All of the Puppies have new homes!!

First of all I want to take a little time to thank everyone that is expecting a pup out of this litter. Today the last 2 females found new homes so that makes 9 great homes in all. I am once again proud to say that I have done well in finding great homes for all of the puppies most of them are going to the Twin Cities and Fargo area, but there is one heading up Winnepeg and a couple other places in between. Anyway thank you all very much I know you won't be disspointed and now that they are all sold I can concentrate more of my time to my blog and keeping you updated on their growth. Tonite my daughter Maddy (the older one laying with them) was doing her daily doggy chores and this is what I see when I check in with her. haha. It is pretty cute just about every night before she goes to bed she puts on her old clothes and just lays next to them in the box. She is a huge help and she gives the puppies lots of time. The other little girl is Gracyn my youngest daughter and of course Robyn holding her. Gracie loves Belle and Remi and now the pups. Whenever she is grumpy I bring her by the window to see the dogs and she immediately cheers up. She likes to sit and watch the puppies feel their soft fur. I really noticed today that they are scooting around a lot. Instead of just dragging themselves along they are starting to get up on all fours and move along. They are starting to get a little louder as well. When one of them scoots too far from the rest of the group he/she lets everyone know that he/she is lonely. All in all they are doing great and tomorrow has been 7 days already. That means only 6 more weeks to go!!!!

They are growing like weeds!

Wow they are growing! Kinda like the title says, but I think they doubled in size already. I left Friday afternoon and got back around 1:00 this afternoon and I couldn't believe how they have grown. They were all snuggled up together tonite when I took the pictures and they looked pretty cute. I kinda like the little one laying on her back with her mouth hanging open. She kind of reminds me of an old grandpa sitting in a lazy boy snoring away during a sunday afternoon nap. Its a little bit chillier tonite than it has been so I put them on the heating mat, but I'm sure Belle will get them all tucked in close to her before too long. Just about everytime I go in there she is just laying by their sides just watching over them. They get cuter and cuter everyday and before long they are going to be scooting around and playing with eachother. I know its hard to see through pictures but they change so much from day to day!

3 Days Old

The puppies are eating and growing well. It is amazing to me at how much they change from day to day especially the first few weeks. They had their dew claws clipped this afternoon and everything went well. A few squirmers and a few whiners, but none that really bled too much. As soon as it was over with and they were snuggled up to Belle again they forgot about it and were fine. I actually think Remi whined more than the puppies did. She was in her kennel and started whinig when the pups did. I don't know if she was recalling that horrible experience from her childhood, or just sensed the puppies in distress and didn't like it. It is actually Remi's 1st Birthday today. One year ago today we had the first Belle and Baker pups! So all of you out there don't forget to wish you poochy a happy birthday! I snapped a couple photos of the pups today too. There is one of the 7 little girlies, and one of the 2 handsome young fellas. The boys are very very close in color and size and if they stay that way as they get older they are going to be tough to tell apart. Their is a little variance in color with the females. A couple that are a little lighter and a smidge smaller, but all in all they are pretty close as well.

2 Days Old

The pups are looking great and I wish I had something exciting to tell you like their eyes are opened or they are starting to jump out of the whelping box, but we will have to wait a few weeks for that!! They pretty much just eat, sleep, and whimper when they can't find their brothers or sisters and mom. One did lock up on point this morning at a bird in the window sill, so I know that natural instinct is there. I was just a second too late with the camera so I don't have any hard evidence of that (haha ok maybe I'm getting ahead of myself) As the next few weeks go along you'll start to pick up on some of my humor. They are all very healthy and it looks like Belle did a great job of cleaning of their cords so there shouldn't be any problems with hernia's. I've never had one with any of the pups b/c Belle is such a great momma! Tomorrow I will be clipping their dew claws so there will be a little crying going on, but usually it is pretty quick and they cry more becuase they don't know where Belle is. Remi (my female out of the last Belle Baker litter) has pretty much gotten used to the pups already. When I let her out the first couple times when the pups were just born her hair would stand on end and she would stand at the edge of the box and sniff and look, but now she doesn't pay much attention to them when she's walking by. She occasionally goes and takes a look at her brothers and sisters and I can't help but think that she's thinking I can't wait til they get a little older so I have someone new to harass and play with! She has been really good with it all. I wasn't sure how it would go b/c she has pretty much had ulimited access to her mommy from the day she was born. I had to get up the first night at 4 am b/c she was barking in her kennel, but other than that she has been really good about it. Anyway I took a few pictures yesterday and today so you can look and enjoy.

Puppy Video

Here's the final video in the series of them being born. Belle is putting the finishing touches on cleaning up the puppy and taking care of it.

Puppy Video

I did the videos out of order so now I am going back. They take so long to download that after the first one I thought I better get some pictures on so people can see them. Here is a short video of Belle cleaning off the sac that the puppies are born in once they are out of the womb.

Puppy Pictures 1 Day Old

Here are a few pictures of the puppies from yesterday its hard to get a real good look at them because Belle has them all snuggled in so closely to keep them safe and warm. I'll try to get a few of the pups when Belle is out going potty later and then post them. They are all very close in size and color there are a couple that are lighter but not too much. One things about Belle's pups is that they have always been very uniform in size and color she is a great mama! Yesterday was a pretty big day, and unfortunately I couldn't be there. This is the first time of all of Belle's litters I had to be gone. Robyn had to work in the morning so I stayed home just in case anything would happen in the morning knowing that Robyn would be around all afternoon. Anyway, The first pup was born at about 1:30 and the last sometime between 10:30 and 12:00. My son called at 10:30 and let Belle out before bed and there was still only 8 and he thought she was done, so when I got home at 12:00 it was a pleasant suprise to count 9 puppies. Robyn thought I miscounted but I was right!!! (which doesn't happen too often, I like to think I'm right but usually my wife is!) There were plenty of visitors yesterday to see the pups being born. Its kinda funny Belle is a pretty big hit with our family. We had everyone from Moms, Dads, Grandmas, friends, Nieces and nephews come to watch at some point and time. Needless to say they will have plenty exposure to people. I'll get to the point and put some pictures up and stop rambling on!!

If you look closely there's a pup snuggled up under Belle's chin. You might have to click on it and enlarge it to see. Pretty cute!!

It's almost as Belle is smiling and is proud of her accomplishment!

They Have Finally Arrived!!

I know most of you that have had your deposits in a while have been getting quite anxious about the arrival of your newest family member so I am glad I can finally tell you all they have arrived. They were born yesterday April 21, 2010 and Belle gave birth to 9 healthy puppies (7 Females and 2 Males). Even though this isn't her first time, It still amazes me at how amazing a mother she is and I am continually in awe at the miracle of birth. As a family rooted deeply in our Christian Faith it truly is the hand of God at work and there is nothing more spectacular than the miracle of birth to show how wonderful and powerful He is!!! Anyway, I know I promised you pictures so I'll get to that. My wife also took some short video of one of the pups being born. Some have you have probably already experienced the birth of an animal at some point in your life, but for those of you that haven't I guess this is how it works! I think this is something we can do (my family and I) to make the process of adopting a pup more personal and I hope you appreciate it. I will say that those with younger children might have to do some explaining about you know maybe the "birds and the bees" (haha) and what all takes place, but in the end I think it will be fun for them to see.