Day Nine
Month: July 2016
Photo Flashback – July 11th, 6 Days Old
Day Six
Photo Flashback- July 10th, 5 Days Old
Day Five
The Puppies Eat Solid Food!
Well, their first day of solid food on Monday was a good start… Light Blue, Orange, and Blue were my big champion eaters! Which is great, since they are some of the smaller pups in the litter.
Zen jumped in the box and started nursing them immediately after I set the food down – what timing, huh?
So it was a nice low pressure introduction to something new, and every puppy investigated a little. Some did more than investigate a little. Red, Purple and Orange all ate a surprising amount, considering they’d also just nursed. Light Blue and Blue REALLY chowed down, by the time it was all said and done. Light Blue immediately dozed off into a carbohydrate coma, sleeping on his back like a little Buddha. Poor Blue’s over indulgence led to him urping up a little and having an upset tummy.
Then, everybody needed to sleep it off.
On Tuesday, when I offered solid food again, Light Blue was once again at the front of the line. As I write this now, he’s gaining weight faster than he ever has before. Almost at twice the rate he was before. I think this is going to really agree with him!
The collective of pups ate everything I put out for them, and then most everything I refilled their bowls with (I’d made extra to set aside for a second feeding later).
Today is Wednesday, and they’re still nursing a regular schedule, though Zen is less and less interested in spending time with them when she’s not feeding them.
The Fire Litter – Cast of Characters
After the pups three week birthday earlier this week, and all the scads of photos I’ve posted so far without identifying anyone, I thought it was high time I got going and took some individual photos.
To be honest, I’ve been putting this off. I was looking online to see what other people were doing, and I was getting more than just a little bit intimidated. I could see, time and time again, the neatly stacked, clean, beautifully presented youngsters on page after page of random searches I checked out.
There was just gonna be no way that could happen here! For starters, it’s just me running the show. Can’t do much of anything if you’re behind the camera, besides plop the pup down somewhere safe with a nondistracting background and hope for the best. So, I beat down my inner perfectionist, and got to work. Today I’ll have a picture of everyone below, and over the next few days I’ll share some candids and a little bit of what I’ve discovered about the personalities of each pup.
Rita intends to make this a “Fire-Themed” litter. I can see why. It’s not just the redheads. There’s a lot of strength of will here. These guys are just a trip to be around!
So, with no further ado…
Girl #1 “Red”
Boy #2 “Blue”
Girl #3 “Pink”
Boy #4 “Orange”
Girl #5 “Light Green”
Boy #6 “Light Blue”
Girl #7 “Purple”
Boy # 8 “Green”
and our last minute surprise..
Girl #9 “Brown”
I’ll be doing those candids and more details on each pup over the next few days. Keep your eyes peeled.
Solid Food! How to Make a Mess of Mush
All right, I’ve been promising to get into this solid food thing for a while now, so it’s time I put up or shut up. So, hold on… here we go!
Remember our new partners from last week? Those sad sacks that still had something valuable to offer those pups? Well, those guys get to go to work NOW!
When DuMor powdered goat milk and BilJac Large Breed Puppy Food work together, they make absolute MAGIC! Palatable, digestible mushy food that even very young pups can ingest and keep down. It even smells nice. Kind of like a creamy vanilla milkshake. NOTHING like Zen’s nasty Green Tripe!
First, figure out what you’re going to serve it to the pups in, and about how much you’ll need. Little serving dishes are good. I shamelessly looted around in Rita’s kitchen, looking for likely candidates…
These 4 inch ones are just about right. There are 9 pups, and their noggins are still pretty little right now, so they can eat 3 to a bowl. I was thinking. “This should work for my crew.” Your mileage may vary, depending on the size and number of your pups.
I only put a couple handfuls of BilJak food in each bowl… and my hands are kind of small. I knew this was probably going to be overkill for the first time feeding any kind of solid, but I come from a long line of Ladies Who Cook. It’s in my genes to try to stuff small helpless creatures full of food. I can’t fight it.
Next, I whipped up the DuMor goat’s milk. And I do, literally, mean “whipped.” That nifty little gadget is a milk frother… also purloined from Rita’s kitchen. One of my friends told me once that if I ever did a cooking show, I’d be half Martha Stewart, and half Dexter’s Lab. Now, I kinda see what she meant by that…
Well, it may be weird, but it sure gets the job done. The goat’s milk reconstitutes nice and smooth and has a sweet, appealing smell. Puppies should like this a lot! Go ahead and pour it over the BilJak food, covering it up good.
As it soaks, it will expand. Remember, we’re not just trying to soften it up, we’re really trying to dissolve it. These pups have NO teeth at all. They’re just gumming it, at this stage. So we’re looking for something that will go down easy.
Enlarged, to show texture! Ha! Look at how it’s starting to break up. A little mashing around with a fork, a minute and a half in the microwave, and it’s warm and ready for their first taste-testing…
Tune in next time to see how it went. Muahaha! Mine is an evil laugh! You are my captive audience! You read this far hoping to see a puppy picture… you addict. Ok, well, here you go! Consider this a preview:
All right. I set them out. Do you think the puppies noticed, with mom in the box providing drinks at the nipple bar? Find out next time!
This cereal, er, serial story installment was brought to you by guest blogger C.T. (“Chel the Chef”) Griffith.
Your Daily Cute- Wednesday 7/27, Aria Borzoi Encore x Zen Litter
Happy Three Week Birthday, Little Puppies
Tuesday July 26th, 2016
Well, today’s the happy day! It’s the day the pups turn three weeks old. Everybody’s eyes and ears are working and in fine order, everyone can scamper around and get into trouble, and life is starting to get VERY interesting here!
Please consider this video an attempt at a “Group Family Portrait.” I actually shot individual photos of each of the pups to commemorate the special day. To tell the truth, I was a little intimidated and dreading it because I know what little hell raisers they can be, but they completely surprised me… and I have a surprise for you, too. I’ll be starting a new more on that when I start the new special feature called “Cast of Characters.” Tell you all about it tomorrow.
My goodness they are HUNGRY!
This Three Week Birthday Celebration was brought to you by guest blogger, house sitter and fantasy author C.T. (“Chelle”) Griffith. Nothing silly to say here today… just honored to be part of the experience. There are very few things in life better than a borzoi.
A Big Bowl of Ewwwww…
Over the years I’ve had to field a lot of questions about my borzois, and what they eat. In the early 90’s when I had my first borzois,it was usually just curiosity on the part of the asker, plain and simple. But in the last few years, with people going so rescue-crazy and people wanting to see villainy where none exists, there have been a lot of nosy questions about what I do – or do not – feed my dogs. I’ve even been accused of “starving my collies”… you know, for fashion.
People can be astoundingly dumb.
So, when I’ve had a few people writing in and asking about Zen’s diet the last couple weeks, it’s been a real pleasure to see that spirit of curiosity take back over, and get nice questions from nice people who are really just wanting to know what the nutritional requirements of such a beastie are – especially one that’s eating for ten!
Zen’s a petite girl, but man does she love to EAT – especially when I break out the good stuff! For the first couple weeks after the puppies were born she was kind of picky about finishing her meals, but that has really changed this last week. I’m sure part of that’s the demands of milk production, but I think the big change is that we added raw back into her diet.
At first she was getting a premium quality kibble, top dressed with a similar quality canned food, whole milk plain greek yogurt, a canine probiotic and an all-around mineral supplement. She also got a calcium supplement right after the puppies were born, and Fenugreek (an herb, in tablet form) to help her milk come in and keep flowing. She’d eat, she’d even clean her bowl, but it seemed kind of dutiful and not particularly joyful.
But then…
Oh yes, Zen… you’re not imagining that distinctive stench emanating from the kitchen. You’re having Green Tripe for dinner tonight! And breakfast, tomorrow! Green Tripe, an important part of YOUR balanced diet! Along with other totally gross stuff, like raw turkey necks and chicken backs.
Here’s what it looks like all mixed up. Hey, misery loves company. Enjoy the view. At least you don’t gotta smell the “phew!” 
This big bowl of gross brought to you by housesitter, hound hugger, guest blogger and fantasy author C.T. (“Chelle”) Griffith… who is really considering a genre change to Horror after this particular post.
Your Daily Cute- Tuesday 7/26, Aria Borzoi Encore x Zen Litter
Yesterday’s Highlights
On Monday we were busy preparing for the big day coming up – the pup’s 3 week birthday!
I have been clipping nails every three days and checking collars every single day to be sure they’re not too tight. On Monday, Blue outgrew his completely.
Zen watched me the whole time I bustled… something she’d never done before. She’s gotten real comfortable with me handling the puppies, even if they’re fussing, but she seemed kind of wistful.
Speaking of getting bigger, Red was able to figure out how to use the potty box right away. She’s the firstborn. She’s good for a lot of firsts!
Wow. They really ARE growing up.
“They can get as big as they want, but they can’t have my dinner!”
“Oh Zen…it’s ok. They’ll be doing solid food of their own real soon now. I promise, you don’t have to share.”
“Yay! Solid food! Soon!”
Today’s Daily Cute brought to you by borzoi fanatic and fantasy author C.T. (“Chel”) Griffith.
A Sitdown with the New Partners
Got a couple new players coming on board this next week. Meet Mr. BilJack and Mr. Dumor. I thought we’d have a sitdown, look at next week’s schedule, get up to speed and try to come up with a game plan.
On Tuesday, the pups will be 3 weeks old.
Now that the pups are getting bigger, they’re going to need more than just what Zen and I can provide for them. I know they don’t look like much, but each of these sad sacks bring years of experience to the table, and are good at giving growing puppies what they need.
Kinda looks like Mr. Dumor started the party without us, doesn’t it? 
This post brought to you by guest blogger and fantasy author C.T. (“Chel”) Griffith, housesitter and hound hugger and sack slinger at Aria Borzoi. Be sure to tip your waitress. Me’n the boys, Mr. Dumor and BilJack will be here all week!
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