The Dog Who Never Gets Dirty

Several times I've commented here on how CLEAN Mama Raven stayed during the whole whelping process. And how CLEAN she has remained. Now I have proof of her dirt repelling abilities.

The other day she was outside in the wet mud with all the other dogs. Here is a picture of Babe:


There are similar pictures of Kelly, Aliy and Ilsa over at Babe's Blog.

Here is Mama Raven:



How does she (not) do it?

Babe's New Buddy

I really hope that someone out there was watching the Raven-Cam this afternoon when Babe finally had an opportunity to investigate the puppies. It would be a shame if I'm the only one who saw it.

Although Raven has been pretty easy going about letting her sister, Aliy, and her mom, Kachina, in to see the puppies, and she has not minded Kira hanging around the whelping box, she has also made it very clear the puppies belong to HER... and the other dogs, to varying degress have been very respectful of that. As far as Babe goes, she has pretty much containedherself to watching the goings on from afar. But today, Raven was outside for several hours and Babe was inside, so Babe took the opportunity to get to know her cousins.

It may be the cutest thing I have EVER seen.

Babe got into the whelping box and thoroughly sniffed every puppy from head to toe. Several times. At some point Green Boy decided this big dog that was not his mother was kind of interesting so he started following her around as she did her sniff examinations. And then he got very brave and started sniffing her back. And then he got REALLY brave and started batting at her face as if tryign to get her to play. It was absolutely adorable. Babe didn't know what to do!

I am so glad I got to see this interaction between my 3 week old puppy and my 9 month old puppy, its one of those puppy memories I know I will never forget... right up there with when Aliy and Raven were about 7 weeks old and one of them climbed up onto then 9 month old Pumpkin, who was on her back playig with them, and fell asleep on her chest.

3 Weeks Old!

A Gallery of Puppies....

Raven and Yellow Girl nap together...



Green Boy chows down....


Grandma Kachina makes sure Raven is doing a good job....


I created a "Gallery Page" for all the puppy pictures I've posted so far. There is a link to it over in the sidebar on the right.

The Puppies Are Popular!!

The puppies entertained their first guests yesterday!

Starting off bright and early, my friend's Mary and Bobbie stopped in on their way from Denver to New Mexico. Mary was the owner and breeder of Raven's daddy YukieBear and she presently owns daddy-dog Riggs' father Skipper. Bobbie owns two of Raven's half sisters and one of Rigg's half sisters.

Then a few hours later Mary Jo and her husband Bob came down form Denver to see their "grand kids". They own Riggs, the puppies father. Mary Jo was especially impressed with how consistent the puppies looked.

Raven was incredibly proud and pleased to be able to show off her babies. And she sure did show off. After all my complaints about what a "casual" mom she has been she hovered over the puppies, nursing them almost the entire time Bobbie and Mary were here and again when Mary Jo and Bob were here. Maybe that is why they gained so much weight over the past two days???

You could just see how pleased Raven was with all the compliments she and the puppies got!

Another Milestone

Yesterday morning, when everyone's eyes were open, it was time for the puppies to start a new phase of their lives. They were introduced to puppy mush.

Puppy mush is regular puppy food, soaked in water and mixed with a little yogurt and put thru the blender. Some breeders don't even think about starting their pups on anything like this until they are over 3 weeks old. Typically I try it right around the time their eyes open. Why? Because I usually have puppies that are getting fed too much and have runny stools. Once they get on solid food it helps "solidify" things a bit.

These pups have had runny stools, but I'm not sure that Raven is feeding them too much, in fact, I'd like to see a little bit faster weight gain on them. It seems every time Raven settles in to feed them, she gets "distracted" and leaves part way thru the meal!

Little Black Girl has been eagerly sucking the yogurt off my finger each day so I thought she'd take to the food really well. She did! So did Green and Purple. Yellow and Red were not quite as enthusiastic.

But the real test was when I set them down next to the little bowl of food. Only Green stuck his head in and clumsily ate a bit on his own. Black thought about it, Black sniffed it and licked the edge of the bowl but ultimately she didn't take any. So Green earns the honors of being First To Eat Solid Food!

Raven and Chandler

I'm kind of disappointed we didn't have more people join in on the Raven Quiz. As I said the other day, Nicole's answer (that both Raven and Chandler have more than two nipples) was very close. But then, all dogs have more than two nipples so Nicole's answer really wasn't specific to Raven.

The correct answer was that both Raven and Chandler have an EXTRA nipple.

Most dogs have 8 "working" nipples and 2 little ones just for decoration. Like this:

      .   o   o   o   o
head                     tail
      .   o   o   o   o

Here is what Raven looks like:

      .   o   o o o   o
head                     tail
      .   o   o   o   o

And you know, I never noticed it until I clipped the hair on her tummy a few days before the puppies were born.

I leave you with this rather silly picture of the puppies:

White on White

The Raven Quiz

Update: Nicole is close.... but not entirely right. After all her answer would apply to ANY dog and this is specific (as far as i know) to just Raven!

For all you fans of both Raven and the TV show Friends I have a quiz for you!

The winner gets the grand prize of knowing they were right.

Leave your answer in the comments.

Okay here's the question.... what characteristic do Raven and Chandler Bing have in common?

2 Weeks Old

Open eyes certainly do change the way they look. Red Boy's are open as of this morning, but just barely. Still waiting on little Black Girl.

Just Another Day

Not much going on.... I'm still seeing some loose stools but I think there has been some improvement in the last 24 hours. Still waiting for two more puppies to open their eyes.


Notice that the puppies are now sporting colored spots on their backs instead of ribbon collars to distinguish them. Here we see Black, Yellow and Red having their evening meal. So far I have kept the markers away from my husband to prevent any "creative" activity.

Raven looks very biscuit (or dirty) in this picture but it is a trick of the light. She is still way to clean for me to believe she actually gave birth to these puppies if I had not seen it myself!

And Now Three Can See!

This morning Yellow Girl joined her brothers Purple and Green and opened her eyes!

Wow! It really changes the way they look.

Hopefully Red Boy and Black Girl will get their eyes open before it's portrait time tomorrow.

Making the Puppies Bed

Empty whelping box propped up on cans of tomatoes

Incontinence pads are the first layer

Then a blanket or fleece pad

Add the pig rail and it's done!

Yellow Girl approves.

I'm sure fans of the Raven Cam prefer the green, blue or purple blankets over the white fleece pads as the puppies are easier to see on them. But with them just starting to get up on their feet, I wanted to give them the better traction that the fleece offers for the next few days.

The pups all have loose stools the past day or so and I'm keeping a close eye on them. Hopefully it's nothing more than that Raven's milk is a little rich for them.

Tonight they got some acidipholus powder mixed with a little yogurt which will hopefully help calm down their tummies and restore the good bacteria. Every litter I have had has gone thru this at just about this age... these guys just seem to have it a little worse than other. I start counting the days until they are old enough to start on some mush...that always seems to clear it up. They need to be walking and have their eyes open first.

We now have two with eyes open... Purple Boy's opened up this afternoon!

Green Can See!!

After posting the brag about Riggs, I got in the whelping box to love on the puppies. First pup I picked up was Green Boy. I rolled him over on his tummy to look at the pigment on his skin and noticed.... HIS EYES ARE OPEN!!!

I then checked all the others and no one else has eyes open yet.... but I bet they will soon!

Braggin' on Daddy

Raven and the puppies want to brag a little bit on Daddy Riggs.... today at the Terry-All Kennel Club show Riggs went Best of Breed just like he did yesterday. Yesterday he walked away from the group ring with a Group 3 placement, today he bettered that by winning his first Group 1!

So now the pups can say their dad is not only a multiple Best of Breed winner, multiple group placer, Best in Specialty winner but he's also a group winner!

Yay Dad!!

(and Aunt Kelly won Best of Opposite Sex both days too!!)

Who's on First?

If you happen to be a watcher of the Raven-cam and are wondering which puppy is which .....

The puppy off by itself is usually independent little Mr. Green

If there is a puppy under the fleece blanket it's often Black Girl.

The puppy behind Raven is almost always Yellow.

If only one or two puppies are nursing, odds are it's Red and/or Black.

The puppy rolling around on it's back looking exceptionally cute? Black or Purple.

The puppy walking (instead of crawling!) around the whelping box? These days it could be Red, Black or Purple!

Next week I'll get some markers and put spots on their backs. The first few days Raven spent so much time washing them the marks kept coming off so we stuck with colored collars for the time being.

1 Week Old!!

Here are this weeks "birthday portraits". It will be nice when they can see and hear so I can get their attention when trying to take the picture!

Red Can Do What???

Okay, this may be hard to believe, but I think Red Boy is walking.

I was sitting there watching the puppies a couple hours ago and Red just got up and started walking (VERY wobbbly) across the whelping box. I just sat and stared.

6 day old puppies do NOT walk.

I went back and checked Aliy's blog, her pups started standing at 11 days and walking at 14 days. Kachina's puppies were up on their feet at around 11 days as well.

Maybe the lack of sleep has gotten to me and I'm hallucinating?


Raven can't believe it either.

Dew Claw Day

The puppies woke up this morning and probably expected the day to be just like every other day in their short lives so far. Eat, crawl around a bit, sleep, eat, crawl around some more, sleep.

But today was Dew Claw Day.

Many breeds of dogs are born with vestigal extra toes on their front and/or rear legs. No one knows what these extra toes up about 3 - 4 inches on the inside of their legs were for. In some breeds these extra toes or "dew claws" must be removed for the dog to go in the show ring. In other breeds it is required they remain. In fact, Great Pyrenees are required to have double dew claws on their rear legs! In Sammies, keeping or removing them is optional. I usually remove mine as do most breeders in this area.

Most vets want to remove them at 2 - 5 days. Both vets that I regularly use want to do them between 3 and 5 days, I usually go in on Day 4. But yesterday, Day 4, I couldn't take them in because 1) it was a Sunday and 2) we had a blizzard here in Colorado and I was snowed in!

The plows came thru about 1:00 this afternoon and as soon as I saw the road was clear, I called the vet and into town we headed.

Puppies first Road Trip!!!

We got to the vet and had a little drama with Black... she had apparently gotten squished under her siblings and was severely stressed out and having some trouble breathing. The vet rushed her into oxygen and she bounced back quickly. It took me a little longer to recover.

Dewclaws were removed, puppies fussed all the way home, but as soon as they were reunited with Mama Raven they settled back into their normal routine... eat, crawl around, sleep, eat, crawl around, sleep....

Here we have 5 day old Purple and Red napping together. Could they be any sweeter?



The Raven Cam

I had someone ask me in the comments yesterday for the web address of the Raven Cam. It's http://www.hpi.net/whitestarsams/ravencam.htm. And there is a hot link button right over there >>> in the right sidebar. See the button that says "the raven cam"? All the way at the top under Raven's Important Stuff? Click it and it will take you right there!

Raven Looks Tired

She's working hard at it and really starting to "get" the mom thing... Thank Goodness!!

What Kind Of A Mom Is Raven?

Raven is a Good Mom but she is not a Natural Mom.

Don't know what that means?

Read this.

She is the canine equivalent. Really, she is.

She is trying very very hard, but she just is still a little clueless....

1 Day Old

I added a growth chart at the bottom of the page. There is a link to it over there in right sidebar.... "Look How Fast We Grow!".

The Birth

Okay here are all the details.... but first... a picture....



Raven's temp dropped about 10am yesterday. She acted pretty normal all yesterday and then became "anxious" last night about 10 pm. I spent the night IN the whelping box with her last night where she alternated between laying on me, scratching around the box and pawing at me, as if to say "WHAT is happening to me???"

By 8:30 this morning we still had no signs of any contractions. The vet had told me if she went 24 hours after the temp drop with no activity, that he would want to see her. So I called to verify and set up a tentative appointment.

While on the phone with the vet, she had her first contraction. A half hour later the first puppy was born, at 9:05. The others were born at 9:20, 10:20, 11:20 and 11:50. 5 puppies in less than 3 hours, I'm very proud of my girl!

Since their birth all 5 have been nursing well and have all gained weight.

Meet the puppies:

Yellow Girl, Green Boy, Purple Boy, Red Boy, Black Girl

Tomorrow I will post 1 day old "portraits", the portraits will then become a weekly feature each Wednesday.

Doesn't Mommy Raven look tired?

Last (I Think) But Certainly Not Least

11:55 - Yellow GIRL - 14.4 oz.

Five was a "maybe" on the x-ray so I'm pretty sure she's done. In a little while I'll take all the pups off Raven and check to see if I feel anything else moving.

Then I get to take a nap while Bill watches the pups!

Puppy Number Four

11:20 - Purple Boy - 13.3 oz.

She's having contractions for the next one right now... gotta go!

It's Another Boy

10:20 - Green Boy - 12.6 oz.

Raven seems a little happier now....

It's a Girl!

9:20 - BLACK Girl - 10.6 oz.

Raven acknowledged this ones arrival, but she is still not thrilled.

It's a Boy

9:05 - RED Boy - 11.8 oz.

Raven is pretending this is not happening.

We're Tired....

7 am temp: 98.2

I was up all night with Raven. She is in Stage 1 labor and seems uncomfortable. I'm not completely happy with the way things are progressing, not sure if I need to be worried yet or not.

As my friend Mary said, when she looks at Raven on the Raven-Cam, she just looks like she does NOT want to do this.

She did eat her entire breakfast.

I'm Not Making Any Predictions.....

7 am temp: 98.6
10 am temp: 98.2
1 pm temp: 97.8

.... but look at that temperature trend.

And... we're down again....

7 am temp: 98.8

Yes my high speed internet connection is down again, so I am dialed in. Could it be the weather? After three staright days of beautiful warm (almost 70 degree) days its snowing and blowing and cold (38 degrees) here on the plains.

Oh, you want to know what's going on with RAVEN? Not much.

Her temp is down slightly, but I really expect it to drop down to 97 degrees when puppies are on their way. still, I plan to keep a closer eye on her today than I have been. She ate a full breakfast and seemed relatively normal, maybe slightly uncomfortable because of her expanding size, this morning.

View of the Whelping Box

noon temp: 99.5
7 pm temp: 99.7
evening temp: 98.9

Heres the view that tonight's viewers of the Raven-Cam got to see:


No that's not Raven. It's Ilsa. She spent quite awhile napping in the whelping box tonight. I probably shouldn't let anyone else in it other than Raven, but she looked so peaceful....

Riggs

7 am temp: 99.7

In an attempt to distract all Raven's fans who are here looking for puppies and wondering where they are, I offer up this picture of the handsome daddy-do-to-be.


CH T-Snow Star's Tak'n It Beyond

The Raven-Cam Is Back!

7 pm temp: 101.2

Here's the scene from Raven's whelping box that was on camera just a short time ago...



How exciting.

Where's The Raven-Cam??

7 am temp: 99.5
noon temp: 99.6

The Raven-Cam is temporarily down. In fact my entire internet connection is down.

I have this weird wireless "high speed" internet service. I live in the middle of nowhere and don't have any choice, it's either really slow dial up, really expensive sattelite or this. My ISP has a big tower about 12 miles away from where I live that relays a signal to towers on top of people houses. Some piece of that relay is down and they don't know when it will be back up again. "Maybe tomorrow." was the last I heard.

When this happpened a few months ago it took about 4 days to fix.

Why so long?

Because the tower that was down was on a guys house about a mile from me. He had gone on vacation and the ISP didn't have any way to get into his house and reset the server that controlled the tower. Pretty silly isn't it?

So I drove into my office and am writing this from there. As soon as I'm done I'm going to try to download some software that will allow me to dial in from home so I can at least make some updates to the blog.

Yes, this software should already be on my PC. BUT... I lost the hard drive about a month and half ago and never got around to putting it back on. I should know better than to put stuff like that off.

Those of you who were hoping to see puppies being born on the Raven-Cam don't give up hope. I STILL say Tuesday or Wednesday....

Nothing.

7am temp: 99.2
noon temp: 98.9

Nothing. I have absolutely nothing to report.

Raven is acting 100% normal. She is chasing the other dogs around the house. She is eating. She is jumping on the bed. She is jumping off the bed. She is eating. She is drinking. She is sleeping soundly.

Nothing.

False Alarm??

7 pm temp: 99.9

There is a reason this blog is called "That's So Raven". You'd really have to know Raven to understand.

I have an Italian charm bracelet and each dog is represented on my bracelet by a different charm. There is a dog bone for Boom'r - the dog who will eat anything and everything. An ice cream cone for Icer - ice cream is his all time favorite food. An @ for Kelly - You've Got Mail is her registered name.

What is Raven's charm? A crown - because she is The Princess.

So believe me when I say this false alarm, drama queen thing she's doing is SO RAVEN!

She is acting 100% normal. She wolfed down her dinner. She is not nesting, she is not restless.

She probably just didn't think I was paying her enough attention.

I can hear the thoughts going thru her mind... "hmmmm.... lets see if i can get my temp down a bit...that should get Mom's attention... hee hee hee...."

At this point I have no idea what she has planned next... or when she's planning it for.

Surprise!

7 am temp: 99.5
noon temp: 97.5

Uhhhh.. WHAT is that temperature???

Well even though I was convinced that Raven would have her puppies early next week, it appears she may have other plans. As of 1 PM MT her temperature has dropped to 97.5.

Why was I convinced? Family History. Kachina had her puppies, 58 days from her first breeding, 60 days from the last breeding. Aliy had her puppies 60 days from frist breeding, 65 days from the last breeding.Kachina is Raven's mother and Aliy is Raven's litter sister.

Raven is currently at only 54 days from the last breeding and 57 days from the first natural breeding.

When Raven's mother's temp went this low, I had 6 puppies within 8 hours. When her sister's temp went this low, I had 4 puppies 24 hours later.

Although I hadn't planned to put it up until Sunday, I did some scrambling and the Raven-Cam is live. My guess is that you may experience some delays as lots of people may be hitting it at once when they know it's up. Just keep trying :)



I'll keep you all posted!