Daybreak Chinooks Puppies

2011-09-30T09:19:00.000-04:00

The Library Litter heads home

2010-01-16T16:13:00.004-05:00

Today we said goodbye to our sweet little puppies. Though it was very hard to let them go, we are so happy to have been a part of their lives and to have met wonderful people through the process of raising them. I was very proud of our children who wore brave faces all day despite their heavy hearts. It wasn't until after all the puppies left that they collapsed in tears. We thought the big adjustment would be HAVING puppies but it seems like it will be a bigger adjustment living without puppies in our lives. We feel blessed to have had this experience and couldn't be prouder of Tioga. She was a wonderful mom!

Mindy Hyde and Chris Fedinez are the proud new parents of Daybreak Bristol (aka: Squirrel) They live in Pennsylvania and will be working Bristol in harness and as an companion in all the outdoor activities they love. Chris' son Jacob will surely love having Bristol to pal around with! We are so happy that Bristol brought this wonderful family into our lives and we hope that our friendship continues to grow - I see wine festivals and snow boarding in our future! :)

Daybreak Bristol (Squirrel)
birth weight 15.8 oz, weight at 8 weeks: 15 lbs 7.9 oz

Mindy and Bristol sharing a cuddle

Remy first met Mudge on Thanksgiving day and she fell madly in love!

Look how much Mudge has grown since then.

I am thrilled to announce that my sister Karen VanVliet, her husband Frans and their three adorable children have adopted Daybreak Mudge! They are keeping his kennel name. The Van Vliets are excited to have a Chinook to join them on hikes and bike rides... I think once they get their feet wet in all the fun you can have with a Chinook, they'll be hooked! :)

Daybreak Mudge
birth weight: 15.2 oz, weight at 8 weeks: 15 lbs 8.5 oz

Remy, Frans, Mudge, Karen, Eli and Skylar

Levent saying one last goodbye to Mudge.

Squirrel and Tioga

Squirrel, Tioga and Dakota

Squirrel and Mudge relaxing in the sunshine before they head to their forever homes.

Squirrel

Morgan gets one last hug from Squirrel.

Thank you all for following us on this journey with our dogs and family. We have enjoyed sharing our experience with you!

7 week pupdate

2010-01-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

7 weeks has arrived faster than I could have imagined. At the end of this week, the puppies will go to their forever homes. This week was exhausting, so I am feeling torn between giddy excitement about having a puppy-free house (and the chance at a great night's sleep) and desperate sorrow about having to say goodbye to my furry babies. Tioga has weened her puppies, thought they will do anything to try and squeak out a few more drops of milk. The puppies are also doing marvelously well with house training. They are up a lot at night either crying to go out or begging Tioga to reconsider the whole weening thing. Tioga loves engaging the pups in enthusiastic wrestling matches and games of chase. They have been spending a lot of time outside exploring and visiting with neighbors and their dogs. For this weeks "growth chart" pictures Squirrel and Mudge are in the basket I carried them both in when they were small and we went to visit Daniel and Sophie's schools. I can't believe that just a few short weeks ago both of them fit in this basket at the same time with plenty of room to spare!

Squirrel
birth weight: 15.8 oz, weight at 7 weeks: 13 lbs 13.4 oz
You might be wondering if Squirrel and Mudge lived up to their names. Squirrel was named after the main character in A Dog's Life. In the book, a stray dog gives birth to puppies in an old chicken coop. She names the two surviving pups after the most important things in her world, Squirrel and Bone. One day, the mom goes out to find food and never returns. Squirrel and Bone are left to survive without their mom, but when the two are separated, Squirrel must make it on her own. Our Squirrel has the same strong, brave personality as the character in the book. She is trusting and loving of all people and extremely curious (which in the book, sometimes gets the main character into trouble - our girl, too!) We know that our Squirrel will have a "happily ever after" life like that of the dog in the book.

Yes that is Dakota's bed that Squirrel has taken over. She climbs right up on top of him and pesters him until he gets up and leaves and then she snuggles in his big huge bed for a nap!

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Mudge
birth weight: 15.2 oz, weight at 7 weeks: 13lbs 14 oz
Mudge is the namesake of a beloved family dog from the Henry and Mudge series. He personifies (or dog-ifies) the character to a tee, minus the major dog drool that the character Mudge, a Mastiff, possesses. Mudge's boy Henry has such a special bond with his dog and the series explores lots of different situations where the two explore their world, face problems, learn and grow together. We know that our sweet Mudge will make a wonderful special friend to the young people in his forever family. We hope that Mudge and his "kids" become the best of friends just like Henry and Mudge.

Mudge's favorite sleeping spot is in the pile of shoes and boots by our back door.

In the last storm a large limb from our birch tree snapped off into the dog yard. They have been having so much fun breaking off the branches. Too bad they can't cut it into nice sized chunks for the fireplace. :)

Squirrel loves hurling herself off the front porch into the soft snow in the garden.

Squirrel hiding in the trees

Mudge guarding the garden shed.

Tioga pouncing at the puppies.

Check out Squirrel's choppers!

She looks a little guilty about that last photo...attacking mom!

The best part of our week has to be that Dakota has finally decided to give the puppies a chance. He really thinks they are fun. They even got to play on Uncle Dakota's pillow without him running away.

The kids are going to have a hard time saying goodbye to these little cuties.

6 week pupdate

2010-01-04T09:00:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! The puppies celebrated the new year in style. Partying with tons of friends and neighbors, being treated like royalty, and having a great day of doggy fun with their canine cousins! Another busy week of holiday cheer. Squirrel and Mudge certainly have had their fill of socialization this week. We have a family tradition of "visiting each other's trees". After Christmas we travel to each of my sister's homes to see their tree and let the little kids share all the toys and tales they have from Christmas. The pups came along for the visits and were perfect hosts when family came to visit us. They are getting used to being the "entertainment" and rather enjoy all the attention. For New Year's Eve my sister and her boys and dogs and some dear friends of ours all stayed over for the midnight celebration and sledding the next day. The temps were finally warm enough to enjoy being outside and Squirrel and Mudge had a great time romping around the yard with 4 big dogs! They are so funny to watch running in the snow. Where the big dogs may only have snow up to their ankles, the pups are belly deep and looking more like bunnies hopping along than dogs.

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Squirrel
birth weight: 15.8 oz, weight at 6 weeks: 11 lbs 2.7 oz
Squirrel continues to be Miss Playful. She loves to pounce and chew and can not get enough of those lovely girls with long hair! Sophie is a frequent victim of the hair chewing. I am not sure if it is the hair that is so fun for Squirrel or the little girl giggles! We have had 10 degree or below temps here for several days with a biting wind. Squirrel HATES to be out in the raw weather. (Who can blame her!) We carry her all the way to the farthest corner of the yard to go to the bathroom, otherwise she just scratches at the door to come in. Still, she does her business in record time and makes a bee-line for the door. She is quick as lightening and has mastered the deck stairs already. She adores tormenting Dakota by chasing him off his bed and then taking her place right in the middle of it. A very headstrong girl, but still loves the attention and affection from us. We just love watching that stubborn streak come through when she wants something.

Mudge
birth weight 15.2 oz, weight at 6 weeks: 11 lbs 1.8oz
All that fluff has apparently made Mudge immune to the elements. We joke that perhaps we should bring him a newspaper when he goes out to do his business. He takes his sweet 'ole time, sniffing all around the yard, playing with the other dogs, hiding under the deck. Just when we are about to give up, thinking, he doesn't have to go, he finds a place! Mudge

is catching up to Squirrel with his pouncing technique, though with all that fluff, he looks like the fat kid in gym class compared to her graceful leaps! He has made himself right at home in front of the glass slider leading to our back yard. There is often a pile of shoes there and he curls up between them. Sometimes he puts his muzzle right in the mouth of the shoe and falls asleep. Squirrel prefers to sleep under our coffee table. It offers the best location for a sneak attack! We are adding little "stresses" to the puppies lives to get them used to things like the vacuum cleaner, washing machine, different floor surfaces, etc. We try to expose them to as many new situations as we can. We are using Pat Schlaap's Rule of 7s technique to introduce 7 different types of food bowls, locations, floor surfaces, people, etc. These variations of exposures create a well socialized dog. So far both Squirrel and Mudge seem so even tempered. There hasn't been one situation where we felt either pup was uneasy. (Accept of course outside in this blustery wind which nearly lifts them right off the ground!) Mudge and Squirrel - Terrific twosome goes rogue! No shoelaces are safe!

Tioga is amazing with the puppies. She is teaching them so much about playing gently and using a soft mouth. She is patient with them even though they continue to want to nurse and she clearly wants them weened. Tioga often allows them to suckle long enough to fall asleep when they are unsettled at night, and I usually find them all still sleeping together in the crate the following morning. It is a blast to watch them tearing around the living room!

2009-12-28T10:56:00.008-05:00

It is hard to believe that the pups are 5 weeks old today. This week was Christmas week. As we debated the timing of the litter and the 'to breed or not to breed' question, this week was my biggest concern. How would we manage puppies and still keep all the traditions of the holidays in place for our children. Would they resent any changes we would have to make to accommodate puppies? Would we be able to manage presents and trees and decorations? Could we still visit with friends and family with puppies in tow? None of these fears came to be this week! We were blessed with a spectacular Christmas filled with traditions and family and friends and YES! even puppies. Squirrel and Mudge made the holiday a delight! We didn't think it could be possible to add more magic to the season, but they certainly did! The pups alerted us at 5 am that Santa had come and it was all clear to start the day! They accompanied us to my sisters house where they got to meet the whole family. They played in the yard with children and their dog cousins, Pooka and Guinness. After a lot of oohing and aahing they spent most of the day napping. This week meant a lot of visits from friends and neighbors, they met tons of people and several dogs and showed their true Chinook spirit through it all - tails wagging and plenty of kisses!

SQUIRREL
birth weight: 15.8 oz, weight at 5 weeks: 9 lbs 2 oz

Squirrel is at once a beauty queen and a warrior. Her looks are sleek and elegant but she is full of zest and as adventuresome as they come. She loves to explore, pounce, play, bite and yes! escape all forms of containment! She is very attached to Tioga and while her position as "favorite kid" has given her more confidence and stubbornness, it also makes her very dependent. As Tioga weens them, Squirrel is more vocal about her disapproval of not having mom on demand. She is the most playful of the two. Often when the food bowl goes down she is more interested in playing with the hand that placed it there and ends up jumping all over the food to get to the human!

Ever curious, Squirrel would rather eat the tree than pose beside it.

Side by side she looks much leaner than Mudge, however she only let him beat her once on the scale. She is sleek and Mudge is all fluff!

I wonder what the ears will do in the future?

MUDGE
birth weight: 15.2 oz, weight at 5 weeks: 8 lbs 15oz

Mudge continues to be the love-bug! Though he is always the winner in a wrestling match with Squirrel, he still prefers to cuddle. He is very interested in watching the big dogs play and tries to mimic them in games of chase. Dakota is becoming more and more at ease with them, now that they can run and play. Mudge was the first pup to figure out the potty routine. He almost always pees on the paper and hasn't pooped inside in the last week. He whines to go out whenever he needs. They both are doing incredibly well with preliminary housebreaking. They are a wonderful balance to each other - In any given situation one is tentative and the other is bold and then in a different situation the roles are reversed. It is fun to watch who will take the lead, who learns what skill first, who is the first to venture out and who is the quickest to come running back.

Mudge is a much easier pup to photograph as he more readily sits STILL. Squirrel needs a high speed shutter at all times!

Just hanging out!

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Squirrel is almost always found napping in Tioga's crate. This particular sleeping position is a total GreatMountain gene!

With all that fluff, Mudge usually naps where there is a draft. He almost always sleeps up against the gate. That is until Santa brought them new doggie beds...

Squirrel and Mudge

Out early to watch the snow fall.

Chasing each other under the deck.

Squirrel is wondering what Dakota finds so interesting about this stick.

Tioga says, "being a mom is exhausting!"

Squirrel (the escape artist)

2009-12-24T06:15:00.003-05:00

Does this look like the face of a criminal???

This is the moment every parent dreads - when they realize that their baby can climb out of the crib. The little "safety zone" you have created has been deemed (by the child) a prison and now their only goal is to escape (again and again - just to prove they can!).

Squirrel is absolutely a girl on a mission! No walls will hold her in. We were keeping the whelping box door closed (to keep the puppies in - so we thought) while still allowing Tioga access to them, as she can jump the side to get in. The puppies have decided they will no longer poop in the whelping box, even though I made a nice little potty area in a corner for them. They pee in the potty area, but when they have to poop they kick up such a ruckus that you have to investigate. Immediately upon exiting the box, they find a nice little spot in the corner of the puppy playmat and poop. Now that they realize making a ton of noise is a free ticket out of the box, they scream uncontrollably whenever they want to play, follow mom, go to the bathroom, not go to sleep (even though it is 2 am!) Squirrel figured out that if you get into the corner of the box you can climb on the rail and shimmy up and over the top. OK, so now what? Tioga needs access, pups need containment. We decided to make the entire puppy room a giant whelping box. Tioga's crate is in there, a play area with toys and foam tiles for good traction on the floor , a sleeping area with soft bedding, and a potty area. It is a veritable puppy paradise, if I do say so myself. BUT... on the other side of that gate is a very interesting Christmas tree!!! Squirrel got a little "taste" of a Christmas ornament the other day. Boy, was it good. She batted it with her nose and paw and it swung right back at her! She pull it with her teeth and the whole tree wiggled and all the ornaments danced! Oh man! She knows that tree is fun waiting to happen!!! Squirrel (or shall I say Houdini) has now decided she will escape the puppy room! There is a world out there ready for her to conquer! We have an accordion gate across the door as it is very wide and was the only style that would work there. She has twice gotten her head stuck in the gate testing the ability of it to hold her in. Thankfully, it only requires you to accordion the gate one way or another to make the opening bigger for her head to slip out. I really thought the first time would scare her straight - but no! She continues to test -like the Velociraptor in Jurassic Park. Surely this "drive" will make for a great sled dog, but it also makes a (human) mother weary.

4 week pupdate

2009-12-21T17:20:00.007-05:00

We are at the half-way mark. The pups are 4 weeks old and will only be with us for 4 more weeks before they head to their forever homes. It is a bittersweet time as we are becoming so attached with them and yet know the more we grow to love them the more they are ready for their new loving permanent homes. They are becoming increasingly more hard to handle (though I always know how easy I have it with just 2 pups) They are faster on their feet and more demanding at meal times. Humans need to be on their toes with paper towels or baby wipes. You wouldn't believe the amount of pee that can come out of such tiny bladders and how quick they can find the ONE SPOT you didn't want them to pee on!! Squirrel climbed right up in Dakota's dog bed the other day and peed right in the center of it! Aside from their potty escapades, they are becoming such distinct individuals. Squirrel is so feisty and loves to play, bite, growl, chase, romp. Mudge is beginning to see the fun in all this horsing around and has just started to use Squirrel as a chew toy to get her to wrestle him!

Squirrel

birth weight 15.8 oz., weight at 4 weeks 7 lbs 1.7 oz.

Squirrel thinks the book tastes yummy!

Mudge

birth weight 15.2 oz., weight at 4 weeks 7 lbs 1.2 oz.
This photo shoot is interrupting Mudge's nap!
Dakota is warming up to the puppies.

Mudge being a cutie!

Squirrel being a princess!

Cute Fest!

2009-12-17T14:49:00.004-05:00

Having lots of fun playing in the puppy room. The puppies are starting to chase and run (so funny on unstable legs) They are showing more interest in toys and peoples hands, jewelry, shirts and hair! A puppy favorite in a house full of young girls and their friends...PONY TAILS! They are fun to jump up at and chew on! Here are some pictures of our fun today!

Mudge and my other "puppy" Sophie

Mudge and Squirrel trying to get lunch to go!

Squirrel and Tioga are always nose to nose. I personally think Squirrel is Tioga's favorite. She spends a lot of time and attention on her cleaning and care. Though she is still attentive to Mudge, he usually sleeps in a separate area of the box. Squirrel can always be found curled up by Tioga's neck. Mudge is a noisy one, so I am not sure if his constant whine, squeaks, grunts and rumble cause Tioga anxiety and she therefore tries to avoid him more, or if he is just more "antisocial". You could write an entire dog psychology book just sitting her watching them interact and trying to figure out what it all means. Wrestle-mania!
Squirrel trying to get the camera. She just swatted at it and nearly lost her balance...hence that awkward pose. She loves to play!

See!... Squirrel sneaks away from the "play date" to find mom, a snack and a nice nap!

Little Mudger-pie! Not so little anymore - he beat Squirrel out on the scale this morning.
For the first time ever Mudge out weighs Squirrel by a few ounces!

Hudson, the Daddy...

2009-12-14T19:18:00.002-05:00

I was just re-reading the 3-week pupdate and thought that my comment about Squirrel seeming to be a lot like her mother may have sounded a bit one-sided. After all, if Hudson wasn't such a "go-getter" (read that GO-GET-HER!), we wouldn't have any puppies at all! We only spent a long weekend with Hudson and his wonderful human family, but we got to know Hudson , hmmm... intimately. (smirk!)

Hudson has the classic Chinook temperament - a gentle giant. The breeding was an adventure for both the Smith family and us, as we are all novices to breeding. If it wasn't for the good nature of both Hudson and Tioga, it would have been a very daunting task.

Hudson is also quite athletic, taking part in daily bike-jor trips with his humans and his canine "brother". We hope both pups have acquired that drive!

In my best guess, I would say Mudge carries a lot of his Daddy's lovable nature and Squirrel has his outgoing friendliness. They both are sure to bring loads of joy to their forever families with the combined sweetness of both parents.

Hudson is one handsome dude!

3-week pupdate

2009-12-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

This week was all about fun. Mudge and Squirrel are silly curious puppies! We are having a ball watching them explore the world, wrestle, walk (and tumble - a lot!), call for their mom and try, try, try to make Dakota like them. They have been lapping goat's milk. The first couple attempts were goofy and messy, but they seem to be getting a better hang of what to do each time. Dakota seems to enjoy being around for leftovers, but when the puppies wobble over to check him out he does a crazy quick-step out of the room. (Sort of looks like a cat trying to quickly walk out of a puddle of water) He is warming up to them, slowly but surely!

Squirrel seems to love being out and about. She boldly explores the area around her when we have her out of the whelping box. She smells and walks and bobbles her sweet little head around. She seems to have the same "go get 'em" personality as her mom. Mudge is a bit more reserved. He doesn't like it when Tioga is out of his line of vision. When she leaves the whelping box, he yelps noisily. It is a lovely excuse for me to need to pick him up...am probably spoiling him rotten, but he does settle quickly when reassured. Tioga has struck a balance between being her old self and being a devoted mom. She is spending more time having fun with Dakota, romping in the snow and playing tug-a-war with toys. She still has an immediate response to the squeal of a puppy. The moment she comes in from outdoors, she heads straight for the "puppy room" to check on her babies.

SQUIRREL
birth weight: 15.8 oz, weight at 3 weeks: 5 lbs 7.9 oz

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MUDGE
birth weight: 15.6, weight at 3 weeks: 5 lbs 4.9 oz

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The Terrific Two-some!

Squirrel really wants to sleep, but Mudge wants to play!

Puppies at play and first "meal"

2009-12-11T13:50:00.004-05:00

Squirrel and Mudge are starting to play with each other and the kids like proper little puppies. They have started wrestling a bit and moving about the box for shear entertainment and not just looking for their next meal. They frequently "argue" over a good spot to nap. We find them squealing and squawking on top of each other trying to nudge their sibling out of the way to reach the darkest corner of the box under the rail. Their teeth are coming in, which means they are "itching" (as my husband says) Their favorite teeth toy seems to be Sophie. Her hair is fun to tug on and her neck is oh so warm!

Sophie laughs so hard at the "puppy attack"!

Mudge has already perfected the "puppy dog eyes"
He is very good an eliciting an "awwww" response!

Squirrel is the most stable on her legs, but she still acts like a turtle. She will try to stretch her neck out as far as possible to reach her target before she makes the effort to get up.
She is so lovely!

Wrestling match - Squirrel on left, Mudge on right (or is that top and bottom!?)

Squirrel and Mudge also had their first non-Tioga meal yesterday. It was very messy and for a great portion of the time, they both were more interested in chewing on the side of the dish than what was actually in it! I dipped my finger in the goat's milk and they licked it a few times before they dove right in. Morgan and I took turns holding the saucer, so Daniel was in charge of this photo shoot. Not bad! He may have a career with National Geographic.

Squirrel says YUM!

Can't you just read her mind...OHHH FOOOD! YUMMMM!

After she had her fill, she went back to trying to eat the plate.

Mudge takes a turn at the messy fun.

Looks like he got more on his chin than in his belly!

Drippy, messy, good! Tioga loved giving them a bath after this little snack!

Mudge looks down-right drunk!

Tioga got to eat the leftovers and clean soggy puppies. Being a mom has it's rewards!

Puppies in the living room.

2009-12-08T06:48:00.008-05:00

Squirrel "watching" TV

Mudge "watching" TV

ABC Family is showing their 25 days of Christmas programming. Every night from December 1st to the 25th they show Christmas specials and movies. For some reason Harry Potter is consider among these "Christmas Movies" Every year they do a HP marathon, but I always thought the movies were much too scary for my crew. This year (after an obsessive reading of Twilight, the Uglies Series, the Barcode Tatoo and a parade of other creepy books that seem to be the current favorite genre) I decided the kids would probably enjoy the movies and in turn would request the books to read.

Last night they were all set to enjoy the movie from Sunday night that they had recorded, when the puppies drew them into the front room. Hmmmm. What to do? Movie in the family room or cuddling in the "puppy room"? The kids were giddy when I got a big blanket out and put it on the floor and brought the puppies in the family room for the movie. I think they were under the impression that I was doing something naughty by taking the puppies out of the whelping box. Daniel asked - are we allowed to do that. Morgan was all "Border Collie" about keeping them contained on the blanket. Sophie just climbed on they blanket and curled up with them! I am not sure you want the puppies review of the movie... after the intial tour of the blanket, they fell fast asleep!

Back in the box, Squirrel loves her mommy! What a sweet hug!

Mindy and friends...go back to work! There are children to teach! Minds to inspire! Papers to grade! :)

Library Litter is 2 weeks old today!

2009-12-07T08:05:00.007-05:00

The puppies turn 2 weeks old today! The time is flying by and until I am cleaning up copious amounts of puppy poop, I can only hope to make time stand still a while so I can enjoy every minute of their little lives. So much has happened this week! Eyes have opened and pudgy bodies have begun to wobble around the whelping box. We have been out and about introducing the puppies to 2 different schools and had many neighbors stop by to visit. Squirrel and Mudge are instant smile makers. No one can resist their adorable roly poly bodies, their sweet coos and grunts (and yes we have even heard the attempts at a "big dog" bark!) The most spoken word in our house is...AWWWWWWW! We are truly in love! Here are some pictures from the last week.

Squirrel is a real beauty queen. Look at her pose for the camera!

Birth weight: 15.8 oz, Weight at 2 weeks: 3 lbs 15.7 oz

Mudge is our little lover boy. He adores being held and just relaxes into your arms like a rag doll.
Birth weight: 15.6 oz, Weight at 2 weeks: 3 lbs 14.2 oz

Squirrel is the feisty one. Mudge cuddles into her and she tries to eat her way out of this photo shoot!

Squirrel, looking quite a bit like a polar bear cub.

And again, checking for every possible escape route! (I am no Penthea Burns and I can not imagine how she gets such clear shots of squirming puppies - right now, she is my hero!)

Mudge says, "If I hide my face underneath this toy, no one will bother me with the camera!"

OK FINE! Take the picture..

Going to hide my face again.

Sweet Squirrel, coming in for a close up!

Big changes!

2009-12-05T07:16:00.003-05:00

What an amazing few days. I am constantly in awe of these little puppies and of Tioga. In the last two days the puppies eyes have opened nearly all the way and they have started "toddling" in earnest - holding up their weight on wiggly legs for several seconds as the move across the whelping box. They really look like a couple of drunks...eyes half open and stumbling all over the place!! Tioga is an amazing mom. Instinctively, she knows how to care for the pups with gentleness and affection. They are truly creating a beautiful bond, especially now that their eyes have opened. It is almost as if they are trying to memorize her face. They crawl right up to her nose and with their little bobble heads, stare right into her eyes. She licks their little noses (then they open their mouths wide, like baby birds, and she even licks inside their mouths.)

Another big change is that I am no longer camped out beside the whelping box. Last night, I slept in my own bed for the first time in 12 days. I sure did miss my bed, but was very leary about leaving Tioga to manage them on her own. Around 1 am, I heard the pups making quite a racket, so I headed downstairs expecting to find Tioga sleeping in her crate and the pups crying for mom. To my surprise, Tioga was in the whelping box and the pups were NOISLY nursing. What a great mom she is and what a bunch of noisy eaters!!!

The puppies got to be show-and-tell for Sophie at preschool. She was beaming with pride at "her puppies" and loved being able to tell all the kids EVERYTHING she knows about dogs.

Dakota is happy that Tioga is starting to pay a bit more attention to him. She actually cleaned his ears yesterday to his delight! He has missed her companionship.

We spent the last two days decorating for the holidays. I am back to "baby proofing" our holiday displays, thinking to the future of Squirrel and Mudge ramming around the place!

Puppy names announced at Southwest School.

2009-12-03T09:52:00.008-05:00

The puppies had a very exciting day as they went to Southwest School to announce their winning names in the "name our puppies" contest. Nine books were donated to the school's media center, all with a dog theme to their stories. All of the dog character names were choices for the students to vote on. 216 students voted and, as you know Squirrel and Mudge were the winners!

Squirrel and Mudge sleeping in their basket as the student filed through the library to meet them.

Three students were chosen at random from the ballot box and were awarded Chinook baseball caps!

Some of the smaller groups of kids got to hold the puppies.

The bigger classes just peeked into the basket. Everyone fell in love with them!

A few teachers couldn't resist cuddling Mudge and Squirrel.

Mrs. Vitalo is the reading specialist. She brings her own dog Tibi to school for the children to read to. She loves dogs! :)

We had a great time including the children in the birth of our first litter. We hope to be able to visit the school again as the puppies grow!

For Mindy...

2009-12-02T12:44:00.008-05:00

Helping Mindy get her puppy fix!

Here is a cute picture of the pups at naptime today. Mudge is under the rail and Squirrel is in the foreground.

Their whelping box is in a lovely sunny corner of the front room and they love to bask in the warm rays of the sun while they nap.

Here is a video of Squirrel. She was very sleepy when I took this video. Lately, they both have been getting their legs under them a bit more and holding up their weight for a moment when they are crawling. Here though, she is just looking for a comfy spot to finish her nap. I love that they look for each other to cuddle with when they sleep. The other day, Mudge must have thought he was cuddling Tioga, or was dreaming about milk, because his little tongue kept poking out and licking Squirrel's side. :)

video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=07hxshOo1vQ

Little glimpses of big dogs

2009-12-02T06:30:00.001-05:00

Squirrel

Mudge

We have been noticing the cutest little "big dog" behavior from the puppies as they grow. In the past day or so we have seen Mudge licking his paw, Squirrel scratching her side with her back leg and both of the pups curling up into a ball to sleep. Baby steps from helpless little lima beans to man's (and lady's) best friend. As newborns they more closely resemble guinea pigs than a dogs, but we are starting to see the dogs in them emerge. Life is beautiful!

Poop!

2009-12-01T08:51:00.005-05:00

It is funny that as soon as you have a baby in your care, no matter what species, the subject of excrement becomes significantly important. At no other time in my life have I cared so much about poop! Whose making it? How much? When? Color? Consistency? Strange to think that your success or failure as a parent of a newborn directly correlates to how "regular" your little one is. Suffice it to say, Squirrel (the glutton) and Mudge (the snacker) are keeping me on my toes. Squirrel is a bully at the milk bar and poor Mudge (I think she thinks his name is "Nudge") gets shoved out of the way as soon as he gets the milk to flow. Last night, I separated Tioga from the pups for a couple of hours, because it was a non-stop happy hour. Momma needed rest and as it turns out the puppies did to. I am guessing, just like human babies, nursing is a comfort to them and not always just a food source. My own Sophie was a professional nurser - seriously, I had to hide from her! It had nothing to do with hunger, just the need to feel close. So, we had a night full of "open buffet" and now the wait begins for ... you guessed it...POOP!

Sophie and Squirrel love a good meal!

Puppies are 1 week old today!

2009-11-30T06:00:00.011-05:00

Mudge and Squirrel enjoy a quick outdoor photo shoot.
Even though it is the end of November the weather feels like April! :)

I can not believe how fast the week has flown by! It seems like Maria and I were just sitting here stressing out yesterday and here we are already marking the first week since their birth.

We are learning to function with little sleep and spending hours just watching them wiggle around the whelping box. They are beginning to make more purposeful movements. They seem to have more control of their heads and seem to seek out Tioga's neck and face as a place for warm cuddles and soft kisses.

Mudge: aka - Mudger Pie, Smudge
weight at birth: 15.6 oz, weight at one week: 2 lbs 3.5 oz

Squirrel: aka - Squirrely-Q, Squirrely-girly
weight at birth: 15.8 oz, weight at one week: 2 lbs 7.6 oz

We have discovered a fool-proof way to tell the pups apart without flipping them over to peek at private parts. Mudge is without a doubt the "wild child", right down to his crazy fur coat! If you look closely you can see that Mudge's fur is a bit shorter than Squirrel's and sticks out like he is sporting a crew cut - it sticks straight out in all directions. Even his little tail has a poofy fluff at the base before it tapers to the end. It compliments his goofy behavior to a tee! Squirrel's has the most luxurious coa, the sheen to it looks like velvet, smooth and sleek.

The kids are head over heals for them both. It will be hard for them to head back to school after a long Thanksgiving weekend, but they are excited to bring in photos and brag about their new puppies! :)

Exhaustion setting in...

2009-11-29T06:58:00.005-05:00

My husband and I are sharing the puppy watching duties through the night. Typically, I go to bed early and he stays up until 1am and then I get up and stay up the rest of the night so he can sleep. This is why God made puppies so cute. If they were chickens or snakes for example, I would be fast asleep by now!

It is hard to remove human baby emotion from your psyche. I hear the puppies cry and my first instinct is to want to pick them up and rock them. My heart is thinking, "oh those poor babies want to be cuddled and be made to feel secure" but my head knows the cry has more to do with basic needs - cold or hot, hungry, gas bubble. I can see that stepping back a bit and letting Tioga figure it out is benefiting us both. She was really looking to me to "fix it" when a puppy made a distress call. She would just whine and I would feel badly for them both and go cuddle the puppy, hold it to her for licking or for nursing etc. Last night, mostly out of sheer exhaustion, I gave it a few extra minutes before stepping in. As I had hope, Tioga figured it out on her own and was able to quiet her puppy by nudging them to her for a cuddle or some milk.

I feel like I am repeating that line from the movie Cast Away every morning. "Tomorrow the sun will rise, who knows what the tide will bring in" Because right around 4 am I am saying, "Why the heck did I think breeding Tioga was a good idea?"

Hittin' the Highway!

2009-11-28T06:00:00.004-05:00

Our son, Daniel graciously gave up his matchbox car carpet to use as a non-skid surface under the fleece for the the whelping box. Today while I was changing out the bedding, Tioga and the pups took a "cruise around town". That is Mudge over at the milk bar with Tioga (They are actually laying on the airport!) Squirrel is in the foreground racing down the highway!

Personalities emerge with each passing day.

2009-11-27T17:30:00.000-05:00

The puppies have become a regular fixture in our lives. They already have nicknames and everyone knows where each puppy prefers to sleep so they can be easily found and identified in the whelping box. We have noticed every subtle difference in the two.

Squirrel, who is now affectionately known as Squirrely Q, is our content one. She keeps to a regular pattern of eat, sleep, mommy kisses, poop. She is a glutton and will go down the row of teats emptying the milk before falling back to sleep. A sure sign that she is Tioga's girl - both momma and baby LOVE their eats! She easily settles after anything that makes her cry or whine...hunger, tummy trouble, missing mama. Squirrel is using her first born status to claim the top tier of their little dog pile when the two are cuddling. She is bigger than Mudge by a few ounces and a slight shade darker. She likes to sleep right in the middle of the box with a blanket over her. Mostly on her belly but sometimes on her side. She is the quiet one of the pair - a stark contrast to a very vocal Mudge.

Mudge, who is now known as Mudger-Pie, is our little needy one. All in a good way, he just needs a little extra loving. He is our man-on-the-move. He was the first pup that ventured away from mom to explore the whelping box. All that moving means he doesn't like to stay still for a good long feeding or a proper bath from mom to encourage a poop. He is more of a snack, wiggle, whine, wiggle, nap, wiggle, kind of man. We have been holding him in place next to Tioga to to make sure he is getting his proper eats and baths. He has a great "voice" - hums when he eats, grunts when he wriggles across the whelping box, whines when there is an obstacle in his way (or when he wants to be back by Tioga but is just to tired to get there) and makes the cutest little lip smacking sounds when he sleeps. He loves sleeping on his back and having his tummy rubbed. This makes us smile because Tioga and many dogs in the GreatMountain line also love to sleep this way!

We are dazzled by their little pudgy bodies scooting around on the whelping box floor. We are noticing little changes in them each day and are captivated by watching them grow.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving morning began with one overtired puppy and one stressed out puppy mom. Mudge just couldn't settle last night. He cried and whined and did a hundred tours around the whelping box. I tired all the tricks I could think of to comfort him but nothing seemed to work for any length of time. A recon mission on FB with Karen Hinchy determined that most likely the whelping box was a bit too warm for our little guy. Sure enough, her advice was spot-on and everyone settled in for a much needed nap while I went to prepare the turkey. Our whole family was here to celebrate the day. A very traditional Thanksgiving feast, great food, great company, football on the TV and laughter filling the house. The puppies and Tioga occupy our front room off the family room, so while it is quiet in there we can still peek in to "ooooh and awwww" at the little cuties. Tioga was very proud to show off her babies to all the cousins and aunts and uncles. She seems to be feeling more confident in her role as mommy. She isn't so nervous about leaving the pups to go outside to relieve herself and she even took some time today to share a bowl of goats milk with our other Chinook, her pal Dakota. Dakota has missed Tioga's company since her attention has been solely on the puppies. Her careful attention to them is so sweet to see and is turning them into plump, happy puppies. They are gaining over an ounce each day! With only 2 puppies, there is no competition at "Momma's Milk Bar" - happy hour, all day, everyday! So, with all of our bellies (both human and canine) stuffed and heaving contented sighs, we say good night. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Our first adventure outside the whelping box

2009-11-25T12:54:00.000-05:00

Today Squirrel and Mudge had their first adventure outside the whelping box. A quick trip to the vet for a check up and dew claw removal. Easier said than done. Although the vet is only 4 minutes down the street, it felt like 400 miles! I had to separate the pups from mom so that they wouldn't get squished enroute as Tioga was wildly yelping and pacing from window to window. She was definitely excited to go for a car ride. As we started off, the pups began squealing for their mom and Tioga became increasingly agitated at being apart from them. The receptionist met me in the parking lot and whisked the puppies into the office so that I could stay in the car with Tioga and keep her calm. They had their dew claws removed and were given a clean bill of health and swiftly returned to their waiting mom. After they left, she fell fast asleep (don't tell the pups, they think she was crying for them the whole time) Obviously, the whole ordeal (which maybe lasted 15 minutes) was exhausting for Mudge and Squirrel because they have been fast asleep ever since!

The puppies are here at last!

2009-11-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning Tioga's temp was lower but not the significant DROP that all the books I had read in preparation had told me to expect. Maria Sommer was "on call" and after a long day of waiting for some tell-tale sign, we decided she should just come up because no doubt the puppies would be born at some crazy hour of the night. Saturday night came and went! Sunday morning Tioga's temp was a full degree lower than the day before. Ah ha! This was the REAL temp drop that we were looking for. Sometime in the next 24 hours we were sure we would be delivering puppies. Sunday night came and went! By Monday morning we were all a little on edge. Had we missed some sign of trouble? Do we continue to wait it out? Were the puppies still ok? As the morning progessed Tioga's behavior was encouraging. She was pacing and panting and digging more and more with each passing hour. We were on our way! By 10:30 am it was clear that Tioga was in hard labor. She was a wonderful dog throughout the whole experience. She was pushing so hard with each contraction and quite clearly very uncomfortable but she remained her sweet self, looking to us for belly rubs and encouragement. Finally, at 11:00 am the first puppy, a girl, was born. She began nursing before she was all the way delivered. A strong, vigorous pup. We named her Squirrel (See our website for info on how we chose the puppy names: www.daybreakchinooks.com) We all were overjoyed and breathed a collective sigh of relief! Tioga began mothering right away, licking and cleaning and greeting her new baby. About an hour later, at 12:10 pm the second puppy, a boy, was born with a fraction of the effort it took to whelp the first. Again, a squirming, wriggling, NOISY pup! We named him Mudge. Oh joy! We did it! They were healthy and strong and nursing and being loved by their momma. It was so amazing and beautiful and raw and natural. The mothering instinct for Tioga and the survival instinct for the pups was incredible to see. Immediate and endearing. What a great mom Tioga is!