And we are off!

If you have been watching the cam you may have noticed how mobile the little brood is getting.  They are quite wobbly but they are "walking."  They can take steps and get across the whelping box pretty quickly!  It's amazing for being only 9 days old.  Also, a few of the puppies eyes are just starting to open.  Blue boy's are open just at the inner corners.  Even when their eyes fully open, they won't have usable vision until 18-21 days.  Ears should start opening soon too.  It's amazing how quickly they develop.  I took this video about 5 minutes ago. 

Pictures thanks to technology

John went out and bought me a 30 ft ethernet cable that stretches from the office into the guest room where I am staying with the puppies.  Now I shouldn't have to fight with the faulty wireless.  The webcam should be operational during the day. 

http://www.blogtv.com/people/TifariRidgebacks

One week old!

Happy birthday babies!  Since some were actually born on Jan 21, they started partying hard last night and it carried over into this morning.  They are zonked out now.  Confetti everywhere, milk mustaches galore! Wow, what a rager!

This shows their weight changes over the week, birth and this morning. 
Yellow: 17.1 oz to 34.0 oz
Green: 17.9 oz to 31.9 oz
Blue: 19.5 oz to 29.1 oz
Purple: 17.7 oz to 33.8 oz
White: 17.9 oz to 30.7 oz
Black: 21.0 oz to 35.4 oz
Red: 18.1 oz to 34.4 oz
Orange: 19.6 oz to 32.9 oz

MMM ... that's some good milk!

Puppies are full of cute noises.  I have lots of nicknames ... Pac Man (sounds like the noise when pac man gets hit by a ghost), Chewbacca (yep, star wars), pig, and just plain aaaahhhhhh! As demonstrated by Mr. Red in the video below:

Everyone is doing great.  Puppies are enjoying the milk bar and Rylee is enjoying her 7 cups of food plus a can of wet food a day, in addition to chicken, cottage cheese and veggie snacks. 
I finally managed to get some individual shots  last night.  Look how big already!!

No ridge shot, well, cause he is Mr. Slick.  I can post one the next time though just to show off his "smooth" side! Haha, good one. 

http://www.tifarirr.com/gallery/v/Rylee+x+Dallas+litter/

Check the gallery for more pictures and drumroll please, I think I finally got a webcam server that works.  I spent all day downloading programs to no avail.  I finally found a decent one but it is spotty thanks to my wireless upstairs.  The port in the whelping room is for video only or some technological thing like that.  We are going to work on that this weekend so the cam is more solid with a hard line but at least you can hopefully get a few minutes here and there until then ... I just might have to keep refreshing and reloading, sigh. 

http://www.blogtv.com/people/TifariRidgebacks

A gift for Rylee

Rylee received a gift yesterday.  A box was left on our doorstep.  The Heins family sent Rylee a lovely bunch of two dozen roses and a box of chocolates.  I am eating the chocolates on Rylee's behalf ;) She said I could! A sweet note also accompanied the package.  Thank you Matt, Judy, Patrick, Ali, Grayson and Woody!

After the initial viewing, I placed the roses on our counter for safe keeping :)

Whelping box service!

Also, the puppies went into the vet today for dew claw removal.  Poor babies!  The vet said they look amazing and very robust!

Day 3

Momma Rylee is passed out right now and I think I will follow her lead soon!
Puppies are doing great, gaining weight like pros.  All are up by at least 2 oz from yesterday.  Here they are doing what they do best!

Rylee is doing much better after that scare yesterday.  She is eating, drinking, walking around like normal and her temperatures have remained normal as well. 
The puppies are neo-nates.  For the first 2 weeks (days 1- 14), they are helpless and completely dependent on Rylee for warm and elimination.  Starting today, I will be implementing the Carmen Battaglia (http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/) method of neurological stimulation.  For 3-5 seconds once a day, each puppy will be

1.  Tickled between the toes with a Q-tip
2. Held perpendicular to the ground
3. Held head down
4. Held on its back in the palm of my hand
5. Lain on a cold damp towel

This helps kick start the neurological system into action earlier than normal and the puppy will benefit with improved cardiovascular, stronger heartbeats, strong adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease. 

I will continue to update pictures to the Tifari gallery as often as I can.  This webcam thing is grrrr.  I completely removed the program and then downloaded the newest version and the url is giving me that 404 error.  The camera captures video, I can see the screen, the link is just not being created. 

Mommy Ry woke up ... so much for that nap :P

Welcome babies!

Wow! Miss Rylee did a great job and delivered all puppies like a champ.  Here is a breakdown:

9:14pm - Yellow girl, show ridged - 17.1 oz
10:24pm - Green boy, ridgeless - 17.9 oz
11:37pm - Blue boy, show ridged - 19.5 oz
11:53pm - Purple girl, show ridged - 17.7 oz
12:50am - White girl, show ridged - 17.9 oz
2:40am - Black boy, show ridged - 21 oz
4:49am - Red boy, show ridged - 18.1 oz
7:40am - Orange girl, show ridged - 19.6 oz

There is minimal white.  Some white toes, white splashes on the chest.  Orange girl is the only one with any real white.  She has four white paws and white stripes down her chest and stomach.  No tail kinks and no DS detected.  I will get individual pictures once things settle down a little. 

First puppy is born

Ridgeless boy "Slick"

All is well :)

Here it goes

Like I mentioned, I have been taking Rylee's temperature twice a day and this morning, her temperature indicated the drop I have been looking for.  Her temperature lowered by a little more than a degree.  I think it happened earlier than this morning because she was restless last night and is already exhibiting a few signs of early labor.  I think she is cramping with light contractions but they are far apart.  She isn't panting or anything yet but she is digging in her bedding, pacing and whining.  She is a good girl and is getting some chicken nuggets for lunch as a treat.  I have been cooking for her here and there, chicken breast, eggs, beef, vegetables making sure she eats.
The waiting begins ....
:)

In the home stretch

Today is day 60 for Miss Rylee .... only 3 days to go! I have been taking her temperature 2x daily in order to get a good idea of her baseline so that when her temperature drops, I will know that labor is near.  A dog's normal temperature is around 101 to 102 degrees.  Rylee tends to sit a little lower, around 99 degrees.  Last time she dropped to 97 degrees. 
Puppies could be here any time now basically.  I have everything all ready to go and have been at home with her giving her nice belly rubs.  I have been able to feel the puppies move.  It is amazing.  They are certainly active.  I can tell when they are moving around alot because Rylee is fidgety and whines.  I go over to her and rub her belly and she lays down and stretches out while I feel them moving and kicking. 

Rylee attempts to get comfy...

Rylee drinking down a bowl of water.  We have a blizzard going on in the background.  Ok, not really a blizzard but snow and a lot of wind. 

Walking away from me saying no more pictures mom, day 60. 

Draining the other water bowl dry :)

Camera shy, again ...  I am following her around the house and she is not very thrilled. 

This is the best shot you are gonna get, Mom!

 Daughter Rogue and "Uncle" Dexter ham it up though. 

One week to go

As the title says, Rylee has one week until the puppies are due.  Here she is with one week to go. 

This is Rylee a week before during her first litter.

X ray

What a crazy day to head from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, basically.  There was a little snow on the ground when I left but it started coming down pretty heavily on the way.  Luckily I left early enough to compensate for the slower drive. 

We got there safe and sound and the vet counted 9 puppies.  He said that all look good and mommy looks good too.  She has her milk now, has for a few days.  The

circles are their little heads :)

Rylee was such a good girl at the doctor and she always eats such healthy snacks (bananas, apples, carrots, blueberries, cottage cheese ...) I figured she could have one indulgence :)

I was going to get a belly picture when we came home but Rylee hopped up onto our little chaise lounge thing and passed out.  I didn't want to disturb her.  I should get one this weekend :)  Here she is right before passing out ....

And here are two pictures of her laying down next to her favorite spot yesterday afternoon .... she can't quite get comfy

What a good girl!!

Nom nom nom

Proof that she is a slow eater, haha. 

X-ray is tomorrow.  I will let everyone know what I find out!!

Just waiting and sleeping :)

I will be taking Rylee in for an xray at the end of this week to get a final count.  She is getting more sluggish, wanting to sleep anywhere nice and soft.  I am going to set up her whelping box tomorrow that way she can start going in it if she wants to.  I just need to go and get some extra blankets for the box.  I have a bunch from the first litter still but I change the box so many times a day that it's nice to have a ton of spare blankets :) Ah, laundry. 

Here is Rylee eating a small lunch

Her milk should be coming in soon.  Perhaps by the end of this week if not sooner.  She is developing quickly. 

She is starting to get uncomfortable now, poor thing, so she likes to stretch out frequently.  I give her nice belly rubs when she is like this. 

We were making dinner last night and all the dogs wanted to help.  They have pretty good manners, most of the time ;)

And here is a picture of daddy, Dallas, relaxing at his home in Ohio.  His mom took this today and sent it along.  Isn't he handsome?