Just a quick note to say that I am ill.
Whilst I am unwell, my lovely Mum is going to be coming and helping to take care of the puppies, she will also deal with any enquiries re the two available pups.
I am hoping that she will also be able to keep the blog and my Facebook pages updated, however technology is not her strongest skill LOL so please bare with her.
I am so grateful to have my Mum. She really is one in a million.
The puppies are one week old today and they are thriving.
They are all around the 500g mark and Peggy is doing a fantastic job of raising them. She is a wonderful mother.
I currently have a little boy and a little girl looking for their forever homes, but I am in no rush. They are just perfect!
Our much longed for babies have finally arrived and I am absolutely thrilled.
This litter has been 2 years in the planning and the semen had to travel over 4000 miles to get here (and then got stuck at customs for 2 weeks which could very well have killed it) so it truly feels like the stars aligned to make this possible.
We have 3 gorgeous little boys and 2 perfect little girls. A small but perfect litter, and a relief after my mammoth litter of 14 last year! All of the pups are all happy, healthy and gaining weight nicely. I am totally in love and can't stop looking at them!
Granny Edna is making milk and keen to help out and Peggy is also quite happy with this arrangement. My girls really do have an incredible bond and it is quite lovely to see Edna helping out with cleaning bums and resting protectively next to the whelping box and making sure that everyone is safe.
(NB I do not leave the girls unattended together for safety reasons)
I haven't taken many pictures yet, because I'm too busy just marvelling at them, but here are a couple.
The weather the Moors has been rubbish. Winter is well and truly here; the sky seems permanently grey and every walk is wet and muddy.
Luckily the girls don't mind and have fun tearing around and chasing balls anyway.
I'm still not sure if anyone has told Peggy she is pregnant as she is just as bouncy as ever and shows no signs of slowing down. Our walks are very much led by her and she almost wants to do more than I am comfortable with. By this stage in pregnancy, Edna her mother is usually quite slow and doesn't want to do more than 20 minutes of meandering. Peggy, however is totally different! I'm certain we could pull our usual 5 miler with ease, or go climbing the tors and she'd still want to do more! I am, of course being sensible and just keeping our walks close to the car so that we can get home right away if she shows any sign of tiredness but she does not, she's wild!
Yesterday we had a chance meeting with our friend and her dogs, so the girls had a nice play with them too.
Despite the weather it is nice to be out and about because once the pups get here things will be busy and our Dartmoor trips won't be as regular.
In the evenings the babies are very active. Here is a quick video of them. It looks like they are having a party in there!
With just under a week to go, Peggy's pregnancy is progressing nicely. She has a very neat bump and has maintained her fitness and love for chasing balls throughout her pregnancy so I am hoping for a text book birth and some lovely healthy puppies.
Her tummy is a mass of wiggling and kicking now and it is just magical to be able to hold the pups little feet in my hands as they kick at her tummy. I can feel at least 4 individual babies - the one on the left hand side high in her ribs is going to be trouble! I can already tell 😂
The whelping box is set up in the kitchen and I have bought enough new vet bed to last us a lifetime as well as all of the usual supplies.
There may very well be space on my wait list for the right families, so please make contact if you believe that you may be a suitable slave to one of our silver Marcasite puppies.
I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed recently.
With a house to renovate, 3 dogs, a stressful full time job and puppies on the way life is certainly busy! I realise that I am very blessed but as a single person with lots of responsibilities I sometimes feel a bit like life is a juggling act and I am super uncoordinated LOL
To cheer me up my wonderful friend Nicky (Nicky Wood Photography) invited me to help her test out her new studio and gifted me this image that she took of Edna whilst we were there.
I am so greatful as the image is beautiful and it really has cheered me up no end.
I believe that there may be a couple more to come too.
Thank you Nicky for being the friend I needed and just listening and being there. Good friends are invaluable and I'll buy the coffee and cake next time!
Just thought I'd share a few pictures of Edna from our walk today.
It's been a while since I had a play with my camera. I fall in and out of love with photography (usually when friends or family ask me to capture their events - I am horrible at capturing people on camera!)
Anyhoo, here are my pictures. I'm quite pleased with some of them.
