Name That Puppy!

Yesterday I was reminded of where all this licking comes from -- Cadi's dad, Marshall. Marshall's mom wrote, "... I have always called Marshall the "licky freak" so I fear Cadi comes by that gene naturally..." So, cleanliness is a family trait -- wish that particular trait extended to my human family members!

Puppies are doing so well but they are a talkative bunch. This is, no doubt, Marshall's fault as well! Cadi is a girl who likes to share her opinion and apparently the puppies are starting early. Everyone is doing so well that I moved to my bed last night, which is located about ten feet from the whelping box, as I have previously mentioned. The puppies are a chatty bunch and their every noise wakes me up. I literally got up 6 - 7 times last night to make sure everyone was okay. Usually it was just someone practicing an opinion but occasionally someone had wandered away from the rest and so was sending one of those puppy SOS signals.

Cali asked if Geneva does better with low flow nipples and we think she does. The rear of the Dairy Bar is where the prime seating is -- no sucking is required as the milk practically gushes. Geneva does better in one of the forward seats where the milk flow is less abundant.

Today I wanted to share more names (with comments) from Elizabethanne; I share them with her permission. I am sure you will agree that she is quite entertaining -- and good!

"Going Places (gee, where'd I get THAT idea???)

Global Affair (any of the names you picked for the puppies are nicely
global)

Golden Jubilee (Still working that party theme)

Gimme Shelter (Mick or Jagger)

Gideon's Trumpet (call name Henry, cuz Henry Fonda played Gideon in the
movie; or some appropriate legal name)

Just kidding on this one: Groundhog Day (cuz didn't you just HAVE a bunch
of puppies???)

Get Your Groove On (Dancer?)

Gung Ho

Greased Lightning (Danny)

Gold Rush (Rush)

Gold Digger

Gold Coast

Grand Prix

Golly Gee Whillikers (call name Will or G)

Going My Way (Bing)

G.I. Jane (Jane or Demi)

Go West (West)

Gambit

Get Real (call name Truth)

Gidget Goes Hawaiian (if you had a puppy going there this would be cute!)

Gladiator (Russell)

The name you'll want to give all the pups by the time they are 8 weeks: Get
Outta Here!"

Nicole, my daughter, also enjoys thinking of names and has some fun ones; she shares the following:

"Golden Goose: Butterball
Git R Done: Rodeo/Cowboy
Grand Entrance: Red/Paparazzi
Golden Ticket: Wonka
Greetings: Season
Greatest Sock Eater: Credit/Zipper
Going Crazy: Sane
Glue: Elmer"

And in the spirit of names, it is time for our first "Name That Puppy"! There are three close-ups -- can you name that puppy??

Hope you will name your day wonderful! Thanks for visiting :)

One Week Collage

One Down, Seven to Go (weeks, that is!)

We have all arrived safely at the one-week mark! So many things can go wrong in that first week and so it is a big relief to have it done. We will be taking one-week pictures and making a collage so watch for that later.

Whitby is a star today! His picture has made the homepage of the Berner-L. You have already seen the picture but it is fun to see it there and you can join the Berner-L if you haven’t already at: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Berner-l/

Geneva continues to blow milk bubbles but I think it is at a reduced rate. She is one of the smaller puppies but her weight gain is perfectly fine. I had a dream last night that Toronto had opened his eyes this morning! He hasn’t but I think the dream is a reflection of my amazement at his size and growth – he is gi-normous, as Megan and Molly would say! Sydney is keeping up with the boys and is about their size – she is a little tank.

Both Toronto and Jamaica like to explore. Several times a day they send out a puppy SOS to be rescued from some remote place in the whelping box and/or because they have left the safety of the fleece and found themselves trapped on slippery linoleum.

Yesterday Galen was holding and admiring Hudson - he is a stunning boy (Hudson, but Galen is cute also). Galen was talking to him to get his attention so he could look at Hudson's face. I had to point out that Hudson is both deaf and blind and so saying, "hey, hey" probably would not have any effect :)

Cadi continues to be an amazingly good mom. We are used to clean puppies but these almost sparkle! They are so plump and it is fun to hold their solid little bodies. Ever since Marti noted the dark rust I have marveled at that – already their colors are so vivid. And yes, they do have such tiny little ears!

Yesterday I made an appointment to interview a new vet clinic. This one is promising – five vets and they have someone on site 24 hours a day. They had a vet available to come out and do dewclaws yesterday BUT he would not use a local anesthetic. This is pretty typical actually and many breeders remove their own dewclaws (well, their own puppies’ dewclaws). However, while numbing the area does hurt for a second, it blocks the pain of the removal and for several hours after so I do not understand why that is not standard of care?! As I mentioned to Galen, they used to circumcise infants without anesthesia (he cringed – probably more from the mention of a private body part than the idea of circumcision without anesthesia) and so I think veterinary medicine is just a little behind. So I elected to stick with the Monday removal of dewclaws by the mobile vet but I will meet with a vet from the no anesthesia clinic on Tuesday. We will find a good match for us yet!

I included a couple of pictures that show the puppies' reverse hourglass figures! Also, can you tell which one is Sydney and which one is Jamaica?? I bet Cali can ;)

I want to give a shout out for Trish, Jed's mom. Not only did she go out of her way to make this litter happen on her end, but she is as excited about the puppies as I am! It is very fun to have someone to "gush" with and we sometimes exchange emails just to say how incredibly cute the puppies are! Yes, we are both proud grandmas for sure -- with all that is associated with that. I supposed we will soon have bumper stickers that say, "My Grandpuppies are Cuter Than Yours"!

I bet your grandmas thought you were a most perfect baby -- isn't unconditional love and acceptance such a gift! Let's spread it around today!

Thanks for your visit and have a loving, perfect day!

Weigh-in

The puppies are not officially six days old until tonight so here are the 5.5 day old weights -- the first number is birth weight and the second is weight this morning (in ounces):

Jamaica: 12.15/26.8
Geneva (aka "Bubbles"): 14.4/26.95
Ireland: 13.6/28.05
Sutton: 16.25/31.35
Whitby: 14.0/32.2
Sydney: 17/34.05
Hudson: 17.15/35.4
...and the winner of the Heavyweight Title...
Toronto: 19.35/37.9!

WalMart Here We Come -- NOT!

Thanksgiving at Puppy Central was just another day of feasting for the Glitterati. Puppies typically double their birth weight at 7 - 8 days -- Jamaica and Whitby doubled their birth weight last night at just five days and the rest should double today! Cadi does everything well, but who knew that she would be so skilled at milk? The Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America has a variety of Top Producer awards -- maybe Cadi thinks there is a Top Producer of Milk award?!

Whatever she is doing and for whatever reason, it is working! These puppies are growing so well and they look great. I weigh them morning and night, and will post their morning weights later so you can see for yourself.

Cadi is definitely more relaxed and will even leave the whelping box for short times. She is careful with her babies now and continues to be very, very attentive to them and especially to keeping them spotlessly clean. I mentioned that she does not like to eat away from them and so I feed her next to the whelping box. Well, that was not good enough -- now she picks up her bowl and takes it into the box to eat! She is a clever girl :)

Cadi's increased attention to detail and the puppies increased size means that the Puppy Safety Patrol can transform a bit. We have continued to split the night shift -- I go to bed at 7 p.m. and get up at 1:30 or 2 a.m., although this morning Galen managed to stay awake until nearly 3 a.m.!!! I feel like I slept in -- and isn't that sad in a funny sort of way??!! But tonight we will transition to a less vigilant plan -- I will "sleep" in a chair next to the whelping box. After a few days of this, I will move to my bed, which will be about ten feet away from the whelping box. And then the whole show will move to Utah -- I am trying not to think about how we will manage that feat!

When the puppies nurse and the milk lets down, they have started to make the sweet little noise that all puppies seem to make -- it sounds like, "uh, uh, uh, uh..." Their bodies get still as they focus on what I imagine is a torrent of milk, and then they drop off like satisfied ticks. They usually just fall asleep on the spot, head next to Cadi or on a sibling, in a stupor of fullness much like most of America felt last night, I suspect!

My goal today with the pictures was to begin to help you identify puppies. I took close-ups of two boys that I think are distinctive. Hudson is the one with more white on his muzzle; one of his white paws is also visible. Hudson (Rock Hudson, according to Joan) is perfectly marked and very good-looking. The other close-up on the blanket (thanks again Liz) is Toronto. He has a wide blaze but less white on his muzzle. Toronto is a big, solid puppy who likes to take laps around the whelping box! The two puppies together that are both right side up are Ireland and Jamaica. Ireland has more of a blaze but is dark on the right side of her muzzle, while Jamaica has a very skinny blaze and a little more muzzle white. Finally, that is Whitby on Cadi's rear paws. Aren't the puppies just adorably perfect?!

The puppies have decided not to join the shopping crowds today so we will sit out this traditional start of the spending -- oops, I mean holiday -- season. Instead we will continue to enjoy this quiet, precious time of new life and growth, and leave WalMart for those brave souls who enjoy a real challenge!

I hope your day is spent doing what you love -- shopping, working, playing or whatever it is! Thanks for checking in with us today.

The Drama of the Dewclaws

One thing I like about having dogs is the opportunities they present to learn more about myself. Yesterday I was invited to give a talk at a local hospice and so I did that, stopped for groceries and raced home to get the house cleaned up a bit before the vet arrived to do the dewclaws. I waited and waited, but this is normal for my vet when she makes house calls. They finally called -- they thought I was coming in to the clinic! I am not sure how that mix-up happened but I have never taken puppies to a clinic at this age and have no plans to start!

I had already decided to switch vets and so had an appointment to interview a new one next Tuesday -- I called that clinic to see if their vet would be willing to make a house call. The person from that clinic who called me back did not just say no but essentially "heck no". (I try hard not to swear but if I did, the response I got would not include the word, "heck").

So, there I was -- day before Thanksgiving -- with no vet in sight, and dewclaws. It does not help that I know almost nobody here -- I was seriously missing my vets back in Salt Lake City. I got the idea to call one of the two dog people I know and she gave me some great ideas. I called a mobile vet and got an appointment for Monday. I worried that the puppies would be too old by then and so called one of my vets in Utah, left a message and had a return call in about 90 seconds. Dr. Bagley said Monday would be fine -- I told him that he needed to move to Missoula.

The whole drama (and it felt like drama) was unsettling. I was disappointed that I had such a hard time finding a vet who was willing to meet my request. And then I started to wonder if I was being unreasonable and demanding, which made me wonder if I am unreasonable and demanding in general, and that caused me to do some self-reflection (and some mental ranting at vets and their staff). In the end I decided that likely I was demanding and do have pretty high standards but that I was okay with all that and therefore not likely to change. In the midst of all this mental self-examination and ranting, I managed to beat Galen at Scrabble and not by spelling the words, "dewclaw" or "bitch".

And so the puppies retain their rear dewclaws and I need a new vet. Do I go to the vet I already had the appointment with on Tuesday, even though she has at least one staff member who needs to attend Customer Service 101 and she would not do a house call for me? Or do I keep looking? I think you will agree with me that the best solution to this is that one of my children needs to attend vet school -- and soon!

The puppies are perfectly content to wait until Monday as they are extremely busy. Five day old puppies have a lot to do -- eat, sleep, scoot around, and make a variety of interesting noises. Sometimes they even try to suffocate themselves but they seem to be getting a grip and are less likely to engage in potentially self-destructive behavior -- we are definitely grateful for this! Their growth is really unreal -- if Cadi were a Holstein she would definitely be the star at the Dairy and win a blue ribbon at the State Fair! Her puppies are gaining at an incredible rate. They are round and satisfied little babies -- and of course, they are extremely clean!

Happy Thanksgiving! It does not feel like Thanksgiving to me because we are not going to be with our family this year :( I can't go to Utah because of the puppies, and we decided it did not make sense for Kim and others to come here so it will be a different kind of holiday for us. I will be in Utah soon for the winter break and so it will be okay but yes, it is a a little sad not to be joining everyone for the Big Dinner. Galen and I are planning a Scrabble tournament and we will have our own little dinner, and we will be very thankful that all of the puppies are doing so well.

I love today's pictures as they really give you a sense of things here. There are five puppy faces taken at the Dairy Bar -- isn't that a sweet picture?! There are also two pictured close-up as they rested on Cadi after nursing. Jamaica is getting a scrub down from Cadi in one picture, another is being held and washed, and Toronto is getting a kiss from Cadi in another. There is a close-up of Toronto as well -- he is on his side with a paw up. Ireland is the puppy who is on her side and lifting her head up. The two that are nose to nose are Hudson and Ireland.

I hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends, and that you find many reasons to be thankful! The puppies are thankful for such loyal friends :)

Little Moments, Big Successes

As I was sitting here thinking about what to write, I realized that the puppies have only very small accomplishments or changes to report. And that made me think about how those small things are actually wonderful, interesting, big things, and from there I thought about how easy it is to overlook all those things in our own lives -- those seemingly insignificant achievements that make up our daily lives. When we are kind to someone for that brief moment in time that we connect in a line, or when we are patient with a child or co-worker, or even when we manage to eat a good breakfast or walk our dog -- those are things to be proud of in our lives. The Big Successes are far and few between, but our days are made up of many small successes that deserve recognition.

And so let me tell you that Jamaica is an explorer! She likes to scoot around the box, and when you are just three days old I think that is something to cheer! And the boys -- well, they are serious tanks. They belly up to that Dairy Bar that appears to be serving out straight cream and they are gaining weight like nobody's business. In a 24 hour period ending last evening, Hudson, Toronto and Whitby all gained about four ounces! Now, I would have no trouble gaining four ounces in one day but pretend you weigh 150 pounds -- in order to equal Hudson's accomplishment of gaining 18% of his weight in 24 hours you would need to gain 27 pounds!!! Isn't that just incredible to think about?!

The biggest puppy in the litter right now is Toronto. He is a big, solid boy weighing just under 30 ounces. Hudson is a couple of ounces behind him, and at the other end, three girls are in the 20 ounce range: Ireland, Jamaica and Geneva. They seem so small next to those big boys but they are growing well and doing just fine. Geneva does continue to blow bubbles but I have decided to just watch her and not give her antibiotics for an infection that she does not have. She is gaining weight and seems fine so we will just hope she outgrows this.

Cadi is settling down nicely. She seems more careful and is more relaxed. I still have to feed her next to her whelping box or else she will not eat, and getting her to even go outside to potty is a chore and I have to stay with her to remind her why we are outside. But I am feeling hopeful that soon we will not need to be awake all the time, which would be very nice because getting up at 2 a.m. is a bit early even for me!

Someone asked about Cadi's collar -- it says, "Always Nice, Never Naughty". Someone else asked about how we are managing everyone -- it is a challenge but we are trying hard. Zoey and Faith are in an x-pen close by (in the Great Room) and we make sure they are getting walks, play time, things to chew, and go outside for potty breaks. They actually seem to be doing quite well with all this. The older dogs are also doing okay. I have a gate up between the Great Room and whelping box room, and Cadi is okay with them on the other side of the gate. So I sit here and Asia -- my shadow -- sits next to me on the other side of the gate. I am managing to get daily walks in with all of them, even if the walks are shorter than normal, and I also try to do a little training with them as well. I am trying to focus on the small successes/accomplishments of my days or else I would feel terrible at not getting enough done!

Today at 2 p.m. the vet is coming to remove the rear dewclaws. I hate this but it is one of those unpleasant things that must be done -- our breed standard calls for it. In Halo's litter there were just two puppies who had rear dewclaws but all eight in this litter have them -- bummer :( They are loosely attached and so removal is easy and fast, and they will be numb but that numbing injection still hurts. I hate that I have to allow something painful or bad to happen to them when everything we are doing is about making sure they are getting the very best start in life.

Pictures! The puppy draped over Cadi's paw is Sydney -- remember that she has that big white left paw. The close-up profile is Hudson. The puppy on his back is Toronto. The puppy sleeping on Cadi's neck is Jamaica. The close-ups let you see how fast that pigment is coming in and yes, as Marti noted we have dark rust! I did not even see that until Marti mentioned it -- thanks! Don't forget that clicking on a picture enlarges it.

As most of you already know, we do not mark puppies but rather learn to recognize them -- and you will also! When Cali came up to visit Halo's puppies when they were just three weeks old, she could correctly identify them all just from pictures!! Will you be up for the Cali Challenge??? Start studying!

Thanks for visiting us and I hope your day is filled with little moments that you recognize as big successes!

Puppy Safety Patrol Reporting Live

It is 3 a.m. and here I sit on Puppy Safety Patrol. The need for this was illustrated yesterday. I was about 15 feet away from the whelping box at the kitchen table having breakfast. I had settled Cadi with puppies and all was well just a minute before. I heard some squeaking and looked over to see Halo with a very concerned expression. I jumped up and ran to the box, quickly counted seven puppies and dragged Cadi up to find that she had rolled onto a puppy! The puppy was okay but another few minutes and she would not have been. Very scary :(

The puppies can scoot around and so they spread out a bit. As Cadi rolls to lick one puppy who has scooted off, she easily can land on another. They are so small and she is a new mom so this is just a reality of raising a litter. I know of so many litters that have lost puppies in that way -- it just takes a few minutes. As the puppies get bigger and louder, and Cadi becomes more experienced this risk will be reduced and we can have a more relaxed Puppy Safety Patrol -- but for now we are vigilant and exhausted.

Speaking of exhausted, Cadi is finally starting to sleep. At this moment she is snoring and her tongue is hanging out -- she is completely zonked out. Cadi has not really been sleeping for days and so I think it is all catching up with her and now she sleeps more while puppies nurse rather than trying to lick the fur right off of them. She is still going for that Clean Puppy award, but she actually takes breaks now, which is good for all involved!

The puppies are thriving. Last night I calculated weight gain at 48 hours and it ranged from 22% over birth weight to 34%! This is impressive. I suspect that all the licking Cadi does keeps those puppies stimulated and so they nurse, and since Cadi can't really be the Beauty Queen she is right now, she has decided to be the Dairy Queen instead. Puppies are definitely benefiting from the great abundance of milk, and they are plump and sleek (and clean!).

The puppies are entering the Smudge Puppy phase. This is when the pigment on their noses starts to darken, and it looks like their noses are just dirty. Yesterday I thought one had something on his nose so wiped it but it was just a spot of pigment so it stayed on :)

I took a picture just to show you what I mean about the smudge on the nose. I was marveling at the little feet and so I took a close-up of a rear foot to share with you. The foot still has the rear dewclaw, as you can see; those will come off tomorrow afternoon. We remove only rear dewclaws (not the front ones) and it is done with local anesthesia but still not a fun time. When I am cleaning the whelping box I put the puppies in a basket on a heating pad; the one picture is of that from last night. The rest of the pictures are self-explanatory -- just pretty little puppies with a proud, obsessive mother! I did want to mention one more thing -- in the interest of helping you learn to recognize the puppies please note the first picture. Do you see that big white front foot? That is Sydney and the white markings on that foot are distinctive and just like her mom.

I hope you are obsessive about having a wonderful day -- one you can be proud of! Thanks for visiting.

My Dog has OCD

Yes indeed, Cadi is obsessive and compulsive -- about cleanliness. Next thing you know she will be washing her paws 100 times per hour but for now, it is all about the babies. There has never been such clean puppies! She licks and licks and licks some more. Right now they are sleeping next to her under the sweet blanket Liz knitted for them. I put the blanket over them to help keep their little wet bodies warm and also to protect them from further salivary assaults. It is not working too well -- I keep replacing the blanket as Cadi is nothing if not persistent!

The puppies are doing well. They are gaining weight very nicely thanks to Cadi's enthusiastic response to that "got milk?" campaign. I am still worried about Geneva -- she is the girl who blows milk bubbles out her nose near the end of her feedings. There does not seem to be much to do about this except to watch it and consider antibiotics to guard against aspirate pneumonia -- anyone have ideas on this?

This first week is a stressful one. We made it through the first Big Drama -- the delivery. There was indeed a distressed puppy, which is why we had green discharge on Saturday and so good thing we did the c section and got everyone out safely. But c sections are so scary because the puppies do not have the benefit of getting squeezed and stimulated by a vaginal birth, and so they are limp when they come out, and they come out fast so suddenly there are all these wet, lifeless puppies in their watery sacs all around. We were very lucky to have enough hands at the vet clinic to support this, and all puppies were quickly breathing and doing well.

We are now in the throes of the stressful first week. Survival is not guaranteed and so we anxiously watch the puppies for signs that they are not okay. We weigh them twice a day, recording their weights on individual data sheets to watch for trends and compare progress. A lack of weight gain would be an early sign of problems so this is more than just tracking growth.

Puppies are lost from suffocation and Cadi is, well, she has never been exactly a dainty, quiet creature. She approaches life with a Big Presence and so we watch her exuberance closely to make sure puppies stay safe. In her zeal at attacking the cleaning of one, she tends to forget about the others and they are too small to be effective at signaling distress if she is on top of them and so we are the Puppy Safety Patrol for now. We are staying awake with her all the time -- Galen and I are splitting up the nights and so I slept from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. and now I am up while Galen sleeps. Yesterday we were discussing our puppy counting methods -- Galen does four and four, and I look for three, three and two.

In addition to worry and lack of sleep, the first week is marked by laundry. New moms are messy and so we have Cadi with discharge and of course, puppies pee/poop so we go through a lot of towels and washcloths and fleece. The washer/dryer are almost always going these days as we try to stay ahead of the laundry.

All the attention required by a new litter means that there is less energy/time for anything else. I have to make a conscious effort to do other things. Yesterday I made certain that all of the other dogs got walked and that I did some training. Asia is getting ready for the Invitational (December 13 - 14) and we have to practice and also stay on top of her grooming. I am definitely sliding off the top with that, but all we can do is our best -- right?!

And so the first week is a challenging one but it is also temporary. I find it useful to remind myself of that -- like everything else in life, this will pass and I will never again have the first week with the Glitter Litter. Staying present in the moment and not letting the worry/stress/laundry/lack of time overwhelm me allows me to appreciate the fact that we created new life and they are here, inviting the opportunity to honor the miracle by doing this as well as we possibly can. Unfortunately, Cadi and I have different ideas about how to do this well -- hers involves wet puppies being pushed all over the whelping box and mine involves warm, dry puppies collected neatly under a blanket -- time to get up for the tenth time since I started this post and replace that blanket!!

The pictures capture life here at Puppy Central pretty well. There are two of Cadi in her obsessive cleaning mode, including one in which the puppy is upside down! Puppies eat and sleep right now, and this makes for some very sweet pictures. Galen was holding one of the boys last night and out came his tongue!

I wish you well in your day -- I hope it is a warm one, even if the weather is not.

Meet the Glitterati

Cadi is named after a city -- Arcadia. In honor of this and our belief that these puppies are going places, each is named after a city or country. The boys are all named after cities in Canada, in keeping with the fact that their dad is a Canadian. So meet the new family (double click to enlarge).

A Glittery Day One

I am still up! Joan just left -- we spent some time this morning taking individual pictures and also giving each puppy a name. We also weighed everyone and I am amazed to report that each puppy gained weight -- at least an ounce! This is a little strange since typically they lose weight in the first day or two but Cadi is a serious dairy bar -- I think she fancies herself a Jersey!

The puppies are doing well. One puppy does blow milk out her nose some when nursing but we checked her over and can find nothing wrong -- we hope it is just a matter of more milk than her suck/swallow skills allow her to handle right now. This first week is very scary -- we cannot assume that all puppies will survive it.

Cadi is being her normal Cadi self, which is to say that she is a train wreck. Everything about her is BIG and ENTHUSED and she approaches motherhood in the same way. She gets so intent on licking one that she moves on top of others -- SCARY!!! We will be watching her and counting puppies very carefully for quite a while. It is clear that Cadi LOVES her babies -- we just have to help her be a bit more sedate in her mothering :)

I am working on a collage to introduce the individual puppies and will post that soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these pictures. Note Cadi thanking Joan for coming all the way from Utah to help us out. The four puppies is a picture of all the boys, and the other group picture is all eight.

I wish you could all see these babies -- they are really adorable :)

Thanks for checking in and have a glittering day!

The Glitter Litter is Here!

Thanks for all your good wishes and prayers. I am so happy to report that all puppies survived and are doing well -- let's all hope that continues. Cadi is also well -- she is a rather enthusiastic mother and sends puppies in flips with her thorough cleaning! Hopefully she will mellow a bit but for now she is very excited about her babies and wants to make certain they are spotless.

The puppies range in size from 12.15 ounces to 19 ounces so they are not huge puppies. As Nicole reported, there are four girls and four boys. C sections are scary but we had lots of help at the vet clinic and everyone did well. We were home within three hours of the puppies' birth and everyone is nursing well.

Joan and Galen are off to bed and I will be staying up tonight with Cadi and the puppies. The biggest danger to the puppies would seem to be hypothermia caused by Cadi licking them all the time! So I will be here in the whelping box watching movies and etc. and making sure everyone eats and stays relatively dry and warm.

The picture of two puppies was taken shortly after their birth while they were still in the glass warming case at the vet. The one of Cadi was taken as she was waking up -- the vet's husband called it her spring break look :) The others are ones I took when we got home.

I sure miss Kim tonight -- he is the one who typically does these all night shifts when we have brand new puppies -- I am usually in bed by 9 pm so this should be an interesting night!

Tomorrow we will do individual introductions/pictures.

Thanks again for all your good thoughts!

C Section

We will be leaving soon for the vet -- Cadi is exhausted and things are not progressing. I will text info to my daughter as soon as I can and she will post it as a comment to the Blog so you will all have it quickly. I am worried about the welfare of the babies -- think good thoughts please.

1 p.m. Update

Things are a little nerve wracking here. Cadi passed some bright green discharge, which is not a great sign -- it can signal a placenta issue :( I have talked to the vet and we are doing a c-section at 4 if she has not started delivering puppies. Cadi continues to nest and pant, and the discharge has not continued. Think good thoughts please -- this is stressful!

Nesting

Cadi has been hard at work making a colorful nest for her babies in the whelping box, which is way better than the cold, wet hole under the deck that was her first choice as a birthing suite! One of the cats was helping by shredding newspaper and the others stop in to deliver moral support.

4:30 a.m. Update

A night of labor but no pups yet. I slept with Cadi next to me and had a leash attached to us so I would wake up if she left, although I use the word "slept" rather loosely for both of us! She is panting and uncomfortable, and wants to go outside and dig -- all good signs. She will have those puppies today -- if she does not start delivering them we will have a c-section later this afternoon. Waiting too long after a temperature drop can be a problem so we will not risk that.

Think good thoughts!

Not Yet

Cadi is definitely in early labor but we still have a ways to go. Joan is giving her a back rub in one picture and there she is just panting and hanging out in another.

It is Dropping... and Name Ideas!

It appears that Cadi's temperature is starting to trend down so we should have puppies in the next 24 or so hours! Yikes!

Elizabethanne is hard at work on G names -- she knows Cadi well and so has this to say, "I'm kind of partial to party names and glamour names for the Cadi litter."

Hee are some of her ideas (and comments):

Kaibab's Grand Illusion -- lots of good call names to choose from with that

Kaibab's Glitterati (I really like this one. Paris would be a good call
name! Or any Hollywood type name)

Kaibab's Glitz (or Glitz and Glamour) Call name: Flash

I still like Gala Celebration. Also, Garden Party.

Also Ginger, (to liven up) and Gusto.

G is a great letter for registered names!

Great Escape

Great Expectations

Garden of Eden

Gentlemen's Agreement

Glass Slipper

Grace Note

Game On

G-Man

Gunsmoke

Gunslinger

Gale Force

Get Smart (call name 99)

Give 'em Hell

Gold Digger

Good Girls Don't

Surgical Insemination

(This post is in response to a question and is not just a random discussion of surgical insemination!)

A surgical insemination is a way to get the "fish" right to where it needs to go so none are lost on the long journey upstream, so to speak. So Cadi was given a general anesthesia and then a small incision was made in her abdomen. The fish were then injected directly into the uterus. Cadi was sewed up and I cleaned her teeth while we waited for her to wake up so she woke up pregnant and with clean teeth :)

On the following Tuesday the vet simply deposited the newly arrived fish near the cervix -- this was done with a slender tube-like instrument and did not hurt at all and yes, Cadi was awake. That was the insurance deposit -- I do not think it was really needed.

Cadi's temp was 100 right before I left for work so the Glitter Watch continues. Tomorrow is a terrible day for her to have babies as I have two classes to teach. I have plans for those classes should I need to stay home but I would prefer that Cadi wait until Saturday or at least, Friday evening!

And yes, we have snacks and lots of diet soda for me and coffee for Joan. I have special chew things for the other big dogs and the two puppies so everyone should be happy during the whelping -- except Cadi :(

Anticipation!

Today is the first official day that Cadi could be due but her temperature was 99.9 this morning -- it runs between 99.9 and 100.3 so no drop yet. Given that it is on the lower side of normal, I will check it again before I leave for work but I think we are safe in assuming no puppies today.

It is possible to be so accurate with due date because we tested her progesterone levels to know exactly when to breed her. The level of progesterone rises above 1.0 about 1 - 2 days before ovulation. Once the eggs are ovulated, it is another 1 - 2 days before they are mature and can be fertilized. Gestation is 64 - 66 days counting the day of the progesterone rise as Day 0. A really good article about this can be found at: http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/IVIS.pdf

Cadi's progesterone rise was September 17 and she was bred via surgical insemination using fresh chilled semen shipped from New Brunswick, Canada on Saturday, September 20 and via vaginal artificial insemination using fresh chilled on the following Tuesday. I believe that the Saturday insemination was the perfect day and clearly this all worked. Thanks to Jed's, mom, Trish, for her willingness to work with us! Trish had quite the drive to her vet and of course timing is everything so it is not like you can plan it all in advance.

The flying fish, as I called them, arrived from Canada via Overnight FedEx but since it was Saturday and this is Montana, I had to drive out to the airport to pick them up. The lady at the FedEx counter had read the declaration of contents and thought it was quite funny and made a comment about my dog getting a "booty call", which made me turn red even retelling it to Kim (Dear Husband). So, armed with the two parts of the puppies (i.e., Cadi and the box of flying fish) I drove to the vet where Cadi went to sleep and woke up pregnant.

And she is still pregnant -- but not for long -- and we will soon meet the results of many people's efforts!

Joan is driving up today and bringing umbilical clamps and newspaper -- we are always short on newspaper given there are no neighbors to collect from. Galen and I cleaned and got things organized and ready last night. The whelping box is set up, we have over 50 clean wash cloths, a dozen clean towels, new fleece for the whelping box, fluids to give Cadi if needed, oxygen for puppies, paper towels galore, and so on. The fancy digital scale is ready and waiting -- I do need to print out the data sheets for the puppies but I am only printing eight!! My guess is seven or eight and if there are more I am blaming those of you who have been saying ten and eleven!

I thought you might enjoy seeing the whelping box and room. We have a very large whelping box so that there is plenty of room for everyone, and to reduce the risk of a puppy being suffocated. The flooring is a new piece of linoleum and over that will go newspaper and towels during the whelping, and newspaper and fleece once we are settling in. We have three chairs in the whelping room and a television -- that was a requirement of The Puppy Nanny (Galen), although he will be absent when puppies are being delivered. There is also a computer in there as you can see. I took the pictures of Cadi this morning -- she is resting up for the Big Day.

Thanks for all your comments!!!! I hope your day is wonderful and filled with anticipation of good news things to come.

The Glitter Watch Begins!

Montana is an interesting place to live. On Monday I was driving back from a fast weekend in Utah when I saw a black streak racing across the field by the freeway. At first I thought it was a cow but I quickly realized that cows did not move that fast -- even if McDonalds was on their heels. It looked like some kind of black shepherd.

I stopped, mentally calculating how and where I would fit an extra dog if I even managed to catch it. The dog had stopped to look at me and then I realized there was another one -- a gray one -- and that they were wolves and not dogs! We looked at each other for a few seconds and then they were off and running in the other direction. I have never seen a wolf before -- pretty crazy but very cool!

That was not the only reminder that I live in the Wilds. On the way down I saw two Bald Eagles sitting next to a lake and on the way back I also saw several Bighorn Sheep in addition to the wolves. And this morning I was again reminded that I no longer live in the Big City when I was out with Zoey in the dark, listening to the songs of several coyotes with the hooting of owls in the background as I waited for her to get busy and potty.

And so it is into this new life in Montana that the Glitter Litter will be born later this week.

Last night I gave Cadi a bath so she would look beautiful when she meets her children. I have started taking her temperature and it is holding steady -- no drop just yet. I talked to Joan this morning and gave her an update -- she arrives tomorrow. We are so lucky that she is willing to come up and help out. Joan was a vet tech before she was a pediatrician and so she has excellent skills -- plus she is calm in a crisis, which is always a great thing! Galen wants nothing to do with birthin' babies so he especially appreciates Joan's willingness to come up from Utah!

These pictures, taken this morning, show you what Cadi looks like right now. Make sure and vote for how many puppies you think Cadi will have!

Thanks for visiting and keeping me company on the Glitter Watch!

Answers

Thanks for your comments! Yes, the Blog address will remain the same -- we will just change the name. And those of you who personally know Cadi will understand that Glitter Litter totally fits her -- she is one sparkly gal, even though she is quite large right now. I will post pictures of her next week and we can start the puppy pool -- how many total and how many boys and girls...

Transition Time

This will be the last post until Wednesday, when we transition to the watch for the Glitter Litter (G Litter = Glitter :). The puppies could come as early as Thursday but are due on Friday. Joan, the puppies' private pediatrician/midwife, is scheduled to drive up from Salt Lake City on Thursday -- unless Cadi's temperature drops before that. We expect a temperature drop of at least one degree to signal that whelping should begin within 24 hours so starting on Monday night we will be taking Cadi's temp 2 -3 times a day. We so appreciate Joan's willingness to come up -- Cadi needs to have at least one boy for Joan, who has waited for a Cadi puppy since Cadi was about six weeks old!

We had a light dusting of snow and it is cold, as you can see in the pictures from this morning. Yes, my puppy, Zoey, can indeed walk on water! That is also a close-up of Zoey, and look at how Faith is growing and looking so good in that standing shot.

Thank you so much for your continued interest and support -- I look forward to sharing the Glitter litter with you. Have a wonderful few days until we start the Glitter Watch!

Random Pictures

Everyone is reported well in their new homes. Today I have posted random pictures for you. There is Madison -- now Maddie -- in her new life in Washington. She is taking her first beach walk and playing with a toy -- do you think they found that on their walk!?! Terri Z. sent that lovely picture of Zed (Dawson)-- doesn't he look like a stuffed toy?! There are a couple of fun ones taken as puppies were leaving Salt Lake City -- one is me with Halo and Peaches (Sula), and another is me with Karen and Maya (Darby). Thanks to Terri and Mike for sending those -- since I take most of the pictures, I do not have many of me with the dogs.

Finally, I thought you might enjoy seeing the contrast between small puppy and big puppy. That is full sister, Asia, at 15 months. We are diligently getting ready for the Big Show in December -- lots of practicing looking pretty and A LOT of grooming! But doesn't she look great?

We would love more pictures to share so puppy owners -- please send!

Have a picture perfect day!

The Last Match

I first met Terri Zimmerman when I bred Abra to her Zaltana. This breeding resulted in Halo and her nine littermates, and Terri has been a wonderful and supportive dog grandma and friend.

Zaltana died during an operation to remove his twisted spleen just a few short months ago; this is just one in a series of deep and profound losses Terri has recently experienced and her heart has been beyond broken. On Sunday Dawson, Zaltana's grandson, went to live with Terri to see if her broken heart has room for him. As one person commented after seeing the picture of Terri and Dawson, "it is good to see her smiling again."

I believe that while our beloved friends cannot stay with us as long as they want, they send others to take their place and carry on their loving and supportive work. I see Abra in all the dogs around me -- her way of being present when her body just would not allow it any more. I hope Dawson is able to carry on for Zaltana, Zane and all the others than Terri has loved and so deeply misses. Let's all think good thoughts for Terri and the puppy she will call Zed.

Zoey and Faith went tracking yesterday. An advantage of living in the middle of no where is that tracking is very easy -- we just walked down the hill behind the house! I laid two very short tracks (about 8 feet each) for each puppy. The food is spaced closely together -- think Hansel and Gretel. At the end was a sock with a yummy treat on it. Our goal yesterday was simply to teach the puppy to follow the track of food. We said nothing but gently pointed to the next food drop if needed. Both puppies caught on quickly -- and so did Galen!

I have also included a picture of Faith looking up at Galen after tracking -- she is wearing her miracle medal (thanks, Lynn!!!). Zoey is in the picture by the chair and also getting ready to pounce on the cat and chewing on the dryer hose. I took that away right after I took the picture!

Tomorrow I am going to post pictures that the new owners have sent -- wait until you see Madison on the beach!

Have a lovely day and thanks for visiting. Nicole -- I hope I got this posted early enough for you!

Madison's Forever Home and etc.

We made the trip to Spokane without incident. The puppies slept the entire three hours and then were happy to get out and meet their new people. Madison will be living with Barb and her husband in Port Townsend, Washington. There are still "marital discussions" underway about Madison's new name(s) but I think that given both Barb and her husband were Air Force pilots that a perfect name is Kaibab'z Flying High :) Barb is still making her way home with Madison so I suspect we will know her names soon enough! Today's picture is of Madison and her new mom, Barb.

Jennifer asked about what I am feeding Zoey and Faith, and what kind of training we are doing. The puppies are still nursing a bit and are having three meals a day. They get Innova Large Breed Puppy food soaked with Honest Kitchen dehydrated food for one meal, and they get two meals of homemade food. Right now the food is a stew of oatmeal, turkey, cottage cheese and pumpkin but it changes every few days as I go through the batch. If they were not nursing I would feed four meals a day until they are 12 weeks or so.

All training is done in short sessions and all the time. Earlier I was working with Zoey on letting me place her feet in a show position, and I was working to lure her to a down from a stand so that was a short session. I use no words right now -- once the behavior is consistent I will add the command but for now I am just working on the behavior. The "all the time training" has to do with attention. I give treats when Zoey is looking at me -- attention is the foundation for all working events and so I reinforce it from the beginning and I reinforce it all day long. I am also getting Zoey used to her name by saying it and giving her a treat. All training is happy, fun and positive -- I do not use corrections in my training.

Galen can lure Faith into a sit and down, and she has a great recall. We are going to start our tracking training today -- I will take and post pictures of that.

I hope your day is on track to be perfect!

Final Good-byes

Last night before he went to bed Galen kissed Dawson and Madison good-bye, since he knew he would be asleep when they left this morning. We will be leaving in a couple of hours for Spokane where we will meet with the wonderful people who are welcoming Dawson and Madison into their lives. They are going to different homes but will live relatively close to each other so that will be nice for them.

A few weeks ago I realized that what I am is really a bridge between where a puppy has been and where s/he is supposed to go. They are not mine to keep (well, most of them anyway :) but rather I am the caretaker for the short time it takes them to get prepared to start the lives they are meant to have with other people. It is really a sacred responsibility to create life and then to let those lives go -- and it is hard, as I have said before.

This has been a fun litter. They are lovely, happy puppies who have been relatively easy to raise. We have loved each and every one of them, and feel good about the homes they have or will have. There is relief, of course, that we are done. And there is sorrow -- but most of all I feel a sense of accomplishment because I know in my heart that we have done right by each puppy. They were carefully bred, carefully and lovingly raised, and placed in new homes with the utmost concern for their welfare. I like to do things well and I think we did with this litter. Thanks for all your support, encouragement, visits, and interest -- it really feels like a community raised these puppies so great job, Team F Litter!

We have started a Yahoo F Litter email group so the owners of the F Litter puppies. If any of you want to join that list to keep up with their progress, I invite you to continue your involvement through that list: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Flitter/

I will continue to post pictures and updates on this Blog until we transition to the G Litter in 12 days (yikes).

This morning Halo wanted to hang out with her remaining babies. She is just fine with the departures -- maybe dogs are better than us in knowing how to make transitions?! But this morning she wanted to play and I took some pictures to share with you. Notice that one puppy in front has a gray line of fur -- this is the developing color of this puppy coat. Several from this litter will be gray puppies, just as Halo was. Their puppy coats will look as if someone put flour on them! And then it will shed out and the puppies will be a lovely black.

I hope your Sunday is a restful one -- thanks for checking in and for all your support.

Middle of the Night Fun (NOT)

The puppies who have left are doing well. I spoke with Jonn yesterday who reported that I had given him the greatest dog in the world (i.e, Homer/Ledger) -- clearly a good match between a great puppy and a great guy! And Terri sent an email announcing that she LOVES her puppies; I responded that was a good thing as I did not need to get Peaches (Sula) back! And Karen reports that Maya (Darby) is doing very well, and I suspect Megan is having too much fun with Purna (Kinsey) to give us a report but her mom says things are fine.

Galen spent yesterday afternoon making little tiny biscuits for Faith (Lolo). He made three varieties -- peanut butter, cheese, and pumpkin. He wonders if Megan is making biscuits for Purna?? Faith now basically ignores me and follows Galen around like a shadow -- it is pretty cute! Galen's recipes will be posted tomorrow.

Zoey Rose is doing well. Galen calls her the Energizer Bunny and she even jumps like a bunny. In our first litter we had a puppy named Cruiser (she was born in the back seat of Kim's police cruiser) who was also a jumper. Cruiser would just jump in the air with excitement and it was SO cute -- Zoey Rose does the same thing. I loved Cruiser and her happy, fun personality -- it is neat to see so much of her in Zoey.

Last night was another one of those times that people who think raising a litter is fun and exciting should have seen. At 2:15 someone decided she needed out - now. I tried to ignore her for about 30 seconds but I just hate to imagine them in any discomfort so I got up and took all four outside. I had forgotten it was wet, and mud oozed between my toes as I walked outside with them -- lovely. Madison ran off to potty like a good girl, and soon we were back in the house with puppies frolicking in all directions.

Someone had pooped in the x-pen so I had to get that cleaned up -- all the while puppies are chasing the cat, jumping with wild abandon on the big dogs, and just generally enjoying their 2:15 a.m. play session. So I got the puppy area cleaned, rounded up the puppies and put them back to bed, and got the mud out from between my toes -- and you can imagine that falling back to sleep was not an easy task after all that!

My little puppy alarms went off right on schedule at 4:15 a.m. -- darn that stupid Daylight Savings stuff! But we all got up and it is hard to be annoyed when puppies are SO happy to see you and SO thrilled to be starting another day -- we should all start the day with such joyfulness!

The puppies go outside immediately after waking up, and then they nurse. After that I feed them breakfast and we all go out again -- and again -- and again. They last almost exactly 1.5 hours before they wear out and start falling asleep. Right now they are all sleeping soundly in their play area and when it gets light we will head out for a morning walk. This is the last day we will have extra puppies with us so it is bittersweet -- we will miss them but it is time.

The G for Good Grief What Was I Thinking Litter is growing by the day, as evidenced by Cadi's expanding girth. They are due to arrive on November 21 so we have 13 days left. This morning Cadi started working on her birthing center -- she dug a nice hole under the deck. Why would she think that a cold, wet hole would be the optimal place to welcome her new family?! Joan has agreed to once again come up from Utah and help out with the delivery and no, it will not be happening in a cold, wet hole!

A number of people reading this Blog are interested in a puppy from the G Litter so let me just mention that puppy pick-up will be the weekend of January 17-18 so save that date! We will be heading to Utah from Montana on/about December 11 and will stay there for the entire winter break so puppies will be in Salt Lake City for the pick-up and for five weeks of visiting by all of our Utah friends. I am not sure how we are going to get all of us down to Utah but we have some time before we have to figure that little problem out!

(Later) I took today's pictures on our hike and immediately after as the puppies were falling asleep (or in Zoey Rose's case, still playing!). Cadi went along with us and that is Cadi with the two puppies in her face -- Zoey and Dawson. Faith is sitting alone in the road, Madison is standing facing the camera and also in two sleepy pictures. Dawson is in a standing picture and two close-ups -- one resting on my leg and the other with his head cocked. Zoey is playing with the toy and is also in the tunnel.

Thanks for visiting us and have a wonderful, happy day!

@#$% Daylight Savings Time and So On...

So much to report!

First, why must we do Daylight Savings Time?!! Do you think the puppies understand the whole "fall back" thing? No, they do not and so we get up at 4:15 every morning! The big dogs start it by moving around and then the puppies hear them and start barking. I can tell the big dogs to go back to bed but the puppies do not understand that and when they wake up they need to potty. I just cannot go back to sleep knowing they all need to potty -- it seems mean and imagine the big mess!! And so I get up and start the day at 4:15 -- sigh...

It will be easy to get my own puppy on a schedule but that will have to wait until Madison and Dawson leave on Sunday. I will be thrilled if we could just sleep until 5!

Second, the puppies are doing very well with their Intro to Housetraining. Just a bit ago Zoey Rosebud stood on the x-pen and whined, and so I picked her up and took her out where she ran off to potty :) This raises an interesting question -- how do we expect puppies to communicate their need to go out? If I have a rule that the puppy cannot come out of the x-pen when s/he is crying, what is s/he supposed to do to tell me that we need to head outside? Send silent ESP messages?! That seems unrealistic!

And so I have the attitude that these are babies and my expectations of them reflect their developmental stage. All those good, adult behaviors will come with time and training, but training has to fit the cognitive and physical abilities of a puppy. I think people forget they are not small dogs -- they are babies, which is very different.

Dawson just whined and paced for the second time in ten minutes. The first time I took him out he sat and ate sticks (!). So he went back to the play area (two x-pens together here in the Great Room). The second time I took all four out and Dawson again played but then he ran off to potty. I could be annoyed that he made me go out twice (don't worry -- I have shoes on today!) but instead I am happy that he is communicating his need to go out. Yes, his attention span is short and he might forget why he is outside but all things in their time :)

The third thing I want to report is that Madison has a forever home. She will be leaving on Sunday with Dawson, and she will live in Port Townsend, Washington with a wonderful couple who recently lost their berner. Madison cannot replace their beloved friend but she can carry on the legacy of love that was left behind. This is a wonderful match for our sweet, happy Madison.

So on Sunday I will pack up Dawson, Madison, Zoey Rosebud, and Asia and head for Spokane where I will be met by the two women who are taking Dawson and Madison back to the Seattle area -- it is like a drug deal only it is legal ;) I want the women to see Asia and Zoey Rosebud so that is why they are going with me -- besides, how boring would it be to ride home and not have a puppy whining?!

Susan asked if we would be at the 2009 BMDCA National Specialty in Portland -- we would not miss it! I expect that we will have at least five of the puppies there. Purna (Kinsey), Zoey Rosebud and Dawson will all likely be shown in the beauty pageant, Peaches (Sula) will be there because she lives in Portland, and Faith (Lolo) and Zoey Rosebud will both be ready to enter the Tracking Test. So another excellent reason to attend the Specialty -- a chance to meet more than half of the F Litter :) Specialties are SO FUN!!! Here is the link for the 2009 Specialty:http://www.bmdca.org/specialty/2009/

The pictures are all from this morning -- I took the puppies on a little hike since I teach later this morning and did not have to rush off to work. Madison is the one with the cute freckles (there are two of her), Faith (Lolo) is running with a stick and we have three of cute Dawson.

Thanks for visiting and I hope your day is going in the best way it can!

Housetraining: The New Reality Show

Dawson leaves on Sunday and I am talking to a woman about Madison, so Madison may also soon have her forever home as well. Dawson had several interested people and I hope Cadi produces enough puppies to provide for all the wonderful homes we have waiting -- especially those who want boys.

Speaking of Cadi -- she is quite large with two weeks to go. Galen thinks there are 12 (perish the thought!!) but most of us are guessing in the 7 - 10 range. I will take and post pictures of her as we get closer.

We are doing okay here but the next litter needs to go home at eight weeks! Multiple puppies who need to be housetrained is a chore and sometimes I feel like I am in some strange comedy reality show. I take all four out and I get two to potty so we all come in, except one or two decide to chew on a stick so I have two in and two out. I go to get the two who are out and the other two run out in another direction. This goes on and on sometimes! In the meantime, I am trying not to let the cats out and I am freezing and barefoot! Yes, I need slippers for these early morning adventures.

Faith moves downstairs with Galen tonight so that will help, and soon Dawson and Madison will also be gone -- and then I will miss them and wish they were back so I could engage in this crazy game some more!

I wanted to mention a couple of things. Karen's vet noted that Maya (Darby) has vaginitis -- I think almost every girl puppy has this (or so it is said) and I do not even worry about it. I am a BIG FAN of not treating things that will resolve on their own so for puppy vaginitis I just trim hairs around the private parts and it works itself out. How abnormal can it be if most puppies get it? Apparently Maya did not appreciate the bikini trim she received!

And last night we had two incidents of diarrhea with a little blood -- most like from the same puppy. I do not let this freak me out. Puppies eat so much stuff that it is a wonder they do not always have bloody diarrhea. All puppies are acting normal and so my strategy is to just keep an eye on it, add some pumpkin/rice and not stress about it. Running off to the vet with every little thing is a sure way to waste money and expose the puppy to things s/he does not need to be be exposed to -- including unneeded medications. Of course, if a puppy is acting sick (not eating, lethargic, etc.) we need to go to the vet but I think going too much is just as bad as going too little -- a sensible balance is important.

I wanted to mention some resources for berner owners. First, everyone who loves berners should be a member of the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America! The website is www.bmdca.org and you can find membership info under "forms" -- if anyone needs sponsors let me know I am happy to help out and find you another one if needed.

All berners should be entered into the BernerGarde database: http://www.bernergarde.org. I already have the F Litter in but now need to input the individual puppies and then the owners will take over the upkeep of their puppies' records.

The Berner-l is "the" on-line community for berner owners: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Berner-l/

Anyone interested in training a berner is welcome to join the berner working group: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BMDWorkingevents/. This group is a great resource for ideas, support and getting to know others who appreciate the importance of giving our dogs things to do.

Terri sent a picture of her two puppies in the safety harnesses she made for them -- the smaller puppy is Peaches (Sula). I have included a picture of Faith (Lolo) -- doesn't she look great?! And there is a close-up of Madison and one of Madison playing with another puppy.

Wednesday: From Home to Home

This morning we woke up to snow in Utah but are now back in Montana. The four puppies were good little travelers and are now fed, walked and settled in their puppy play area.

On the way back to Montana I got a phone call from a Blog fan asking where the puppy pictures were, and so I assured her that I would continue to post at least pictures every day. I am glad the Blog is a hit and I like sharing the pictures -- it makes me think: "write it and they will come"!

A few things to report -- Galen rocks as a puppy owner. Yesterday he made treats for Faith and he is training her all the time. She does great puppy recalls and fronts, and he even started heeling! He had to do a leash walk to keep up with Megan and Purna -- Marti sent the picture of Purna and Megan so that spurred Galen to action.

I heard from Karen and here is an excerpt of her report:"We left Mary-Ann's about 7:45 am and arrived home about 10:30 PM (EST). The flight attendants were not very nice and insisted we keep Maya in her bag under the seat the whole time, even when the plane was sitting on the runway. We arrived home tired and hungry. Maya had a much better attitude at the end of the day than Mike or I did. By the end of a long drive which included going 20 miles in about an hour because we got caught in a Redskins home game traffic jam, Maya decided she liked her sherpa bag as long as it was open and slept very nicely. We got home to find the kitchen sink had backed up with awful smelling black sludge and was unusable. Maya was still happy checking out her new front yard and kitchen floor. She was extremely unhappy to then find herself all alone in a crate. VERY unhappy and very loudly vocal about it. So, that was day 1."

The long drive to Montana was a fruitful one -- the puppy formerly known as Rosebud has a new name. We were stopped for gas when I heard a child say, "Zoey" and instantly I wondered if that was Rosebud's real name. I asked Rosebud and it seemed to resonate with her so I sent a text to 1-800-FLitterNames (i.e., Elizabethanne -- the greatest puppy namer ever) and immediately heard back that the name meant Eternal Life and a name suggestion of Kaibab'z Forever. I talked to Kim and he approved (he did not like Rosebud for a forever name, which is why I did not keep it) and made a suggestion that resulted in additional thinking and eventually Registered Name Version 1.4.

So, Rosebud is now Zoey Rose with a registered name of Kaibab'z Forever Bright -- the "bright" is for Halo -- her registered name is Kaibab's Bright Angel.

Hope you enjoy the pictures -- Madison is in the snow, Purna is walking with Megan in sunny California, Dawson is cuddling with Kate, someone is kissing Kathy, and Faith is practicing heeling with Galen and his homemade treats!

Have a great day!

Update and Our Puppy

As you may have already surmised, Rosebud is our pick puppy and is staying with us. This was not an easy decision because we all know that Megan wanted her but it was apparent a few weeks ago that Rosebud was too much puppy for most people, let alone a 13 year old and her busy family. I had conveyed that to Megan and Marti some time ago, and I think Marti appreciated that I was not sending her family another high energy dog (i.e., Maverick :). Megan was sad but trusted my judgment, which I appreciate very much.

I was worried about where Rosebud would go -- she is a bold puppy with amazing presence and attitude, and she is keenly intelligent. I knew she needed to be where she would be appreciated and where she would have the opportunity to realize her potential. Some puppies are well suited to a casual life but Rosebud is not -- she will need things to do. As the weeks went on, I started to realize that Rosebud was something special also in how she is put together.

When we did the puppy evaluations, I saved her and Darby until the end as I knew those two girls were going to be the top picks -- they were. Rosebud came out a clear #1 with the evaluator who could not say enough nice things about her. She loved her balanced structure, her movement, and her attitude and presence. We had very lovely girls and to be the top of such a strong group is a real statement about Rosebud.

And so it all came together -- this puppy whose personality, intelligence, energy and character were such that she needed a home exactly like mine -- turned out to be the pick of the litter, ensuring that she would, in fact, stay with me. Isn't it just amazing how things turn out?

I wish you could all meet Rosebud. Karen mentioned while she was here that pictures do not do Rosebud justice and I agree -- you have to see her to truly understand what is so special about her.

There is just one problem -- Rosebud has not declared her real name yet. I have tried a variety on but none seem to resonate with the puppy now known as Rosebud. Here are some choices that I have tried:

Juno or Juneau
Jett
Berkeley (I went to school there)
Karma
Rumor
Paris
????
Should we just keep Rosebud??

Any ideas? I am especially interested in call names that could go with Fireworks, Firecracker or Fire Charm...

Dawson and Madison are still here with us as well as Faith. Dawson has some great people who would love to have him so he will soon be in his new home, and Madison is now exploring some new options for her forever home. Elizabethanne has suggested that given that Madison will be the last to go, we should name her Kaibab'z Fashionably Late!

I have heard that Kinsey-Purna is home and doing well -- she even went on a leash walk, prompting Galen to say Faith will be taking a leash walk today as he doesn't want Megan and Purna to get ahead! Homer and Peaches (Ledger and Sula) are safely home, and we are waiting to hear from Karen about Darby-Maya's adventure getting to Virginia.

In honor of her selection, both of today's pictures are Rosebud.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day

Another Happy Owner and Lucky Puppy!

Terri just left with her new puppy, Peaches. We had a fun day hanging out together and now they are on their way home to Portland. That is Peaches and Terri together, and a shot of Dawson.

More Joys

Karen and Mike just left for the airport with their new puppy. They took Darby -- now Maya. This is a LOVELY puppy -- very typey and with great structure. Karen will be working on making Maya a Versatility Dog, and I suspect Maya will have no trouble earning her championship and working titles. This is the puppy who most resembled Asia as a puppy, and I was hoping she would be the one I kept -- in addition to being lovely she is extremely sweet and laid back. But her place in this world is being a therapy dog with Karen, and making a good impression for us out east with Karen and Mike -- I know she is perfect for her new life.

Again -- Sorrow and Joy

We are in good health, in spite of the subject. Our spirits are heavy because at the last minute we made a change about puppy placement. This was painful and sad for all of us. AsI have said before, as much as I care about the people involved, my first responsibility is to the puppies. It is always terrible to disappoint and hurt good people and I think that is all we need to say about this situation.

We had a busy day yesterday. We started with a hike -- Megan, Marti, Cassie and I took Asia and Maize on a rather long hike near our house. The trail was closed in parts making it much longer than we expected but we all had fun and tired out wild Asia!

We arrived home and the fun started. The house was full of people most of the day as new puppy owners, family and friends stopped in.

Jonn's reaction to meeting his puppy was wonderful to see -- I captured it in a picture I am sharing with you. We all LOVED Jonn -- what a great guy!!! The puppy formerly known as Ledger and now Homer is a lucky guy. Jonn flew in and spent most of the day with us, enjoying the puppies and the cookies Galen and Megan made together as they argued about the relative merits about their puppies.

And Megan's puppy -- Kinsey! It was clear the past few weeks that the puppy most suited for Megan was actually Kinsey. This is the puppy that walked up the full height teeter to let us all know she wants to do agility with Megan. She is a pretty puppy with a sparkly personality but not as lively and forward as Rosebud so Megan and Kinsey are a good match. Megan's dog, Anna, died in May as most of you know -- her name was Annapurna after a mountain; Megan's new puppy is Kaibab'z Forget Me Not with a call name of Purna. Megan is "crazy excited" about her new puppy, and left last night with her.

We are now down to six puppies and two more leave today. Terri is flying in for Sula/Peaches and Karen and Mike from Virginia have been here since Saturday and leave today. We have very much enjoyed getting to know Mike and Karen -- they are a wonderful family for a puppy. We look forward to another day of puppies and visiting.

Have a wonderful and happy day!

We Made It!

The puppies were perfect travelers and we made it to Salt Lake City without problem and with not a single accident in a crate! We were met by Marti and Megan and the crowd soon formed -- the puppies more than doubled the number of new people they have met!! The puppy party was very fun and the puppies all did so well. Thanks to all who came!

All matches have now been made -- info and pictures to follow later.

But the best news -- Lolo-Faith's eyes are NORMAL!!!!!! Truly it is like a miracle! All of the puppies have now had their first health check and all have normal eyes at eight weeks :)

More later...

It is Time!

Today's the day - we make our long trek to Utah after the eye appointments. I have been up since 4 getting things in order, and of course I am not ready. Madison was reminding me this morning that it is time -- the puppies are learning to escape!

Think good thoughts for us and check for updates -- I am bringing my laptop and camera!

Have a great day!