The Power of Cheese Litter - naming ceremony!

Mama Lychee and pups have had 2 good (quiet!) nights.  These little whippersnappers are very mobile and busy, but pretty quiet, and Lychee is an exceptional mother, so things have been very smooth for their first 36+ hours.

We did their 'naming ceremony' this morning with weigh-ins (everyone gained at least a little bit - always a good sign), and will try to get individual pics of each of them over the next day or two while we're home with them.

These brindle pups are tough to tell apart from each other still, but we're already beginning to know who's who (especially when we check for specific markings - which will be impossible to tell on most photos, since it's their chest markings that are distinct from each other, and they certainly don't show their chests much right now as they crawl about on their bellies!)

Ok!  On to the Cheese names:

#1 boy (Red & White Parti Brindle) is "Colby"

#2 girl (Fawn & White Parti) is "Gorgonzola" (Zola for short!)

#3 boy (Solid Brindle) is "Pepper Jack" - this is the little guy with a big, white, 'Superman' triangle patch on his chest.

#4 girl (Solid Brindle) is "Brie" - our smallest pup ever, she's a busy little thing - always crawling around with enthusiasm - we have to remind her to go nurse!

#5 boy (Solid Brindle) is "Stilton" - we've discovered that Stilton has the teeniest, tiniest white tip at the end of his tail - making him easier to pick out (sort of)...but this may close with color as he ages.

#6 boy (Solid Brindle) is "Gouda" - Gouda's the biggest pup right now.

#7 girl (Solid Red) is "Fontina" (Tina for short!)

Here are a few more pics we've caught over the last few hours.  Note - Lychee's never been a fan of the camera, and now she even puts her head in front of it when you aim at a puppy, as if to say "No!  Don't point that thing at my puppies, either."  :)

Lychee and Zola

Colby - snuggled down in the bedding, and tapping on mom's front legs in a running puppy dream.

Stilton - climbed Mt. Lychee and is perched at the top - taking a nap.

Mom and her crew - can you spot the great mountain explorer, Stilton?

Fontina (left) and Zola at the milkbar

Busy mama Lychee keeping everyone clean.

Gorgonzola is often found up front, snuggling with mom.

More milkbar time!

***

We also have some great shots of past pups.  

First up, we've got Sprocket (HT Rye Manhattan, from our Shaken, Not Stirred Litter) and his housemate, Ginger (HT Ginger Shrimp).  Birthday boy, Sprocket turned 7 years old on July 5th.

***

Next up - Major Tom...doing his "Sith Lord" impersonation:

Tom's dad reports that his secret Sith power is to clear a room with his deathly pharts!  😂

***

Next up, we've got a whole montage from Rufeus (HT Pesto Di Noci) and Zola' (HT Into the Mystic):

***

And how about Misu (HT Tiramisu Frangelico) - doing a great re-enactment of "The Princess and the Pea."

***

Last but not least, we've got Eva (HT Little Rock) - looking as sweet and pretty as ever!

***

Puppies have arrived!

It's been a roller coaster of a week, but we're happy to announce that "The Power of Cheese" litter has arrived.

Lychee whelped 4 boys and 3 girls between 8:40 pm and 10:56 pm on July 12th.  We have what look to be a bunch of dark red brindle (or maybe one dark red) solid-marked pups...at this age, it is hard to tell the brindles from the reds sometimes until their colors come out over the next few days.  It'll be fun trying to tell them apart!  We've also got 2 parti-marked pups - one red brindle boy and one fawn girl.

Mom and pups are all doing great.

Name update to follow soon!

8:40 pm - - Male, 282 grams, Brindle & White parti-colored

9:07 pm - - Female, 297 grams, Fawn & White parti-colored

9:20 pm - - Male, 224 grams, Solid Brindle with large, white 'Superman' marking on chest and white chin

9:45 pm - - Female, 217 grams, Solid Brindle with tiny white triangle on chest

10:10 pm - - Male, 272 grams, Solid Brindle with longer, thinner white chest stripe

10:38 pm - - Male, 312 grams, Solid Brindle with white chin and white mark on throat and chest

10:56 pm - - Female, 282 grams, Solid Red(?) with white triangle on chest - slightly larger than her sister, and white chin

Parti brindle boy, with 2 solid brindles

"Puppy segregation"...I swear, we didn't line them up this way, they did it themselves!  :)

Look at all of those gorgeous black masks.  Hope they keep them!

Contented mama & pups.

Very Sad news - and Whippet Heart Health Alert

With great sadness, we are sharing the news of the passing of one of our past pups - Ollie (HT Duke Henry the Red) died on 07/03/2019 of what is most-likely diet-related heart failure, or DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy). Ollie appears to have been the 5th reported whippet in the US to have diet-related DCM.

For those not already aware, the United States is having an ALARMING increase of this tragic disease, related mostly to grain-free kibble dog foods. The FDA is researching the problem (which is NOT occurring in Europe, even with grain free diets). The FDA has released another recent report, and a list of foods with the highest connections to the problem. You can find the report and the list here: https://www.fda.gov/…/fda-investigation-potential-link-betw…

If you are currently feeding a grain-free, or even a grain-inclusive food from a small "boutique" company, we are strongly recommending that you switch to a grain-inclusive food that is not on the list above.

As much as we hate to support the 'big companies/big money', many vets are recommending Purina ProPlan grain inclusive formulas. The one good thing about the bigger companies is that they DO have a lot of laboratory testing to back up their foods, whereas the small companies may not.

Additionally, we at HT whippets have actually abandoned ALL processed dog foods in favor of feeding a raw, natural diet to the whippet here. If you are interested in more info. on that, just let us know.

Our hearts are heavy for Ollie's family and all of those who've lost a dog to diet-related DCM. Our hope is that the pet food industry of the US gets their act together soon. :(

RIP, sweet Ollie.

Lucky # Seven

X-rays today for Miss Lychee reveal seven pups.  Can you count them?

Saturday is day 58 (dogs generally deliver anywhere from day 58 to day 65), so we're getting really close!

July 2019 Pupdate

Puppies

I know all of our prospective puppy families are waiting with baited breath - so I'll start with a mama Lychee update.  She's up to 26" around her belly and we have somewhere between 12 and 19 days to go.  We'll be doing xrays at the end of next week to get an idea of how many little whippersnappers are in there.

I promised some belly pics, but she's camera shy about her belly....so here's one I was able to sneak in while she was napping.  She says, "It's no fun being this big and full of puppies in the heat!"

***

We've also gotten some fun past pupdate pics in lately, so I'll share a few of those, too!

First up, we've got Bedahlia (HT Aunt Bedelia) - doing some world class couch potato-ing after a day full of walks and snuggles:

***

Next up, we've got Banzai (HT Andy Warhol - a full sibling to Lychee's upcoming litter), hanging out in the cool grass with his basketball:

***

Not to be outdone, we've got a whole bunch of great shots of Luna (HT Rebel, Rebel) and her IG buddies, Nestle & Blue:

***

Next up, we've got Misu (HT Tiramisu Frangelico) - who continues to wrack up points and new titles.  She had a big weekend at her first agility trial and added on some obedience, as well:

You KNOW a whippet has had a big weekend when she's too tired to even look for a soft bed!

***

Next up, we've got siblings Tom (HT Major Tom) and Luci (HT Diamond Dog), doing some sunbathing and some couch potato-ing:

***

Horsetoothwhippets.com

June 2019 - Pupdate!

Puppies!

We've got good news!  It looks like our breeding of Johnson & Lychee was certainly successful, as she's looking more and more like a little torpedo than a whippet.  Her anticipated due date is July 19th, 2019.

Now the really hard part begins - waiting for a healthy whelping, working to keep pups hearty and healthy through the first few delicate weeks, and then waiting while personalities develop and begin to show.

I'll try to snap some 'belly shots' of Lychee and post soon!

***

Past Pupdate

We've had some great pics roll through of past pups to share lately, as well:

First up, we've got Birthday Boy, Moonpie from our Olde Time Candy Litter pt. 1, who turned 5 on May 25th; and Birthday Girl, Indy (formerly JuJubes) from the Olde Time Candy Litter pt. 2, who turned 5 on June 8th:

***

Next up, we've got more housemates & OTC Birthdays, sharing some snuggles in a favorite chair - Newton (aka Zagnut) who turned 5 on May 27th; and Fossey (formerly Pixie Stix) who turned 5 on May 25th.

***

Next up, we have OTC3 Birthday Girl, Breezy (aka Twizzler), enjoying some sunshine on her June 8th birthday.

***

And a couple more of Heath (OTC1) and True (OTC2) - I still can't believe all these guys are 5 already!

 ***