Pupdate: The Baby Jules

whoa, it's been an entire month since I gave a pupdate! That month flew by fast, didn't it?  I thought we might catch up here with a few FAQ that people always end up asking me and somehow or another I end up never getting a chance to answer, but I'll throw in some pictures.

So, how old are they now?
The babies are 6 weeks old now. One day they were like tiny rabid gerbils and the next day I turned around and they were like giant rabid gerbils. Here's a shot of them at lunch today. About 2 minutes after this photo was taken, they ate the fence.

Dude, did they really? 

No, Dude, they didn't. But give them time. Those puppy teef are SHARP. 

What is that, puppy prison? 

Yes.  It's Puppy Litchfield. I call it Bitchfield. (if you do not watch Orange is the New Black, this will mean nothing to you). 

Wait, where is the mama? 

If you look closely, you can see a line of reddish fur there at the bottom. That's her. She's still with us, though playing a much less active role in puppy rearing these days. I do most of the feedings now, so she can concentrate on gaining weight and moving on from her life of single unwed motherhood. 

Wow, they look BIG! Are they big? 

Well, they are and they aren't. I mean, they're in really good shape, and they're right on target for what they should be, something I am very proud of--that a skinny malnourished mama and ME got nine of them to this point. But, to answer your question, some of them are BIG big and and some of them are...smaller than others. Like Idalou, who is still a squirt. (that is my hand she is eating). 

Huh. She...does not look much like a cocker spaniel does she? 

No, no she does not. Neither does her brother Huxley. But they're sort of killing it, right?

But I thought they were cocker spaniels?

Mama is, yes, but dad was not. We knew this was a distinct possiblity, so when they were about 3 weeks old, we ordered DNA tests that told us what dad might be. I did tests on two different pups and the results came back pretty much the same. But yeah, the majority is cocker spaniel. You can see it in some of them more than others. Like Hondo. 

And Lufkin

Wait, I am confused. They're related?

no, they're not related, I just went to the rabid gerbil store and went nuts. Yes. They're all related. I saw them being born from the same hoo-ha, I can verify. 

But, you never said what the dad was/is? 

I didn't? Can you guess?  Here, look at Hondo again. 

According to the DNA profile, they're mostly cocker/miniature schnauzer mixes. Cocker and Miniature Schnauzer were the two breeds with the highest percentage of markers. There were two other breeds that showed up on the test in smaller percentages: english cocker spaniel and Parson's Russell Terrier. I would argue that Idalou maybe got ALL of that Parson's Russell Terrier part. 

But our group has a wide variety of coat lengths.  The twins have long hair

Huxley and Magnolia have short hair (again, killin' it)

And then Trinity and Idalou have something sort of in between. And then there is a size difference, like the one between Barstow and Idalou. 

 

WHAT? No WAY. Those two are not related. 

They are related. Same hoo-ha. I was there. 

They are so cute, how do you get any work done? 

I don't. All I do when I get home is pick up poop and take pictures of puppies sleeping. In fairness, they are really freaking cute when they're sleeping.

Stop it. 

I can't.  If I don't pick up the poop, it gets medieval real quick. I mean, NINE puppies pooping. That's a lot of poop. I go through a lot of puppy pads.

Like, how many puppy pads would you say in a day?

I go through at least a box every 2-3 days. Think about it,  if they each pee/poop at least 3-4 times a day, that's... a lot of ca-ca. Let's not think about it, we can just look at Huxley sleeping instead. 

More questions?  Ok, fine, I'll do another one on Wednesday.