matabendiary

Diary of Mata and Ben's Litter

Click here for pedigree and clearances

Mata "Before" breeding

Mata @ 7wks (2 wks to go)

Mata at almost 8 wks

January 15, 2010: Mata is now in "season".

January 22, 2010: Progesterone test on Day 8 was 0.6 ng. It'll be a few days...

January 27, 2010: Progesterone test at 440pm came back at 6.4ng, indicating she has ovulated probably earlier that day. What great timing!

January 28, 2010: Mata & I made the drive to W. WA to meet up w/ Ben's owners for their "date". Later that day Mata was bred for the first time. She stayed there until Jan. 31 when I picked her up.

March 3, 2010: I measured a slight increase in Mata's girth-- it's been 5 wks from ovulation.

March 17, 2010: She is now measuring about 4" more at the last rib and 5.5" more at her waist-- @ 7 wks. The puppies are kicking! Mata is happy as a clam, still very active and enjoying 3 mile daily walks and swims.

March 26, 2010: We had to curtail our swims this week for the safety of the pups, but Mata remains a very happy girl, though a bit "belchy" every now and then (and so I guess I would be too, if I had a bunch of things kicking me constantly!!!). Five days to go roughly......

March 29, 2010 (written at ~10 am): Mata is pretty restless this morning. No temperature drop yet (still at 99F), but she refused to eat more than a couple bites. It may be a long night ahead. I'm guessing puppies will come a day early. (Added Mar 30): By noon, Mata's temperature dropped to 98.6F. Will it stay down? At 4pm, it was still at 98.6F, so yes, it looks like they are coming. In the meantime, I went about doing some things that needed to be done since she was just in "soft" labor. Imagine my surprise when at just 6pm, young Kiku seemed a little more excited than her normal self. I looked at Mata standing in her crate with a bubble (puppy) appearing!!!!! Out to the garage and into their crates the rest were wisked! Mata and I literally ran down to the basement, barely making it to the whelping box for the arrival of puppy #1--- a very big Black Girl weighing over 18 oz. Puppy #2 gave me a few gray hairs as Mata had a harder time. He came within the hour, and was 19 oz! The larger than expected pups continued to come, until finally the last girl came at ~940pm at a still hefty 15.5 oz--- and she was the smallest! My estimate of 7 pups, and even 8 toward the final days was obviously flawed as I wasn't aware of puppy size. All are doing great, nursed vigorously from the very start, and had already gained ~1 oz by morning, just 12 hrs after birth.

The final count is 3 Black Girls and 3 Black Boys!

Due to their size and strength, I will take them in for dew claw removal tomorrow. Here is the happy little family, just hours after birth (Boys are Red, White & Blue and Girls are Pink, Yellow & Purple):

March 31, 2010: I woke up feeling a lot more alive today. Amazing what a decent night's sleep will do. The pups had their dew claws removed today. For less than 2 days old, believe me, they were plenty strong! Glad to have done that today and not tomorrow. They were home and back at the milk bar within no time, and Mata was more than happy to get them back too! Weight gain remains great. Still have a few budding "singers" in the group....

April 3, 2010: We've been busy. On 4/1, I took the head/face shots of everyone (see a couple posted above). They are clones of one another so far! Structurally all look nice and uniform so far as well. I'm really pleased. I started the Early Neurological Stimulation program (aka Super Puppy) yesterday. They are a pretty uniform group of pups in their responses so far- no real struggles, just mild resistance to being laid on their backs or upside down, which is what I love to see. They are really growing!

April 6, 2010: Pups are 8 days old tonight and all but 2 have already doubled in weight--- a nice goal but did I mention the first 2 pups were already 2# by day 6, and another 2 joined them the next day? In other words, they are doing great! I am trying to squeeze a little work in this week, so will update as I can! ;)

April 9, 2010: Pups are 11 days old tonight. Weights range from a low (purple girl) of 2.33# to a high (pink girl) of 3.00#. Can you say, healthy appetites???!!!!

April 12, 2010: 2 wks old!!! Eyes began to open yesterday. Weights continue to break records here with the low (still high!) of 2.75# to 3.55#!!! At this rate, these pups will move up into the next bigger set of collars at least one week earlier than normal! Just take a look at the contrast in size the past 2 weeks!

April 15, 2010: The pups are 16 days old, and ranged in weights from 3.0 to 3.9# at last night's weigh in. Apparently a little overeating caught up to them yesterday as I saw some loose stools. A mixture of yogurt, BacPak plus (digestive enzyme/probiotic) and psyllium husks (fiber) seems to have helped a lot. It's common at this stage to see that. While giving them some this morning, I noticed a couple searching for the right place to potty-- one favorite corner where there is some exposed newspaper. I pulled a couple sheets out, and they all used it, so potty training has begun in earnest already, folks! Interestingly enough, almost to the day of Mata's last litter which was potty trained to the woody pellets by ~3 wks. This sure makes it easier on me since they have their own urges to potty now (don't need mom's stimulation). :)

April 19, 2010: 3 weeks old tonight, and ranging from 3.65 to 4.65# already! I added in the "potty tray" today (tray lined with woody potty pellets and covered w/ newspaper). As you'll see below, they are doing quite well for their age. Play time is getting longer and louder now but they sure sleep soundly afterward!

April 23, 2010: Pups have gained over a pound on the average over the past 4 days! The largest one weighed in at 6# already!!! I started supplementing them with gruel this week, and they dove right in, leaving very few leftovers for mama Mata. Just a few more days and they will likely be ready to move into the bigger, more exciting pen in the garage.

April 26, 2010: Puppies are 4 weeks old tonight!!! I moved them into their more spacious pen in the garage today and they were actually able to enjoy seeing some nice weather outside for awhile too with the garage door up. Much better, says White collar boy, who had discovered this week that he was strong enough to hoist himself over the doorway of the box (and onto a soft pile of blankets below) when it was open. And if I closed it, I paid dearly with his ear piercing screams! Nope, this is MUCH better. Today they were all dewormed again. Weights range from the smallest girl (purple) at 5.5 # to the biggest boy (red) at 7.0#. Here are some of the photos in their new home:

April 26, 2010: 4.5 weeks old and all have added 1-1.5# in the past 4 days! The biggest is now 8.5#, smallest is 6.5#. I added in their tunnel and removed their potty tray about a day after the move to the garage was completed. The pups have also ventured outside a couple times to torment the bigger dogs. Here are some photos taken this week:

Stay tuned! I'm in the process of a computer changeover, so if you don't see updates for a few days, that's why. Let's hope it all goes smoothly.

May 5, 2010: Survived the computer change over with just a few glitches, thanks to Cody, . :)

This week has been nuts as well with a much overdue interior painting job done and tree removal work to begin in my yard tomorrow (poplar wood, anyone?) on top of my paying job. The pups celebrated their 5th week with Neopar vaccines (parvo) on Monday. Weights were 9, 9, 9, 9, 8, and 7#! Gosh are they cute, and can they ever chew!

May 8, 2010: What else have we done this week? For one, the pups have chased around some duck wings and a dead pigeon and have had a great time. They have transitioned to the food I recommend through 12 - 14 mos (until rapid growth is complete)-- Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy. Mata continues to nurse at least 4 x a day (after every meal). And they con me into as much out of pen play time as I can fit into our day!

May 13, 2010: Almost 6.5 wks old! In a little over a week, pups will start to leave. Yesterday mama Mata said "Pups, it's high time you grow up-- I'm cutting you off!:..". LOL. And it was about that fast. I think Mata is ready to get back to running, jumping and swimming again. Now that I think about it, I am too. Did I mention they are really getting independent too? They quickly learned the front steps one day, both up and down directions. I need eyes in the back of my head now, as they sure cover the ground around here when I let them out. They are definitely going to be ready start a fun new life with their new families very soon.

May 16, 2010: Pups will be 7 wks old tomorrow. Today we tested them on live pigeons and they had a ball! After that, a friend helped me w/ "pretty dog" photos for my records. What a nice bunch. Then we all packed up for a 5 mile or so drive-- girls in one crate, boys in the other. I wanted to see if one group was quieter than the other-- that answer is no! ;) Tomorrow they will all get their first combination vaccine and on Tues, will go to the vet for their well check exams. On Thurs (5/20), we will take the big trip to Pasco for our eye (CERF) exams. Busy week!

Below are some photos of them having fun after my big tree project. They found gloves, empty water bottles, and a nice chunk of rope that the workers left behind, not to mention the big mountains of mulch that I'll need to knock down in the next week or so (so my hay swather can get into my field!!!).

May 18, 2010: We had vet well checks today-- and all went "well"! :) Dr. Sandy checked bites, hearts, boy parts, etc, and inserted microchips for me. The ride there was a bit loud, but better on the way home. Here's hoping the Thursday drive to Pasco for eye checks is somewhat quiet....

May 20, 2010: CERF exams all went well today, though it was another loud drive down to Pasco! Fortunately, the pups got to play for 1.5 hrs at a friend's house just prior to the appointment so we got the "ya ya's" out. there. Here were some photos of their fun at Julie's:

May 24, 2010: 8 weeks old!!!! The 3 boys (red, white & blue) have all left for their new homes now. Their new names are Riot, Jake and Ruger. It's just me and the girls now. Yellow girl will be staying here at WindyCanyon, and her name is Tango (aka WindyCanyon's SweeTango). Yes, the SweeTango is a new apple variety too. :) Puppy purple will be leaving on Thurs, and I'm still trying to figure out where puppy Pink will best be suited. She sure likes her birdies, and in fact, here is a short video of her retrieving her pigeon today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dPMfINfPt0

Here are a few photos of the pups taken this past week:

May 29, 2010: Puppy purple (no name yet) left on Thursday and Pink (now Jada) left on Friday -- I have an empty nest here! Well, almost. Still have Tango who is keeping me more than hopping... Should have named her Bunny for the Eveready Battery bunny. She just keeps going and going and going.... :) Tango had her first big girl outing today w/ Kiku and Envy. We all did an obedience/rally/agility get together in the Tri-Cities and had a bbq/potluck after. Great puppy socialization! She's not afraid of a thing.