Puppies' Second Week Pix

Here are some photos of the Colorado Border Collie puppies leading up to their second week. Click on the image to advance the photo.

Puppies' First Week Pix

Here are some photos from the border collie puppies' first week here in Colorado. Click on the image to advance to the next picture.

Puppy's First Week Video

Astraean Border Collies is proud to announce,
A litter of Purebred Border Collie puppies out of:

Dublin Rex X Adventure's of Arabelle Celeste

Six beautiful and healthy puppies, born naturally on December 6, 2007 in Denver, Colorado.

Three Boys and Three Girls, weighing 10.25 to 15 ounces at birth.

"Nothing better in the whole wide world than a Border Collie puppy."

Puppies' First Day Pix

Here are some photos from the Puppies' first day. Click on the image to advance to the next picture.

Border Collie Puppy Cam

Celeste and the rest of us are a little tired, so we're about to put the lights out and let her and the newborns get some sleep (it's been a long day for all of us).

But, you can catch some video of Celeste and the pups while the lights are still on at:

http://celeste.mypets.ws

You'll need Internet Explorer, not Firefox. Just click on View Video, and perhaps you'll need to hit the space bar and refresh the page or even install the ActiveX control so the camera will work with your browser. When the lights go out the video is too dark to see much. Celeste does deserve her rest though.

I haven't slept in 24 hours either, but I'm as high as a kite.

I'll try and keep the video on the pups for as long as we have them, so feel free to check back often to watch them grow.

Boy, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Girl

We just got back from the vet where Celeste delivered 6 melt-your-heart perfect pups naturally with a little help from some Oxytocin. Weights range from 10 ounces to 15 ounces, with no runt, and a big healthy girl at the top. Three boys and Three girls, delivered boy - boy - girl - boy - girl - girl, so the ladies made a big come back at the end to tie it all up.

They are just so boisterous and beautiful. I am SO proud of Celeste, she is a stellar mom and really handled everything with aplomb while the human part of the equation fussed and freaked. Her first pup was cleaned and on a teet before I knew what happened and each was delivered pink and screaming. All toes accounted for, not so much as a hair out of place, and plenty of milk is now flowing to these healthy gulpers.

Truly an amazing occasion. I'll post some photos later, but just wanted to share the good news.

Cheers,

Christopher & Family

98 Degrees and Falling

According to most of the literature and the advice of the Vet, once the Dam's temperature drops below 98 degrees Fahrenheit, you have between 12 and 24 hours before you should expect the first puppy.

Well, Celeste has been putting up with the engineer in me taking her temperature twice a day and she's been gradually dropping for the last two days. Now, taking a dog's temperature is about as fun as taking a toddler's temperature... in the you-know-where; the big difference is that the toddler doesn't have sharp teeth attached to a powerful jaw. Not that Celeste isn't the perfect angel, it's just something to consider.

Just a few minutes ago we had the big drop to 97.6, so it looks like the puppies are on their way and Celeste is right on time with her gestation. Celeste is definitely aware that something is amiss as she's wrapped herself up in a blanket on the couch. She does have a certain flare for the dramatic.

This seems to fit with the observation that the bitch will pick the most inopportune time to go into labor... at night, on a weekend, when the vet is closed and the only other option is the 24 hour emergency clinic if you're fortunate enough to live near one and can hope to afford it if you do.

Luckily, one of the best Emergency and Referral Clinics is right down the street from us in case we need their services and I've filled out new patient information sheets there and at a Vet that's down the street, just in case we're in a rush and can't make it out to our Vet of choice.

A friend from the dog world who is studying to be a Vet specializing in canine reproduction was going to assist in the birth if she didn't have an exam when Celeste decided to whelp, and guess what, she has an exam tomorrow so it looks like we're on our own if Celeste is quick, or we'll make our appointment with the Vet tomorrow if she takes her time.

Fingers crossed that all goes well. Time to go over all my notes and re-read those whelping books again. Nothing better to do, and it's certainly more productive than pacing in the waiting room and counting the cigars.