Bunny Babies

/1 Comment/in , /by

Bunny and Petal

Bunny and Petal, relaxing in the sun

Good news! An ultrasound this morning confirmed that Bunny is, indeed, with child. Apparently all of that plastic chewing has been fulfilling a necessary dietary gap in her prenatal diet. Even so, I think we’re going to insist she stick to actual food from now on (or at least until the kids arrive).

We saw two puppies on the ultrasound, complete with heart beats. There might have been one more, lurking in the background and acting all shy about having its photo taken, but we’re not counting on it. We’ll just call it two and be happy with that. Look for a ton of Bunny baby photos coming the end of February or so…

Delilah will be at day thirty by next weekend. As usual with her, we’re on again/off again – one minute we look and think “Yeah, she might be”, and the next we look and think “There’s no way”. As usual, Delilah has her own opinions on the subject.

Delilah says...

Yay for Puppies!

/5 Comments/in , , /by

Delilah says "I ain't birthin' no babies".

After a year and change for Delilah, and a year and half for Bunny, both girls have decided to take another shot at motherhood.

A house full of hormonal girls is making my life very interesting at the moment, and it’s about to get even more so with the arrival this weekend of the adorable – and very adolescent hormonal – Zeus, aka Bullmarket Absolut Notorious. In the space of a month, Zeus has gone from Mr. Innocent to Mr “I’ll Hump Anything That Moves”, so this should be fun vacation (for him, at least).

I’m crossing my fingers that Penelope will decide NOT to take part in the annual festive parade of hormones, as if she does I’ll have no other choice but to breed her. Her little brush with pyometra last time she was in season means that this cycle is do or die for her – it’s babies or spayed for our little Punky Princess. Personally, I’m hoping for puppies, but I’m hoping even more that she’ll go against the tide and wait until spring… or later.

For more details on puppy plans, check out our litter news page. Oh, and cross your fingers, because the last time we tried this, all of the girls missed. Breeding Frenchies sure is fun.

Butters’ Babies & the Big Boy

/4 Comments/in , /by
Three French Bulldog puppies

L to R - Lyra, Bon, Hammy

It’s funny how much more I notice the differences in the development in Butters’ litter, who I see once a week or so, compared to a litter that’s always underfoot.

With my own litters, I sometimes need to see and compare the photos that I take to really get a true feeling for how much they change over time. With Butters’ kids, the differences can sometimes be so striking as to leave me almost taken aback.

Last week, for example, the Big Boy (who Paula is calling Bonhomme) seemed to have lost his big, plush head. This week, it’s back, and with a vengeance. I now realize that he is going to be a slow maturing boy, growing into his headpiece over time, and likely looking his best at around two years or even older.

This doesn’t surprise me, when I think about it – his half sister Delilah did the exact same thing, losing her plush puppy head at about the same age, then slowly getting it back over time, until today, at three, her head is her best feature once again. I actually prefer these slower to mature head types – it means that they won’t end up with the huge, overdone ropes of wrinkles that we sometimes see in Frenchies, and which I find sort of coarse looking.

His sister is another type altogether – like her mother, she is what she is, meaning she likely won’t change in any significant ways between now and six months, other than to become more of what she is today. Leah is the same – Leah at a year is a just a bigger, more mature looking version of Leah at six weeks and six months. No curve balls or surprises in her development, which is always nice, but which usually comes in my girls, more so than in my boys.

Hammy, on the other hand, remains his adorable, grinning self – lighter in bone than his brother, and definitely not as ‘correct’, structurally, but still with a sort of unidentifiable ‘adorable’ factor that some puppies just have. Alvin had it, too. I can’t even put my finger on it, but it’s a combination of sweetness of expression and a permanently formed grin on their little faces that leaves them looking like the happiest puppies who’ve ever lived.

I can’t wait to see what I think of them next week, when they turn seven weeks old.

Photos after the cut, along with an awfully cute video.

Read more →

Butters’ Babies Weekend Update

/7 Comments/in , /by
Butters' French Bulldog puppies

Hammy, Lyra and their slothful Brother, Big Boy

I went for a visit with the Butters’ babies, and discovered Lyra (aka Princess Screamy Pants) and her brother Hammy hanging half way out of their wading pool, ready to make a break for freedom. Their brother, who I’m politely referring to as “Big Boy”, instead of as the more accurate “Fatty Pants”, was content to lie on his back, all four feet in the air, contemplating life and waiting for someone to feed him. He is also the puppy you might remember from last week’s video, where he was happily hanging upside down in Sarah’s arms. Slothful, yes – but also handsome!

Lyra is also growing into quite the beauty, with her one fawn hood giving her the look of a rakish pirate eye patch. She’s still got quite the mouth on her, as you’ll notice in the photos. A momentary deviation of attention away from her and onto either of her brothers brought on a screaming fit that reminds you that Frenchies aren’t known for their lyrical voices. It’s a good thing she’s pretty, because a career in musical theatre is not in the cards for her.

Mr Hamster dance continues to become the cute cartoon character he seems to be predestined to end up as. He’s still the color of a creamsicle, and he stills grins his big mouth grin almost all of the time. He’s going through a bit of the fuglies at the moment, but handsome is as handsome does, and in time he will likely grow back into a good looking boy. At the moment, he’s more of a paper bag style prince, so it’s a good thing he’s so amazingly lovable!

Photos after the cut, or on Flickr.

Read more →

Lazy French Bulldog Puppies

/5 Comments/in , /by
Hammy, aka the Creamsicle Puppy

Hammy, aka the Creamsicle Puppy

I went to visit the Butters’ babies, and discovered that somehow, over the last week and changed, they’ve morphed into from French Bulldog puppies into fat baby sloths.

The bigger boy, in particular, has decided that since he has milk on tap, and dedicated humans to pick him up every time he even squeaks, that there’s just no point in walking or doing anything else that burns energy. If he’s lying on his back and you pick him up, he’s quite content to just hang there in your hand, lying on his back with his fat tummy exposed to the world, contemplating the mysteries of life.

Creamsicle, aka Hammy, is happy to have you do whatever you want with him – put him on his back, hold him up in the air and make him do the Hammy Hamster dance, tickle his little toes until his belly wiggles like a bowl of jello.

Lyra, as Paula has named the girl, is a little bit more ambitious – she has one goal in life, and that goal is to get you to feed her. Everything she encounters is tested and tasted, in case it contains food. She also has that adorable Frenchie need to be picked up and carried everyplace – and of course, with a face like hers, it’s hard to say no. So, Lyra spends her every waking moment shrieking until some one comes to get her, or until her mom feeds her (mostly just to get her to shut up).

Butters has had just about enough of motherhood, thank you, and spends most of her time hiding in the corner and pretending that those fat little dumpling kids are no concern of hers. In this she joins the time honored tradition of her mother and half sisters, all of whom think that motherhood is basically just an excuse to hire nannies.

There’s a video of the sloth babies after the cut – the upside down puppy is the bigger boy, and later you’ll see Paula making Hammy do the Hamster dance. It’s amazing what you can get Frenchie puppies to do it you’re bored.

Photos are below the cut, after the video, or over on Flickr.

Read more →