Break time

This is the first night since the puppies were born that Dawna is not "on duty" over night. She must have known something was different, because I walked into the bedroom and found a very tired girl.

Yummy!

The pups are big enough now to nurse with Dawna standing up. This can create some interesting chase scenes as they pursue her across the pen while she is busy cleaning. Sometimes, though everyone just hangs out in one spot. Much simpler!

Brothers

Most of this litter is boys, and they love to play. Eventually, it's time to wind down and get ready for the next nap.

Gummy wars

The pups continue to explore their environment, and each other. They don't have teeth yet, but gumming one another seems to be great fun.

A little me time

Dawna decided she needed a break from nursing and cleaning today - and found a cozy spot for some quiet mom time.

While the pups crashed out....

New Digs

The pups moved into slightly larger quarters today, after one of the larger ones attempted to scramble up the wall of the whelping pool. With 10 active little pups, it was getting harder for momma to get situated to nurse them without multiple pups underneath in the process.

Now everyone has a bit more room and more surfaces to explore.

Bored puppies

Mom! There's nothing to do in this pool!
Our B/Cs decided we needed some toys to explore besides each other and the walls of the pool.

I found a new friend.

Just like Momma

Caught this shot of little Neon Green resting his head on the stuffed bone. Several of these pups really like to have pillows, just like their momma Dawna.

Puppy Projects

This weekend was full of projects. More sherpa to be washed and cut into rounds for bedding in the puppy pool. 180 more toenails got cut.

Karen had PVC to be made into agility jumps to help keep momma from getting bored as the pups get older and she spends less time with them. Momma is not allowed out of the yard until after turn in but she still needs some exercise. No jumping of course, but the contact trainer, weave poles and jump pole on the ground to walk over will provide plenty of mental stimulation to ward off boredom and keep momma happy.

Our friend Peggy dropped by to see the pups and drop off some B/C supplies for when they get a little larger. Wendy and Dave also stopped by for a few minutes to peek at the pups. Dawna of course is convinced all of these people are coming to see her -and is quite proud to show off her babies.

By the end of the weekend, the whole pack was tired and ready for naps.












Dawna also wanted to be sure the babies were ready for the Valentines holiday.

toddlers

All of the pups have started toddle walking - pulling themselves up on their short little legs and wobbling a few steps then collapsing. Most of them don't have their eyes open yet, so they have no idea how cute they are :-)

cleaning

Dawna is very proud of her puppies and takes her job of keeping them clean seriously. Some evidence.....

Flipping and Snacking

Of course, other pups remind you that there are many ways to accomplish the same thing. Say, for instance, snacking...

A Moment of Zen

Dawna's pups want to remind everyone that, even amid the busyness of the day, there's always time to stop and chill out. Take a moment of Zen.

Everyone is snacking

The day after they were born, all of the pups enjoyed a snack.

A Second Litter Arrives - The Lively L's!

We're very pleased to announce the arrival of another litter of CCI pups. Dawna had her second litter on Wednesday, 2/2. The pups began to arrive in the late afternoon and were all delivered by mid-evening.

The sire is Kauffman, a yellow lab. He's a brand new breeder for CCI--this is his very first litter.

There are ten pups, seven boys (six yellow, one black) and three girls (two yellow, one black). They're the L litter. Names will arrive in several more weeks.

We'll also be posting updates about the F litter very soon.

And the daddy is.... Kauffman

Dawna's second litter was sired by Kauffman a brand new male breeder. He is a purebred yellow labrador retriever who is just a little younger than her, born in March of the same year.

We've learned that Kaufmann was out of Novell by Jaker. He was raised at Gadsen Correctional in FL. This will be his very first litter. We're still trying to contact his BC, and will post a picture of dad if we can.