Bye-Bye Sweet Mel Mels

Our daycare issues coincided with a very sad event in our home. We put our beloved Melody down after 6 ½ years of being her fur-parents. We knew our time with her was limited, but the end came all too soon, just the same. Cameron and I were there with Mel through the whole procedure until we were sure she was gone. I take comfort in knowing she is at peace and pain-free.

Melody was Cameron’s and my first dog together, our first fur-child. We do have a classic video of her telling Tulley off when Tulley was a puppy trying to get Mel to play with her, not to mention all the photos we have been able to take over the years. And of course we have the memories. The smile on her face in the back seat of the car after I sprung her from the Fremont Animal Shelter after she had gotten out of our backyard comes to the forefront of those memories. She may not have been the greatest people-person dog, but she was a great dog for us. I will miss her roo-roos (aka howling sessions, which we often encouraged), even though we hadn’t had any in the last year of Mel’s life.

We will always miss her and look for her in the usual places by routine right now. I know this will eventually change and the sting of remembering she is gone will eventually ease, but it’s going to take quite some time. Even Tulley seems to be a little down and appears to look for Mel here and there, even sleeping on both dog beds throughout the night. I am thankful that London is not old enough to truly realize Melody is gone. I’m also glad my parents were in town to watch London while we said good-bye.

~ Sarah

Week 6 - Update

The puppies did great at their check-up and with their shots. The vet said they are all doing well. He actually said he was quite surprised all were doing so well and were healthy, as with a litter this size, that is normally not the case. He also said that the health of the litter is a statement about what good owners we are. (This is all hearsay from Cameron - I ended up sitting in the car during the whole appointment with London).

Another indicator was our recognizing something was wrong when Tulley's head would shake while nursing the pups, a sign of calcium deficiency. We caught it well before it became a problem and took the proper steps to combat it and fix it. The vet said he has had 3 dogs come in since Tulley's dozen were born, in emergency situations, with calcium deficiency. To be honest, I don't know how people wouldn't worry and let it get to an emergency situation. Tulley's head shaking was not normal to me and worried me from the get go.

Also, another friend who came to pick out his puppy on Saturday said the worst these pups will turn out to be will be great house dogs. He was amazed at how calm each one really is, especially for a lab puppy, but at the same time he knows both Tulley and Tucker and can't be that surprised.

Last night, all the puppies were pretty pooped out from their adventure to the vet. When we'd walk into the garage they'd barely get up and didn't even bark. They are all back to themselves this morning, Cameron reports. And soon they will be leaving us one by one. It's going to be so strange not to have a swarm of black some running at your every time you walk into the garage. Although, I'm sure Tulley will be happy to get back to her old routine of my feeding her first thing in the morning. I don't currently because I have to go into the garage to get to her food and that would mean waking the puppies, who would then make a ruckus until they got fed.

~Sarah

Week 6

Another week and these puppies start heading off to their forever homes! They have come a long way from Day 1, both in size and personalities. You can definitely tell which are going to be tall and which will be short. 

We take them in for their first shots today. I'm sure the vet and staff will love the visit. But the thought of corralling 12 puppies gives me a little bit of a headache. 

So far, we have 5 puppies spoken for. Cameron is also speaking with two other people, so that number could jump to 7 this weekend. He's going to be taking the unspoken for pups up to Reno this weekend for one of the people he is talking to, and hopefully show 3 or 4 more to others. Fingers crossed he doesn't come home with any (all there is one short, round and spunky little girl I've dubbed Eleanor after the Chipette that I wouldn't mind staying behind with me).

Week 5

It' s beginning to be hard to believe that the puppies are 5 weeks old already.  The four that have been picked out by their new owners can start going home on Easter Sunday! It helps that we no longer have to get up in the middle of the night to regulate a feeding. In fact, Tulley isn't feeding the pups at all any more!

The puppies have even moved from eating a dry/wet food mixture to just moistened dry food, and even that is less and less each day. They'll soon be completely on dry food. It seems since we took them off Tulley and placed them on real food they have started to double in size day after day.

The only issue we have run into now is the weather and moving these pups outdoors. Friday evening after work we were able to bring all the pups, Tulley and London out back to enjoy a little fresh air. Cameron also removed the barrier within the whelping box to give the pups the entire run of it - helps Tulley isn't in there at all any how. 

These pictures were taken during that little outing and the puppies sure had fun tackling London. It's also hilarious to hear London try and order them around and say "No puppy no". Did you know last Friday was National Puppy Day? Neither did we, until Matt & Lynde asked to come over and see the pups. 

Saturaday we had two people come over and select puppies and another family came Sunday to choose theirs. We now have 1 male and 3 females selected. Hopefully the rest go soon, as we do have some more interested. 

Who could resist these faces any way?

Week 4

The puppies are 1 month old. In another month, we hope they are all in their new homes. Pick of

the litter was made this last weekend, so we’re off to a good start. The pick went to a long-legged male, who has a white stripe on his chest and fell asleep in his new mommy’s chest. It was just meant to be. Good thing too, as this was the one Cameron was eyeing for himself. Better to have him picked so we are less inclined to keep one.

All of the pups are getting so big. And as of last Thursday night, we have successfully replaced one meal of Tulley’s milk with a mixture of dried puppy food and wet canned food. I think we’ll try to replace a second meal of Tulley’s milk with this recipe tomorrow, as poor Tulley is just not interested in feeding them much anymore. She tries to escape every time we go to switch the puppies during a feeding and she can’t wait to be done each session and get back into the house with the rest of us. Not that I can blame her much, what with those sharp little teeth that they have now.

As you can see, there is a process involved with the feeding. First goes in the dried food, followed by the wet. Then we add a little water and mix it all together before placing the puppies in with it. As you can see, it gets a little crazy. The good thing is they all took to real food pretty quickly. Unfortunately, they’re also not that graceful around food, with some laying across the entire pie dish of food while they eat.

Which is why we are bathing these kids at least once a week right now. I have a feeling this is going to increase as time goes on or until they figure out they can eat without laying in their food. You can definitely tell when they are getting ripe.

 

This next set of pictures shows the bathing process in the kitchen sink. We bring them in one by one. I wash them in a soapy mixture of water and then rinse in running warm water. Cameron dries them off, let’s them say hi to mama and then takes them back to the bull pen in the garage and grabs another. Unfortunately, I think our days are numbered using the kitchen sink. They’re getting so big, we will likely have to move the process to a bath rub next week.

And they are definitely pretty darn cute these days. We can’t help but go out there and pet, cuddle and kiss them every so often. Even London loves going out there and giving them a gentle pat and kiss when she is helping us.

 

It will be hard to part with all of them and even harder not to keep one. Hopefully this weekend, more of the pups will be spoken for as well.

~Sarah

Week 3

The puppies turned 3 weeks old on Sunday. This is a bit hard to believe given we feel they should be sooo much older. The late nights and interrupted sleep every night gives rise to these thoughts.

They have more than doubled in size since birth, which is causing Tulley to be overwhelmed when all 12 of them attack her to eat, which has us regulating the number that can feed on her at a time and for how long. This means that for an hour each night we are up when we should be sleeping to make sure everyone gets their fill. We try to sleep during the half hours of actual feeding time, but it’s not easy to fall back to sleep after waking up and having to function for 5 to 10 minutes only to know that you’re getting back up in 30 minutes to do it all over again.

We’re also trying to supplement where we can which usually means Cameron and I give the pups a good bottle feeding right before bed. This was fun Sunday night when we were bottle feeding and the pups waiting to be fed were lined up in the box looking up at us versus trying to get in with Tulley. They know that we equal food in some form or another. Just one of us going into the garage when Tulley is not out there can get them riled up. Of course, they are typical labs and act like they are starving when they are not.

And if we don’t have the baby gate up, they can get in with Tulley. Friday night and once Saturday I found 1 to 3 pups in with her before a planned and needed feeding. Which meant the baby gate is up permanently when we don’t want them to feed. That and a piece of wood, as in the middle of the night Monday night when I went to start the feeding, I found the gate on Tulley and one puppy feeding on her. Cameron would find the gate on Tulley a half hour later and two puppies stuck between the gate and the wall, trying to find Tulley. They are persistant. Hopefully, all this is helping Tulley to not feel so overwhelmed. That and getting to sleep with us the last couple of nights until the middle of the night feedings.

Did I mention the pups are getting teeth? Yeah, that can’t feel good. I felt some teeth Saturday night during the bottle feeding, but they weren’t sharp yet, just there. Sunday night, they were sharp. Which meant Cameron made a stop at Petsmart on Monday to get wet puppy food. We’re going to start bringing the puppies in one by one to work on transitioning them to real food and to adjust to being away from the pack, which will better prepare them to go to their new homes alone.

 

With the stormy weather expected over the next week, it looks like the puppies will not be moving outside next weekend as planned. To be honest, I feel better having them in the garage then outside. There are too many things like coyotes and hawks to keep me up at night worrying about their safety, even if they are inside a dog house and pin with Tulley. Plus, I hate the thought of Tulley sleeping outside – she was so comfortable on our bed the other night. Cameron came to bed to find me passed out with my new body pillow and Tulley flat on her back snuggled up next to the pillow. He wasn’t sure there was any room for him.

On Sunday, we took four of the pups outside for this photo session. They weren't too sure about it at all - that and it was a bit cold and they knew some of their siblings were missing. The puppies are starting to not sleep all the time and are getting playful. so I'm sure they will enjoy the outdoors soon, once this storm system passes.

2 Weeks Old

The puppies are now 2 weeks old and bigger than ever. On Sunday, their little eyes started to open, which has helped their mobility tremendously. Before they were taking wobbly first steps, but not being able to see, a type of vertigo appears to be happening and they’d fall to the side and roll over. Each day since their eyes have opened, their walking has gotten better.

The excited movement that ensues when its feeding time does seem to overwhelm Tulley a bit as she can’t lay down fast enough without sitting or laying on a few and she doesn’t want to step on them. Just the other morning when I was trying to help her, about 4 swarmed my foot to try and eat. Obviously, their sight has some improving to do.

We are also having to clean their whelping box more often and have found that we need to clean them about once a week at this point as they do pee and poop on each other. They were smelling pretty ripe Monday night so after London went to bed my mom, dad, Cameron and I had an assembly line to clean each puppy under warm water in the sink, then towel dry them off, and then get them feeding on Tulley or by bottle. While Tulley has plenty of milk, with the puppies being so much bigger, the smaller ones can still get pushed to the side and not get as much, so we’re still bottle feeding intermittently when we can, and then only the small ones.

 

We are now gearing up to work on a larger pen for them to hang out in as their mobility improves and I think Cameron, Tulley and I are all looking forward to the day they are off the milk and onto the real food. Then Tulley will be looking forward to rejoining us on the bed, though she’ll have to fight Jake for room, as he has returned to sleeping with us in her absence.

~Sarah

Tulley Pregnancy Photos

As mentioned, Tulley is getting bigger day by day. Thought I'd share some pictures with you.

~Sarah

Good Dog

For a lab, Tulley is one of the best. Having only just turned 2 in November, people’s first impressions of her are how small she is (many think she is still a pup; she’s only 55 lbs), and how mild-tempered she is. She has been an amazing dog, especially for London and was just what I needed when I was laid off and 5 months pregnant.

Not that we didn’t have those normal lab/puppy struggles with Tulley along the way. My bathroom baseboards and a missing patch of carpet in the family room can attest to that.

One thing we really worked on with Tulley from the very beginning was feeding time. Labs will eat house and home if you let them and never, ever miss a meal. If they do, something is wrong. Melody on the other hand, being a shepherd/husky mix as well as an “old lady”, has always been a grazer. This meant teaching Tulley to leave Mel’s full bowl of food alone, always. We are proud that this is something Tulley has mastered.

Then last Friday morning when I went to grab Tulley’s bowl to feed her, I noticed there was a little bit of her dinner left over. While puzzled, I strugged it off. She was right next to me begging for breakfast any way. But then she didn’t eat her breakfast. She just stared at the bowl and wagged her tail. I gave her the ok command several times and petted her back as added incentive. She finally just went back upstairs to bed. I mentioned the weirdness to Cameron but we both continued to shrug it off. Cameron let her romp outside for part of the day and reported back that he had spied her eating grass. We assumed that her tummy was upset and that she’d be back to normal the next day. Nope. Tulley didn’t eat all weekend.

Finally, on Sunday and the worried mother that I am, I resorted to grabbing a hand of food and placing it near her mouth. She ate it. I poured some food on the floor and she ate it. But when we asked her to eat food from the bowl, Tulley just wouldn’t eat. The same thing was true Monday morning. A call to the doctor only suggested we bring her in if she didn’t eat by Tuesday. Cameron doesn’t think that the doctor listened to him carefully, though. She was eating – just not her normal food from her bowl. She had no problem gobbling up the Ritz crackers London offered her when I wasn’t looking.

Monday night I decided to make her rice and boiled chicken – how could she resist that? And she couldn’t. Tulley gobbled it right down. But I also put it in her hunting bowl since her normal bowl was full of dog food and I was too lazy to go dump it back in the bin in the garage. After eating the rice and chicken with no problem, I placed some food from the normal bowl to the hunting bowl. And she ate it up. So, I performed a quick clean on the normal bowl and put some food back in it. Nope. What was it about this bowl?

Cameron and I finally came to the conclusion that we may have switched bowls on her. Tulley’s and Melody’s bowls are almost the same. The only difference is one has a dog silhouette on it. Neither Cameron and I know which dog had that bowl before, but we have to assume it was Mel’s after all this crazieness.

It had never occurred to us that Tulley would know the difference and shy away from Mel’s bowl, even when she was starving and we’d given her the ok command a million times.

Mel, on the other hand, doesn’t differentiate, which means with food lying around in two bowls all day long for a few days, she’d helped herself to both. So to Tulley both bowls now appeared to be Melody’s. It’s taken a few more washings, and food mixed in with rice and chicken in the bowl a couple of times for Tulley to be eating normally again.

We can’t have Tulley starving just because we mix up the bowls so I started to think about a solution. Obviously, we need a way to distinguish between the two. I went online to look at personalized bowls, but all are ceramic, which is dangerous lying around our kitchen floor, and starting prices were about $20. Add in tax and shipping and getting the right sized bowls and who knows how much that would cost.

I’ve been following several DIY blogs lately, which got me thinking – how can I do this on my own? And then it struck me – Stickers! Better yet, I could create something and print it out on the sticker paper we already have, left over from our Christmas basket projects. We don’t wash the bowls enough nor do we ever soak them so I’m not too worried about them deteriorating too quickly. And they'll be easy to replace when they do.

A little clip art grabbed off the internet, and playing around in paint, plus Cameron putting my sticker paper in the printer, and viola - stickers!

I also gave the dog bowls a good scrubbing before putting the stickers on.

Before

After

Has your healthy dog ever stopped eating for no clear reason? What other weird things have you experienced with your dogs?

Tootles,
Sarah