Christmas Star Litter
Free whelped on 2-24-22 between 1-7 PM
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Mr. Jingles (Pickwick's Jingle Bell Rock, then Pickwick's BamaLamaLoo) (new name: Lil Riccie)
Now lives in New Orleans 
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Dam: Stella Artois (Pickwick's Watching the Stars Align)
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Sire: Porthos (CH Dixie's De Treville Porthos)
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Mr. Jingles (Pickwick's Jingle Bell Rock) - New Name Lil Riccie
Lil Riccie lives in New Orleans with his musician parents (you can often see him with his bass player dad at the Bierhalle ....
Lil Riccie also is the mascot for the record label Pugnacious Records
Lil Riccie has traveled the world with his Blues Musician mom Ghalia Volt . . . .
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Buddy (new name Murphy) - (Pickwick's I Just Like to Smile):
Murphy lives in Hickory, NC with his awesome humans. Here he is on Gotcha Day driving to his new home (plus one nostalgic photo from when he was snuggling with Gumby in the whelping box as a very young puppy) along with some more recent photos they have shared.
Rudy (new name Parker) (Pickwick's You'll Go Down in History):
Holly (Pickwick's Have a Cup of Cheer) (New name Rosalina - new registered name Pickwick's Guardian of the Universe)
Rosalina lives in Georgia with her human family of some amazing boys and parents plus another beautiful pug named Luna. She is such a good lil sis.
Noel (new name Scarlett) (Pickwick's Follow the Star):
Scarlett stayed on with us for a good while to grow up and she did indeed become as beautiful as we had hoped for .... inside and out. Alas, we felt she could use a bit more bone (fatter legs) and, despite our reluctance because we loved her so, we decided to place her as a companion with an amazing family in Virginia. A treat beyond anything imaginable was to get to see her in her home with her family when attending the Pug Dog Club of America's National conference in Virginia Beach. We got to go out to dinner and Scarlett greeted Amy with the most heartfelt hug. She had not forgotten us! In her short career as a show girl, Scarlett had a lot of adventures and won many awards and ribbons such as Winners Bitch (that's the best you can get for a class dog and where you get your championship points). Here is Scarlett at the Mobile dog show meeting some Southern Belles. (Those dresses made a lot of swooshie sounds!)
Here is Scarlett at a show in Vermont and Maryland, where she won Best of Breed in the 4-6 Puppy Class:
Scarlett and her cousin Bridget and Aunt Princess Buttercup had a blast on a roadtrip helping Parker reclaim his championship point (a clerical error caused him to have to "finish" his championship twice). They had a blast traveling through Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, New York, and even got to visit a dog park beach and hike in the Adirondack mountains! Their favorite was probably either seeing the black bear (not) or the ice cream in Pennsylvania! They also got to taste a maple smoothie in Vermont.
Nic (new name Hooch) (Pickwick's Whisper What You'll Bring to Me):
Hooch lives in Florida with Stella who is from the New Years Eve Litter with the most amazing parents who have cared for him beyond what any owner should have to do after he developed a condition which required surgery. Had they not been so in tune with his change of behavior, and had their vet not been so amazing, they wouldn't have caught this. They are incredible and he is so blessed to be their furbaby child. Stella's kennel name was "Dottie" (her nickname was Dottie the Diva) and she keeps Hooch in line. Thank you to his owners for caring for him and Stella!
Blog - The Adventure!
Note: We'll be updating these posts backwards, with the most recent ones at the top.
Puppy temperament Tests
Load the clicker!
Clicker training with puppy gruel can be MESSY!
Clicker training with puppy gruel can be MESSY!
4 Week Check-Up with the Vet!
The pups had their 4 week wellness checkup and our vet listened to their hearts and lungs ... made sure they were doing well! We have introduced gruel and we are also now supplementing with formula (licking out of syringe) but Stella is still letting them nurse. What a trooper she is, because those teeth are coming in!
Daytime Slumber Party!
On Sunday, we had an exciting "first" for them which was to have a puppy slumber party (ok, just a brief afternoon meetup party) in the xpen in the den (where they visit during the day). They got to snuggle and mingle with Buttercup's New year's Eve Litter pups! What a hoot that was having 11 wiggling puppies ... that was a first for us as we have never had multiple litters before. Now that they can lick and swallow soft gruel-like foods, we have started "loading the clicker" and even worked on luring. Since they're still getting their sea legs ;) we have a ways to go on that see-saw (a baby version I made) but their time on the fit paws and balance discs and such really help their development.
Our Training Assistant
Our senior pug Sebastian loves to 'help' train the puppies. He knows part of his job as a helper is to lick the gruel plate clean afterwards ;)
Day 18
New texture and experience for day 18. Faux fur and "swinging", plus a sponge bath and blow dry with eyes open now…and NO FEAR! because they are already used to the feeling of warm air and hairdryer with our protocols we did before their eyes opened.
Tummy Rubs!
The pups are proud of their poop!
The pups are starting to be able to eliminate on their own sometimes now. However, this can be a bit messy as they still don't walk, so they crawl around and roll around and just have a grand 'ole time in the poo. Nic was the most virtuosic poo roller of all, so he got a sponge bath and blow dry. Thanks to the protocols we did with the hair dryer prior to their eyes/ears opening, the hair dryer wasn't scary for him now that his eyes are open. (However, their ears are not open yet .... we do the 'Startle response' protocol several times each day to see when their ears will open. In the meantime, we've added the Puppy Playlist for good portions of the day (mostly classical music). Even if the pups can't hear yet, it's soothing for the mamas and awesome for nursing.
Here's Nic (Pickwick's Whisper What You'll Bring to Me) being quite proud of himself.
Here's Nic (Pickwick's Whisper What You'll Bring to Me) being quite proud of himself.
Days 13-14 Eyes Opening!!
Stimulate the GR Gene - Textures
Mischievous puppies plot a scheme
Day 12:
Pups go to church!
Nic says hi to Nic (human Nic, an awesome tenor who sings in Jeff's choir) . . .
Day 10
Weight doubled with all 6 puppies!! An important goal we shoot for with neonates is to make sure their weight doubles by day 10. This is always a wonderful sign that things are moving in the right direction.
Weight doubled with all 6 puppies!! An important goal we shoot for with neonates is to make sure their weight doubles by day 10. This is always a wonderful sign that things are moving in the right direction.
Week 1 . . . .
BLOG: The adventure . . . . . Before Pups . . . .
Typical of a pug, Stella chose the Christmas holidays for her timing ;) which meant the vet was not open for progesterone testing. So, we made an attempt at guessing and, on Christmas Day, 2021, the first AI was completed (hence the name of the litter!) We repeated a 2nd AI a couple of days later so, if successful, Stella and Porthos will be such a wonderful match.
Porthos was the sire of our "Stars Fell on Alabama" Litter fall 2020 with Miss Dior and their amazing puppies live all over the country. Stella is much more petite than Miss Dior (actually, Stella is the correct size ;) and brings to the table a beautiful, feminine face, super soft coat (which comes from her father, Bazinga, CH Hill Country's Big Bang theory. She's a half sister to "Biggie" ( MBIS/MBISS GCHP Hill Country's Puttin' On the Ritz) who is also sired by Bazinga. Porthos brings to the table one of the most gorgeous faces you have ever seen and an incredible temperament as well as bone, pigment, head, and so much more. We are hopeful with this litter! Stella is PDE N/S and Porthos is PDE N/N. Many thanks to Porthos' breeder, Verlene for allowing us to use her beautiful and adorable Porthos.
Stella definitely waddles now with just 2 weeks to go before her scheduled c-section. Here she is enjoying a morning 'waddle walk' with her sisters on a gorgeous February day 2/13/22:
Porthos was the sire of our "Stars Fell on Alabama" Litter fall 2020 with Miss Dior and their amazing puppies live all over the country. Stella is much more petite than Miss Dior (actually, Stella is the correct size ;) and brings to the table a beautiful, feminine face, super soft coat (which comes from her father, Bazinga, CH Hill Country's Big Bang theory. She's a half sister to "Biggie" ( MBIS/MBISS GCHP Hill Country's Puttin' On the Ritz) who is also sired by Bazinga. Porthos brings to the table one of the most gorgeous faces you have ever seen and an incredible temperament as well as bone, pigment, head, and so much more. We are hopeful with this litter! Stella is PDE N/S and Porthos is PDE N/N. Many thanks to Porthos' breeder, Verlene for allowing us to use her beautiful and adorable Porthos.
Stella definitely waddles now with just 2 weeks to go before her scheduled c-section. Here she is enjoying a morning 'waddle walk' with her sisters on a gorgeous February day 2/13/22:
Green tripe, along with the chicken paws we also ordered, should be a winner, though, so we will await that delivery. We also ordered some whole ground beaver, freeze dried hearts and such from MyPetCarnivore.com. The Beaver is high in fat (which will be important later in the pregnancy) and, also, they love it. They also always love hearts .... so we ordered some Chicken hearts (both raw and freeze-dried) for snacks.
Until the tripe arrives we will just have to keep shoving that Folic Acid capsule, and the OxyMate and Probiotic chew tablets down poor Stella's throat. She's too smart and finicky right now for us to try and 'hide' the supplements in her food! We are also cleaning and organizing the nursery - sterilizing the equipment, double-checking heating pads, nebulizer, oxygenator, incubator, flashlight, cool mist humidifier, and other equipment. The thermometer will be put to use a lot, so we will replace those batteries. Sooner than later, we will go ahead and let Stella start sleeping in the Nursery and have her peace and quiet away from the rest of the grumble.
We finally found something she likes! Chicken gizzards (though we can't eat too much of this because of too much calcium) and baked chicken. Ofcourse, it must be hand fed . . . .
Stella is so funny in the morning --- she loves shake and hi-5 so she always offers that instead of letting us get her out her crate lol. Usually she will alternate offering Right and Left paw ;)
Pregnant girls are usually very needy and affectionate so we make sure to give each one plenty of laptime and snuggles. Here's Stella watching tv with her dad. You can tell she's showing! We should be able to feel the pups move soon.
Stella is the MOST amazing mother. Not only did she make free whelping 6 puppies look easy, she is also fantastic at nursing, licking the puppies, keeping the whelping area clean, eating, and staying still while nursing. And did we mention that the dark beer brought the milk in beautifully? Puppies are gaining weight each day and doing well. In fact, they were up for a fashion show on their 4th day of life . . . . Coco De Chewnel is their favorite designer . . . .
Click here to go to the blog page for our Spring 2022 litters. We will be updating the Blog regularly while this page less frequently.
Puppies' visitors: Amy, Jeff, Nicki, Allen, Jana, Amelia, Karen, Deb, Rosalyn, Jeff J, Sonny, Susan, Heather, MC, Kate, Jimmy, Emily, Rita, Sally, Janet, Shelby, Rachael, Rhonda
AI: 12.25.21 and 12.28.21
Scheduled Radiograph: 2.24.22
Scheduled C-Section: 2.26.22 (not needed! She free whelped 5 puppies on 2-24-22 between 1-7 PM). We used this appointment time for dewclaw removal instead!
Scheduled Radiograph: 2.24.22
Scheduled C-Section: 2.26.22 (not needed! She free whelped 5 puppies on 2-24-22 between 1-7 PM). We used this appointment time for dewclaw removal instead!
If you would like to become a part of the Pickwick Pugs family please contact us or, if you are interested in being considered as a future Pickwick pug owner, please complete the inquiry form so that we can get to know you better! We look forward to hearing from you!
