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Hey future puppy parents!  Just want you to know that I’m taking good care of these little guys and gals, and spoiling the heck out of ’em while I have the chance!

I finally captured some video to share with you.  Truthfully, I will probably end up watching this thing over and over.  They are so stinkin’ cute!  Their personalities are just starting to come out.  I’ve got a couple of little guys that have learned to growl already, and it is hilarious to see such a tiny little spud of a dog put on his ferociousness!

Hope you enjoy.

Almost time to graduate from the whelping room to the puppy playpen!  We’ve been camped out in “the whelping room” for 3 weeks.  It’s actually a spare bedroom that I use as my exercise room which is then converted to an under-water themed play and sleep room when my granddaughters visit.  Now it’s a whelping room.   I started sleeping up there the week before Zoey’s due date and have been tucked away up there with her since.

This being Miss Zoey’s first litter she’s been extremely protective.  Our poor cat can’t even get near the stairs, and poor Miss Jackie – Zoey’s BFF- made the mistake of putting her paws on the baby gate just to have a peak into the whelping room.  Zoey charged and slammed into the gate scaring poor Miss Jackie (and us) half to death.

But that was more than a week ago and she’s starting to calm down a bit now.  She made a big stride today when she let our friend Jared come into the bedroom and sit by the whelping box.  She loves Jared, but even for him it was a slow progression from the bottom of the stairs to the top and then eventually into the whelping room – lots of reassurance along the way.   We sat and talked for almost an hour before Zoey finally decided he was trustworthy enough that she could nap or leave the room with him there.

We’ll see how it goes over the next few days, but I’ve got the new play area set up downstairs in our entryway just waiting for some puppy chaos.

Oh!  And, as promised, I took videos!  And guess what?  My camcorder is so old (12 years) that there seems to be no possible way to transfer the video to the PC.  No support beyond Windows 8.  Used up most of my Saturday morning figuring that out and trying every work-around I could think of.  By Saturday afternoon, in a huff, I went and bought a new camcorder.  I WILL have videos of the pups this week.

Like any good project manager, I made meticulous plans around the decision and timing to breed Zoey.  The project I’m running at work was scheduled to be complete on June 15th – the same date Zoey was due to have pups.  Perfect timing.  Nothing would be left to do at work but take bows and accept praise for a job well done while I devoted my considerable amount of newly acquired free time to new puppies.  Buuuut… (you know where this is going)  The project ran over – and not by a little.  So much for best-laid plans.

I’m back in the office this week trying to transform chaos into order.  And while everyone is running with their hair on fire, I have a secret weapon that keeps a smile on my face.  I have a webcam – and it has a live feed of 9 beautiful little squeakers and their mama.  I can almost smell the puppies.

Yesterday, several of them got up on their wobbly hind legs and took a few all-four-feet-on-the-ground steps. When I got home I discovered that a couple of them had opened their eyes too.  I was star-struck as I gazed at them.

I doubt they felt the same way staring back at my giant face as I gushed over their accomplishments.  I plan to capture some video this weekend and post it to the website.

 

First off, know this: the names I call the puppies today need not follow them to their forever-homes.  In fact, when they leave my home they’re likely to think their name is “Don’t Chew That,” “No Bark!,” or “Who Pooped Over Here?”

That said, I will tell you that I’m calling each of the puppies by a name associated with Flag Day since that’s when they were born.  So, we have: Banner, Bennington, Wilson, Renner, Quincy, Fremont, Glory, Gilly, and Bear.

Okay, so Bear is a little different.  …The Bear Flag Revolt occurred the same date as National Flag Day (June 14th), and calling him “Bear” is an affirmation of my hometown history.  Also, this little guy is a bear when it comes to muscling his way in to get a teet.  He wasn’t the first born, but he is the biggest.  Maybe I’m letting my imagination run wild and reading too much into his demeanor, but I’m telling you this little guy has a calm, top-of-the-food-chain confidence about him.  He pushes his brothers and sisters off the teet with no real malice intended – just a slow, methodical “sorry, but you’ll have to get out of my way” approach.  And he sleeps like he’s in hibernation!  The other pups squirm and whine when I pick them up to weigh them, but Bear just yawns and indulges me with his patience while I go through my ritual.

Gilly?  Namesake for Mary Pickersgill, maker of the Star Spangled Banner flag, and Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, that tried to get the city to call June 14th ‘Flag Day.’ Resolutions by women were not granted much notice, however, and it wasn’t until 1937, that Pennsylvania became the first state to establish Flag Day and is today the only state that recognizes it as a legal holiday.

“Glory” is kind of obvious.

Renner is short for Rennerdale.  You’ll have to look it up if you’re curious how it fits with Flag Day.  Same for Quincy.  Bennington (Benny) is easy if you’re up on your flag history.  And Wilson was our President that proclaimed Flag Day.  …though I’m still having trouble NOT hearing Tom Hanks cry for Wilson in my mind.

Fremont is interesting because his namesake was prominent both in national flags and the Bear Flag Revolt.  I specifically attached the name Fremont to the pup that seems to do the most exploring of the whelping box.  Granted, he’s only 3 days old and not a lot of exploring can be done, but let’s see if over time his early appetite for adventure holds true.

All are doing well.  They are well cared for by super-mama Zoey – who would have killed a possum last night had I not made her drop him, and tonight considered taking the head off our beloved cat when he made the mistake of jumping the baby gate to join us in the whelping room.  As with all jobs, she takes this mama job seriously!

Wow, let me set the scene for you:

I’m working from home after a long night of very little rest. Zoey was panting, pacing, and nesting all night long and neither of us got much sleep. I knew the puppies were imminent. I had just hung up from one conference call and was two minutes into the next one when BOOM, her plug is blown (water broke). Nevermind that she happened to be standing on the one tiny part of the floor that I DIDN’T have covered up.

I wasn’t concerned because I had arranged for professional, been-there-done-that-a-bunch-whelping-midwife help coming to assist. But noooo, Zoey didn’t wait for reinforcements. Number one pup was on it’s way, and I mean NOW. I used the few minutes available to cancel and reschedule all my workday events and the rest of the day and into the evening we were whelping pups.

Nine of ’em folks! Nine beautiful, squeaky little wiggleworms. Seven boys, two girls.  All nice, healthy weights – and gaining quickly.

And my girl Zoey? I just love her to pieces! She’s strong willed and independent (one of those Schnauzer traits I love) and yet the trust she places in me is so evident and heart-warming. This was her first litter and she was clearly scared when the first pup was coming. She pressed her head into my chest and leaned against my body as she pushed that first pup out. It was really sweet. A Kodak moment that only she and I captured in memory. …well, that may not be completely true. I had turned on the video camera and set it inside the whelping box. If I captured anything worthwhile I’ll post it for y’all once I get rested up and caught up on work stuff. In the meantime, this pic sums up how we both felt at the end of the day:

Today is Zoey’s first possible due date.  She is so huge!  And clearly not comfortable.

Tick, tock, tick, tock; we’re just waiting for the big moment.  It seems like there must be 10 in there!

I had someone ask me if any nesting behavior had started.  I told her, “Oh yes!  It’s extreme!  You should see how much effort and expense I’ve put into the nursery!”  She laughed and said, “I meant the dog.”

Seriously, I even added a webcam …with sound …for when I have to go back to the office.

We’re so excited about the forthcoming litter of puppies!  They are due around 6/15/18.  Can’t wait! …and yet, so much to do before Miss Zoey whelps.