Dog Pile

So, not quite three weeks ago, Troy and I got home from a quick anniversary trip to Montana.  I kind of like Montana, by the way.  Something about all that space...  and those cows.  But that's not what this is about.  When we returned from our trip, we discovered that our Livestock Guardian, Miss Tiberius (Tibby) was expecting.  Oh, we had warned her.  That Great Dane down the road is a player.  He only wants one thing.  She fought him off for a while.  But then she lost.  Apparently.  A moment of weakness. 

So, a week after we returned, she a gave birth to eight puppies.  They looked like Guinea Pigs.  They cried and whined, a lot. When you held them, they couldn't even hold their head up.  Their eyes were sealed shut, along with their ears.  But they were born with this amazing instinct:  to seek out their mother and find food!  We have five girls and three boys.  They all look like the Great Dane (whose name is Zeus, by the way) and not only that, but he hasn't visited once!  His owners and their kids have stopped by.  "Oh they are so cute, they are so sweet..."  Hold them, pet them, love them...  But they don't offer one dime of support.  (Really, I'm kidding here...)

Less than 12 hours old... Puppy in a Dish

Four of these babies are black with gorgeous white markings on their shoulders and faces.  One even has a white heart on her butt.  I call her HeartButt.  Four of them are black, with the tiniest bit of white on their feet and on the tips of their tails.

Watching a brand new mother dog is amazing!  She knew just what to do, from cleaning them up, cleaning herself up, to nursing them, to wiping their bottoms.  It makes me wonder if we mothers would also have these natural instincts, if we didn't have all these other expereinced mothers around telling us how to breast feed, how to rest, how to change a diaper...   She did not move from them for 3 days.  She would eat food we hand fed her, but would not get up to eat at all.  On the fourth day, she was up and ready to go for a walk.

A week and a half old

The babies started out scootching and lunging themselves around to get where they needed to be.  Now they are nearly walking, with a few steps, then a splat.  Their eyes are opening up.  Their sense of smell is incredible. Without being able to see, they can find the pile of puppies or their mother, purely from scent.

Puppy in a Dish at 1 and 1/2 weeks old

And the expression "DOG PILE"?  Well, now I know where that comes from!  Those babies are not happy unless they are lying in a large puppy pile, some buried, some on top!

These dogs will make great Guardians, for both home and livestock.  Both the Great Dane breed and the Pyrenees/Anatolian breeds are born to protect.  An added bonus... These dogs will be BIG!  Really Big!
Anyone want one?

At 1.5 weeks, his paws are larger than my fingers...