Toys, Teeth and TROUBLE!!

Our babies are now one month old!

L to R - Milo, Aina, Ahi, Lewa and Nalu

They have molars that have erupted and are chewing on everything especially fingers. At this point it doesn't hurt but I decided it's time for a chew. A tendon twist is something they can work at to help with the teething as long as momma doesn't try taking it away for herself.

Mom is still nursing them several times a day, but the babies are eating solid food twice a day - morning and night. A couple of them are quick to finish their dinner plate while Nalu and Aina tend to 'enjoy' their meals a bit more.  Their weights at one month are:

	Birth Wt	At 4 wks	% of Gain
Milo	272	1247	358.5%
Nalu	193	861	346.1%
Lewa	253	1163	359.7%
Aina	224	1045	366.5%
Ahi	271	1177	334.3%

I'm still amazed that Aina continues to be the pup that is growing the most overall and Ahi, the least. You certainly can't tell by looking at them. I'm very pleased that Nalu continues to keep up with the rest of the pack and don't let her smaller size fool you. She is just as rough and tumble as the others!

Speaking of 'trouble' it has been quite the experience trying to get them to stand long enough for their month old pictures. These little ones seem to have two speeds - fast asleep or flat out running. We have started bringing them out of their living space and letting them play in the main area, but they are so fast and I haven't baby proofed the rest of the living room yet. The next week will be challenging!!

Spenser and Milo meet for the first time

Here they are at one month.

Milo

Nalu

Lewa

Aina

Ahi

New foods, new location and new friends

Everyday brings changes....

Thursday evening was the beginning of the babies 'tasting' mom's food with Milo and Lewa leading the pack. I don't want to introduce food too soon and upset their tiny tummies but with the rate these little ones are growing, it's definitely time.

Milo

Nalu

I started with Wellness pure Chicken mixed with a small amount of puppy formula and fed for the first time Saturday morning. Everyone really enjoyed their taste of the solid food except Aina, but by the evening meal they all were looking for more. Only a teaspoon twice a day for a couple of days that we'll increase over the next week both in amount per meal and number of meals per day.  In about a weeks time, we'll start introducing baby kibble. They are growing so fast........

Lewa

Aina

Ahi

On Saturday we setup the living room pen area with puckboard to protect the carpet and an ex-pen to keep puppies safe from getting lost under furniture or interacting with the other dogs. This allows us to get the puppies used to all the noises of family living and more social time with all of us. Their bedroom is still setup for them to go back to every night and when we are at work.

The new space in the living room

 Jenga loves being in the living room with us and having the babies in the living room has made her very happy. The puppies seem to have accepted the change of location totally in stride. The neurological training is becoming very evident. 

The puppies are using the piddle pads regularly but that's because we have the floors in both areas completely covered. Mom still does her part to keep them clean but mostly when nursing so we are changing the pads several times a day. That's okay as I believe the extra effort into cleanliness is vital to long term house training success.

And finally the new friends. Easter weekend has brought together our extended families and we have had lots of company to introduce the puppies to. We are so impressed at how wonderfully behaved the puppies have been and the patience that Jenga has shown continuing her care as the excellent mother she is. The other dogs are curious to see the new additions more closely.  Kayleigh came on Saturday to spend some quality snuggle time and some of the adopting families have also come for their first introduction to the puppies. We are thrilled to be able to bring the adopting families into the development of the babies and start the bonding process.

An exciting time for all of us!!

I KNOW You!

Today celebrates the puppies birthday of 3 whole weeks. I can't believe how quickly time is passing and how fast they develop.

L-R: Milo, Nalu, Lewa, Aina, Ahi (in birth order)

Our weights at 3 weeks are now:

	Birth Wt	At 3 wks	% of Gain
Milo	272	960	252.9%
Nalu	193	665	244.6%
Lewa	253	879	247.4%
Aina	224	799	256.7%
Ahi	271	908	235.1%

Since I work during the day I spend my evenings with the puppies and that's when I notice their new skills. Over the last 24 hours, the puppies have 'discovered' their siblings. Chewing on legs, playing 'King of the Hill', growling and play fighting has all started. :-)   I've even seen one puppy tasting Mom's food! I'm thinking it's time to get the web-cam setup for some live streaming. Now to find the time.....hehe

Not only are they playing with each other, but they play with us. When one of us climbs into the babies room, they all wake up and wobble run to us with tails just a-waggin'.  Our fingers make great chews if we allow but I prefer to encourage the teething toys because it won't be long before those baby teeth erupt. I like my fingers as they are    :-)

Then it's a big stretch as they all try to fall asleep in our laps. Of course, who are we to say no to five little ones fast asleep in arms and laps? Besides.....we can't move!  :-)

Jenga is extending her time away from babies and went 20 full minutes with the rest of the family enjoying the sunshine outside yesterday.  When inside, Raine is spending most of her time nose pressed against the baby gate in the doorway trying to catch a glance and I KNOW she'd be happy to puppy sit for Jenga.

When I go into the baby room to weigh puppies, feed Jenga or keep their living space clean, I have been bringing Raine into the baby room and setting her on the guest bed. The ex-pen prevents Raine from touching the babies but gives her full view. This will assist Jenga to get more comfortable with the other dogs near her babies. She appears to have no concerns so we hope to setup the baby space in the living room very soon.
Today's pictures are taken with common household items so you can get a better idea of the puppies sizes. Enjoy!!

Milo

Nalu

Lewa (and my camera case)

Aina

Ahi

They're On The Move

It has been a busy few days at our house. I did take some pictures and video of the fur babies when they were two weeks old, just didn't manage to get them posted until today. On the side bar to the right is their 'posed' picture....this is what happens within a few seconds.....

I brought our largest crate into the baby room on Wednesday mostly for Jenga to have a place to sleep now that's she not with the babies 24/7. It worked great until the babies decided that they could crawl out of their box and into the crate where mom was and the two most often found in the crate? Milo and Lewa!  On the plus side, the pups are starting their crate training....   :-)

They prefer the crate to their whelping box.....

Today's (April 17th) weights are:

Birth Current % of Gain Milo 272 853 213.6 Nalu 193 604 213 Lewa 253 803 217.4 Aina 224 720 221.4 Ahi 271 807 197.8

We were very surprised to see that Aina has gained the most weight overall and Ahi, the least but glad to see that everyone is fairly consistent with their personal overall gains.

Another milestone is the puppies are walking to the 'paper' to piddle. At this point we are changing the piddle pad daily as Jenga still prefers to clean the puppies herself, but they are becoming more and more independent.

We have had to place inserts into the whelping box to keep the puppies inside especially since they still get easily chilled if they aren't snuggled to each other or near the heating pad in the cool of the night. I also still turn the heating lamp on occasionally as our Alberta weather continues to ignore the requests of spring. When the puppies get warm, the black puppies go to a corner and out of the heat but Nalu and Ahi expose their bellies for a suntan.

Kayleigh had no school on Friday so asked to come and spent some time with the babies. She brought treats for Jenga to ensure that she was comfortable with Kayleigh spending time with the pups. It worked!! After helping me weigh them do the neurological tests on each of the pups, she spent some quality time just snuggling. The puppies obviously really enjoyed the time with Kayleigh as they now recognize human voices and come 'running' for snuggles. The only problem now is we find it's hard to get much done around the house as we all want to spend quality time with a puppy quietly sleeping in our laps. We're turning all these pups into lap dogs :-)

We are noticing a few more traits with each pup and look forward to their forever changing personalities. The pictures I've posted today have tried to capture some of those personalities.

This week Lewa tends to be the first to come visit when we step into the baby room, and she wants up! That is when she's not ruling the roost....

Lewa - the Queen of the Crate

 Milo LOVES his belly rubs and will lay on his back in your lap for long periods.

Milo - put him on his back and he falls asleep during a belly rub

Ahi loves to lay with people and yawns, and yawns, and yawns....he reminds me of a lion :D   He also tends to have his tongue out more than the others....hehe

Ahi - hear me roar.....I mean....yawn................

Aina loves having behind her ears rubbed and totally relaxes. She quite loves being with people but isn't pushy like some of the others - not mentioning any names Lewa or Milo. Aina is often found napping in a corner and loves a 'pillow'.

Aina - hanging with her human

Nalu barks at the bigger siblings when she wants to spend time with HER humans and is so comfortable napping supported just by two hands. Her face reminds me of a Golden Retriever at this time. Nalu also is quieter like Aina and is Kayleigh's favorite........this week :-)

Nalu - So sweet

They truly are so funny!!  I hope this short video brings smiles to your face as it does to ours!

A Whole New World!!

Came home at noon today and all the babies eyes are open. See!!
 

Aina - quiet and sweet

Lewa - a wonderful girl

Milo - wouldn't stay still so he's a bit fuzzy :-)

Nalu - such a pretty girl

Ahi - a handful :-)

While my daughter was helping me clip nails, Milo was giving her kisses.

Milo & Michelle

 By late afternoon the puppies were celebrating their new found skills! They were so funny I had to video tape them for you.

Barking, walking, sitting....these little ones have discovered a whole new world. I have had to use an insert to prevent the puppies from crawling out of the bed every few minutes....  :-)  The fun is just beginning!!

Puppy Development - The Transitional Stage

Basically there are 7 stages in the development of a puppy
The first is known as the NEONATAL STAGE which covers birth to two weeks. During this time the puppies are completely dependent on mom for food and care, such as keeping themselves clean. The senses of touch and taste are present at birth.

The next stage is the TRANSITIONAL STAGE covering the Two to Four Weeks period. During this time the puppies become aware of and interact with their littermates as well as their mother. Their eyes open and their sight is well developed by five weeks. The senses of hearing and smell are developing; their baby teeth start emerging. During this stage, puppies begin to walk, bark and wag their tails. Weaning from the mother also begins during this phase. At around three weeks, puppies should be started on solid food.

We are quickly approaching the two week point for the puppies and the Transitional stage. Our puppies have started following mom's scent which on occasion finds them climbing out of their whelping box. They are also very aware of when she steps into the box for feeding and are raising themselves to start nursing before she even settles into a more comfortable laying position. I have also noticed that some of the puppies are starting to smell and familiarize themselves with their littermates. I have heard some of the puppies growl as well as truly enjoy a good belly rub.

Milo - "It feels so good!"

But our most exciting news is Aina's eyes have opened! The only other puppy that has one eye cracked is Ahi...but it won't be long!!

Aina seeing her world today for the first time...

Here are their weights as of today:
Milo -      628 grams (parents give your youngsters a pound of butter to hold for comparison)
Nalu -     479 grams
Lewa -    622 grams
Aina -     553 grams
Ahi -       650 grams and continues to be the leader

We are looking forward to the next week as the babies get to see us and start giving kisses. There's nothing quite like 'baby breath' - I LOVE IT!!

At Nine Days Old

It seems like the last two days the puppies have grown so much and I see them several times a day. A few other really interesting things are starting to happen. Lewa has started to support her own weight and is rock-walking. I also expect she'll be the first to open her eyes either Tuesday or Wednesday of the coming week. Any takers???

Today was also the day I felt that I'm going to have to change the container that I weigh the puppies in as they have outgrown it. Then I thought, how cool it would be to have a side by side comparison of each puppy - the first taken within 12 hours at birth compared to another picture taken today at noon during their scheduled weigh in. So....can you see the differences?

Milo

Nalu

Lewa - she's actually standing in recent weigh-in picture!

Aina

Ahi

Mom is much less anxious and is no longer trying to take babies away from us when we go in to handle them. This means we can snuggle even more and the babies are loving that!! A couple of weeks and we should be able to invite forever families to come meet the puppies.

We have also noticed that the tan on the black puppies is starting to show silver hairs. This is very typical as Havanese carry a silvering gene. Basically this means a sable puppy generally looses the tan to a silver and the black body coat will have silver hair dispersed throughout. Here is a picture of an adult Havanese who was black and tan at birth. Personally, I find the black and silver very striking!

'Poppy'

Poppy is from Pixc Havanese and has the same sire as our puppies - Cayo the Cuban male. The dam is a Havana Silk type and a second cousin to our own Jenga. It's because of Poppy and her litter mates that I truly wanted to breed Jenga to Cayo. The puppies are stunning and exceed breed standards,and are all healthy without the genetic health problems plaguing the breed.

I know pictures just aren't the same as 'being' with them, so hopefully this short video will help. Enjoy!!

We're celebrating our one week birthdays

Today marks our celebration of 7 full days in the world. Such lovely puppies. You can really see the color difference between Nalu who is sandy brown and Ahi who is red gold.  Of the black & tan puppies, only Aina has her back to us. A very content litter.

We are one week old today!!

In the last 24 hours we are able to snuggle with them and they are enjoying their time in our hands. When I pick one up it doesn't take long for it to relax as I stroke it. Guess all those belly rubs to Jenga are remembered by the little ones.
This has also shown to make the tests starting to go more smoothly. The puppies rarely fussed today except when we did the head down test. Everyone either raised their heads in order to right themselves or kicked with their legs in order to correct their position. I have not yet started putting the puppies on a cool damp cloth as they still require a more consistent temperature regulation.
Today was a big day in another area as well as I clipped the front feet nails for the first time. Everyone did so well.
Here are their weights today, compared to their birth weights and for interest sake, their rate of gain. Remember we weigh the puppies in grams.

Puppy	Birth Wt.	At 1 Wk	% of Gain
Milo	272	440	62%
Nalu	193	338	75%
Lewa	253	426	68%
Aina	224	375	67%
Ahi	271	462	70%

A big surprise that Nalu has gained the most overall, but nice to see an even gain between them all. Only on more week and we'll starting seeing the baby steel blue eyes starting to open.

Announcing our temporary names

I mentioned earlier that I was waiting for someone special who I had asked to name the puppies. I would like to introduce you to Kayleigh, a young lady who adopted a Seda Havanese puppy just about two years ago. I have gotten to know Kayleigh, her mom Kim, father Brad, and brother Sean over the past few years and consider them fabulous people and wonderful friends.

Kayleigh meeting the puppies

So a little background on how the puppies got their names. On March 19th, Kayleigh and her family brought Arcus to us to puppy sit for 2 weeks while they vacationed in Hawaii. Kayleigh spent lots of her vacation time talking with the Hawaiian people trying to find meaningful names for these special puppies that she saw through the blog along with Kim.
Each of these babies has a Hawaiian name with a meaning carefully selected specifically for that puppy. Kayleigh , for this I thank you. Not only did Kayleigh come up with the theme and temporary name for each puppy, but Kayleigh and Kim brought back collars that will go home with each puppy. I have placed each 'lei' on the puppy for their introduction.

May I present 

'The Elements' in Hawaiian tradition

Puppy #1 - Milo

Since Milo was the first puppy born, it is only fitting that he represents 'living things' which is what his name means. Also the Milo is a tree found on the islands which bears dark nuts like the dark puppy. As Kim explained "a fun tree that likes to THROW it's hard ass nuts at unsuspecting victims trying to enjoy mai tais below". I must share that as I was trying to take Milo's picture he attempted to growl in a way that only babies do. I had another puppy from a previous litter very similar at that early age - my own and very special Cane.

Puppy #2 - Nalu (Element of Water)

This puppy has a sandy colored coat that brought to Kayleigh's mind the sandy beaches therefore she is to  represent the Element of Water. Nalu (pronunced NAY-loo) means big waves like a Tsunami. This pup surprised us with her quick delivery within minutes of Milo and was the only pup born head first.

Puppy #3 - Lewa (Element of Air)

With all four feet tipped with white, Kayleigh felt this little girl could be walking on the clouds and therefore is best to represent the Element of Air. Lewa (pronounced LEE-wa) means air and she wears the pink lei.

Puppy #4 - Aina (Element of Earth)

This little girl doesn't have white on her front feet and very little on her back feet so she is rooted to the ground, unlike her cloud-walking sister. Her name means Land or Green and represents the Element of Earth. She is Aina (pronounced AYE-na).

Puppy #5 - Ahi (Element of Fire)

Lava created the islands of Hawaii. Because of the color of this boy and how big and strong he is, this puppy will represent the Element of Fire. His name is Ahi (pronounced AYE-hi) which means Fire. Just as hiking the mile trek across the Haleman'uma'u Crater, this puppy also left Kayleigh in awe. He instantly relaxed while in her hands and slept.

To Kayleigh, Kim, Brad and Sean.........Thank you!

Our training has started.

Wow! It's amazing how quickly these little ones are gaining in weight and strength. Jenga is doing such an incredible good job being a mom that the puppies rarely fuss. She isn't laying with them 24/7 anymore but lays outside the whelping box only a few short steps away.


So with that information their weights today were:
Puppy #1 - Black & tan male - 379 grams
Puppy #2 - Tan/gold female - 279 grams
Puppy #3 - Black & tan female with white feet - 354 grams
Puppy #4 - Black & tan female no white feet - 312 grams
Puppy #5 - Red/Gold male - 390 grams

The girls - note their pigmentation is starting to come in.

Our littlest girl

The boys

I think this big boy is going to be a 'chocolate'!!

I had to do group pictures as the pups weren't comfortable being by themselves and I didn't want to upset the puppies or Mom.

So what kind of training does a person do with 5 day old puppies? When I raised Tennessee Walking Horses, I did 'Imprinting' which is a desensitization that led to sensitivity training. I loved the results so much I learned about the Neurological Stimulation Program for puppies which basically is the same but for canines. To learn more about the benefits of this program check out the link at http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/articles/early_neurological_stimulation_en.php.

Today was the first day of the stimulation but I also believe in not stressing a newborn and creating a problem so at this point I'm only doing the first four out of the five activities. I perform the tactical stimulation, head held erect, head pointed down, and supine position. I'll hold off on the thermal stimulation until the puppies are better able to regulate their temperature.

We are tracking the results and will share at a later date.