Birth Announcement- May 1

Just wanted to share the good news that Dixie delivered seven white schnauzer puppies last night.  There are 5 boys and 2 girls!  It was a long delivery which took place May 1 between 9 pm and 3:30 am, but Dixie did great through the whole thing.  All the squeeky little puppies are happily nursing this morning and Dixie looks very pleased with her accomplishment!  I need to give Dixie her privacy for a few days (and quite frankly, I need to catch up on sleep myself!), but after that if any one was eager to take a peek, I would be pleased to show them off.  They are so incredibly cute and tiny!

At this point in their development the puppies eyes and ears are closed and they are totally blind and deaf.  They rely solely on their sense of smell in order to find their source of food.

We took time to hold each puppy every day for just a few minutes.  Then we left them in a quiet place with their mom.  We placed a tshirt, with our human scent in the crate.  These are important first steps in the puppy to human bonding experience.