Spring in Seattle has been wonderfully dry…but cold. The poor puppies are so keen to venture outside but even when it is “sunny” it is freezing out there, so we keep play sessions to 15-20 mins and then bring them in again. Sometimes I dont even take DeeJays pups out as they just start shivering. Poor little lovies.
It’s good for them to have a few moments outside to build muscle and body awareness – to gain confidence as they try new things like climbing stairs or standing on the swing, and push their limits. So, even in the cold a few mins to do this is a good thing.
Here are a few photos of them today with their adorable little jackets on – these are XS and still dont fully fit them – I love my adorable teeny babies <3
Novas babies are thriving and Nova is doing a wonderful job raising them. She is a tender loving momma who loves to snuggle them and keeps a spotless whelping box.
We decided to name them after songs that had human names in them – hope you think they are as cute as we do.
Buddy – Big Red/White boy – named after “Buddy Holly” by Weezer
Andy – Tri Boy – named after David Bowie’s song about Andy Warhol
Stan – Small Red/White boy named after Eminem’s song “Stan”
Deliliah – Tri Girl 1 – named after Tom Jones’ song Delilah
Roxanne – Tri girl 2 – named after “Roxanne” by the Police
Gloria – Tri girl -named after Laura Branigan’s Song “Gloria”
Jolene – Red/White girl – named after “Jolene” by Dolly Parton
I first of all have to apologize for the lack of photos of Ivy and DeeJay’s beagle pups this week. Between having Nova’s litter on Monday, and this little one getting sick, and looking after all my other responsibilities, I just didn’t have a moment. I promise to get cute photos of them all next week for you. <3
I gave NEOPAR on Wednesday. I had delayed giving it to Ivy’s at my typical 5 weeks as they are on the smaller side. So, when DeeJay’s pups were ready, I gave it to both litters.
Miss Artemis, about 2 hours after the vaccine was given, started shivering and huddling in the corner of the room. This was not typical for her, and so I kept an eye on her. At dinner time, she sniffed the bowl and walked away which was very unusual. I observed her regurge/vomit into her mouth and shake her head. I held her in my sling so I could keep my eye on her. I was starting to suspect a vaccine reaction as none of the other puppies had any symptoms.
When her symptoms were not improving, I decided to take her to a local ER. I knew i would be there for a few hours so I took my baby warmer and my sling that I carried her in and settled in. After lots of talking and discussing options, the vet and I settled on 40mls of hydration and an antinausea, and to observe and watch to see from there.
She perked up a little and I agreed to observe her at home. Since I was sleeping beside Nova and her babies, I had Artemis in her incubator. Around 2am she was feisty and wouldn’t settle so I took that as an amazing sign.
She ate a small breakfast in the morning. Then I noticed as the anti-nausea medication started wearing off and the regurging started back up again. I took her to my friend’s clinic where the vets there took xrays confirming she didn’t have an obstruction or fluid in her lungs – they also confirmed that she didn’t have parvo with a snap test- so they gave her more hydration and anti-nausea medication.
Once again, as the antinausea medication wore off, her regurge started up again. By 9pm, I was struggling to watch her as there was fluid coming out of her nose each time and then she would have a hard time breathing. I was concerned as her gums were pale. Back to the same ER we went.
At the ER, they wanted to admit her, and despite the report I sent them from the vet this afternoon, wanted to run the same tests and xrays. Since she is 6 weeks old, they (rightfully so) wanted to isolate her for her safety. They quoted in 6-10K for each 12 hours of her care. They wanted to pump her stomach and put her on Parvo protocol even though she didn’t have any signs of parvo.
6-10K would have been very hard to come up with – but I knew it would be longer than 12 hours of care, and so I knew I would be looking at double, triple that. And that I couldn’t commit to. I cried as the vet told me he didn’t think she would get better as I would be “back tomorrow to euthanize her”. Quite honestly I felt like I was dammed if I do, dammed if didn’t.
I begged for more antinausea meds, and to give her an injectable antibiotic. They reluctantly gave it to her. I messaged a bunch of friends and asked them to pray for her.
I had her on a warmer and on oxygen at home. Overnight, she improved significantly and was able to keep a teaspoon of food down in the morning without bringing it up. And by lunchtime she was crying loudly in her incubator, as she decided she was finished being by herself. I can’t tell you how thankful I was.
She has improved hour by hour and I am so thankful <3 It has been a long few days, but I am grateful for a wonderful outcome.
Thank you for your understanding for this week’s lack of update, and I will be back to our regular scheduled program next week.
Nova is a wonderful mama already to her babies. They are only 24 hours old but I wanted to take photos of them so you could see them. <3 They are so squishy. How she fit all these chunky babies in her tummy i will never know <3
I have had a few people say “You have lemon beagles”. That color term is mis-used a lot and red or tan/white dogs are often called Lemons when they are not. True lemon beagles have a yellow hint to their white areas, and their colored parts end us as a pale yellow not a red or a tan. They are honestly pretty uncommon as it is a diluted version of a recessive geen. From a distance lemon beagles look almost white all over.
Red and white or Tan and White pups appear almost white at birth, but usually have a little color around their ears / eyes, and then the color on their bodies darken into a tan or red as they grow older. So my three pups from this litter are Tan and White or Red and White.
Big Red/White boy (will have a purple collar on in the future so I can tell the RW boys apart)
Tri Boy
Small Red/White boy (will have a green collar on in the future so I can tell the RW boys apart)
Nova was due on Monday the 6th. On Sunday the 5th in the evening we started to see some signs of early labor – a little shivering but nothing really exciting or intense.
I slept beside her which is my normal protocol when they are in labor. All of my moms-to-be have a camera on them so I can watch them from the other room and let them have privacy and space.
Monday morning, it was much of the same – she was uncomfortable but not digging or panting or the normal things we see progressing labor, but she wasn’t in distress and fetal heart beats were good, so I watched and waited.
Monday around 4, I saw her start to push, and by 4:03 I had a healthy tri girl with lots of white in my arms. Nova was a little confused at first but it didn’t take her long to start licking her baby and wanting to take care of it.
She didn’t take long before she started to push again, and by 4:30 I had a red and white boy safely here.
She was on a roll, and we had our 3rd baby at 4:52pm – another tri girl
Nova then settled down and slept for a while. She started to nurse them and clean them.
Around 6 she started to push again, and at 6:15pm we had another tri girl
At 6:35pm, we got another red and white boy
And at 7:24pm we got a tri boy – Nova was an absolute rockstar!
I thought she was done – she settled in and slept so I cleaned everything up. By 9:30pm I decided to get her some food in the hopes that she would be hungry. I had been texting my friends each puppy picture and my friend Malia texted me “I am manifesting a Red and White girl and a bonus baby”.
Nova did eat, and about 20 mins after, i noticed that she was bearing down again. It looked to me that there was a bonus baby coming after all.
Nova had a giant 11oz red and white girl. Wowzers – she was a little hard to get out, but when we got a newborn cry, I was crying alongside it in thankfulness for the blessing I had been given
Nova did so well. She loves her babies and is so gentle with them. She cleans them and encourages them to nurse. A good mother is worth her weight in gold and I am beyond thankful for the mothers that went before Nova to pass on the instincts she has today.
DeeJay’s pups are finally starting to wake up and get up on their feet more. This week, since they are eating regularly, we decided to combine them with Ivy’s pups – they are almost the same size as Ivy’s pups despite the 2 week difference in age.
Being with older puppies has meant that DeeJay’s girls have gained a lot of confidence and strength. It’s very cute to watch.
Enjoy the photos of them from this week <3 Cutie patooties
Where have 6 weeks gone?? Time is flying by much faster than I would like it to for these precious little beagle puppies. They are still very small and so I think I will hold onto them for an extra couple of weeks just to make sure they are strong and healthy for going to their new homes.
They are enjoying more time outside now that the weather is not as cold which we are grateful for. They learn so much when they play outside and their little muscles are developing more. I love how curious and confident they are.
I still haven’t heard from akc who the dad/s are – they say maybe 4-6 weeks – sigh – we have waited that long already. hopefully the results will be in before they start going to their new homes.
Lincoln
Grant
Girl 1: Monroe
Girl 2: Jackie
Girl 3: Betsy (after Besty Ross – girl with an “I” on her neck”)
I will start this with “These pups are overall the smallest I have ever had”. They are healthy, eat well and play like crazy. They are just mini little pocket beagles. 🙂 Just kidding about the pocket beagles – but they are small. The biggest puppy is barely 3lbs and the smallest girl is just over 2lbs.
They are eating 3 solid meals a day and Miss Ivy is a wonderful playmate rather than a nursing momma. She loves her babies so much – but she doesn’t love their sharp teeth.
These pups are now listening to sounds of engines and fireworks. They have a mini staircase and slide to play on and uneven toys so they learn to be stable on their feet. They take each new activity with curiosity and I couldnt be more pleased.
Because it was cold and rainy, we did pictures on the blue chair this week – they look so teeny on it – lol.
Lincoln
Grant
Girl 1: Monroe
Girl 2: Jackie
Girl 3: Betsy (after Besty Ross – girl with an “I” on her neck”)
DeeJay’s pups are chubby and thriving. They are not walking yet but we are trying to encourage that with some supports under them. Maybe having their first meal this coming week will help.
In the meantime we love their snuggly little selves – and are enjoying the quiet before the storm of busy arrives
Any day it snows unexpectedly, is a good day for our dogs – they just love it. Nick is a little bougie and gets cold, so he has a jacket but everyone else was ready to party in the fluffy flakes that were still falling mid morning.
