Day 14 (2 weeks old)...

The puppies are 2 weeks old today! More ear canals are opening up and I have some lovers! Girl 1, Boy 6, Liver Boy 4, are especially liking my voice and cuddling. Puppies are gaining weight steadily and spotting is coming in. It is fun to see how they develop each and every day.

The Doviggy's at 14 days old....spotting is starting to come in.

I did get some head shots yesterday. You can see them on my website at: http://www.jlsdals.com/DoviggyWeek2.html

Day 12...

The Doviggy's are 12 days old today. They are strong and active and one of the girls likes to crawl up on top of Momma Figgy to sleep. That means it won't be too long and she will be trying to get out of the whelping box. :)

Ear canals are starting to open and the Patch boy heard me talking to him this morning! That is such a fun moment, when they become more aware that I am there! He put his head way up in the air and stretched his neck. Who or What is that? I do baby sweet talk and he gets excited and trys to find my voice. Too cute and sweet!

Here are a couple photos from this morning. Weighing and puppy stimulation session completed for today.

Momma Figgy is counting to nine.

Patch boy is listening to my voice!

Day 6...

The Nifty Nine!

Brotherly love...

Close up of head patch and others sleeping

Here are a few photos of the pups on Day 6.

They are all gaining weight well.

Boy 1 - 10 1/4 oz

Boy 2 - 11 oz

Girl 1 - 11 1/8 oz

Boy 3 - 12 oz

Girl 2 - 12 5/8 oz

Girl 3 - 12 3/4 oz

Boy 4 (Liver) - 14 1/4 oz

Boy 5 (Patch) - 11 7/8 oz

Boy 6 - 11 3/8 oz

Boy #1 is the smallest at this time so I am making sure to place him on a teat right after feeding Figgy when the milk comes in again. I do have replacement milk and a puppy nursing bottle, but he prefers the real thing of course. My small attention to detail has paid off and Boy 1 is now 14 7/8 oz on Friday! This is just one of the reasons why it is important for a breeder to hand raise puppies in the home, weigh them daily, and watch and care for them with extra loving care.

Puppy Stimulation exercises have begun!
http://breedingbetterdogs.com/pdfFiles/articles/early_neurological_stimulation_en.pdf

Surprise!

I was expecting 5-6 puppies and not until the 19th. Surprise! NINE puppies were born on October 16, 2014 with the first one arriving at 9:20 p.m. and the last one at 1:08 a.m. on the 17th. Good girl Figgy to have nine puppies in under 4 hours with no problems at all. All healthy, strong and ready to nurse.
We have 6 boys (1 Liver, 1 Black patch) and 3 Black Girls.
Also surprised there is only one liver! I usually have lots of liver, even though it is a recessive gene. Oh well... But of course I am drawn like a magnet to that beautiful brown nose! LOL A favorite already... ha ha.

I am also keeping my eye on Boy #2. He could just be special. In over 20 years I have never had a puppy be only halfway born and start to nurse on a back teat! I had to call my mother in to see. No one will believe this. His head had just come out and Figgy had just barely clean his head of the sac and he latched on and started to nurse! His rear legs were even not born yet. He was not all cleaned off yet. Umbilical cord still attached. It is amazing how we continue to see new things all the time, no matter how long we have been doing  things. Just keep your eyes open and enjoy the ride! It was so unusual that I did have to get a photo, but it turned out to be a fuzzy one in my haste.

Here are all nine newborn pups in the warming basket while I wipe down and change blankets before getting them all settled back in.

You can see the small head patch on the one pup bottom center. 

Puppies birth weights:
Boy 1 - 8 1/4 oz
Boy 2 - 8 1/4 oz
Girl 1 - 9 1/4 oz
Boy 3 - 12 oz
Girl 2 - 10 oz
Girl 3 - 10 3/4 oz
Boy 4 (Liver!) - 10 1/4 oz
Boy 5 (Patch) - 9 3/8 oz
Boy 6 - 10 1/8 oz

All strong, active, and strong suckers (nursing well)... LOL.

Playing Catch up!

Well here the pups are now 9 days old and I am just starting their puppy blog! First let me introduce the parents...

SanJude's Lonesome Dove of Pal and Ch JLS Frecked Fig Bar None (L)

Dove and Figgy thus the "Doviggy" litter name (pronounced Dov-viggy).

Dove

Figgy

We feel these two compliment each other well and this outcross pedigree is a good one, combining many top winners and producers from the past as well as the past decade. Good temperaments, good health, and hopefully some nice show dogs to carry on the line and some wonderful home companions that we are also very proud of.

Dove is a young dog that is pointed and has started his show career. His sire is a nice sound dog that didn't like to show, but he should have finished. He had a Best in Sweeps win under breeder judge Patrick Jones, and is pointed out, but with the economy and majors hard to find the owners decided not to finish his Championship. Not all dogs have to finished to be included in a breeding program. It is desirable, but a Championship is only a certificate, a pedigree is a legacy. We are confident that Dove will become a Champion. He is pretty as well as showy, happy, and outgoing!

Figgy is our beautiful Newt x Rachel daughter that has proven herself as a producer and we look forward to seeing what she produces with Dove. If you want to see more about Figgy go to her page http://www.jlsdals.com/Figgy.html

Figgy has her CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) certificate that shows she has the chosen health testing done for a Dalmatian (tests chosen by the National breed club). And she passed all health tests: BAER Bilateral, OFA Excellent, CERF Normal - ISD clear. Dove's CHIC is coming pending PennHIP being submitted to OFA. He is BAER Bilateral, Thyroid Normal, PennHIP.

For more litter information go to my web site: http://www.jlsdals.com/DoviggyLitter.html