That's So Raven!!

Rio Goes Home

2005-07-11T08:20:00.000-06:00

I know I said I was done posting here on Raven's blog but.. I felt that I needed to put one last update now that Rio has gone to her new home.

Brett and Anna (and Casper!) drove all the way from Des Moines, Iowa to pick Rio up last Friday. And YES her forever name is going to be Rio!

It look slike love at frist sight!

Rio gets to know her new big brother Casper.

Casper and Rio on the trip home.

Rio and Casper play with Casper's tug toy.....

... and Rio's pink bone.

Giving Rio up was really hard. I should know better than to keep a puppy this long unless I plan to keep it FOREVER. But Anna, Brett and Casper are going to be a wonderful family for Rio, knowing that that makes it easier.

And now, I gotta go play with Max!

Introducing....

2005-06-26T19:11:00.000-06:00

WhiteStar's Beyond Thunderdome aka Max, the puppy formerly known as Green Boy.

He's staying.

What about the girl....?

For now we are calling her Rio. If she statys for good she'll be called WhiteStar's Brazilian Carnival.

She is sweet and adorable (and too smart for her own good) and we love her but.... she may still end up going to a nice companion home sometime in the next month or so.

What have they been up to?

Raven's been teaching them what it's like to be Grown Up Puppies...

Looks to me like they have made themselves at home.

It's a Wrap

This is the last regular posting for That's So Raven. Raven thanks you for visiting and making this time so much more enjoyable for us, we love sharing our puppies with everyone!

Updates on what's happening with Rio and Max, as well as Babe and the rest of the WhiteStar gang can be found over at Babe's Blog. In fact, there are a bunch of new puppy pictures out there now! Go visit!

Winston and Blue

2005-06-26T19:07:00.000-06:00

Do you think Blue likes her big brother Winston?

Looks like he kinda likes her too :)

Missing in Action

2005-06-24T17:23:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of new content lately. Once the puppies leave it all feels so anti-climatic to keep posting.

I did turn off the Raven-Cam earlier this week. I took down the ex-pen and put up two kennels for the two remaining puppies. They are only in the kennels at night and mealtimes and occasionaly for a nap during the day. Very unexciting to watch on camera :)

They spend the rest of their time either in an ex-pen on the deck or hanging with the big dogs. Yes, they are free to roam the yard now! I don't let them out in the yard when Kelly is out, she's afraid of them, can you beleive that?? And I have to watch them closely when Kira is out as well. Kira LOVES the puppies. She ADORES them and thinks they are the greatest thing EVER. But she is also a little rough and after about 5 minutes of playing with "big sister" Kira it's time for them to be separated.

I will make one final update here, with pictures, tomorrow... after that check Babe's Blog for continued updates on all five puppies.

Green or Yellow or Green or Yellow or....

2005-06-15T20:20:00.000-06:00

No I have NOT decided yet.

sigh...

For the next few weeks both are staying. Both have several of the qualities I did the breeding for. I ALWAYS keep a girl... and Yellow is DARLING.... but Green is pretty cute too...

I have homes interested in both puppies, I just need to decide if they will be shown or not. And which one I am going to keep.

For now, Rio (aka Yellow Girl) and Max (aka Green Boy) are just hanging out...

Black Is Blue!

2005-06-13T22:35:00.000-06:00

Just after noon today Black Girl's new family arrived after a long drive from Chicago. Black, or as she is to be known from now on, Blue, is going to have a really great time in her new home, she has two "big sisters" of the two footed variety and 2 big brothers of the four footed furry type.

Blue poses with Ali

Blue and Hannah

Heather, Gene and Blue

Blue, Winston and Casey get ready to hit the road back to Chicago

Rocco Settle In

2005-06-13T22:29:00.000-06:00

Rocco looks like he's settling into his new home very well. I'm told he loves having Real Grass (instead of Buffalo Grass, weeds and dirt) to play in.

Jim, Rocco, Ryan and Dylan

Laura, Ryan and Rocco

Dylan takes Rocco for a walk

The Enchanted Puppy

2005-06-12T21:40:00.000-06:00

Red Boy headed off to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, with his new mom Cynthia early Sunday evening.

Cynthia is still trying to figure out the perfect name for Red Boy, it will probably be a really cool name of Eskimo origin.

Red Boy and Cynthia prepare for the drive back to Albuquerque

I think he likes his new mom, and she seems to be pretty happy with him!

Did I mention he has Siberian Husky siblings now? Here he is with big sister Tika!

Cynthia shows Tika and when Red Boy is old enough he'll be going to shows too, that means I'll get to see him pretty regularly! Yippee!!!! Cynthia also hopes to do obedience and agilty with him and maybe even some harness work. He's going to be a busy puppy!

Rocco Goes Home!

2005-06-12T21:30:00.000-06:00

Purple Boy headed home Saturday afternoon. We don't know yet what his registered name will be, but his call name is Rocco. (Or is it Rocko?? - I didn't think to ask!)

With two kids of his own to play with, Rocco should be a very happy puppy for years to come.

Rocco with his new "big brother" Dylan

Rocco and new dad Jim

Rocco's new family plans to take him to puppy class, and later when he's older he'll join them on family hikes. Maybe we'll get to see pictures?!!???

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words....

2005-06-10T21:57:00.000-06:00

All pictures in this entry copyright Scott Vail.

Red Boy, Yellow Girl, Green Boy

All pictures in this entry copyright Scott Vail.

KISS

2005-06-10T06:52:00.000-06:00

What do the puppies and the rock group KISS have in common?

"I want to rock and roll all nite... and party every day......"

Pup Stuff

2005-06-09T22:28:00.000-06:00

All the puppies got baths today. Usually I wash one, dry one, wash one, dry one etc. But today I decided to wash each one and let them air dry out on the deck until all five were washed, then I'd start drying.

Green was first to get bathed, then Yellow. After I finished bathing the third puppy, I went to put him out on the deck and noticed Green and Yellow were missing. They had somehow broken thru the "impenetrable barrier" I had created, gone down the steps and were out in the yard playing with Ilsa.

Wet puppy + yard with almost no grass = you guessed it, wet, dirty puppies. Luckily most of the dirt blew off during the drying process.

Speaking of "impenetrable barriers"... my double thick barrier between the deck and the house worked well, didn't it? Here's Black, having made it past the first layer she is working on climbing over the 2nd layer...

Grandma Kachina

Aside from Raven there's another dog in the house who is going to miss the puppies.

Every single morning for the past 9 weeks Grandma Kachina has made it a point that the first thing she does each morning is check on her grandkids.

Even before she goes out to go potty she runs into the room where the puppies are to makes sure they are all okay. When they were in the whelping box she would jump in and touch noses with each one. Now that they are in the ex-pen and she can't reach them, she circles the pen, making sure all is well, only then will she head outside.

9 Weeks Old

2005-06-08T11:18:00.000-06:00

My how time flies.

In honor of this being the last week of birthday pictures, I did something a little different. Click on the small pictures below and one twice the size will come up.

The pictures this week were taken out in the yard while the pups were playing, so we've got some wind blown ears and hair. But Yes, Green Boy's ear really is up, that's not the wind!

Raven is going to miss these guys when they leave. More than any other Mom-Dog I've ever had she loves to go out and play with her kids...

Which puppy will she miss the most? Black Girl. That's Black climbing all over Raven in the pictures above.

Bad Dogs Part 2

So the pups are no longer Deck Dogs they are Kennel Dogs. Two days ago they started routinely climbing the barriers between the deck and the house and the deck and the yard. Keeping them inside all day is not an option. Their "sleeping pen" is in my office and they have gotten so rambunctious it's impossible to work with them going at full speed.

So they are now residing during the day in a chain link kennel in the back yard. Needless to say, they LOVE it!! Grass to chew on! Dirt to dig in! Rocks to play with!!!

Bittersweet

The 9 week pictures I posted today are bittersweet. I'm proud of how these pups have grown up. They are extremly happy, people loving, well adjusted pups. I think a lot of the credit goes to Raven and Riggs, but I'd like to think I had a hand in it as well. The first pup goes home on Saturday, with possibly another folowing on Sunday and then a third on Monday. News on who is going where soon...

They Passed!!

2005-06-06T20:44:00.000-06:00

All 5 puppies passed their CERF eye exams with flying colors! YEAH!!! That means the WhiteStar puppies are at 100% for clean puppy CERFs since the first litter was born 8 years ago tomorrow.

My husband reports that all five pups were very good on the drive up to the dog show on Saturday. One boy (he was not sure who) cried a little bit but then quieted down. On the way home he says Black and Yellow sat up the whole way but were completely quiet.

Meanwhile......

I am still in the midst of serious puppy angst. I am back to not knowing which one to keep. Seriously not knowing. As in.... Not. A. Clue.

I'm going to level with all you faithful That's So Raven readers.... the puppy I am in love with is probably NOT the one I should keep. He was the one I wanted to keep for weeks and as of last week he seemed to be The One.... but now its looking like either of the other boys might be a better choice. And the boy that even as recently as two days ago I was sure was NOT The One is looking better and better....

The problem is that they changed enormously between Wednesday when the first two people evaluated them and Saturday when they were evaluated a second time. And now they seem to have changed yet again. Stuff I know I saw on Saturday is not there today!

Compound that with how similar they are in many ways and how unfamiliar they are to me in terms of looking like other pups I've had at this age and you have one very confused breeder.

On the Road Again....

2005-06-03T14:13:00.000-06:00

Babe, Kelly, Kira and I are off to another show this weekend. In fact I'm leaving shortly for the dog wash, then the chiropracter and then heading to Boulder for the show, so no new pupdates until Monday.

On a side note, the pups take their first road trip this weekend. They'll also be going to the show, but not until tomorrow when my husband will be bringing them up to get their CERF eye exams. Everyone send good thought his way that he has a quiet ride.

Relaxed Puppy

2005-06-03T11:58:00.000-06:00

8 Weeks Old

2005-06-02T16:57:00.000-06:00

Aliy's puppies were born on a Monday so several went home the Sunday before they turned 9 weeks old so the 8 week pictures were the last ones of them.

But Raven's pups were born on a Wednesday, and none are going home before 9 weeks old. I plan on taking 9 week pictures, but if they are as uncooperative as they were this week, I'm not sure if the puppy holder (aka my husband) will have the patience!

It's pretty amazing to go back and look at all the weekly pictures together and see how fast these guys have grown.

I've decided which puppy I'm keeping (almost 100% sure) but I'm not telling yet, not until I know for sure where the others are going as well.

Ouch!!

Can you tell from the picture below what milestone in the puppies lives today was?

The puppies got their first set of shots today. And there was no OUCH! about it. Every single one stood on the table, got their shot and never flinched squirmed or made a sound!

Now Mama Raven was a different story. Raven was due for her shots on March 16, but she was pregnant at the time so we held off until today. She yelped and jumped when the needle went in. She could learn a thing from her kids.

Bad Dogs!

2005-05-31T15:25:00.000-06:00

Do I ever have pictures today!

Why the title? Because the pups are at "that age". They completely trashed the pen last night, there was water everywhere this morning, they dumped the litter box and then rolled in the mess. Bath time again tomorrow!

I woke up at 5:30 am this morning to loud barking, howling and general mayhem. Looking for the source I discovered little Black Girl running round the house. She has climbed out of the pen and her littermates were alerting the household of the escape.

I put her back in the pen and within minutes she was out again, followed by Yellow Girl. I gave them their breakfast hoping maybe they'd all go back to sleep again after they ate and "forget" they knew how to climb out. But as soon as they finished, Black and Yellow were on the loose again.

Crate Dogs
The decision was made to change the ex-pen around and give it higher sides. We decided to wait until the pups could go out on the deck to do that, so the two escape artists were confined to a crate for several hours. They were surprisingly good!

Yard Dogs

The pups have spent a lot of time outside on the deck and have been out into the dirt street several times with a few wanderings off the side of the road into the yard. But today they got their first chance to run loose in the yard with Mama Raven.

The LOVED it! I have never seen puppies take to a new situation so quickly. There was no hesitating at the bottom of the steps, no desire to stick close to the house, they hit the grass running....

Purple and Red enjoyed checking out the flowers...

Raven watches over her kids proudly...

Black and Yellow had a picnic....

Deck Dogs

After a lengthy romp in the yard, they went back on the the deck (Yellow climbed the steps by herself!!) for a nap and lunch.

Meanwhile their pen has been made taller to prevent further escapes. And I think I'm going to only let them have the water bowl for short periods of time...SUPERVISED short periods of time! And I'm goign to start leaving the light over the pen off at night. Maybe they'll get the idea that they are supposed to sleep when it's dark.

Pigs Not Puppies!

2005-05-27T19:27:00.000-06:00

The puppies are now eating 4+ cups of food 3 times a day.

Clockwise from Black Girl on the left...

Black Girl, Purple Boy, Green Boy, Red Boy, Yellow Girl with a spot of sunshine on her butt!

Decisions Decisions

Those of you checking in on the puppies via the Raven-cam tonight might notice the puppies are sporting extra colored spots tonight. This has to do with the entry I made earlier today.

In the comments, Danielle asked me to fill everyone in on which pups I'm trying to decide between. I was serious when I said I have NO IDEA yet.

So this evening before dinner my husband and I took all the pups outside to the street (we live on a rural dirt courtyard with only three houses) so we could really see them running around. Since, as I have mentioned before, these pups all really look a lot alike I wanted to mark them clearly so that if I saw a really good front or nice sidegait I'd know which puppy I was looking at. So they all got "painted up" on their heads, butts and each side. They looked like little go-karts running around out there. (Yes I SHOULD have gotten pictures....) For a change it was very easy to know who was whatever direction they were headed!

Did this little exercise help my decision making process? A little. Not much.

According to Pat Hastings, I should not be looking at them (as far as choosing a puppy goes) for another 5 days ("8 weeks" she says, "Only at 8 weeks!!") but we all do it. And even then she says it's all about structure, what you feel, not what you see.

Here's the situation... I think I probably should keep a boy. But anyone who knows me or has visited my website knows I LOVE THE GIRLS!!

There is at least one thing that each puppy has that is better than any of the others. That is what is making this SO HARD!

Stay tuned and watch me suffer over the next two weeks....

ARGHHHHH!!!!!

2005-05-27T15:34:00.000-06:00

I am suffering here, really suffering.

I have NO IDEA which puppy I'm keeping.

This is so HARD!

I'm not even sure if I'm keeping a boy or a girl.

7 Weeks

2005-05-25T19:56:00.000-06:00

I was looking back at the pictures of Aliy's pups at 7 weeks... these guys don't look anything like they did... but notice how similar the ear sets look!

(hmmmmm..... do you think that royal blue UnderArmor shirt is one of my husband's favorites??)

Bath Day

2005-05-24T18:49:00.000-06:00

The poor puppies were traumatized today.

They got baths.

Here's Red Boy trying to escape the sink. Sorry for the bad picture, my husband for got to turn onthe flash....

Don't they look nice now that they are all cleaned up?

Another Ear Up!

2005-05-23T18:02:00.000-06:00

As of this morning Yellow Girl has an ear up!

To those of you who are dedicated viewers of the Raven-cam during the night, my apologies for the lack of light. While I was gone my husband did not put the light on each evening, next weekend I'll remind him when I call in the evening!

6 Weeks Old

2005-05-18T19:46:00.000-06:00

A Big Day For Little Dogs

The puppies entertained visitors this afternoon.... my friend Mary Jo and her daughter Lindsey came down to see the pups. Mary Jo and Lindsey own daddy-dog Riggs so they have a special interest in these guys.

We took them outside and they got their first chance to run around on dirt. They loved it! They also got VERY tired which accounts for the doped-up look some of them have in the pictures above.

Mary Jo confirmed that it is not my imagination when I say these pups are exceptionally consistent. Kind of a surprise because although both Raven and Riggs are part Polar Mist, it really is a bit of an outcross. It's still too early to make any decisions on which puppies will go to what homes but we are starting to get a feel for their personalities. The next few weeks are going to fly by.....

Gone Again

Kelly, Babe, Kira and I are hitting the road again bright and early tomorrow morning for Cortez, Colorado so no more pupdates until next Monday. As always the Raven-Cam will be up while we are gone.

They GET It!

2005-05-18T06:48:00.000-06:00

Those of you who read here regularly, or who watch the Raven-Cam, know that the puppies got a litter box in their pen about a week ago. It is a plastic box which is actually sold as a doggie litter box. It is very similar in shape to the bottom half of a plastic dog kennel. I fill it with a commercial puppy litter called Second Nature Litter. This is the second litter I have used this with and I continue to be amazed.

When I first put it in they do nothing but play in it. Aliy's kids even ate a lot of it, to the point where several made themselves throw up the first day it was in the pen. I almost removed it at that point. I'm glad I didn't.

The next stage is where instead of just playing in it, they occasionally go potty in it.

And now we are at Stage 3... where they almost always use it when they have to go. I woke up this morning and the litter box had about 6 poops in it and there was no trace of anything on the floor!! Yeah!!!

How do they figure this out??? One of the many mysteries of puppyhood.

6 week (can you believe it) portraits will be posted later today!!

Deck Dogs

2005-05-17T17:01:00.000-06:00

The puppies LOVE being out on the deck all day!

I'm still trying to get a good picture of Black Girl with her ears up. I took about 30 pictures earlier today and these are the only ones that were not fuzzy blurs of movement!

And The Winner Is......

2005-05-16T18:04:00.000-06:00

Black Girl!!

What did she win?

The Ears Up First contest. According to my husband when he got up Sunday morning one ear was up. I'll have a picture tomorrow!

It was hard being away from the puppies all weekend. I was really surprised how excited they were to see me last night when I got in about 2 AM. They jumped all over me and cried and howled - it was just precious. I have to say this litter is EXTREMELY people oriented. I've alway had very friendly puppies, but these guys are over the top. But then, Mama Raven is the original love sponge. This is a dog who would climb onto strangers laps at dog shows....

The puppies spent the day on the deck and this afternoon I took a break from work and just went out and sat on the deck with them. They swarmed all over me crawling in my lap and just licking and pawing at me. Of course there was some amount of chewing on my pants, t-shirt and shoes, but most of their attention was on ME.

The Name Game

Time to start thinking of names.... as always I never require the people who get one of my puppies to name the puppy anything specific, but I always like to suggest a theme... Boom'rs litter was the Tony Hillerman litter with 3 of the 5 puppies named after Hillerman books. Kachina's litter was the sled race litter, with all 6 puppies named after sled races. Aliy's litter was the female athlete litter with all 4 girls named after great female sports stars.

Raven's litter is the "Beyond" litter. Grandmother Reba's name is CH T-Snow Star's Above and Beyond BIS. Daddy Riggs is CH T-Snow Star's Tak'n It Beyond BISS. I thought it would be fun to put "Beyond" in the puppies names to carry on the tradition. I have two names picked out for my puppy, one for if I keep a boy and one for if I keep a girl.

My two names are... for a boy: WhiteStar's Beyond Thunderdome - call name Max (get it... daddy Riggs is named after the Mel Gibson character in the Lethal Weapon movies... Beyond Thunderdome and Mad Max are other Mel Gibson movies....)

For a girl: WhiteStar's One Step Beyond - call name Rio. In a rare move for me there is absolutely NO connection between the registered name and the call name..... I just really wanted to have a name starting with "R" in honor of mama Raven and daddy Riggs.

Now I need some other suggestions to give to new owners. Any ideas?

Gone Until Monday....

2005-05-12T22:20:00.000-06:00

Babe, Kira, Kelly and I are heading to New Mexico tomorrow morning, so no new pupdates for a few days. My husband gets to watch the other dogs and take care of the puppies, which should be okay with Raven since she is such a "daddy's girl" anyway!

Hopefully the Raven-Cam will stay up and operational thru the weekend!

5 Weeks Old

2005-05-11T22:53:00.000-06:00

The 5 week birthday always takes me by surprise. Suddenly I realize the pups will be gone in just a few weeks. that more than half the time they wil spend with me is done with. It hardly seems possible.

Raven seems to enjoy spending time with the pups now that they want to do more than just nurse.

Puppy Kisses....

2005-05-11T11:03:00.000-06:00

... from Raven and the kids to Felicia who made That's So Raven her spotlight blog today!

Just Carrying on a Family Tradition.....

2005-05-10T23:20:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I've just turned off the T.V. after watching the season finale of The Amazing Race. Grandma Kachina, Mama Raven, Cousin Babe, Aunt Kelly and Kira are outside.

Suddenly Ilsa, who had been sitting quietly at my feet jumps up and goes nuts, barking, howling and crying. This signals to me that *something* is happening outside.

I open the door and call the girls to come in.

Nothing.

I call again, still no sign of anyone. I get the flashlight and I can see them way out on the far side of the yard. It doesn't look good and in an instant I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

***flashback to April of 2000***

Kachina steals a bagel off the kitchen counter. She eats half but throws the other half into the ex-pen for her five week old puppies.

***flashback to August of 2004***

Kachina's daughter Aliy catches a ground squirrel and brings it to her 5 week old puppies. She does it again when they are 8 weeks old.

Yes, I KNOW that they are hunting. I know they caught something. And they don't even have to get all they way to the house before I know what it is.

A skunk.

Both Grandma Kachina and Mama Raven are covered in skunk juice. Kelly, Kira and Babe only smell a little bit. Kachina and Raven smell a lot.

Luckily (for me, not the skunk) my husband (who went out to check) says it was a baby skunk. Apparently baby skunk juice is neither as pungent nor does it resist washing as much as adult skunk juice.

I know this because after bathing Raven (at 10:30 at night) with just regular dog shampoo, she no longer smells. I had to bathe her. Not only did she really smell, but you could actually SEE the skunk juice on her fur and all over her face. No way I wanted the puppies anywhere near her much less nursing off her until she was clean.

Kachina still stinks and has been banned from the bedroom until she can get a bath in the morning. I hope that marinating in the skunk juice over night does not cause it to "stick" better. I hope that when Kira, Babe and Kelly are bathed, the smell all comes off them. I'm sure the friends that I'm sharing grooming space at the dog show this weekend hope so too.

I've heard stories that when the puppies great great grandma Glacie had her puppies, she caught a mouse and tried to give it to her very young puppies.... so I should have expected this... Raven is just carrying on a family tradition...

A New Play Pen for the Puppies

2005-05-10T15:03:00.000-06:00

The puppies are no longer living in a whelping box!

I'm going to be going away this weekend and my husband will be taking care of the puppies. He's been great about helping out with this litter this whole time, but having him watch them this weekend AND the following four weekends is a BIG favor to ask, so I'm trying to make things as easy for him as possible.

One of the things that makes life easier is setting the pups up in the ex-pen instead of the whelping box. So I did that this morning:

The pen is bigger than the whelping box, and the sides are higher, so I had to move the Raven-Cam to get better view. You can't see the whole pen but it's not too bad:

View from the Raven-Cam at 3:11 PM MT
While I set up the ex-pen the pups spent time out on the deck. They cornered Ravan as she came in from the yard and, good mom that she is, she let them nurse for about 5 minutes while she just stood still:

Then it was nap time:

Birthday portraits tomorrow!

Big Happenings for Little Puppies!

2005-05-09T14:31:00.000-06:00

So what's new in the lives of the puppies?

They are now eating dry food although Raven is still nursing them. I haven't figured out what her schedule is... she seems to ignore them for hours and hours at a time then will feed them three times in two hours.

They now have a litter box in their whelping box. Do they know what it's for. Not really....

They no longer have any bedding in the whelping box. I'd have liked to have kept it in a few days more but they started pulling it up yesterday so out it goes.

They spent over an hour today out on the deck for the first time. That pretty much tired them out...

The next Big Change will be replacing the whelping box with an ex-pen. I'll probably do that about Wednesday or so when they are 5 weeks old.

The Great Escape

2005-05-07T18:50:00.000-06:00

We had our first escape from the whelping box this morning.

Green Boy went over the wall twice.

At that point I put the side up and it was up the rest of the day to prevent further escapes. It has been down the last several hours and no further escapes, maybe he's forgotten he knows how to climb?

4 Weeks Old!!

2005-05-05T10:33:00.000-06:00

Carolyn asked about the puppies personalities.... we are indeed starting to see some distinct traits. Over all, these are VERY quiet puppies compared to other litters I have had. I'll probably be sorry I said that in a week or two :)

Like all litters some of the puppies seem to develop certain traits that are easier to spot than others. For now, Red Boy is "energizer bunny" in the litter, always on the go, last to fall asleep, first to wake up and always bugging his littermates to play. (Mike R - I bet he will be the "Bonnie" in this litter!)

Yellow Girl reminds me of her Aunt Aliy (who was also the Yellow Girl in her litter) she seems to watch things a lot, taking it all in before making her move. Aunt Aliy is still like that today.

Green Boy is the eye-catcher in the litter - when you are watching the puppies play, and one seems to catch your eye for some reason, more often than not it will be Green. Not just his looks catch your eye but also the way he stands and carries himself.

Purple Boy is the "shyest" of the puppies. New things tend to worry him a bit and when picked up he will cling to your arm. He is also the most affectionate of the puppies, he really enjoys being held and cuddled.

Black Girl seems pretty fearless when exposed to new environments. When she experienced out ceramic tile kitchen floor for the first time she just acted as if it were nothing new, while all the other puppies were a little more hesitant.

As the days go by I'm sure their personalities will really start to emerge so much so that even watchers of the Raven-Cam will start to get a sense of them. I'll try to keep their colored spots nice and bright so you can tell who is who!

The Babe-y Sitter

2005-05-03T22:51:00.000-06:00

Over the last few days Babe has been showing a LOT of interest in the puppies. She climbs in the whelpingbox and plays very gently with them, or sometimes, as in these pictures, she just lies down and watches them.

Shortly after these pictures were taken the puppies all woke up and played hard (well, as hard as 4 week old puppies can play) with Babe and then with each other. It really tired out little Green Boy....

4 week birthday portraits will be up tomorrow!!

They Are Real Dogs Now....

2005-05-03T09:11:00.000-06:00

.... and they do Real Dog things!

Green Boy plays with his new stuffed bone...

He loves this bone. He carries it around, he chews on it, he uses it as a pillow.

Purple Boy naps on his back... just like his Mom and Grandma do!

The first few weeks I have a litter I look at them and wonder if they will ever look like puppies instead of gerbils. Then all of a sudden they start walking and barking and eating and playing with each other and they are DOGS!

The Dog Who Never Gets Dirty

2005-04-30T10:03:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-29T21:30:00.000-06:00

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!

2005-04-27T12:57:00.000-06:00

A Gallery of Puppies....

2005-04-26T18:29:00.000-06:00

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!!

2005-04-25T07:30:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-23T06:49:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-22T20:07:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-21T21:29:00.000-06:00

The Raven Quiz

2005-04-21T06:49:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-20T10:57:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-19T22:04:00.000-06:00

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!

2005-04-19T14:27:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-18T20:06:00.000-06:00

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!!

2005-04-17T20:58:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-17T20:15:00.000-06:00

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?

2005-04-15T20:36:00.000-06:00

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!!

2005-04-13T16:43:00.000-06:00

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???

2005-04-12T21:10:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-11T21:16:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-09T22:40:00.000-06:00

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

What Kind Of A Mom Is Raven?

2005-04-08T07:25:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-07T09:52:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-06T20:38:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-06T12:10:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-06T11:43:00.000-06:00

11:20 - Purple Boy - 13.3 oz.

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

It's Another Boy

2005-04-06T10:32:00.000-06:00

10:20 - Green Boy - 12.6 oz.

Raven seems a little happier now....

It's a Girl!

2005-04-06T09:34:00.000-06:00

9:20 - BLACK Girl - 10.6 oz.

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

It's a Boy

2005-04-06T09:18:00.000-06:00

9:05 - RED Boy - 11.8 oz.

Raven is pretending this is not happening.

We're Tired....

2005-04-06T07:20:00.000-06:00

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.....

2005-04-05T13:13:00.000-06:00

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....

2005-04-05T07:06:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-05T00:02:00.000-06:00

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

2005-04-04T09:49:00.000-06:00

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!

2005-04-03T21:39:00.000-06:00

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??

2005-04-03T13:20:00.000-06:00

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.

2005-04-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

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??

2005-04-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2005-04-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

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!

Where is Raven Having Her Puppies?

2005-03-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

noon temp: 99.5 (thank goodness!!)

5 years ago when Kachina was pregnant with Aliy and Raven I woke up one morning to find her temperature had dropped. As I said in my post the other day, that means pups are on the way, usually in about 24 hours.

In Kachina's case her co-owner was convinced (and managed to convince me) that pups would not arrive before nightfall. So although the whelping box was built, it had no bedding in it. I was waiting until someone was here to help me lift it so I could put the bedding in. I had plenty of time, right?

From the time Kachina's temp dropped to the time of her first contraction it was about 8 hours. Then it was another 20 minutes before her first water sac broke. At that time I still had no bedding in the whelping box. Can you say "panic time"? And within 40 minutes I had three puppies. So I've learned it pays to be prepared.

The little temperature drop scare this morning convinced me that I needed to get the whelping box built today. Details on how the whelping box is constructed can be found in this post I made to Aliy's World last summer.

Here is where Raven will have her puppies:

Whelping box under construction.

Whelping Box completed.
Here is where Raven THINKS she is having her puppies:

Raven's hole under the steps, view one.

Raven's "den", view two.

That was yesterday, today it is covered in snow.

Hmmmm...mmm....mmm.m.m.m.m......

2005-03-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

7 am temp: 98.7

I've never had a girl's temperature go that low without it even going lower and whelping beginning. I REALLY REALLY don't think Raven will have these puppies until next week.

BUT. It is within the realm of possibility for it to be sooner. Today is only 53 days after the last breeding, but it is 59 days after the first breeding. Her mother had her puppies at 60 days after the first breeding.

We bought the piece of vinyl flooring to go under the whelping box yesterday. The plan was to build the whelping box and have it all set up by the weekend. I think I will make sure it is set up TODAY. Like as soon as I can get my husband to bring the pieces up from the basement.....

Just in case.

Raven's BIG Day

2005-03-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

7 am temp: 99.2
7 pm temp: 99.7

Raven's day started off pretty much like any other day. Up at 5:30, breakfast at 5:35, out at 5:45, in at 5:50 etc...

At around noon I realized she was missing.... I thought I had a good idea where she was and I was right.

She was in a hole in the yard. Not just any hole but the one she has picked out as The Spot where she thinks she's going to have her puppies.

WRONG!

I'll put up pictures of Raven's "den" tomorrow.

In the meantime here's how Raven spent her afternoon.

First she got a bath. That is her on the table at the dog wash at The Natural Pet Market in town.

Then she got a chiropractic adjustment....

Raven and Dr. Johnson.
Then she got an x-ray!

Raven on the x-ray table.

What did the x-ray show?

When the tech first put it up on the viewer she said "One. I see one." I'm thinking "One? ONE? She's gained EIGHT POUNDS. Oh. My. God. What is it, a 4 pound puppy??? How will she ever get it out?!?!?" Then the vet said he though he saw "Maybe two".

Becuase the x-ray was so light, they decided to take a second film.

Here it is :)

Raven's babies!!
I numbered the heads. And you can clearly see, even in this picture, two spines. In "real life" you can easily see 3 spines with a 4th being a good possibility. The vet said he was SURE there were 3 and almost positive there were 4 and quite possibly 5!!

My bet has been on 5 all along. My husband says 4.

Raven Has a Vet Appointment

2005-03-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

7 pm temp: 99.7

It would seem that, like her sister Aliy, Raven tends to have a lower-than-normal temperature as her normal.

Raven has a vet appointment scheduled for 7:10 tomorrow night to get an x-ray so we can count puppies! I will report back here as soon as I get home.

Raven's Temperature

2005-03-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

7 am temp: 99.6

Actually it's probably a little early. Poor Aliy endured having her temperature taken several times daily for almost 2 weeks. But... Raven's earliest due date is actually tomorrow.... so *I* will feel better if I start getting a base line now.

So what's the deal with taking her temperture? That is how I will have an idea of when the pups are due to arrive. A normal temperature for a dog is around 101-102 degrees. But every dog is different and so I need to establish what is "normal" for Raven. I'll do that over the next few days by taking her temperature several times during the day.

At somepoint in the next few weeks there will be a dramatic temperature drop. It may go as low as 96 degrees. Most dogs experience this temperature drop and it usually means pups are due within 24 hours. In some cases it may mean just a few hours! Sister Aliy's temp dropped 24 hours before the pups came, when GrandMa Kachina's temperature dropped I had puppies in less than 10 hours.

Aside from using the temperature drop as an indicator that pups are due soon, it's important to monitor so that you know if there is a potential problem. If the temperature drops and stays down for a long period of time and there are no signs of labor, it may be an indication that there is a problem and that a Cesarian Section may be needed, or at the very least, a trip to the vet for check up.

I'll be positng Ravens's temperature on the sidebar over to the right regularly.

New Stuff

2005-03-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

I added links in the sidebar to vertical pedigrees for Raven and Riggs.

When Is A Dog Not A Dog?

2005-03-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

Raven is glad she and her babies are Samoyeds not Greyhounds and that they live in Colorado not Kansas.

How stupid is this?

Very Active Babies

2005-03-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

When I posted the other night I said I thought maybe I felt a puppy rolling around inside Raven. But I was not 100% sure.

Then last night I checked again, and again I thought I felt something but still wasn't sure.

This morning for sure I felt a puppy rolling around and readjusting itself. HOW COOL IS THAT?????

Poor Raven - she really must wonder what is going on in there...

The Milk Bar Is Getting Ready For Customers!

2005-03-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

This evening I was checking to see if I could feel any puppies kicking around in Raven's tummy.... maybe I felt something or maybe it was wishful thinking.... but I did notice her milk has come in.

The Waiting Game....

2005-03-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Yup. She's still pregnant. Getting bigger and bigger every day.

Nothing to do now but wait.

In the meantime I created a new blog button for Raven:

And a button for the Raven-Cam, which will go live starting sometime the first week of April:

And I added links to pictures of Raven and Riggs to the sidebar over there on the right.

They look just like these only they are bigger:

Ch WhiteStar's Fjallraven Polar WS HIC

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

I've been working on cleaning up the nursery/my office the past few days, the whelping box gets built next week!

First Pictures

2005-03-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Yup. She's pregnant!

The picture is dark but the blob at the top is one of two pups that the vet saw for sure. When Aliy had her ultrasound done, they also saw two pups, she ended up with four beautiful girls.

The vet says right now the pups are about 3 centimeters long, about the size of a walnut. Hard to believe in just about a month they will be ready to be born.

Miss March

2005-03-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Raven is a pin-up girl!

Raven is the March Samoyed on the Browntrout Samoyed calender this year. Here's a really bad picture of the back of the calendar taken from the Browntrout site.

That's Raven, third picture over on the top row.

The photo was taken in Cortez, Colorado after Raven took her 14th championship point. The photographer was Kent Dannen.

And she is not the only WhiteStar sammie that is pictured this year... sharing the spotlight for August are Icer, his litter sister Nikki (owned by Kent and Donna Dannen) and their half sister Boom'r. This was taken in Durango Colorado the weekend Icer finished his championship. Again the photographer was Kent Dannen.

And now... Babe, Ilsa and I are off to Arizona for the big 5 day Scottsdale dog show. Raven already has an appointment to get ultrasounded the day after we get back!

Riggs' Pedigree

2005-02-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

I added a link on the side bar to Riggs' pedigree.

Raven is So Proud of Riggs

2005-02-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Raven wants everyone to know what good taste she has in boy-dogs!

This past Friday at the Denver Samoyed Association Specialty, Riggs picked up his first (of many we are guessing!) Best in Specialty Show Award!

Pictures of Raven

2005-02-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

Meet Raven

2005-02-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

Raven is an almost five year old Samoyed American Princess who we are hoping is expecting a litter of puppies in early to mid-April. Here are the facts:

Name: CH WhiteStar's Fjallraven Polar WS HIC
Age: She'll be 5 on March 16, 2005
Height: 20 inches
Weight: 39 lbs
OFA: Good
Cerf: Normal
Lineage: Polar Mist on Dad's side, Abakan and Tundra Winds on Mom's side

Raven ponders impending motherhood

Raven was bred to boy named Riggs. Here are his vitals:

Name: Ch T-Snow Star's Tak'n It Beyond
Age: He was 2 on November 18, 2004
Height: 23.5 inches
Weight: ??? about 62 lbs??
OFA: Good
CERF: Normal
Lineage; Polar Mist and Sanorka on Dad's side, T-Snow Star on Mom's side.

When Raven's sister Aliy had puppies last summer we created a blog to track their story. It was alot of fun, so here we are again!

As time progresses we'll even have a webcam with live pictures of the puppies. And if you're really lucky, you might even get to see them being born!

The Beginnings...

Raven comes in season.
Raven visits Riggs.
Two breedings between Raven and Riggs!
And one final breeding!