Pulp Fiction Litter Pupdate 10/19/13

New pictures coming soon!  You won't believe how they've all grown.  Eyes should start popping open this coming weekend & early next week.  Their little noses are turning black, and they are all fat, round, and happy.

They are beginning to take their first staggering attempts at walking, which is really quite funny to watch.  Spicy gives a rather alarmed glance at any pup who is attempting to walk around and then sort of rolls her eyes in mock disgust at their unsteady, goofy struggles.

Even little Winston is making slow but steady weight gains and is also stagger-walking about quite enthusiastically.  We now also know what is going on with him.  He has a cleft palate, which prevents him from nursing normally.  It took this long to diagnose since he is so tiny, and the roof of his mouth continues to change.

So now we face our first real dilemma as breeders.  In the not-so-distant past, euthanasia was the most common recommendation for a CP (cleft palate) puppy.  Surgery is possible, but often unsuccessful.

However, lately many people have realized that getting a CP puppy through the first 4 to 9 weeks is the toughest, and then many of these dogs can lead a normal life - without surgical intervention.  From what we've read online, the only real restriction, or 'special care' that will be required for him as he gets bigger is that he can have dry food only.

Of course, getting him to the age where he can eat dry food safely is the trick.  So, we have decided to continue to keep helping little Winston along, as long as he wants to keep on fighting. 

Today is also Spicy & the whole Chinese Delights II Litter's 2nd birthday.  We got a great picture of her brother, Jett Jr., who lives in Florida.  I'll be posting pics soon!

Pulp Fiction Pupdate 10/13/13

Winston Update:  For some reason, Winston has never nursed normally, so all feedings are coming from the humans.  We are feeding him every 1.5 to 2 hours, and the same through the night.  He continues to have a lot of spirit and otherwise acts pretty much the same as the other puppies.  After the pups were born, it took us about 18 hours to figure out that he wasn't getting any milk from his attempts to nurse, since he looks like he's trying, but doesn't seem to be able to draw milk from Spicy.

We have some guardedly optimistic news to report today about Winston.  Ken figured out a new & better method of feeding him yesterday, and so we are able to get more food to him in a faster, more efficient way.

This means that at today's weigh-in he didn't lose any more ground, and he actually surpassed his birth weight for the first time (he was born at 259 grams).  For the first six days, he was losing weight each day, in spite of a lot of work to feed him.  Yesterday morning, he was a dismal 217 grams.   Today he was 261 grams, which is still so tiny, but makes for a good gain for one day!

The other pups continue to gain each day by leaps and bounds.  To give you a comparison, Vincent Vega weighed in at 680 grams today.

So...while he's had a good 24+ hours, little Winston has a long way to go.  Here he is pictured with Jen feeding him with a cosmetic sponge and dropper:

When we pick him up to feed him, he yells and squirms with excitement and even makes little happy nursing sounds while sucking on his sponge as we painstakingly drop milk from the dropper into his mouth, one drop at a time.

His Grandma, Polliwog, is in charge of cleaning him while Jen feeds him - a job she takes very seriously.

When he's not being served by his human servants, Winston is in the whelping box with Spicy (whom he loves to snuggle), and his brothers and sisters.  He also snuggles in with the puppy piles, in spite of being nearly 3 times smaller than they are.

And for some continued good news and fun, we have finally been able to get enough rest and have some time to get some great pics of the puppies and their buddies:

 Monty says:  "I'm too sexy for these puppies."

 The arrival of pups meets with Uncle Buck's approval - because he 

knows he gets to pirate the canned dog food!

 Marbles says, "Er Mer Gerd!  More Puppies?!!!"

 Jules was a real ham for the camera all day.

 It's still impossible to tell what shade of red the pups will turn out to be, but here's an interesting contrast between Jules' current color and Spicy.

 Esmerelda Villalobos, hanging out with Spicy.  (Also pictured - a bit of Marsellus Wallace's rear.)

Jules - lounging on the veranda.

 Another nice shot of Esmerelda Villalobos' cool color and pattern.

 Marsellus Wallace - sporting a perfect little triangle spanking spot.

Jules - "I'm the Foot [blanking] Master.  I don't be tickling, or nothing." 

(Pulp Fiction movie quote edited for language)

 And another great Jules shot.  

We're saving this one to show to future girlfriends & embarrass him with it.

 The two gals - Esmerelda Villalobos (top) and Fabienne.

 Vincent Vega (left), hanging out with Marsellus Wallace.

"Why, that IS a tasty beverage."

Jules, Marcellus Wallace, and Fabienne.

 Spicy Duck's tragic demise.

Actually, we can also use this pic to start playing 

the new game that's sweeping the nation:  "Where's Winston?"

Pupdate 10/11/13

Apologies for slow updates on the Pulp Fiction Litter. 

On top of all the fun (but hectic) activities of caring for a new litter of puppies, little Winston Wolf is continuing to struggle, needing hand feeding every 2 hours.

But he has a LOT of fight for such a small pup (his happy, healthy & porky littermates are now twice his size!), so we are fighting right along with him.

As soon as things settle a bit and Jen can get some sleep, we promise new pictures and updates.

Introducing the "Pulp Fiction" Litter - born 10/06/13

They've arrived!  The "Pulp Fiction" Litter (Horsetooth Runrig Feynman, RN, OTR x Horsetooth Spicy Duck, RN) arrived on 10/06/13.

Six pups - 4 boys & 2 girls.  5 red & whites and 1 black and white...

"Esmerelda Villalobos":   White and Red Parti female
"Vincent Vega":  Black and White male
"Fabienne":  Red and White female
"Winston Wolf":  Red and White male
"Jules Winnfield":  Red and White male
"Marsellus Wallace":  Red and White male
 
Momma Spicy is doing great with her first litter - she's a natural mother.  Winston is a little guy, so he's getting extra feedings on the bottle, and we're watching him closely.

Here are a few pics of their arrival last night, and a few more today with them cleaned up and ready for action.  Stay tuned for updates.

Pupdate 10/05/13

Past Puppy Update:

Last Saturday I got the joy of seeing Rufeus (HT Pesto Di Noce) & Zola' (HT Into the Mystic) for a visit when their momma brought them by the training studio.  Even though I've got Alfredo around and am watching him grow daily, I still just couldn't believe how big and grown up these two have gotten!  Here are updated pics from the visit and from their home:

 

They definitely knew who I was and remembered the training studio - their first "home away from home."

 Zola' hangin' out with Jessie and Kitty.

 Nice ears....

 And grinning just like her daddy, Fermi.

BIG stretch from the big boy.

We also got great updated news on Misu (HT Tiramisu Frangelico) this week.  Her hardware came off, and her x-rays look good!  Here she is, still looking soooo much like momma, Bella - without her gear!

"Wow!  That feels GOOD!"

We also got another great shot of Princess Waffle (HT Hot Toddy), doing what she does best - hang out on her throne:   

More past pup pics 09/26/13

We got a great picture of "Stone" (HT Runrig Pauli, from our first Penelope litter) going with his momma, Cindy, to deliver pet food & supplies to animals displaced by the recent flooding in NoCo.  Cindy runs "Favors Project" - a non-profit that collects and delivers food & supplies to Colorado's homeless pets and people!  Check out their website, or their facebook page for more info. or to donate.

Next up - how sweet do Leo (HT Lestate Presto) and Addie look, posing for the camera.  We can't believe how much Leo has grown!

Past Puppy Pupdate 09/25/13

Some great new pics of past puppies:

We've got Sprocket  (HT Rye Manhattan)...trying out a very distinguished pose while staying at a hotel....he's embraced his job as official furniture inspector:

We've got Wilco (HT Rigatoni Sorrentino) & Waffle (HT Hot Toddy) camping - Waffle is trying to convince everyone it's winter...while Wilco is sure summer is still going:

 Then there's Misu (HT Tiramisu Frangelico), sporting her fancy hardware (soon to come off), and the cone of shame...er...the cone of bravery!  Hoorah! 

And last but not least, Miss Deja (HT Lupini Beanie) playing hide-n-seek with Hobbes (HT Voodoo Child, not currently pictured)...she thinks he can't see her!!!

Origin of the Whippet

Hi, Folks!

Just found this great piece on breed origin (it's murky, for sure!) and thought I'd share:

http://whippethistory.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/originwhippet/

New "Past Puppy" pics coming soon.

Jennifer

Flooding Update

Well, last year it was fires, and this year it's flooding....

Just a quick check-in to let everyone know we're all ok!  Our road did flood yesterday, but we're way up high on a hill, so no trouble for us.

The biggest issue for the Horsetooth crew has been that all the roads we take to get out of the foothills have been under water or suffered damage and are closed, so Ken and I have had to miss  work for the last 2 days.  First ever 'rain' day home from work...we're used to snow days, but this is something else altogether.

It was great to have some sun and dryer, warmer weather today to let the dogs out in the yard...they were having nearly as bad a case of cabin fever as we are.

Hope everyone else in the state is staying dry!

Jennifer

More 'Team Horsetooth' News

 Show News

It's been another fun weekend of showing for the Horsetooth crew.

Today Alfredo got his first glowing compliments from a judge - Judge Bill Shelton, at the Evergreen Kennel Club show in Greeley, CO.

Feynman had a 'backwards sneezing' fit in the ring and didn't have a great day, but still was 2nd place in the Bred-by-Exhibitor Dog class.

 Obedience/Rally News

We're also SUPER excited to announce Obedience and Rally Rankings for the whippets who were working their brains as well as their beauty and brawn this year.  Every dog Jen has competed with in Rally or Obedience is ranked in the top 20 of their respective classes:

Penelope is tied for 3rd in the country for the Obedience Beginner Novice B Class with an average score of 194.5/200 possible points.

Feynman is tied for 3rd in the country for the Rally Novice B Class with an average score of 95/100.

Johnson is 10th in the country for the Rally Novice B Class with an average score of 91.33/100.

Fermi and Lychee are tied for 13th in the country with average scores of 89/100.

Spicy Duck is tied for 19th in the country with an average score of 87/100.

PLUS - we're excited about Horsetooth Ginger Shrimp (owned and handled by Lyn D'Amato-Franklin) coming in with a 3rd in the country ranking for Rally Novice A with an average score of 94/100.  Congrats, Lyn & Ginger!

Running News 

No news here in Colorado for running this week, but a HUGE congratulations goes out to Ellen Feldheim and Horsetooth Shanghai Tofu - "Cato" - on their awesome Best in Field win at the GANG lure coursing event in GA last week.
 

Puppy News

We're still watching both Penelope and Spicy closely, and are guardedly optimistic!  Ken doesn't want to announce puppies until we have them in hand, and impatient Jen wants to announce them right away!  So everyone will have to still sit tight and wait a bit longer for absolute confirmation.