General update :)

Well, its been awhile since I posted any kind of general update on the pups and Ky, so here goes....

All the puppies are doing wonderfully, theyre starting to really crawl/kind of walk instead of slithering and pulling themselves. They are all eating well and gaining weight.

Ky is doing wonderfully nursing them -- on her own now even ! :) Shes never had a problem or been reluctant to clean them, thankfully. She is back on dry food (puppy) only, no canned and we are no longer supplementing her or the pups with Pedialyte (some pups had diarrhea for a few days).

The other dogs in the house are curious about the pups - especially when they make their little noises (grunts, yips, 'barks', etc).

Im hoping to get some good pictures of them this weekend to post. Theyre starting to resemble real Shelties now, and not guinea pigs, gerbils, or whatever little animal you think newborn pups look like :)

As of this morning, no eyes (or ears) are open yet. Should be soon though.

So, all in all, it was totally worth the experience and stress to see these 5 beautiful babies grow and evolve in just such a short time, even. I wouldnt trade the emotional rollercoaster for a second. In fact, I kind of enjoyed hearing that Female1 (natural born) might not make it, but having her be the chubbiest puppy the other day!

I also wanted to mention a change in the webcam. There is now audio on it most of the day as well. And I have had several people (mostly from a Sheltie group I belong to) ask about sending money or toys, to help cover the costs of the ER Csection, extra bandwidth our computer is using doing the webcam 24/7, etc. While it is *not* necessary, I 'broke down' after being asked multiple times to put it up. We will greatly appreciate anything that comes in our mail to stimulate these pups. Any financial resources will also go to help another Sympa puppy (from a previous litter in 2003) who will be needing two very expensive & invasive surgeries shortly.

Any puppy produced by us, we stand behind, and will assist with any major (genetic) health concerns into their lives. We feel this is the right thing to do, without a doubt as we brought the pups into the world. We arent just responsible for their genetic health for 1, 2, or 3 years... Breeding is not about making money, and when done correctly, it does not happen. Breeding is for your passion of improving the breed as a whole. ... Some have asked about our contract, as well. My contract is a little different than others. In addition to the extended support I offer for genetic complications, I offer refunds/rebates for titles (performance and conformation) you put on your Sympa puppy. This encourages doing activities with your new family member, and gets our name out and about in the show circuit as well.

Everyone is sleeping now, so Im going to grab myself a late breakfast and get on with the rest of the day :)