Ransom's puppies

Four Months Old

2009-01-01T08:28:00.006-06:00

The puppies turned four months old on Dec. 26. I was on my way down to a USDAA trial in Glen Carbon, IL (outside of St. Louis). I was very excited to make the trip since I knew beforehand that Terry and Carol Smorch were going to be there with my baby Sirrah :) Also, Grandma Linda was going be there as well so would get to meet Fever for the first time. I was glad she could meet her while she's still a little one. I asked Linda which parent she thought Fever looked like and she thought Ransom. Some days, I do think she looks like her daddy but as Linda said, she sees Ransom in her eyes. I see her as well. Now, onto Sirrah. I was so happy to see her. She was CRAZY to see me. I was so happy she remembered me. She was so excited, she peed on me :) I didn't care one bit. I'd let her pee on me every time :)) I did get some pictures. The girls got along GREAT and played a lot over the two days. They did look alike :) A couple stats. Fever, on the day she turned 4 months old was a little over 17" and around 22 lbs. Shock, at that age was an inch small and a pound or two lighter. It looked like Sirrah was a little taller/longer, but not much. They were pretty close in size. Rogue is a bit smaller, maybe an inch and not sure where the boys are although I would guess Reece is around the same size as the B/W girls and I KNOW Great is big :)

Here are a couple more pictures of Fever and Fev and sister Shock!

Puppy reunion

2008-12-01T14:45:00.006-06:00

Well, four of the five pups were able to get together over Thanksgiving weekend. I got a few shots and some video that is on my you tube account along with some video of their momma playing with Fever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbcokCsCKOY Here are the pictures although they turned out pretty dark. Also a couple of pictures of Fever from today. BTW, I was able to measure three of the pups yesterday. Fever (was Polaris) was the tallest at 15 3/4", Great (was Vega) measured at 15 1/2" and Reece (was Atlas) measured at 15" even. I suspect Rogue is not far behind at about 14 1/2" or maybe even a little taller.

Fever's First snow

2008-12-01T14:24:00.005-06:00

I snowed last night for the first time. Here's some video of Fever (who will be 14 weeks tomorrow) in the snow and also some video of she and big sister Shock! (who will be two years old tomorrow) playing for the first time together. I decided that Fever is now old enough to handle it. They had a ball :)

Fever

2008-10-31T09:20:00.009-05:00

The puppies turned nine weeks old on Tuesday. I am having a BALL with little Fever. She's a nice outgoing puppy and always up for a good time :) She does get a little devilish on occassion, mainly when she gets over tired. She knows down and sit and will even stay for a short time. She's learned to walk well on a leash too. I think it's inherited from her momma's Heelalong lines :) They seem to just do it. Here are some pictures taken last Tuesday evening (the day she turned 9 weeks old). Thanks so much to Whitney Rupp for taking these beautiful shots :)

Also, here's one of Sirrah that Terry sent.

How the story ends....sort of :)

2008-10-27T10:21:00.004-05:00

Well, to make a long story very short, Kelly Garver is now the proud owner of baby Sol. I realized that keeping two pups wasn't fair to anyone, me, them or my other dogs. So, Kelly (who wanted a pup all along but couldn't convince her husband), was able to work it all out. So, I brought little Sol to her house on Thursday. I'm SOOO glad to have her so close to home, I can't tell you. I am very lucky to have all the wonderful homes I have for our babies. I will continue to update the blog with pictures when I can. Until then, all the babies and Mom are doing great!

Still alive

2008-10-20T13:17:00.005-05:00

Well, it's been so much quieter. I smartly scheduled private lessons all day yesterday so I wouldn't be home thinking about missing my puppies. I have SO much to do this week, I won't have time to think about it. I've received updates from everyone and everyone is doing great. Atlas is now Ransom's Brightest Star "Reece" is his call name. Mary is tossing around a few different names and is taking her time to find the right one. She had one picked out but isn't sure it suits him. For now, he's "Pup, Pup, Puppy!". I'm not sure about Sirrah. They were considering keeping the name. Whatever they decide is fine with me. Polaris is now Ransom's Temperature Rising, call name "Fever" and Sol is Sol :) Ransom's Heart and Sol. So far, everyone seems very happy with their new babies. It's so nice to get the updates. I can't tell you how much it helps :) I took some video last night of the girls playing in the yard and a small clip a little while ago of Shock with her baby sisters. Shock is really very good with them. She would LOVE to have them out of the pen, chasing her around. Unfortunately, she's a "little" rough so I'm not going to let it happen until they are a bigger. She plays with Frisco all the time and honestly, I don't know how he stays sound! He is a crafty, tough, quick little guy. Thank goodness or he'd be dead!

Gone

2008-10-18T16:20:00.003-05:00

Well, everyone started arriving at around 11 am to pick their puppies. Terry and Carol Smorch from Minnesota arrived first and spent a lot of time with the puppies. Then Denise and Terry Elger from Milwaukee came next, then Mary Klein from Columbus, Oh. We had a really nice time playing with and watching the puppies play. Terry and Carol actually arrived early so got quite a bit of time to play with each pup individually. I've decided to keep Polaris and Sol for now. Polaris simply because she IS her momma (and that's why I did this breeding) and Sol, because she is special, has been from the day she was born. If I decide that I'm crazy for keeping two, I have a good friend who may be able to take her down the line. We'll see. For now, they are both staying. It's better for me emotionally to have two left. It was so hard to let the others go. I honestly have been having such a hard time dealing with it since it hit me hard on Thursday that this was all coming to an end. Now that everyone has left, I feel so much better. Just seeing how much everyone liked their puppies helped so much. I think everyone got the puppies they were hoping for. I was most worried about Sirrah since she's pretty attached to me. As I already mentioned, Terry got to play with each one. Atlas had a ball, then Vega was a little out of it (honestly, not his normal self AT ALL) and the Sirrah. I got smart and went in the house when Terry played with Sirrah and watched from the kitchen. I was amazed at how she took to him. She can be a little shy but was chasing, tugging and kissing him. I agonized over letting her go. Not anymore. Terry chose Sirrah. I think it's going to be a great match. She really loved him. I've never really seen her take to anyone like that. I'm at peace with it all now. Then Denise got to choose. She took the pup I thought would fit her too! She chose Atlas. He's simply stunning and looked even MORE stunning in her arms :) Then Mary got the red boy she's been wanting all along. She just had an attachment to him. I can't believe it all worked out, but it did. I'm so incredibly happy about how it all went today. I think I may even be able to sleep tonight :) I will miss them terribly but I remind myself that they won't be little puppies for long. Here are pictures of everyone with their new babies :)

Video

2008-10-17T15:17:00.004-05:00

Some video from Sunday (once they felt better) and Wednesday.

Update

2008-10-16T11:51:00.002-05:00

Well, it was a rough weekend. The puppies had an apparent reaction to the vaccines and were very sick. It started on Sunday am with Sol, then Polaris, then Sirrah, then Atlas. Vega seemed to escape with just a little diahrrea. The others were vomitting as well. I was on the phone with the vet four times on Sunday. At first, we didn't know what it was and I was panicked. As the day went on, they seemed to get better. Took Sol about six hours to come around but the others really felt better in an hour or two. By Sunday evening, everyone was able to keep water down but I didn't feed them until morning. Then, just a bland diet. They are all doing great now. Actually, by Monday, everyone was back to their old selves (except Atlas who wasn't affected until Monday). They are SOOOO busy, it's unbelievable. I've been lucky, the weather has been really good so they have been able to play outside a lot. They are also pretty much house broken. I don't think anyone has gone in the house in over a week (other than when they were sick). They all know to go outside. Sol even scratched at the door the other night when she had to poop. Smart puppies. They start going to their new homes on Saturday. I will miss them so much but luckily, I will get to see them all pretty frequently. I hope to post some video or pictures later today or tomorrow.

Pictures from Yesterday

2008-10-11T16:23:00.008-05:00

What I wake up to in the morning :)

Vega

Sirrah and Sol

Sirrah

Atlas

Sol (ears starting to go up :)

Sirrah and Sol again

Polaris

Polaris

Sirrah and Polaris

Vega

Sol

Atlas

First car ride

2008-10-10T17:05:00.004-05:00

Well, today was a big day for the little ones. Off to the vet to get their first shots. They did pretty well. The car ride went pretty well. Very quiet puppies for the most part. Once we got to the vet, Sol was first and DEFINITELY the most stressed out. In fact, someone threw up in the car and I'm pretty sure it was her :( I think having to wait a while for the vet did her in! The others were pretty good. Vega was probably the best (he tried to jump up on the vet), closely followed by both Sirrah and Polaris who kissed the vet :) Atlas was pretty stoic. Didn't seem to mind much. When we got home, I put them in a BIG pen I set up outside. I had to take down the other one since they figured out how to escape. Now I've got two ex-pens together so they have lots of room to run around. After a while, I let them out of the pen so they had the run of the whole yard. Yesterday, I did the same and little Sol escaped to the neighbor's yard. I had to block off a part of the fence that Frisco had chewed a larger opening in (in an unsuccessful efforts to escape :). So far, so good. Also, today was the first day they ALL made it down the back step to the patio by themselves. They are all doing really well pottying outside. They've pooped out there every time for two days now. In fact, Atlas even cried to get out this am so he could poop. It's SOOO much easier to take care of them when they go outside :) They love being outside too. They just run and play and run and run play. Atlas is so funny, he tries to entice everyone with a toy to get them to tug with him. They all really love the toys. So fun to watch. I'll get more pictures up soon and hopefully more video too! BTW, here are the weights from today at the vet.

Sol 6.7 lbs
Polaris 7.6 lbs
Vega 7.9 lbs
Sirrah 8.1 lbs
Atlas 8.2 lbs

Pictures

2008-10-09T14:01:00.003-05:00

Video from a few minutes ago

2008-10-09T10:58:00.003-05:00

Colors

2008-10-06T14:35:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note to update puppy colors. It is apparent now that Sol is a black shaded sable, not a black tri. Atlas is a black tri. So, I've got two B/W girls, one sable girl, one tri boy and one red boy :) Quite a colorful litter :)

Basement Test

2008-10-05T14:51:00.002-05:00

When Shock was around 6 weeks old, I decided to take her into the basement since there are five different surfaces down there (slick indoor/outdoor carpeting, cement, inflatable matress, kiddie lock mats and obedience matting). Shock wasn't all too happy about the "dungeon". She LOVES the basement now (since there's agility equipment down there :). So, I took each puppy, individually, down there today to see how they would react. I was really surprised that ALL of them passed with flying colors. No one was worried. The girls and Atlas all reacted about the same, just went around, investigating every thing. Vega just started running around, could care less where he was :) I had a small rocker board (that I used for rehab of Shock's shoulder when she was injured as a baby). It's like a little teeter. They all went over it confidently. In fact, Atlas went over it about five times:) I also have a tire taped to one of the poles (on the ground) and Vega crawled through it. These are really nice puppies, if I do say so myself :)

Pictures from last night

2008-10-05T09:23:00.003-05:00

Pics

2008-10-03T21:18:00.003-05:00

Vega and Sol

Sirrah

Polaris

Atlas

UHG!

2008-10-03T10:47:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I only have two more weeks with these guys! UHG!!!! The thought of them leaving is agonizing and the thought of picking one, even more so. I enjoy every minute with them. They are really nice little pups. All of them. Not one bad one (OK, they are all really pretty bad, most of the time :), in the bunch. Ransom has pretty much decided that she's just about done nursing them. She did a quick feeding this am (about 3 minutes), then taught all the pups that when she says "no", she means "no". Good lesson for all the pups. Learning to respect adult dogs. The girls got the message right away. The boys, not so much. Took a few times for them to figure out (amazing, huh?). This am, I had them all out running around in the family room and Shock came in the room. She's really only been subjected to them one at a time, or separated by an ex-pen. She got immediately swarmed by all five. She was SOOO good about it. Did a quick hello, then jumped on the couch for safety (smart girl). I later opened up the kitchen as well so the pups had a big area to run around in. It was so funny, they just ran laps back and forth, from one end of the kitchen to the end of the family room. They had a BALL! As far as other stuff, they are all eating well. They are on about 2/3 regular puppy food and 1/3 weaning formula right now. They also get hard puppy food when I put them back in their ex-pen as a treat. I put a handful on the fleece bed and they munch on it. Much easier to get them back in the pen that way :) They are drinking water like regular little puppies now and pretty much doing all regular puppy stuff. They are pretty good about keeping their pen clean. They prefer to potty on the papers in the family room. They are also really good about going outside too. Sirrah figured that one out quickly. Tomorrow, Denise (future puppy owner) is coming to see the pups. My nephew came over again yesterday. This time, they ALL swarmed him. I think Vega was the first to say hello. We'll see how they are with two new people tomorrow. I'll try to get some new pictures posted later.

Five weeks and two days

2008-10-02T13:04:00.003-05:00

I'll write more tomorrow. Quick video of puppies being stacked for the first time ever.

Some video

2008-09-28T15:32:00.003-05:00

Some video from the last couple of days. They've had a lot of visitors and have been outside A LOT! They are completely wiped out. Sometimes I forget they are so young. They seem so much older than just 4 1/2 weeks old! BTW, they all weigh over 5 lbs. Sol has caught up quite a bit. Sirrah is still the biggest though.

I'm back to work tomorrow so probably won't have time to post again until the end of the week. It's incredibly hectic right now! I'm doing the best that I can. No e-mails asking for posts!!!! PLEASE :)

Four weeks old

2008-09-26T10:18:00.021-05:00

The puppies turned four weeks old on Tuesday. They are keeping me incredibly busy. They are awake a LOT and eating a LOT. They are up to three meals a day of puppy mush. In the last week, they've also been exposed to a bunch of stuff. They've been on seven or eight different surfaces (including the baby pool with a small amount of water) and had a few visitors. More coming this weekend. My nephew came over yesterday afternoon (he's 18) and that was good for them. They haven't seen him in two weeks so they really didn't remember him at all. At first the boys were a little hesitant along with Sirrah but within a little while they were crawling all over him and pouncing on him. They don't get to see men very often so that was good. Shock has been interested in them but still not too sure "what" they really are. Ransom is pretty much tired of feeding them but down to just four times a day now. I'd like to get them completely weaned in the next week or so. They are really busy. They love playing with toys and each other. They also like getting in trouble a lot by trying to eat the furniture. The whelping box went away last weekend so they are in a ex-pen. I do let them have the run of the family room and the kitchen sometimes as well. They pretty much just want to run everywhere they go. Oh, they started tugging too. Sirrah was the first to play tug with me, then Sol. Sol will grab the mobiles in the ex-pen and tug on those to amuse herself. They all seem to be able to play well by themselves though. They'll grab a toy and just have a good ole time :) They've also started playing a little rougher with each other. I've heard a couple yelps in the last two days so they are starting to teach each other bit inhibition. That's good. BTW, they are sleeping very well through the night and do well at not making a huge mess in the pen either. In fact, they will cry to get out to potty. Yesterday, I was cleaning out the pen and forgot to put the water bowl back in. Sirrah just stood by where it goes and barked at me to let me know it was missing. As soon as I got it in there, she drank a bunch. Oh yeah, and Tuesday, when I had the first long time away from them since they are awake more, they REALLY told me off when I got home for lunch. They all just stood at my feet and barked. Sirrah was really mad. Just stood right at my feet, staring up and barking at me. It was really so cute until Atlas bit me in the ankle. He does that :). All the little personalities, too funny :) BTW, getting really hard to take pictures. No one wants to stand still. Sol jumps up and tries to bite the camera if she catches me taking a picture! Here they are in alphabetical order.

Quick update

2008-09-18T15:09:00.028-05:00

A couple quick pictures from this afternoon. The little house is new to them today. I set it up and within a few seconds, Sirrah marched right in and layed down. Then she ran in an out for a while. Vega was the second to go in. Atlas looked but decided he wanted to do the tunnel. I'm sure they all went through the tunnel at least once or twice today. I set up a little temporary pen outside for them. It's a pretty big area (40 square feet or so).

One more video for today

2008-09-18T15:09:00.026-05:00

I couldn't wait to try out the baby tunnel....

Some pictures to add

2008-09-18T15:09:00.022-05:00

Polaris with Vega (sleeping) and Sirrah

Polaris and the Boys taking a nap

Polaris with the boys and Atlas resting on Vega

Everyone taking a nap outside :)

I did have a whole narrative attached to the video along with pictures but it got lost somewhere in blog land so I quickly posted the video (since it takes like an hour to load!). The puppies are really coming along well. They seem very bright and healthy. They are up to two meals a day of puppy mush (which they LOVE). Ransom is really about done with them. I had no idea how many teeth they had until Ransom wanted nothing to do with them on Monday. Then I checked. They basically have their entire top row and all the canines. I can understand why she's ready to cut them loose :) Unfortunately, it'll be a couple more weeks before they are completely weaned.

I stopped by the vet this am (on my way to take three dogs to the doggie chiropractor) and dropped off puppy stool samples. I opted to make sure it was necessary to worm them before doing so. I have no desire to give them insectisides unnessesarily. Glad I did since this litter, like the last, had NO parasites. No deworming necessary!

The puppies don't seem to be bothered by much of anything. They've been groomed several times, including a mini bath today. They've all paraded through the water bowl so they seem OK with water :) They all have there moments although until now, Polaris has been the one to try everything first (food, water, escaping). There isn't one in the litter that is noticably less timid than any of the others and generally, they seem to be pretty consistent as far as activity, brightness, etc. is concerned.

First time outside

2008-09-18T15:09:00.011-05:00

Video includes puppies' first two outside adventures and some play time.

No Outside

2008-09-17T08:29:00.005-05:00

Well, the grass didn't get cut until later in the day and honestly, it was still so wet, I didn't want the babies on it. Also, too cold on the cement for them so maybe today during my lunch break. A couple pictures from yesterday afternoon though.

Dinner time.

Polaris and Vega trying to escape.

They are all so full of personality. Every day, my favorite changes :) It was so funny though yesterday. Polaris got out (as usual) with one of the doors locked and Vega was trying so hard. Atlas came up behind him, gave him a boost and he got out easily, then out came Atlas. What a good brother :)

Three Weeks Old

2008-09-16T09:32:00.004-05:00

A couple quick pictures from this am. They are three weeks old already! The time is going by WAY too fast. Their tummys seemed to handle the food yesterday OK. We'll try one meal again today. It's also going to be a very nice day out today so I'm going to get them outside (as long as my grass gets cut :). If I do, I'll get video and post it.

Everyone but Atlas and just Atlas

Puppies' First Meal

2008-09-15T14:28:00.004-05:00

Well, big day today. Not only did Miss Polaris get out of the second tier of the whelping box but I decided to give them their first meal of puppy mush. They have quite a few teeth and I think Ransom is ready to get a break. I was really surprised at how quickly they took to it. Polaris was a little piggy. She never stopped eating. She's actually been trying to get to the cookies in my pocket for the last couple of days. I had a feeling she would be happy to try food. All of them really liked it. I just hope I didn't let them eat so much that they get tummy aches!

19 Days old

2008-09-14T10:22:00.009-05:00

They are 19 days old today and getting real little personalities. I also started to let them lap up water and they think it's fun. Also fun to walk through the water bowl :) Some pictures of them sleeping again. A few from last night and one from this am. So hard to get anything while they are awake since they are moving ALL THE TIME!

Sirrah with ducky and Sol with Atlas

Polaris with Sirrah and Atlas, Polaris with Sirrah

A few more :)

2008-09-13T19:08:00.004-05:00

Atlas and Polaris

Vega and Sol

The boys :)

A few quick pictures

2008-09-13T09:20:00.006-05:00

Pictures too cute to pass up :)

Sirrah and Polaris and Sirrah and Sol

Sirrah and Sol again

One more video for today :)

2008-09-12T19:45:00.003-05:00

New Video 17 Days old

2008-09-12T12:44:00.007-05:00

I can't tell you how much fun I am having with these puppies. They just brighten my day :) They just make me laugh. One of my students told me before Ransom's first litter (of one) that having puppies in the house was one of the best times. I couldn't agree more. They are all so full of personality. I'm not biased or anything but I think they are all really nice, bright, confident puppies. They have all been out of the whelping box and allowed to run around the family room. I'm hoping to get them outside before the weekend is over (if it ever stops raining!). They are really little puppies now. Playing, running, growling, barking and starting to play with toys. They are also already starting to teethe. I plan to start them on puppy cereal next week. I am also contemplating taking down the whelping box. Probably the end of next week. They seem to run into the pig rails a lot when they are playing so probably almost time to take it down. Here are their current weights:

Sirrah 44 oz.
Atlas 42 3/4 oz.
Vega 40 3/4 oz.
Polaris 40 oz.
Sol 34 1/2 oz.

Here's some video from a little while ago.... BTW, I kept the audio since I love the puppy noises :)

A couple pictures from yesterday

2008-09-10T16:08:00.004-05:00

Sol "helping" Polaris out of the box.

Atlas Lounging

Sol sleeping with her bunny :)

Vega taking it all in.

The picture I got of Sirrah didn't turn out. She was running around so it didn't turn out so good :)

I'll get another one soon!

First out of the whelping box

2008-09-09T15:24:00.008-05:00

Well, it just happened, the first puppy got out of the whelping box. At least they waited until I got home from morning classes! The good news is that I've got a couple doors I can close so it looks like I'll have to start closing one. I was trying to avoid as long as possible since it's easier for Ransom to see them when she goes into the box with the shorter entrance. Now that they are bigger, it should be fine. She's pretty careful too. So, the first out of the whelping box is .......

POLARIS!!! I knew it would either be Sol or Polaris :) BTW, all eyes are open!

A few pictures - 13 days old

2008-09-08T13:03:00.011-05:00

Vega

Atlas

Polaris

Sirrah

Sol

The tris have eyes :)

2008-09-08T12:03:00.002-05:00

The eyes of the two tris started to open yesterday. Completely open this am. No one else until I just returned from the chiropractor. Now Vega's eyes are completely open. That was really quick! The two B/W girls haven't opened yet but I'll bet by tonight :)

Almost forgot to mention that they started going potty by themselves AND on the paper like good little puppies. They are ready to start playing with toys too!

Puppies' first video :)

2008-09-06T16:07:00.003-05:00

As promised...

2008-09-05T16:20:00.012-05:00

Sirrah

Sol

Polaris

Atlas

Vega

Ransom and all the babies

10 Days old

2008-09-05T09:54:00.003-05:00

The pups are 10 days old today. Ransom had her stitches removed this morning and is healing very well. She's pretty much back to her normal self. The pups are all taking a couple steps now. Sol seems the most coordinated although they are all doing pretty well. Their eyes aren't open yet but I expect that to happen VERY soon. Not sure it's a good combination of them walking without eyes open yet but it is, what it is :) They do a lot of running into each other :) They haven't gotten out of the whelping box yet, well not totally anyway. Sol was hanging half out the other night but never got completely out. I suspect that as soon as they are able to see, they'll be making a bee line to the exit. That's what Shock did! They are all getting so big, I can't believe it. Here are their weights as of a little while ago:

Atlas 31 1/4 oz
Sol 24 1/8 oz
Vega 30 oz
Polaris 29 oz
Sirrah 32 1/8 oz

I'll post some pictures later, I promise! Forgot to mention that they have slept through the night the last two nights. SEVEN hours straight. Good puppies :)

Eight days old

2008-09-03T15:33:00.005-05:00

Well, Atlas has taken a couple steps now along with Vega. It seems really early for them to start standing/walking since their eyes aren't even opened yet :) They were born a couple days late so maybe that's why. All have gained another 1-2 1/2 oz since yesterday.

One week old today

2008-09-02T15:39:00.003-05:00

Another quick update during my lunch hour :) I had to go to work this am so had to leave the babies :( Ransom took great care of them while I was gone. They are really active and two of them have already crawled up on the pig rail in the whelping box (Sol and Vega). Vega was actually crawling on it this morning. They also all look like their eyes will open within a few days since I can actually see eyelids now. I weighed them all and they are getting HUGE!

Atlas is now 27 1/4 oz Gained 11 1/4 oz

Sol is now 21 oz Gained 10 3/8 oz

Vega is now 23 3/4 oz Gained 8 7/8 oz

Polaris is now 23 1/4 oz Gained 9 oz

Sirrah is now 26 3/8 oz Gained 11 1/4 oz

Good

2008-09-02T09:16:00.001-05:00

I've been really busy but wanted to do a quick post. Everyone is fine and puppies are growing. Hope to do more of an update later this week. Long work days the next two days.

Names

2008-08-30T09:38:00.003-05:00

Since the puppies' daddy's registered name is "Super Star" I decided that I would use names of stars (those in the sky) for the temporary puppy names. I spent some time looking up proper names for some stars and here's what I came up with:

Red Boy "Vega"
Tri Girl "Sol" (Dual meaning :)
Tri Boy "Atlas" (since he was the biggest)
B/W Girl "Polaris" (I just liked it)
B/W 1/2 Collar Girl "Sirrah" (Seems to suit her)

Pups are still gaining weight and all are over four ounces more than birth weight.

Today's pictures

2008-08-29T17:24:00.006-05:00

All Five

The girls with the Red Boy

Same with the legs of the tri boy :)

The girls-Can you guess who's who?

They're growing

2008-08-29T11:53:00.002-05:00

It was a pretty peaceful night. Ransom has things pretty well under control. I was up quite a bit still, just making sure everything was OK, and it was. I got up this am, fed the dogs, then layed back down on the couch while Ransom was feeding the babies (who, BTW, seem to eat ALL THE TIME!). I decided that if a few started eating, I would wake up the others and have them all eat at the same time. That way, it's much more scheduled, I know everyone is eating and Ransom gets some rest in between. Seems to be working well. I weighed them all this am and every pup has gained MORE than an ounce in the last 24 hours. I'm really happy with that. The tri boy remains the biggest at now, 18 5/8 oz (total of 2 5/8 oz increase) and the little tri girl is still the tiny one at almost 13 1/2 oz (almost a 3 oz increase) so she's gaining a little ground on the others. Ransom is eating a ton of food to keep up. She seems to feel really good today. In fact, she's actually spending some time in the yard with the other dogs.

A couple of picures

2008-08-28T14:12:00.007-05:00

B/W Girl

Top-Tri Boy
Tri Girl sleeping
on Red Boy

1/2 White collar Girl

Newest Stats

2008-08-28T09:24:00.003-05:00

I just got them all weighed and cleaned them, just to make sure Ransom was getting to all of them. She's doing a great job :) They had me up a bit during the night since Ransom chose to be out of the box some of the night. The other dogs didn't even seem to notice the crying this time. That helped. That little tri was a monster. She was SCREAMING at the top of her lungs when she couldn't find her mom. Then started brutalizing her littermates by trying to nurse from THEM! I quickly shooed Ransom into the box to save the others! Anyway, here are the stats. I'll list start weight and today's weight.

Tri Boy was 16 oz, now 17 even- Gained 1 oz
Tri Girl was 10 5/8 oz,now 12 even- Gained 1 3/8 oz
Red Boy was 14 7/8 oz, now 15 1/2 oz -Gained 5/8 oz
B/W Girl was 14 1/4 oz, now 15 1/2 oz- Gained 1 1/4 oz
B/W 1/2 Collar Girl was 14 5/8 oz, now 15 1/2 oz -Gained 7/8 oz

The red boy has gained the least. Looks like I'll have to make sure he's eating enough and not getting pushed out of the way.

I'll try to get a picture or two later.

Last pictures of the day :)

2008-08-27T21:00:00.004-05:00

Ransom an all the babies :)

From top to bottom:

1/2 White collar girl

Tri Girl

Red Boy

B/W Girl

Tri Boy

Ransom and the little pistol (tri girl) :)

A couple more pictures

2008-08-27T11:44:00.003-05:00

Picture to the left:

Top-Red/White Boy

Far left-B/W girl

Middle- litte tri girl

Right- B/W half white collar girl

Picture to the right is the tri boy.

New Day

2008-08-27T08:08:00.002-05:00

Well, it's a new day and everyone is doing much better. I got Ransom to eat a couple small meals during the night and she's drinking plenty of water. Also, once I returned from the vet, her milk production seemed to increase immediately. No more crying babies while nursing and no more smacking noises. Ransom is even starting to feel well enough to start cleaning the babies. Just started a little while ago. That will help me a lot :) I got a little sleep last night. I slept on the couch so was up a lot but did doze off here and there. My other dogs aren't used to the baby noises so they were restless all night. It'll get better. I'm just still exhausted! Good news though, I just weighed all the babies and every one has gained weight. I remember that Shock lost weight the first day so I'm thrilled. That little tri girl is a pistol. She's gained the most. She's a pushy one. Reminds me of her red big sister! Boy does she look tiny in comparison to the others though.

As far as a litter theme, I was going to go with the Olympics but since they took so long to get here, I missed it. I think I'll just name the pups as I go along.

Uhg

2008-08-26T20:04:00.003-05:00

I just got back from the vet again. I had to rush Ransom back for some fluids and an injection to help milk production. She's very lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink. Also, doesn't have enough milk for these VERY hungy pups. She seems a little better already. Actually drank water as soon as we got home. Still not wanting to eat but I'm glad she got some fluids into her. Here's a picture from earlier. It was so cute, I had to snap the shot.

Individual Photos

2008-08-26T17:50:00.009-05:00

Tri boy

Red boy

B/W half collar Girl

B/W Girl

Tri Girl

Stats

2008-08-26T14:21:00.004-05:00

They are still eating but I took them off to weigh them. Here's what we have:

B/W Girl with a half large white collar 14 5/8 oz
R/W Boy (could be tri-don't know yet) 14 7/8 oz
B/Tri Boy 16 oz
B/W Girl 14 1/4 oz
B/Tri Girl (tiny but powerful!) 10 5/8 oz

The vet said she couldn't have delivered them naturally no matter what. Felt most were too big for her. Who knows. All that matters now is that they are doing well so far!

They're HERE!!!

2008-08-26T13:52:00.004-05:00

Well, after a horribly long couple of days, we ended up having to do an emergency C-section. Ransom was in labor almost 23 hours when she stopped having contractions. The whelpwise people recommended I get to the vet, which I did. Poor Margaret has been here helping me the ENTIRE time and was with during the C-section as well. Ransom is, at the moment, nursing five beautiful babies. It appear that we have two B/W girls, one Black Tri girl, one Black Tri boy and one red boy. Looks like no one guesses right :))) Introducing the babies and one exhausted mommy!

Tuesday Morning

2008-08-26T07:04:00.002-05:00

Well, it's now around 7am on Tuesday and still no puppies. Spent the night monitoring, checking heartbeats, giving tums and talking to the Whelpwise people. Monitoring sessions have been every hour to two hours. Just finished the last one and her contractions are much stronger than they've been although you wouldn't know it from watching her. She seems to feel pretty good. The puppies have moved consideralby to the rear, lining up for delivery (I hope!). Keep your fingers crossed!

Exhausted

2008-08-25T23:43:00.001-05:00

We're all exhausted and still no puppies. Contractions are getting much stronger though so hopefully, something will happen soon. BTW, I fixed the time zone of my posts. They were off by two hours (stamped two hours earlier than they actually were).

In labor

2008-08-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

Ransom is in active labor and having about 8 contractions an hour although it still could be hours before any puppies arrive. Hopefully not, but possible! I'll post as soon as I know more or when a puppy arrives :)

Temperature has dropped!

2008-08-25T06:51:00.000-05:00

I was up most of the night watching her. Checked her temp. first thing and it's down to 98.1. She is willing to eat though but that doesn't surpise me. I found all five heartbeats quickly with the ultrasound and they are all strong. She's on the contraction monitor now so I'll get those results when she's done an a little while. Looks like there really ARE puppies coming!

Day 63

2008-08-24T20:56:00.001-05:00

Nothing!! I'm starting to think she NEVER going to have these puppies. She's HUGE but feels good. On the contraction monitor again a few hours ago and four contractions in an hour. Temperature still fairly high. Tomorrow, I call the vet to see what's next.

Day 62

2008-08-23T19:20:00.001-05:00

Still pretty quiet although the mild contractions that were once an hour are now up to four per hour. Her temp. is still up and she just ate her normal LARGE dinner. No nesting yet. Hopefully tomorrow is the day :) She goes back on the contraction monitor once more tonight.

Day 61

2008-08-22T18:59:00.000-05:00

Day 61 and counting. I skipped Shock's Novice FAST run this am to put Ransom on the contraction monitor. All is well. One minor contraction in an hour of monitoring. I also listened to four heartbeats this am. Then went to the Blitzen AKC Trial. It's about 25 minutes from home so I wasn't gone too long. When I got home, took her temperature and it's still staying above 100 degrees. I'll put her back on the monitor in an hour or so and take her temp. again. Doesn't look like anything is happening :( I swear she is bigger today than yesterday! She seems to feel very well.

Day 60

2008-08-21T11:04:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post. All is quiet. The monitor has shown one small contraction in each hour monitored (monitored for one hour, twice a day), probably caused by puppy ruckus :) Her temperature is still up and she's eating like crazy still. Feels fine, just getting pretty big now.

Day 57 X-ray Day!

2008-08-18T09:21:00.001-05:00

Well, just returned from the vet! X-ray shows FIVE puppies! I was thinking she wasn't that big but apparently, I was wrong :) She's gained 8 lbs so far and has six days to go. The vet provided me with oxytosin and calcium so I have it if I need it during the delivery. I start taking her temp. today and the Whelpwise monitors come today as well. Now it starts to get exciting :)))

Day 54

2008-08-15T19:05:00.000-05:00

Today is day 54. Nine more days to go until her due date. I felt a puppy move this morning for the first time. I'm starting to think that there aren't a bunch in there, just a few. We'll know Monday morning when the x-ray is completed! They seem to be moving around so it's hard to tell. Sometimes, she looks huge, other times, not so much :) The whelping box did arrive yesterday. I just finished setting it up although I still have to get a tarp for underneath. I bought a carpet remnant as well so that has to go under the box too. I think it's just a beautiful box though. Ransom seems to like it! I also have ordered the Whelpwise service http://whelpwise.com/ (as I did last time) and the monitors will be here by Monday. They send a contraction monitor and doplar ultrasound (monitors puppy heartbeats) to ensure everyone is safe. It's a great service that assists from before whelping to after if you need it. They actually helped save Shock's life last time around. They walked me though what to do when she was ill days after she was born. Anyway, it's great peace of mind.
Ransom is feeling very well. Would like to do agility if I let her :)

Day 47

2008-08-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

Today is day 47. About two more weeks to go. I've been busy trying to get everything ready and get all the needed whelping supplies. I ordered a new whelping box, which hasn't yet arrived. I, unfortunately, ordered it late, so it may not get here until the last minute. I have rearranged my family room since I plan to have the whelping box in that room this time instead of the living room (as I did last time). I think it will be more comfortable for all of us :) Here are a couple of pictures of Ransom. IMO, she seems pretty big. MUCH larger than last time and she's got a while to go yet :)

I forgot

2008-07-25T08:50:00.001-05:00

It's been pointed out to me that I was remiss in indicating Ransom's due date in the last post :) It's 8/24, just a mere four weeks away. Our appointment for the x-ray is first thing on Monday morning, 8/18.

Ransom's Definitely Pregnant :)

2008-07-20T17:35:00.000-05:00

Ransom was bred to Stellar on 6/24 (repeat breeding of my red girl Shock!). We had an ultrasound done on 7/17 which showed at LEAST 3 puppies and as many as 7-8! The radiologist guesses 5-6. Very exciting! Honestly, I was completely in SHOCK when he told me there were "a bunch". It took a long while for it to sink in. Then I realized I had a LOT of work to do. Pictures of Dad (left) and Mom (right).

Baby pictures...