We’re feeling particularly thankful this Thanksgiving Day, 12 times over and once more for Chev and Finley.  The puppies are increasingly up and cruising, two even attemped to climb out the opening of the whelping box this morning. Still, much of the puppies’ time is spent sleeping.

(We love the DuraWhelp box but their advertisement was too oversized for us, so Biff covered part of it up with duct tape.)

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

It’s Wednesday, around 8:45 AM and Finley is on-duty again.  We see this view repeatedly through each day and night – many are nursing, then they fall off and snooze when they’re done.  Others move in for a turn.  We’ve been getting up through the night to feed Finley additional meals every few hours and to make sure she’s getting plenty of water.  She’s eating like a queen.  She’s getting beef, liver, eggs, chicken, yogurt, cottage cheese and even a little ice cream (mixed into the yogurt) in addition to her regular dog food.  She’s a milk machine!

Look at this!  Two of the puppies sitting up with eyes open at about 11 days old.  They are getting more fun by the day.

Just one sleepy shot for today.  Hard as I tried, I was not able to get the first attempts at walking that we’ve begun to see in a few of the puppies.  They are really wobbly as they get up on their legs, take a few steps forward and then they fall over.  We’ve also noticed a few raising their heads, even appearing to begin to sit up.  I’ll try to get some good photos, even video clips over the weekend.  (I have a great dislike for using flashes in photography and we were trying to get today’s photos after I got home and it was already dark outside, thus poor natural lighting.)

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful notes.  We’re thrilled that you are looking forward to having these dear creatures join your families.  Finley (and we) are taking good care of them for now.  We’ll keep posting over this holiday weekend.  Safe travels to everyone!

Tonight was pedicure night for all 12 of the puppies.  We nipped just the very tiny hook-like tips off all their nails.  Most held well for the “treatment”.  The feistier ones took a bit longer.  The goal was to let them hear the little nip without it involving anything uncomfortable.  Mission accomplished.

Math problem:  How many nails were trimmed?  Known:  4 nails per paw, 4 paws per puppy, 12 puppies.

Number One opened her eyes today but she was too sleepy after her nail trim to open them again.

Here’s one more shot from this morning.  These two puppies were sleeping, not wrestling, as it almost appears.

Seeing these siblings got me thinking, and I realized (with horror) that I forgot to say a huge thank you to my sister, Joan, who came out to help us last weekend.   We were so sleep-deprived for a few days and I had a work deadline pending.  Thank you, Joan, for getting us through that first weekend!!

Although Griffons don’t need much grooming as far as coats go, they do need regular nail trimming, and the puppies are just about ready for their first “pedicures”.

Here’s the typical “pile-on” when Finley returns to the whelping box and they begin to nurse.

And then, after nursing, they sack out, wherever they might happen to land.

We were so busy that I never posted the x-ray of Finley’s belly, taken just a couple of days before she delivered.  The vets counted 12 skulls and indicated we should expect 12 puppies, suggesting that there might be one or two more that weren’t revealed in the x-ray.  Well they nailed the number exactly.  12 little puppies is what we got and each one healthy.  We can still hardly believe it.   It’s a little hard to make out all the details in this shot, but Finley’s backbone is along the top edge and her rear is to the left.

Saturday morning and we ALL slept in.

The whelping box has washable liners that can be changed out as needed.  Finley, however, keeps the area pretty clean by doing the “pottying” for the puppies.  She licks their bottom areas vigorously and that stimulates elimination (that’s pooping and peeing in plain language).  This is a courtesy she’ll provide only until they start eating solid foods (around 3 weeks).  I did see one pup stand up to poop this morning, a first that I wasn’t able to catch with the camera.

Biff and I noticed last night that their coats have already begun to change.  The darker fur is becoming evident under the “puppy white” in many of them.

I was sitting near the whelping pen for about an hour when I got home this afternoon, noticing the patterns of feeding and sleeping for Finley and her pups.  At times, especially when Finley has gone outside, they all snooze and are very quiet, totally sacked out.  They clamor for Finley immediately when she returns and get pretty noisy (in a baby puppy sort of way) as they jostle each other for position.  Then the suckling begins and that’s got its own sound and there’s a lot of movement.  Nursing is a full body experience for the puppies AND for Finley.

Finley takes a break, a well-deserved break.

Here’s a photo from last night’s weighing.