Tula’s pups are twelve days old today, and her daughter is finally starting to feel better. She’s less sniffly, gaining weight again, and just generally more perky.
It’s a nice relief to not have to worry about her every minute of the day.
Her brother is developing a ton of pigment – it sets off his big, blocky head quite nicely, although it’s also possible I’m a bit prejudiced. OK, more than a bit. Look, is it my fault that I just happen to have the world’s most absolutely adorable puppies?
https://i0.wp.com/www.bullmarketfrogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Brindle_pied_frenchbulldog.jpg?fit=662%2C662&ssl=1662662Carolhttps://www.bullmarketfrogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/bullmarket-logo.pngCarol2009-07-10 10:27:172009-07-10 10:27:17Tula's Pups at Twelve Days
This is likely a result of her snuffling milk up her nose while nursing, which sometimes happens in French Bulldog puppies. I’ve never noticed a correlation between milk snorters and breathing issues in later life – it just seems that some pups nurse vigorously enough to snort milk up their noses in the process. Maybe her brother made her giggle – Lord knows I laughed enough milk up my nose as a kid.
The first day, it was barely noticeable – just a little milk around her one nostril. Within a day, I had to suction that nostril out – and MAN! You just would not believe how much goo can come out of the nose of a nine day old puppy.
It’s fun spending time with them now – they’re starting to get personalities, as opposed to just being cute little Hamsters. They respond to us when they see us, they solicit attention, and they sometimes bark when they don’t get it!
Right now, Jacques and DP are the most reticent of the pups – a little bit shy, but very sweet. Po and Vela are bold and brave, attacking every new experience with enthusiasm. Hugo is mellllow – and boy, does that boy love to nap.
This afternoon, I’ll be moving them to the playpen in the family room, where they’ll start spending part of every day. This will expose them to new sights, sounds and experiences.
They’re still at the fat little chunky muffin phase, although the dark brindle girl has apparently inherited her grandmother’s reluctance to be awoken from naps. Like Sailor, the dark brindle girl wakes up frantic and more than a little bit pissed off – “How dare you wake me when I’m sleeping??”. I guess I know who inherited the princess gene.
Her silvery colored sister informed me yesterday when I picked her up that her name is Pickle. It’s funny how that works – one minute, they’re ‘anonymous puppy girl’, then the next you find yourself saying “Well, good morning, Pickle”, and wondering where the hell did that come from? Every so often, puppies just pick their own names. It happens.
This litter, by the way, is my Punk themed litter – how could the kids of Delilah and Dexter not be punks, I ask you? The little boy is veering between Johnny Thunders, Johnny Rotten (more for PiL, actually), Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone. No idea on the girls, other than one will be KatieJane (of Daisy Chainsaw fame).
Right now, I’m watching them fill out – they were a good size when they were born, but they felt a little ribby. Already, at three days old, that feeling is gone, and they feel packed and solid, with some weight to them. Their only goals at the moment are eat/sleep/eliminate/repeat, and not necessarily in that order. We hardly even see the puppies – Tula keeps them tucked underneath her flank, hidden away. I have to put her water and food into the whelping box for her, as she can barely stand to leave them. I love the little girl’s head already, but I try not to get my hopes up this early.
Easier said than done, of course.
As for theme names, I’m still thinking this over. I contemplated tea – Darjeeling and Earl Grey? Chamomile and Red Zinger? No, maybe not. Then I contemplated movie titles. Movie stars?
I just don’t know. Any suggestions for a pair of little cream cuties?
Last night, at about 12:30, I heard a strange ‘skritching’ sound coming from the spare bedroom across the hall. Like most dog people, the most quiet of noises, if it’s out of place, can wake from an almost dead sleep, and this noise was most definitely out of place.
Fine, time to go and check it out. I discovered Tula, sleeping in the whelping box, and Heart on the floor, scritching the edge of the pool in an attempt to get back inside. Big enough to get out of the pool, small enough to be stuck outside once she did. I set a temporary barricade up around the pool, popped Heart inside with her mommy, and headed back to bed. In the morning, I discovered Heart once again toddling around on the floor of the room, within ‘trouble’ range of electrical cords, carpeting and other not puppy safe hazards.
It’s official — she’ll go live in the ex pen with the other kids, including over night.
As a compromise, I’m alternating Tula and Penelope in the whelping room with the kids. I don’t want to just take Heart away from her mommy – they love each other! Penelope, on the other hand, dashed into the dog room and out into the yard without a backward glance. Freedom!
Tula nosed around the ex pen, sniffed noses with Heart across the doorway, and decided to pop inside for a visit. In a few moments, a light bulb went off inside her head. “These are puppies — other puppies!”. What do we do with puppies? Why, we clean them and nurse them and play with them and organize them into tidy piles, of course, which she promptly proceeded to do.
Within fifteen minutes, Tula had each of the Nellkins sniffed, washed, and tucked safely into her side for feeding. Heart slept through the entire procedure – hey, she gets mommy time all the time. The Nellkins, on the other hand, are completely enamored with Tula. A mommy who licks us! A mommy who plays with us! A mommy who wants us to eat! Who knew such a thing existed? It was like a scene out of that TV Show, “Wife Swap”. Penelope would be the slacker mom, tossing Heart a box of Kraft Dinner and telling her to go to the store and pick up some smokes after she’s done cooking it.
Speaking of Nell, when it was swap back time she mooched back into the room, high stepped around the pups with an expression that said “Get ’em off me”, and finished off the rest of their food before high tailing it out of the pen.
Maybe I’ll just leave Tula in there with them all from now on, and let Penelope get back to her career.
The video from yesterday (it seems to be displaying oddly in the previous entry):
https://i0.wp.com/www.bullmarketfrogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Brindle_pied_frenchbulldog.jpg?fit=662%2C662&ssl=1662662frogdogzhttps://www.bullmarketfrogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/bullmarket-logo.pngfrogdogz2008-10-06 12:03:112008-10-06 12:03:11Tula Takes Over
Barb pointed out to me that I forgot to mention that Penelope’s pups share a birthday – with Penelope! They were born two years to the day from Penelope. What a nice birthday present!
Penelope has lots of milk now, and the pups are thriving. She’s not quite got the knack of the whole cleaning them off thing, however, so I’m spending a lot of time dabbing them off with wet wipes. This is especially noticeable on the creams, who seem to have a penchant for pooping on each other, and for managing to get themselves covered in Penelope’s blood. Nothing says adorable like poopy pups with blood spattered heads!
The creams are darkening up already, and on the largest girl you can already see a tan colored dorsal stripe up her back. As they age, they’ll gradually look less white, and more a pale golden color.
More photos of Penelope’s kids are here, on Flickr.
Don’t think I’ve forgotten about little Heart! She celebrated her one week birthday yesterday, and if it’s possible, she’s gotten even cuter. She has definately gotten fatter, that’s for sure, and it’s no wonder since Tula is giving enough milk to feed an entire herd of dairy cattle.
Her nose freckles are getting more noticeable, which is good – we want her nose to fill in completely, until it’s totally black.
She’s not just a pretty puppy, either – she’s a calm, mellow, content little baby. She rarely cries, she’s not fussy and she’s happy to be picked up. She’s not slow, either – she’s vigorous and crawls enthusiastically. All together she’s been a joy to watch growing up, and it’s hard to resist kissing her on the forehead every time I see her.
Look at this face – who wouldn’t want to smooch it?
More photos of Heart and Tula are here, and if I get time (and a nap) I’ll shoot some video tonight.
By the way, if you’ve phoned or emailed I am not ignoring you — I’m just a little swamped at the moment, between caring for two litters on two floors, and trying to get in some work when I get a chance. Bear with me — things will be better by middle of next week, and I’ll try to get caught up on replies and return phone calls by then.
https://i0.wp.com/www.bullmarketfrogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Brindle_pied_frenchbulldog.jpg?fit=662%2C662&ssl=1662662frogdogzhttps://www.bullmarketfrogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/bullmarket-logo.pngfrogdogz2008-09-05 13:10:092008-09-05 13:10:09Birthday Girl and Puppy Pix
