First Meal!

So at the start of Week 3, all the pups were introduced to their first non-Emma meal! They got to sample some gourmet baby cereal mixed with goats milk - and with very little prompting were all eating like champs within seconds! We'll be adding basic foods such as eggs, yogurt and honey this week to their gruel. Next week they'll get to taste some fruits and veggies, and maybe even some chicken! It was hysterical watching them dunk themselves into it ther meals! Yellow got fed up with being the peanut at the end of mealtime and sat her whole body right in the dish - precious!

Week 3 also marks weigh-in for the pups, and they are all gaining very nicely.

Black weighs in at 3lb 5oz this week.

Royal weighs in at 3lb 2oz.

Green weighs in at just 1/2 ounce shy of 4 pounds!!

Light Blue weighs in at 3lb 10oz.

Lavender weighs in at 2lb 10.5 oz

Orange weighs in at 3lb 9oz

Yellow weighs in at 2lb 7.75oz

And Pink weighs in at 3lb 7.5oz.

What a wonderful, happy and healthy litter!

Barking and Playing Together!

So with their eyes open, it's like this whole other world has opened up for them as well... they recognize each other, and are having a blast toddling around after each other. I just had to share about tonight though - they were absolutely hysterical! They were all toddling around the whelping box and making noises after each other - barking, growling and snorting! And then when that wasn't enough, they started to tackle each other and chew on their ears and noses - it was so cute to watch... I did get some video, but I'm technologically challenged... You'll just have to take my word for the cuteness!

Movie Night

Here's a video of the 10 day Chinook puppy race finalist for the girls' team. It's Pink who took first place! Do you think maybe Emma had some influence in the outcome? Girls rule!

2 Weeks Old Already!!

Wow! Can you believe they're already 2 weeks old!! It seems like they're older somehow - maybe that's just because of how big they're getting :-) Their eyes were all open by the end of the weekend, and it would seem that they're starting to notice sounds more and more. They were particularly interested in a loud bag of candy we were enjoying Sunday (snacks to observe them with of course!). And while no one has escaped from the whelping box quite yet, we definitely have a couple adventurous types - Pink and Green were quite curious about the outside world, but couldn't quite figure out how to get their back legs up and over yet. Just to be safe, though, I added an extra board to give the box some additional height - momma can get in but the babies can't get out! Well for now :)

Pictures of their 2 week photo shoot are below - you'll notice that Green and Yellow no longer wear neck bands - their colors are so distinct that I can pick them out just fine without them! Green is the red-dilute boy (and the biggest in the litter so far!) and Yellow is the dark girl (and the peanut in the bunch so far!). And the breakdown of weights is as follows (pictures match weights in descending order):

Pink is at 2lb 9.5oz, Lavender is at 2lb 1/2oz, Royal is at 2lb 8.5oz, Light Blue is at 2lb 12 oz, Yellow is at 1lb 15.7oz, Orange is at 2lb 9oz, Green is at 3lb 1/2oz, and Black is at 2lb 10.5oz.

Stay tuned for their first sled dog race - coming soon :)

The Boys at two weeks: Black, Light Blue, Royal, and Green.

The Girls' Team: Orange, Pink, Lavender, and Yellow.

Their First Race!

Okay so for their 10 day mark, Nancy and I thought how cute it would be to have the boys and girls participate in their very first race. :) And yes there's video, a short clip from the races is below. From the boys team it was Royal who crossed the finish line first, with "Buddha" (green) a close second. The other two boys, black and light blue stalled out at the start and went for the big power nap instead of racing. (Priorities, priorities!)

From the girls team it was Pink who crossed the finish line first - up on all fours and moving ahead with purpose and direction! The other three girls, orange, yellow, and lavender were just abuzz at the start line, too busy talking about hair and make-up to even think about breaking a sweat on the trail. :) All in all it was a lot of fun and gave the pups a wee bit of exercise, new stimulation, and practice in getting to momma (Emma served graciously as the carrot for our festivities!).

As they near the 2 week mark, I'm noticing many little slits for eyes (yes, I had it wrong... apparently eyes AND ears open at 2 weeks... who knew :) No sign that they can hear me yet, but it is exciting to see them maturing so well. Almost everyone is over the 2 pound mark, with Yellow and Lavender still the peanuts of the litter. And big boy Green (we may call him Buddha for now!) is nearing 3 pounds headed into the weekend.

I'll keep you posted as we take pictures this weekend - hopefully with some beautiful baby eyes to gaze upon!!

Happy Spring!!!
(oh, and the pic above is my son Asher snuggling Buddha :)

Puppy Breath

What is puppy breath?

Once you smell this distinct, clean, sweet smell, you'll never ask again! :) No puppy breath is yet detected on Emma's puppies but we are marking the days!

A web search to define puppy breath found only a few hits, maybe because the puppy breath phenomenon is, (in a good way), simply indescribable.

Here are a few comments from the web:

Vet, consultant and author Thomas Catanzaro has been famously quoted as saying, "Of all the things I miss from veterinary practice, puppy breath is one of the most fond memories."

There are passionate devotees of this odor who practically snort a little pooch's muzzle every chance they get. (Which is certainly better than smelling what comes out the other end.)

Puppy breath is perfectly healthy and -- unfortunately -- a little like new-car smell in that it disappears in a few months. They grow up so fast!

Catanzaro and other vets guess that puppy breath is a result of their healthy, mild diet of mother's milk and puppy food, and the enzymes that break these things down.

Some vets learn in school that puppy breath is caused by a still-developing esophagus leaking gas from the stomach.

Send in your comments: thumbs up or thumbs down for puppy breath!

One Week Old!

Wow can you believe the pups are already a week old? I can't :) They're moving around better now, and even starting to use their back legs to practice walking a bit. And yesterday I swear Orange actually barked at me! It was sooo cute!! It's such a joy to watch them grow up... everyone, including momma, are doing very well... eating well and gaining :) here are some pics from their 1 week photo shoot. As far as weights, here's how they're doing: Black is at 1lb 11oz; Green is at 1lb 15.5oz (almost 2 pounds!!); Orange is at 1lb 11.5oz; Yellow is at 1lb 6.5oz; Light Blue is at 1lb 10oz; Royal is at 1lb 13oz; Lavender is at 1lb 5.5oz (the peanut of the litter so far!); and Pink is at 1lb 13oz.

Boys v/s Girls

Meet the the boys' team!

Royal Blue - Light Blue Green - Black
Weights at 3 days in the order above:
1lb 2 5/8 oz - 1lb 1 1/4 oz
1lb 3/4 oz - 1lb 1 3/4 oz

And introducing

the girls' team!

Pink - Lavender
Yellow - Orange
Weights at 3 days:

1lb 1 1/2 oz - 1lb 3 3/8 oz

15 oz - 1lb 1 1/4 oz

Emma

Friends have been asking how Emma is doing and how her big sis Luna is taking to being an auntie. Both are doing great! These are a few photos of Emma doing what she does very well - being a loving mom to her 8 Chinook pups.

Sister Luna is getting special runs at the park for some personal attention and Luna is slowly having more interaction with her lil' nieces and nephews. Emma is going to need Luna's help in a few weeks! I remember Emma's mom Ursa's litter - at about two-three weeks Ursa turned to her sis Crystal and said: "They're yours now!" :)

www.intervalechinooks.net/Chinookpuppies_2010.html

They're Heeeere!

Congratulations Emma and Booker!

Over the eve of March 6 and 7,

Emma whelped a beautiful litter

of 4 male and 4 female Chinook pups!

Game Time!

The time from a breeding until an ultrasound to determine if there are pups is only a few weeks, though it seems like a lifetime! At 28 days, Emma's ultrasound showed 7 pups. Fresh chilled really does work! :)

A week before Emma's due date, Whelpwise, a canine perinatal monitoring service, shipped a fetal contraction monitor and fetal doppler to help keep tabs on the condition of Emma and her pups. Checking for heart beats and heart rates, the doppler found an 8th puppy! The contraction monitor picked up the beginning of labor on the morning of March 6th.

Pre-Game Review

Chinook dogs Emma and Booker (Intervale Brown Eyed Girl and Lighthouse Point Sur) were bred the day after New Year's using progesterone testing to pinpoint timing for the breeding, then fresh chilled semen (fondly referred to as Booker in a Box :) which was shipped overnight from Ohio to Connecticut. The whelping date aka the date the pups are due, was determined by both Emma's reproductive vet and her WhelpWise crew to be March 6, 2010.