Photographing pups

Photographing puppies is not as easy as you might think. When they are awake they don't often sit stay still long enough for me to get a good shot.

Here is Blue coming to check out the camera.

Here is Barry playing with a ball. He still looks very white but more spots can be seen now.

The pups still sleep a lot. I can get lots of pictures of them napping.

Mostly the pups like to sleep with their heads tucked under. But I was able to get this cute shot of Blue's face as he naps next to his sister Sky.

Pink likes to be on the top of the heap.

That means some one else is on the bottom of the heap. In this case it is Redford.

Growing and Getting Teeth

It is amazing how fast puppies grow. They have teeth now and eat puppy mush. But DeeDee is still nursing them.

Solid Food

The puppies began eating solid food this week. They are still nursing but now get puppy chow with water added and ground up in a blender until it is like mush.

Like all babies, they make a big mess when they eat.

Here are the boys

Here is Red. I nicknamed this handsome guy Redford.

This is Dark Blue, nicknamed Blue

Here is Dark Green, nicknamed Forrest.

Here is Purple, nicknamed Rain

This picture is a bit out of focus.

Here is Black, nicknamed Barry

Here are the girls

This is Pink, I nicknamed her Rose

This is Light Blue, nicknamed Skye.

The flash makes their eyes look odd. I will have to try taking the next set of photos in natural light.

This is Light Green, nicknamed Fern.

Here is Lavender, nicknamed Iris.

Here's Looking At You Kid

Now that the puppies' can open their eyes, they spend a little more time awake. This is a picture of Red male.

This is Lavender female. She looks like she is about ready for another nap. For some reason, this photo has a pinkish tone.

Getting Bigger

The pups are getting bigger and their spots are becoming more visible every day.

The Black male is going to be very lightly marked. He is the "spotless" pup seen in this picture. He reminds me of one of DeeDee's sisters.

Here are some photos of DeeDee's sister at seven weeks and at a year. You can see that she does not have a lot of spots and looked very white as a baby.

Puppy development

The puppies are beginning to be able to see and hear. At birth their eyes and ears are sealed shut. Then at about 2 weeks of age their eyes and ear canals begin to open. It takes the pups a few days to get used to the added input from their environment and some will cry if they hear a loud noise or if they see something looming over them - like me picking them up to be weighed.

But within a day or two they will take these new senses in stride and begin a new phase of interaction with the world around them.

Two weeks old

The puppies are two weeks old and their spots are beginning to show. Some of the pups seem to have taken more than their share of spots.

The first born pup, Pink, has the most spots and the last born, Black, has the fewest.

Toe nail trimming

No photos today. I did not have time after trimming 162 little toe nails - 5 on each front foot and 4 on each hind foot. The process left me a bit cross-eyed and with a case of clipper cramp.

Spots beginning to show

The spots are beginning to show more each day. They are most visible in areas where the fur is thin, like the muzzle and belly.

In another week they will look more like Dalmatians.

Daily weigh in

The puppies are weighed each day for the first two weeks. Puppies that are getting enough milk gain at least an ounce per day.

All DeeDee's pups are thriving and growing at a normal rate.

The two smallest females seem to have no problem competing with their big brothers to get their share of milk.

Trying to get caught up

When I started this blog I intended to post something new every day. But I'm finding it hard to to sit down at the computer long enough to upload photos and write a few words. I'll do my best in the coming days and weeks.

The puppies like to sleep touching one another. Sometimes the pile up in a mound and other times they line up side by side.