More sleeping puppy pics

I never did make it out of my driveway today, so more puppy pics. Enjoy!

The puppy pool

Yash sleeping on the stuffed pig

Sweet little red head Muskan

Little blonde Dhruv

Aarushi

Collection of 2 1/2 week old puppy pics

Since I am snowed in, might as well share some cute puppy pics. Not quite as easy photographing moving subjects. Sleeping baby puppies are much easier.

Puppy pile

Dhruv going for a walk.

Unidentified cutie

Ajay looking a bit lost.

Rani and Aarushi sleeping.

Raja taking a bite out of a littermate, no teeth yet.

Aarushi wrestling with Dhruv, Rani is just sleeping through the commotion.

Coming alive

Puppy play

These pups are amazingly precocious and getting more fun by the day. Their ears started opening on Monday and they are starting to react to sounds at barely 2 weeks of age. They are enthusiastically eating almost one large can of Iams dog food per day, plus mob Hermione any chance they get. Some of the bigger pups are almost successful nursing from Hermione when she is standing (Hermione is a smaller 60 lb female). The pups are easily moving around the puppy pool and are putting their paws up on the walls - hopefully they will stay contained until this weekend's planned move into the puppy pen. They are starting to play with each other which is very cute. Their vocal repetoire includes baby puppy mewing, a very cute trill (almost a purr), and a piercing puppy bark. This is a very socially engaging litter. They readily come over to the side of the pool if people approach and crawl all over anyone who sits down in the pool. Yesterday evening, while I was watching a TV show, I cuddled a puppy, switching pups every 10 minutes or so. All the pups were very content to be cuddled.


Let us out!

Busy weekend

Feeding frenzy! Compare the size of the pups now to their earlier pics. They also got new colored elastic "collars" this afternoon.

The pups have had a busy weekend. They received another nail trim and their first worming. Tonight is the last night for BioSensor early neurological stimulation exercises. They also had two groups of visitors and their first taste of solid food. I wasn't sure if the pups were ready for canned food yet, but they took to it right away. They are just getting a very small amount (e.g. 1 tsp) a few times a day, to gradually get their systems used to this new food item. This will help take some of the load off of Hermione and start getting the pups ready for weaning in a few weeks. I have noticed that the pups have been more active, and I even caught Ajay, the walking champ, trying to scale the wall of the puppy pool. Hopefully they will stay contained until next weekend when I plan to move them into the puppy pen. Hermione is ravenous and eating very well. In addition to her 7 1/2 c of high calorie performance dog kibble per day (she gets 3 meals each day), she also gets supplimental high quality protein. Her human family brought her a big container of cooked chicken yesterday, she has been regularily eating hard boiled eggs, and just this afternoon, I cooked up some beef liver for her (donation from another friend). Hermione still looks great.

Two weeks old

Eight little puppies lined up in a row under the watchful eye of Auntie Tacara (not posed!)

Two weeks old, and many of the pups weigh around 3 lbs (each gained 1 lb this last week). Brown is currently the big boy at 3 lbs 2 oz. Orange boy is the smallest at 2 ½ lbs. Although Hermione is doing a great job feeding the gang, I am starting to provide the 3 smaller pups (Orange, Yellow, and Red) with some private nursing sessions so that they have a better chance of keeping up with their bigger littermates. The pups are becoming more cuddly and interactive. They are figuring out that those warm speed bumps in the puppy pool are actually littermates. I have added some environmental enrichment in the form of fuzzy bedding and stuffed animals. Earlier today, I saw 3 pups sleeping on a fake sheepskin, and another nuzzling the stuffed pig.

The pups now have names. I like to have a litter theme so that they have baby names instead of just being just Yellow or Pink for the 8 weeks they are with me. They may or may not keep these names once they leave. Hermione was from the Harry Potter litter, and obviously kept her name. I asked Hermione’s human family if they would like to give the pups Hindi names as a way of sharing their Indian heritage with this litter. They kindly provided the following names:

The Girls
Pink Basanti - “golden girl”
Yellow Aarushi - “first ray of the sun”
Purple Rani - “queen”
Red Muskan - “smile”, a term of endearment for an adorable young child

The Boys
Blue Raja - “king”
Orange Dhruv - mythical character, a boy who becomes the polar star. The story can be found at: http://www.longlongtimeago.com/llta_myths_dhruv.html
Green Ajay - “invincible”
Brown/dark blue Yash - “victory” for being the last one out!

Sleeping puppies 2 weeks old

Puppy pile 2 weeks old

Rani (Purple girl)

Our eyes are open

Puppy eyes (Yellow girl)

Pink girl opened her eyes on Tuesday, and the rest of the pups followed shortly there after. It is so much fun seeing their little puppy faces. Ear canals are still shut, but should be opening in the next week or so. The pups are getting very mobile and starting to spread out to sleep, sprawling all over the puppy pool. The gang has gained an impressive 1/2 lb each since Sunday, quite a few of the pups weigh 2 1/2 lbs. Hermione is starting to spend considerable time outside the puppy pool, just going in periodically to feed and clean - the 24/7 milk bar has closed. The pups are getting very good at sensing Hermione's presence, and a feeding frenzy ensues as soon as she steps into the pool.

Off and walking

The pups are starting to look like they belong in the big puppy pool. Green boy is the walking champ, but all the pups are moving around more on still very unsteady legs. The beauty of using a pool is that if a pup gets lost and starts moving around the outside, there is no corner to get stuck in, and they eventually find their way back. I have seen multiple pups get up and move away from the puppy pile to toilet!! These pups should be very easy to litter box train. The pups have been consistently gaining 2 oz per day each. That means Hermione is supporting a total of 1 lb (2 oz x 8 puppies) of puppy growth EACH DAY!! She is doing an amazing job keeping everyone fed and clean.

Hermione not taking this motherhood stuff too seriously