Greta’s Puppies #2 – Page 7 – The Dackel Princess

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!

Eating

Help Us Find Names For Our Boys!

Hubby and I are having a tough time trying to pick out good German names for our boys. There are just not too many. I have put together these names and a short poll. Vote for your favorite name and tomorrow Hubby and I will decide which ones we will use!

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Meanwhile here is a little video of the puppies from Wednesday morning. They are the sweetest things!

Three Days Old

How come, every day when I wake up, I look over at the puppies and they have somehow gotten cuter?

We slept in this morning until 6:30. Greta had me up once in the night because she was feeling cold and wanted me to turn on the heater for the puppies. How did I know this? Well, I’m actually not sure. You see I was sound asleep one minute and the next I was awake and I just knew she was worried about the warmth of her babies. Call it mental telepathy!

Greta is a good Mommy. She tends to her brood very well. She doesn’t want to leave them for any reason. Hubby and I have to carry her outside so she can wee-wee. Yes, she is happiest when she is laying down with her babies and they are nursing her.

They are pretty cute. Mr Green is one of the sweetest. He loves to eat! It seems that every time I check on them during the day, Mr. Green is nursing!

He seems to be best friends with his sister. They are usually side by side, or on top of one another. She is very sweet. I think she looks very feminine, our little Christel!

Yellow and Red boys are both big eaters, while our Mr. Blue eats, but also enjoys snuggling. So far they have all gained well over an ounce. Greta is eating like crazy and she is acting like herself once again.

I’ve been marveling at how small they are. Then I laugh. They are not any smaller than Anneliese’s pups were, but you forget. Then you hold that tiny puppy in the palm of your hand again and your realize, these guys really are that small!

Another 10 days until their eyes will open. For now, they are truly helpless and the only thing that they accomplish each day is filling their bellies with milk and sleeping. That’s okay. Soon enough they will be running around in the back yard!

I kind of hope that time slows down a little right now. Since this is Greta’s last litter, I want to savor it. I want to watch the babies for hours. I want to share this with her. Sadly, time seems to fly by and before I know it, these babies will be going to their new forever homes.

The Blog Thieves Got Me!

I wrote a long post last night about the puppies. It was beautiful. Eloquent! One of my very best! I had it all saved and set up and this morning when I checked….It had disappeared!

Granted, I was tired. I’d also taken something for a headache, but still, the post should have been there!

I will try to recreate my masterpiece, but frankly, since the blog thieves got it, I’m not sure that this is possible!

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On Monday we had Greta the the Vet to get out her IV. She is doing remarkably well and we are all thrilled. She lost 4 1/2 pounds and is back to eating and drinking as she normally does.

Each puppy was examined and they are doing well also. That is a real blessing!

I started to think on the drive back, how my life is really quite amazing. You see, when I was young I knew I wanted to get married, have children and be a Mommy. I could see that as clear as day. What I had no clue about was, what did I want to do as a career.

I’m a nurturer by heart, yet I’m also pretty emotional, so being a nurse, or something like that wouldn’t really work for me. I’d be destroyed if I ever lost a patient, even though I know that this is the cycle of life.

Then in 1996 I met the most wonderful little doggy named Shubi and my life changed. She showed me many things, but after losing my youngest daughter, and many years of depression after that, Shubi showed me how to love again and how to live!

And she never said a word! (Just an occasional bark!)

Shubi showed me how to make my own kind of music.

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

So now, here I am a Granny to 14 puppies total, with the prospect of Anneliese giving me more little miracles to love and then move along to their forever friends.

You see, for me, that is the joy. I am able to bring these little creatures into the world, love them, teach them all that that they need to know about being little doggies, and then send them on to their new forever homes.

I found my music in the midst of this crazy world. The music is of mewling newborn puppies, barking growing puppies, and the laughter of the people who come to get their new baby from me.

And to think, it all started with a little puppy from Landshut, (in Bavaria) Germany.