Barbara's pups

20 May '07 3:45 am

On Thursday Barbara - tiny as she is - gave birth to six sturdy, healthy pups, of consistent size and build but assorted colours. Obviously she and Monty are not a pedigreed pair!

There are four females and two males; two are entirely black except for toe-tips - one is a boy; one is redbrown like her mother (or - I think!- his) and one is a greyer brown with a dark ridge - I can't remember which one is the male. Then there is a black and white girl, the noisiest of the bunch, and a girl who looks like her father, down to the bikini line... (one can't tell about the legs yet, Moosey!)

20 May '07 8:28 am

Congrats to the lucky mother, Jack! You go girl!

21 May '07 6:39 am

Oh, Jack! I am SO happy for you!! I do share this great joy!! Give a tender hug to the brave mama, and a tender touch with your finger to each one of the babies!! Everybody looks so shining healthy! Where is the exact spot of their bedroom right now?? I hope it is warm, clean, and safe! You are a sort of a ....papa now, do not forget!

Cheers!

22 May '07 5:24 am

Mother and children doing just fine! There seem to be three not two males - at some time I should get them all into the light and *** them properly. But all six are beautiful, strong pups, and Barbara a good mother. Today she came out for a romp when I arrived and posed for this photo, showing her new slimline body. After a good portion of milk she returned to her pups who were fast asleep.

22 May '07 8:27 am

Jack, will you be keeping any of Barbara's puppies? At the moment the Moosey house has NINE cats - one for each life? or is that eighty-one lives in total? Maybe you'll pick one and find homes for the rest? Nine dogs? Cheers.

22 May '07 10:44 am

and to you, Jack. The puppies and Barbara both look fine, though in that last picture she definitely seems wistful. I swear she looks as though she is already pining for her single days.

I love everything about new puppies including their smell. The pleasant smell sadly doesn't last nearly long enough as I remember.

Cigars all around!

23 May '07 11:53 am

Oh how adorable. Barbara does seem to be a good mother and, unlike Mark, I think that is pride, not wistfulness, in her demeanor.

27 May '07 6:27 am

Despite the cold, mother and children are in a beautiful condition after nine days. I took a few pictures today, and (quite by chance!) the best details were of my two favourites. There are three boys, not two: one of the black pups, the red-brown pup most like his mother in colour and the black and white one. The latter might be the strongest of the bunch, but they are remarkably even at this stage for such a mongrel litter.

I think on Monday I will take an option on these two girls... Smokey, asleep at the teet in this picture, has the most interesting coat - there seems to be a smokey overlay to her redbrown fur, and she has a dark ridge along her back. Daddy's Girl is the only one with typical Jack Russel colouring, and she has the cutest bikini-line; quite a bit more pronounced than her father's.

30 May '07 12:00 pm

Awwwwww... how absolutely sweet they all are! Can you post me one, or two... or all of them?! Very Happy

I agree entirely about the smell thing. They smell lovely until they get out in the 'real world', and then... Laughing

30 May '07 4:15 pm

...as I remembered from my youth, their eyes opened! I've only seen them at night in dim light since then, but all are still doing very well. When I picked up some of the pups last night they were plump little round-bellied things. They are clearly feeding well!

As for smell - my dogs have retained their clean smell into adulthood. I don't ever bath them, although most take themselves for a swim at some time or another. I think it is a combination of endless space in which to romp and certain of the indigenous shrubs ( mainly a helicrysum) they push through when moucing, although they all have very different habits. And regular washing and airing of their bedding. It is only Stompie, my parents' "fox terrier" who has halitosis. Part of the morning and evening ritual is for me to get really close and cuddly with my three dogs, and they very seldom have an unpleasant whiff.

Barbara's pups

Barbara's pups

Babies!

Progress report

Congratulations to momma-Barbara

Barbara and babies

Progress report

And on the tenth day...