Muchler's AKC Registered Chihuahuas

Clay is getting a little spunkier now but is still so relaxed when you cuddle him.  I love watching him learn to play, tumbling around finding his footing.  He is not quite as rolly polly any more and can get around quite well.  My hubby says he looks just like an Ewok when you lie him on his back in your hands lol.  He is learning to like his food, realizing the milk bar is coming around less frequently.  Ryleigh is slowly weaning him down.  Finally.  He needs to lose some of that chunk he put on being an only child.  He weighs 1 pound 7 ounces as of now.  He is my chunky monkey.  His head is becoming more beautiful every day and his coat gets lighter and lighter but is still full of so many colors, fawn, blue, black and white, some silvery looking hairs are still present on his chest.  It is hard to believe he is the little puppy that came out 4 weeks ago and looked black with white markings...or a black tri as many though.  No black tri here lol.  His coat is SO thick! 

I made him a little bed to take to his new home.  He seems to like it.  I will allow Ryleigh to sleep on it a few times before he leaves so he has a comfort smell when he gets to his new home.

Wow, it is hard to believe that 24 days ago Clay was just entering this world with eyes and ears sealed, completely dependant on his mother's care.  Now he is this little bundle of fluff learing to eat on his own with his cottage cheese and smooshie puppy food meals, learning to wrestle with his mommy, wanting to teeth on my fingers and yes, remarkably, using the puppy pads!  I am just amazed by the changes that have taken place in just a little over three weeks.  He loves to give kisses and snuggles and is so very relaxed with this content look in his eyes when you are holding him.  He also makes attempts to play "attack" with your fingers or Ryleigh when she enters the pool.  He is so fun to watch.  He is so chubby that he actually rolled completely over in an attempt to play yesterday, Bill and I had to laugh.  He will have a new mommy and daddy after January 8th.  I will miss cuddling with him and watching all the new things take place.  He will have a special place in my heart being my first litter, my litter of one.

Clay at 19 days old will be getting moved into the kiddie pool, he has now decided that the whelping box is NOT enough space for him to move around in.  He sits at the door to the whelping box and stares at Ryleigh on the outside, like HEY LET ME OUT TOO.   He had his nail trimmed for the first time today.  He laid so relaxed on his back in my lap and just patiently waited for me to find his microscopic nails.  They are so fine at this age and so very sharp.  Ryleigh will appreciate the tiny points being removed when he is nursing.  I always roll him over on his back and play with his feet so that he will be used to this when he is older.  I also mess with his mouth and ears to desensitize him from these areas.  He is such a laid back little guy.  He gives kisses to me every time I pick him up.  His coat is more gorgeous every day.  There are so many different colors in there.  He is definitely a long coat.  His ear hair and neck hair is really filling in and his coat is SO thick already. 

This picture shows some of the many colors he has...as you can see Ryleigh has very good milk and he doesn't miss a meal lol.

Clay's eyes are open.  He opened the left one on Friday and the right one on Saturday.  This picture below was a quick one taken on Sunday. I will have to try to get some new ones of him.  He is so darn cute!!  He has more gold undertones coming through every day.  He still has blue on his feet and legs and silver scattered throughout his tummy and chest hair.  He loves when I hold him cradled in my hands belly up and give him kisses.  He is such a cuddle bug, right up under your chin, along your neck, that seems to be his favorit spot.  He scoots around the whelping box now.  He already tries to give little kisses when I put my face to his, I just love his puppy breath. 

Clay has decided he has had enough laying around like a lump and has decided to attempt sitting up and walking...well scooting.  I think he got two half way decent steps in and then he decided to take a nap lol.

Wow those two weeks have gone so fast.  It is amazing to see the changes in Clay.  He went from looking like a black with white markings immediately at birth, to then a potential black tri as his feet starting drying, then an hour later he looked to have either a blue or chocolate hue to his fur depending on the lighting.  Now he is a sable with lighter undertones coming through more and more every day with bluish/tan feet and legs.  He is just the cutest thing.  When I cuddle him in my hands belly up he looks like a little bear cub.  He may potentially be a long coat.  His fur around his neck and ears looks to be a little longer than the rest of his body but he may just be a double smooth like his mommy.  I expect his little eyes to open any day now as he has a teeny tiny crack opening in the inner corner of his eye. 

He went from this at 15 hours old:

To this at two weeks:

Well starting at 2 a.m. on 11/13 Ryleigh's temperature was staying in the 97.9-98.1 range so knew we were on our way to welcoming our "singleton".  She started nesting at the same time, I thought for sure she was going to dig her way to China.  The panting then started at 1:40 and she was very restless, moving around about every 5 seconds trying to find a comfortable sleep position.  Her water sack broke around 5 p.m. and we welcomed the little bundle into the world at 6 p.m.  Ryleigh was a pro, she jumped right in and knew exactly what needed to be done.  She had absolutely no difficulty whelping him, three good pushes and he was out!  He weighed in at 4.64 ounces, a nice healthy size. 

His color has me baffled.  I thought at first black with white markings, then as he started to dry his feet showed a slight hint of fawn.  When you look at him he looks to be a black tri, but up against mommy he has a brown sheen to his coat.  At times he has a blue hue, especially to his tan markings on his feet.  Maybe those hues and sheens will all fade with time and he will be a strong glossy black like his mommy.  No matter the color, he is perfect, and his health is the most important thing. 

Here he is an hour after birth. You can see the slight difference in his coat color compared to Ryleighs.

Ryleigh had her x-ray done yesterday.  She is carry one puppy, which is quite common for a first litter but as early as she started showing was unexpected.  She has gained 11 ounces.  The vet said she looks great.  Her pelvis is nice and wide and she should have no problems free-whelping this puppy.  The vet said that she thinks she will go by this weekend.  Her temperature was 99.5 this morning.  

• You might want to start taking the dams rectal temperature each morning and evening.
• Twelve to 24 hours before she is due to deliver, the dams rectal temperature may drop from 101 to 98 degrees.
• Clear discharge from the vulva might occur.
• Expected date of whelp 11/17, day 63. Of course this is just an average. Whelping may take place at any time. Puppies born before the 58th day will probably be too young to survive.

Ryleigh is starting week 8 today.  She has definitely been getting a lot more sleep lately.  Her whelping box has been up since last weekend, she keeps investigating it.  The first night it was up Chopper went and got in there instead lol.  He is so silly.  I guess he thought there was enough room they could share.  We have her x-ray scheduled for 11/10 to see how many we have in there and to be sure there will be no problems with whelping on her own. 

Ryleigh is entering the 7th week of gestation.  She is enjoying her quiet time, resting and relaxing in the sun seems to be her passion right now.  Her hour glass figure is gone lol.  When looking down on her she no longer has a waist line lol.  She is loving the belly rubs she gets.  Getting a list of all my supplies I need...want to be prepared and have everything together.  Will be preparing the whelping box in this next week.   

Now and over the next couple of weeks:

• It's very easy now to feel the puppies, counting them might be a bit more difficult.
• Dam begins to spend a lot more time in self-grooming.
• Her breasts become even more swollen.
• She may become a bit restless and begin to search for a suitable place to have her puppies.  Time to prepare the whelping box...don't want any puppies born in the closet or at the foot of the bed lol.
• The dam might lose her appetite during this period. Her abdomen can be crowded with puppies.
• It is better to feed several smaller meals spaced throughout the day.
• You can easily detect abdominal movement now.

Ryleigh begins week 6 today.  Her appetite is starting to pick up slightly.  Normally she is fed lunch and dinner, I started breaking her meals into threes last week so I could get her used to having breakfast.  She ate all her breakfast this morning and completed her lunch, which had been slightly increased today, she ate all her dinner but about 5 pieces, so definitely more hungry than before lol.  She takes lots of naps but still enjoys her walks around the neighborhood in the evening and wrestingly around with Chopper (our neutered male chi).  She loves sitting in the fall sun right now that shines in the office window, soaking up the rays.  She loves when you ask if there there are babies in there when you rub her belly.  Her eyes are so full of love and she wags her tail excitedly.  Her belly is bigger than this time last week, not a significant amount but noticable.  Dreamt she had 5 puppies, two nights ago, 3 girls and 2 boys.  That would be great as we have a lot of interest in this litter.

During this phase of pregnancy:

The dams abdomen starts to get bigger.