Welcome to The Puppy Papers 2007 - Iza

To see previous litters view "The Puppy Papers"

Here is where you will find the diary of events leading up to our latest litter and the progress of the resulting puppies.

Start at the bottom as the most recent entries are at the top. Go to the Start.

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Puppy Weights

12 July 2007

The pups are doing much better. They are all eating solid food and gaining weight well. It will soon be time for Iza to return to her home. The pups really are a delight to play with at this age. I climbed into the whelping box yesterday and they all piled on top of me. I shot video of them attacking my pant legs which I will post Monday, when I get back from the Dog Show in Indus AB.

I gave the pups their new stuffies on Tuesday and they loved them. Tannus also loved them and we had to convince him that his new stuffie was more interesting than the pups' stuffies. For those who don't know Tannus he has one rule ... ALL STUFFIES BELONG TO TANNUS. That includes the stuffed toy my niece has .. err ... had on her key chain hanging out of her purse. It is a bit of a challenge to get him to leave the pups' stuffies alone. He seems to be fine now.

TTFN ... Until Monday!

8 July 2007

The pups are four weeks old today!
The pups still have loose stools, but it has improved and is no longer watery. They are all gaining weight and seem otherwise fine. We started them on solid food today with a milk chaser courtesy of Iza. They all took to the new food quite readily. I am thinking that Iza's milk might be a little too rich for them now that they are making such little piggies of themselves. We'll see how this goes.

Here Iza is nursing her 4 week old pups. It will likely be one of the last times she will nurse them laying down. She now prefers to stand up to let the pups nurse.

Here is a video of Iza's 4 weeks old pups eating their first meal of RAW food. They are eating a re-ground mixture of chicken, bone, fruit, vegetables, kelp and garlic. We add hot water and whip it up in our Magic Bullet. What a wonderful rig that is. It has made feeding the pups RAW a whole lot easier and the Magic Bullet makes great smoothies and foaming milk for Chai Tea Lattes (My favorite drink).

6 July 2007

Yikes! I can't believe how time gets away on me. Our Son Jason and Daughter-in-law Alyson came to visit Monday-Wed. The pups got LOTS of cuddle time with my professional Puppy Wranglers here. We were very busy. The pups are all very active and are running about the pen and wrestling with each other and Mini.

Yesterday I noticed that the pups' poop is a little runny and an orange colour. I started them on Benebac; beneficial bacteria to help normalize their tummies. No change with three doses of Benebac and one of the pups has lost weight and one hasn't gained since yesterday. So, we started them on Parvaid and Vibactra Plus in an Oral Electrolyte Replacement Solution.

• 1 tsp of the Electrolyte Replacement (Puppy-olyte)
• 2 drops of Parvaid
• 2 drops of Vibactra Plus

I am hoping that this is not Parvo. The poop is the colour of Parvo poop, which has me concerned. The pups should still have passive immunity from Iza. The good news is that the pups are not vomiting and are still eating well. They are not running a temperature nor are they lethargic. Lets hope that the Parvaid and Vibactra Plus will take care of the problem whatever it is.

Mini is becoming a fantastic babysitter. She plays with her little brothers and sisters and washes their faces. Mini cuddles with the pups, but I've missed getting a picture because she gets up as soon as I move to take a photo. This is as close as I have gotten to that image ;)

Here is a video of the Blenheim Girl and the boy with no spots and white around his eye, playing with their first toy.

We had another close encounter of the deer variety this evening. This fellow stayed wandering about the property for at least half an hour. Allan got so close he could have reached out and touched him. In these photos he is across the pond from the back of our house. I took the photos from the deck just outside the door to the office. I was also able to snap a video of him. You can view a video of the visiting Deer at Rimbey Ridge.

1 July 2007

Happy Canada Day! We have a Canada Day present for you ... Videos of the pups! They are about 8mg to download ... Enjoy ...

Iza and her 3 week old pups - 1 July 2007

Iza nursing her 3 week old pups - 1 July 2007

You can view previous videos on our Videos Page!

29 June 2007

Debbie and Larry came to visit their Grand Puppies last night. I think that they approve. Iza guarded the door as if to say "You are not leaving without me." I think it was good for Iza to have them visit. Debbie will likely take Iza and the pups August 1-7th; they turn eight that week. It will be good for the pups to socialize in a new area with different people. They will be on solid food and Iza will likely have weaned them at that point. They will be going to their new homes within a three weeks of returning to us. We took lots more photos as you can see below.

28 June 2007

27 June 2007

We've had a few visitors to the yard over the past few days. I thought that I would share them with you. The deer is in our driveway at the very front of our yard. The little bird is a Killdeer. It and its mate tried desperately to distract the cats away from their two babies that were running frantically around our yard. It was a little wild around here for a while. I like to think the babies got away safely.

26 June 2007

Iza is letting Mini get to know her siblings today. She is fine if the pups stay in the whelping box and Mini visits keeping all body parts outside of the whelping box. The pups climb up to the edge and give Mini kisses through the x-pen. It is very cute. Here are some photos of the little rolly polly babies. The two girls love to cuddle together as do the two boys. We often see them paired up based on gender.

If you look really close you can see the little dots of black on their little noses.

25 June 2007

We are getting back into the routine today. Iza is letting the other dogs get close enough to give the pups kisses now. She doesn't stray far away but doesn't insert herself between the pups and the others anymore. My Mom's Papillon Tigger and Mini are fascinated by the pups. They haven't been around little pups before.

The pups are really starting to get personalities now. The pups are still mostly eating, pooping, peeing and sleeping but ...Every once in a while we will hear what sounds like a little ggrrrruff coming from the whelping box. It is too cute!

24 June 2007

The pups are two weeks old today!
We returned late tonight and I can't believe how much the pups have grown in three days! They are little rolly polly monsters. Iza is doing such a good job.

23 June 2007

The pups eyes are open today! Everyone on the same day! Pups in the same litter usually open their eyes over a couple of days. Allan also reports that the pups have official 'Puppy Breath" now. Warning! Puppy Breath is addictive!!

Allan has been checking for Puppy Breath each morning. I've caught him laying down in the whelping box with the pups just sniffing their noses. He says he has to be careful now because when he gets close enough to sniff ... the pups will latch onto his nose. They are so strong he is in danger of getting a hickey from them.

We had a little excitement in Lethbridge AB at the dog show last night. I woke about 4:00 AM to discover that the tent that we put up to sell the QuinnCarlin Whelping Supplies was close to crumpling in the wind. They do not call Lethbridge the "Windy City" for no reason. With the much appreciated help of another Vendor, Greg, we managed to get all our product into tubs before the tent blew away. This afternoon another vendor, Bill, drove me to Costco to purchase a new stronger tent. With the help of these two gallant gentlemen we got the tent erected and are once again in business. You can see the new tent below at Lethbridge. That is my Mom Thelma, and her Papillon Tigger holding down the fort by the motorhome. We were set-up directly behind the booth. It was very convenient.

We had a great day in Lethbridge in that Mini earned her first conformation point. Tara participated in a fun match last night and did very well. Mini took third out of four in her class for Puppy Sweeps this morning.

22 June 2007

Allan reported that they had little sleep last night. Iza and Tannus were both lonely. Allan opened the doors and let them stay in the same area of the house together and they were fine for the rest of the night. Iza is getting very good about letting Tannus be near the pups ... as long as he doesn't get too close.

21 June 2007

We left for Lethbridge today. It is a long drive from Rimbey... about 6 hours. Neither Mom nor I have been to Lethbridge before and we really enjoyed the trip. Lethbridge is gorgeous and so very clean. I didn't realize the "Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump" was located so close. We'll have to make time next trip to stop and explore.

20 June 2007

The pups gained well again last night. They woke us up a couple of times last night. Allan may not get much sleep this weekend, while I'm away. Bless his heart. He'll be earning a lot of 'atta boy!" points this weekend!
As in ... "One Ah SH*T! wipes out ALL your Atta Boys!"

We noticed yesterday that the little boy with no spot only has tan colouring around one eye instead of both. He also stretches his neck for neck kisses already. This is the earliest we have seen this behaviour. He is a real cuddler. He is going to steal a lot of hearts.

The pups are getting more specks of black on their noses as they start to fill in with colour. They are all strong and healthy, with no ill affects resulting from the removal of their dew claws.

19 June 2007

The pups are 9 days old today. They are all growing well. I will be leaving for a dog show on Thursday. Allan will be puppy sitting, which he is very happy to do. I do not think I can convince him to update the web site as well ;) Reports will be scarce until I return on Monday 25th of June.

16 June 2007

Yahoo! I got a full nights sleep in my own bed last night. That is the first time in over a week. Allan was very happy to get reacquainted with me and I with him.

I am thrilled with how well the pups are growing. They are all gaining more than an ounce a day. The little Blenheim girl gained two full ounces. She was the one I was most worried about. It looks like she is catching up. The Blenheim girl also seem like the fiestiest of the two girls. She doesn't like to be on her back, while the tricoloured girl will cuddle in and snuggle with you, no matter if she is on her back or her belly.

We are starting to see the little dots of black on the pups noses. It looks like someone attacked them with a fine point black marker last night. They have all got the 'nursing thing' down pat. They go from starving to so full they can hardly move, in less than five minutes. Iza thinks this is great as she gets to spend more time with us now.

Iza is funny. She likes to lay outside the pups whelping area in our kitchen. The other dogs are allowed in the kitchen for short periods of time when I am working out there. Iza will guard her pups very subtly. Iza lays in front of the whelping box and makes little warning growls if anyone enters the no-go-zone that she has defined within her mind. Iza is starting to relax more as she realizes that the other dogs are not going to attack her babies.

In the very beginning, Iza was very straight forward with Mini in letting her know in no uncertain terms that she was not allowed near the new babies. Mini moves very quickly as she gets excited and is fascinated by the pups. I'm sure that makes Iza a little unsure of what Mini's intentions are. I'm sure Mini would just like to get close enough to sniff the pups and perhaps give her new brothers and sister a sloppy wet kiss.

15 June 2007

The pups are all doing well and Iza is eating twice a day. She seems to have decided that perhaps she needs to finish her meals if she is going to have enough milk to feed her babies. The little Tricoloured girl is gaining better than anyone else, but all the pups seem to be doing very well now. Over one ounce gain in weight a day at this point makes me happy.

All the pups are little squeakers. They seem to seranaide one another with their squeaking. They do not seem to be in any kind of distress. They just like the sound of their own voice.

We changed the photos on our home page yesterday as well as added photos to Mini and Aurora's pages.
TIP: Scroll to the bottom of those pages to see the new photos.

14 June 2007

The pups are now four days old. They are gaining weight well and are much more settled. Iza is managing them well now and hasn't lost a pup in the nest in in 24 hours! Yeah!! I might get some sleep tonight!! Iza came and cuddled with me for a while last night and then returned to the whelping nest and stayed there of her own accord all night.

I added a boatload of photos today. Please scroll to the beginning to catch up on images of past events ;)

13 June 2007

The pups three days since they were born. We have an appointment to remove dewclaws today and have our Vet check Iza to make sure all is well with her. The pups all gained over an ounce since yesterday. I feel much better about that weight gain. Even our little Blenheim girl has gained well.

The pups came through the removal of their dewclaws without a hitch. Mom and babies are resting in the whelping box as I type. Iza was in the room with them as I felt that she would be more upset being left at home without them or out in the car while the procedure was being done. I do know how to remove dewclaws myself and I have helped a friend remove them on previous litters. I am just an absolute wimp when it comes to trying to do them by myself. I can't get myself to hold the puppies tight enough. I am just not coordinated enough to do the holding and the removal without risking hurting them. When I take them into the Veterinarian the pups get a bit of an exam to be sure that all is well and they get a chance to see if Iza is doing OK as well.

12 June 2007

Another sleepless night with pups squeaking when they got lost. They even woke Allan up last night. Things are improving and I am very happy that all the pups have gained weight. I think that they were not warm enough. I checked the Whelping Nest when we first started it and it read 95 degrees. When I checked yesterday morning it was at 90 degrees ... Far too cold for the pups. We adjusted the heat regulator on the Whelping Nest and it is now steady at 95 degrees now; Much better! What a huge difference a few degrees makes.

The pups umbilical cords have all come off today. We treated them with Wild Oil of Oregano yesterday as they were looking a little red. The pups toe nails have grown so much we'll have to clip them before much longer.

11 June 2007

Happy Birthday Iza!!!

Iza is settling into Motherhood well. She ate a good breakfast of ground chicken, vegetables, fruit, kelp, garlic, hard boiled egg, flax seed and pumpkin.

At one point today I went to check on Iza and the pups and the pups were not in sight. I looked closer and Iza had covered them with a towel. It was laid out flat over them like a human Mom would have covered her baby. I have no idea how she could have done it. You can see the photos below.

Another sleepless night ... We did have two pups get lost in the whelping pen last night ... Several times. I woke to their squeaks and quickly placed them back with Mom. The blenheim pups have all lost a little weight, which is not totally unusual. I'll keep an eye out and weight them a couple of times today. I'll supplement them with formula if necessary. Iza's milk has come in well so that is not the problem. Hopefully they will all settle in better and gain weight today.

Many thanks to Debbie and Larry for sending the photos that they took yesterday.

10 June 2007

Iza spent a very long night last night pacing and panting. Neither Iza nor I got much sleep. About 9:30 this morning we detected her first attempt to push.

We helped Iza with a cocktail of Calcium (Calsorb), Nutri-Cal and Vanilla Ice Cream (Breyer's Double Churned Natural Vanilla ... we shared!). This was to provide glucose to keep her strength up, fluids as she was not drinking much, and calcium to help strengthen her contractions. Her contractions where steady but just not very strong. We were prepared to give her Caulophyllum if the contractions did not continue at a steady interval.

Iza delivered her first pup at 11:58. He is a lovely marked, very large (278 grams), blenheim boy. He has no blenheim spot but has nicely broken up colouring (Thanks to his Dad, Brooke). He has no rear dew claws. This little boy had stool in his intact sack and was discoloured as a result. It will all wash off but it can indicate that he was under some stress. I suspect that he was the pup we saw on the x-ray that was across the cervical fornix. His placenta delivered before the next pup, but we did have to use forceps to keep hold of it so that it did not slip back inside Iza. We let Iza eat all the placentas. We may pay for that with diarrhea however there is a lot of good nutrition in the placenta.

At 12:20 Iza delivered a tiny (192 grams) little tricoloured girl. She has rear dew claws. Her sack was intact She has a lovely saddle of white across her hips and I am hoping that her blaze stays wide. She is better broken up than many of our past tricolours but not as broken up as the tricoloured boys from Iza's last litter. In the tricolours we often have trouble with blazes that look good when they are little but that disappear as the black hair takes over and crowds out the white blaze.

At 12:40 Iza delivered her second daughter, a little (216 grams) blenheim girl with a losenge or blenheim spot. She has rear dew claws. She was a little blue at birth so we gave her blow-by Oxygen and she pinked up right away. She was born with the sack already broken. She has lovely colouring and that precious blenheim spot. This is our first blenheim with the spot. Let's hope that it stays and doesn't melt into the surrounding blenheim colouring.

At 1:07 Iza delivered her last pup, a big (228 grams) blenheim boy with two spots. He has no rear dew claws. He was born without his sack and before the last placenta had been delivered. His umbilical cord was already severed and he was covered in stool; indicating that he was in distress. I'm not positive that Iza delivered his placenta, although I suspect that she ate his while devouring the placenta from the third pup.

All the pups received a thorough cleaning out with the 'Delee Suction Catheter'. It allowed me to get in deep to get fluids that otherwise might have caused problems. They received glucose in the form of white gel icing from a tube. They also received 'Puppy Drops', which all helped to give them strength to latch on and nurse right away. I also fed oxygen into their hot box for about 1/2 an hour. I had the oxygen regulator set to 2 litres per minute to give them a little boost. The pups have all had a good first feeding so I am confident that they all received a good dose of Iza's colostrum. I'll decide tomorrow if I think they need a precautionary dose of 'Fading Puppy Formula' or 'Fresh Frozen Plasma'.

Debbie (Iza's co-owner) was down to visit from Sherwood Park. Debbie and Larry brought Iza a birthday cake (upside-down liverwurst heart shaped cake). It is Iza's fourth birthday tomorrow. Debbie helped to give Iza a bath. Iza is now dry and much more comfortable. Debbie also helped to thoroughly inspect each of the pups. I think that Debbie approves and we are all very proud of Iza.

We will give Iza some Caulophyllum to help tone her uterus and ensure that the placentas have all been delivered. It works like a clean-out shot of Oxytocin, but it is given orally rather than through an injection and there are not the risks involved that there are with the drug Oxytocin.

Iza and I have had a nap and are feeling better now ;)
The little Blenheim girl who was blue at birth does not seem to be latching on and nursing as long as the others. We'll have to keep an eye on her, and her tricoloured, sister who do not seem to get their fill at the milk bar as well as their brothers do.

9 June 2007

No action yet. Iza is spending some time laying on the cool tile floor in the foyer. I think that she is feeling a little hot. She is spending a lot of time stretched right out positioning those babies ready for delivery. (4:06 p.m.) Puppy watch continues ...

8 June 2007

Today is Iza's estimated due date. The pups are sitting lower in her abdomen but no signs of labour yet (10:30 a.m.). Iza ate her breakfast well and is snoozing by my feet.

Iza ate well tonight and hasn't left my side. No signs of imminent whelping yet. She could whelp as late as Sunday the 10th.

7 June 2007

Iza and I slept on the sofa bed again last night. I wake up every time she shifts positions. When she whelped her last litter there were absolutely no signs the night before. She was not panting or nesting when we put her in with the other dogs for the night around 11 pm. We woke to her yowls as she birthed little Mini. I do not want to wake up in that kind of panic again ;)

Iza's whelping box is ready to go and all the supplies sterilized and on our kitchen counter. We are planning to convert a bedroom in the new addition - affectionately being referred to as 'the dog wing', into an actual whelping room with room for a bed for me and whelping boxes for two bitches as well as built-in cupboards, drawers and a work surface large enough for the hot box, oxygen and microscope. It will be complete with an outside doggy door with access to a segregated fully-enclosed run.

Until then we will use a corner of the kitchen/dining room. We are using the heated whelping nest for the first time this litter. We did a test run last night and I was quite pleased at how quickly it gets up to the correct temperature and stays there.

Iza ate well last night and her breakfast this morning. Bitches usually do not eat the day they give birth. I don't think we'll have pups today. We anticipated her to deliver tomorrow, Friday 8th of June. We'll see what she has planned ;)

6 June 2007

Iza is not letting me out of her site for a moment. If I go to the bathroom without her I hear about it. Big Time! She seems to be having some practice contractions ... like humans have Braxton Hicks Contractions prior to actual labour.

Iza is resting by my feet and is conserving her energy. Even Mini can't get her up to play for very long. She did chase a ball twice before making it clear that she was done for now.

5 June 2007

I took Iza into the Vet today for an checkup and x-ray. We can see four puppies for sure and perhaps a fifth! That is a large litter for Iza as she is a little girl. All the pups have head sizes that will not cause any trouble. One pup is across the cervical fornix. We are expecting him to shift position as the pups prepare for birth.

3 June 2007

Debbie brought Iza to visit us at the motor home while we attended the NACA Dog Show in Edmonton. Iza will be coming home with us on Monday. Iza is definitely pregnant ;) She is large and waddles and is looking for dark safe places to explore.

It was so nice that Iza recognizes me immediately and comes and tells me all the news. She is a very vocal little girl. It is so good to see her again. In the photo above you can see three generations; Daughter Mini, Grandma Tara, and Momma Iza ... with my Mom's Papillon Tigger watching over them from the background. Papillons and cavaliers play really well together.

While we were in Edmonton we had a visitor back at the acreage. Allan managed to get this photo of a deer resting near our pond, less than 200 feet from our house.

24 May 2007

We received news from Debbie today. She reports that ... "All is well here and I think I can confidently say that Iza is pregnant! Her nipples are growing daily and she is definitely wider in her middle section. I keep trying to feel movement but still nothing and according to your schedule that should start happening next week."

It definitely looks like we will have puppies soon! Yeah!

11 April 2007

Brooke and Iza tied again this morning. Iza is already acting pregnant (demanding tummy rubs) and her nipples are pink and shiny. I believe that the deed is indeed done.

Iza and Brooke both returned home today. They are such sweet dogs and are both full of personality. It was an extra short visit this time, but there is no need to keep them away from their homes longer than necessary. We also got to visit with Joan and Alfred Branscombe. Her girl Zoe had a litter of five pups; one of each colour and an extra black and tan. They are 7 weeks old now, very playful and especially lovely babies. Allan and I got our fix of 'puppy breath' that will have to do until Tara has her babies. Puppy breath can be addictive!

10 April 2007

Brooke and Iza got lots of cuddles last night and each had their nails clipped and coats brushed. Iza is as vocal as ever and Brooke is just such a Monkey. I really see where Mini gets her mischievous personality.

Iza and Brooke tied naturally again this morning. I'll be restricting their intimate activities to once a day. Allan says that he is on 'Brooke's side' and it should be twice a day. I stand firm that once a day is plenty. Men!?! Gee Wiz!

In the photo below you can see Iza and Brooke in the tie that holds them together for about 20 minutes.

I did the Fertile Focus Ovulation Predictor test and we did not get ferning so Iza may have already ovulated. I was actually in the process of collecting saliva from Iza when Brooke caught her. I'll repeat the test over the next few days to be sure we do not miss anything.

9 April 2007

We picked up Iza and Brooke today. They wasted no time at all. They were tied within 20 minutes of arriving home. I am sure Brooke's ego is intact once again; after trying so hard for a natural tie with Tara, we had to perform collection and an AI. Apparently ... Not so with Iza!

Iza's vulva was looking puffy and starting to show that she was in heat around April 1st. We haven't even had a chance to test how far along in her season she is. I'll test with the Fertile Focus Ovulation Predictor tomorrow to get an idea as to when she ovulated or will ovulate. Since she was so receptive of Brooke, I feel that she may have already ovulated. We'll see tomorrow.