Day 46: Hearing tests and microchip ID day


Whenever these puppies show up at The Animal Clinic Northview it is a memorable day for staff.  Several are happy to help transport the pups directly into their prepared waiting room.  They parade them through the general waiting area carrying them two by two and holding them this way and that because other staff and clients want to admire them.   The technicians enjoy snuggling the pups and smelling their sweet puppy breath.  They always pronounce them to be the cutest, the healthiest, etc.


So today they were taken in by threes for mild sedation, Baer hearing test and Home Again microchip implants.  Overall, we are pleased with the hearing test results in so large a litter: eight out of ten are all bilateral hearing!  The boys are all bilateral hearing.  Four of the six girls are all bilateral hearing.  The two girls with the defective gene are two of the most darkly marked, densely spotted of the entire litter: "Red Velvet Cupcake" (uni - deaf in one ear) and "Red/Black Outback Valentine" (bilateral - deaf in both ears).  Recall, this lovely litter has no patches and no blue eyes. 


The specialist veterinarian who does the Baer testing at the clinic also does other procedures such as a C-section in the midst of waiting to upload the last Baer test results on the computer.  She was extremely thorough.  When she had static in a couple of tests she retested to make sure she had a clean result.  We have no bilateral hearing results that are marginal - very clear pattern readouts.


The staff were impressed once again with the way the puppies comported themselves, sleeping off their sedation and then gamboling about their room with curious but dreamy expressions.  They slept for the thirty minute ride home, ate dinner and went right to sleep.  It was a very big day!

Pink, Connor and Red take a nap!

We have close-up action photos of puppies at play at their weekend party. Those are unlike the "action" in this one above of these drowsing in the late afternoon.  I spent the better part of yesterday editing, cropping and identifying who is who in the photos.  I am half way done bc I spent the better part of today at the clinic.  As an experimental psychologist I like pattern recognition games, however.  So I was glad to notice a little "Mickey Mouse" head with big ears on the show side of Pouring Pink In Cleveland - see it just opposite Connor's forehead?  I should be done with my pattern matching tomorrow with names in the captions.  Really, really great photos so watch for them!!!

Day 43: The Puppies Celebrate!


The puppies invited friends over to party with them out on the lawn at six weeks on Saturday, Memorial Day Weekend.  

They played hard in the sun, had their six-week photos taken, took a lunch break and napped in the shade.  They had a very BIG day. 


The six week stack photos are up on the website -> please click on the link in the RH margin on this page to go see them.  These are the last stacks until the formal 8-week stacks - they are growing beautifully and keeping their spots nicely separated - good puppies!


I'm editing entertaining candids of the puppies at their party for a special page on the website that will be up tomorrow.  We have had a very big weekend with puppy people coming to see them and the puppies enjoyed it all and so did we!!

Day 42: Puppies are six weeks old!
Monte and Kamea's puppies received their first vaccination today in preparation for others coming to visit them tomorrow from outside our family.  Next Tuesday they will have their Baer hearing tests at 6.5 weeks and get their Home Again microchip implants.  Stools checked again (normal) and thorough individual physical exams pronounced the pups in excellent condition.  We heard many praises as to their structure, angles, heads, ear sets, top lines, tails and balance from our experienced vet and a visiting intern handler turned vet!  I was proud to see the puppies hold their free stacks on the table for their doc.  Good puppies!


Below you can see we all  are enjoying their new quarters in our attached air conditioned garage.   The flooring is insulated and padded with a berber carpet remnant, a layer of heavy black vinyl and topped with a large blue camping tarp.  The tarp has enough roughness to it for their feet to get good purchase but still is easy to wipe down.  Later, pups will access the side kennel poop station from this room.  But for now I'm still on poop detail - but as you can see I don't mind it much.

Polo checks out the garage door mechanism for "his" charges - it better be safe!

 Stack pictures maybe tomorrow before the puppy party outside.  Let's hope we can get to that.

Polo and Kamea each bring toys to the pups - it is fun to watch them all play.   Life is good with Dalmatians to love and to enjoy for their intelligence, exuberance and gentle care for each other.  Connor sure has an armful.  The temperaments of Monte and Kamea have imbued these little ones with very loving, outgoing, confident natures.  Polo works his magic with them too!

Day 39: Five Week Stacks!


Whew! The five-week stacks are up on the puppy page at our website.  You can go there directly by clicking on the link in the RH margin here.

I am pleased with the close-ups of their adorable and pleasing faces.  I have too many outtakes however in the rest of the shots of pups with legs out of position, overstretched or A-framed pups, pups backing up on me, active pups who began well enough who got sleepy waiting for their photo ops.  Next week we will shoot their pics in the morning with better results!


Otherwise, pups are doing quite well.  Diet: They are completely alternating meals between 1) ground, grain-free poultry and fish complete puppy kibble and 2)  ground raw poultry w bone and veggies so that new owners no matter their choice of diet the puppies will be ready for it.  They get a little cottage cheese or a cup of their milk supplement with each meal.  They are drinking water from a gravity drinking water dispenser.  


Grooming: About a third of them are getting better having their weekly nail trim, the others are coming along reluctantly.  


Social: All of them like to be handled, whether it is to be rubbed, wiped down, patted or kissed.  They laze on their backs to be played with and their eye contact and focus is greatly improved.


Good puppies!

Day 36: Puppy "bedtime training" at five weeks

Here's what I like to do with each of them.  I sit in a chair inside the

ex-pen so they can all come up to me for attention. They want to chew on

me so I wear loose fitting flannel pajamas and my ugh boots.  They can't

bite  through those but find me a companionable sort of very big creature.

I pick each one up in turn and place them on their back in my lap, head

toward my knee, tail toward my tummy so they can look directly at me and

see me smiling and talking to them.  I play with them like babies,

handling toes of each foot - lifting them up and making smacking noises on

their stomachs, I look them in the eye and bring my face close to theirs,

kiss them on the nose, ruff their ears, scratch their tummies.  We play this way 
for several minutes while they are on their backs.  Then I pull them up into a

sit or put them on their tummies in my lap and "we" peer down at their

siblings - they see that they are up higher - this is great!  "Terrific!"

I say - "look how high up you are!"  Then I gently put them down among

their siblings, carefully place them and give them a few good puppy pats

and on to the next one.  They often will sit and be quiet for a minute

after being put down - or if sleepy just wander a small distance and lie

down to sleep.  It is the most precious time for me to spend with each one

of them.  


I REALLY want these puppies to make good eye contact with us in

trust and expectation of good fun following.  I think it's working very

well.  They will hold a gaze with me now in the most unaffected, calm

manner and that's what I'm working toward - not a serious stare down - no

but a gaze at one another in comprehension and understanding.  I have this

with both Polo and Kamea and I believe it makes a big difference for

subsequent training of all sorts.  I want puppies to be able to focus on

their new owners and know this is good, that good comes from this.

So nighty night - very successful "training" puppy cuddling!

Day 33: Transition to puppy food and name that face?


Hmm do we think they are eating enough?

Puppies eat four times a day, roughly at 6am, 10am, 2pm and 6pm.  They have been sleeping all night easily on this schedule for awhile now. In the top picture taken today at 4.5 weeks they are dining on a mix of milk supplement and ground puppy food -alternating w blanched ground raw, after which they get a pan of water with a bit of condensed milk to drink 6/1 ratio.

They are a lot BIGGER now than they were in this second photo but you might not realize it. The puppies graduated today to the 15 inch diameter dish with deeper lip (above) from the 11 inch diameter dish pictured here.  This second picture was taken at 25 days roughly 3.5 weeks.  So they have grown quite a bit in a week, since the different size bowls seem to be the same bowl LOL.

We get a better sense of the pups  size when we look at them in relation to their mom, Kamea, this was taken yesterday.  She still contends with these hungry mouths daily.  Yellow boy stretched out is as long as her leg!  When she walks by they can reach her to snag a draft of milk if she is willing.  Sometimes she is, sometimes, she isn't.  Kamea is weaning them easily at her own convenience -she has access to the pups whenever she likes and is let out of their ex-pen whenever she likes.  Oh good girl Kamea!
So here are the boys today - do you know who is who?

What about the girls who were NOT posing this afternoon?


We will try again later......

Day 32: Helpful remedies!


Today was the day to do a little cleaning of puppy ears and then wipe them down with a warm cloth for the rest of their little short stack bodies.


For puppy ears we use a solution that is one part white vinegar and one part rubbing alcohol; our vet maintains that this solution is better than over-the-counter otic rinses that in some cases seem to prolong ear troubles.  We pour the solution on a cotton pad and gently clean the inside exterior of puppy ears to ward off a build up of harmful dirt and bacteria that could cause problems.Puppies tolerate the solution which feels cool to their ears.


Since we live in deer country we thought we would post this excellent way to remove ticks.  Our supplier of spray to our landscape to keep our resident deer from eating our rhododendron buds reported that his wife had to be hospitalized for a tick that had become embedded.  She is on powerful antibiotics now and has been diagnosed w lyme disease.  Further, the local emergency doctor said they get cases daily with embedded ticks.  No, our supplier's wife is not one who is outside a lot - he is.  But their dog is outside and sleeps on their bed.  She got the tick off the dog.

Tick Removal:

Spring is here and the ticks will soon be showing their heads.

Here is a good way to get them off you, your children,

or your pets. Give it a try.

Please forward to anyone with children, hunters or dogs;

or anyone who even steps outside in summer!

A School Nurse has written the info below--good enough

to share--and it really works!

"I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best

way to remove a tick. This is great because it works in

those places where it's sometimes difficult to get to with

tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of

dark hair, etc."

"Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick

with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few

seconds (15-20); the tick will come out on its own and be

stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away.

This technique has worked every time I've used it

(and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic

for the patient and easier for me.."

We are enjoying the puppies.  In these candids you can see even from a distance how their spots are developing.  They are round spots, nicely separated and evenly spaced for the most part :

Day 30: The puppies were four weeks old Saturday!


They are up and running, eyes wide open, lapping up a thicker gruel in their community dish and still nursing Kamea. Oh brave Kamea!


Their little personalities are blossoming and yet as consistent as they are in body they are similar in behavior.  We call "Puppy, puppy, puppy!" of course they come running.  

They teeth on toys, ex-pen bars, our clothing if we let them, and enjoy pummeling one another by pouncing and gruffly eeerrrrring at each other.  To interrupt a puppy death grip on a pinch of our skin, we gently, roll the loose skin of their lips over their sharp little teeth to loosen their bite.  That shows them it is not comfortable to us or them!  "Ah,  ah!" we say and hand them something they can chew on.  So we are teaching them it is fine to chew ( please do!) , but chew here, or here, or there and with this instead of that or me or you!

After a full meal they lie around in groups of twos and threes and nap.  Fat little short stacks.

Separately, they each enjoy being held, rolled over, rubbed clean with a damp, soft microfiber cloth after eating from their community bowl.  The snack hit of the weekend is a tiny bit of honey off a fingertip.  For honey they will stand still and pose like they did this weekend for their 4 week "stacks."

I had lots of help with the photo shoot!

Puppies handed to me, puppies taken from me and cuddled before being put back with their litter mates.  Daughter Claire oversaw her tripod and camera and lenses to good effect.  Husband Tim kept us on track which puppy still needed what angle shot.

We tried the grooming table loop around the puppies necks (not Connor's!) that worked rather well until I got a better idea of what to do.

A quick dip of a fingertip into a small bowl of honey worked best of all to get the puppies to stand and allow me to position them (somewhat!)

Please go to the reorganized menu bar of the website (link is at the top of each blog page) and click on the "Puppy Page" for the new 4 week stack photos. The link to the puppy page from blog sometimes doesn't work; then click on home page from blog and in menu click on puppy page! 

Day 25: Puppies are 3.5 weeks old - lots of changes: paper training,  drinking from a pan, baby teeth and play on the grooming table.


Here is the first nursery set-up before we cut down the low barrier; you can see that we also used the barrier to separate groups of pups for nursing shifts in the first 7-10 days so that we could make sure all puppies had good nursing time:

At three weeks and 2 days we cut out the low door that allowed Kamea to go in and out but kept her puppies in their large four foot by five foot whelping box.  We also removed the pig rails from inside the whelping box.  The ex-pen floor is covered with the same interchangeable, washable three foot square incontinence pads that are in the whelping box. Here are the puppies first time out:

. 

River Birch Blue Boy

 Ivy League Lt. Green Boy

 Sugar Maple Leap Orange Girl

 It's Pouring Pink In Cleveland Girl

 Purple With A Purpose Girl

 Outback Valentine Red/Blk Girl

 Red Velvet Cupcake Girl

White Platinum Girl

 We covered all of the ex-pen area with newspaper so that when the pups ventured outside the whelping box the only surface they could walk on was newspaper:

On The Hunt Hunter Green Boy and Champagne Toast Yellow Boy

 In two days time, the pups were using the newspaper to potty (intelligent Dals) so we removed the day bed, brought in the grooming table, widened the area of the ex-pen but left the newspaper on the same half as before:

Kamea continues to nurse but with the little baby teeth coming in we are supplementing the pups.   They get sucking time but they are not so hard on their mom.  Here she's coming in to nurse them

Here is second breakfast! 

Smart pups keep the other bedding area clean - that's where we sit when we play with the pups.  Lots more individual pictures are up in the website puppy albums; we've added a new menu tab for "Puppy Candids" that are group pictures.  Enjoy!!!

Day 20: How We Trim Puppy Nails!


The puppies had their nails done today.  We use a hardware store  dremmel (a tool with an assortment of mini- rotary grinders) to grind off the tip of the nail without risking clipping into the blood flow of the nail.  The dremmel may also be used to round off chips or snags on bigger nails of adult dogs.  Don't waste money on smaller dremmels sold  in pet stores for puppy nails - just not strong enough for Dalmatian nails and puppy can get used to sound of low speed regular dremmel no problem.


To prepare I set up a chair with a good reading light and wear magnifying readers in order to see the tiny nails.  The chair is placed  inside their ex-pen, where I can easily reach down and pick up a pup, lay it on a comfy microfiber cloth over my lap, gently massage/rub puppy's neck and back, do nails, then encourage and snuggle with puppy head under my chin, then roll puppy over on my lap and scratch the tummy until puppy falling to sleep and then gently put it back in with the others.  What I like to see is puppy when put down will stay in vicinity of safe and comforting me.  Puppy may curl up on one of my feet while I am doing nails of the next one.


To do the nails for a right hander is to hold/enclose pup against the left side of your body on your lap with left arm and grasp and support the paw with nails to be trimmed with the left hand.  Then turn on dremmel and let puppy hear sound and get used to that.  When puppy is disinterested in sound then quickly tip the end of the nails on that paw and move gently, easily to next front paw.  Try not to have to adjust your left arm - just one paw and then the next following right away.   No abrupt motions, or exclamations from me, just ordinary talk.  By middle of second front paw, puppy usually decides it is not liking the grip on its paw or the buzz vibration of the dremmel and  tries to wriggle away. The dremmel doesn't hurt but if anyone has ever had an oscillating blade used to cut off a cast that vibration is what the pup feels - and so it decides at first that this is unpleasant.  Also most do not want their paws to be held in a grip.  It is very helpful to play with the pups' feet, paws, tickling toes/pads and generally getting pups used to the idea that their feet can be touched safely by us.    


On to the rear paws then.  Reverse the pup  in the same hold with its head now buried into the crook of your arm and body where it feels more secure and do the back paws.  These paws are handled calmly, with no hurried motions, like it's the most normal thing in the world.  With the rear paws, puppy is still lying on its stomach and you are looking at the underside, the pads of their feet.  In your good light you can see the tiny long nails that need to be shortened.  Dremmel from underneath to front easily grinding off the tips.


Afterward the puppies relax with a semi-firm hug against your neck or close to your heart - reassuring words, head kisses.  Then the back and tummy scratches until puppy is all settled and comfortable.  People use different techniques but it is all in calm assurance, protective care of them and happy kisses and praise afterword.  We don't sympathize "Oh you poor thing..." - the tone is more "Oh good for you! Look how big you are!  Stand fast!  or "Hold tight!" "Good boy/girl!"  We want confident pups who learn that confidence, in part,  from our confidence in them that we communicate to them.  There is no need to teach a puppy he is about to undergo a worrisome procedure when puppy can master that incident if given half a chance with a calm, confident approach by us!


None of these pups were shaking, crying or squealing while getting their nails done.  Now that we have begun doing this we will of course keep at it and pups while generally not liking having their nails done will see it as something they can live with and move on to other things in the day's grooming/play routine.


Polo, our oldest  Dalmatian, jumps to the grooming table and will actually hold out a paw when he sees the dremmel out.  He likes being groomed, the nail chore is just something to get over with first. So the pups are being introduced gently to a procedure that is a must for them on a weekly basis (Kamea's nails are the healthiest, hardest, fastest growing  I've ever encountered and with her sometimes twice a week) for the rest of their lives.  Best to get on with it and learn what to do for your puppy from the outset. The shorter nails keep the tight feet so desirable in a Dalmatian and will do less damage to floor and furniture surfaces, your clothing and your skin!

Day 19: We started the photo albums for each of the ten puppies today.  Please return to the website, check the navigation bar and click on "Ten Puppies' Albums" to see close-up photography of each puppy:


nobledalmatians.com  


The 4 boys and 6 girls are not quite three weeks old.  They are all sturdy packages showing exploratory behavior, walking and playing.  


They have what looks to be excellent consistency in physical structure and spot patterns.  They are all walking quite sturdily and easily and respond well to calling sounds.  While some are more open spotted and some more densely spotted, all appear to have very evenly  distributed spot patterns - no "windows" of large open space that give the impression of missing spots in one area or another - none of that.  No clustering of spots either but some more densely spotted cd  cluster later - we have to wait and watch.  


Their leather nose trim is complete in all but one and eyeliner trim is in .  We do not see any blue eyes (as opposed to bluish cast of the dark brown eyes just opening).   As reported on their first day there are no patches.   


Further, it appears we must  have imagined the livers because at this point everyone looks to be black-spotted!!  

All of the pups are getting cuddle time.  In two days we will tear down the short wall out into the ex-pen from the whelping box to expand their indoor territory.