HOME FAMILY History The Sire, Bisket The Dame, Matza The Son, Max Family & Friends The Good Life 1ST LITTER 2ND LITTER The Whelping 1st Month 2nd Month 3rd Month 3RD LITTER The Courtship The Pregnancy The Whelping Weeks 1 & 2 Weeks 3 & 4 Weeks 5 & 6 Weeks 7 & 8 Weeks 9 & 10 weeks 11 & 12 4TH LITTER To Be Announced INFO Breeder's License Breed FAQ Health Issues Purchase Policy Buying A Puppy? Contacts Welcome to My Yorkie-Poo Companion Pages! The 3rd Litter, Weeks 9 & 10 October 2004

The puppy play pen is impossible to keep clean any more. The water bowl is now a splash pool. Each takes a turn jumping and splashing in the water until they are completely wet and the newspapers are totally soaked. The wet paper is easily torn and ripped to pieces as the puppies chase each other around and try to yank the papers from underneath one another. The water and food bowls are readily overturned and become play toys. They each struggle to grip the bowls and pull the plates in their mouths to claim it as their own. The winner often ends up triumphantly sitting inside the bowl or on top of the plate.

Matza loves to join in and play with her puppies. Momma rolls around and lets the puppies jump all over her. She is also diligent in making sure the puppies are clean and well fed. She often brings food over to the puppies in her mouth to make sure they are well fed. She washes their tiny faces and checks for dirty behinds. Matza helps me keep the play pen clean by leading me right to where ever a puppy has gone potty. After Momma leaves and the playful puppy growls and barking have quieted, the puppies will curl up together into a pile, then they'll lick each other's faces until falling into a deep sleep.

As the puppies get older and their puppy fur grows longer they become much harder to tell one from another. The same is true of an adult Yorkie-Poo. Their actual size is hidden by their fluffy long hair. The only time you get to see the dog's real size is when you give them a bath and they are all wet. These pictures below were taken soon after the puppies had splashed about in the water bowl and their hair was almost dry.

A Thin Female She has a slightly fuller face than the other female with a little more brown color on the top of her head. Weighing in at eight weeks is 2.5 pounds of puppy with an approximate adult weight of 6.25 pounds.*

Another Thin Female A slightly shorter torso makes her the smallest puppy in the litter. Weighing in at eight weeks is 2.25 pounds of puppy with an approximate adult weight of 5.625 pounds.*

The Alpha Male A shorter torso that is wider in girth along with his slightly larger round head make him the largest puppy in the litter. Weighing in at eight weeks is 3.1 pounds of puppy with an approximate adult weight of 7.75 pounds.*

Another Male The remaining two males are virtually identical. One may have a slightly shorter torso. Weighing in at eight weeks is 2.9 pounds of puppy with an approximate adult weight of 7.25 pounds.*

And Another Male One of these last two males has a little more brown coloring than the other on the top of his head. Weighing in at eight weeks is 2.9 pounds of puppy with an approximate adult weight is 7.25 pounds.*

*The healthy adult weight is an approximation calculated at 2.5 times the puppy's weight at eight weeks of age, a formula given to me by my veterinarian. Several factors can effect the final estimated weight of your adult dog. An overfed pampered pet that doesn't get much exercise will be overweight. The length of your dogs hair can alter their weight. Genetics can also influence the final adult weight. Remember that Matza, the mother, is twelve pounds and Bisket's mother (The puppies grandparent) was half toy poodle also weighing about twelve pounds. Personally, I'd estimate an extra one or two pounds to the calculated adult weight for each puppy.

Momma didn't seem to mind too much that two of her babies had just left home. The three remaining puppies, however, seemed lost without the original alpha male and their other bouncy baby sister. Matza helped revitalize her offspring by visiting with them after a quiet nap and their next meal.

The puppies were soon back to their playful mischievousness. The inflatable baby pool could no longer contain their excitement. They wanted out. Sharp needle like teeth pulled and yanked the punctured center ring. They no longer had trouble seeing over the top of the pool, now 6 inches shorter. Matza pressed down on the side rings and the opposite side rose up. Puppies plopped down the outside , sliding over the top edge. At first they were cautious of their newfound freedom, until the overwhelming unexplored expanse beckoned them to loose control and run wild. There were new things to rip up and chew on everywhere the eye could see. Suddenly, they had things to do, places to go, and new people to meet . . . that is, until I put them back into the safety of their gated play pen lined with fresh dry papers.

Here the remaining female spends her last few days with her Mom and two brothers. She stands to the left of her mom, she's featured in the center photo, and above, sitting left of her two brothers. In the top of the bottom picture to the left she looks a little sad just after her bath, as if she somehow knows she's about to say goodbye to her fun loving doggy family. One last snuggle with her siblings before she's off to start a life of her own.

I mistakenly thought I'd have less work once some of the puppies had left the nest. Boy, was I wrong. They were older, more energetic and constantly leaving me messes to clean up. Half the time I couldn't even see the mess because, after chasing each other around, their favorite activity was to leave an even larger mess of ripped up newspaper that lined the play pen. I've been bending over so much -- oh, my poor aching back!

Continue to "Week 11"

A PET PEEVE PRODUCTION