It's official--we have butterballs!

Puppies have doubled their weight in just 5 days! Even when she isn't feeding them, Whimsey keeps close watch over her babies.

A pig rail? I thought these were puppies!

In case you are wondering about the big pvc pipe around the perimeter of the whelping box--it's called a "pig rail" and is for the safety of the puppies. (These rails originated on farms to protect piglets, but I think it should be called a "puppy rail!")

As you can see in the photo below, puppies often gravitate to the outer edges of the box and wedge themselves down in a corner. For these first few weeks, mama dog rarely leaves the box--she eats and sleeps right there with her puppies. I even have to coax the mama outside long enough to go potty.  Since the mama is sleeping in the box with her babies all around her, she often leans back against the walls and falls deeply asleep as she recovers from her labor and delivery. The rail stops her from crushing or smothering a baby that has burrowed in along the edge. We'll remove the rails when the puppies are about three weeks old--they'll be strong enough by then to raise a ruckus if they get trapped.

By the way--can you see those round bellies on these babies? When I weighed them this morning, they have all gained FOUR OUNCES! since birth. It's typical for puppies to double their weight in the first week--if these babies keep up this trend, they'll exceed that! Whimsey is feeding them cream--and with only four puppies, there is lots to go around!

Who's Top Dog?

It's all about puppy piles! Puppies are in constant motion as they jockey for position in the pile--elapsed time for all the photos below was less than five minutes. Their favorite pile, though, is snuggled in with their mama. Everyone is doing great--they are gaining about an ounce a day!

Welcome to the world!

Whimsey had four beautiful puppies today. Purple and Pink girls tried to come at the same time, so mama had to have a c-section, but everyone is home now and doing fantastic. Whimsey got right to work cleaning and feeding her babies as soon as we gave them to her when we got home. The amazing thing is they all weighed exactly 8.6 ounces! I've never had that happen before.

Here's the line-up left to right: Purple girl, Green girl, Blue boy, Pink girl.

Chickens and Dogs Can Happily Co-exist!

It's time to clip flight feathers--two of the chickens keep flying over their fence into the yard! Rose and the chickens are very interested in each other, but they share a healthy respect.

Lady in Waiting

Whimsey has been spending a lot of time in the whelping box today. She is digging up the bedding in the corners and nesting. Tonight she laid on my lap dozing for over an hour while I felt her puppies bouncing around in her belly. Her temperature is down to 99--another good sign she is moving closer to delivering her puppies. I never tire of watching this process unfold--it is miraculous and amazing.

Drum roll for the puppy count......

We had Whimsey's puppy count xray done today--four puppies! Puppies are due by this weekend. The exact hour is up to Mother Nature--she usually picks the middle of the night :(

We're ready any time, though--belly is all shaved, whelping box is set up--we're on puppy watch!