6 Weeks Old!!!

One is sold...four more to go! Check out the new pics and video!

5 Weeks!

The puppies are now five weeks old (as of tomorrow). It's incredible to see how fast they are growing and developing. Every day it's a new thing. One day the open their eyes, the next they're stumbling around, the next they're walking, then almost barking. Now they're all running around and playing, it's truly amazing:) I really don't think there's any way we can keep all five!!!!!

It's also interesting to see their individual personalities coming out. Some are more vocal than others. Some are more outgoing than others. One seems to have really attached himself to me, which is so cute when I come in the room and he comes running over to me.

Anyway, I know several of you have been asking for updated pictures, so here they are!

Puppies!!!!

The puppies finally made their appearance today (Sunday). Bang on schedule. We have 5 total, 3 males and 2 females!

Millie seems to be a great mommy so far. She gets very concerned when we pick one up, she doesn't take her eyes off of it until we return it to her. It took about 4 hours for them all to be born, but all seem healthy and fit...and good lungs too!!!!

I took all the puppies out a little bit ago to change the towels (they were very messy). When I put them all back in she went around one by one counting them and making sure all was good. Very cute.

Week 9!!!!

Well, here we are, finally! We are down to just days (hopefully) to go. We're not sure whether Saturday or Sunday is her official due day (day 63), but here we are at Friday and patiently waiting for it all to start. I really thought it was going to be Wednesday night or Thursday morning due to her panting and pacing but nothing yet. The puppies were doing aerobics on Wednesday night and Millie looked super uncomfortable but she made it through and held on. I think everything is mostly in order and all is ready to go.

Now we wait....and wait...and if necessary wait some more. We will update if anything new happens and add pictures as soon as we have them.

Keep checking and stay tuned in!!!! :)

The Crate and the "Boyfriend/Daddy"

Week 8!!!!

We're down to only 1 week to go!!! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. I'm not sure Millie is thinking the same thing. She is slowly making her way around the house, waddling here and there, going outside to pee every two hours (during the night included). She seems too tired to care about anything other than eating and going out to pee. Still eating like a cow, she has gained nearly 3 pounds total. Her ability to jump is gone. Her belly is HUGE, nearly touching the ground as she walks around. When we lay on the couch together watching t.v. I can feel the pupppies moving around when I put my hand on her belly. Millie seems ok with me touching her belly now.

I worked on her crate yesterday building it so that the puppies won't be able to get out through the bars once they are walking around. I will include pictures...take a look at that belly!

Week 7

Only two weeks left! We have been taking bets to see how many puppies Millie will have. So far the totals are;

GB: 3
JB: 2
Mom: 4
Dad: 3
JD: 1
DA: 4

I think I got that all right...I might have to correct a few though.

I weighed Millie yesterday and she is a whopping 8.2 pounds, up from 5.5 pounds before she was pregnant! She has started loosing all the fur on her belly. She is still sitting sideways because she can't quite get her whole tummy under her when she sits. And most importantly...still as grouchy as ever:)

We will be moving her crate up to the upstairs soon to put her in a warmer room and also to make additional space for our house guests we are having for April. Millie is currently getting up 2 to 3 times a night to be let outside to pee which means I have not been getting my beauty rest lately...but so far still in a good mood!

Not much longer now!!!

Week 6

We're at the end of week 6 and getting very close to day 63! Only 3 weeks left. Millie continues to waddle about the house looking quite pathetic. She has grown larger this week and is still eating like a little piggie.

We have taken a bet with some of our friends as to how many puppies she will have. The bets range from 1 to 4, I've taken 3. Now we'll just have to wait and see. Millie continues to be quite affectionate with us and cranky with everyone else. Her ability to jump has been somewhat curbed, much to our delight!

Nothing else new to report for now.

Week 5

Well well well...here we are at the end of week 5 and going into week 6. Millie's belly has exploded the last couple of days. I don't know how many puppies she has in there but she's getting quite big. Her hunger strike is officially over and she's once again eating like a cow. We have her mostly on an open feeding routine where if she eats all her food she gets more, until she no longer seems hungry. Seems to be working and judging by the speed at which her belly is expanding, I'd say she needs the extra.

I was at the vet a couple of days ago and inquired about tail docking and first rounds of shots. All pretty much what we expected and they now have her due date in their system.

Aside from that, all is going well. Still pretty grouchy but she's definitely getting much slower and sleepier as time passes so she has less motivation to get up and growl at passersby.

Stay posted, it's starting to get pretty exciting!

Week 4

Well, we're coming to the end of week 4 and there is some news to report. First and foremost, who knew a pregnant dog could be so grouchy???? WOW!!!! Seems like she hates the world a little bit right now. Most importantly, we're working through it.

Her belly has begun to grow, very slightly. I take that as a very good sign. Millie continues her hunger strike this week so we have resorted to giving her some canned food mixed in with her kibble. She really likes that, even Dixie has gotten in on the action a little bit. If I ever put down dry kibble they both just stand there looking at me like "You expect us to eat this?". Oh well, small sacrifices for the greater good.

Saturday marks week 5 so the puppy(ies) continue to develop their extremities next week. Their developed open eyes now close and they become actual puppies. I tried listening to Millie's tummy last night with my stethoscope but all I could hear was some gurggling, she was too fidgety to hear anything else.

Guess that's about it for now.

Week 2 & 3

Well...not too much new to report. We still don't know if Millie is officially pregnant yet, hopefully soon. All the signs point to yes however. She is now on all puppy food, high quality of course! Her energy level has dropped slightly and goes through spurts of eating like a cow, then not eating at all. I think she had some morning sickness this week when she wasn't feel that great, but that seems past now. She has become even more cuddly, if that's possible with Millie. She was already the cuddliest dog I've ever met. She also seems to have less tolerance for Zach lately.

This is the end of week three, moving into week four. Her belly should start getting bigger sometime during week 5 or 6. We may even be able to experience the puppies moving around a little during week 7 and 8! Sorry this posting hasn't been too exciting, but c'est la vie:)

Week 1

Well, here it is, week one of Millie's journey to becoming a mommy. At least, we hope it's here. Millie went into heat about a month earlier than expected and since we have no control over nature we sprung into action. We had already pre-arranged a boyfriend for Millie. We did our background checks, asked all the questions we needed to, exchanged contact information and life went on. We have been researching to some great extents on how, when and where to breed dogs. We have become novices at the whole business of breeding dogs. So we knew that Millie needed to be bred on her 9th or 10th day of her heat with another visit within a couple of days. That time has come and gone. We have met with her boyfriend (Benny) on two occasions within the last 3 days. Benny is a "sure thing" according to his owner. That's what we wanted, an easy guy with a proven track record. I mean really, isn't that what every good mom wants for her offspring? Now we wait. We have 4 or 5 weeks to wait before being able to tell if Millie is pregnant (according to my research).

Following the rules of breeding we have switched Millie to a high quality puppy formula. Every week there are new things to do or watch for, so we will be following that process carefully. Our projected due date is March 6, 2010!

Introducing Millie

Millie is our absolutely beautiful, adorable, sociable, loyal friend. She lives with us in Brampton in our house with our son Zach and our other dog Dixie. Dixie is a border collie mix, which is the smallest (40 lbs) dog we have ever owned. Buying Millie was quite a decision for us, knowing that she would only be between 4 and 10 lbs full grown! Millie is, afterall, a purebreed Yorkshire Terrier, or Yorkie for short.

Millie is full grown having just celebrated her first birthday. She weighs in at a whopping 5.8 lbs! Aside from teaching her not to bark (and yes it is mostly possible) she has been a very easy girl to train. We don't seem to have the typical "I'm so excited I could pee" thing going on, which is always nice for guests visiting our home.

The whole reason for starting this blog on our dog is because we are crazy! No, actually, we are doing it because a while ago we decided that breeding Millie would be a good idea. Don't try to convince us otherwise, there's no turning back now:) Millie's temperament and cuteness factors are way up, so we're hoping she'll pass these qualities on. We have had friends, family and neighbours fall in love with Millie very quickly, just as we did, and we hope to create new families with "little Millies". The rest of this blog will follow Millie's "pregnancy". I put that word in quotes because we won't know if she's pregnant for a few weeks yet.

So, fingers crossed and hopes high, here we go for what may be a very exciting, educational journey into the somewhat unknown. To boldly go where no Millie has gone before, yadda yadda yadda. Whatever the case, check back often and read on!