piper

thanks, went back and read it again, all other classes were June, but babies July, excellent, didn't read that well the first time. Heheheh all good Piper confirmed it for me... I've still got my BP to enter Yep I am in same situation as Skyehaven - want to put a baby or 2 in but wanted to wait a little to register them.

LOVE it. Fantsastic lighting, very effective.

How old are they now ST? I reluctantly started giving mine a little but to eat 2 nights ago. They were gaining well still but would scream during the night. They weren't hot or cold so it was suggested by a few breeder friends as they are such a big litter in numbers and actual size to give them something before bed. It has helped - they still wake but they are quieter when they do and it is not as often. A couple of them are not so great at the lapping but will take it from my fingers, the rest worked it out very quickly. OMG, what a mess 9 puppies make with food!! I can't wait til they can have something more solid. Jazz is very good at cleaning up after though They are changing so quickly - they can hear now, are mobile and playing, their teeth are coming through and they are starting to get fluffy. They will be 3 weeks tomorrow.

I was surprised that I could not get it at the local health food store - I had incorrectly assumed I would get it easily so I would recommend checking with enough time to order some. By the time I checked (the day before she had the pups) it was too late to order any in. Jazz seemed quite happy with the tea though

Hmm well I am hardly a wealth of experience with it being only my first litter but I was worried about milk production and keeping fluids up so I was adding a lot of liquids to her food - natural yoghurt, goats milk. I had tried to get fenugreek powder but couldn't get any and could only get tea so was making that and adding it - she seemed to like the taste, it had quite a sweet smell. As for panting - she did that quite a lot and continued trying to nest outside for about a week. I was told that it was probably due to the uterus contracting back to normal and it could feel like labour type pains to her. Jazz is also quite a "hot" dog and always seems to pant more than my others anyway. But if worried I would add some stock or something to her water to get her to drink more. What about ice - does she like ice? My boys used to love ice cubes so I could get extra fluid into them that way. Piper and Jazz are not so keen on ice though so it is no good for them.

Try this:

Congratulations!! And I thought Jazz getting out 9 in 8 hours was impressive! I had to put Jazz on lead the first few days - had to drag her to get out of the box but once outside she was fine but very quick to toilet and run back in.

We are a rare breed MTD!! LOL. I need to spend some more time with it and familiarise myself with the extra buttons and fnd where things are. Like the exposure compensation - I am yet to find it on this camera! Our local cheap store - cheap As Chips carries the bunnies, I have also seen them in Go-lo. they are normally only about $4.

Gorgeous photo of Spence. he looks so snug and comfy.

tlc - we had that toy, and then they used those long limbs as tug toys. It is the usual method of death for toys in this house, lol. I got a Sony a580. I had a Konika Minolta 5D which was 5megapixel. I was going to change to Canon but I already have several lenses, external flash etc so was going to be so costly. this way I was able to get a body and will soon add another higher quality lens which should complete my kit. The 580 is not avilable in Australia but got excellent reviews and uses the same sensor as a new Nikon and it is almost identical layout and feel to an older Sony slr that I was able to check out and get a feel for. Until I sued the 580 though i had no idea just how slow to focus my old body was - I was sure this one couldnt be focussing it was so quick. But some buttons and dials are on different sides and some settings that were easy to get to on the old camera are hidden in menus so I keep changing the wrong settings. I'll get there

The boy at the front is driving me nuts!! He is so bloody noisy and whiny, just like his father was as a baby. He can cry while feeding, lol. But he is a nice boy. The littlest girl is super cute and full of herself, she is sitting up on the left of the girl group shot.

Puppies are suck time wasters that I have not been in here. Last week all Jazz did was act as a milk bar: This week is about the same (although I got a new camers so hve been playing lots - just not really getting things I am super happy with yet). The puppies are finding their legs and eyes have opened so there is some variety for Jazz now. Sometimes she gets to be a milkbar like this:

Here are come pictures of my noisy crew - 2 weeks old tonight. The girls: The boys: 1st boy (a shame it is out of focus, but cute none the less) And what seems to be everyones favourite:

The repro vet I went to said best time is 23 - 30 days. We got Jazz done and the count was 8 or 9 and they said at that clinic they are usually out by no more than 1 to 2 in either direction. Jazz had 9 so it was accurate for us. I have heard of some very inaccurate counts though and also no puppies there when there were. I considered xray to get an accurate count at the end and did a fair bit of asking around and was told they are not so accurate with larger litters. But then other people say that they are, I ended up forgetting to ask when i had her there for a check up anyway so didn't worry.

Hope everything was ok with Baylord. Is anyone a June 1 that might go a few hours early?? LOL 12 days old here and eyes are opening and puppies are finding their legs. And little girl needs to lose her nick name as she overtook someone today.

Well I ended up getting the body from http://www.eglobaldigitalcameras.com.au They were cheaper than anywhere else and had a 24month warranty rather than 12. I was impressed. I ordered around 10pm thursday and had it Monday morning. It actually reached Sydney on Saturday morning so had it not been the weekend it probably would have been even quicker. I still have a lens or 2 to get but will wait til the puppies are sold first. Don't want to deplete the credit card too much as who kows what might happen over the next 6 weeks or so with them. I ended up going for a body you can't get in Australia - the sony a580. I had Konika Minolta before and considered changing to canon but by the time I replaced everything it was going to be too costly. This way I will end up with a new body and a couple of better lenses rather than entry level lenses. So far I am impressed - the autofocus is super fast and pictures much much sharper. I just need to work out how to drive it properly.

Way to go Lava! Wow those flat coats have big litters.

Yep been keeping an eye out on ebay as well. So far though dwi have the best price. Digitalrev are interesting - prices between ebay and webstore are totally different. Is HKBNS an ebay store or webstore? Have you had any hassles with paying duty from any of them? I am thinking of splitting my order, 2 lots of postage would be cheaper than the duty.

I am looking into a few new bits and pieces (body and lens or 2). My last purchase was from bhphoto and the service and speed was excellent. Right now though I have found much better prices at dwi. Digitalrev is another I know of. Are there any other online stores I should look at? Importing obviously doesn't concern me. Also has anyone bought a body from somewhere like dwi/digitalrev and had any hassles? I know they offer their own warranties but not sure how good they are? I am thinking I will put the Mack international warranty on whatever I get as it will still work out much cheaper than i get anywhere here.

Skyehaven - good luck with Lava. She really looks to have dropped in those photos. Good news - the mastitis lump has nearly gone. This morning it was half the size of yesterday and this afternoon it is reduced by nearly half again. Woo hoo!! Puppies are all still feeding and gaining well. Hope everyone elses's babies are going well.

Apologies if this has been shared - I couldn't see it here and thought it was nice to share a good story. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/4971464/Honours-for-four-legged-heroes The heroic Urban Search and Rescue dogs that padded and sniffed their way through the ruins of Christchurch's CBD are getting the recognition they deserve. The 10 USAR dogs that worked at the forefront of the deadly February earthquake received bravery awards last weekend and are now the official charity of choice for the SBS Marathon. The USAR Search Dog Association is run by volunteers who select their dogs from local pounds and train them to work in chaotic situations. In the week following the earthquake ten sniffer dogs and their handlers searched more than 80 sites in Christchurch, hoping to uncover a miracle. The dog association's president Tim Drennan, of Christchurch, said the dogs saved a number people trapped in rubble. The 10 sniffer dogs were given a bravery award at the New Zealand Kennel Club National Dog Show in Feilding last weekend and the association has been chosen as the charity of choice for this year's SBS Marathon. Drennan said he was speechless when he had heard the association had been chosen. "I felt incredibly honoured for them to think of us, so far we have done everything off our own backs so this means a lot," he said. The eight-man volunteer association meets twice weekly to train their dogs and Drennan said the funds from the event would be used to support the dog's training, transport and equipment. Drennan said the dogs trained to work with the New Zealand Fire Service USAR team and were deployed in the 2005 Greymouth tornado, the 2007 Gisborne earthquake and Christchurch's two big quakes. "In the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake USAR dogs teams literally became man's best friend. My dog Boo and I were proud to be among the amazing dogs and their volunteer handlers who spent hours crawling over and through the rubble with positive results in very challenging situations. "The majority of the dogs have been 'rescued' themselves, having been sourced from animal shelters around the country," he said. There are 11 operational USAR dogs in New Zealand, nine of which are local to Christchurch.

Unfortuntely significantly worse tonight. I really don't know what to do - I am getting them to drink off of it. I have sat there with cabbagae leaves on it, we started antibiotics before it was a huge problem It is now very firm and hot to touch and she is not keen at on me handling it. I am struggling to express it - I don't know if that is lack of technique from me (highly likely) or the fact they are draining it and I jst can't get any more out?

The vet said at this stage the pups can still drink from it so I am sticking the 2 big boofas back there so that it gets well drained. I have just tried a cabbage leaf compress but how the heck do you keep it on and how long for?

Not at this point but I have to pop to the shops later so was going to get a cabbage

Well just had a Sunday morning vet trip to prevent full blown mastitis. Jazz became very unsettled over night then this morning I checked her temp and it was 39.5 and I could feel a small not quite pea size lump in 1 breast. Man Sunday call outs are not cheap!! But still it could have been a lot worse and we got it early so puppies can still feed off of it.