Dackel Princess

Curt Wins!

Yes, Curt wins the contest, “Whose Eyes Will Open First”? When I got up this morning and looked into the whelping box, little old Curt was looking back at me with these half opened eyes!

The others all are close, but haven’t gotten to this point quite yet. I expect the next day or so to have everyone showing signs of eye opening!

Arnie continues to sleep in the puppy room with me. What a doll. If I go in for any reason he is right there with me, and loves to watch the babies. Anneliese and Fritz show no interest in the babies, but Arnie sure does.

The nice thing is that Greta doesn’t seem to mind his being in there any more. In fact she doesn’t even growl at him, and he just loves those babies!

Here are Calvin and Curt taking a nap together today.

Here is our Christel. She is quite a beauty!

Here is a very sleepy Claus.

The brood still snuggles all together.

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I went to see “Julie & Julia” today with Hubby. I have been waiting so long to go. What a fun movie! Meryl Streep was fabulous! I wonder if there is anything that she can’t do? I admit to almost drooling while watching the food being prepared on screen and I had a real urge to cook when we left the movie theater, so I came home and made lamb chops for our dinner! Oh Julia, you truly did excite the world with your cooking!

Passages Through Time

Thursday proved to be a very long and very busy day. Some of it was restful, like when I was getting my hair and nails done, but then I came back home and was consumed with puppy laundry, and cooking. Right now we have tomatoes coming in and we have far more than we can possibly eat, so I am making home-made spaghetti sauce with it. I’ve frozen some of the sauce to enjoy in the middle of a snowstorm this winter, and the rest I am using to make things like Eggplant Parmesan, and Lasagna.

The entire sauce making from beginning to end (including dinner), lasted from 1:30 until 7 pm! During this time I was letting dogs in and out, feeding Greta, who is constantly hungry, and checking on the puppies.

I actually didn’t take any pictures of them on Thursday. I will tell you though that their eyes are just starting to open. There are now lines where the eye lids meet, instead of the way the puppies are born, with the eyes tightly fused together. I wonder which puppy will have their eyes open first?

Arnie continues to be my special little guy. He follows me everywhere and sits by my feet when I am working in the kitchen. If I call to him he runs to me and leaps into my arms! What a guy!

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Today is September 11, 2009. Eight years have now passed since that terrible morning. So many innocent people died, and our safe little world forever changed. I have never understood how anyone could do such an evil thing. It still boggles my mind, and there are times I still hear the voices of those who were on those planes, in the World Trade Center, or in the Pentagon, cry out from their fiery graves.

The victims came from more than 90 countries around the world.
The following are the number of people who died at each site:

World Trade Center 2,823 (includes airline passengers)
Pentagon 125 (not including plane victims)
Flight 11 – 92 people on board
Flight 175 – 64 people on board
Flight 77 – 64 people on board
Flight 93 – 44 people on board

May we never forget…..

Growing…

Wednesday was such a busy day. I was running around doing errands, then I would rush back home, check on Greta and the pups and then go on to the next project. What this means is that I got a lot packed into one day, including quality time with the wee ones.

I’m truly amazed at how quickly they are growing. All the pups are well over a pound now and I love watching them lay in their bed. Sometimes on their backs so that their fat bellies are easy to see. Their faces are fuller, and I can see that their eyes are starting to show signs of opening. Then they really will start to look like proper little puppies, and not space aliens!

So here are some pictures of the babies today. First up is the beautiful Christel. Her Pink collar looks somewhat white in this picture, but trust me, she is all girl! She has such a sweet face.

Then we have Claus. (Green) He is already quite the charmer. When I hold him he snuggles down into my hand.

Next we have Calvin. I think he will be the largest pup in the litter. Probably around 19 -20 pounds. I could be wrong, but he has these big paws and big head and I just hope he grows into them!

Caspar is probably the most beautiful. His coat is darker and he has such beautiful markings. Like Claus he is a sweet little cuddler.

And then there is Curt. He is a happy, beautiful, all around great pup. I enjoy watching him crawl around and of course, he is almost always plugged into a teat and nursing!

Makenna was over and she just loves to hold the babies. She is also really good at it too.

So the babies are growing, and their eyes will open soon, and before you know it, they will be off and running. That’s when the real fun begins for me!

My Boy

It all started innocently enough. I kissed Hubby, and said my good-nights to him and returned to the puppy room to sleep. After all, we know that Greta still wants me to be with her, so I am sleeping in the puppy room. I want to be in my nice, big, comfy, bed, but until Greta is ready, I will be camping out on the twin mattress and boxed spring in the puppy room.

Hubby and Anneliese are fine with my being absent from the family bed. Apparently Anneliese has been stretching out and enjoying the room, but Arnie misses his Mommy something fierce.

Last night I was settling in, and Arnie came into the puppy room. I shooed him away, anticipating Greta jumping up and shredding his little face! But he kept coming back. I would shoo him off, and again he returned. Finally I drifted off and I felt a little body cuddle close to mine. “Oh well”, I thought, if she comes after him, we’ll all die together!

You can see the whelping box behind me, but this is my little corner of the world right now. I do miss my big bed. It’s king sized and has a comfy, cushy foam topper on it. The sheets are crisp and soft against my skin, and the blanket a wonderful medium weight cotton weave that I wrap myself in.

Isn’t that strange? Dreaming about your own bed at night?

Greta seems resigned to having Arnie in there now. She didn’t growl at him and as long as he stays up with me, she is happy.

Now back to Mr. Arnie. He has been at my side constantly, and I realized that he is my boy. Oh, I always knew he was my little guy, but what I am talking about is that he is dedicated to me to the point that he will risk being ripped apart by Greta in order to be at my side.

Arnie is my soul-buddy. I had that with Shubi and I never believed I would have it again. Certainly not with a boy dog. I have always been a female dog lover. Don’t get me wrong. I love all my dogs, but Arnie is earning an irreplaceable position in my heart.

The pups are doing great. All over a pound now and in a few days their eyes will begin to open. Then the real fun begins.

Makenna has been a big help, coming over and sitting, patting the puppies. Little by little they will get used to children and look forward to her visits.

Here she is with Claus.

Well, I’m actually enjoying this whole time. Camping out with Arnie, Greta and the puppies, is a lot of fun. Of course, I will be happy when I can return to my “dream bed”. Along with Arnie!

Close-Ups!

Last night I crept into my bedroom, closed the door silently, and then crawled into my wonderful, comfortable bed. I breathed a small sigh (probably too loudly) and Greta began to bark and whine for me! So, needless to say, I slept in the puppy room with Greta again last night. I won’t even try my own room tonight, as Greta seems to want the company. Especially at 2:30 in the morning when we go out to visit the great out of doors.

We woke (for good) at 6 AM and I poured some hot coffee into my body, while Greta nursed the crew. I weighed them and discovered that all the puppies now weigh over 1 pound! Yay Greta, for being such a good little milk factory!

I also spent time with my camera trying to get a few pictures, and I absolutely did get a couple that are adorable! One thing that the macro lens shows me is that all the pups will have a very nice wiry coat. This litter really has pretty pups!

Here is our only girl, Christel.

Next is her brother, Claus.

Then we have Caspar.

Then Calvin

And Curt.

In the afternoon Makenna came over and we worked changing collars on the pups. It’s amazing that in a week they have grown so much that their little collars were too snug! Everyone has a nice roomy collar now.

Tomorrow I must trim everyone’s nails and perhaps take the bed out of the puppy room. I’m afraid if I leave it in, Greta will expect me to stay with her for the next two months! Oh how I long for my nice snugly bed!

Meanwhile, Hubby took this beautiful picture tonight of the sunset. For the last 4 or 5 nights we have had the most beautiful sunsets, so I am happy he got this picture!

A Quiet Sunday

Sunday found Greta wanting a little more freedom from the brood. She would lay down quietly with them and nurse them, but then she wanted to get up and come out to the family room and visit with us. Of course this didn’t last too long and she would be back at the gate to go in with the babies. So, we decided to allow the gate to remain open and give her the freedom to decide where she wanted to be.

Of course this meant that we had to watch Arnie and Anneliese, who, given the chance, would be right in there trying to help and babysit their brothers and little sister! Arnie is so funny. He would really like to go in and baby sit, like he did with Anneliese’s puppies.

So Greta went back and forth and back and forth all day long. By nightfall she had finally settled in with the babies. I’m even considering sleeping in my own bed tonight, but I will see.

I’m still so thrilled to see the babies each day. Their bellies get rounder by the moment and they are healthy and sweet.

Makenna was over and she held Christel for a while. She was wearing a furry vest and little Christel thought that there might be a milk fountain in there and looked around!

I got a close up picture of Curt today. Greta allowed me to. Over the next few days I will try to get one of each of the pups.

Can you believe how much they have grown?

Sept. 6 Calvin Claus Caspar Christel Curt

Calvin, Claus, Caspar, Christel and Curt in front.

Friends & Puppies!

Saturday was the first day that Greta actually allowed me to easily pick up the pups. Oh, she lets me take them to weigh them in each day, but she doesn’t like to have me holding them for too long. That was, until today.

Interestingly enough, Anneliese never minded my touching the babies or holding them from day one. Perhaps it is because she has only known me as her Mama, and has known my hands since the very moment she was born. However with Greta, it is quite different.

My day started as usual. Greta got me up to go and commune with nature early on, I drank coffee and soon made breakfast for Hubby and myself. In the late morning I got a call. It was my dear Emily, who asked if I would be home for a few hours because a surprise was on it’s way for me.

An hour later, Emily was on my steps! She’d been gone all summer visiting her grandparents and today came to visit me and the pups. We immediately got out our cameras and started snapping pictures.

Emily and Claus.

Me with Curt, who was trying to nurse my hand!

Me with Calvin.

Me with Christel.

And the adorable Caspar.

I also got the two boys together who will be going to Tony and Cheryl. They are just so sweet! Claus and Caspar.

It is amazing to me how quickly the pups grow at this point. Both Curt and Calvin are 1 pound each. Christel is 15 ounces and the two boys, Claus and Caspar are 14 ounces and gaining fast!

The pups do two things quite well. They eat and they sleep. They are becoming a bit more mobile ,in that they will crawl towards their mother, drawn by the scent of her milk. They will climb over each other to reach a teat and two of them show signs of enjoying sleeping on their backs. Yes, Calvin and Claus both have been spotted sound asleep on their backs with their chubby bellies sticking out for all to see.

It’s a peaceful time too. I mean, we can sit and watch and enjoy their infancy now before they open their eyes and begin to awaken to the world around them.

Makenna and the little family!

One Week

Can you believe that it has been one week since the puppies were born? Yep. One whole week! In that week we have watched the puppies double their weights, Greta recover to her usual self, and my sleep deprivation has nearly vanished, as I am sleeping better each night.

But oh, those puppies are amazing. They came into this world these tiny little things, hardly resembling a puppy, and in a week they have more pup-like features and fat little bellies! I think how quickly the time is passing. By next week they’ll have their eyes open and will begin their discovery of the world around them.

Meanwhile, I made up a short montage of pictures that I took today. I hope you enjoy it!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Names & News

Yesterday’s poll was a bit tricky. I understand it wasn’t working too well, but I did get some results, and I also have a little news to share. So here are the babies, along with their names.

This is Christel!

Meet Curt!

This is Calvin

And now the big news. Today These two boys found their forever home with Tony and Cheryl. So they got to select their names. We have…

Claus

And last, but not least, Caspar!

Having raised Arnie and Anneliese from birth, I can tell you how wonderful it is to have sibling pups. They become best friends, and watching them change and grow is a real thrill.

I’m so happy that Claus and Caspar will have each other throughout their lives. Isn’t that great?

Christel, Caspar, Claus, Calvin & Curt!

Finally, I want to share this short video from today of all the pups at lunchtime. I hope you enjoy it!

Author: Dackel Princess