Two week old Tiny Toy Schnoodles

Coco's litter has just reached the 2 week milestone.  Right on schedule we can see their eyes are just beginning to open.  This is the final stage of the Neonatal period when the puppies eyes and ears open and they gain increased mobility.  Their world will slowly begin to unfold before them as they become more mobile and their senses become more developed.

I whelped this litter in a Large Dog Crate (lid removed) and the crate has worked well up to now.  But the puppies are getting more strength in their legs and are now able to crawl over the two inch lip at the entrance.   So I am just now moving them to the Baby Pool that I usually use for newborns.  That should work out well for another week or so....When the puppies are strong enough to walk onto the Ugodog Litter Tray I will move them to the regular pen.

Litter Weight
Although the Toy Schnoodles are reaching the developmental milestones right on cue with my other litters, it is amazing to me to see just how tiny they still are.   At two weeks old the miniature Schnoodle is weighing about 1.5 lbs.   But these Tiny Toy Schnoodles are still well under a pound.   Below are the puppies photos taken on Saturday when they turned 2 weeks old.

 Red Toy Schnoodle (darker shade) -  Chili

Chili is 12.5 ounces today.

Chils eyes are almost completely open

 Red Toy Schnoodle (lighter shade) - Pepper

Pepper is the smallest in the litter weighing 11.3 ounces

Pepper looks nice and round in this picture, but he is still the tiniest of the puppies

White Toy Schnoodle - Frosty

Frosty is the largest of the litter weighing 13.9 ounces

We are still waiting for Frosty's eyes to open.

Cream Toy Schnoodle - Cheerio

Cheerio is 12.9 ounces this today.

Like Frosty, Cheerios eyes are just barely starting to open.

Tiny Toy Schnoodle update ...1 week

The puppies grow so much every day, it is amazing!  In just 1 week they have more than doubled their birth weight.  Their noses have gone from pink to black; and they are looking more like puppies every day!

Look how cute the dark apricot tiny Schnoodle boy is with his tiny paws.

All our Toy Schnoodle puppies have gotten so much fatter than they were last week!

Toy Schnoodles all snuggled up and cozy!

This little toy schnoodle is smaller than the close up photo.

Little Red Schnoodle puppy weighs less than about 1/2 a pound.

White Toy Schnoodle trying to walk!

White and Red Schnoodles sleeping in a heap!

The Tiny Toy Schnoodle puppies started out about the same size as a stick of butter.  In this photo you can see they are just slightly bigger now. 

Day 4 Cocos Puppy's Progress

The puppies are now 4 days old and they are doing great!  They are eating well, and sleeping well and growing as they should.  Coco is very happy and running about with excitement (leaving them only for short periods of time).  She is nursing them well, and doing great as a first time mom..

The puppies are growing at a steady rate for a Toy puppy. (about 1/2 oz per day).  The smallest puppy  (second to the right in the photo below).is a dark apricot.  He is only slightly lighter color than the darkest male.   He is so small, he could even be a teacup size.  The others are still looking to be in the Tiny Toy range.  (4.5-6lbs). 

Left to Right above:   Chili, Sgt Pepper, Frosty and Cheerio

These puppies are still looking to be smaller than both mother and father.  But I am super excited to see how they mature.  Tiny Toy Schnoodles are the most adorable dogs you've ever seen.  

Unfortunately I cast a bit of a shadow on the puppies when I took these photos. It was dim and the first one is a bit fuzzy.  But for times sake I have to leave it at that.   

I am glad at least that the color of the puppies is just different enough that these boys are very easy to identify.  That makes it easier for me!

A Visit to the Veterinary

I took the puppies to the Veterinary today where they had their Dew Claws removed.   This procedure is not medically necessary.  .  At 2-3 days old it is just a little tab of skin, and there is no bone and relatively few nerves.  It is a quick, easy and relatively painless procedure.   But only when it is done within the first few days. 

The Dew Claws serve no purpose so removing them is a preventative measure to avoid injury later in life.  It is also a convenience measure...two less claws to clip.  (Some dogs also have them on the back legs)   Many dogs go through life with Dew Claws and have no problems.  I just feel it is better not to have them in the rare event they get caught on something and need surgery.

Buying a Coco Puppy

As I looked over the weights for Coco's newborn puppies, I realized that most of the puppy weights are currently in the Tiny Toy (4-6 lbs) size range.  Birth weights cannot be used to predict adult weight.  But they can be an early indicator.

I was not breeding for Tiny Toy puppies, but the genes are in the back ground of both parents.  So it is always a possibility. Coco was the largest puppy in her litter.  She had two brothers who were 'tea cup size'.  And small genes run in the lineage of both parents of this litter.  

I will be especially attentive to to watch the rate of growth of each puppy over the next few weeks.  By charting the weight gain, I can get a better idea of how big these puppies will get. 

Toy puppies should gain a half ounce per day until four weeks of age.  When they are born at a weight over 4 oz. they do not need special supplementation for feeding.   Miniature puppies on the other hand should gain an ounce per day.

In the past, it was my practice to take first payments on puppies when they were born.  But since we do not have a good idea of the size of these puppies, I will wait until 4-5 weeks to sell this litter.

During this first week, I will talk with each person at the beginning of the Priority Waiting list, to find out who is ready for a puppy, their color and size preference.  At 4-5 weeks I will contact each person to give them the opportunity to purchase a puppy and they will send payment for half down of the purchase price at that time.

If for any reason there are any puppies that are not purchased by the people currently on the Priority Waiting list, I will post the puppy on the blog to make him available to new blog readers.
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Cocos Puppies Second Day

This morning, Coco and the puppies are doing great!   I gave Coco a bath, changed her bedding and gave her a good meal.  She looks to be 100% better than yesterday:)   Coco is doing great as a first time Mama.  I know you will enjoy a few pictures!

This little boy looks to be glowing white....just like Coco!

These tiny puppies are very serious about nursing.

All lined up at the Fluffy Cafeteria.

Such a tiny puppy.  He has no meat on his bones.  But the way he's eating....he will be growing fast!

I am sure those puppies enjoy cuddling up in Cocos fluffy fur!

Coco loves her babies!

Coco has Whelped her Litter!

Coco in labor early this morning.

Today Coco had 4 boy puppies.  That's right 4 little boys!  What a surprise!  I was a little disappointed we didn't have even one girl.  But then, I was very excited that we had as many as four puppies.  Since Coco is so little, and didn't look terribly large in pregnancy, I wasn't sure.  But four is a perfect number for her to handle. 

And I am very excited that we had some range of color too!  Two puppies are light colored and two are darker red/apricot.  It is hard to judge the color of a coat so early on.  The fur is so short and Coco hasn't cleaned them off completely.  But when the last little boy was born he looked glistening dark brown!  I know it will look different over the next few days.  Reds always look brown at birth.

The first puppy was born at 1 :30 pm. and the last puppy was born at 5:15 pm.  Coco was in labor most of the day and she had her puppies with hour intervals in between.  She took her time, resting a lot in between puppies and overall the labor went very well for her.

The puppies are the tiniest puppies I have ever seen.  The biggest boy of the litter (far left) was also the first to be born, weighing 5.4 oz. The other puppies were in the 4 oz range, the smallest weighing 4.4 oz.  (I didn't have a chance to weigh the last puppy yet. I will update the post when I do.) They seem to be skinny little puppies compared to all our other litters.  But that is not surprising as Coco is so little.  She needed to have little puppies so it would not be any trouble pushing them out.

Coco looked quite a mess after the birth and kept her puppies very close.  It was hard to get a look at them, and she was not going to leave them.  She kept them huddled under her like a mother hen.  She wouldn't get up to eat, so I fed her softened kibble by hand. (piece by piece)  She wouldn't get up for her water either, so I held the bowl under her nose for her to drink.   I am sure she will get up briefly tomorrow, and hopefully she will allow me to give her a quick rinse and blow dry before she rushes back to her puppies.  

I am keeping Coco and her puppies next to my bed tonight.  I am very protective of my Coco and her litter during the first few days.  I will watch them carefully to make sure they get everything they need over the first 48 hours as that is the most crucial time in a puppies life.  The puppies do look skinny....but they are at the same time quite vigorous.   They are eating well and keeping close to Coco.  All good signs.

As soon as I can get decent photos, I will post them.  They really are funny looking little puppies right now. But no worries.  The way Coco is nursing them around the clock, they will be chubby and cute in no time!

Coco is starting her last days of Pregnancy

It is a very exciting time for us as we anticipate the birth of Coco's first litter.  She could have her puppies any time beginning Monday.

She doesn't look super round to someone that doesn't know her.  But she usually has a very pronounced wasteline.  But when she lies on her side you can see she is quite round.

 A few weeks ago I started trimming the fur on her belly so the puppies could nurse.  But as you can see, I need to trim her again.

 Her furnishings are now rounding down because of her belly.

I can feel puppies moving in several places at once.  I feel certain she must have at least 2 puppies. But I am hoping 4 puppies since Coco came from a litter of five puppies.

I can hardly wait!  This will be an exciting week for us, as we keep our eye on Coco.  She hasn't started any serious 'nesting' behavior yet.  So it is most likely she will not deliver in the next few days.