First Vet Visit

Yesterday morning at 11 o’clock I piled the 5th Dimension into a crate, got Greta in her sweater, and headed out to the car. I put the crate on the front seat facing me, with Greta sitting next to it. Leaving Uncle Fritz behind, we headed out to our Vets office for the babies first shots.

The puppies were not sure they liked either the crate or the car. They whined and fussed the entire way to the office. I talked to them, cooed at them and tried to calm them. Greta just looked at me, like I had lost my mind!

We arrived and Greta was weighed. She has lost all but 1 pound of her pre-pregnancy weight. Not bad considering she had quintuplets! We will slowly put her back onto regular dog food now. No more fattening puppy food for her.

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Each puppy was examined, weighed, and given their first shots. There wasn’t a cry or tear from them once we opened the crate door and let them out. They were quite happy running around the exam room checking it all out.

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Angelika and Arnie got the most attention. I think because they already have their wiry coat, but Anneliese, Anita and Anja managed to steal their share of hearts as well. In fact Anja was so busy chewing on the secretary’s shoe lace that she said she might just have to sneak off with her! LOL!

It was so much fun going back and having the staff see the babies. After all, the last time they had seen the babies they were just a few hundred grams in weight and either eating or sleeping. Now they are all 4 pounds and running around like little hellions!

At the end of the visit, Greta lay down on the office floor and gave her brood a little nourishment. They jumped at the chance for some milk.

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We drove home in silence. I came in and I put the crate in the puppy-room and took the door off. No one came out. They all stayed cuddled up in there together. They slept for two and a half hours before waking up and having a light meal. They were up a very short time and then they fell asleep again.

This was a big day for the babies. Their first shots, first Vet visit, and second car ride (their first ride coming when they were a mere 3 hours old).

I bet they will sleep well tonight

They’re Real Big Puppies Now

Today the puppies graduated to real puppy food. No more cereal, no more puppy milk. They are now on Merrick Food for puppies, and they love it! I put it on a large plate and set it down on the floor and they all come running. I stood guard, so I could keep Greta away, and encourage the little guys, but I noticed today Greta was well behaved and the pups ate like they hadn’t eaten in days!

After they ate, they slept. All pig-piled together on the bed that Mandy gave Greta for Christmas. There are three beds in that puppy room, but they all want to sleep on that one all of the time! It’s really kind of funny to see them trying to fit onto that little sofa now, as they grow bigger every day.

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This afternoon I went into the kitchen to get some tea and the puppies lined up at the gate to fuss and bark and let me know that it was time to eat again. I glanced at the clock, and the time was close enough, so I got a plate of food ready and brought it in.


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They are running around like crazy now too, and that is so much fun to watch. I need to get some good video of that this week, but it is tricky because when they see me they run right up to the camera and I can’t get a good shot.

I sat down with them all, late this afternoon and let them just crawl all over me. They licked and chewed and wiggled and cuddled and kissed and I thought that there just wasn’t anything better in the entire world that “puppy love”.

Puppy Prescription

There are days when each of us doesn’t feel too well. A cough, a sniffle, a little cold. Today was a day like that for me. I felt run down, and quite tired and all the color had vanished from my face. I slept in a little after helping Hubby get off for a morning of skiing, and then when I got up and showered and dressed, I sat back down not wanting to do much at all.

However my little friends wanted to play and before I knew it, they had me laughing and smiling with their antics, their kisses and yes, running around the puppy room like little hellions.

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Jan. 29 The dackel princess 012

Jan. 29 Anneliese and me 008

It sure did pick up my spirits.

Six Weeks Old

Can you believe it? The puppies are now six weeks old! They are eating puppy food 4 times a day, running around the puppy room and stealing hearts. If you feel bad about anything, all you need to do is go in and sit down with the puppies. They will pick up your spirits in thirty seconds or less.

I had Miss Yellow, Anita out today. She played well with her Mom and was the cutest thing. If we do keep her, we will have to think up a new name. I’m just not “in love” with the name Anita.

So for your viewing pleasure, here is a silly video of the pups playing. It’s a tad long, but I hope you will watch and enjoy it.

Puppy Visitors

We had a full house today. People came from far and wide to see….the puppies.

Jan. 20 Anneliese and Angelika

Anneliese & Angelika

Some people might get jealous of those little bits of fur, but not me. After all, these babies are my grand puppies! When people come and we all sit around holding puppies or watching puppies, and ooooh and aaaah over their every move, yawn, or even when they go onto the newspaper and do their wee-wee, I feel only the pride of a granny with her grandchild. Call me silly, but the moment I saw the first puppy delivered from Greta’s womb, I was completely hooked!

Jan. 20 Anja

Anja

Today Paul was here to visit Anja and to talk to Ed & Barbie. (Ed & Barbie are the human parents of Bernie, the father to our pups, making them grandparents to our babies!) I sat watching Paul with Anja. She settled into his lap and there was a look on her face as if she somehow knew that this was her new family. I felt so happy to see that Anja will be going to such a good home.

Barbie and Ed brought their son and his girlfriend with them and we all had fun playing pass the puppies, so that we all got to hold one or another. Arnie settled into Chris’s lap and fell asleep, while Angelika passed out in his girlfriend, Jessica’s lap.

I had Anita most of the afternoon. She is a sweetie and loves to cuddle. She gets along so well with her Mom and I am wondering if she may not be the pup that we should keep. Her coat is a bit lighter than I would have liked, but her form, her personality and her ability to get along with her Mom may add to the list of reasons of why we should keep her and not Anneliese.

Fritz is still pretending that the puppies do not exist. It’s pretty funny to watch him. He will turn his head from side to side and will not look straight at the puppy, pretending that it simply is not there. That’s my Fritz. King of Denial!

Too Old For A 2 O’Clock Feeding!

We removed the whelping box and set the room up with three puppy beds, all the puppy toys and a good amount of newspapers on the floor. They run around now, climb up on the beds and are sturdy little creatures, and each day they steal my heart a little more!

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Greta and Anneliese

At 2:30 this morning the pups were up and hungry. Greta wanted to go out, so I let her, and then made up some puppy food for the babies. The ate like hungry tigers and then crawled all over me, before getting tired and finally going back to sleep. I had hoped they would let me sleep in a little, but at 6 AM they had me up again to eat!

Greta is not nursing them much now, so I have had to step up their meals. While I am feeding them, Greta will sit on the other side of the security board and watch. If I were to turn my back, she would swoop in and steal their food, but I watch her so that my babies all get something to eat.

All this night duty has made me a bit tired. So, Greta and I have started sleeping a little during the day. Ordinarily I don’t take naps, but I’m 48 years old, and 2 AM feedings aren’t what this old girl is used to!

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Me with Greta, catching some sleep.

Thursday 13 #36

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons I Love Having Puppies

1. Puppy kisses
2. Wagging tails
3. The way they slurp up their food
4. The way they sleep in pig piles
5. The love they show when they hear my voice
6. Their big eyes
7. The way they run
8. Their little puppy barks
9. The warmth of their bodies when they fall asleep in my arms
10. Watching them nurse Greta
11. Watching them, watching Fritz walk by
12. Seeing them play with their puppy toys
13. Just watching them grow



Who Will Be The Next Dackel Princess?

I’m trying to decide which pup to keep. This is a real problem, because they are all adorable. Of course two of them have wonderful homes already, so they are out of the running, Arnie is a boy, and so he won’t be staying either. Nothing against boys, but I really can’t have mother and son in the same house and my Greta darling, isn’t going anywhere. So, that leaves us with Anneliese (green) and Anita (yellow).

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Greta as an 8 week old puppy.

Now the two candidates to become the newest Dackel Princess.

First we have Anita. Or Anni, or whatever name we finally decide for her.

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Then we have Anneliese.
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Anneliese looks just like Greta did as a pup. She is darker in coloring, with a wide eyed look about her. She is feisty and sweet and full of energy. Anita is lighter in color., and sweet as pie, but I need to spend some time evaluating her. She is the pup that doesn’t demand attention from you, but when you pick her up just loves on you. This could be a plus I think.

I knew that we had two awesome parents going into the breeding for these pups. Greta and Bernie are both so sweet, gentle, loving and energetic. Their temperaments were both so good, and all of that goodness has come out in the pups. Each pup is wonderful!

In he next couple of weeks I will need to look them all over and chose. Who will be the newest Dackel Princess?

Bloggers Reunion!

Today My cousin Janet, my dear friend Megan, brought a special guest Heather, to our home. Along with Hubby and Emily, we’d been planning this for a few weeks, and it worked out so well, as the puppies are just at a great age to entertain us all for hours.

This was the first time I’d met Heather in person, although I have been reading her blog for a couple of years. I felt like I knew her so well. In fact, she was just as wonderful as I knew she would be and fit in here, at puppy central quite well.

I made a bunch of appetizers and Janet brought some too, and Megan brought the most devilishly delightful Whoopee Pies for dessert!

My only complaint is that the time flew and before we knew it, the gals had to go. We had snow here most of the day, light snow, but enough to make the roads slippery. As sad as I was to see them go, I knew it was wise to get going before dark.

Here is a short video, of the girls as they took pictures of the pups. I teased them that they were the “Puppy Paparazzi”!

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In other news, today the pups are 5 weeks old. They are no longer walking around. No, now they are running. I’ll try to get some more video of them doing just that later this week, but I put together some pictures that Megan, Emily and I took. I hope you enjoy this little Montage.