At Pet Movers dog run

We brought the dogs to Petmovers over the weekend. We have not been there since the pups were born. We wanted Rocky to socialise with other dogs. Rocky would bark at other dogs there in the beginning but calmed down after a while.

While Ozzy and Tessie have been trained not to jump up the bed we have yet to teach little Rocky that the bed is out of bounds for him.

Cookie

Emma (photo from her owner's blog)

Muixx Baby sleeping like a care bear

Ozzy

Tessie

Rocky


Puppies don't just inherit colours from their parents. I think they also acquire certain behaviours from their parents. Sleeping habits is one example. Ozzy and Tessie lie on their backs when they are sleeping just like us. The pups do this too!

Latest photo of Cookie from his owner

It is amazing Cookie would wear a pair of oversize sunglasses. Ozzy would never wear it.

He was the alpha of the litter

Jo contacted Si Bao's owner who gave her the link to her Friendster site so that we can view his photos. His name is Muiix Baby.

2 months after the pups left home we decided to check up on them to see how they were doing. We could keep track of Emma from her owner's blog and even met up at Pawtebellow. Emma was able to jump up the couch and was not shy with us or other strangers. Rocky on the other hand was afraid of new faces.

We visited Dino or Da Bao and found him like Rocky. He had clearly forgotten who we were and was barking like hell when he saw us. Unlike his litter mates, he had ears that stand up

Before we know it the time came for Emma to leave for her new home. She would have a companion called Ebi. She was the only female in the litter but we think that she was the smartest. She would always remember to pee on the tray. Her adventure with us has ended but a new journey begins in her new home. Her story can be viewed in her owner's blog at http://ebi-tempura.blogspot.com/

Emma bullying Rocky

3 way tussle

San Bao was booked already but her new owner delayed bringing her home. So Wu Bao whom we named Rocky became her playmate. They are always playing with Tassie. Ozzy as usual would seldom join in

Er Bao was the next to leave. His new name is Cookie

Si Bao trying to climb onto our bed


Si Bao or Blacky as I sometimes call him was the next to go. A young lady who was still in school came to take a look a him. She brought along her brother who has a Japanese Spitz. Knowing that there was someone experienced to guide her made it easier for us.

From left Er Bao, San Bao and Si Bao. This was the photo we used to advertise in Mocca

Da Bao and Wu Bao

Play time is a favourite time for them

Da Bao was the first to leave the house. Jo was upset but there is no way we can keep so many dogs.His new owner has got another dog at home so we were glad Da Bao would have company in his new home. His new name is Dino

The pups spend the day in our room and sleep in the pen at night. Of cos, they manage to escape from the pen in the wee hours of the morning to run into our bedroom where there is a sheepskin rug and play on it. They also liked to hide and sleep beneath the cupboard. Their play can be very rough, and they will hop in their excitement like bunnies and pounce on each other. Ozzy avoids them.


With Wu Bao fully recovered we could concentrate on trying to find homes for the puppies.

Teething pups love biting on stuff

Weaning them to dry pellets soaked in milk

They will still try to suckle from Tassie.


We found to our delight and horror the situation with 6 week old pups. We were delighted they were running around and doing clownish stuff. Horrified by the amount of poo and pee 5 pups could produce due to the new diet of dry pellets

From left to right San Bao,Er Bao, Da Bao Si Bao are able to crawl around and their eyes are already opened. Da Bao has a striking black stripe on its back. You can see the difference in growth rate. He is still the tiniest. Although Wu Bao has recovered he still sleeps in our room. Sometimes we bring Da Bao in to accompany him.

WU Bao's health has finally turned the corner after 2 weeks. At this point Jo has decided to keep him. I think she has bonded to him after such trying times

We separated Da Bao and Wu Bao from the others as we were feeding both of them the Evaporated milk. The rest were growing heavier by the day drinking Tassie's milk. By then, Si Bao was the heaviest, weighing in at 645gm. 2nd was San Bao at 575gm. Er Bao came in a close 3rd at 520gm. Wu Bao was 375gm, while Da Bao at 135gm.

By the fourth day of feeding Wu Bao with the special formula we started to see improvement. He has stopped crying and was moving about a bit.

As Wu Bao's condition extended into the seventh day I told Jo to prepare for the worst. In case we have to euthanise him. Jo searched thru the net and found out that we could give Gripe Water to clear the colic. I remember taking this concoction when I was a kid. Back then there was alcohol in it and I think that was why I was addicted to it. Wu Bao's voice was getting hoarse after crying for a week. We kept giving him the Carnation milk and Gripe Water

We brought all 5 pups to see Doc Lye, who luckily had an open slot the next day. Since Wu Bao is the sick one, he took one look and immediately said he is suffering from severe colic and there is a chance that his intestines are in a knot. He suggested that we euthanise him cos he is suffering and in lots of pain. Jo was very upset and reluctant to not at least try to cure him.
He then put all the pups on the weighing machine and it was no surprise that Da Bao and Wu Bao were the lightest. Doc Lye had some interesting things to say about them. Da Bao is a dwarf and according to him dwarfs do not live long. All this time the pet industry likes to call these extra tiny dogs tea cup Schnauzers. I guess we learned something new that day.
Anyhow, Doc Lye was concerned about their weight and suspected that they are allergic to Tassie's milk. So he suggested that we go to the supermarket to buy the Carnation brand evaporated milk. 2 parts of water to 1 part of milk plus a few drops of olive oil for calories.

Two days after getting their tails docked disaster strikes. Wu Bao refused to feed from Tassies tit and was crying non stop. We could see that he was in pain. We thought it will stop but after crying non stop for 48 hours he was brought to the vet. We suspected constipation as he had not pooped in 2 days. She thought very hard on what medication to give as he was so young. Returning home, he did poop once but his crying did not stop. You can see ripple effect on his stomach. Wu Bao was losing weight fast. The next day we brought him back again to the same vet and more medication was given. On the fourth day I met one of my neighbours who owns a Rottweiler, while walking Ozzy. When I told her about Wu Bao's condition she told me to just make an appointment with Dr Lye. He charges more for consultation but you get answers.

Tassie carrying Da Bao in her mouth

We got worried when Tassie began acting strange with Da Bou. We would not find him in the cage in the morning. Tassie would leave him in a corner of the room or under our sofa. We were wondering if she knew da Bou was the weakest pup and she was giving up on him.

Injured Er Bao

The pups were brought to Mount Pleasant Animal Clinic to have their tails docked when they were 4 days old. We should have checked them carefully after the tails were done. When we reached home we realised that Er Bao had an injury near the buttocks. We suspect that the vet technician had accidentally cut him.

Tassie cleaning her pups

We had plenty of towels and blankets ready to line the cage. Tassie did a good job of cleaning up the pups. She would lick the towels clean of poo and pee. We did not like the idea of her eating shit so we would pick up pieces of poo if we come across any in the cage.

Pup number five or Wu Bao is a male. He weigh 150gm.

Pup number four or Si Bao is a male and the only black and silver. He weigh 170gm.

Pup number three or San Bao is the only female. She weigh 150gm.

Puppy number two or Er Bao is a male. He weigh 170gm.

Puppy number one or Da Bao is a boy. He is the runt of the litter and weighs only 75gm.

Tassie nursing the babies

We brought Tassie to the vet the next day for a check up. A scan was done and there was one more pup in her. She was given calcium replacement shots and was monitored by the vet. It so happened that Doctor Lye was at the Balestier branch of Animal Recovery clinic. He reckoned that the pup had already died and a decision was made to pull out the dead pup with forceps. He did not want to subject Tassie to a surgery as she was weak from the giving birth to the pups.

Jo held on to Tassie who was obviously in pain as the vet poured medical lubricant into her vagina and inserted the forceps into her. It took an agonising 20 minutes before he pulled the dead pup out. I think it was a black one.

Tassie promptly went back to nurse her pups after we cleaned her up.When I told Johnson our friend who bred Ozzyy Dr Lye had helped with Tassie's condition, his reply was Dr Lye is not cheap. The bill came up to $250

Second pup from left was the first and smallest pup in the litter


As the days went by her stomach got bigger. We fed her bigger servings and added fresh meat to her pellets. Not forgetting plenty of anchovies for extra calcium.
We came home from dinner on 29 October 2007 and found the first pup on the floor.JO carried the pup to Tassie and squeezed her tit a bit of milk appeard and placed the pup near the tit to let him feed.By 5 am of the 30 of October 5 pups were born.The first pup was smallest of the lot.Even the runt was bigger in size.

Ozzy proved us wrong one night in Sept 2007. I found him on top of Tassie and unable to dislodge. I had to wait 10 minutes before I could separate them. We started counting down the days for the puppies to arrive

When we brought Tassie home we decided not to have her mate with ozzy although we did not sterilize either of them. We observed Ozzy when Tassie had her first period and came to the conclusion that he will not get her pregnant.He did not know how to mount Tassie correctly

Celebrating Chinese New Year




Tassie was so timid when we first saw her. She turned to a little devil hours after we brought her home. She would chew off our teak furniture and bite off chunks of cement from the wall! But at least Ozzy had a companion at home while we are at work.

Ozzy giving up his pillow to Tassie


Tassie 2 months of age
We would bring him out to the Petmovers dog run every week for exercise and socialisation. One fine day in Dec 2005 we decided to take a look at the pet shops in the area on our way home from the dog run. We chanced upon a litter of black and silver puppies and Jo fell in love with the only female in the brood. Next thing we know a deposit was paid and Ozzy was going to have a companion.