18900 Chamberlain Rd. Grafton, OH 44044 |  440-926-2801 | cherrywoodleos@yahoo.com
Cherrywood Kennels
Introducing the "S" and "T" litters
Sassy and the pups - 3 days old
Our "S" and "T" litters are on the ground!
Congratulations Sassy,Calvin, Nadia and Auggie!!

    It has been an exciting week! Sassy's litter continues to grow and Sassy is a great
    mom. She will now leave them in the whelping box for awhile while she lies on the
    nearby couch vigilantly observing them. Her puppies are now entering the
    "transition period" when their eyes and ears are starting to open. We will be
    noticing little slits when we weigh them within the next few days. That's always
    something that makes us smile. "Hello in there!" Just that little glimmer that tells
    you there is a personality in there waiting to get out! Their eyes take days before
    they are totally open, and they can't see or focus well at first. They are more aware
    of smells and tastes now too. They all started standing up and toddling on Friday.
    Step, step, fall over, step, step, step, fall over again! Amazing programing.

    Another exciting spot in the week was the addition of Nadia and Auggie's litter
    which consisted of a male and a female who entered the world very late on 3/10.
    They settled in beautifully and Nadia has been hard pressed to leave their side
    even for the time it takes to run outside and relieve herself and run back in. She
    curls her body around them and is a truly devoted mother.

    My job this week is mainly taking care of Sassy and Nadia's needs so they can take
    care of the little guys; keeping them eating and cooking for them when they may
    not feel like it, getting them out and walking around the property a number of
    times a day even when they would rather just be lying still in the whelping boxes,
    being sure they are changing from one side to the other a number of times a day -
    more for Nadia than Sassy - so that the pups use all of the nipples and the dams
    don't develop mastitis, and in general spending a lot of one on one time with them
    letting them know what a great job they are doing.

    The puppies are still being weighed, snuggled, having their nails cut, getting their
    collars changed as they outgrow them, sleeping, being snuggled, eating and
    growing and oh yes, did I mention being snuggled?? They are getting 2-3 loads of
    their wash done every day and their rooms kept constantly at 75 degrees until they
    can regulate their temperature themselves. I'm there sleeping on the couch with
    Nadia and her crew for another week just to let her out in the middle of the night
    should she need that and making sure the pups are comfy and cozy with her.This
    week and next are the calm before the storm.

    It's always wonderful watching new lives unfold before your eyes.
Nadia and the T litter 3 days old

    A big welcome to Cherrywood's "S" litter which arrived March 2nd. Sassy had
    4M/4F.  At a week old, all of the pups are growing and thriving.

    This week we've weighed the pups daily on a cool surface, clipped their nails
    and each has gotten some individual attention on a daily basis. I've worked
    with providing a few mildly stressful situations by gently holding each pup on
    one side for 10 seconds one day, on the other side for 10 seconds the next
    day, up in the air with their heads down as you turn in a circle on the third
    etc.

    Mild stress during the first five weeks has been proven to increase the size of
    the brain and makes for dogs better able to handle stress, learn faster and be
    more outgoing. It is important not to handle them too much during the first
    week two weeks though.

    It's also important not to constantly help puppies to get where they are going
    or to pick them up to much now. They develop better survival and
    competitive skills with less interference at this stage and over-handling is
    stressful to a young pup.

    The puppies continue to amaze us. The S litter now all have their eyes open and can
    walk better every day. They spent a little time in the foyer today, and a couple actually
    had their lunch with Sassy on a blanket on our back patio where the sun was nice and
    warm. They are now in the 4-5 lb. range and were wormed for the first time on Tues.
    They will be spending a few minutes individually away from the litter on a daily basis
    with us this week as they start realizing they are individuals, Tues is the big day for
    starting on "mush!"

    The T litter is now over a week old and they will start opening their eyes soon as well.
    Nadia will now lie on the couch in her whelping room and keep watch some of the time
    and will come upstairs for short visits but still prefers to be with the pups.
    S Litter Males 2 wks old
    S Litter Females 2 wks old
    T Litter 1 week old

    My goodness, the S litter is 3 weeks old now and the T litter will be 2 weeks tomorrow.
    In the past couple of days the S litter has started interacting and walking around a lot
    more, staying awake a bit more, partying at 2am every morning and started wagging
    their tails. One of them climbed up in my lap while I was sitting on the floor a couple of
    nights ago and also navigated the board at the front of the whelping box to be the first
    one out! He was followed by two of his sisters a little while ago. They started learning
    to lap water over the weekend and today started to learn to eat "gruel" which is a
    mixture of evaporated milk, egg yolks, yogurt and a little baby rice cereal. The first few
    meals are very liquid but the consistency thickens for the next few days and by next
    week, when their teeth are in a bit more,  I will start to add kibble.

    At first puppies are offended at the thought of something to eat besides mom's milk!
    They take about one meal before they figure out what they have been missing. They
    ended up wearing more of it than they ate and then they had the fun of cleaning each
    other up!

    Enjoy the movie (it may take a while to load) and turn up your volume! Welcome to my
    World!

    We'll catch up with the T litter in a couple of days as their eyes open
Pups' first non-mom meal!
(This video clip may take a few minutes to
upload!)

    The T Litter is up and moving and playing "bite face" and were introduced to one of
    the S litter this evening. Both litters spent time in the foyer with the front door open
    today as the temperature was in the 60s and sunny. Great! Puppies are never amused
    the first time they are introduced to something new, so there was a lot of noise until
    they settled in. Tomorrow will be easier for them and we hope to get them out in the
    sun if only for a few minutes and to experience grass under their toes. They all are
    now in the 8-9lb. range so that is 80-90lbs. of puppies getting carried up and down
    stairs! So I'm not losing weight why????

    The Ts will start gruel tomorrow and the S's have graduated to kibble instead of rice
    cereal.

    The S's are now really "puppies" with little personalities starting to come through and
    testing each other for social status. Sassy is staying away a bit more now and I'm
    starting to cut back on her food a bit. Hopefully she'll be through feeding for the most
    part by the time they are 6 weeks old. After that they will still try to nurse occasionally
    but it is more of a comfort thing for them than because they are getting anything.

    The S's whelping box comes out of the puppy room tomorrow so they have a lot more
    room to play and I'll introduce them to their slide and hope to get a new teeter totter
    build. My old one has disappeared.

    The T litter has pretty much abandoned their whelping box too in favor of a floor
    covered with blankets, and pieces of indoor-outdoor carpet. They love sleeping with
    their mom on the dog bed next to the whelping box now!
T litter - dog bed
S Got Milk?
Ready to Rumble

    April 18

    The S and T litters are now 6 1/2  and 5 1/2 weeks old and having a ball with life. The
    cousins were all interesting to watch when they were first introduced, depending on who
    had the "home court advantage." Now they know each other well and when they get
    together to play every day you wouldn't know they are from different litters until they tire
    out. At that point "the twins" always go and lie by themselves. The twins are learning
    from the S litter too. Really fun to watch them as they had their first "communal" meal
    last night. They are used to no competition, and can leisurely eat their dinner, but with 8
    other hungry mouths next to them it was a free for all. They learned quickly to jump in or
    miss out!

    I actually got time to do some photos yesterday and it is amazing how many turned out
    to be blurs running by! It isn't easy scrunching down to get a good head shot only to
    have 5 puppies immediately on your back, your arm and trying to lick the camera! A
    friend took a lot of good pictures yesterday and we will upload them soon.
As Time Goes By....
After the party, the T litter's
Petunia & Pork Chop snuggle up
for a nap.

(Future owners...feel free to re-name!)
Mr. Green
Ms. Light.
Green
Mr. Dark
Blue
Ms. Red
Mr. Lt. Blue
Mr. Yellow
Ms. Pink
Ms.
Orange