A Sixpack Plus! The Beer Litter Has Arrived

Newborn Beer Litter

The Arrival.  The Beer litter arrived earlier than expected on Wednesday, August 26.  Glee went into labor on Tuesday evening and at 3:44 Wednesday afternoon, gave birth to Mr Purple.  What followed was the second fastest whelping we've ever had!  Six more puppies--Mr Blue, Mr Black, Mr Green, Miss Raspberry, Mr Brown and Miss Yellow--all arrived by 5:25 PM.  We barely had time to weigh and name them before the next arrived.  For a first-time mom, Glee handled the whole experience beautifully, cleaning each pup, cutting its umbilical cord and starting it nursing without much help from us.

Her last pup was a stillborn, born just half an hour later.  Despite our efforts, we couldn't revive him.  Those are always difficult moments but once Glee had said goodbye to him, we focused on her seven healthy pups.

We are thrilled to have these beautiful Buster x Glee puppies!  For those who are interested, here is their pedigree.  

Beer Litter 3 Days Old

The First Three Days.  The pups are three days old today and are doing very well.  Their days are filled with nursing and sleeping. Oh, and getting cleaned by their mom.  A LOT!  They complain about it but she doesn't care, scrubbing them harder.  Clearly, cleanliness is next to doGliness!

They also get weighed and examined each day.  Everyone has gained weight, with Mr Green now at 1 pound, 4 ounces.  Mr Purple is the smallest so he gets lots of time with his mom.  We have a range of colors from very light to very red.  Tails started wagging yesterday and pigment came in today so they are really looking like little dogs.

Glee continues to amaze us with her mothering skills and patience.  She is very aware and careful of where the pups are which makes our lives easier.  We are still with her 24/7 but are confident that she will take good care of her babies.

Dreamer and Una are quite dejected since Glee does not want them in the puppy room yet but she has welcomed human guests.  The pups have met Noelle, Joe and Vicki with more visitors tomorrow.

Training Starts Tonight!  Really!  We start Early Neurologic Stimulation and Early Scent Introduction tonight and will continue until the pups are 16 days old.  I'm considering doing it live on Periscope one night so let me know if you would like to join me.  If there is some interest, I'll let you know which night.

24/7? I've had some questions about whether we are really with the litter and their mom 24/7.  We are for the first 7-9 days.  Until the pups' eyes open around the 9th day, they are vulnerable to two major threats--getting too far away from Glee and thus getting chilled, and being under her when she lies down.  Baby puppies cannot control their body temperature so need their mom or each other to keep themselves warm enough.  If you watch the Puppy Cam, you might see Glee reach her nose out to puppies that can't find her.  That's so the pups can find her using their ability to detect her smell and her heat.

Sadly, the loving moms themselves can also be a threat to pups this age.  Tired moms can easily lie on and accidentally squish their babies.  Lots of puppies diet that way so we stay very close to avoid this.  

Puppy Cam!  We've got our puppy cam running already so please enjoy Glee and her babies.  I'm trying to keep it live as much as possible.

FLASH!  And just like that, Una and Dreamer were allowed in with the puppies for a short visit.  It's so interesting to watch the dogs communicate.  Dreamer is over the moon about the litter but Glee would prefer if she were a little calmer.  Una isn't too interested but wants to be with me so hopefully she'll be allowed in for longer periods soon.