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| Summer 2007 Bella and Zorro |
| As promised, we have begun our Summer 2007 Litter Journal. We will journal the litter of Bella and Zorro. Enjoy the journal! |
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| 42 days gestation |
| 5-18-07 |
| Our litter journal begins today. Bella's official due date is June 10th, so she's still got a way to go. Look how big her belly is already. If you look at the picture, you can see the sides of her abdomen curved outward. Those curves are puppies. By now, her puppies are fully formed, though very tiny, Chihuahuas. They are hairless and still have much growing and maturing to do, but all of their organs are in place. Right now, their bones are soft and pliable, but they will harden over the next couple of weeks and can be seen in an x-ray about about 52 days. We will do weekly journal entries every Friday until Bella's 61st day of gestation. After that, we'll do daily entries until the pups open their eyes. Then we'll go back to weekly entries, which we'll do until the pups are 6 weeks of age. So be sure to check back often and we hope you enjoy the journal. |
| 49 days gestation |
| 5-25-07 |
| Today is the second entry in our litter journal. Can you see the difference in the size of Bella's tummy? She is 49 days into her pregnancy and she will begin to prepare for her puppies over the next week or two. She looks to me like she'll have 4 puppies this time, but they do fool me from time to time, so we'll see. Bella is a very mild mannered girl and she's an excellent Mom. This journal will be an easy and fun one to do! |
| 56 days gestation |
| 6-01-07 |
| Bella is growing every day now. You can watch her and see the puppies moving on her sides. They must be some feisty little guys with all the movement going on in there. Bella is beginning to form her milk bags and she'll soon be in the nursery to begin nesting. I'll begin the daily litter journal at 61 days gestation, unless she has the pups before then. |
| 61 days gestation |
| 6-07-07 |
| Lots to tell today. Bella is 61 days into her gestation and it appears as though she is in labor. She's been in the nursery nesting for the last four days. Last night she started having restless spells. She'd get up, circle around a few times, dig at her bedding, and then lay back down and sleep. That behavior typically begins 12-24 hours before delivery. She spent the morning that way as well. Now, she's in the beginning stages of active labor. She's not sleeping, and very restless. She'll be pushing soon. So, by tomorrow, I should have some puppy pictures for you and maybe a video of the birth, if Bella will allow it. |
| Day 1 |
| 6-08-07 |
| Bella did deliver yesterday. At the right, you can see a picture of the litter shortly after birth. Click on it to see their individual pictures and pictures of the birth. Unfortunately, Bella wasn't too happy with the camera, so I wasn't able to get a video of the birth. I was barely able to snap a few pics here and there. She had an uneventful delivery and Mom and pups are doing well. Our girls deliver in a confined environment due to the fact that they are all in the same room together. Laboring mothers don't like it when other nosy Chihuahua mothers come around to see what's going on, so confining them is safest for them and their pups. The girls deliver on paper, which is absorbent and more sanitary for the pups. Once labor and delivery are over, Mom and pups have a nice soft bed to rest on. The pups, in the order of their birth are: Dirk, male, red spotted, born at 4:55 pm Dax, male, lighter brindle spotted, born at 6:05 pm Delilah, female, dark brindle spotted, born at 7:01 pm Dixon, male, dark brindle spotted, born at 8:15 pm The pups are all latching on and nursing very well. They are active, have great movement and they all have clear lungs. |
Dirk
| 61 days gestation |
| 6-07-07 |
| Lots to tell today. Bella is 61 days into her gestation and it appears as though she is in labor. She's been in the nursery nesting for the last four days. Last night she started having restless spells. She'd get up, circle around a few times, dig at her bedding, and then lay back down and sleep. That behavior typically begins 12-24 hours before delivery. She spent the morning that way as well. Now, she's in the beginning stages of active labor. She's not sleeping, and very restless. She'll be pushing soon. So, by tomorrow, I should have some puppy pictures for you and maybe a video of the birth, if Bella will allow it. |
| 61 days gestation |
| 6-07-07 |
| Lots to tell today. Bella is 61 days into her gestation and it appears as though she is in labor. She's been in the nursery nesting for the last four days. Last night she started having restless spells. She'd get up, circle around a few times, dig at her bedding, and then lay back down and sleep. That behavior typically begins 12-24 hours before delivery. She spent the morning that way as well. Now, she's in the beginning stages of active labor. She's not sleeping, and very restless. She'll be pushing soon. So, by tomorrow, I should have some puppy pictures for you and maybe a video of the birth, if Bella will allow it. |
| 61 days gestation |
| 6-07-07 |
| Lots to tell today. Bella is 61 days into her gestation and it appears as though she is in labor. She's been in the nursery nesting for the last four days. Last night she started having restless spells. She'd get up, circle around a few times, dig at her bedding, and then lay back down and sleep. That behavior typically begins 12-24 hours before delivery. She spent the morning that way as well. Now, she's in the beginning stages of active labor. She's not sleeping, and very restless. She'll be pushing soon. So, by tomorrow, I should have some puppy pictures for you and maybe a video of the birth, if Bella will allow it. |
Dixon
Delilah
Dax
| Day 2 |
| 6-09-07 |
| It is day 2 and Mom and pups are doing very well. Bella is eating again...most moms go off their feed about 24 hours before delivery and they don't normally resume eating till 24-48 hours after delivery. And the pups are eating and gaining weight as they should be. These guys are very active, and they can find Mom in no time flat, even with their eyes closed!! |
| BIRTHDAY!! |
| Day 3 |
| 6-10-07 |
| I realized today that the last time I did a journal, I had a hard time coming up with something to tell every day for the first two weeks after the pups were born. These little guys just don't change much in the first two weeks. They spend about 80% of the time sleeping. The rest is spent nursing and/or getting a bath from Mom. So, I've decided not to do a daily journal with this litter. They were born on Thursday, so check back each Thursday for a journal entry. I'll continue to log and take pictures throughout the week, but they'll be posted only on Thursdays. The pups are gaining weight steadily and nursing very well. |
| Day 7 |
| 6-14-07 |
| The pups are one week old today. They're doing so well. They have a slow and steady weight gain and they're already getting to be feisty. Mom and pups are all doing very well. Bella is such a good Mom. She keeps the pups very clean and very well fed. They're fat little things!! Click on the picture to see more pictures. I also got a video this week. Use the "video one" button at the top of the page to see it. |
| Day 14 |
| 6-21-07 |
| The pups are two weeks old today. They are still showing a slow and steady weight gain and a good bit more movement. Some of them are actually starting to try and walk. It's a little early for that and they're very wobbly, but they're definitely making progress. Their eyes have not opened yet, but they should be open by next week, so I'll be sure and get some pictures of their faces next week. Mom is doing very well. She's feeling good, eating well and keeping the pups nicely taken care of. |
Dirk
| Day 7 |
| 6-14-07 |
| The pups are one week old today. They're doing so well. They have a slow and steady weight gain and they're already getting to be feisty. Mom and pups are all doing very well. Bella is such a good Mom. She keeps the pups very clean and very well fed. They're fat little things!! Click on the picture to see more pictures. I also got a video this week. Use the "video one" button at the top of the page to see it. |
| Day 7 |
| 6-14-07 |
| The pups are one week old today. They're doing so well. They have a slow and steady weight gain and they're already getting to be feisty. Mom and pups are all doing very well. Bella is such a good Mom. She keeps the pups very clean and very well fed. They're fat little things!! Click on the picture to see more pictures. I also got a video this week. Use the "video one" button at the top of the page to see it. |
Dax
Dixon
Delilah
| Day 21 |
| 6-28-07 |
| The pups are three weeks old today. Their rate of growth has slowed but still remains steady. They're still trying to walk around a bit, but still very wobbly. We can't start feeding them solid food until they are able to stand up and stay up for a little while, so we've probably got at least another week before we can feed them. As promised last week, I've got some pictures of their faces for you to see. This one is Dax. Click on him and scroll down to see the others. I'll try to get them all up and moving to get a video for you next week so you can see them learning to walk. It's too cute! |
| Day 28 |
| 7-05-07 |
| The pups are four weeks old today. They are still showing a very slow but steady weight gain. They all still have soft spots, but those will close up in another week or two. I gave them their first shots today...Neopar, a parvo virus only shot. They will begin eating solid food this coming week. I did manage to get a video for you, so click on the Video Two link at the top of the page to see it. Be sure to give it plenty of time to load as it's a pretty big file. The pups are developing much better motor coordination. They are walking a little more steadily and they can sit up without falling over now. They're even beginning to play with each other. Puppy wrestling is the cutest thing! |
