PUPPIES!!!

We have two Westies (West Highland White Terriers). A girl and a boy named Cluny and Patrick. They are small dogs about 20 lbs. each. They look quite a bit like a Scottie dog . . . but white instead of black. Cluny had puppies tonight!!! 3 girls and 1 boy. Not sure she is done . . . but all is quiet now for a couple of hours. *phewww* glad everything went ok and I am sure enjoying our little darlings!! Blessings!

Yaaaaay Rosie! And congrats to Cluny and Patrick. Send one of the little girls my way. I'm ready for a new puppy! You are going to have so much fun with them!!!!

Cheers,

Pat

Hippie . . . first two days are busy and then Cluny does all the hard work for the next three weeks . . . then all bets are off, the puppies move into a puppy pen in my kitchen at about 4 weeks old and I begin taking them out side regularly to do their business. Big, big job keeping the pen floor cleaned up and moving the pups in and out and keeping track of them outside . . . *phewww* But its worth it because my pups housebreak SO fast for their owners. I live in Ohio and I have a couple coming from Oklahoma for a puppy!!! I tried to talk them out of it, but they want one of MY puppies!!! I am soooo honored!! She is a flight attendant and heard about our puppies from my sis in law who is also a flight attendant. Patty . . . These really are FUN dogs. They are small, but full of energy and always making us laugh. They are called the clowns of the dog world and my two live up to it!! LOL, Gidget . . . one full bag of puppy breath just for you!!! Thanks everyone . . . hopefully everything will go smoothly. We have a pretty good system in place for puppy care, so that really helps and hubby is a real sport. Blessings!

Hi Suzanne . . . congrats on your new puppy! I'd love to help. The most important ingredient in training is consistency. Crate training is a very effective way to housetrain. I recommend it to my puppy parents and I actually have them deliver their crate to me a few days before they take their pup home so the pups spend their first few night in it here at my house. That way the new parents aren't tempted to run to a crying puppy and they are more likely to use the crate correctly. Let me know if you haven't introduced the crate yet . . . there are some helpful ways to start. If you google crate training, you'll get lots of helpful info. The bottom line is, if you can't have your attention on the pup, do not bring it in the living area of your house. I suggest going to the crate, picking up the pup and taking it out, as walking from the crate can be enough allow for a tinkle accident. Never walk up to the crate or come home from an outing with an excited tone . . . your excitement will cause an accident in the crate. . . say nothing . . just go matter of factly to the crate and take the pup outside on a leash. When she tinkles, praise her with a happy tone "g-o-o-od girl!". Use a leash and go out with her even if you have a fenced yard. You will be doing this for several months so you KNOW for sure when the dog tinkles and toots. If puppy does not tinkle, then take her back in and quietly place her in the crate. Set the timer for 15 minutes and try again. It sounds anal, but every accident in the house sets you WAY back. If she has an accident in the house, clean it up and then spray the area with vinegar. The dog will instinctively need to pee every time she walks by the soiled area even if you clean it. If you mixed one drop of dog urine with a gallon of water and placed one drop of that gallon on the floor, your pup can smell it and it makes her need to tinkle in that spot again. The vinegar neutralizes the urine so the dog can't smell it. A playpen is a fine area to play in, but remember, if she has enough room to run around you need to watch her because while she can run around she'll need to tinkle about every 15-30 minutes at her age. I'll see if I can find a good website with more info. Have fun with your pup!!! All the time you spend training now will pay-off many times over. Enjoy your puppy!! Blessings!

Congratulations,
Those seeem big for westies, must be well fed and healthy! Is there a miniature breed, because I've seen some about six to 10 pounds but maybe they are just babies. I know with my little dogs, that were smaller than kittens, I had to really work to keep them warm, sitting in the chair with them wrapped in a towel and blanket, using heating pad at times and also to watch out for hypoglycemia, which small dogs like chihuahua and other breeds are prone to. If the dogs shiver, it may be from low blood sugar, so if heat doesn't help, I gave mine suger water in a bottle. I've been told that you really need to get it to them fast because they can go downhill and die quickly from hypoglycemia. My older female has it and she just gets a peanut butter cracker when it starts or some other non chocolate sweet treat. I hope westies don't have that.

My dog gave birth in her cage, which is large for her, because otherwise she probably would have had birth under my bed or on top of it. When I saw her in labor, she went into the cage and had them and I helped her. The puppies stayed in the crate from the day they were born, so it was ideal, thinking of it as a safe place and home. Also, we have cats too and I didn't know how they would react to newborn puppies that were so tiny. I had to put cardbord around the sides of the cage because the puppies were so little they could crawl through the bars. I believe in cage training. My older dog didn't really need it, she was really smart and wanted to be human so much that she just got it together in three days. My male puppy, Carlito, will still sneak off if he really has to go and will go in the house. If left alone, I don't trust him not to tear up stuff or have an accident so he stays in his cage when I go to the store. It seems each dog is different, but cages really make life easier and they shouldn't be punishment, but a safe place where they get rewarded. There is always a bowl of food in my dogs cage so he can eat incase the mama dog is not letting him get his fair share.

Rosie,

Thanks so much for a cheery post. I got to drink coffee and think about puppies! Wonderful. I have had as many as four dogs but have just one now. Nothing beats the excitement of your dog greeting you when you come home!

Suzanne -- have fun with your boxer mix! Take lots of pictures as they grow so fast.

Stay Strong,
Sue

PICTURE OF CLUNY, PATRICK and MY GRANDKIDS!!! I'm including a link to my "Me" page on Ebay. I'm not selling anything right now and I'm not planning to sell anything in the near future) so it won't violate the forum rules on spamming. But, I just remembered I had pics there. The little girls are my grandkids, Justine and Libby . . . they are absolute blessings!!! Oh . . . Cluny is on the left and Patrick is on the right in the window! http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=alwaysrosie06 Blessings!

*blush* Thanks Hippi . . . they make life very happy!!!

Aww Rosie, I'm so happy for you and your babies... I LOVE puppies

Rosie, your pups and grandbabies couldn't be cuter!

I didn't realize you were into needle felting. I've never tried it but I do felt some of my knitting projects. It's addicting, isn't it.

Enjoy being a grandma to your girls and puppies.