The Pups Have Arrived!!

Hello everyone! :)

Yesterday Kyrie had her pups over the course of a 14-hour extravaganza, from first serious contractions to getting home from the ER vet (since our normal vet was not open for the post-whelping exam and shot) and settling everyone in to sleep. Due to sleep deprivation, I was unable to get this update to you earlier (LOL) but from now on you can expect an update at least once per week (during the "supercute" stages I might even get two in!). ;)

The count ended at two girls and four boys, all possessed of very different colors and attitudes! We have lots of variety (I like this--makes it easy to tell the pups apart! ;) ).

Following is a rundown of the pups and their "pet names" and colors so you can identify them in photos (though I will almost always caption them). In the time-honored tradition of some of the classic German shepherd kennels, Sparta names our litters with a letter (this, being our second litter, is the "B" litter) and all pup call names start with that. :)

I will admit that I had to submit to many firearms-related names, as I denied my husband the opportunity to name any of the pups from the A litter (and he does target and cowboy action shooting). So don't look at me funny when you see these names! It's Zak's fault! :D

From left to right as they are pictured in the photos above:

1. Red Boy, "Boomer" - born 1 lb 2.5 oz. - color: either a dark dual or bi-color with grey paws (they may lighten to silver, we'll see). Quite the little fireball! Vocal and energetic. It's Shiloh tradition that the red collars tend to be Trouble...

2. Brown Boy (no collar), "Browning" or "Brownie" - born 1 lb 4.1 oz. - color: dark brown sable. Brownie's pretty quiet compared to Boomer and likes to snuggle in a big pile of his siblings.

3. Green Boy, "Blaze" - born 1 lb 3.4 oz. - color: We thought he was a lighter brown sable when he was born, but he's looking to be a big grey sable boy now. He has little white toes on three out of four paws. :) He is a loud complainer when picked up out of the puppy pile!

4. Yellow Girl, "Bess" - born 1 lb .8 oz. - color: We thought she was grey when she was born but, opposite to Green Boy, she appears to be a lighter brown sable now! She has white tips on her two front paws and a little spot of white on her chest. :) Bess is a very quiet girl, almost never complaining. She eats without a lot of fuss and likes to be picked up. She fell asleep on my leg while I was putting her collar on (you can see the pic on my Facebook). :)

5. Blue Boy, "Baker" - the biggest pup, born at 1 lb and 4.7 oz. - color: We thought he was a bi-color at birth because he looked almost all black, but it turns out that he is just a VERY dark sable--we think a dark grey sable. Blue Boy was the first pup to wag his tail--he started doing so at only half a day old! Our friend Jarrad jokes that once started, he just discovered he couldn't stop!

6. Pink/Purple Girl, "Belli" - born the smallest at 15.6 oz but oh boy does she make up for it! Personality plus for sure! color: either a dark dual or bi-color with (we think) tan paws. All the pups' color will become more evident as they grow...Belli was actually christened "Benelli" but she is now The Ravenous Belli, Destroyer of Food. I have never seen a pup eat like this. Seriously. We are a little afraid. We wonder if we need to hook her up to a milk IV...The Ravenous Belli also enjoys mountain climbing, and below you can see her in the warming box, atop Mount Towelmore. :D

Take care and I hope you'll look forward to further updates! In a day or two we will get some individual photos of each pup for the blog. :)

Puppies are almost here!

Well, we are getting very close to PUPPIES! Kyrie began having smaller contractions today, so we should have pups soon! Stay tuned!

I thought I would toss in a photo of our lovely Durawhelp box which is holding up very well (it is corrugated polystyrene, super easy to clean and disinfect, and breaks down and stores neatly back in its shipping box between litters!). The blue hanging sheets are surgical drapes, generously donated by a friend of ours. :) The lamp emits only heat, not light. Baby puppy eyes are sensitive, and we lock down the blinds when they are younger. As the pups get older, after their eyes open and start to adjust, we like them to get lots of natural light. This corner with its two large windows is perfect. :)

Off to the side of the whelping box enclosure (which has a pad for Kyrie to sleep on outside of the box, along with space for her food and water), we have our grooming table set up with the medical supplies and accessories we might need during and after whelping. There are pads for the whelping box down below (after whelping is over, we will exchange the newsprint for these soft, washable pads in the whelping box), and a box holding more supplies. We also have extra ribbon for puppy collars (used for identification until we learn who is who!) and a baby scale for the puppies. Just after birth and then every day for the first couple weeks, we will weigh the pups to make sure they are gaining a healthy amount of weight. :)

This will be my last post for a while, as I try to get the house in order (I know I will have no time to do so during and after whelping...new puppies are a full-time job!). :) If you email me and do not get an immediate response over the next few days, don't worry too much--once the pups are born and the situation is stable, I will update this blog, email all of our puppy people, and post on our Shiloh Shepherd Friends forum (www.shilohshepherdfriends.com) as soon as humanly possible! :D

Thanks for reading, everyone! We're very excited about these pups!

Kyrie's X-Ray Results!

Today Kyrie had her appointment for her x-ray to count the puppies! They let me come and help with the x-ray; I even got to wear the lead apron. ;) When we had our shot (above) Doc Lee counted the skulls. Can you count them all? We were certain we counted six; Doc Lee thought that there was a seventh off to the right, and I thought I saw an additional pup down to the left. Sooo...the final verdict is definitely six puppies, likely seven, and maybe eight!

Puppy watch begins tomorrow, Day 57 after breeding. Most dogs whelp around day 62-63, but it's possible to go early or late just like with humans. Stay tuned!!

Kyrie's Got a Puppy Bump!

I've got a big work event this weekend, so haven't had much time lately, but I did snap a photo of the preggers Kyrie this past weekend so here she is! You can't see the puppy bump real well, but she's not her usual svelte self. ;) From what we remember of last time she is quite a bit bigger this time around! Cross fingers for five or six pups, everyone! :)

The x-ray will happen this coming week, Tuesday or Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Second Ultrasound - More Good News!

We have an update!

Today Kyrie went in for a second ultrasound, since our vet was so disappointed to only see one or two pups in there the first time. Well, the second ultrasound paid off! We clearly saw three puppies with a possible fourth "hiding". Everyone is very pleased!

So now we wait. The x-rays are scheduled for the 23rd, at which point we'll be able to count the little skulls and spines and make sure everyone is still in there. ;) We expect the pups to arrive sometime during the week of the 28th!

Please cross fingers and paws for a safe delivery for Kyrie and a gaggle of happy, healthy pups!