Six Week Vet Check!

Last evening was this litter's official six-week-old vet check.

And a grand time was had by all. ;o)

First, the little guys weren't too sure about the car ride. We'd already started exposing them to the crates in the pen outside, just as a place to play and hide, so the crates were okay by them. They just weren't sure about this dark, noisy, vibrating cave (aka the van):


Once at the vet's, it was time for the wagon ride. This was an improvement as far as the pups were concerned.


The staff, of course, ooohed and aaahed about the puppies (told us how great they looked compared to the other litters they see -- made me feel good about what we do):


Then it was the pups' turn to go into The Room (imagine music from the shower scene in the movie Psycho!). ;o)

First, a vet tech weighed each pup, with DH helping, of course. They range in weight from 11 pounds (Mr. Black) to just over 14 pounds (Mr. Blue): here's Mr. Red:


Next, Dr. Wagner (the vet we love so much, and who on the phone walked me through tube feeding Mr. Black, and who walked with us through putting down our two earlier Labs when it was time...he's a great guy -- oh, and notice his appropriately RED shirt, for "Yay, Phillies!")...anyway, Dr. Wagner came in for our preliminary chat (the "how's it goin" debrief).

And then it was time for...

heart checks (all did fabulously and sound great, except Miss Pink who has a very, very soft murmur -- explained toward the end of this post): this is Miss Sky...


joint and range of motion checks (everyone is fabulous): this is Mr. Blue...


ear, mouth, teeth, and jaw alignment checks (everybody's terrific!): this is Mr. White -- and, yes, he has a new collar with WHITE on it as opposed to solid color...


the yee-haw testicle check for the boys (making sure they have both and checking their descent) (everybody's got 'em all, and they're in various stages of descent as they should be at this age): this is Mr. Blue again...


and then...

routine deworming (Mr. Black was so relaxed on the table... hanging out on his back, that Dr Wagner just decided to give him his dewormer just as he was): this is Mr. Black...

and no harm done... Mr. Black didn't care:


their first round of immunizations (DHPP) (they barely noticed the needle, didn't even flinch): this is Miss Sky...


and finally microchipping using the BIG needle (saving the worst for last)(everybody's chips were inserted and verified... so it all looks good): this is Mr. White again...


Sometimes the pups weren't too keen on the high, steel, slippery table (this is Mr. Green, but he did fabulously once up there):


When they each finished, they konked out on the floor beneath or next to the wagon (Mr Lime, Mr. Blue, Mr. White in front; Mr. Yellow and Miss Pink beneath the wagon; and pups waiting their turns in the crate above):


Mr. Yellow and Miss Sky:


Then Dr. Wagner had to recheck Miss Pink to be sure he actually heard what he thought he heard (she was the first pup checked). Like our Pinot pup from last year, Miss Pink has a very, very soft heart murmur, but it's much softer than Pinot's. It's so soft, in fact, that he sees no reason for us not to release her to her new owners (we'll go over this in full with them later today by phone, and give them the option of waiting to see what happens, not taking her at all, taking her and having her completely checked by their vet and then deciding, going with an alternate pup from this litter, or having us refund their deposit).

Our vet fully expects this to be a typical puppy murmur and fully expects it to be gone by 10-12 weeks of age. Again, he affirmed that it's very, very, very soft.

Dr. Wagner was much less confident about Pinot's murmur last year (which is why we didn't make her available for sale), and Pinot is fine now -- incredibly athletic (her murmur disappeared by twelve weeks). And Miss Pink is strong, athletic, coordinated, playful, confident, one of the more dominant with littermates, and she shows no sign of any kind of cardio compromise (bodes well for this being only a slight puppy murmur that will disappear in the next couple of weeks).

We'll see how it goes, but we're not worried.

And, MR. BLACK is JUST FINE!!!! :o)

So it's all good.

We'll be making our final placement decisions today, and will be contacting the new owners later in the afternoon.

And then puppy visitations start tomorrow!

(I'm on a timer today, literally -- got a boatload to do), so I've got to run. But I wanted to let you know how things went. I'll give you more details later.

'Til next time,
Joan