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For info on how we raise our puppies, pricing and our guarantee, please click HERE.  The "Flowers" Litter DOB: March 28, 2009 Int'l Ch Shakari de Kengali Malabo APD (Rio) x Int'l Ch KKR Shakari's A Saint She Ain't (Paris) To read the puppy journal and see pictures taken weekly from birth, simply scroll down, or to jump to a specific week, you can click the links below. Birthday Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 7.5 ** Each link will become active as the puppies reach that week. **  |
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 March 28, 2009 Paris started showing the first signs of labor at 4:30am and after waiting ALL day for the puppies to arrive, Paris finally delivered the first puppy at 6:55PM! The puppies continued to arrive throughout the night. The last one was born a little more than 11 hours after the first. So we had 11 puppies in 11 hours. Not bad at all, just very tiring for Paris... and me too since I didn't get any sleep that night. All of the puppies are strong and thriving and couldn't WAIT to have their first meal. They are definitely Ridgebacks (a.k.a. food hounds)! We have 8 girls (!!!) and 3 boys. 2 females and 1 male puppy have single crown ridges but the rest are perfect! No dermoids were detected but we will keep checking for another couple of weeks to make sure we didn't miss any. Tomorrow dew claws will be removed which is never fun but really is a necessary evil. We don't want any ripped dews when they are older. That's a nasty injury! WHY FLOWERS? Well, we figured if spring time wasn't a good time for a Flowers litter than when would be? We were a little worried we wouldn't be able to come up with names for the boys, but we were pleasantly surprised to find many names that would work! Names will be assigned next week so stayed tuned for the big reveal! Check out the puppies first ever pictures below!  |
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 April 4, 2009 Growing, Growing, and Growing! That explains the whole week for our 'garden' of puppies! They have doubled in size and are looking like little teddy bear cubs! So cute! Eyes are not yet open, still a few more days yet. Paris is taking longer breaks out of the whelping box and the pups have almost graduated from my bedroom into the "puppy" room (our spare room). They are just getting too noisy to stay in our bedroom at night. The signs of sleep deprivation are starting to show! Time to reveal names... BOYS: Aster, Clover, Sage GIRLS: Lily, Rose, Holly, Jasmine, Daisy, Ivy, Fern, Violet |
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 April 13, 2009 Let me tell ya, the weeds aren't the only things growing in our garden! Our flowers are BLOOMING! The pups are so much bigger and have opened their eyes and even started to move around the whelping box on all 4 feet! They can actually chase mom around the box... well maybe they aren't that steady on their feet yet, but they will be! Lots of strange sounds can be heard coming from our little blooms now too! They are starting to yip a little and even let out a tiny play growl every now and then! They are learning new motor skills every day. They better practice hard since next week will bring a whole new adventure... food AND paper training! I missed last week's pictures so everyone will be shocked at how much these guys can grow in only two weeks! Enjoy! CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE! |
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 April 27, 2009 First things, first. The puppies were very naughty last week and managed to get their name tags off. Since I only had week 2 pictures to really go by, there was just no way to be certain I put the right collar on the right puppy so we decided to start over. So... the names on the puppies may or may not be the same they were in week 2. I'm so sorry about this but it couldn't be helped. If you noticed we are one puppy short, you are right. Sadly, we lost little Daisy (obvious due to her white sock) this past week. I believe that Paris stepped on her on accident and she didn't make it. We are heartbroken but unfortunately this does happen sometimes. Now onto the happy stuff... The pups are very steady on their feet now and actually chase their Mom around the whelping box. Paris is obviously at the point where she is no longer enjoying "family" time. I can almost see her grimace when she does go in for feeding time. Lucky for her though, the pups are also loving their puppy mash! The puppies had their first day outside this week! It was a little scary at first, but then they started playing and WOW did they have a good time! After a good romp, of course it was time for a nap! They will start spending a little time outside each day where they will have room to run and play and be crazy little puppies! We have PICTURES finally!!!! CLICK TO ENLARGE! |
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 May 4, 2009 April showers were no where to be found here in Florida however, we are still enjoying our "May Flowers"! They are loving their time outside every day in the sunshine but then they are Flowers, right? They NEED the sunshine to grow! They are spending several hours each day outside, which is a big help for me when it comes time to clean their room! Doing so with them inside has nearly become impossible. 10 little bodies try to stand where ever it is that I'm trying to clean! They are now playing with their toys which include a rope toy and a couple of baby toys. There is so much more variety in baby toys so that is why we buy those a lot for the puppies. Plus they love the chewy parts and rattles and jingles! They are doing SUPER great at paper training and rarely have an accident on their carpet. This will make potty training much easier when they go to their new homes. They already understand their is a place they CAN go and a place they SHOULDN'T. This week, we've taken some candid shots of the pups just after coming inside. They were napping and I couldn't resist the photo opp. Of course, as the flash started to go off, they decided to wake up and see what was going on! Sage especially wanted attention and followed me around the box. So, after picture time he got some extra lovin'. : ) Enjoy! Click to enlarge any photo! |
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 May 12, 2009 The puppies are thoroughly enjoying their daily outside play time AND all the fun visits from friends and families. They have met the horses and weren't even scared. The horses on the other hand... ; ) As you can see, socialization has already begun. As I've probably said to everyone before, socialization is SOOOO important for Ridgebacks and they are never too young to start. We get them started, but it MUST be continued for at least the first year! Many of the puppies are now spoken for and will be heading for their new homes in less than 2 weeks. I know there are lots of families out there who are just dying with anticipation. Check out the pictures below! These will probably be the last ones until the puppies go home. The last week and a half is very busy and taking pictures is hard to fit in the schedule. If I have time, we may snap some candids of them playing in the yard, but these will be the last individual pictures of our garden! Click any picture to enlarge! |
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 May 20, 2009 The puppies are just DAYS away from going to their new homes and I find myself asking... where did the time go? I knew that our garden of flowers were going to be beautiful, but even knowing that, I am still so proud of them! They really are beautiful and have personalities to match! It has been raining here for 3 days straight! The rain finally stopped this morning so I rushed the puppies outside for some much needed playtime! They are great little shadows and follow me all over the yard. They are not afraid of anything and play with the big dogs without a care in the world. Of course in the middle of playtime I thought... PICTURES, and went and grabbed my camera. The puppies are so different now, I can tell them apart in pictures without having to write it down so I have put names beneath the pictures! See them below! The puppies will have their first shot, have their microchipped "installed" and get their health certificates tomorrow! Then they are ready to go and are just waiting on their 8 week birthday. I know it seems like a long way off still, but it is only a couple of days! I will miss the little guys but know too that they will bring you many years of joy... and me too... by all the stories and pictures that I KNOW you all are going to send! RIGHT???? : ) CLICK THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE! |
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