Shawna's
DOG LIFE  Canine professional      Breeder of The CMDR Colorado Mountain Dogs

yard - everyone is mellow and quiet. Of course getting their shots always knocks puppies down a little, but they are tired from all the stimuli.  It was an assembly line sort of thing. First they were picked up and brought into the tack room by Dave, where I was waiting with a needle in hand. Dave plopped each puppy down on the scale and we got an 8 week weight (all gained exactly one lb since 5 days ago., EVEN CASEY!) Then they were plopped into my puppy exam tub - (its just a defunct wash sink.  In there, Dave fed chicken while they got their shots.  Next they were fitted with a bow tie then plopped down on the picture-takin-table.  Only Casey was "OK" with all that, the rest of the pups hunkered down and there was no way to take their picture showing the bow ties.(  To make matters photo-worse, my camera is dead currently. I am resorting to my phone which leaves much to be desired for quality. me n tech gadgets...)  Then it w back to the exam tub for their deworming medicine. (YES!! I beat the back order!!)

  The dewormer is a powder, mixed in with a small portion of canned puppy food - oh my goodness their little eyes were spinning with pleasure.  After everyone was shot and dewormed,  we "flipped" their kennel, changing out stall mats, treating the ground with enzymes and bleaching/hosing out their dog houses.   This is where we usually find chewn corners, poopies behind the doors or something puppies have snuck off to do without us seeing. There was nothing however. All of the corners were teeth-mark free, the behinds of things very clean and no shredded toys stashed for later consumption.  For a litter of large pups like these, that is exceptional. I am so proud of them.

8/6/2021 - Puppies are trying new proteins this week. They've had chicken, salmon and bits of egg. So far poops have remained solid and there's no sign of tummy upsets or allergic symptoms.  Shots this coming week will have to be given before their 2nd worming. The only wormer I trust for young puppies is back ordered with my usual supplier. I've located more will be here mid week. (amazon to the rescue!) They seem to have really become comfortable with their nightly routine. pearl sleeps with them all night long, I can see them all cuddling in the camera.   Most pups will potty on the straw we've put outside during the day time, and there is less and less poops every morning when I get them up.  Easy is starting to show that he will have his mom's little dragon beard, and Dire Wolf is becoming a fuzzbutt. I believe he will strongly resemble his uncle "Tikanni"     - check out his pic on grand dam Toodle's page, click on the siblings section: Toodles(retired) | shawnasdoglife

8/2/21 - Heading down the "home" stretch of their 8 week stay with us.  Their 6th week on this planet is turning out to be all about the fun stuff.  They are discovering play bows, pouncing, squeaking toys, squawking birds, barking dogs, meowing cats and sometimes water is not water but ice that falls from the sky.  A brief hailstorm brought a nice little slip'n'slide to their yard and they had a blast with the little ice balls.  Appetites are, on average, very good and poops are acceptably formed in all pups. I hope for firmer in the next few days but considering the amounts of variation they put into their mouths...I'm happy.  Al pups from this litter prefer the comfort and temperament environment of the kennels in the barn. They will venture out for playtime, but so far none have fallen asleep outside.  We are in the housebreaking foundation process, making sure their bed and wake times are very consistent 6 am and 10 pm.  Casey Jones, of course, has charmed the grim reaper yet one more week.  His little ears stand up, and wouldn't ya know it...of all the puppies Casey looks the most wolfy at this point.  He has figured out how to eat on his own and has been successfully drinking water on his own too.   I haven't had to wipe in his nose in 3 days or so!  

Coming into our 7th week, we will be communicating more than we have in the past, finalizing who is going home with whom.  I've made my choices am prepared to start finalizing contracts and transportation arrangements.  They will receive their first shots and second deworming on Friday, and they may go home anytime after the 13th of August.

7/23/21 - Workingman's litter is now weaned and they have moved to their "Big Boy" den in the barn.   Stella will be going home today, as the past two days she has been impossible to live with. She wants to see her puppies, but then they mob her and she wants to come back inside.  This mean it's time and she is relieved of her duty. The pups will receive extra puppy milk replacer a couple times a day at opposite times of their meals.  THEY LOVE IT!!!  I spotted Dire Wolf playing with a rock, Easy found the puppy hole the last litter dug and promptly laid down and went to sleep in the fresh air.  The only one having an issue missing mom is Cumberland. He is honing in on humans much faster than the other pups.  When ever we go into the barn he yowls and stands on the barrier insisting on attention.  The others watch to see what will happen next.  THIS IS GOOD for what Cumberland will need to step into in his future role as a Therapy dog.   We've discovered Casey's major problem is a hairline slit on his pallet. (Cleft Pallet) I is not so large that he cannot functionally swallow and eat, but it DOES take some ingenuity on both our parts to get it into his belly. Solid food will come out his nose on a painful way.  So we grind up puppy food to a powder and mix it with a little warmed milk/water.  Plus a vitamin and some honey.  Surprisingly this formula stays in his mouth and he sneezes food out his nose less and less.  His breathing is wonderful now. No rasp and just snotty breathing through his nose occasionally. This issue will require a surgery of sorts eventually, once he's big and strong enough to tolerate being put under. (Maybe at 12 weeks?) There's a light at the end of the tunnel for the little guy now. Keep those Prayers and thoughts, good vibes, love and light coming this way!!

7/14/21 - With a heavy heart I'll tell you of Speedway's passing. Poor little guy - it happened pretty fast, and we did what we could to ease his suffering. In the morning he ate like he usually does - moves from one place to another, breaks and returns. Around noon he had a bigger belly than usual. Around 3 pm he had a MUCH bigger belly than usual and was acting like he was very uncomfortable. We administered some infant gas relief.  By 5 pm he had bloated and as we were packing him up to drive to the emergency vet he passed. I wish I could afford a necropsy, to know for sure, but the experts opinion is that his stomach was blocked and twisted just the right way or there was an intuception in his intestines.   It was a sad day round here. The other puppies seemed to be restless and were probably feeling our stress. Casey is trying a new formula recommended by a neonatal puppy illness expert.  He's gaining weight quickly but I don't feel confident he's out of the woods yet.

It's human nature I guess, to concentrate more on the negative details than the positive. I don't mean to do that.  But other than WONDERFUL there's not too much I can report about Uncle john, Cumberland, Direwolf or Easy.   They have become little dogs, almost over night.  I've tried offering solid food starter, and they are not interested yet.  Easy was the only one that actually licked and swallowed.  What a mess they made!! We spent almost an hour wiping everyone down, which gave us the opportunity to give them a real good once over, and trim their little nails (again!).   I'm sure Stella Appreciates that. Speaking of Stella she's doing good. Losing her puppy shook her up somewhat. But she isn't looking for it, or moving the others. Sometimes moms will do that; move a litter if one puppy dies.  Nature's way of disease containment I suppose.  She's eating VERY WELL. Twice her normal portion, and may I say its about time! This girl is hard to feed.  It all seems to come out the other end in perfect fasion, no matter what she eats, so it's not a stomach issue. She's just quite finicky.

7/7/21 - There are two reasons I haven't been more prolific with these notes. The first is Bonnie and Pearl (my CMD females). It seems like every.single.time I sit down to write ANYTHING including emails, they bark, and every other dog in the household runs over to see what they are barking at. Stella too, getting up from her nest repeatedly. It has worried the puppies and the past few days they are not quiet but whiny and active.  We will work on this by occupying Bonnie and Pearl, closing off some of the viewing vantage points for Stella, and making sure to bring her to her box every couple of hours and make sure she stays there.  The pups are also starting to show signs that they can begin to eat. All have little teeth nubbins and eyes are open (except Casey is not opening his eyes yet). Yes, Casey is still with us. Tough little guy he wants this life sooo bad.  Of the experienced folks I've spoken to about him, they all give me this puzzled look like he should have passed by now. I agree. Not to be cold, (cause heck I'm not cold at all), but for all intents and purposes he should have been dead by now.  His breathing ranges between ragged but even and thickly labored.  

Stella has reached the stage where she'll eat anything you put in front of her.  Sometimes I'll use Beneful Dog Food as treats for training. I left the container open and she found it and ate it all!! For Stella this is unprecedented.

Uncle John, Cumberland and Dire Wolf are the Rock Stars of this litter.  Speedway seems to be lagging behind a little. He sleeps more and eats less than the others. Easy is to the point that you would never be able to tell he was the (first) runt of the litter, surpassing Speedway in size.   

Tomorrow we start Early Nuerological Stimulation.  Read more about this here: Early Neurological Stimulation | Breeding Better Dogs.   (Maybe Casey will do some depending how he feels).  We are starting this a bit later than usual, but not too late of course.   

3 week temperament test notes will be put up ASAP. 

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7/1/2021 - Can you believe it's been two weeks already? I sure can. I see little glints of eyeballs on all of them. I can't take pictures well during this stage as the flash is not good for brand new eyes. It will be this way for about a week. Planning on playing with the ISO settings so I can show off the color changes. New Speedway Boogie is developing white tips to his hair, which means he will be the closest to Agouti coloration. Dire Wolf is going to look JUST like Auggie.  Casey, if he makes it - will have a smattering of brindle on his legs probably. The torso will be dark sable. Healthwise, all of these puppies are doing wonderfully; exception of course Casey Jones, who is still fighting very hard for his air space.   He's now surpassed his double birth weight, and is gaining steadily. At three weeks he should be strong and heavy enough to receive veterinary attention.   Up until now, the vet visit alone may have killed him, let alone the treatment. Sometimes its best to let nature do what she's gonna do.  His lungs are clear and by his wails when he's hungry? They are strong and pumping well - but he still can't breathe through his nose.  

This writing is indicative of the litter's "being". The healthy five are scanned often,   but there's nothing much to say about them. Uncle John is still the biggest, 61 oz's today, with Cumberland following closely behind. Casey, the smallest at 23 oz's today, gets all the attention.  

6/25/21 - We are at a week and a day for this litter, and things are looking marvelous for everyone, 'cept Casey Jones.  He is hovering at 18 ounces with his birthweight being 10, he has not doubled his birthweight in the week as the rest did. Close but no cigar.   He IS, however, nursing now. We caught him quite a few times latched on and kneading the breast. Thats very encouraging. We will continue to supplement him with milk replacer for the next couple of days or as needed.  I take him into a steamy bathroom 2x's a day. I've set up a little kennel that I can leak pure oxygen into to raise his blood/oxygen level some.  This is also done 2x's per day.  The rest of these puppies are nice n fat n round, no breathing issues or signs of lowered immunity. The biggest pup is Uncle John weighing in at 40 ounces last night. He throws his weight around too, muscling the milk bar like he owns the place. Cumberland is hefty and solid, weighing 36 ounces last night. he keeps to himself most of the time. I can't tell you much about Dire Wolf, 'cept he's there. He's no trouble and I generally have to remind myself to look for him. He's quiet and unassuming. Speedway is reactive to touch, sometimes moving into it, sometimes away, but he's always moving.  The smallest (besides Casey) is Easy Wind, who is a funny little puppy - his short little muzzle and ears with his big round head make him look like he's smiling most of the time.  His color is...well....keep an eye on this guy. He's gonna be pretty.  Stella has started eating some of "Stella and Chewy's" frozen raw patties, and taking liver slices with enthusiasm.  Still giving her calcium and vitamin supplements, but the Stelly Belly is now full. Whew.  

6/21/21 -  I beg your patience with me as we are a busy bunch of mammals in this house the past four days.  Stella's delivery was a complete and total surprise at 5 days before expected. This doesn't make them premature? But close enough for comfort. We had five lively warm puppies on this planet between 7 pm and 11 pm on the 17th.  3:30 a.m. a sixth puppy was quietly born to the bleary eyed surprise of both myself and Stella. Since I didn't see the lil feller come out I don't know if it was breach, but I suspect so.  This one is yellow collar Casey Jones. He has had a hard time ever since his first breath. Unable to suckle a full meal for himself, I have had to start tube feeding him every 3-4 hours.  We brought Stella to the vet yesterday with the whole crew carefully monitored in their own kennel.  Casey Jones was given warm sub Q fluids and Stella a warm congratulations from the veterinary staff.  All other puppies are kicking life's ass so far.  Uncle John and Cumberland have doubled their birth weight already, Speedway is close behind, and Easy Wind is a solid but still small. Easy is gaining about one to two ounces per day, and will nurse more often than the others.  Stella is living up to my expectations wonderfully. If you read her page when she was a puppy she was all over the place and a bit of a handful.    I expected a challenge with her appetite and a nervous broody mom.   Stella will not take more than a handful of dog food.  One meal she will eat salmon, the next she will refuse it.  She ate most of a Safeway Rotisserie chicken, (meat only of course) but did not accept a home cooked roaster.   We are giving her a high calorie nutritional paste, calcium, fish oil, and an actual prenatal vitamin.  I offer canned with kibble at all times, but so far has not touched it.  Raw Goats Milk is on the menu tonight...we'll see what happens.

Stella dotes on them, and although not fond of me taking her weakest one away for feedings, she will accept him back into the fold of her legs and clean him afterwards. Lets cross our fingers and send those two our best healthy vibes and healing light.

3 day notes and weights go up on the puppy pages next, make sure and watch for those!!