Another fun video to share...

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Twenty Days...

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It's nearly impossible to believe...but twenty days have gone by since the birth of the puppies!  Really, I keep second guessing it - could that be right?  They will be three weeks old tomorrow?!  Yesterday and today I taught a handful of the babies to lap some formula out of a saucer.  We'll still be bottle feeding for a while yet, but it was very exciting!  I am so proud of these pups.  I am so in ❤ love with them.  They are growing up so fast, each one developing a personality, each one changing shape, changing colors even.  The camera seems to pick up quite a bit of red that my naked eye doesn't see.  I think it might be the softer lighting in the whelping room, but it's starting to show through even without the flash of the camera.  Judging by how dark Hana was as a baby, I am not surprised that a lot of lighter red is coming through.  I am quite delighted with it :)  Hana's coloring is simply stunning.

baby borzoi jumble

So much cuteness...

2 weeks old!

So much has happened since I last updated the blog.  Puppies’ eyes have opened, first steps have been taken, and growth rates have been astonishing.  These babies are growing up so fast!  We are starting to find potential homes for the babes once they are old enough to leave the nest.  It’s very important to us that we find the BEST homes.  I want the best for these puppies and it will be hard to let them go. 

Here are a few more recent pictures and a very cute video of a couple of them learning to walk….

 puppy pile!

 Garbanzo...

bottle feeding Garbanzo... (see his little eyes are open!)

bottle feeding Pali II!

sweet little Lentil...

Lentil and Garbanzo napping on Pali II... 

Lima peering out of hazy little eyes in the foreground, Soy snoozing in the back...

Lentil, Garbanzo, and Lima lounging atop Pali II...

Soy!

Soy napping on top of Kidney...

  

Adzuki and Pali II passed out with full bellies

And here's a short little video of puppies learning to walk :)

 

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Now that the fun stuff has been shared, I suppose I’ll delve into the not-so-pleasant happenings as well.  Last Saturday, Hana was diagnosed with mastitis (an infection in one of her mammary glands).  We caught it early enough that she had not gone into shock yet, but the infection was serious enough that she was admitted to the animal hospital that evening.  The decision was made to put her on a course of IV antibiotics, which meant that she wouldn’t be able to nurse her pups again.  As a result, we started bottle feeding the puppies and will continue to do so until they can be transitioned to solid food (that will start gradually, in a week or so.)  The puppies had some nipple-confusion at first, but all have learned to drink from the bottle and in fact, they seem to be gaining weight faster than ever now.  I imagine the consistency and quantity that we are able to provide by bottle surpasses what Hana was capable of providing naturally.  Another benefit to the bottle feeding is the extra time spent bonding with us humans.  Thankfully, the most critical time for nursing is during the first 10 days, and our sweet Hana managed to pull that off J

So while the puppies are doing splendidly, Hana’s condition took a turn for the worse on Monday.  The antibiotics and hospital care were not enough to save her mammary gland and she had to have surgery on Monday night to remove the abscessed area.  There was no way around it.  Now that the gland has been removed, Hana is back at home with us again as of Tuesday night.  She’s clearly on the mend.  We were told she might not recognize or remember the puppies when she came home, but that is not the case at all.  In many ways, she seems more attentive to them than ever.  She stays with them in the whelping room constantly and cries if she is away.  While she can’t nurse them anymore, she still tries to help out as best she can.  It’s truly an amazing bit of teamwork we’ve experienced – us bottle feeding the pups in our laps, while Hana comes in behind us and licks and cleans them.  She helps out when she's feeling up to it; otherwise, just being nearby while we care for the babies seems to comfort her. 

It’s been an incredible ordeal and we are all extremely tired and emotionally drained, but feeling closer than ever as a family and as a team.  I'm just so happy that our Hana is going to be okay, and that each puppy is still healthy.  These lives are my top priority right now.  Last night, I slept on the floor (on a dog bed, ha) while Hana took the futon in the whelping room.  Whatever Hana wants or needs right now, she's going to get it. 



It's official!

Today I registered the litter with the American Kennel Club (AKC). 

AKC Litter Number: HP423756

Dam's Name: Serendipity's Hana

Dam's AKC Number: HP39224208

Dam Owner: J. Defay Collins/M. Collins

Sire's Name: Serendipity's Pali

Sire's AKC Number: HP36796309

Sire Owner: J. Defay Collins/M. Collins

Date of Mating: 12/06/2011

Date of Birth: 02/08/2012

Breed: Borzoi

Male Puppies: 6

Female Puppies: 3

Total Puppies: 9

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And how about a weigh-in while we're at it.  Here's the litter in descending order by weight...

1. First we have Cocoa coming in at a whopping 812 grams...that's a gain of 179% since his birth weight of 453g.  Cocoa was the heaviest pup born, and has kept his place at the top.
2. A close second is Garbanzo - another tanker weighing in at 800 grams.  Garbanzo is up 177% from his birth weight of 450g...he overtook Cocoa for the lead briefly yesterday, but fell short today.
3. Adzuki comes in third weighing 749 grams - not bad for the 390g puppy that we thought we lost during delivery.  We're very proud of this growing boy, who's gained 192%!
4. Close behind is Pali II weighing in at 744 grams.  Pali II is up 193% over his 385g birth weight.
5. Kidney is the largest girl at the moment, weighing 728 grams.  She’s gained 189% and was born weighing the same as her brother Pali II – 385g.
6. Lima just lost the lead of female heavyweights…she’s right behind Kidney at 727g.  Lima’s been the heaviest girl for a while, and was one of the larger puppies born, regardless of gender (415g), but her growth rate hasn’t been as aggressive and she’s only gained 175%.
7. The remaining girl, Jelly, is right behind her sisters, weighing 710 grams.  Jelly is a grower…up 189% since weighing 375g at birth.
8. Little Soy is keeping it small at 656 grams.  He was the second smallest puppy born (only 333g), but he’s strong and gaining – up 197%!
9. Lastly we have little Lentil holding onto his tiniest-title.  This little shrimp weighs only 529 grams, but not to worry…Lentil is up a whopping 200% from his paltry birth weight of only 265g!  Way to go Lentil!

Cocoa "the bear"

Lentil "the runt"

1 week old!

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I can't believe the puppies are one week old already!  It's been both the longest week ever, yet somehow the fastest week ever...long days, long nights... but so hard to believe a whole week has gone by.  What a blur!  These babies are growing fast.  Each puppy is gaining weight and thriving.  In another week, they will be opening their eyes! 

I finally uploaded a few video clips.  Enjoy!

sleepy garbanzo...

Hana caring for her babes...

Family-Time

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A few more puppy pics and updates...

All of the puppies are doing great!  They are all gaining weight and they seem happy and healthy as can be.  All of their umbilical cords have fallen off now too.  It's becoming a little easier to manage the litter...mainly because Hana is stabilizing a bit and when she's less stressed, so are we.  We're still staying in the whelping room with her in shifts around the clock.  Maybe we're being overly cautious, but better safe than sorry!  The biggest worry right now is having a puppy stepped on or crushed by mama when she's laying down.  Hana does her very best to avoid this, but 9 puppies swarming her for milk is quite a chaotic scene!  It's amazing to me how fast and strong these little pups are...as tiny as they are, they can move!  Already living up to their breed's reputation for speed, and they can't even walk yet!

I've uploaded a few more pictures to Puppy Album II (linked below and tabbed at the top of the page).  Here are some highlights...

"Pali II" snoozing on his mama.  It almost looks like his eyes are open, but it's just the interesting markings around his eyes.

Sisters ❥ "Jelly" & "Kidney"  

 "Kidney" snuggling "Lentil", all snuggled in mama's arms

puppies in a box ❣

See more of Puppy Album II here...

Puppy Pictures & More!

All of the puppies are continuing to thrive and Hana is embracing her role as a mother beautifully.  What more could we ask for?  These babies are sweet beyond description.  Little personalities are already apparent, and each one has a nickname now.  Since one of Hana's nicknames is "Bean", we went with that theme...  

• We have firstborn, Garbanzo, a spotted boy and one of the larger puppies.
• Jelly is the second born, she's one of the darker puppies with a white tipped nose, tail & feet.  She's very vocal...gimme milk!
• Pali II looks the most like his daddy, he's the third-born, a mellow boy that loves to snuggle with mama.
• Of course we nicknamed the little reddish-brown girl, Kidney.  She was the fourth to be born.  Kidney likes to drink up and then wiggle her way over mama, slide off her back and then lay behind her.  She also likes to sleep with her mouth open...it's very cute (see pic below).
• The fifth-born baby is Lentil.  He and Pali II look almost identical in color and markings, but Lentil is sort of the runt of the littler.  He's smaller than the rest, but doesn't let that stop him from charging the pack and finding a primo teat.  I'm not too worried about Lentil anymore.  He's a strong little bugger.
• Sixth came Lima, she's a sweet little spotted thing and loves to cuddle with her siblings.
• Seventh was another spotted boy, Adzuki.  He likes to drape himself over his mama.
• The eighth-born was Cocoa, he has a little white chin and the tip of his tail is white.  Cocoa is a wiggler...on the move shuffling about.
• The last puppy is Soy, he looks a lot like Jelly with the dark fur and white feet, but only half of his nose is white. 

I finally put together an album of decent photos...here are some highlights and you can follow the link at the end to see the whole batch.

 Click here to see the full puppy album

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some puppy pics from my phone...

I have TONS of great pictures on my camera and am looking forward to sharing those in the near future.  But right now, I don't have it in me to dig up the cable I need to download pictures from my camera.  Fortunately, my phone auto-uploads to Google+, so in the meantime, I'll post those pictures here.  They are grainy and dark - but a fun preview nonetheless...

And a few more details on the litter...

• {{{ two spotted boys and one spotted girl   
• {{{ two dark boys and one dark girl (mostly dark - save for some white tail
                tips, belly & noses, etc)   
• {{  two light tan boys with matching face markings...little white triangles on
                the forehead and slightly darker face markings
• {   one darker tan girl, a little bit reddish. 

There is definitely a "runt" ...one of the lighter boys.  He's smaller and seems more frail than the rest, but he's hanging in there :)  Lucky number 7, who almost didn't survive delivery, is also doing wonderful.  Love these babies...each and every one!

whelped!

Hana went into the first stages of labor right on schedule, yesterday morning Feb 7th.  After a long day and an even longer night of struggling through her labor - crying, moaning, groaning, nesting, pacing, more crying, refusing to be in her whelping box, refusing to even be in the welping room (even though we set up a bed in there so we would be at her side the whole time)...we finally had to let her spend the night in her bed, in our bedroom.  She cried, moaned, and groaned through the whole night. I barely spept a wink.  In the morning her temperature had risen from a low of 98.5 up to 99.6 - that's not what is supposed to happen - it's supposed to be dropping, or at least staying below 99.2.  We were worried - why wasn't her labor progressing?  The first few hours of Feb 8 were much like the day before.  Finally, around 10am, Hana went into her whelping room - not her box, but her cushion next to it. 

At 10:30am she pushed out the first puppy - a boy - white with brown spots, next came a dark-colored girl, then a light tan puppy... .  Number seven was another white puppy with brown spots - a breech baby who's sac broke too early...all we could see was the tip of the tail poking out - we were sure the puppy was lost, but miraculously Marc was able to free him and little number seven is healthy and sound.  When it was all done in the late afternoon, Hana delivered all 9 healthy baby borzoi.  Three white-with-spots, three dark, three tan.  I think their coats will evolve a bit as they grow.  The rest of the details elude me right now - they are all charted, but I can't find the paper.  A few hours ago I tried to mark the fourth pup and forgot - literally forgot - how to write the number "4"....that's how exhausted I am.     

Hana is doing well - she's a bit shaken up from the whole process - understandably so - but she's lactating and nursing her babies and clearly has maternal instincts.  Poor girl is exhausted, but she's getting some sleep - dozing off during nursing sessions.  The puppies have been nursing in shifts, and we are at Hana's side constantly.  Literally, laying on the floor next to her while she nurses, comforting and encouraging her.  We are all in this together. 

Pictures soon - I promise :)

the calm before the storm...

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Hana is due to whelp tomorrow.  (Of course it may not happen tomorrow, but that's our best guess.)  Her belly has gotten very big and tight.  You can rest a palm against her side and feel the puppies wiggling about inside of her.  It's a magical thing. 

Pregnancy has clearly been exhausting for our sweet girl...she's very tired and has been making the rounds of all her favorite sleeping spots.  She takes great care in laying down, but she still scampers about with energy and vigor when treats are offered or when we come home from even a short walk down to the mailbox.  Pregnancy seems to also have had a mellowing, love-infusion effect on Hana...she's become even more affectionate, frequently strolling up and resting her head in my lap, looking up at me with her big brown eyes full of love, leaning in for hugs and kisses, staying close by at all times. 

All of the whelping supplies are laid out and ready.  She's had a haircut (which looks adorable), and she's been having extra meals throughout the day. We've been taking Hana's temperature twice daily (or more) to check for signs of labor.  She's holding steady, but must be on the verge.  Exciting times!

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