The Puppies Are Here!

Ta da! We have puppies!

I'll write about the labour more in another blog. For now, my exhausted self is only up to posting some cute pictures. Jalapeño had a total of nine puppies, five girls and four boys (we think!). Both mama and puppies are doing well.

Good job lil mama! We appreciate you!!!

Giving her a break. Puppies are to the left. 

And she didn't forget about her adopted babies!

Ms. Red was the first to pop out! Adopted and biological babes all getting along!

Lil Ms. White was our runt. She was born 8th. 

Ms. Red has a knack for picking cute poses.

And for dreaming cute dreams. Here is a short video of her dreaming. She was first out the gate but didn't get very far!

Ms. Dark Green was born third. She is a lil squaker!

Pillow friends.

Lil mama is tired.

These adopted lil beebs are much quieter! And not near as pushy.

Hanging all over mama.

Here is a video of Jalapeño catching forty winks while chasing forty puppies in her dreams!

T'was a long, scary, beautiful night.

The Puppies Are Coming! The Puppies Are Coming!

They are on their way....six so far, think there might be two more.

Our six little babies!

More to come when all is said and done!

After the Storm....

Considering Jalapeño jumps when she farts and then contorts around to look, and sniff, suspiciously at her bootie, I wonder what she is going to think when puppies start popping out.

Should be fun to see.

We survived the storm without any problems. My mind had already created many soap-opera type situations, like the puppies being born in an elevator with no power. Then I remembered I don't have an elevator.

Here's a lil local bird enjoying the area around my plants after the rain.

Her boyfriend was on my curry tree. They are always near each other.

At 9:30 on the dot last night, Piña started nesting. I recognized it the second she got on the couch and started rooting around. Although Jalapeño has never given birth to any real puppies, she has had several hysterical pregnancies. The first time around I was completely baffled when my happy little dog started digging around on the couch, cried when you threw her stuffed animals (what?! that was always fun before!), moved from sleeping by our feet to sleeping ON our heads and, towards the end, developed such agoraphobia she would not leave the back bedroom or her "babies". I researched and lo and behold, she was having fake babies that we have since successfully placed with many fake families.

Here is s video of her first fake pregnancy. It stressed her out when we threw her toys. It is very important to know when to throw them or not to throw them.
Jalapeño's first fake (or was it practice?) pregnancy!

Jalapeño did not sleep at all last night, so I didn't either. We spent lots of time hanging out together in the whelping pen. I must say, it is quite comfy. It got a little hot...so we had two fans blowing on us. She nested comfortably by herself for the second half of the night. I lay in bed next to her and listened to her breathe.

It was a snuggly night.

This morning she tried to crawl under the shed. She is definitely in the first stage of labour. So I've spent the day cajoling her to drink water and keeping her quiet. I expect her temperature to drop by tonight and the puppies to be here in the next 36 hours or so.

Like I know or have any control. LOL!

Jalapeño also tried to nest in the bed this morning. With her panting, it was shaking like a bed in a cheap motel. Do they still have those beds that vibrate when you put a quarter in them?

On my pillow, I might add.

Settled in for the wait on her...

... last few nights of freedom.

We can't wait!

What the Flossie!

Goodness. When I was scheduling everything for Jalapeño's whelping, I do not recall ordering a tropical storm!

Yet here she is. Flossie has arrived. She has come in like a tiger and I'm not sure if she will go out as a lamb. She did veer a little north, which helped lessen some of the brunt. It is hard to know what to expect though. I've battened down the hatches, secured the outdoor furniture, brought the plants in, filled the kiddy pool with water, stocked up on bottled water and did laundry so that I would have the 100 towels I will use during the whelping clean and fresh and ready to go. It has been raining all day and now the wind is starting to pick up. Visibility barely passes our property line.

Lil Jalapeño has remained calm and serene. She's napping on the hard-wood floors after I coerced her into eating kibble and some pork ribs.

Nothin' to see on this rainy day....

Internet is very slow so I will end this post here. Tune back in for a post-storm and a pre-whelping update!

Daggum Foreigners!

My family is made up of four people born on four different continents. I am the daughter of a beautiful Indian woman with Portuguese blood. My daddy was an adventurous American tow head who lived abroad most of his life. Their union produced me, a brown little brat that was born in Brazil and was always in everyone's business. Once we lived in Spain, my sweet little sister popped out unexpectedly and has since made my life so much richer. So Asia, North America, South America and Europe were all represented at our dinner table every night as I was growing up. My dad would always laugh about having to eat his meals with a bunch of damn foreigners! Yep. My daddy would often say damn. And great Ceasar's ghost. And great balls of fire.

With this in mind, it is only appropriate that this richness in the genetic pool be represented in Jalapeño's family as well. She is the child of a handsome Australian blond and a local Hawaiian redhead. She came out a perfect golden with her mama's tufts and her daddy's playful personality. No accent though.

Toby, Piña's Aussie daddy.

Tori (Victoria), Piña's kama'aina mommy.

This is where her energy comes from.

And apparently keep away is a genetic trait! Thanks a lot Toby!

Such athleticism!

This is where the tufts come from. And la lengua!

Such handsome parents. And their love story continues...

Murphy, Jalapeño's boyfriend and babby-daddy, is of English golden retriever stock and he hails all the way from Serbia. Yep, Serbia! As in on the other side of the world from us. Here on our little Big Island! He is a majestic, handsome young fellow with a shiny black nose and beautiful blond locks. I expect their puppies to be mostly blond with a couple that will be a darker shade. I am hopeful they will have tufts and black noses. I think the black nose is a characteristic of the English golden retriever. American goldens are born with black noses that turn auburn as they start to use it to snoot around.

From the clan of the nose noire!

Piña's honey recently sired a litter with one of his other gals. Here is a shot of them when they were only about 8 hours old.

Jalapeño's boyfriend's other girlfriend's puppies.

The Paleo Diet for Dogs and Things Jalapeño Likes to Chew

Jalapeño and I were setting trends without even knowing it.

Because she has been on the paleo diet for four years!

Maybe the human paleo diet had already been re-discovered before July of 2009. Or not. I don't know. I only became aware of the paleo diet about six months ago, when I mistakenly thought everybody was obsessed with the rice pilaf dish that is also known as pulao.

Turns out they are two totally different things.

Anyways. After having two dogs who died at an early age, we decided to change their diet. High-end pet foods were not helping our dogs live long lives. After considerable research, we decided to put Jalapeño on a raw, bone-in diet. What I call the paleo diet for dogs, or the wolf diet. She mostly eats raw chicken. And yes, she eats the bones. Turns out chicken bones splinter when cooked but are digestible when raw.

She is the strongest, healthiest dog we have ever raised.

Jalapeño also enjoys salads, melons of all varieties, asparagus, sushi, especially ahi sashimi, ice cream, and assorted grains. She hasn't gone gluten-free.

Yet!

Piña enjoying a typical Spanish salad.

Since she has been pregnant, Jalapeño rarely enjoys these foods. Everyday is a crapshoot where I offer and entice and she eventually gives in and eats. More or less.

Yesterday she had roast chicken for breakfast, a little kibble (as a supplement, only while she is pregnant), some organic tortilla chips and raw liver for lunch, honeydew for her afternoon snack and scrambled eggs and chicken for dinner. Her babies are taking up a lot of her tummy space, so she needs frequent small meals. And a multi-vitamin since I never know what she will feel like eating that day.

Jalapeño also wakes me up to go potty in the middle of the night. I guess she is not that different from your average expectant woman.

Jalapeño is an island dog. She loves the beach. She takes her duties seriously. There is much fetching but there is also some work for her.

Its serious business guarding our flip flops and cooler...

...which is why she has her game face on!

Jalapeño often goes out and gets her own chew toys.

Look Mom, I found a coconut!

Openin' up a can of whup-ass!.

And another...

But not always. Here she is playing with her favorite man-made chew toy.

Thank you Auntie Aimee!

Which can be very tiring work.

Toy? Pillow? Same diff!

She is also the queen of keep away. Here is a blurry shot of her taunting me with my nighty.

She just moves too fast to stay in focus.

A few folks have requested shots where you can see her pregnant belly.

She has gained almost 20 pounds. Her natural weight is 55 pounds.

And finally here is a link of her sleeping where you can also see her belly.

The Trials and Tribulations of a Pregnant Pooch

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

That is the sound of Jalapeño eating.

Eating chips. Because that is all she is interested in eating today.

30 minutes it took me this morning to coax one chicken thigh in tiny, delicious, non slimy or too meaty morsels past that persnickety nose and those curled up disgusted lips. There was possibly more chicken on me and the floor than in her belly. There was no more watermelon, she finished that yesterday after turning up her nose to some lovely liver. No more Spanish melon for the same reason. I guess it is time that I carve into the honeydew sitting in the fridge. In the meanwhile, she enjoyed some organic tortilla chips.

Note how far aways she is standing. The better to scamper or waddle off. 

Food is not our little Piña's only challenge these days. She is also very hot. Lately she has taken to chilling out in the shower. The cold. damp tile clearly feels good on her belly.

This was last night....

And this morning.... She did move during the night!

I'm going to see if they have a kiddy pool in town. She would enjoy a cold-tub on the lanai!

So now I am thinking that Lil Beebs may want to give birth in the shower. It beats under the shed. We will have to block the shed off this weekend so that I don't find myself using Herculean strength to lift the shed off of her as she is getting ready to deliver.

I have build a whelping box that we intend to use. Even if she does wind up having the babies in the shower, we will still move them to the box for the first month or so.

Start of the constructions process....

....with a quick cuddle break.

I used plywood and added linoleum to waterproof base.

So I believe we are ready. 8 more days to go. She will be having her babies a week from tomorrow!

Jalapeño Dreamin

People who say dogs don't dream are on crack.

I don't know where Jalapeño goes when she sleeps, but it must be somewhere exciting. Her tootsies will twitch, her brow will crinkle and she will emit the cutest little yips. Other times she can sound a little stressed. When she yelps and seems agitated, I usually wake her up.

As a puppy, she would fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Here are some shots of her early naps.

Piña liked to rest her head on laps

And snooze during American football games...

Certainly in the car...

In my arms...

And under glass...

As an adult she has become very fond of sleeping on her back.

Specially during her pregnancy. 

Or against mine...

Spooning!

She can usually find a spot to rest her head at any time of the day.

Finally here is a video where she is dreaming. A big fail on my part for recording on my iPad and then not being able to download the video to blogger. For these same reasons it is unedited. Anyhooo, for those who like snoozing pooches with twitching toes......here is a link to the Youtube video.

Jalapeño Dreaming on day 49