Our Boxers at Five Weeks

Since we are part of Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida, the Labs in our litter have gotten all the attention from people wanting to adopt. That makes a lot of sense. People wanting a poodle wouldn't be looking at Lab Rescue (LRRoF) and people wanting a Lab wouldn't be looking at a Boxer Rescue site.

We have all the Lab pups spoken for and we have a list of people who want a chance if the original people change their minds. There are no takers on the six that bear no resemblance to a lab. They are as cute as can be and we have to find homes for all of them. Failure is not an option.

I'm Trying to Catch Up

OK, I know that I've been delinquent in my blog. Jodie and Coco have been after me for days, but I told them that I have to finish mine before I can take their dictation. Please believe that taking care of 12 dogs is a lot of work. We did almost the same last November and I don't remember it being quite this hectic. Of course we have one more puppy this year and I guess he's turned out to be a hassle.

Last Saturday we had our friends Barbara and Rita over for dinner. It was Barb's birthday and she turned 39 again. Rita is a little older so she is also 39, but with more agains.

Hello, I'm Barb and it's my birthday!

Helen did a great job on the supper and it's a good thing that she had control of the whole thing. I'll explain that later. Steaks on the grill is always a good choice, especially when I'm not cooking.

Barb and Rita at the counter.

This is the cake that Barb wanted for her birthday,

delicious, but oh so rich.

Of course the puppies take a lot of our time. The thing is .....they are just so cute!!! Another thing is that we get to see what most people don't. We saw them as tiny blind lumps that had to be led to the mother to nurse. We saw them beginning to walk, when their legs would barely hold them. Then the started to run, or at least they tried to run, as they often ended up falling to pone side. They have gone from depending on the mother all the time to supplementary formula. Now they're on solid food, though we soak the puppy kibbles to make them soft. We had no choice but wean them off the mom because they have sharp teeth and mom was growling a bit when they were too aggressive. Look at the pictures. How aggressive could they be?

I can...barely.....hold......my......eyes.....ope......

I'll sleep when I'm good and ready!

OK,people. We're awake FEED US!!!

Ha, Ha, I've got the toy!

Of course, we're not forgetting the adult dogs. They will not let us. Here Coco is making sure that Helen is aware that it's time for the 6 PM cookies. Jodie and Coco have been doing it for years and Sandy has fallen into the same rut. In almost every case, the cookie begging is started by Coco. Then when the door to the cookie closet is opened, Jodie and Sandy materialize.

COOKIES! COOKIES! COOKIES!

Speaking of how Sandy picks up my dogs' habits, she saw Jodie pick up something and present it to us when we came in from outside. Jodie has been doing this for years. When we go out, she greets us with something she picks off the floor, a shoe, sandal, sock, anything that she may find. Sandy saw this and after a couple of days she started the same thing. This is what greeted Helen when she returned from shopping.

These are for you, Mom.

Now let me explain why it was a good thing that Helen cooked the steaks. last night I was in charge of cooking hamburgers on the grill. Two hamburgers are not a lot to take care of, but they slipped my mind and when I got to the grill I found......

Two VERY WELL DONE hamburgers.

Two just right hamburgers, ready for cheese.

So, have I learned my lesson? Unfortunately, no! Tonight I was cooking chop suey at the point where I had browned the pork and added the onions and celery. Then something occurred to me and I wanted to make just a quick trip to the computer. Next thing I know Helen yells that the supper is burning. Well, it wasn't burned too bad and charcoal flavored pork chop suey is not too bad. Now I'm pretty much caught up. I thought I'd go into my room and do some reading, but Coco is insisting on working on her blog.

All alone with the pups

Since Helen was going to drive some friends to Moffitt today, I had "night duty" with the puppies. We fed them at 10:00 PM, then I fed them around 3:30 AM and again around 6:30. Helen left a little before 8 and I was left alone for the day. I like to give the pups more running room, so I put down newspaper and let them run free. They seem to enjoy having more room and doing some exploring. Of course, all too soon they want to get out to explore more of the house. They are at a stage where they play with each other and today one of the pups took up one of the toys Helen put in with them. He was a ferocious dog, grabbing the little stuffed toy and shaking his head back and forth. Their energy is soon all used up and they gather in a group to sleep.

I've been a little concerned that the amount of milk that they need is taxing the mother and I see the last few pups going from nipple to nipple trying to find one that "works". Yesterday I mixed up a bowl of formula and it was well taken by some of the puppies. For some reason, the puppies that look like mini boxers took to it instantly while the others can't seem to make the connection.

Here, more of them are getting into the second bowl which has the dual function of food dish and wading pool. The formula went very quickly, but I don't know how much was eaten and how much was worn.

After all the bellies were full, they got very sleepy and I put them in a box so I could clean out the pen and cage and put down fresh towels.

The next item on my agenda was to wash all those dirty little faces and feet. While I was at it I decided to clip their nails. Now, on the Internet, nail clipping is a must do for puppies, though Helen and I didn't do it with the puppies last year. This litter is so much more active and the pups are doing a job on Momma's belly. They push on the towel with their hind feet and claw at the belly with their front feet. This is especially true of the mini boxers.

Wiping them off was no problem and a few even liked it. Clipping the nails was another matter. I certainly could have used another set of hands. They are small, but strong for their size and wiggly as eels.

Puppies, puppies, puppies

Helen's out shopping and I have control of the house, the three dogs, and the nine puppies. The puppies are getting active and I thought I'd give them the chance to roam around their whole pen, and not just the crate. They certainly are active. The female Golden has been named "Aria" by Helen as she is CONSTANTLY howling. The puppies charged out of the crate and ran all about the pen.

Pretty soon they were organizing in gangs and chasing after each other. There is nothing as alluring as a wagging tail.

"We'll huddle down here away from those ruffians".

With in about 20 minutes they were looking to get out.

"He's guarding the gate! Perhaps there's a way out up here.

It was madness for just a little while. They ran and they ran and now every one of them is tuckered out. The quiet is deafening as even Aria is silent. Peace returns to our home, if only for a little while.

Wash Day!!!

The puppies are getting cuter by the day. Now they can see and I caught this one giving me the eye.

We're feeding them differently now. There really isn't enough room in the crate, so Helen has the Mom outside the crate and feeds the pups in shifts. That way she knows that they are all getting a chance to feed.

With nine puppies, every day is wash day and our washer and dryer are working overtime. In addition, the pups need a cleaning from time to time and today was the day.

"Lady, can't you see that I don't like this? If you try this when I grow up, you're in BIG trouble."

The drying system. Towel #1 is the wettest, #2 is nearly dry, and #3 is very dry. When dry, the pups are weighed and placed in the "warming tray".

This is where we place the pups until they are totally dry. Underneath is a heating pad set on low, covered by a towel, then a layer of puppies and another towel.

This was the most active and vocal puppy, the tan female. When Helen held her over the water she looked down and started screaming. It didn't work as she still got a bath.

Not one to give up, after the drying process and being placed with her litter mates, she started to howl. It wasn't too loud, but it did allow her to vent her frustration..

Some of the others calmed right down and went right to sleep. The bath was right after eating, so with a warm bath and a full belly they went to sleep. Except for the complainer, of course.

A clutch of contented pups.

She was so content to lay on her back and enjoy the warmth of the heating pad and the heat from the lights over the counter.

I'm pleased to report that the pups are all gaining weight. Some are gaining a lot faster than others, but that's the same as last time. This time we really don't have a runt as they're all fairly close together in size.

More fun to come.

Two weeks and a day!

That's how old the pups are today. What has changed? Well, they all have their eyes open and are walking on four legs. This means that they are much more active and occasionally get out of the crate. Most of the time they are just living the life of ease.



Or cuddling up with Mom.



And, of course, there's breakfast, and after breakfast treat, lunch, and after lunch treat, dinner, and after dinner treat, bedtime snack, midnight snack, and more...



I'm about as cute as can be! Don't you agree?

Hey!!! I'm cute. too!!!

Can't you guys let me sleep?

Mom is learning to play with Jodie and Coco.

And, she knows how to keep the toy.

Mother and pups are all doing fine. The puppies are getting more vocal every day and the Mom did a LOT of howling when a friend came to visit. I guess that just by being in the house he was much too close to the puppies. Sandy sometimes joins my two loud mouths with a bark from time to time, but she really bellowed when my friend came over. I thing Sandy may have smelled Dave's dog, Lola, on him. There were no nips or bites, so there was no foul

This afternoon the puppies have another date with the vet. We'll see how much they've gained and how well they are doing.

Another day with the puppies.

The puppies were a week old yesterday. Although they don't seem to change much, they are growing very fast. We weigh them and are surprised at how much they put on in just a few days.

Last night we gave Sandy a bath in the large set tub in the laundry. She didn't give us any real trouble, but she was extremely tense. The rinse water was like mud and we think that she may not have had many baths. Like Jodie and Coco, she seemed to really enjoy the towel dry and rub down.

Today it was the puppies who got bathed. How's this for the "wet rat" look?

This is the "before" box. No point in washing one twice and another not at all.

Here is the "after" box. There's a heating pad under the blue towel to assure that they are kept warm. They may not look any cleaner, but they sure smell a lot better.

Momma and the pups at dinner time, which occurs about every hour.

I LOVE MY MOMMA!

ME TOO!!!