The Oscar x Gracie Puppies: Week Five

This has been an amazing week with the puppies.  They are really becoming little dogs and their coordination and interest and engagement with their environment has increased tremendously. We've had a great deal of fun introducing the puppies to new objects like the tunnel and their adventure box.

Some Adventure Box fun for these four week old puppies!

The puppies are getting better at eating and meal time is becoming cleaner and a bit faster. They do enjoy their solid food and still nurse from Gracie several times a day.

They have a smaller space for long nap times and overnight but during the day they play in the larger pen and have had excursions to other rooms in the house such as the kitchen.  Here they are eating one of their meals.

The puppies also have started going outside.  We had a few warmer days and took advantage of the weather to begin this next stage in acclimating the pups to the outdoors. The experiences were brief but very positive and it won't be long before these pups will be able to stay out for longer and longer periods and begin going outdoor multiple times a day, even in the colder, snowy weather.

If you would like to follow the litter's progress please join us on Facebook and like our Northrock Barbets page to see frequent updates and photos. 

The Oscar x Gracie Puppies: Week Four

The puppies have made the big move downstairs into their new space.  They handled the transition really well and now they are living next to our kitchen and living room in the area.  They are now exposed to all the sights, sounds and smells that come with household living.  Kitchen smells of cooking foods, the clanging of pots and pans, the noise from timers and exhaust fans.  The sounds of the t.v. and radio are all par for the course as well.  

In the beginning we have blankets draped over the sides of their pen to reduce the chance of drafts and to ease the transition to the new space but soon those are taken down and the puppies can look out and take in what's going on around them.  

November 20th - Gracie, Summer and the pups.

We've got potty boxes in their pen and that's where they will learn to go to the bathroom when indoors over the next several weeks.  The space they are in is quite small in the beginning to facilitate potty training but they come outside of their smaller pen to interact with the humans and the big dogs in the house and to play and explore.

We introduced the puppies to solid food this week and they dove into it with great gusto.  It's a messy process at the beginning but it won't be long until they get the hang of it.

The puppies were introduced to several new objects this week. One of our favourites is the storytime dragon.  Enjoy this video when after an evening feed the puppies settled in for some snuggles with their momma Gracie and some stories.  

If you would like to follow the litter's progress please join us on Facebook and like our Northrock Barbets page to see frequent updates and photos.

Puppies Born At Barbet-Frankia

 Congratulations to breeder Annick Lavallee on the arrival of her beautiful litter born on November 20th, 2020 at Barbet-Frankia in Quebec. Sired by CH Northrock's Good Vibrations and out of GCH Barbetdeau Mugsy Barbetfrankia, sweet mama Mugsy and her 8 little Barbichons are doing very well. 🥰

*these puppies have all been spoken for*

Jack x Edie Litter: Week Eight / Nine and Heading off to Their New Homes

This is always an incredibly busy week with a litter of puppies.  Temperament testing, long car rides, structural evaluations and adventures!  Thank you to Susan And Erik Luyendyk for all your help and support on evaluation day. 

At this age the pups have truly become "little dogs". They bark and play and yip and run and do everything with great enthusiasm! In our home we refer to this as the week that's all about containment and entertainment for the puppies!

We focus on giving them fun experiences and were thankful for the very nice weather we had which allowed them to spend many hours outside playing in the fresh air and sunshine.

Novelty is important at this age so we rotate their toys, let them explore different areas in the home and give them the opportunity to experience new sounds, smells, textures, footing etc.  

The puppies have very few accidents and with many trips outside throughout the day they are well on their way to being housebroken by the time they are ready to leave the nest. 

The evening before then went home the puppies all had baths and for the most part they handled the experience quite well. The one part that I always enjoy is the snuggle and cuddle time afterwards when I get to spend all that lovely one on one time with each puppy while they are being dried off.

The go home bags for the puppies are prepared and filled with a blanket and snuggle buddy that has the scent of their litter mates, along with some treats and toys and  information about caring for their new puppy.

It's a bittersweet time knowing that they will soon be departing for their new homes and that our time with them is at an end. We have enjoyed this litter so very much.

They are all such good puppies with sweet and loving temperaments and I look forward to hearing about all of their new adventures with the families that have welcomed them into their hearts and homes. Thank you all for welcoming one of these precious puppies into your hearts and homes.

It is my pleasure to introduce the puppies with their new names, from top left to bottom right: 

Louis: Northrock's Ollie called Ollie

Hugo: Northrock's One Love called Raffi

Belle: Northrock's Once Upon A Time called Belle

Gaston: Northrock's On Cloud Nine called Finnegan

Eloise: Northrock's One In A Million called Ellie

Camille: Northrock's Oh La La called Lola

Claude: Northrock's On Top Of The World called Hugo 

Adele: Northrock's Overture At Rosebush Springs called Molly

Pascal: Northrock's Olympian called Apollo

The Oscar x Gracie Puppies: Week Three

 

This is typically the easiest week with a litter of puppies. Their mother is still doing the lion's share of the work in feeding and cleaning up after her little ones and my role is to support her in her efforts.  I'm washing the bedding in the whelping box daily, feeding her plenty of nourishing food and making sure she has lots of cool fresh water to drink. 

A quiet moment in the whelping box with Gracie's pups at 15 days old.

Belle on November 13

This is always an especially exciting week because this is when all of the puppies senses seem to come on-line.  Now their eyes are all open and they can see (near sighted and blurry vision but nevertheless it's there) and they can hear sounds.  They can get up and move around the box with increasing ease and I always break out in a big grin when I catch them pawing and mouthing each other or the stuffed toys I've placed in their box.  They are also beginning to experiment with their voices and little barks and woofs are heard from time to time.

Everyone fits in this dog bed.....for now - Nov 16

The puppies continue to be weighed two times a day and their nails are filed with the dremel every few days.  They get lots of handling and cuddles. The other day I snuggled in with the pups in their whelping box and watched Disney's Cinderella movie.  After a long and busy day it was absolute bliss!

Ariel getting weighed on Nov 11 (She was 2 lbs 3 oz. At birth she weighed 9.8 oz)

Another big change this week is the addition of pee pads to the whelping box and we begin the process of potty training.  It may seem early but now the puppies are able to eliminate on their own.  Prior to this they relied on Gracie stimulating them in order for them to do so.  The puppies have an innate desire to move away from where they have been feeding or sleeping to eliminate and so the habit of going potty in a designated area is reinforced with the addition of pee pads. The pads have a different texture to the fleece in the box offering a clear distinction of where to potty.  The puppies have been very good about using the pads and with ten puppies using them they are replaced with fresh ones several times a day to keep the box clean.

All in all it has been a terrific week and I hope you'll check back next week to see the recap of the puppy's fourth week...

If you would like to follow the litter's progress please join us on Facebook and like our Northrock Barbets page to see frequent updates and photos. 

The Oscar x Gracie Puppies: Week Two

 

It's been a great week for the Oscar and Gracie puppies.  It is calm and quiet in the nursery and my focus is on supporting Gracie so that she can best care for her puppies.  We make sure she always has cool fresh water to drink and she gets several meals throughout the day to help her produce enough milk to feed her large family.  We added soft toys to the whelping box for the puppies to crawl around and over and the pink octopus is a favourite for cuddling up to.

Puppies are weighed twice daily and collars checked to make sure they are fitting comfortably.  The exercises that I spoke about in our last update continue this week and they will wrap on on day 16. Every three days the puppy nails are filed with the dremel which does take quite a while considering there are 200 of them to do!

A glimpse into the whelping box on the evening of November 4th with Gracie and her nine day old puppies 

The little princes and princesses are growing well and getting up on their legs now as they move around the box. What's most exciting is that by the end of the week everyones eyes have opened and next week their ears will open and they will be able to hear. 

Gracie and her pups on Nov 7th. 
There is 17 pounds and 14 ounces of puppy in this great big pile!

 

 If you would like to follow the litter's progress please join us on Facebook and like our Northrock Barbets page to see frequent updates and photos.  

The Jack x Edie Puppies: Week Seven

The Jack and Edie puppies had a great week - they were able to spend time playing outside and I'm please to say that they are doing very well with going out to potty. When inside they consistently use the litter boxes to eliminate in but they have multiple opportunities to go to the bathroom outside.

The weather has been nice and we've enjoyed going out to play many times a day.

Mealtime on October 30th

The mealtime routine is much more civilized than it was a few short weeks ago.  

Enjoying some recreational bones in the laundry room while the washer was going gave the Jack and Edie puppies an opportunity to acclimate to a new environment whilst enjoying something pleasant.

The puppies have a larger wire crate in their pen and they are getting used to going in there for naps.

The puppies are socialized to a select group of people who are within our pandemic bubble so they are meeting and visiting with people besides our immediate family.  We are grateful to them for helping us to give these puppies a great start. Of course our own family is in charge of the bedtime cuddles. 

The puppies are getting used to being placed on the grooming table which helps them to become familiar with being up high in preparation for their vet visit and for the future grooming sessions. Check back next week for our next diary entry with the Jack x Edie puppies.

These puppies have all been spoken for. If you would like to follow the litter's progress please join us on Facebook and like our Northrock Barbets page to see frequent updates and photos. 

The Oscar x Gracie Puppies: Week One

 

It has been a wonderful week with Gracie and her puppies.  She's an attentive and loving mom and is doing a great job caring for her large family.  The pups have been gaining really well and Gracie is keeping the whelping box and her puppies nice and clean.

We are kept busy supporting Gracie by bringing her meals and lots of cold fresh water to whelping box, cleaning the bedding and disinfecting the box daily. We enjoy snuggling with puppies and trimming their nails is also done regularly.  

On day 3 we started the Early Scent Introduction and Early Neurological Stimulation which we will continue until the puppies are 16 days old.

This week we gave the puppies the names that they will have while they are with us.  The theme for this litter is 

Disney Princes and Princesses 

and it is my great pleasure to introduce to you in birth order:

Green Collar Male - Prince Eugene aka Flynn Rider

Orange Collar Female - Princess Belle

Purple Collar Female - Princess Rapunzel

Yellow Collar Male - Prince Charming

Red Collar Female - Princess Snow White

Pink Collar Female - Princess Aurora

Light Blue Collar Female - Princess Cinderella

Lime Collar Female - Princess Ariel

Beige Collar Male - Prince Phillip

Dark Blue Collar Female - Princess Jasmine

If you would like to follow the litter's progress please join us on Facebook and like our Northrock Barbets page to see frequent updates and photos.