"Testing, testing...."

What a difference a few days makes in the lives of a puppy. Costa and Lacey have gone from little creatures that sleep all the time and are totally dependent on their momma for warmth, food, and other basic needs to little dogs that are glad to see their world, are busy testing their legs (and boundaries) and voices.

"Do I look like the stuffy....?"

"Must I do this....?"

On Jan 26th we noticed that one of the pups had crawled out of the warm nest (we still have the heater on) and used the piddle paper. By the end of the day, both pups were observed starting their cleanliness habits. Such smart babies!!! Raine still cleans them regularly but we're now changing the pad more than a few times a day.

They haven't explored their area outside of the whelping box yet which is just fine with us. Maybe it's partly because there is just two of them so they don't have to chase Mom all over to find food. However I have seen Lacey peeking over the lip to see where we have gone to.  They certainly are stronger on their little legs as they no longer crawl, but 'walk' around their space...just a little wobbly...(smiles) They need to be stronger as Mom likes to perch herself on the narrow bed in the box leaving the pups trying to climb up as well.

Every evening I set aside some special time for snuggles which the pups love. I relax in their room on the floor, reading my book and a pup fast asleep in my arms or lying in my lap. The Neurological Stimulation training has done wonders as they both are so calm and quiet with us. Daryl is enjoying his snuggle time with them on the days he's home working in his office where the pups are located.

Lacey tends to interact more with Costa at this point rather than the other way around. Their play sessions full of growls and play fighting are short lived as they still need so much sleep. Lacey may seem like the instigator, but she's the one who decides that she's had enough when Costa get the best of her.

Lacey also seems interested in chewing her leg, my fingers, nose or whatever else she can put her mouth on. The 'milk teeth' don't erupt until around four weeks of age but I placed a hard rubber toy with the pups...just in case.

Getting a little braver

"Like this....?

Raine is starting to want to spend a bit more time with us in the living room in the evenings, so it won't be long before I'll be setting up the baby playpen area  out there. Our other dogs are certainly missing my interaction. Good thing they come to work with me!

I absolutely adore the personalities that we are starting to see on both of these babes. Hope the new families don't mind that we're turning these little ones into snugglers.

"My ball!!!" Yup, the same ball that is next to Costa. Size perspective....!!

Lacey continues to have the greater weight gains as you can see in their weight chart.

	Birth Wt	3 weeks	% of Gain
Costa	257	1031	301%
Lacey	196	862	340%

The Transitional Stage

Now that Costa and Lacey have opened their eyes, their world is going to change. They'll become more aware of each other, their momma and us. Intentional interaction will start to begin. This is the beginning of the 'Transitional' stage which lasts from two to four weeks of age.

Trying to capture these two together proved to be a true challenge

Already these two are very aware of each other

Their hearing and smell are still developing, as well as the eyes will improve to focus over the next few weeks. The pups have started supporting their weight and are trying to walk which is better described as 'rocking' to their next location. They'll soon start wagging their tails and testing their vocal skills. We can hardly wait!

Every Sunday we clip their nails and the pups are really good with the handling. They've been clipped twice already. Here also are their weights for their second week.

Date	Costa			Lacey
	Weight	% of Gain		Weight	% of Gain
Jan-15	529	105.8%		430	119.4%
Jan-16	577	124.5%		463	136.2%
Jan-17	615	139.3%		500	155.1%
Jan-18	644	150.6%		542	176.5%
Jan-19	678	163.8%		588	200.0%
Jan-20	723	181.3%		528	220.4%
Jan-21	805	213.2%		688	251.0%

Costa may be the larger of the two, but Lacey continues to have the greater gain. I thought I'd go back and compare to Jenga's pups from last spring. At 2 1/2 weeks, Milo and Ahi weighed close to 800 grams, while Amiga weighed close to the 680 grams. These pups are a few days ahead of the last litter.  A benefit of fewer siblings for sure. I look forward to watching these little ones continue to develop.

We'll be putting on the webcam in the evenings starting right away so you can share in the delight of these little ones. Find the live streaming at Ustream TV. See you soon!

The beginnings of training....

When we used to raise horses, I believed in the 'Imprint' method which means someone handles the foal before it stands and does several specific tasks to desensitize the foal for future training ease. Once the foal is desensitized, we then begin sensitizing. I've had wonderful success raising foals with this method.

Last year, Chris from Pixc Havanese told me how she had done a similar method for her pups. Intrigued, I searched for the article and have incorporated it into raising our pups as well. It's known as Neurological Stimulation and has been used by many successful breeders.I wanted to bring you into the world of this early training method.

I weigh the pups every day which them gets the pups used to some handling and exposes to some cooler temps as I take them from the nest. Then we subject the pups to a few seconds in each of the following:

• head held up with legs hanging down
• head down with legs higher
• lay on their back
• tickle each foot pad
• place on cool surface

Both pups are really good with all the steps except being held with the head down. I have modified that step with something more gentle to help each of them build confidence. Costa fusses more than Lacey who takes it more in stride.

I actually have expanded the stimuli to include turning on the electric clippers and 'petting' the pups with the clipper body to get them accustomed to the noise and vibration. Neither pup fusses when the electric clippers are rubbing them. I think they find the sound and sensation relaxing, similar to taking a very young human baby for a car ride to help them lull to sleep. I also will use use the electric blow dryer for a couple of seconds just to get them used to the warm air and noise.

I tried to shoot a short video of each pup separately to demonstrate the methods we use and how well the pups react but Lacey's video was too long to upload.  Instead I have attached Costa's with hopes to reshoot Lacey's another day. Notice that Costa has his eyes open in this short clip.

A New World

As we neared our two week birthday, we have been watching closely to see when these pups would open their eyes. Sure enough on Saturday, little Lacey had opened her eyes.

Lacey taking in all in...

 I love that her little nose has gone black which will give her a stunning look as she gets older. She's definitely more than a 'handful'.

Waiting for Costa to check out his new world...but not yet...

We haven't interfered with Raine or her pups much these past couple of weeks with the exception of the daily weighing and stimulation training. Things will start to change in the next few weeks as the pups leave the 'neo-natal' stage and enter the 'transitional' stage.

Temporary Names

We give each litter a theme which helps us in grouping the litters by their registered names. It also assists us with temporary names as I like to refer to the pups by a name and not just 'boy 1' or 'girl 1'.

I try to make the themes something important to us such as an event that occured at the time of birth or significant before the birthing, or reflect something special such as a trip.This litter is named after the events that happened prior to the actual breeding.

I had written earlier about the selection of Itoh and snippets of our trip to the coast for the dog show so I'm going to continue with after the dog show. We actually have never traveled to the island together before and my previous trip to the island was with my parents close to 30 years prior. Daryl and I spent the next 5 days on the Vancouver Island...all by ourselves. It was interesting that there was only two pups born - one male and one female. Significant of the time that Daryl and I had alone.

I had lots of places I wanted to visit: Victoria and several places within the city, The Buchart Gardens, and the rest of the trip was open.

On the ferry to the island

Going through the many islands along the way

At the Buchard Gardens

In the Japanese Garden

With an open agenda we walked along the bay, looked at the ships, enjoyed the period buildings and took in the tourist hotspots. Daryl likes to drive so we opted to head up the coast stopping at many small towns along the way where we'd get out, walk and take in the history.

We stopped at a small town called 'LadySmith' and went for a walk along the docks. Daryl was busy looking at the boats but a flash in the water caught my eye. I got down to water level and was amazed to find tiny jellyfish swimming in the water. Further investigation under the dock and I found anemones, crabs and lots more jellyfish.

The jelly fish that first caught my eye

The tiny crab looking for it's dinner

More of the life under the dock

I find sea life fascinating and this was one of my favorite stops.

Daryl and I continued up the coast stopping at every small town, getting out and walking along the shoreline. After our long walk at Nanimo we decided to make a trip across the island to the west side and Port Alberni to see my brother who recently moved there.

On our way to Port Alberni

Trying to capture perspective

Some of the carvings at the Port Alberni coast

The famous 'Goats On A Roof' store & restaurant. Goats put away for the night.

We spent the next several hours there, walking the coastline, seeing the last of the salmon who had recently swum upstream to spawn, appreciating the native influence and bringing home more than just memories.

So what does this all have to do with the theme? It was a special time for Daryl and I as we had the time to relax and absorb our surroundings as we both love the coastal waters.

We gave the male pup the temporary name of 'Costa' which is Spanish/Cuban for 'Coast'. Meaningful for us as we truly enjoyed our drive along the coastline and stopping to enjoy each and every little town along the way.

The female was given the temporary name 'Lacey' in honor of our stop at LadySmith. Kim and Kayleigh encouraged the temp name Lacy as I said the name reminded me of the delicacy of the jellyfish, sea anemones and other water life at LadySmith.

We anticipate that the two families who will be adopting these very special pups will likely rename them, and that's okay. We have already narrowed our list of registrable names that will keep alive, for us, the Coastal Escape memories.

Our First Week

These little darlings are just about one week old already. It's amazing the changes that we've already seen.

Our very first picture taken while at the vet clinic and before momma came back for us

When pups are first born and they are breathing and warm, their littles noses are bright pink indicating they are doing well. Their ears are sealed shut and the pups will remain deaf for about 14 days. The pups are also blind as their eyes are sealed closed. Their eyes generally open around 10 to 14 days and are a deep blue until they change to the final color.

4 days old. (Click picture to enlarge)

Look closely at Costa's ear in the above picture and see how tightly sealed it is. Also his pink nose is just starting to show signs of some pigment coming in.

During the first two weeks the pups are unable to regulate their own temperature so we keep a heating pad on low temperature 24/7 and Raine leaves them only long enough to run outside for her potty break. For the first few days we keep a heating lamp on them as well as a cold puppy will rapidly fail.


Raine spends much of her waking time cleaning the pups. She cleans their fur which is the first sensations of being petted. Since the pups are unable to piddle or defecate on their own, they will fuss when uncomfortable. Raine licks them which assists them in go potty. She will do this for several weeks. When the pups are fed and comfortable they quietly sleep. At this age, the pups sleep close to 90% of the time. I must say that Raine is such a fantastic mom as we rarely hear any noises from the pups - a good indication that the pups needs are met.

The pups do have two of their senses which they use very efficiently. They are able to smell and can follow the scent to momma's milk. It's amazing when I handle them and their little noses are busy checking me out. We don't fuss with the pups much though as it upsets Raine.

The pups also use their sense of touch which helps them in locating mom and the food source. The pups crawl around with very limited motion but enough to provide exercise for the muscles to develop. These pups are already climbing all over their mother. If they are cool, they'll crawl to the heating pad or find momma; if they are warm they'll move off the heating pad for a bit.

The pups don't like to be weighed either as it tends to be too cool away from the nest. I heat the facecloth that I lay them on.

Costa being weighed

Lacey being weighed

All their energy is spent on growing and in the first week, their birth weight should double. We use a digital kitchen scale and weigh them a couple of times a day for the first few days. Once we're sure that they're gaining weight well, we'll weigh them once a day - usually in the evenings. Here are their weights for this past week.

Date	Costa			Lacey
	Weight	% of Gain		Weight	% of Gain
birth	257	-		196
Jan-08 10pm	260	1.2%		199	1.5%
Jan-09	283	10.1%		207	5.6%
Jan-10	320	24.5%		239	21.9%
Jan-11	367	42.8%		274	39.8%
Jan-12	415	61.5%		321	63.8%
Jan-13	453	76.3%		376	91.8%
Jan-14	487	89.5%		400	104.1%

Are you surprised that Lacey is gaining better than her brother? We certainly were. These pictures were taken a couple of days ago while weighing the pups.

For the next week the pups will continue sleeping most of the time, eating and growing. I'll continue monitoring them and Raine (who is doing incredibly well by the way). I will also continue with the Neurological Stimulation that we are doing which I'll explain in more detail in another post.

Safe Arrival

I have been diligently taking Raine's temperature twice a day watching for the 'drop' that indicates delivery usually within 24 hours. Nada!

Saturday morning I decided I should give her a bath and brushing since her due date was only a couple more days away. I figured it would make her feel good and then she would be clean for the following week should puppies arrive.

Well, Sunday morning Raine was quite unsettled (she still was sleeping on our bed...ahem) so I got up and took her out. Once back on the bed, she still wouldn't settle and then started digging. That woke me right up so I scooped her up and off to her whelping box we went.  Once there she just gave me a funny look like 'what's the big deal...I'm fine'.  However I wasn't to be swayed by those big brown eyes.

Sure enough, about 15 minutes later the contractions started. I had already made a call to Kim & Kayleigh who wanted to quietly observe in preparation for when they become mid-woofs themselves. "No hurry", I said. "We have a while before deliveries". Fifteen minutes later I called back. "Okay, I lied. First baby is on it's way".

Indeed the first sac had presented and Raine was slowly moving the baby down to position. Suddenly Raine stood up with another strong contraction and a second sac appeared. Now we have a problem. Two sacs and two pups trying to come at the same time.

Kim arrived within minutes and as I heard them enter the house, I bundled up Raine and told everyone we were off to the vet. It's common that momma's will stop labor contractions and thankfully Raine had.

At the vet clinic, we were immediately ushered into a room where the on-call vet quickly visited. A short discussion, off to ultrasound and we knew that the pups were starting to go into distress by the slowing of the heartbeats. The decision was made for an emergency C-section.

The next couple of hours were long and hard on us. I truly can appreciate what a husband goes through in a similar case. We were kept informed that everything was going well as the waiting room starting filling up. We discussed what we thought we'd see when they finally would bring us the pups. I still believed there was one male and one female for sure. Kim guessed colors and thought how sweet it would be if there was a tan/champagne colored. I confidently said that would be the little girl, but the male would be black...after all, Itoh was black.

Finally around 11:15 am, two little pups were delivered to us while momma was still under the anesthetic. Our job was to care for the pups, keeping them from crawling out of their heated container and ensure they stay warm. Indeed, we had our champagne female and our black & white male. Kim was thrilled as the two pups matched her own two Havanese at home - even with the right color to the right sex.

These pups were hungry!! The male was vocal as he kept trying to find something (ANYTHING) to eat including his toes, his sister's ear...... We learned that it was the male pup that went into distress and tried to push past his sister. The c-section was the best and only choice.

Just about 12:30 pm the doctor was able to start checking the other patients that had come in and we heard that Raine was doing well. It would be a while before we'd see her tho. Kim and Kayleigh left for some lunch and coffee's since I couldn't (wouldn't) leave.

About 1:30 pm and Raine was brought into the examination room. A very groggy girl who immediately looked for her babies. We place the two babes into the bed with mom and within seconds they found what they were looking for.

When the doctor came back in about 15 minutes later, she was surprised and pleased that the family was doing so well.  We needed to stay a bit longer to make sure that Raine came out of the anesthetic completely and then we could all go home.

By 3:00pm we were finally given the go ahead and we took our family back home - safe and sound.

A perfect family settled in at home

Catching up

Irish Pied male - birth weight 257 grams

Champagne female - birth weight 196 grams

Our doctor's visit

We always take the expecting mother into the vet office just a few days prior to the due date for an x-ray to determine number of puppies we should expect. This can only be done in the last week or so as the puppies bones start to calcify and are therefore able to be seen.

We have been listening to the heart beats for the past couple of weeks and I was guessing 2 males and 1 female, however the x-ray can only clearly define two pups.

X-rays taken on January 6th, 2011 just a few days prior to expected delivery

Puppy #1 is easiest to see as it's head is facing the rear and the spine is stretched along the belly.

Puppy #2 has it's head tucked under the ribcage with it's spine running parallel and above the first puppy.

There is some undefined matter surrounding the head of puppy #2 and we don't know if this is material from what Raine eats, a puppy that didn't absorb completely, or a possible third pup. We'll have to wait a few more days before we know for sure.

Fingers crossed that delivery goes well.