Four Weeks Old

February 5, 20192 Comments

So much has changed with the puppies in the last two weeks, and they are becoming a lot of fun! (A lot more work, but that’s okay.) I am beginning to see personalities, and the puppies can finally play for more than a minute or two at a time before getting tired out. They show interest in people, and they are starting to explore their world by sniffing, licking, and, of course, chewing.

Here are some of the highlights of the past two weeks:

Potty training! I use the Misty Method of early house training, which establishes a sleep area, a play/eating area, and a potty area. This gives the puppies a solid foundation for crate and house training once they go to their new homes. I’ll be honest, though- this litter has been a bit slower than some to catch on to potty training. Things are improving, but I had a very frustrating few days where they decided to sleep in the stinky potty box and pee on their bed. 😦 After a lot of insistence, I have convinced most of them to stop peeing on their bed. They are certainly far from perfect, but I am seeing definite progress.
Weaning time! This really shows how much the puppies have developed. They are now ready to begin transitioning off of Momma’s milk. I start with one meal a day and slowly work up to three meals a day, while decreasing the number of times they nurse from Mia. Right now, the food is softened while the puppies master how to chew. Because nutrition is such a huge part of a puppy’s overall health and well-being, I am very particular about the food I give them. For healthy puppies, we must start with a healthy diet. The puppies are starting on Life’s Abundance Small & Medium Breed Puppy Food. This food is jam-packed full of vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients. There are high quality proteins (so important!), DHA, antioxidants, guaranteed probiotics, prebiotic fiber, Omega-3, dietary fiber, and a host of healthy fruits and vegetables. I find that my puppies do very well on this food. With my past litters, I have not had trouble with vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, or constipation. I attribute a lot of that to Life’s Abundance food. Its excellent nutrition does very well for a puppy’s young and sensitive digestive system.

Coming up in the next couple of weeks, we will continue weaning the puppies with the goal of having them fully weaned on unsoftened kibble by 7 weeks old. The puppies will also be getting their first vaccinations, their health exams, and they will be introduced to lots of new sights and sounds. I try to expose them to a variety of household and outdoor experiences to help get them accustomed to strange sights and sounds. This helps foster a calm and confident temperament. Of course, there is still a lot of socializing that needs to happen after the puppies leave my home at 8 weeks old, but I try to give them the best start that I can.

Also, one of the best things that I can do for the puppies in the next month is play with them! Simple, positive human interaction is one of the easiest and best ways to socialize young puppies. Reese is certainly having a lot of fun playing with the puppies now that they do more than just sleep. I have given them a few toys chew on and play with, but they truly enjoy getting human attention, whether its snuggling on an open lap, getting a belly scratch, or playing a little game of chase.

Yesterday, I took some pictures of the puppies. The individual pictures went very well (you can see them here), so I decided to try a group shot of all of the puppies. I have seen adorable pictures of puppies all lined up and looking sweetly at the camera. I thought surely I could get a picture like that. However, I learned that this is not a one-person job.

Perhaps I’ll try this again another day when I have someone to help me. 🙂

And one more picture for today. This little pup was SO tired after getting his picture taken. I hope the rest of your week is as relaxing as this!

Two Weeks

January 21, 2019Leave a comment

It is a BITTERLY cold and windy day today. It’s the perfect kind of day to stay inside and snuggle puppies.

The past two weeks have been pretty calm and uneventful, which is good! The puppies are steadily gaining weight. Mama Mia is doing well and caring for her pups like the very experienced mother she is. Since birth, the puppies have more than doubled their weight, most of them now weighing between 1.5 and 2 pounds, and their eyes recently opened.

Their main interests right now are eating and sleeping, but they are beginning to show little bits of awareness. Some of them are trying out their unsteady little legs, and I am seeing very brief playful interactions among them.

I am doing something new with this litter of puppies that I am excited about. It’s called an Early Neurological Stimulation Program. It is a program designed by the military in raising dogs for training. The goal of the program is to build a calm and confident temperament that can better handle stressful situations. The program is done during the first two weeks of life when a puppy’s brain is going through its most rapid development. It is a daily series of 5 exercises each done for 5 seconds, so it’s very brief and gentle.

Touch in between the puppy’s toes.
Hold the puppy with its nose towards the ceiling.
Hold the puppy with its nose towards the floor.
Cradle the puppy on its back in the palms of my hands.
Place the puppy on a cool surface.

These exercises get the puppy accustomed to be handled, even in slightly uncomfortable positions, and this kind of handling is excellent as the very first stepping stones of socialization.

Another one of the exciting things to happen is that Reese finally got to hold the puppies! I made her wait until the puppies’ eyes were opening before I allowed her to hold them. She did a great job being gentle, but she still needs a lot of guidance. 🙂

Now that the puppies’ eyes are open, the next big event is potty training! I usually begin between 2.5 and 3 weeks old. Since the puppies can now see, they will soon begin exploring. The first new area I will introduce to them is a potty station. This will teach them not to pee or poop in their bed, which is the foundation for later crate training. It also helps minimize the mess for me! By having a specific potty area with either paper or shavings, it keeps the puppies, their bed, and their play area much cleaner! Any smell and mess is much easier to manage when it’s contained and not tracked around by seven sets of tiny paws.

Here are the updated individual pictures of the puppies. They are getting cuter every day! I chose cartoon character names for this litter. Enjoy!

Winnie (the Pooh)

Charlie (Brown)

Lucy

Calvin

Hobbes

Micky (Mouse)

Minnie (Mouse)

Call the Midwoof!

January 6, 20192 Comments

It’s a happy Sunday here today! Mia safely delivered seven puppies this morning, all without any assistance from me. I am grateful and excited for a couple reasons. First, SEVEN puppies! After delivering a single pup via c-section a little over a year ago, seven puppies seems like such a crowd. Secondly, I am very grateful for an easy, natural delivery. Although I didn’t need to intervene, I cautiously watched from the sidelines. My vet didn’t have any concerns about Mia’s ability to deliver naturally; but, of course, a little extra vigilance on my part was certainly warranted. The only thing I did was give her some liquid calcium to help with efficient contractions, and I am very pleased with how things went!

A little bit of surprise this time. We have our very first apricot puppy! Mia is an apricot color, and we have always used a red Mini Poodle stud. Our previous litters have only had red puppies, with very slight variations in darkness. This time, though, we have a few shades of red and one very distinct apricot. It’s fun to see the beauty in variety!

Here is a group shot of our seven beautiful fur babies- five males and two females. I’ll post individual pictures of the puppies in a few days. Enjoy your Sunday!

My Shop is Open!

November 19, 2018January 2, 2019Leave a comment

I am BEYOND excited! Kristen’s Happy Tails shop is now open!

During the last few months, I spent hours learning about various pet company brands and the products they offer. Quality and safety are of the utmost importance to me. When I am giving food, treats, or supplements to my dogs and puppies, I want to know that what they are getting is wholesome, safe, and will keep them at their optimal health. When I get my dogs collars and toys, I want to know that I am getting something durable and good quality. I put a lot of energy and consideration into the products that I chose to have in my shop, and I am thrilled with what I have to offer to my puppies’ new families! I may not have a wide variety, but what I do have is guaranteed to be some of the absolute best pet products on the market.

This shop is a way to provide more resources to my puppies’ new families. I am often asked for recommendations on food, crates, and toys; and I wanted to do more than simply give advice. Now, my puppies’ new families can purchase full puppy packs for their new friend! I also want to be able to connect with and offer support to other local breeders, who, like me, want to get their puppies off to a great start. I want to provide excellent products and support to local dog owners who want to keep their special pups strong and healthy (and maybe spoil them a bit, too).

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent building and preparing my shop. I’m eager to see where this adventure leads! As most of you know, I am always up for a good dog adventure, and I love to learn and connect with other dog people.

Here is a brief over view of some of the products and brands that you can find in my shop. (You can view all the products under the Shop tab or by clicking here.):

(Of course) Life’s Abundance- This is my favorite brand of dog food, and I know it helps to keep my dogs and puppies healthy from the inside out with it’s science-based, holistic nutrition. Also, the treats they have are AMAZING! My dogs nearly take off my whole hand when I start dishing out their yummy (and super healthy) treats! (Learn more about Life’s Abundance here.)
NuVet- This is a new addition to my nutrition program that I am very excited to share about! NuVet Plus is an immune system supplement which helps protect and build a puppy’s immune system, allowing the puppy to remain healthier and also give a better immune system response to vaccinations. It’s also an amazing supplement for adult dogs, helping them to remain in optimal health and protecting them from getting run-down by environmental toxins. (Learn more about NuVet here.)
Lupine- This is a big name in the dog industry! Lupine has been making amazing collars and leashes for over 25 years. They offer a life-time, even if chewed, guarantee on their products. The collars and leashes are durable and come in fun colors and patterns.
Furhaven- I have stocked some beautiful and unique memory-foam dog beds from Furhaven. These beds have an easily removed cover for convenient washing. I also have some very soft and comfy beds that are designed to fit perfectly in crates.
P.L.A.Y.- This is an environmentally friendly company that sells a variety of durable, stimulating, and amazingly cute dog toys! I can certainly attest to the fact that no dog toy is indestructible, but these toys can endure a good amount of tough love and play.
Kong- Want to talk durable? You can hardly find more durable toys than Kong toys. These fun, classic toys are great for large breeds or a particularly destructive dog. (Like my lovable hunk Jade, who destroys anything she can find. She ate one of my favorite hard cover books last week, much to my annoyance.) Currently, I have a limited variety of Kong toys, but I plan to expand my selection in 2019!

I hope that gives you a good idea of what I have in my shop. Have a happy Monday!

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P.L.A.Y. Scout & About - Flying Disc Toy - Mocha_2_Web Res

P.L.A.Y. Scout & About - Rope Toy - Barbell Large_2_Web Res

Taking the Good and the Bad

September 26, 2018January 2, 20194 Comments

As the title implies, this blog post is sharing some good news and some bad news. That’s life, though, isn’t it? Not every thing works out like we wish it would or think it should. But God is always good!

Bad news first. Jade went to the vet yesterday, and an ultrasound confirmed that she is not pregnant. We are obviously very disappointed! We were very excited about her potential litter this year, and we were looking forward to seeing the beautiful puppies she would have. However, she fooled us again.

I had initially been very optimistic. Her breeding went very well, she showed some appetite changes in the weeks after breeding, and her vulva has stayed slightly swollen. All of these things are good signs for pregnancy. However, about a week before her ultrasound, I began checking her underbelly. Another one of the first signs of pregnancy is changes in the nipples. They often become a little larger and change to a noticeably flushed pink color. I did not notice any of that for Jade, and I began to suspect she wasn’t carrying any puppies.

Since this is her second failed breeding, we are planning to do some testing before her next heat cycle. We will also try for a natural breeding next time, rather than AI (artificial insemination). That means we will not be trying for Mini Goldendoodles next time, since mini’s usually require artificial breeding. It is suspected (though not known for sure) that some dogs due to variations in individual fertility or shape/tilt of the reproductive organs may not be able to get pregnant via AI. There are a lot of unknown factors and possibilities with breeding; and for some dogs, it becomes a game of trial and error! So now we get to wait and try again later, but the third time is the charm, right?

Now on to the good news! Jade’s doctor visit was not the only one that happened this week. This morning I made a trip to the doctor myself, and I got to hear a tiny little beating heart!

Lord willing, our family will get a new little addition in the spring! New life is such a blessing, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to bring a sweet new being into the world in a few months.

There are also some other really exciting things happening around here! We are opening up a small dog and puppy supply shop! I am always looking for ways to give our puppies’ new families a better “puppy experience.” That’s one of the reasons I started this blog. I felt like it gives a window into our lives, and it allows waiting families to watch their puppy growing. Opening our shop will help give our puppies’ families additional resources. Because of our experience with dogs and puppies, we feel like we have a lot to offer families buying a new puppy. One way we thought we can serve them better is by offering a place to buy products we personally use and recommend. These are products we know are safe, healthy, durable, and reputable. So after spending a lot of time shopping around and researching various companies, we have put together a small shop full of practically EVERYTHING you need for a new puppy. I will be posting more about our new shop soon, and you’ll see some new pages added on to the website showing the brands and items we will be carrying.

Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

April 11, 2018Leave a comment

Need a mid-week boost? I’ve got your fix right here- a whole blog post of adorable puppies, complete with oversized paws and disproportionately huge, floppy ears.

Take a deep breath and enjoy.

Now that the weather has been relatively reasonable, the puppies have moved to our outdoor pen, and they are LOVING it! We have two puppy pens- one in our house and one outside at our shed. All of our litters are born in the house and spend their first bit inside. Then, depending on the size of the litter and the time of year, they sometimes get moved outside for the last few weeks. This litter outgrew the pen in our house, and they have been thoroughly enjoying the extra space outside. Our outdoor pen gives them access to a large wood chipped play area, as well as a cozy indoor section in our shed. The inside part of their pen has their bed and is kept at a cozy 70 degrees. It’s perfect for larger litters like this! The puppies still get to come inside our house on a regular basis while we work on socializing and crate training.

I tried to get a snapshot of each of the puppies while we played in the yard this afternoon. Some were better photo subjects than others.

Gauge chewing on a piece of rope.

Dakota stealing a piece of bark.

Scout and Reese playing on our dirt pile. What is it with kids and puppies and dirt?

Flush checking out the chickens. (Maggie the chicken is clearly plotting his demise.)

April trying to figure out how to get in to the chickens.

Robin. Unfortunately I was a couple of seconds too late to catch a chicken pecking her on the nose. It obviously didn’t phase her, though.

Brook practicing her downward dog pose.

The best part of this puppy stage is their EARS! I mean, who doesn’t just love these huge, floppy ears?

The puppies are so playful now, and they never seem to get done wrestling, chewing, and running. It’s a good thing they are soon heading off to their new homes. All the energy drives me crazy, and I lose a little bit more of my sanity every day. But, I also fall just a little bit more in love with them every day. If they stay too much longer, I’ll decide to keep every single one of them no matter how crazy they make me. 🙂

April and Brook chewing on a stick

April playing with my towels hanging on the washline

Robin & April

Gauge & Dakota

I hope all the adorableness in this post helped cheer up your Wednesday. Have a great rest of the week!

Puppy Update!

March 21, 2018January 2, 20192 Comments

I’m pretty sure each litter we have grows faster than the previous one. Our sweet setter pups are already nearing five weeks old! These sweet red babies are becoming so energetic and fun! They still sleep a lot, but they are slowly demanding more and more attention and interaction. It’s such a fun time!

Here is a recap of the last two weeks.

The puppies are beginning the weaning process. Yay! At this point, the care of the puppies slowly shifts from Mama Duchess to me. In the last weeks, I have been caring for Duchess, providing clean bedding, and monitoring the puppies’ growth. Other than that, Duchess has done the rest. As the puppies begin to wean and become more independent, I’ll take over a lot of the care- feeding, cleaning, training, socializing, etc. This is where my work truly begins! I always start the puppies off with raw goat milk with a little bit of softened and mashed kibble. Goat milk is a really amazing thing! I’ve heard it called the “universal milk replacer.” Many kinds of animals are able to digest and live off goat milk. It’s much gentler on the digestive system than cow milk. When bottle feeding a puppy, I chose to use raw goat milk over store bought puppy formula, because it’s easy to digest and it contains good bacteria that a store-bought formula would not have. To help puppies learn to eat solid food, I soak kibble in goat milk for the first while. They love the taste, and the liquid is easy for them to lap up while they practice chewing the harder kibble. This insures that the even the puppies that are a bit slower at picking up the chewing part are getting plenty of fat, protein, and nutrients. It also helps keep them hydrated as they transition off of mama’s milk.
Socializing also starts at this age. I am trying something new with this litter. I found a playlist of videos on YouTube specifically for desensitizing dogs to noises. Each video focuses on certain sounds, like rain and thunder, cars and trucks, vacuums and household noises, fireworks, crying babies, and other noises that dogs may find frightening. The idea is that if you play these kinds of sounds at a low volume it helps to get them used to it, making it less likely for them to startle or be frightened when they experience these sounds in real life. So for an hour or two a day, I am playing some of these sounds tracks to help get the puppies used to a variety of different noises.
We are working hard on potty training. Right now, the puppies do excellent with not peeing on their bed, but they still often pee anywhere in their play area. I’m trying to get them to use a certain area for bathroom needs, so that the play area stays dry and clean. That’s going to take a few more days of messy work, but we will get there!
The puppies got the chance to venture into the great outdoors for the first time this week. They were THRILLED! However, the weather has turned cold and snowy again, so it will be a few days until the puppies are able to go outside again.
Remember the little sweetheart with the torn ear? That was April. This is what her ear looks like now.

If you look closely, you can tell her ear is not quite perfect. The stitches only stayed in a day or two, but the glue the vet also put on held fairly well. The end result is an ear that is MUCH better than it was right after birth, but not totally perfect. The back of her ear has a slightly uneven edge. However, as the feathering comes in on her ear, I don’t think it will be very visible (if at all) as an adult. Even now, if you didn’t know anything was wrong, you would never notice. At any rate, I am very pleased with how her ear healed.

Other than that, we have just been playing with the puppies and enjoying the brief time we get to spend with them! Five of the seven puppies have homes, which is so exciting! We still have two boys that are available. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I hope all of my north-eastern friends are enjoying the snow!

Two Weeks Old

March 5, 2018Leave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone! Duchess’s puppies hit the two week milestone over the weekend. It always feels so good to reach this point, because the puppies are much bigger and stronger. I feel really good about how they are all doing!

After seeing this litter of puppies from Duchess and Timber, it makes me realize how incredible it was that her first litter survived! Her first litter was 11 puppies, with one puppy that had died in utero. That dead puppy prompted labor to begin several days early, so those puppies were much smaller. It’s really amazing that they all survived.

This time around, the puppies were all large at birth and have steadily gained since then. I have one puppy that is a bit smaller than the others, but I certainly wouldn’t call him a runt.

Duchess, also, has been doing very well! Irish Setters are thin, lean dogs to begin with, and nursing mothers can sometimes become more thin than usual as their bodies put extra effort into making milk. However, Duchess is looking great! She was a bit thin the days directly following birth, which is very normal; but she has filled out beautifully since then. She makes caring for seven babies look like a breeze! She is soaking in some extra snuggles from us and enjoying getting some eggs as her “mommy snacks.” This momma is very spoiled! I’m pretty sure she thinks she really is a royal duchess!

Over the weekend, I expanded the puppies’ pen to give them a space to go to the bathroom. It amazes me how much sooner our Irish Setter puppies are ready for potty training in comparison to our Mini Goldendoodles. As soon as our setter puppies have their eyes open, they are on the MOVE. They are ready for more space and ready to begin potty training almost a whole week earlier than Mia’s puppies. It’s so interesting to see these differences in breed temperaments even in puppies so young! In another week or so, we will add on a large play area for them, as well.

I hope you all have a great week! Enjoy these sweet faces as you finish out your Monday!

Duchess’s Puppies

February 16, 20182 Comments

What an exciting day! We are excited to announce the arrival of seven beautiful Irish Setter puppies! It’s a smaller litter than she had last time, but the puppies are significantly larger. In fact, the smallest puppy from this litter is the same size as the biggest puppy from the last litter. And the biggest puppy from this litter weighs over a pound! That’s a big puppy! (Mia’s puppies usually weigh around half a pound. Duchess puppies averaged 9-10 ounces last litter.)

Duchess was very kind to me and decided to have her puppies during the day, which was GREAT! With another delivery under my belt, I gained a few new experiences. With each litter, I seem to pick up valuable nuggets of information and experience. Sometimes those nuggets come from good experiences and some not so good. Every litter is different and presents its own unique challenges.

So here’s how my day went.

Yesterday (Thursday), I charted a temperature drop for Duchess, so I knew we would see puppies sometime in the next 24 hours. I checked on her a few times during the night, but she was pretty calm and relaxed.

Morning came, and with it, some encouraging signs. As the morning progressed, Duchess became more and more restless. Pacing, panting, digging, nesting, and frequent bathroom trips.

Her first puppy was born shortly before 11am. She quickly and steadily birthed five more by 12:30. Then things paused for a bit, which isn’t unusual. I was fairly certain she wasn’t finished, though.

Around 1:00 she began pushing. Typically, I see her push for just a few minutes and then a sac presents. Once I see can see the puppy, it’s usually out within seconds. Duchess doesn’t waste time. However, this time, Duchess kept pushing for almost half an hour with no signs of a puppy. (Thirty minutes is the textbook time frame for delivering a puppy. After thirty minutes of pushing, it’s time to call your vet.) I had given her a few doses of liquid calcium in the last two hours, which helps for strong contractions; but she was still struggling. She started to get very agitated. She left her puppies and began pacing and whining.

I was getting very nervous. I called my sister, who breeds Miniature Schnauzers, because I knew she has had some similar experiences. While on the phone, I saw back feet. The puppy was no longer in it’s sack. Both of these things are normal. Puppies are frequently born back feet first, and it’s not unusual for the sack to break before a puppy is totally born. But when those two things are combined, you need to be watchful. If a puppy is breech with a broken sack, it may drown before it’s born. Those puppies should be delivered quickly.

But this puppy, for some reason, was stuck. Duchess kept pushing, but the puppy wouldn’t budge. So far in this entire delivery, I had not done anything except watch. But this little pup was stuck, and mama was clearly distressed. The puppy was out almost up to its hips. I grabbed the legs and gently pulled during the next couple contractions. And just like that, the pup was out.

But Duchess was too agitated to care for her, and she was more concerned about getting back to her other puppies. This little one wasn’t breathing, which wasn’t a surprise considering her prolonged birth. I spent the next few minutes vigorously rubbing her with a towel and suctioning her airways clear of fluid. She began moving almost right away, and soon started some weak gasps. After a couple minutes, she began squealing- LOUDLY. She wanted to let the world know that she did not appreciate her traumatic arrival. I was so happy to hear those angry squeals.

Would have this puppy died without my intervention? Maybe not, but my help certainly increased her odds of survival. Sometimes, healthy puppies are lost in whelping, because of small problems like this. Duchess almost certainly would have eventually gotten this puppy out by herself, but it may not have been soon enough for the puppy. That’s just how nature works sometimes. But, fortunately, I was able to lend nature a hand. With just a little bit of extra help, this little pup seems to be doing well.

Things quieted down after that, and Duchess has been contentedly caring for her babies since.

We did have one more little blip, though. Once Duchess was calm and settled after whelping, I began weighing and identifying each of the puppies. As I did that, I noticed one of them had a torn, bloody ear!

The picture isn’t very clear, but she had a deep tear at the base of her ear. It was bad enough, I was afraid it may tear off completely if I just let it go. (Birth is tough for these little guys!) So off to the vet we went for a couple of stitches and a little glue. I’m hoping Duchess doesn’t bother the stitches! As long as the stitches stay in, the ear should heal nicely.

All in all, it was a good day, and we are praising God for our seven beautiful puppies! Have a good weekend, everyone!

First Post of the New Year

January 29, 2018January 2, 2019Leave a comment

I feel like I have been Missing In Action the past month and a half. Poor Faith hasn’t had a blog post update since she was born. And weekly pictures? Phew, this poor darling hardly has any pictures taken of her.

But, we are all still here, just doing normal life. Mia healed very well from her c-section and is back to her happy, normal self. She will be getting about a year off before having another litter, but there isn’t any concern about her ability to carry and deliver more puppies naturally. Good news!

Dear Faith is growing like a weed. She’s already six weeks old! Weaning has been going slowly, but it can be that way with single pups. They don’t have the competition of other puppies for food, so they don’t really have much desire to try things other than mama’s milk. Otherwise, though, she’s doing very well! She’s active and is enjoying our puppy play dates with a litter of puppies from another breeder. She loves playing with our daughter, and our daughter is equally as delighted have a little buddy crawling around on the floor with her.

As for our other dogs, we were hoping to have two litters this spring- one from Duchess and one from Jade. Duchess’s pregnancy is confirmed, and I was confident that Jade was pregnant, as well. However, she fooled us! An ultrasound showed no babies in there! She seems to be going through a bit of a false pregnancy, which is common with female dogs. They can show very convincing signs of pregnancy, even to the point of producing milk, but still not be pregnant. Typically, the hormones cycle through and everything goes back to normal all on its own. We’re still very excited for Duchess’s litter of Irish Setters, and we’ll try for some Mini Goldendoodle puppies from Jade again in the fall!

Duchess, in the meantime, is eating up a storm! I’ve stopped counting how many cups of food I give her a day. She’s now approximately six weeks pregnant, which is the time that I begin free-feeding my mama’s. I let them eat as much food as they want, and I often supplement them with an egg or vitamin every day. Her belly is growing, and she’s slowing down a bit. She still runs, but she tires quickly. I should soon be able to feel the puppies moving when she is lying still. A few more weeks and then I’ll have some more sweet setter babies from these two gorgeous dogs!

In other household news, my baby turned one this month! And she started walking! I suppose she is now my toddler and not so much my baby. That is a little hard for this mama to accept. She is my social, giggly little girl, and I thank God every day for allowing me to be her mother.

Mmm, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic with the passing of the one year mark. Soak in the time with your loved ones this week. Life goes by much too quickly.

Kristen's Happy Tails

Category: Puppies