My 2nd litter of puppies out of Sonic, this time sired by GCh Ch Fleetwing’s Force of the Moon (Tide), was born on Wednesday February 21, 2018. Sonic had the first one at 9:30 AM and finished up at about 2:00 PM. There are 8 puppies, 7 girls and 1 boy. They are six days old as I’m writing this. We have done 4 days of ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) and 3 days of ESI (Early Scent Introduction) so far. I’ll do Day 4 of ESI this afternoon.

Since they were born during the Winter Olympics, I have named them for various winter sports terms. In birth order, they are:

Twizzle – Pink
Luge – Yellow
Mogul – Blue (only boy)
Cork – Red
Stone – Peach -> Turquoise
Gate – Green
Rink – Purple
Puck – Orange

You can follow their growth here. The page gets updated automatically “about once a day” (so the software says). My thanks to my friend and fellow geek Kate Weber for setting this up for me!

Sonic had an ultrasound on Monday January 15, 2018 to confirm that she is pregnant and expecting at least 9 puppies! This litter is sired by Tide (BIS U-Ch, Can/Am GCh Fleetwings Force of the Moon). They are due on February 21, 2018. Having helped raise a friend’s litter sired by Tide, I am very excited for this litter. I’ll be updating the website more soon. If you are interested in this litter, please fill out my puppy questionnaire and drop me an email to this address: Adele’s email

Sonic’s breeder Wendy Tisdall is an accomplished photographer and has many beautiful pictures on her Flickr site. Here is an album of Sonic and her littermates growing up. Sonic was the hot pink collar girl. I especially love the series of the puppies with their funny right-angle droopy tails.

Here is an album of Sonic’s dad Dash (BISS Ch SHR Coastalight In Hot Pursuit CD WCI JH RN Am WC).

On Day 5 of Early Scent Introduction, I used some vanilla on a cotton pad. Here’s a video of the puppies’ reactions

On Day 6 of ESI, I used rosemary. They were almost all quite captivated by it. Here’s the video.

On Day 7 of ESI, I used a wooden dumbbell. I didn’t expect much reaction, as it has very little of its own scent. Here’s the video.

On Day 8 of ESI, I used a hank of a horse’s mane hair, thanks to Karen Bell supplying it. They really seemed to love it. Here’s the video.

In case you don’t this about me, I’m a computer geek. I majored in Computer Science in college and worked as a programmer for nearly 5 years before quitting to start Northfield Dog Training. Part of my geekiness comes out in my love of spreadsheets. I’ve been keeping a log of each puppies’ weights twice a day since they were born. The little green boy, Lil Pea, has been getting measured more times a day, to monitor his gains more carefully. Here is a chart I made in Excel of their 1st week’s weights:

On Monday February 22, the puppies’ 3rd day, we started both ESI – Early Scent Introduction – and ENS – Early Neurological Stimulation. For the ESI, I am introducing the puppies to a novel scent for 5 seconds to see how they react. I am following recommendations from the Avidog course Your Litter A to Z.

On February 22, the first day of both ESI and ENS, I used a small branch from last year’s Christmas tree. A few noticeably settled and scented, sniffing audibly. Here is a video of Day 1.

On the 2nd day, February 23 I used a handful of straw left over from a Barn Hunt trial in January. Most of the puppies were complaining about my waking them up, and there was a lot of hollering going on, but most of the puppies shut up and sniffed audibly when presented with the straw. It was quite a different result than Day 1. Here is a video of Day 2.

On February 24, the 3rd day of ESI and ENS, I used a thawed pigeon from my freezer storage. It did not elicit as much interest as the straw had. Here is a video of Day 3.

On Day 4, I used a cinnamon stick. Several of them seemed quite interested in it. Here is a video of Day 4.

Sonic gave birth to 9 puppies between 8:30 AM and 2:00 PM today! Right on schedule AND during daylight hours. She’s such a good cooperative girl. Seven boys and two girls. The first one, a boy, weighed in at a hefty 18 oz. The smallest is 9.5 ounces. Sonic seems to have figured out her job very quickly and the babies seem active and to have figured out their job of eating and sleeping.

Sonic’s temperature has been a bit lower today than yesterday. She has been licking her belly a lot today and has a bit of milk coming in. She didn’t want to eat her mid-day meal, but she did just eat some dinner. She has done some digging in the whelping box and is looking distinctly uncomfortable most of the time. She’s doing some panting, too. I hope for her sake that she whelps in the next 24 hours, but I suspect it will be more like 48 hours. But, heck, what do I know???

I spent a fair bit of time today finishing up preparations for the puppies arrival, including clearing as much extra stuff out of the whelping room as possible. I was able to install a baby gate in the doorway, while still allowing the door to shut.

We did go for nice walk in the bright morning sunshine. Sonic can still run, albeit without her usual grace. Here’s a brief video clip I took before we started our walk this morning.

Last night, Sonic and I slept in the whelping room to start getting her used to sleeping in the whelping box. She was a good girl and settled in it well. I’m glad I did, as it was COLD in there. I don’t think Sonic minded, but it was bad enough that I checked the heating vent at 1:30 am and discovered I’d shoved a box over the top of it. That helped explain it! I moved the thermometer in there this morning, so I’ll have a better idea of what it really is tonight.

I’ve done some more sewing of box liners today, finishing up the big 4 x 4 foot furry fleece one and getting a smaller quilted one done.

I have also slowed down the exercise efforts some this week, going on off leash runs instead of biking, so she can rest when she wants to. It is so strange seeing my gazelle thickening so much and slowing down. It is harder for her to lie down and get up than usual.

Sonic has been wanting to rest on my lap in the recliner lately, which is unusual. I have started to feel the puppies moving, which is terrically exciting.

I’ve added more pictures to the Expanding Waistline post. It is astonishing seeing her waist expand by 1/2″ to 1″ a day.

Today, I made a lot of progress on the whelping room. We – my son Ryan and I – got the big old tube TV out of the room, and the bed where I’ll sleep the first several nights put together. Then I put down the piece of vinyl flooring and got the whelping box that Helen Szostak loaned me assembled.