2-13-11 Update -- Ten weeks old today, the combined weight of the puppies now exceeds that of an adult capybara (130#...or so). Today's photos will be the last weekly pics; we will now go to an every-two-weeks update cycle, as not much changes from week to week. Weights will also be updated every two weeks. Most of the pups weren't feeling very photogenic today, so portraits were somewhat problematic; wiggling was the order of the day, as was looking everywhere but where we wanted. Visualize a bucket of eels, and you'll get the idea. Their menu remains the same as last week...but with increased quantities: breakfast now requires 7 cups of kibble (yep...that's 7/8 cup per puppy!); they devour slightly less kibble at other meals. Slightly. Raspberry holds sole title to "Buffalo of the Week" at 18½ lbs. Cucumber and Zucchini are tied for the Delicate Flower this week: "only" 16¼ lbs. Papaya gained an impressive 3¼ lbs. Their Mom, Rhubarb, weighed 16½ lbs at this age, so everything looks about right. We're going to add a 3rd dish at mealtime; 4 of these critters is a very full house around a puppy bowl, and they're all tall enough to eat from an adult bowl (good thing, since we only have two puppy dishes). The "Great Puppy Sorting" will be held tomorrow. We'll get together with a couple of other Basset-savvy folks and try to make intelligent judgements about who has show potential, and who's most likely to become a cherished pet. We already know that Cucumber is a pet, and will ultimately relocate to Amarillo to live with his Auntie Cranberry; and that Raspberry (also a pet) will be moving to El Paso to be a spoiled house-Basset. 2-6-11 Update -- The big excitement this week was the expansion of the Puppy Empire. It had become evident that 8 capybara-sized puppies were not going to be comfortable in Puppy Empire II for much longer, so PE III was born: it's 40 sq ft larger and features a third crate (four of these critters in a 24x36" crate is a very full crate); they have more play area, more potty space, and more fence to line up along and bark at Mom. So far, PE III is a big hit. Appetites are stunning! We're no longer serving Gerber's baby veggies with dinner, having migrated to people veggies (peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes), which they find quite delicious. The veggies always disappear first, then they attack the kibble. They continue to get canned meat (Iam's Puppy) with their luncheon kibble, and chicken broth with late supper. Breakfast could be anything; they're so ravenous at 7AM they would likely devour their feeder if she dared enter the Empire empty-handed. Now a boisterous 9 weeks old, the puppies are becoming much more difficult to pose for their Sunday portraits (especially the uncomforable "show stack"). There are just too many things they'd rather be doing. Once again, they've outgrown the basket we use to weigh them in; next week, we'll consider a laundry basket and a truck scale. We have a tie for "Buffalo of the Week": Parsnip and Raspberry both weigh an impressive 15 lbs 8 ozs. Papaya is again our Delicate Flower, tipping the scales at a "dainty" 13 lbs 4 ozs. The greatest weight gain was posted by Zucchini (a/k/a "Zupotamus"), who packed on 3 lbs. 1-30 -11 Update -- The babies get to spend longer periods loose in the garage (without the adult Hounds), and greatly enjoy playing with their many toys. The favorites are the "cat cube" (which they can crawl in and out of), the pieces of knotted rope (tug-o-wars), the tunnel (a trash can with no bottom), and empty plastic water bottles (also Mom's favorite toy). These periods are accompanied by much woofing, growling and snarling, and (no matter how many times they've already gone) much pottying. Sometimes, one or the other adults gets to participate, and all are thrilled. Now eight weeks, their ears are usually dragging the ground (or marinating in one of the water dishes), and they often trip when stepping on those dainty appendages. Their feet look truly enormous, and they've become much more stable on them as they dash hither and thither across the garage. Often, a visiting (or resident) human will get on the ground with them, and this is a great event; they love to climb over every part of said human, taking small nibbles of clothing, shoes (especially laces), and exposed skin. We have another 3-way tie for "Buffalo of the Week: Parsnip, Raspberry and Tomato all weighed an impressive 13 lbs 8 ozs. Papaya is the Delicate Flower this week, tipping the scales at a dainty 11 lbs 12 ozs. The greatest weight gains were posted by Tomato, Peaches and Raspberry, each gaining 2 lbs. They devour a 20# bag of puppy kibble every two days (plus canned meat & baby vegetables)! 1-23-11 Update -- At seven weeks, the pups are really starting to look like little Basset Hounds: ears are growing rapidly, feet appear huge, plus they're sleeping less and playing more. This morning, both Grandmother and Mom got to individually spend "private time" with the babies loose in the garage (no other adults present); they were just thrilled, and both behaved like responsible parents. The puppies also clearly enjoyed themselves, climbing all over the adults. Even without big Hounds, the puppies relish their time loose in the garage; they manage to get into everything. Papaya managed to find his way into the doggie tunnel to the yard, but then couldn't figure out which way to go; we had to search for and rescue him when we turned up one puppy short. We have a 3-way tie for "Buffalo of the Week: Cucumber, Raspberry and Tomato all weighed an impressive 11 lbs 8 ozs. Zucchini is the Delicate Flower this week, tipping the scales at a dainty 10 lbs 1 oz (she may need a few supplemental "specialty" meals). The greatest weight gains were posted by Cucumber and Raspberry, each gaining 2 lbs 12 ozs. 1-16-11 Update -- Another event-filled week: The pups now have broth-enriched kibble for all four of their daily meals (each puppy eats 2+ cups per day); Mom's milk has finally dried up; the Puppy Empire has been expanded to accommodate the rapidly growing brood (they now have a second crate, more potty space and a "nap corner"). Personalities are becoming much more distinct, and they're all becoming a bit rowdier...except during nap times. Today, all the babies will begin their Leash Training. We have "formalized" the human visitations: each visitor now gets a check sheet to ensure that they handle, cuddle and talk to each puppy so we can maximize their exposure to less-familiar folks; as it was developing, everybody wanted to pick up the same puppies (eg, Zucchini), and some were getting too little human contact. This is already paying off. You may notice colored tail tips on Broccoli and Peaches; this aids us in picking them our of a seething mass of black and white fur. Weights are more closely grouped at 6 weeks: Parsnip wins our "Buffalo of the Week" award, tipping the scales at an impressive 9 pounds 1 ozs (up markedly from the 7 lbs 4 ozs last week). Peaches is this week's Delicate Flower, weighing in at 8 lbs 10 ozs. Papaya was the big weight-gainer, adding 2 lb 14 ozs during the week (he had a couple of special feedings). 1-9-11 Update -- Much has happened this week: puppies have moved to the Puppy Empire in the garage (and we got our kitchen back); they're completely off of Mom's milk, now having four large meals per day, alternating between baby cereal with formula and softened puppy kibble (often flavored with chicken broth...of which we have gallons); and the babies have begun to paper-train themselves. Rhubarb visits the puppies (with her T-shirt on) twice a day, but sleeps with her Mom and sister Mango. Puppy play time has become quite entertaining: much growling and snarling, punctuated by occasional yelps (when someone bites a bit too hard). They run around the Empire at great speed, rarely stumbling. Their favorite hiding place is the crate (covered with blankets) at the end of the Empire; we often find all eight asleep in the crate in a massive pile of fur. As you can see in the photos, ears are now growing rapidly. If you're curious as to how the babies' markings may change over the next year or so, take a look at Rhubarb at 5 weeks of age -- just click on MORE RHUBARB PHOTOS below and scroll down to almost the bottom of her page. She looks surprisingly like most of her puppies. At 5 weeks, Raspberry once again wins the "Buffalo of the Week" award, tipping the scales at an impressive 7 pounds 9 ozs (up markedly from the 5 lbs 13 ozs last week). Papaya is this week's Delicate Flower, weighing in at 6 lbs 2 ozs. Cucumber was the big weight-gainer, adding 2 lb 5 ozs during the week. Their first week on kibble has produced some significant weight gain (although Papaya may need special feedings). 1-2-11 Update -- Lots of happenings this past week: mobility has increased dramatically, play has become more frequent and is accompanied by growls and occasional barks, and a few adventuresome puppies have discovered how to escape the whelping box and doze with Mom on her (previously) private bed. Now 4 weeks old and starting to show real Bassets ears, they have baby cereal mixed with formula 4 times each day; what a spectacle! Rhubarb really appreciates the feeding assistance, as the babies drain her quickly whenever she braves the sharp little teeth to nurse them. We'll give them their first meal of high-softened puppy kibble about Tuesday, and (hopefully) we can ease them off of Mom by next weekend. Raspberry again wins the "Buffalo of the Week" award, tipping the scales at an impressive 5 pounds 13 ozs (up markedly from the 4 lbs 0 ozs last week). Zucchini is our Delicate Flower, weighing in at 4 lbs 9 ozs. Parsnip was the big weight-gainer, adding 1 lb 13 ozs during the week. 12-26-10 Update -- At 3 weeks, the puppies are becoming highly mobile and are just beginning to develop individual personalities. They've also started to play among themselves, even batting at Mom. Several have developed the Basset habit of sleeping on their backs, little pink tummies exposed. At least four of the babies are going to be freckled; you can see lots of little spots very clearly now, liberally distributed over their bodies. Today, they all had their first taste of baby cereal (Gerber's rice) mixed with formula. It took them a minute to get the idea, and then lapping ensued; Parsnip was a real glutton, and kept whining for more. As expected, more of the cereal ends up on the outside of the puppy than on the inside...but this was an opportunity for Mom. We used our tried-and-proven Puppy Trough for the big event, and will definitely need to assemble a second trough to allow regular feedings. We'll do this every day now, relieving some of the demand on Mom and enabling a real growth spurt. Raspberry wins the "Buffalo of the Week" award, tipping the scales at an impressive four pounds (up markedly from the 2 lbs 11 ozs last week). Tomato and Zucchini are tied for Delicate Flower, weighing in at 3 lbs 4 ozs. 12-19-10 Update -- The puppies are 2 weeks old today, and their eyes are now open. Growth is visible daily; not sure how Mom produces enough milk for everybody, but they all have full tummies and sleep like little logs. They posed for their Christmas group portrait (see below) this morning -- all of them -- at one time; sort of like herding lizards. Now everybody has a (semi-) permanent name: Broccoli, Cucumber, Papaya, Parsnip, Peaches, Raspberry, Tomato and Zucchini. A delicious mix of fruits and veggies! Peaches will be our keeper. Pineapple and Mango both got to visit the puppies on Friday; both seem to have a strong urge to clean and nuzzle them, and both are very gentle and almost ballerina-like (a Basset ballerina?) with their steps. Rhubarb is doing better overnight; she can usually make it until about 6AM before the need to go overwhelms her and she summons one of us. She devours the equivalent of one adult wildebeeste every day (plus rice and cottage cheese), and appears to have regained a pound or so of all the weight she lost. 12-12-10 Update -- OOPS! While inventorying the babies this AM, we discovered that one of the girls is actually one of the boys! Yep...there are officially 4 boys and 4 girls. It's a long and convoluted story, but suffice it to say the Counting Room staff will be severely reprimanded. The puppies are one week old today, and the growth over the last 7 days is amazing; at birth, they were about the size of hefty white rats, and now they're more guinea pig size. We're trying to give them supplemental formula, as they completely drain Mom at feedings; some are more receptive to the bottle than others. Pineapple got to nuzzle a couple of her Grandpuppies yesterday, and was just thrilled. No one has a permanent name yet, but the list hasn't changed: if we could just figure out who's Peaches, who's Cucumber and who is Tomato, it would probably be a lot easier. The brown coloration is really coming in fast now, as you can see in some of the photos...and, yes, it's still a challenge to get a clear photo of the little squirmers. Rhubarb consumes so much chicken broth and water with her other food, that she can't make it thru the night; hence, one of us gets to put on something warm between 3 and 4AM and take her out to potty. What fun! Turkey Loaf (from the pet store) was added to the menu today, and was an instant hit. Pineapple and Mango are behaving better (ie, quieter) overnight, having somewhat adjusted to Rhubarb not being with them. 12-8-10 Update -- Everyone got weighed and photographed today; weights were between 13 and 16 ounces. Since they all look alike, telling them apart is a challenge; hence, they've been assigned temporary pseudonyms: Boy 1, Boy 2, Boy 3, Girl 1, etc. etc., thru Girl 5. They'll get real names in a week or so; "for sure" names will be Cucumber, Papaya, Peaches and Tomato; the other four will draw names from Apricot, Broccoli, Nectarine, Parsnip, Raspberry and Zucchini. Keep in mind that tri-colored Bassets are all born black and white; brown starts to appear after birth (and already has). Kindly forgive the blurry photos: since we can't use a flash yet, it's like trying to photograph very active eels in a dimly lit closet. Rhubarb continues eating like a T-Rex: chicken thighs, cottage cheese, rice w/ broth, scrambled eggs, ground beef, and viscera (liver?) are favorites, plus gallons of water. Everybody is generally quiet, except when Mom (frequently) decides the babies need to be rearranged; then there's 5 minutes of squeaking, grunting and snorting, followed by more silence.