Thursday, Jan. 1st, 2026
First of all, happy new year!
Second of all, #1, the little stinker, got out of her bracers.
Third of all, look at that! Her wrists are as they're supposed to be! She's walking so well!! I am shocked, she's been in bracers for one day (ONE!) and she's already improved so much! I'm so proud of her! She'll still wear them a bit longer, but I'm extremely optimistic for a normal, healthy life for her, and with all the running she can stand.
Today was a hectic day, but I'm finally catching up to my duties after the holiday slack period. Apologies to everyone who's been waiting, and thank you for any patience you've spent on me already, it's appreciated. I hope to get videos out to interested puppy parents soon!
Wednesday, Dec. 31st, 2025
Last day of 2025, and I finally went and got some materials for homemade little bracers. Number 1 here has a naughty little habit of knuckling (or, wanting to be on her wrists), so we're making it so she can't quite do that. She doesn't like them (in case you can't tell by her "You. YOU did this to me..." expression), but she's got to break her baby habit somehow! I equate it a bit to 'honey, you have to stop crawling/sucking on your thumb all the time, come on" kind of a thing. (Spoilers: they help!)
Puppies are all doing great! Momma Hera is nursing them less and less, and their food is getting more and more solid! Still no thicker than a good bisque, haha, but they're doing well, and getting bits of cooked rice and hamburger in with their meals now! They gobble it right up, happy little puppies.
Monday, Dec. 29, 2025
We're keeping an eye on #1 due to some weak wrists, but are very optimistic for a full recovery. She's eating great, playing well, and loving life!
Life over here is still hectic. It's amazing how much energy taking care of a litter takes, I hadn't expected it with being the primary caretaker haha! Means I've got a backlog of updates and posts to catch up on, sadly, but hoping I'll get on track, certainly once the holidays are over. Went to Costco, got more piddle pads (of which Hera is the throned queen, it seems - at least in the car), and the puppies got... a puppy, haha, they love chewing on its tail and ears, and it doesn't squeal at them~! Sometimes they also sleep draped over it, I think the position helps them digest, it's very cute.
The rest of the litter is doing excellent as well! They're getting better at running and playing with one another, and more adventurous and curious, I love it.
Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025
I wanted to give a quick shout out to celebrate that a puppy has officially been picked! We are celebrating #8 discovering his new family today, and look forward to him leading a happy and wonderful life once pups are 8 weeks old. It's one of those wonderful moments that, as the first caretaker, comes with a touch of sadness, but I'm so excited for the rest of his life when that day finally comes. Congratulations to #8, or as we'll now be calling him, Buzz~ We'll still post about him in the Latest Puppy Pics, but each posting will now include the reminder that he is named and has a home to look forward to now.
Quick reminder, we are doing puppy visits now for possible buyers. Please contact me if you'd like to schedule a visitation.
Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025
Puppies are in a new home! We got furniture moved, pen set up, and all the fixings put in yesterday (the Friday after Christmas), but wanted to give the puppies (and ourselves) daylight hours to adjust to the move. They've got ample room to get their wiggles out now, and the pen will never be this clean again. 12 puppies, new tarps for mess control, we do our best and brace for the worst haha~
Puppy visits are starting tomorrow as well! We're very excited for people to start to come over to pick a new family member~
Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025
Merry Christmas, and happy holidays! We have been very busy for the last two weeks or so, so the website is getting mega-updated based on pictures and videos I've recorded to remember little moments by. Probably a big change for anyone trying to stay tuned, sorry about that! Hera has finally entered the 'I refuse to lay down' phase of nursing, and we know that that means. It's time to move the puppies.
Monday, Dec. 22, 2025
Today's the dreaded day... We're graduating from bottles to bowls. Or, trying to. Trying them out, let's say. We still keep bottles on hand for those who are getting frustrated and need food how they're used to getting food, which is normal! Especially with such a big litter. Many, many paper towels, puppy wipes, and piddle pads perished in today's efforts, but Hera enjoyed helping with the cleanup work~ Including what was left behind in their food bowl haha!
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025
Their teeth are coming in fast... Poor Hera! These little fuss-butts have been quite upset about their new arsenal getting shipped in, but the toys have been helping - a little. They still prefer chewing on our fingers as we rub around at their once-gummy little mouths. Still waiting on some stability from a few pups, but we're expecting to introduce them to goat milk with rice formula soon! It's going to be a mess...
For now, here's two puppies preferring puppy-beds over puppy beds. Enjoy.
Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025
Puppies have been gifted with chew toys! Which, to be fair, they have no idea what they are, or what they're for, when siblings have perfectly functional limbs and tails and ears. At this age, you're either the chewer, or the chewed, in ten-second intervals.
(Also, pups are clustered to momma's belly at the bottom of one picture, hence the pile, haha)
Monday, Dec. 15, 2025
We're starting to feel fangs! Canines, technically. Hera's being a bit tender about jumping in with them, and that's very understandable. We're waiting until all pups look stable and capable until we transition into light nursing on momma and introducing mushy foods~ For now, extra belly washes and balms for momma, and good cuddles.
She's also reassured me that her little habit of simulant-licking my hand to get me to pet her is still going strong. She's such a personable girl, and I hope all of her babies make it into great homes. It's going to be hard when they're all gone and living their best lives.
The bigger these little cherubs get, the harder it becomes to let Hera into the pen to nurse them. They know how to swarm, I swear it!
Suffice to say, they are walking! Ish. Toddling. And falling. But mostly toddling. Sometimes they get very, very offended when they have a flop, and it's one of my favorite things because it's just so silly.
I'm off to take my midnight nap now.
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025
I don't know which little girl this is (sorry, maybe it's 6/12), but color me envious.
Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025
Hera is such a happy momma. Always 'smiling' when she's with her babies. Another few days, not much to say yet, they're all sweet and growing and doing great!
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025
Been a few days, and puppies are already so much bigger! They're all happy and healthy, not much to report at this age, other than they're all cute and making the best noises. Love puppies~
Same day, I know, but this hug was so cute~ Thank you, #3, you're a sweet little man.
Typical lunch for Hera. What she eats, her puppies drink~ Here we have a small bed of high-grade Orijen kibble (50% puppy kibble, 50% adult kibble [red meat/fish kibbles mix]), topped with slow-cooked pork, sweet potato, and carrots (left and center), going clockwise she's also got chicken liver, cottage cheese, a hardboiled free-range egg (quartered), spinach, chopped asparagus, and sardines in olive oil. Yes, she eats better than I do haha!
Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025
Happy Thanksgiving! Puppies are happy and healthy, and had pictures taken of them. Very sweet.
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025
Hera is still nesting like crazy when away from her pups. She's really enjoying this process, and my mom and I are enjoying a desperate lack of sleep these days. Hera's exhausted as well, but she's a pro at taking micro naps, never noticed before how momma dogs do that (as this is my first litter being the main provider).
To the right is a cute little cuddle moment between Hera and her son today, #8 (he has that streak of brown on his left side reaching all the way to his bellybutton, I love it~).
Not sure where Sunday went... ... Anyways, caught up on some sleep, and did some little glamor shoots for the little ones~ They are growing fast, their average gain in weight since day 1 is 1.36 ounces and their little bodies are chubbing up with milk. They're regulating their own body heat better, and all are doing great so far! We're super lucky and grateful for our precious pups, and will be posting those pretty pictures of them shortly!
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025
We were expecting puppies on the 24th. And today, on the 22nd, they arrived! This was a whirlwind of a delivery compared to the ones we normally get. It's most common for us to (1) get puppies starting after dinner and going through the night, (2) seeing nesting behavior for up to 5 days before the delivery, and (3) witnessing the momma to be going through labor (panting, fussing, wanting to be in her place to deliver, the works).
Well none of that happened, haha! Nesting was only for 1 day. Hera began to deliver at noon (around 12:20, first pup born about ten minutes after that). There was no fussing, no labor, nothing leading up to it. The only clue I had was her sudden personality change asking for my attention while seeing to something in the kitchen, I look down at her, and her hind legs quiver ever so briefly. Ten minutes later, puppy #1 was here.
Two days early, and we can tell why. Competition for space. We are very honored to share that Hera is now the proud momma to 12 beautiful puppies. And you'd better believe that once I get some sleep under my belt there are going to be puppy pictures appearing!
Friday, Nov. 21, 2025
I'm very excited for the whole process. All puppies are going to have pictures taken of them with their very own little swaddle cloth. These cloths have little patterns on them so that when you pick up your new precious pup, you can keep this trinket they grew up with and be able to refer back to photos to see exactly how tiny and precious they were and how much they grow between pupdates! It happens so very fast, and I hope this extra detail helps make the whole experience extra precious for you and your family.
We're expecting!
And the new momma is doing great so far! Puppies have a due date of November 24th, 2025, give or take two days, and would be ready to go to their forever homes around January 19th, 2026.
We're so very excited for Hera and Zeus' first litter! Please stay tuned for precious 'pupdates' here!