The Dackel Princess

Autumn is coming to New England. The weekend was the perfect example of why I love it here in the fall. Temperatures in the upper 60’s and low 70’s during the day, cooling off to the 30’s at night, and clear, crisp air. Yes, Autumn is a wonderful time of year.

The last of my garden’s harvest is close to being picked and enjoyed.

Soon the apples will be ready to pick, eat and make apple sauce with. It is so wonderful to take a container of your own apple sauce out of the freezer in February and once thawed, relive Autumn once again with every bite!

Our trees and the fruit.

And then there are the puppies. Those sweet bundles of chubby bellies, and baby barks, that have brightened up our Autumn days. I stopped and got the recliner box from a local furniture store today, as the pups are very close to climbing out of the kiddie wading pool. Christel and Calvin try already, and it is only a matter of time. The recliner box will contain them for a week or two more before we unleash them in the puppy room. I plan to switch them over next week.

Here are the babies today. Aren’t they getting big?

They’ll be 4 weeks old on Saturday! I cannot believe how quickly time is going by.

There was a lot of movement in the whelping box today. The pups all were so much more animated. They also played and walked around, and occasionally rolled around as they played. Makenna was here and we took some movies and pictures of our growing herd of dachshunds!

First we have the handsome and charming, and largest boy, Calvin. Calvin really is remarkable because he has the largest head, and biggest paws!

Next in the weight line is Curt. He tends to be a bit quieter, but is pretty strong as well. Today he slept a bit more and I am thinking he is having another growth spurt! Last time I looked he was nursing away.

Christel is the next in line weight wise. She is one big girl! She is no pushover either. She gets right in there with all of her brothers and rolls around, crawls all over them and then snuggles with her Mama.

Then we have Claus. He is such a handsome boy. His favorite playmate from almost the first day has been his brother, Caspar. It’s funny because when I check on them, either they are playing or sleeping together! Claus is a real sweetheart!

Last but not least, is Caspar. He may be the smallest (by just an ounce or two) but he is probably the most active. I often see him cruising around the whelping box, or climbing over the other pups.

I took two pictures that I just loved. The first is of Caspar and Calvin sleeping together. Aren’t they sweet?

And lastly, this one of the pig pile! Ah I just break out into a big smile when I see them like this!

And I leave you with this short movie that Makenna and I made.

It’s hard to believe that the babies are three weeks old! The have all more than doubled their weights, and now that they have their eyes open, they are all moving around the whelping box like the growing, little puppies that they are. They also raise their heads when they hear us, or their mother and even bark!

The time is flying by and soon they will be ready to go outside on a warm day, and will be toddling around the puppy room playing with toys. Today I caught Christel biting and chewing on her brother Calvin, and Claus and Caspar actually rolling around together.

I put these pictures together and set it to a little music. It’s short, but shows you how beautiful these babies are!

Happy three week birthday, pups!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I cannot believe how quickly the puppies are growing. Not only are three of them over 2 pounds now, (Curt, Calvin and Christel), but they are all 5 of them on the move! I am amazed at how they move around the whelping box! They are truly amazing to be this active so soon in their young lives!

So here are today’s pictures. I hope they make you smile!

Remember Yellow is: Calvin, red is: Curt, pink is: Christel, green: is Claus and blue is: Caspar.

In the center is Christel’s face!

Everyone is healthy and their eyes follow us all over the room. They also hear. I speak to them and they start to look around when I speak to them.

So, I am thrilled with this litter. They are so beautiful and sweet. That makes me the luckiest woman on the face of the earth!

Calvin reached the momentous weight of 2.02 pounds! He is such a nice relaxed boy, who loves to eat. I am not surprised that he does so well. His personality is the calmest of all the group.

Our sweet Christel found her forever home today. Abigail, a fellow New Hampshire-ite, will be adopting our little girl. It is so wonderful that she will be fairly close by and in state!

Casper is still our smallest. He is just a few tenths of an ounce smaller. He is a vigorous nurser, and he loves to move around the whelping box.

Claus is always with Caspar. It’s sort of a funny thing. They are usually side by side when nursing, and more often than not curled up together to sleep.

Curt is a character. He loves to cruise around the whelping box and burrow under the blankets. Yes, that is Curt’s bottom sticking out. I found him like this after lunch and it just made me laugh!

Here is darling Curt’s face.

Lastly, here is a little video I took today while they were eating. I just love the little noises that they make when they are nursing.

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