Happy Halloween!!

Here is a cute little puppy dog!!

puppies eating a meal...three puppies each around three different dishes

Sage- still being patient and nursing her pups every once in a while

Four weeks today...

We have built in entertainment at our house with four week old puppies. When we go out in the morning to check on them and let them run around it turns into the morning activity. And then the same thing happens in the afternoon. If I try to cut it short at all I have to tune out the tantrum that Elise hits me with. I don't know what she is going to do when they start leaving. I gave the puppies their first little meal on Saturday morning. I stopped by the vet to see if anyone had some information on how to transition them to some food. One of the ladies behind the desk had done puppies a bunch and told me how to mix goat's milk, rice cereal and a little yummy canned puppy food and they would eat it right up. They loved it. I had three puppies each around three little pie tins and they chowed it right down. After a couple days of that about twice a day I started mixing puppy food into it and then last night I put puppy food right in their little spot in the garage and they are eating it just fine. They all have sharp little teeth that have come through their gums this week. They love to bite on your pant legs and tackle and bite each other. I bought colored collars for them the other night, so it has been to watch them for a couple days and be able to pick a certain pup out and identify who it is. I found eight colors, and the littlest girl doesn't have one. That is the one that Elise just loves. She always finds her to pick up and put on her hip. We have about three or four more weeks with these nine cute pups!!

Sage....and then all the girls

Sage - trying to nurse all nine pups

week three

It was a busy week.... The puppies went from inside the house to outside in the garage. Matt built a great little shelter for them and we got a space heater that actually keeps it really warm. The puppies just lay in one big heap on a dog pillow and the only time they are crying is when Sage gets up too fast and all nine of them are not finished nursing. Poor Sage, I think she wishes she was done being the mother dog. Her tummy is red from little ravenous paws pushing on her while they are nursing. My Dad told me to cut all their nails...and I did, but they still are so rough when they are trying to get their meal. Today I was able to sit there a couple times and let them nurse in shifts. I got three out and she cleaned and fed them, then I got three more and then the last three. They are so funny when they know Sage is on the other side of the enclosure feeding a couple of their brothers and sisters. We have had some visitors. Anne and Lance came up with their kids on Saturday, and Marci came up today. Leah and Olivia were just like Elise....could hardly stay away for one second. Carly and Maureen saw the pups over the weekend. Dad, Diana, Brian and Alisha have seen the puppies and we are lucky to get neighbors stopping over all the time to see how cute they are getting. We have been getting phone calls about the pups after posting a few adds. It seems that the girls are the most popular. The last four pictures of this post are the little girls. It is almost time to try to keep them identified with a little colored collar maybe.....it would be fun to be able to get to know them individually.

two weeks old...

These are pictures from this past week. The puppies are all growing so fast. A couple of them started opening their eyes at ten days and now they all have bright little eyes that are looking all around. Some of them were sitting up tonight looking at me- sitting like cute little dogs. One of them climbed up on one of the little steps in the pool and Matt and I think we only have a couple more days before we have to have our gameplan ready for the garage. It is going to be crazy fun when they get bigger and are moving around everywhere. Elise would spend hours if she could just picking one up and then putting it down and then going for another one. She gives the biggest smiles when she is in there dreaming about holding puppies!

wednesday morning...

October 3rd 2007- what a crazy day when Sage had her first litter of ten puppies. I knew she was very close to going into labor when I went to bed at midnight the night before. I set an alarm for 4am so I could get up and check on her. She came up to get me at about 4:15 after my alarm had gone off and I was lying there in bed. She was panting and looking at me trying to decide if I knew how to help her or not. I followed her downstairs to where we had it set up for her to have the pups. She paced and groaned and changed positions for about 20 more minutes and then the first pup came at 4:40am. The next one was at 5:50, the next at 6:50 -which was the first little girl, then 7:05, 7:25. After five I wondered if she was all done. The vet had told us five maybe six. I walked her outside and she seemed okay...and maybe done....but I didn't know. Matt left for work and I was alone with the kids and the crying new baby puppies. Every ten minutes I was checking on her and then at about 8:45 there was puppy number six. Wow...I thought...and then couldn't believe when puppy number seven came at about 9:45. That one was a little girl and had something wrong with her umbilicus. I took her in to the vet and they tried to replace some bowel that had come out. My neighbors were nice to let me throw my kids at them. I felt so crazy. I didn't want Sage to smother one of the puppies while trying to take care of the others...and I wasn't sure she knew exactly what she was doing. When I came back from the vet with instructions to try to get the seventh little puppy nursing with the mother, there was the eighth and ninth puppy waiting for me. I cleaned up real quick before I ran to get Kenton and Elise from the neighbors. Then I threw lunch at my kids, sent Kenton to a friends house and put Elise down for a nap. I layed down to try to take a nap because I was so spent....and I remember listening to puppies crying and crying. They must have quieted down enough for me to take a little nap before Elise was awake again. I checked on Sage and she was licking puppy number ten. I could not believe it. I had updated neighbors throughout the day at different times and it was funny how the next day some of the neighbors had heard there were six, seven, nine....and then ten pups. I had to take puppy number seven back to the vet and have them put her to sleep. She was not looking good and they didn't think she was going to make it. Sage was an amazing mother! By the time night had come that first day all the puppies looked like they were nursing just fine and we were so excited that the day was over!! I remember talking to my dad the next night and he said..."well great! You are in the clear, and they are on autopilot for about three more weeks". So fun!!!