Gangster Litter - 1 Week old

 It's hard to believe these guys are already a week old.  Being a small litter, and with mama Lyla making a ton of milk, they are growing like crazy!

For reference, the average size of most of our pups at this age is 541 grams.

The current weights at the daily weigh-in for the Gangsters are:

Bonnie:  576 grams (321g at birth)
Opal:  602 grams  (305g at birth)
Floyd:  653 grams (327g at birth)
Nelson:  601 grams (305g at birth)
Twist:  679 grams (365g at birth)

We know from the study we did last year that weights at this age have nearly no bearing on adult size, but it's still fun to track them and see where they are in comparison to past pups!

Ok - on to today's pics (the best part about being snowed in is we have lots of photo opportunities):

Mama Lyla - hamming it up for the camera.

Nelson, Bonnie and Twist at the milkbar, with a tiny bit of Opal showing.

Nelson - 'frog dogging' with his hind legs.  😂

Opal (on top of Twist and Nelson), Bonnie (at the back), and Floyd sleeping through this nursing session.

Opal!

Floyd

Same lineup as above, different angle.

Lyla has adopted the "floating mama otter" pose quite often lately while nursing the pups.  This is a good sign that all is well, and she feels completely safe and relaxed.  :)

Kid Twist & Baby Face Nelson nursing; Floyd, Opal and Bonnie sleeping.

Floyd crawled over for a mama snuggle.

Opal

Bonnie

Nelson

Twist & Nelson

Awwwww

Gangsters Day 6

 🎵🎵🎵Oh the weather outside is frightful🎵🎵🎵....The Great Blizzard of '24 has hit - and we've got more than a foot (over 2 feet, with drifts!) of snow!

But inside, everyone is warm and cozy.

From bottom:  Nelson, Opal, Floyd, Twist, & Bonnie (headed for the milkbar!)

Nelson, Opal, Bonnie, Twist (underneath) & Floyd (at the milkbar)

Happy mom & pups.

Sooo tired!  Nelson has climbed Mt. Lyla.  Snuggling at her neck are Twist & Bonnie.  Nursing are Opal (left) and Floyd.

Floyd, Nelson, and Opal (underneath)

Twist crashed up next to Lyla for a long time!

Bonnie and her perfect blaze.

These guys all know what to do on a snowy day!
Opal (underneath), Nelson, Floyd, Bonnie, Twist (snuggling Lyla)

Everybody taking a break from nursing.
Opal, Bonnie, Floyd, Nelson, Twist (still snuggling!)

Back to sleep for mama!

Gangsters Litter day 5

 Just a few quick pics as we hunker down and get ready for the storm.  We likely won't have internet for a few days, if it DOES really dump a bunch of the white stuff on us, so fret not...we'll take lots of pics and post when we can!

Proud mama would rather pose and show off pups than eat her chicken necks and ricotta cheese.  Silly girl!

Nursing lineup from front to back:  Twist, Bonnie, Nelson, Opal (way underneath!) and Floyd.

Where's Nelson???
Clockwise:  Opal, Bonnie, Floyd, Twist

Found him!  Nursing all by himself with Mama Lyla.

Gangsters Litter days 3 & 4

The Gangsters had a busy day on Monday (day 3 for them) - their first car ride and first day at work at Front Range K9 Academy.

Mom and pups travelled just fine, not offering even a peep on the 70 mile commute.  They all settled into their whelping pool setup at the office with no troubles.  Mondays are 'prep' day for the raw diet we feed, so with the humans busy with food prep, it was up to mama Lyla to just hang out and nurse and clean pups...and it was the pups' job to just keep doing what they do best - eating and sleeping!

As is the case with most small litters of pups, these guys are getting tons of milk, so they are mostly very quiet, and are gaining weight by leaps and bounds.   Kid Twist, who remains the biggest of the pups, is finally outgrowing his birth wrinkles and looking like the blue he is, as opposed to looking like a brindle pup!

On to the pictures from yesterday and today!

Mama Lyla settling in with the Gangsters at work.

Nelson (snuggling her neck), Opal (partially hidden, nursing), Bonnie (under Twist), Twist (taking a nap) & Floyd (nursing at her flank).

💓💓Close up of Baby Face Nelson snuggling Lyla. 💓💓

Bonnie (front), a bit of Nelson, and Twist (back)

Better shot of Nelson!  Such crazy cow-like markings.  😊

Pretty Boy Floyd (front) & Opal (back)

Kid Twist, snuggling Lyla

The Fab Five.  Bonnie (top left), Floyd (top middle), Nelson (far right), Opal (center), Kid Twist (hiding under the pile)

Pups all snoozing.  From Left:  Bonnie, Opal, Floyd, Nelson, and most of Twist.

A bit of Nelson's face, Bonnie, Floyd, and Opal.

Kid Twist - starting to smooth out (his jammies must've been on too tight inside Mama Lyla!)

American Gangsters Litter - Day 2

 Mom and pups continue to do great.  Lyla would like to say, for the record, "I am getting better at cleanup duty!"

Mama Lyla and Pretty Boy Floyd.

Sleepy mom and pups.

From front to back:  Opal (under Lyla's tail!), Bonnie, Twist, Nelson, Floyd.

Lyla says, "See?!  I do clean them sometimes!"

Until I fall asleep....

(Twist & Opal)

"Wait!  I wasn't sleeping...I was just resting my eyes!"

"This mom business is exhausting."

Welcome to the World, You Little Gangsters!

We're excited to welcome new little gangsters (Litter Theme:  Notorious American Gangsters)!

Papa Baxter & Mama Lyla are so proud!  

Horsetooth Whippets welcomed 5 new members to the pack starting at 5:10am on 03/08/2024.  Here are their details, and a few early pics!

"Bonnie Parker" (of Bonnie & Clyde fame):  
Arrived at 5:10am
Birth Weight:  321grams
Coloring:  Irish-marked (think "tuxedo") Black Female with a beautiful, narrow blaze and white chin, chest & belly.

"Opal Long" (of the Dillinger Gang - aka "Mack Truck"):
Arrived at 5:18am
Birth Weight:  305grams
Coloring:  Parti-marked, split-faced Blue Female with a huge mantle over her left shoulder, white rear left leg and hip, and funny blue spot on the left side of her tail.

"Pretty Boy Floyd":
Arrived at 6:00am
Birth Weight:  327grams
Coloring:  Irish-marked Blue Male with very wide blaze, and a 'yamaka' on his head!

"Baby Face Nelson":
Arrived at 6:30am
Birth Weight:  305grams
Coloring: Parti-marked Blue Male with "cow like" patches and a split face, and another yamaka.

"Kid Twist":
Arrived at 6:51am
Birth Weight:  365grams
Coloring:  Irish-marked Blue male with big, white mantle and wide face blaze.

Mama Lyla is doing great (though she's not a fan of 'poop detail' and these guys ARE poopy!) and all pups are doing what happy, healthy pups do - eating and sleeping and eating and sleeping and...

Pretty Boy Floyd (left) and Opal (right) and Mama Lyla.

Opal, Floyd, and a bit of Bonnie.

From back to front:  Baby Face Nelson (back), Opal, Bonnie, and Floyd at the milkbar...waiting for Kid Twist to be born.  (Lyla says, "Excuse my mess - having puppies is messy business!)

Same lineup - from left:  Floyd, Bonnie, Opal, Nelson.

Kid Twist, Floyd (hidden) Opal, and a bit of Bonnie.

Opal

Opal

From left:  Opal, Nelson, Bonnie, Floyd

Same line up - but Lyla making a face as if to say, "What have I gotten myself into???"

Busy mama, cleaning pups.

Opal and Twist

The whole crew!  Bonnie, Floyd, a bit of Opal's butt, Twist, and Nelson

Nelson, Floyd (hidden) Opal, & Twist

Bonnie