WATCHING SCOTTIES GROW......

When September 1st rolls around,

a lot of people start planning for the holidays,
our Mom starts dreaming of puppies.

She starts feeding Lilly and Carrleigh
extra protein to help their bodies
get stronger in anticipation of
easy deliveries and strong puppies.

She knows we are all free
of VonWildebrands,
but she will make vet appointments
so that she can make sure
everyone is at their optimum health.

She checks us all out extra carefully,
to make sure there are no lumps and bumps
that shouldn't be there.
About 2 weeks before the puppies are due,
she will clean out her closet
and put the puppy box in it.

There is a special heated mat
that goes beneath the box,
that will help the puppies
to stay warm until their
thermostats start working
on their own.

When it gets close to time for
the puppies to come,
she stays at home with us.
She doesn't even go to church.
She shaves the girl's bellies
so that the puppies will
have easy access to their dindin.

Once the puppies come,
she doesn't leave them alone
until they are about 2 weeks old.Last year, when one of the puppies
was born, Mom couldn't get it to
empty it's mouth.
Our Dad helped her and then the puppy
started breathing on it's own.
She's not prepared to
loose a puppy,
but she is realistic
and knows that might happen sometime.
But it will break her heart.....

Each puppy is weighed
at the time it is born,
and then it is weighed
every evening for the
first three weeks.
After that,
then they are weighed weekly.
A Scottie puppy
weighs about 8 ounces when it is born
and will almost double it's weight
the first week of it's life.

At three days old,
the puppies go to the vet
to have their
dewclaws removed.

Every day each puppy is imprinted
by rubbing between it's little toes,
turning it on it's back
holding it upside down for 5 seconds
and
holding it right side up
against your heart.
Dad is always happy to
help with this!!When they are born,
their ears aren't up straight,
but as the weeks go,
they start to straighten up
and by the time they
are ready to go
to their forever homes,
their ears are standing straight.
And their tails
look like upside down carrots.
And they have to have them
trimmed for the rest of
their life to keep this pleasing shape.

They get advice
from their Dad.

And fight
with their littermates.

They learn the
most efficient way
to escape from their box.

And how to love
their brothers and sisters.

But most of allthey introduce us to the

nicest people
while we are doing the interviews
to place them in
their forever homes.

You can have your TV and your nightclubs
You can have your drive-in picture shows
I'll sit here with my little pup near, we'll listen to the radio
Bidin' my time and watching Scotties grow.

XOXO
Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh and Java