is normal this morning

Girth is 30" ... was 29 1/2" yesterday.  At this stage of the game her girth will fluctuate and so will her temperature

Puppies are gaining and rolling around.  Tigre' is running around and eating and playing.  It's Sunday, our neighbors are outside walking around so the running and barking is lots of fun

There's a bunch in there,

blessings,
Paula

Day 52

I can feel the puppies rolling around when putting my hand on her belly, few blurps for the big puppies moving around can be seen.  She had a mini-bath this morning, as soon as the weather warms up she will get a bath and trimmed up to look pretty, about a week is the overall back end shave.

Girth is 30"  about 11 days to go for delivery...

Tigre' is restless in a way that keeps her walking around the yard, eating and hungry, her tummy when she lays on her side pooches up with a ledge, her milk sacks are beginning to to get pink and round, she's licking her tummy to easy the stretching I'm sure.  I'm feeding her 4-5 mini meals a day plus she can munch on kibble and of course I'm handing out wheat-free, tasty, healthy, crunchy snacks like its Halloween... lol

she's doing great though,
use to sleeping in her whelping box, I can hear her knocking around to get comfortable all night,
puppies need to stay right where they are for as long as possible, Day 63 is optimum for development

it's waiting time for her now, if you don't have your guess for gender and/or color
add your comment to this page

peace out for now,
Paula, Jim and the pudels

Another Guess for Color and Gender, Person closest gets a prize

Oooooh mommy Tigre...you look so motherly...
My guess...
4 girls, 6 boys
3 solid cream
2 parti cream
2 parti black & white
3 black or blue/silver 
Dewi

GUESS THE GENDER AND COLOR OF THE PUPPIES, THE PERSON CLOSEST WILL WIN A PRIZE

So for Tigre, I am guessing:

5 girls, 5 boys (or maybe even 6 boys)

3 standards, 3 kleins, and 6 small standards

5 creams – 2 or 3 solid cream, the rest parti

2 blue/silver

2 blacks

1 black & white - I’m with you about there being at least one black and white parti

If Tigre sticks with the traditions of having a surprise extra puppy, I think that #11 would be a parti of some sort – white & black or cream & brownish.

I’m still trying to understand color genetics, so I might be voting for something that’s impossible.

Lara

this is what she looks like today, Day 50, girth is 29"

(she started at 24", the rule of thumb is 1" for every puppy)

could I have a second, I mean, third helping please?

*********** 8th week *********** 

Day 50 to 57

When Dam is resting you can sometimes see and feel the pups moving. Pups can be born at any time now, but keeping them in for another week is much better, so avoid rough-play.

Milk may be squeezed from the nipples by the end of the week. Some dams, can get milk, (colostrum) as early as day 45. but normally they do not.

Start taking temperature the end of the week.  Puppies can be born anytime after Day 57, the longer the better, Day 60-63 is preferred (did you hear that Tigre'?)

Puppies fully developed, just gaining weight and get stronger to survive outside momma's womb

Gather Whelping Kit, and gas up the vehicle

Whelping kit ready to go.  Purchased a whelping kit for Hilde's litter.  There were drops to give to a sluggish puppies.  I actually gave it to Hilde several times by the time she was done delivering.  It made a world of difference for her, I will do the same for Tigre' if she seems to need it ... ha!  10 puppies, I'm sure she will appreciate it.   

Grace's last litter was born during the night, started at 12:30am, if I remember correctly, went to about 11am.  Jim and I both drank an energy drink and we both about dropped we were so tired.  please Tigre', have the puppies during the day!  Hilde started at 5:30am that's fine, do something like that.

Give the dam NO calcium, no puppy kibble, no raw bones, no sardines, no cottage cheese or cheese, or calcium pills this week. they will get an ample amount in their regular kibble. If they are really fussy, and you feed Eukanuba kibble, try the canned version, but not the puppy version. Many dams in the last week are fussy, and will eat the canned food.  yep, got it covered