Mata x Jet litter diary
Aug 31, 2011:  Mata is in season.
Sept 13, 2011:  Mata has ovulated according to progesterone testing.  
Sept 15, 2011:  First breeding to Jet.  Perfect timing!
Sept 17, 2011:  2nd / final breeding to Jet.
Oct. 25, 2011:  Mata's waistline is dropping... has increased by a couple of inches now. She's due in 3 wks.
Nov 1, 2011:   Not much of an increase in girth this week.  I'm concerned this will be a small litter... I scheduled an xray for day 58 (Nov 10).
Nov 8, 2011:  One week to go...  still not big, and my guess is 3 only because the right side is a little rounder than the left and I've seen and felt movement on both sides. Hope  there are more than that when we xray in 2 days though!!!
Nov 11, 2011:   Well, I was correct.   There are 3 lounging puppies in there, and they truly looked like they were comfortable, all stretched out!   Now to get them out safe and sound next week.    Due on Tues, but sometimes small litters can be a couple days late too.   Regardless, Mata is happy as a clam, and as active as she's been, she should be up to the challenge! 
Nov 14 - 15, 2011:  Mata's temperature dropped yesterday and nesting (mild labor) began at ~10am.  First puppy was born at 830pm-- a 17 oz Black Male.  There wasn't a lot of activity until close to midnight when Mata started pushing hard again.  I checked several times to see if I could feel a pup hung up in there, but it wasn't until ~1am that I felt something--- and he was stuck.   Off to Emergency we went!   Dr. O' Malley also confirmed that puppy #2 was definitely not clearing the last hurdle.    A quick check of fetal heart beats indicated that a C-section was warranted, so I left puppy#1 to nurse on Mata as they prepped her for surgery.   At 7am, I returned to the clinic to pick up mom and her 3 puppies, all doing well thankfully!  We have 2 boys, and 1 girl.  Due to the surgery being necessary, I had to quickly set up a new puppy area upstairs since Mata should not be doing stairs for at least 1 wk.   Of course this means more traffic from the other girls but thankfully Mata is easy going and a seasoned mom.   She's still coming out of the anesthesia and perhaps dealing w/a little extra pain, but was doing well by mid afternoon.

























Nov 16, 2011:  Puppies are all gaining weight nicely, between 1 and 3.5 oz already.   I gave each ~1/2 g of Benebac this morning since Mata is on amoxy as a precaution after her surgery.   Benebac will keep some good bacteria in their stomachs.  Mata is doing much better today but still hanging out w/ the puppies at all times.  The other girls, especially the youngsters, have to check on Mata and "count" puppies every time they come in from outside, to make sure everyone is still okay.















 

No shortage of baby sitters here!    Mr. Blue       Puppies w/ their first "bumper" (a pig?)


Nov 18, 2011:  Dew claws were removed yesterday at a little over 2 days old, and everyone was declared plenty strong.  Glad I wasn't having to hold them!    Blue boy had weighed in at 1.5# at 48 hrs, and yellow (stuck pup) was already 1.25#.  The little girl was over 1.0#, so they've gained several ounces already.   Not surprising since they seem to eat non-stop.   Today I'll start the Early Neurological Stimulation (aka Super Puppy) program.    Mata is doing great and only leaves the pups long enough to eat and potty.

Nov 21, 2011:  All 3 puppies had already doubled in weight last night (day 6) and are finding their "voices".  One friend suggested they may be getting ready to sing Christmas Carols.... Hmmmm, sure would seem that way!   They now *average* 2# each!  Talk about little pork chops!




















Nov 24, 2011:  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!   I moved the puppies down into the big box in the basement today, now that Mata is clear to resume stairs, etc..   Great Aunt Fuji jumped in with them for a little while to keep them company while Mata was outside;  Fuji was pretty proud of her sneaky self!   In other news, "Trouble" (yellow) has already opened his eyes!   And blue boy should hit 3# already tonight (at 10 days old).   















Nov 29, 2011:  2 weeks old now!    Everyone's eyes are open and they are getting a lot more mobile now.   The boys are pushing nearly 4# already, and Sadie (pink girl) is pushing 3.5#.  I have to adjust their little collars every other day as fast as they are growing!   They were all dewormed as a normal routine here (at 2, 4, and 6 wks) this morning. 

Dec 2, 2011:  The boys are rallying weight wise these days-- both were 4.5# the other night already!   Here are a few shots taken last night.  
Hello Sunshine!  Yellow boy here!
Blue Boy
Pink Girl
Roxy (12 mos old) sneaks in regularly to puppy sit and is doing a great job!
Puppy pile!
Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree!
Dec 6, 2011:  Three weeks old already!!!   The pups have already outgrown their baby collars and graduated to the "big puppy" collars.  Yellow (aka Trouble!) has taken the lead in weights at a burly 5.75#.  Blue is next at 5.50#.   Pink (Sadie) is a "petite" 4.67#.  They really are not fat, just solid!  ;)     In other news, the back molars were obvious ~2 -3 days ago, and front rows of teeth have poked thru today.  They showed me by teething on me while I was in snuggling...cute right now, not so cute in ~2-3 wks!.  Yellow boy was amused by my toes today too.   Whoever gets him had better watch out!    We are also working on potty training now too, so it's been a VERY busy past few days here!
Dec 9, 2011:  Was able to get some new pics last night w/ the help of Jet's grandma Joan!  Trimming/dremeling nails tonight... this will be their first exposure to dremel.  






















Dec. 12, 2011:   Almost 4 wks old and weights range from ~5.5 (Sadie) - 6.5# (both boys) now!    This morning the pups were moved from their box in the basement to a small pen in the garage.  Once they've adjusted to the new "potty pool" there, I'll expand it so they've got more room to romp.    I fed them their first small meal of gruel today and all 3 dove right in-- didn't leave hardly any for mom!!!   They now have a small bucket of water too and all 3 took to that quite quickly too.  Here are a few pics:


"Da boyz"
"Da Girl"
Food!!!!!
(Added 12/15)  Dessert!!!!  and note the tunnel!!!

Dec. 18, 2011:   What a busy week!!!!   The puppies are approaching 5 wks now, are all settled into their new pen in the garage and are getting to experience so many new things!  Earlier in the week, they learned what pheasant wings were.   They've been taking turns coming into the family room and office to play with the big dogs, watch TV, and find new toys.  Today they got to go outside for the first time and didn't even seem to mind that it wasn't quite 40F out.  Of course they've got great coats and a "little" extra padding there to keep them warm too.    For the most part they are sleeping thru the night already.  I got to sleep in until 7am this morning, so that was wonderful!  
They love their tunnel!  I found all 3 asleep in there this morning!
Don't fall in Yellow boy!
We think there are birds in there!
Blue boy planning his next move...
Who will pounce first?
Dec. 24, 2011:   Busy, busy, busy!!!!     Outdoor excursions are now happening daily, if not multiple times daily.   The pups even had a new girlfriend over yesterday, an Old English Sheepdog puppy born w/in 2 days of them as a singleton.   That was interesting because she had never seen any other puppies before, let alone played or had her ears bitten (she has no tail, so at least she was spared of that torture!).    Sadie and she did quite well together, as Sadie was gentle.  The boys, however, well.... they were BOYZ!   We ended up having to pick them up because they were just a bit too boisterous and made her cry.  Poor baby never had her ears bit, but that's what puppies this age do!!!   We hope she will still want to come back for more visits.  After our play session, the pups were sufficiently tired out which made it a fine time to take their first (very quiet!) car ride to town.
















Dec. 28, 2011:   6 wks and 2 days old now.   The gun club down the road was open this morning, so after a romp outside w/ distant, yet loud gun shots blasting (since they fire in my direction), I crated up the 3 and took a short 1 mile drive.   I took them out one at a time and held them (they got attention from some of the folks there too).   None were the least bit bothered by the noise, yet they were within 20 yds of the shooters-- firing in the opposite direction, of course.   At 6 wks, yellow weighed 12#, blue was 11.5# and pink/Sadie was 10#.   They have leaned up a bit this past week, since they are getting better exercise now.

Dec. 31, 2011:    Happy New Year's Eve day!    The puppies are enjoying some warmer weather these past few days and having fun with their mom and other relatives here.

You are different.  No, YOU are!
Learning how to play!
Sadie seems embarrassed about her brothers' bad manners.  Poor baby sheepdog!
Half sister Tango and Yellow Boy
Roxy & Sadie (pink)
Mata about to be attacked by the 3 terrorists!
Jan. 3, 2012:   Pups turned 7 wks old last night, and received their first combination vaccine (Progard 5).   On Weds they will go to the vet for their well checks, and on Thurs to Pasco for their CERF (eye) exams.   By Saturday, my household will be quite a bit quieter!    

Also on Jan 2, the pups got to show us how bold and birdy they are!   That was a blast... Here is a short video of the 2nd pigeon toss (camera operator -- that'd be me-- messed up w/ the first video, darn it!):   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N6hWKNGlMA




















Jan. 5, 2012:   CERFs went off w/o a hitch today-- well, other than them being naughty puppies while in the exam room. But, bottom line, ALL CLEAR!    Yea!  :)

Jan. 6, 2012:   Sadie's family came tonight to pick her up.  Boo hooo, the boys say!  Where did little Sissy go????
Jan. 7, 2012:   The boys, Titan and Skipper, left today.   Wow, it got quiet out there..

Pigeons, meet puppies!  Puppies... you know what to do!
Sadie says "I gots one!"  Poor pigeon has some tailfeathers to regrow but otherwise is fine. 
7.5 wk standing shots of Blue (Titan), Yellow (Skipper) and Pink (Sadie)-- very nice structure!  I am happy!!!