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Although sleeping and eating are still the main activities, the puppies are starting to move around more and discover their environment. They are climbing on top of Aoide, they are trying to taste and grab new things besides mom's teat, they are very curious to 'see' who come to visit them in the whelping box, they are developing their voices and they are trying to sit, stand and walk. Of course everything under Aoide's loving supervision. The puppies also had their first manicure and pedicure this week and Aoide decided to come along on our long walks again, which made Mirtillo very happy! Today the puppies all got a stuffed toy, which will move with them to their new homes when they are old enough. I took some individual pictures of each puppy with its own stuffed toy. Below you will find a selection of this week's pictures. You can find the complete album at Flickr.
 Aoide and her puppies - day 10
 Ian crawling out of the whelping box - day 10
 Sleeping in weird positions - day 12
The puppies are already one week old today! Aoide is a wonderful caring mother, who spends all day and night in the whelping box. We have a camera above the whelping box, so we can keep an eye on Aoide and the puppies during the night, but it hasn't been necessary to intervene. The puppies grow like weeds and had already doubled their birth weights on day five. Yesterday we decided to give the puppies a litter name, so we don't have to call them 'puppy 1' etc. anymore. During their time with us they will be known as Ian, Fiona, Frank and Debbie. These names come from the TV series 'Shameless' and the pedigree names will refer to these characters as well. The puppies had their first visitors today. We believe it's good for mom and babies to not be disturbed too much during the first three weeks, but we made an exception for our close family. Below you will find a selection of this week's pictures. You can find the complete album on Flickr.
 Sisters - day 2
 Little feet - day 2
 Ian, Debbie, Fiona and Frank - day 7 Sunday January 11th, four puppies were born in the middle of the night, two boys and two girls. Both Aoide and the babies are doing great. Mirtillo is very interested, but stays at a respectful distance from the whelping box. As a litter theme we choose the American TV series 'Shameless'. The pedigree names of the puppies will all refer to a character from this TV series. Below you will find the first pictures of the puppies. Please stay tuned for regular updates!  The first-born: a boy born in breech position. Aoide woke us at 1:30 am and he was born at 2 am. Birth weight: 230 gram.  The second puppy was born at 2:55 am. She came 'head-first' and raced right to the milk bar. An extremely quick and strong puppy, weighing 192 gram at birth. In this picture you can also see puppy 3 on his way out. Another boy, who came in breech position just like his brother.  The three babies at the milk bar. Puppy 3 shows us how you get the milk out. He was a quick drinker as well. He was born at 3:12 am and his birth weight was 240 gram.  The last puppy was born at 3:23 am, not even ten minutes after her brother. We weren't able to take pics of her right away, because as soon as she was out, she found a nipple under her brothers and sister. Here you see her as third from the left (fltr: puppy 2, puppy 1, puppy 4, puppy 3). Her birth weight was 185 gram.  Tired and proud Aoide with her four babies  Mirtillo during the whelping. Very interested in all the sounds coming out of the whelping box. We gave him a chair, so he could oversee it all. Aoide just entered the final week of her pregnancy and she is doing great. She is super relaxed and she enjoys the daily walks at her pace and all the attention she receives. We took Aoide to the new vet last Monday, day 55, for a proper introduction and to make an X-ray of her belly. 
Unfortunately the X-ray isn't very clear, but we can conclude that Aoide is expecting three puppies for sure and she might be hiding a little surprise. The whelping box had already been set up, but since yesterday it is completely finished and ready to use. The heating is on and Aoide loves it! Mirtillo does as well!
The puppies are exactly the opposite to Aoide at the moment.. They don't like to sleep and are super active! I made a short movie of all the movement in Aoide's belly today. We are thoroughly enjoying the fact that we can see and feel the puppies move! Only a few more days now...
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