GOOD INFO

she looked bigger to me tonight, her belly is extending wider than her ribcage

Everad and Grace watching XFactor

awh ha!   Debbie Jensen said

you can only hear the puppies in the last 10 days

WE'VE GOT MORE THAN 10 DAYS TO GO!

I cannot hear them with the stethoscope, just barely see them kick, absolutely not "feel" them kick, it's like they "dive" away from my hand.  I was putting the "steth" along where the puppies should be, one of the puppies kicked about three times in about a minute's time.

taking her temp every other day, she's been 101-102 degrees every time

with that info, I think she's got a ways to go,

once we "hear" the heartbeats, we are in the last ten days,

GREAT INFO!

Girth is still 28"

she fluctuates from over 27" to almost 29"

puppies are steadily growing

last litter ... LOL ... she was 30" at almost 9 wks, 32" at full term

we could be a little off, she might be a week later like ... last litter ... LOL!

hmm, one more week would put us about the 16th or 17th

once we can "hear" the puppies I will start taking her temp twice a day

more update and pictures this weekend,

8 wks today

cooled down last few days, tomorrow back into the mid 90s

Gracie & the poodles are enjoying the cool 75-85 degree weather

Girth is 28 3/4" this afternoon

took her temperature for a base of Grace's normal
right at 101.5 degrees, everything is well

8 week pictures

Grace and Hilde strolling the yard

BEFORE pregnancy pictures

Grace was in season so couldn't bring her to the poodle party

below is Everad and their daughter "Karma" from last year's litter, they are the exact same size

Kirkland, Washington 7.17.11

 before pregnancy, Gracie and Everad sharing the doggy bed

 Everad with a little pre-mature greying, he will be three November 24th

 he's one great guy!

 our beautiful boy

 the BIG "E" and La Roux at the poodle gathering, July 2011

Grace's favorite chair in the yard

 and ... no La Roux, you can't have my chair!

Will Be Plenty To Pick From

Grace is the same size as she was last litter with ten puppies!

maybe the puppies are younger than we think

tomorrow she is 8 wks pregnant
yesterday and today her girth is she is 28"

I'm Just Saying

I don't know how we counted only five puppies

she's has as many as she did last litter!

Send in your "guess" I think there's 9-10 puppies!

What we are looking for at

* * * *  8th Week * * * * 
Day 50 to Day 57


Dam begins spending more time grooming herself
Her breasts become swollen as her milk forms
Towards the end of the week:
Watch for her temperature to drop
temp is usually about 101-102, will drop 
to 97-98 degrees 12-36 hours before the onset of labor
either taking her temperature but she will feel cool to the touch
compared to what she has been the last 8 weeks
She may seem restless, seek seclusion, possibly soil the house

oh brother!

ok, tomorrow is Week 8, can you believe she's only not quite 8 wks?!  oh baby,

Grace and Puppies

Gracie was resting few minutes ago, the house was quiet and the other poodles were outside.  I was watching the puppy belly ... lots of movement!  There were rolls ... bumps ... the whole belly jumps like seismic action ... she was so asleep her feet starting running (like dogs do), then she heard Hilde and Everad playing and her breathing stops to listen ... the belly kept on movin' ... they're like hey Momma where's the calm soothing rocking motion?!  They jumped around, twitched and fluttered.

They are too small to actually see outlines and count the puppies' movement

but

they are active and strong

once they grow and their environment starts closing in we will be able to trace the puppies' body somewhat, but for now?  There's lots of movement that can be seen but not yet felt by the human

congrats!  puppies are doing well

and I'm still waiting on the stethoscope!

Gracie and her Girth

I guess I filled her up yesterday

I've hardly seen her eat much today, which does give us an honest girth measurement

Grace's girth is 27" at 7.5 weeks pregnant

so really only one inch less than last year at 7.5 wks pregnant

 my guess today?  ...  I'm saying 8 puppies (7-9 is reasonable)

her last growth splurt of over 2" was September 18th, 

she's been fluctuating since then

waiting for the stethoscope

will see about this dot and dashes speculation, I can't wait to get my stethoscope

once she's 9 wks pregnant I start taking her temperature looking for the drop from 101-102 down to 97-98.  The rule of thumb with the temperature is (1) there's not a high temp warning danger of infection, (2) when it drops onset of labor should be 12-36 hours

Couple of my females have had this drop twice before they go into labor

. . . and you wonder why they have pregnant women go in once a week in their last month

There's a lot of "rules of thumb" that baby doctors are keeping a watch on too

more on sunday with pictures




- - - -


next milestone for the girth comparison is October 1st
last year's litter on approximately Day 55 she was 30"
this milestone of 7.5 wks she is 27"
last litter she was 28" ... pretty close!




send in your guess for # of puppies
how many boys & girls 
and colors


I'm guessing # of puppies, I'll leave the rest to you guys

Pregnancy Progress Story

I thought Momma Grace has been a little sluggish.  Yesterday I gave her four mini meals with a little NutriCal to give her a little ump.  By afternoon she actually jogged into the back yard to see what Hilde was doing.  About 9pm I invited her to lay in her whelping puppy pool.  I was putting everybody to night-night about 11pm ... I'm asking Hilde "where's Gracie?"

I go into my master bathroom where I had invited her to sleep, there she was sound asleep, snoring, curled up into a ball, little drool on her shoulder, the bottom side of her soaked in sweat,

I turn on the light, she squints at me with sleepy eyes, "ok Grace go back to sleep"  Hilde, Everad and I go outside, Grace right behind us.  About five feet into the front yard she sits and turns looking over her back at the front door

I take the queue she wants to go back into the house,

she trots back to the whelping area, before I go to bed I can hear her snore

this morning she's up by 6:30am, wants to go outside to potty

I'm glad I thought about giving her a little NutriCal, with the warm weather the NutriCal has increased her energy noticeably, with being a little more active during the day, she snored all night, probably not a bad thing having her sweat and slough off stuff out of her system she and the puppies don't need

have a great day,

-pictures to come sunday-

Grace 7 1/2 wks pregnant

not much change in the girth, goes up close to 27" and then close to 26", it's fluctuating
then I started thinking, ya know she grew 2 1/2" in a week, she can't possibly do that every week!

the weather is warm here, we've cooled down to the low to mid 90s, this weekend we are expecting fall like weather about 80 degrees ... LOL, I'm from Washington, that's summer.  So you can see that being pregnant and being in very warm ... ok, hot ... weather has influenced Grace's eating habits.

I have some NutriCal on hand, today I've mixed some into her food with ground turkey, kibble and rice.  The rice was a fav at first but she's not liking that so much right now.  Her puppies are growing and Gracie is having a tough time eating much at a time.  Today I am feeding her anytime she wants besides the free fed kibble.  She's really liking the NutriCal so will continue with that.

otherwise, Momma Grace is doing well, eating, sleeping, being picky and very affectionate.  I'm thinking once the weather cools down (even though I have the a/c on for her most the time) I think the cooler weather will bring more spry into her step.  Last week I bathed her and trimmed off most of her coat to keep her comfortable and cooler.  Seemed to do the trick, but it does wear her out and takes 1-2 days to recoup from a lot of fussing.  Just feeding her and letting her rest now.

She's definitely entering into her 8th week, I havn't seen her "jog" the acre once in the last few days, she's walking slower, sleeping more, and picky at what she eats.   

I think she has a couple less puppies than last year which puts us just about 7-9 puppies

.... but then again,

more girth talk:  I was browsing Hilde's blog from April and I have to make this comment.  With these small standard girls being bred to very small caniche moyen males ... the birth weight of the puppies are much smaller than an average standard poodle puppy's birth weight.  In fact, that's how we can tell if it's a moyen or a small standard at birth.  In these litters, it's rare to have a 1# puppy at birth, and most certainly not ever see 1.5 - 2# puppies ... being the puppies are smaller than an average standard poodle, the count will look lower when we are talking about the girth compared to the number of puppies expected.

examples:

Hilde's girth was 27 1/2" at full term (starting at 21") with the rule of thumb she should have had 6-7 puppies, she had 8

Tigre' the same thing, she was 33" (starting at 24") and had eight puppies, they are mostly small standards

Grace last year was at 32" at full term (starting at 22") and had 10 puppies, sure she was right on!   will see if she is this year

Please keep in mind the girth is also just an estimate, nothing is for sure until the puppies whelp.

Grace is 8 wks pregnant on Monday, 9.26.11

I suspect another jump in Momma Grace's girth as the puppies gain weight

usually takes a few days to see on the outside changes the puppies are making

- - - -

my next experiment is a comment that I found on the internet,

and yes this blog will hear all about it!

Debbie Jensen says that she can count puppies with a stethoscope

... ok, so not all that ground breaking...

but

she says she can decifer the gender of the puppies by the sound of the heartbeat!

interesting . . .  I'm In!

I've ordered a stethoscope

she says the boys are faster and sound like Morris Code 'dots'

and the girls sound like Morris Code 'dashes'

(odd, human babies are the opposite, boys' heartbeats are slower, girls are quicker)

too interesting for me to pass up,

more "stethoscope" talk later

pictures of Momma Grace coming this weekend,


- - - -


oops, one more thing


Grace is 9.5 wks pregnant on the 6th of October
I will be looking for signs of onset labor starting October 3rd, expecting puppies by the 10th



remember, Jim is making a guessing chart, your guess is as good as mine!  send in a guess for gender and color, we are giving a prize
and yes, you can change your guess until puppies start being born

p.s., please wish Jim Happy Birthday, he turns 53 today and is in WA on his birthday, we miss him and love him,

blessings, Paula and the poodles

7 wks one day pregnant

as a way to record this litter's "girth" here's an updated picture of her at 26 1/2"

 

6 1/2 weeks

After week five Momma Grace's girth increases quickly,

puppies start to grow ... FAST!

She's sleeping in her whelping area or on the beloved big doggie bed in our bedroom at night.  Momma Grace gets all of the food and water and wherever she wants to lay her head at night now.  I went to bed I asked her to lay in the whelping area, this morning, she had kicked Hilde off of the doggie bed and Hilde was sitting looking at her.  Hilde reluctantly walked over to the whelping area with the other big doggie bed and layed down, glancing at Grace in "her" bed.  These standard poodles are so funny.  Grace is the eldest and gets what she wants, no one usually argues with her.

Last year's litter Grace and Everad had 10 puppies
at 7.5 wks pregnant Grace's girth was 28"

(last rib, I measure around her belly button)

Not yet 7 wks pregnant, Momma Grace's girth is 26 1/2"
less than one week from last measurement her girth has increased more than two inches
I am starting to think there's about ten puppies this time, will know more at 9 wks

Measuring the girth is a rule of thumb at full term.  To keep record I am measuring every week after five weeks.  Grace's regular (non-pregnant) girth is 22"
the rule of thumb:  At 9 wks pregnant one inch equals one puppy
however, being bred to a smaller male, if there's a half inch, like in Hilde's case, it equaled one

Grace's puppies are growing so quickly this week her appetite this morning is picky, she had to be coaxed to start eating then decided she was hungry after all.  She's noticeably uncomfortable

early sunday morning pictures

Gracie did decide that breakfast was yummy, she would not look at me once she started to eat

 tummy shot - the girth is the large teats in the grey area by her rib cage
larger breeds carry the puppies near and sometimes under the rib cage at first, the size and weight of the puppies start to fill up the bottom part.  By 8 wks they drop and then go up and back towards the exit sign.  Right before they go back up and towards the exit at 9 wks, we can get a reliable measurement on how many puppies are actually ready to whelp.  I like to know close to what she's having to know when she's done.  Grace is awesome at being pregnant and having her babies.

 she's not feeling so good this morning, a little food her tummy settled down

ok, but I really don't want the camera in my face this morning!

she doesn't want me to take a picture of her tummy from a front angle

... and Poppa Everad, he loves soft squeaky pink toys

 he doesn't want me to take the toy from him and give it to Pippa, Everad says this is his toy
His tail is usually straight up and lives mostly on his hind legs

Puppy Food

Might sound early to decide what to feed the puppies

having momma on what the puppies will eat is a good idea, then the puppies don't have to switch over to something different when they starting eating themselves.  Many times when they go home to their new families they will switch them over to what's convenient for them, so the less switching the better.

here's a comparison chart on dog food

there has been many dog food recalls that sent breeders screaming into the world of raw dog food.  Myself?  I beleive a dog/puppy food should have probiotics for better health, and I do not like running stools!

http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/dog-food-comparison.html

Here at Barefoot Pudel's I am feeding the puppies

Fromm Gold Puppy Dry Dog Food

By Fromm

 Description: 

Fromm Family Nutritionals -Puppy Gold is for dog lovers who want their dog to have a food where the ingredient panel is as appetizing for people as it is for dogs. Fromm Puppy Gold is specially formulated with fresh chicken, duck, and chicken meal, and contains no wheat to help avoid possible allergic reactions. In addition to fresh meat, Puppy Gold has added probiotics, prebiotics, and yucca to help promote excellent gastrointestinal health. And as an added benefit for growing puppies, Glucosamine and Chrondroitin have been added to aid in the development of healthy joints. Fromm Family Nutritionals-Puppy Gold was specially developed to meet the unique nutritional needs of young, growing dogs by providing high quality, easily digestible protein along with the proper levels of calcium and phosphorus-in a smaller kibble.

when one of my poodles or puppies have diaherra the rule of thumb is:

skip a meal

add a little rice with a small amount of kibble

slowly increase the kibble and lessen the rice to get them back on track,

as I was making out my grocery list, I had to remember to have rice on hand for those times I noticed that my poodles and/or puppies have diaherra.  I thought ... ?  that doesn't sound right!

this last puppy we got for ourselves flew from Syacruse, NY to San Diego, CA

she did not have any loose stools until I started to switch her over to "Orijen"

again I thought ... ?

ok - get to the point, I've ordered another two bags of

Fromm Gold Puppy Dry Dog Food

and have asked my local natural pet food store if they will carry it for me

if not I'll continue to order online

the poodles have all gave it the A-OK with the taste test, they all loved it

there's many online dog food distributors that have free shipping, while they said "California" special, I ordered two more bags to have enough on hand for puppies and gestation momma

(my personal opinion:  as much as I love the ingredients in Orijen, I find it a little too rich for my poodles and puppies.  A dog's poo should be dry not loose.  If your doggies' poo is sticky to pick up, it's too loose.  I say holistic and easily digestible with no by products.  Also, remember that girl doggies also need to be "expressed as they get older."  Good for poodles they need to go to the groomers every 4-8 wks, the good groomer will check that everytime.  Also when they have their annual check up, make sure the vet checks it out too.  When the doggies' poo is hard-ish and dry-is, it naturally cleans the bottom's gland, diaherra is very bad in a doggie, always pay attention to your puppy and/or dog's poo, it's a sign of what's going on inside.)

Grace 6 weeks pregnant update

She's into her sixth week, the puppies are starting to grow ...  it goes so fast from here on out ... well, except for us eager people, but there's a lot going on with Momma Grace and those ... how ever many ... puppies

not to worry, there's plenty in the works

afternoon siesta

 this bottom picture looks like the booby is poking out, it's actually her babies bump
the nipples are right on schedule, darkening and enlarging

hmm ... how many did we say?

*********** 6th week ***********Pregnancy is obvious

Puppies become colored (skin pigment develops) the Dams nipples darken and grow, and tummy continues to swell. ''Swelly Belly"

Our update:
Grace and puppies have grown fast since Saturday
this afternoon's snack was little rice, a raw egg, handful of Orijen puppy kibble & a crumbled up NuVet vitamin

she glanced at me ... did you put something healthy in here?!   Natural born junk food poodle, she's a kick ...  and I've never given her junk food, that's what's so funny.  I tell my husband, she has your eating habits!

 

Suggestions:
--If you haven't yet... start adding cottage cheese and an egg. Continue with multivitamin, but not calcium supplement yet.
--Increase food to max she will eat.
--whelping area and box (see whelping) should be put up in a quiet area (not the kitchen if active) and she should be encouraged to sleep there. For an active kitchen the whelping box can be moved to the kitchen when pups are 3 weeks old. (Large breeds at 2.5 to 3 weeks, and toy breeds at 3.5 to 5 weeks).

our update:

I will wait until into the seventh week to put up the whelping box and yes exactly what they have here, I have two sizes of the Dura Whelp whelping box/system.  They are great.  What we usually do is have the litter whelp in the kiddie pool, after she's done transfer her and the babies into the Dura Whelp, then it's completely clean and they all have a fresh start.  There's lots of space for momma and babies.  It's in our master bathroom, the first week I'm on my feet with every noise during the night.  For the first couple of weeks, Momma Grace sometimes needs to go outside during the night, and up I am seeing what she needs. 

hint:  sleep deprivation, only way to say it.  It truly is like having a baby in the house.

  (will get our own pictures after this, most breeders use the Dura Whelp system, comes with a whelping box, pad, under heater, overhead lamp, removeable door, etc.  Grace and babies will be in the 4x4 large whelping box, just to give them lots of room.)
 

Whelping box should be big enough for your Dam to stretch out in, and have a door way to go in and out. You do not want your Dam to have to JUMP in and squish a puppy, Whelping Box should have a guard rail to help eliminate suffocation and trapping behind Dam. (see photo of guard rail).

Guard rail inside whelping box - (design MistyTrails Havanese) the Dura Whelp looks exactly like this, beleive it or not, that puppy could be one to two days old, they come out running).

Also, if the whole front of your whelp box, is removable, then this makes whelping, WAY easier. (design MistyTrails Havanese).  I like to use the kiddie pool, it's plastic and everything completely gets out away from Momma and babies soon after, you might guess, it's a mess.  We let Momma and babies tell us when it's good to move them.  I have the whelping box standing on end ready to move in when it's time to transfer them.  

Corner of the Whelping Box - (design MistyTrails Havanese).

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

there's a rule of thumb I entertain with each litter we have,

at full term for every inch around the girth of the pregnant dog is one puppy,

I've been looking on her previous puppy blog and I don't have what her girth or a picture of her at five and/or six weeks prego.  So here's my historical account for Momma Grace's girth now six weeks gestation.

before pregnancy Grace's girth is usually 22"
Yesterday, September 12th, going into her sixth week, Grace's girth was 24 1/4"

Grace's last litter, whelped September 10th, 2010, were ten puppies, she was 32" round at full term, then went down couple of inches as she got ready to go into labor, puppies were moving towards the exit.

that's probably good for now, her morning sickness has gotten a lot less, she's been hungry for at least 1-2 weeks and going through food like ... well ... like she's pregnant!

blessings and peace,

Paula and Jim Wilson

http://www.barefootpudels.com/

Article on Canine Pregnancy

Pregnancy Diagnosis & Caring for the Pregnant Dog Veterinary & Aquatic Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith Pregnancy in the dog lasts approximately 63 days. Just because a bitch was bred, however, does not necessarily mean she has become pregnant. Determining if a bitch is pregnant For the first three weeks or so of pregnancy, you may not notice any changes in the bitch. Some females will become more demanding for attention, their nipples may enlarge slightly, and some may become hungrier. These are not a guarantee of a pregnancy, but are good signs. Bitches can show the same signs during 'false pregnancy,' a hormonal abnormality, which may occur after a bitch has been in heat. Several methods are available to determine pregnancy. A clear mucoid vaginal discharge may be seen. It is a reasonably reliable sign of pregnancy and is noticed about 4-5 weeks into pregnancy and continues until parturition. Ultrasoundis able to pick up fetal heartbeats at about 28 days into gestation. This will not be able to determine the number of puppies but can give an estimate and can confirm a pregnancy. At about the same time, a veterinarian may be able to palpate the uterus and feel the fetuses. This may not be possible on a large dog or one that has the puppies under the rib cage. A blood test to check for pregnancy is available. It checks for the hormone, relaxin, which is produced when the fertilized egg implants. The test can be done about 28-30 days into the pregnancy. Small litter sizes (less than 3 puppies) may result in a false negative result. X-rays can be taken around the 60th day of pregnancy to confirm a pregnancy, count the number of fetuses, and determine size-wise if the puppies will fit through the birth canal. Care of the pregnant bitch The bitch should continue to have regular, but not strenuous, exercise to help her maintain her muscle tone and not become overweight. If feeding a high quality, premium dog food, a vitamin/minerla supplement is probably not necessary. The premium dog foods today are very good at supplying all the dog needs - that was not necessarily true in the past. Do not oversupplement, as that may be harmful to the developing puppies. Some breeders will add cottage cheese or a cooked egg to the diet on alternate days for extra protein. This is not necessary if a premium dog food is fed but can be done if desired. If you are adding supplements to the diet, get a list of all the ingredients and nutritional labels and take everything to your veterinarian to make sure it is still balanced. Oversupplementing with calcium during pregnancy predisposes the bitch to eclampsia. She should have been on a premium adult food prior to pregnancy and for the first few weeks of pregnancy. Starting the fourth or fifth week of pregnancy, begin adding a premium performance food or premium puppy food (do NOT use large breed puppy formulas, which are generally lower in protein, fat, and minerals) to her diet. Each week increase the amount of the performance or puppy food and decrease the amount of adult food, so when she is in her final week of pregnancy, she is on all performance/puppy food. Increase the frequency of the daily meals to three by mid pregnancy. She may need to eat small meals every 3-4 hours during the last week of the pregnancy as the puppies continue to take up more room. Remember, most fetal growth occurs in the last two weeks of gestation. send your guess to pudels@roadrunner.com the person closest to the # of puppies, gender and colors gets a prize!  It's fun and everybody enjoys making their guess with the promised gift.

Grace x Everad's 2010 Puppy Pictures

Happy Birthday to One Year Old Puppies Today!

pictures and comments on the previous litter's blog

http://barefootpudelsblog.blogspot.com/

Ultrasound Count Is In!

I'm really sticking my opinion out here... and I've been wrong before ... but, Grace and Everad "married" three times, once on the 7th, 8th and the 10th.  That would make the younger puppies several days younger (the sire's contribution can last up to 5-7 days until the eggs have been fertilized)

the ultrasound lady at the Cryobank sperm bank in San Marcos, CA, said,

"Five for sure, I'd say 5-7, if you call me and say there are 8 I won't be surprised"

we are taking guesses, put as a comment here or send it pudels@roadrunner.com to be put on the chart for the guessing.  If you are the closest in gender, color and number of puppies you will win a prize.

To win you do not have to be part of this litter's reservation list

send in your guesses, the winner will be determined when the puppies are a few days old

she's got at least five, I expect hidden puppies about 3-4 more

thanks, Paula and Jim Wilson

http://www.barefootpudels.com/

p.s., if you are interested in this litter or our next litter with Hilde, please contact me right away, Hilde's reservation list may fill up with any over flows from this litter depending on gender, size & color.  Grace will not be having another litter until a year from now and probably with Wocky, so if you want a Grace x Everad puppy, best to contact me right away.  Eventually Hilde x Everad will have a litter, for now we are planning on breeding Hilde to "Aedan" a silver kleinpudel depending when she comes into season. 

Grace let Hilde know under no circumstance was she getting any of the action with Everad, she claimed him to be hers and he agreed.  She is a natural at breeding and a survivalist, we call her Momma "B" around here.  What Grace says goes.  Hilde started to come into season in August but stopped.  If Hilde waits long enough she will be bred when she does go into her cycle.
I guess we can ask Grace when it's ok for Hilde to go into her cycle ... lol!

thanks, Paula

would you like to see what an ultrasound looks like?
these are pictures of Grace's last year's litter ... if you are curious why it's just an estimate...

there's lots of hidding places in there!

 

Fascinating Video of Fetus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qQtUYOR9w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=uD3bmHyVEyo

Grace is about half way

by the way, she surprised us last litter with the birth date

was actually more than a week later than the canine pregnancy calendar said, 
her labor/delivery started at midnight and went to 11am, 
we were up all night delivering ten puppies
suggestion?  do sign on as a follower to get early morning notes


her litter with Drake before that was exactly on the date at 9am with five puppies


each litter can be completely different from the previous litter(s)

... stay tuned, as time goes Grace will let us know the progress of her and her puppies




Grace's birthday is October 14th when she turns four

blessings,

Paula and Jim

www.barefootpudels.com

Ultrasound September 10th

I will post the count for fetuses on the ultrasound, stay tuned!

any guesses?

Will officially take the guesses anytime you want to post or email your guess to me.  If you are the closest in your guess, you will receive a free gift!  It's fun and Grace likes the attention.

 

also just for fun, below is a webshot link to see what a 6 wk old puppy looks like in the womb, amazing they can be filmed!

<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1458120714 src="http://thumb4.webshots.net/t/64/664/2/76/69/2513276690103075104tWHMQg_th.jpg" alt="Doggie-womb_550x306"></a>

or this one...

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2513276690103075104tWHMQg

hopefully it works ... photo technology is not my forte'

haaha, forte' get it?  this is the "F" litter

Nickname List for this Litter

I nickname the puppies when they are born.  

One, it gives the new owners ideas how to come up with a "F" for the beginning alphabet and the puppies will answer to their names by 6-7 wks old.  

also, naming a puppy for the new families is an important task

First following are naming guidelines, please consider a good name for your puppy, and then in order of birth the puppies will be named the names below.

ABOUT DOG NAMES:

A HISTORIC REVIEW...

---

Humans have named their dogs with unique and cute names since dogs have been domesticated.  

We  know many dog names from Egyptian sources from thousands of years ago, like "The Brave One", "Reliable" and others, decribing the nature of a dog. Other names referred to the dog´s colour, like "Blackie" "CreamPuff."

THE RIGHT DOG NAME:

Seaching for names for dogs is one of the first things new puppy owners will be doing. 

If you are in the process of searching for cute dog names, several considerations should be made.

Dog's name should not sound similar to any command you will use (sit, stay, fetch, etc.)

Please read Puppy Comes Home housetraining and naming article at http://www.tiarapoodles.com/puppy_comes_home.htm   

A name beginning with an S will often cause puppies to be submissive when the name is used and around the people that say their name that has a "SS" sound.  A result of this can be the squat and pee when you first come home and say their name and they are excited and then you SSSS to them by saying their new name.  So, try not to name pups with a S, SH or soft CH sound. ... example:  "Sadie" come.  Sadie looks at you and says, well they do feed me and love me, but that sound ... hmm?!  I see it at dog training, someone will be having a problem getting their doggie to come with them or being overly shy, "I call them and he just turns and runs the other way"  ... proof of names that are a bad choice as ... "Chanel"  "Sadie"  "Florence"... it's anywhere in the name.  

I also say no swear words as names.

Watch "Cesar Milan's "Dog Whisperer," Cesar will make a chss chss or sss sound to get the dog to stop a behavior, please note that's a dog's instinct to stay away from the sounds of 'ch' and 'sss' and "sh"

I nickname the puppies while they are with us to give people ideas to come up with their own names that don't start or have the 'sss' 'ch' or 'sh' sound anywhere in the name.  There's many lists of dog and baby names to choose from, I search for months before picking out a nickname for our puppies.  I have no problem with people keeping their names or using another litter's or siblings name either.  

Please keep to the litter's alphabet Letter, it's so much fun when we have puppy gatherings to have each litter with their alphabet names, we do this for the puppies we get from other breeders and with the puppies we keep from our own litters.  

... and here's the top ten boys and girls "French" nicknames

this is the "F" litter of 2011

Boys:

Florian

Finn

Fabien

Franklin

Freman

Fleming

Franck

Fabio

Falken

Frankie

Girls

Fifi

Fae

Fanny

Finola

Flora

Fran

Femi

Fanetta

Frederique

Fantine

The entire birth record will be on this blog
there's a lot going on as the puppies whelp, I've found it's a perfect way to record the birth as they arrive.  I send an email to the reservation list and then send an email after we get organized to announce the new litter and put it on facebook as well.