KB has started the weaning process. Within two days after moving, she started allowing her puppies to only nurse while standing up. It's interesting to watch. When KB first enters the stall they come running, plowing, bumping, and fighting to get to her. Some puppies are big enough to set on their rear haunches in an upright position and nurse with their front paws reaching KB's belly. Other puppies stand on their rear feet with their paws against KB's side or belly and nurse. Some struggle and lose their suction only to come back up real quick before another puppy gets its faucet. At the end of Week 5, KB started nipping at the puppies when she doesn't want them to nurse. Talk about hurt feelings. Some yell and squall so loud that husband and wife drop whatever they are doing and run to see if a puppy has hurt itself or got caught in something. Usually they stop squalling just when one reaches them.

During Week 5 we cut the grass and sprayed Roundup in the vicinity of the shortruns. We keep one stall and outside shortrun open for KB, and the three other roaming housepet supremes, to go do their business. One night wife called for husband to hurry and come look. Here came KB back in from the open shortrun in a trot, she headed straight for the puppy stall. In her mouth was a field mouse. Dutifully she was taking it to feed her puppies. Of course husband removed the field mouse from KB's tightly closed mouth and disposed of it (any insect or critter removal is a husband chore).

One time we saw one pup jump up, hop out of the whelping box, and run real fast towards the dogdoor. Just as he exited the door he started dripping and immediately stopped, squatted, and let fly. For the most part they are doing their business outside in the shortrun.

During Week 5 we noticed it is easier to tell the males from the females. The males are outgrowing the females and therefore the males are the bigger ones. Wife is still feeding grated dry meal in a milk solution but she started adding a little diced red meat and tripe. Wife is now feeding the puppies twice each day. They also are eating at KB's food. So, at this point they nurse from KB, eat from a prepared foodpan, and sneak from KB's foodpan. To carry a foodpan to the puppies requires one do the "puppy shuffle". When one enters the stall, here they come in a run, jumping on your legs, falling under your feet, hugging your ankles, biting your shoes, etc. One must shuffle, or slide their feet, to keep from stepping on one or two of the puppies.

Sire, Tigerman McGee, is in a short run with another female. He is a long brindle greyhound that can put his feet on top of a five foot high cinder block wall with his head showing above the wall. Several years ago he was the top ranked greyhound for four months at Tri-State in West Virginia. He suffered a flipped stomach that had to be sewn back in place. Three of his littermates were "AA" dogs. He came back to run again, only to tear his ankle. He loves to stretch his neck, point his nose straight up, and lay his head on our side when we enter the short run. He loves to have his ears rubbed. In the evening we give the dogs a milkbone. When we hand Tigerman his bone, he grabs it and engulfs it. Then he wants another. He is a big, energetic, friendly greyhound. Since his pups are black, one reader suggested we name a pup "Pantherman". Another reader suggested the name of "Longshanks", after an early King of England. A couple of the male pups are very big for their age, probably they take after Tigerman. [A fast running dog usually has a long, smooth stride that looks like it is just cruising around the track. Greyhounds develop speed during a long stride from the push and power in their rear hips and rear legs. A long legged dog with a long, smooth stride and a quick, strong rear push is the type we hope develops from any litter. Most of the time a greyhound with a short, fast, choppy stride looks like it is running super fast, but ends up in the back of the pack at the finish line. A dog that is too big usually can't run fast enough to do good at the racetrack. And there are smaller greyhounds with good strides that do good. Obviously we hope some of these pups are long legged with long and strong running strides.]

 Week 6

Week 6 saw more of KB weaning her puppies. Therefore they are eating more on their own- wife is now preparing a total of 3 pounds per day for the puppies. The puppies also got their first parvo shot during Week 6. They are growing rapidly, the biggest weighs 10+ pounds. We are already looking forward to when we can move them to the longruns- it will be about a month.

We are starting to recognize certain traits in some of the pups. One female is the most friendly and most adventuresome. Another pup tends to chew on her littermates the most. Every now and then a puppy will squall real loud, usually it is the recipient of the pup that likes to chew on her littermates' ears, nose, leg, or tail. Another puppy likes to stand inside the water bucket.  Another is the most laid back and sleeps the most. One likes to dig the most- he has dug an 8 inch deep hole about 1 to 1.5 foot square. Another pup barks the most (a lot).

It has been hot here, temperatures have been approaching 98-100 degrees outside. The inside stalls are not air-conditioned. We have two electric box fans just in front of the inside puppy stall that blows through the fenced side inside the building. When they sleep, one pile of puppies sleeps in front of one box fan and another pile sleeps in front of the second box fan. Wife also freezes several blocks of ice each day. She cuts old bleach bottles in half, fills them with water, and puts them in the freezer. After freezing, she can run hot water over the outside of the bleach bottle and the ice block slides out.  Twice each day she puts two of these ice blocks in a plastic container and sets the container inside the whelping box. KB and the puppies lick the ice. Some puppies paw at it. One pup likes to try and lay on it. Of course the ice melts. The puppies then drink the water in the plastic container, stand in it, run through it, lay beside it, and generally play around it. Wife also put a small swimming pool outside in the shortrun. At first the pups would not get in it. As time passed about four now wade in and out. Of course the water bucket gets changed three to four times each day.

Once while scooping poop in the shortrun with the pups, wife set the scoop pan beside the wall while she petted a puppy. Another pup came over to the scoop pan, assumed the tucked position, cocked its rear over the scoop pan, and proceeded to do its business in the pan. Smart pup.

Wife now cleans the puppy stall once each day. The floor is mopped with a mild bleach solution and the inside of the whelping box is wiped with a mild bleach solution. The area stays clean for about 15 minutes before the crowd plows through.

KB is spending less time in the puppy stall. She still roams throughtout the building. Husband still has to put his old shoes up. Husband has two pair of old shoes- one pair is white Converse tennis shoes and the other pair is blue/gray Nike's. Once last week he forgot and left both pair on the floor beside the door to the living quarters. KB stole one shoe from each pair. Husband looked but could not find the shoes. He ended up wearing one shoe from each pair for one whole day. Wife found the shoes partially buried in the shortrun.
 

 Week 7

Week 7 saw the puppies get their second worming, get their second parvo shot (third vaccination shot), almost be completely weaned, start running up and down the shortrun, and grow even more. KB enters the puppy stall and shortrun about twice each day. She is drying up, but she will stand and let the pups nurse for a very short period. She then walks away with pups falling every which way.

The pups got their second worming this past week. They had no visible worms. They also got their second parvo shot. Wife picks up a pup and carries it to the mixing room. Meantime husband draws the shot. Wife holds pup with head on her right arm. Right-handed husband lifts skin on pups neck and gives shot. Wife baby-talks to pup and husband rubs neck. Wife carries pup back to separate stall. All eight puppies were very quiet and peaceful during the shots, not one squeak. After this parvo shot, they will be given a 7 in 1 shot every other week until 3 such shots have been administered. One should understand that puppies have little immunity until the shots are complete.

This past week we noticed they are starting to sprint up and down the shortrun. They run, they bounce, they fall, and they run into other pups. But they definitely are starting to develop more and more. They are now getting in and out of the swimming pool on a regular basis. All of them also go to the far end of the shortrun to poop. Wife cleans and scoops the poop in the shortruns at least twice each day. It is important to scoop all the poop in the puppy run in order to help prevent any sickness. Sometimes the pieces are so small that wife has to take a paper towel and pick the small pieces up with her fingers. Wife also changes their water bucket four or five times each day- the water gets dirty from the puppies putting their feet inside the water bucket.

The pups are growing. We cannot tell how big they will be at full growth. But if puppy size means anything, these may be some big dogs. Wife is feeding them a total of 5 pounds each day (2.5 pounds each in the morning and evening). They also have a bowl of dry dog food sitting in their stall. When wife held each pup for their parvo shot, they filled up both her arms.

The pups are getting a little more aggressive with each other. They have sharp little teeth. They will bite each other's legs, ears, nose, tail, and anything else they can get a hold on. Sometimes they shake as they bite. It makes one cringe to imagine how it hurts the second pup. Sometimes the second pup comes alive and really starts fighting back. Sometimes the second pup just squalls and pulls away. The pups also pull against each other with their toy tug-of-war rope. They will growl and shake and pull with all their might. They also tussle with their old bleach bottle. One will paw at it, the bottle will scoot away, then all of a sudden four or five pups will start chasing it and biting at it. They are fun to watch.

All eight pups (four males, four females) are black. Three have a small amount of white on two or three of their rear toes. Four (two males, two females) are completely black. It is difficult to tell them apart. The biggest one (he's a whopper) has a small white tip at the end of his tail and both rear feet have all white toes- he is by far the easiest to recognize.

We need to retrack and explain a little about the four step NGA registration process at this time. When KB and Tigerman were bred on April 12, 1997, we had to send a Breeding Report (within 10 days) to the National Greyhound Association (NGA). They returned to us a Breeding Acknowledgment (yellow slip). Among other information, the Breeding Acknowledgment had the litter number assigned. The litter number for this litter is a five digit number and is to be tattooed in each puppy's left ear. After the puppies were whelped, we had to send a Whelping Report (within 10 days) to the NGA. They returned to us a Whelping Acknowledgment (white slip). The Whelping Acknowledgment verifies the breeding date, the whelping date, the sire, the dam, the owners, and the fact that four males and four females were born. Both the breeding and whelping is reported in the NGA's monthly magazine, The Greyhound Review. [This is one way greyhound people can see who is being bred the most]. It is also reported in the official register of the NGA published each year. By the end of three months, each puppy has to be tattooed in both ears. We then have to send the NGA a Litter Registration Report- this will happen by September 16, 1997. We will discuss the remainder of the four step NGA registration process at that time. We have been through two of the four steps.

As for the shoe thief, KB, she now has a collection of boots, rain shoes, sneakers, and regular shoes in her own shortrun. She has taken them from inside a closet when the door was left open, from underneath a small sitting bench, from next to the outside door, and from on top of a medium height cabinet. She does not chew on them or damage them, so we have just left them in her shortrun until we need them. We are amused to see how many she will collect.

More later.




Previous: Weeks 1-4

Next: Weeks 8-10


 

By Shawnie and Sam Burdette
Rendering by Dan Schmidt based on photo of Rascal, Harley and Seamus, placed by Greyhound Placement Service of New Hampshire.  These pups appeared in our 1996 Calendar