May 21, 2016 The Cinnamom Bear's First Litter

Aside from the last week, the Cinnamon Bear has had a pretty easy pregnancy. Last Friday through Sunday she had a false labor and we lost a lot of sleep, but overall she was fairly easy to get along with and very cuddly. Last night we went to bed very early, expecting a long night at some point in the weekend. We didn't have to wait long.

I was asleep when Ann heard Cinnamon panting heavily at about eight-thirty and got up to check. She let me sleep another two hours before deciding to wake me. At eleven my eyes finally came open. At twelve we decided to let Ann sleep for a while. At two in the morning things finally got interesting.

Count Chocula arrived at 2:05 AM

The delivery seemed painless and quick.
We named #1 Count Chocula.
A tri colored male weighing 12.1 ounces. 

They came pretty fast for a while after Count Chocula made the scene.

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#2 is named Sugar Pops

Sugar Pops came along at 2:16, so I figured wee'd be all done in a hour or so.

She is what we call a "Lemon" Basset because of her lightly colored coat. The coloring might change quite a lot in the next few days, she might become a tan and white, or she might stay a Lemon (we hope).

She came in weighing 11.8 ounces. She also came in hungry and active. She found her first meal about a minute after birth.

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#3 is named Cocoa Pebbles

Cocoa Pebbles arrived at 2:40, so things were slowing down a bit.

Cocoa Pebbles

She came in yelling and didn't wish to be handled much. She was a healthy 12.4 ounces and hungry. We thought she'd be a black and white, but the little bits of tan over her eyes make her a tri-color even if everything stays exactly the same.

Cinnamon was a good mother right from the start. She wanted to take care of them all, and we let her as much as we could. Cinnamon Bear is a natural child, doing things naturally has always been her thing.

She'll make a fine Mother Bear.

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#4 is named Lucky Charms

Lucky Charms came in about the same as the rest had so far. 12.7 ounces of tri-colored female. She came to us at 2:56 AM

Cinnamon was tiring out a little and started doing less as the night progressed. She would push only as long as she had to so that Ann could assist her in pulling them all into the world.
She also began eating the placenta at this point.

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#5 is named Toast Crunch

Cinnamon's Toast Crunch is a wonderfully active male who arrived at 3:21 weighing 11.9 ounces. He had a big voice and likes to use it. He is also likely to develop into a true Lemon.

Cinnamon was very active cleaning up the puppies and trying to keep them warm. Each came out, got dried off, and then moved right into breakfast.

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Since the timing between the deliveries made it look like the night would go on for a while I began making breakfast.

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#6 is named Cocoa Crispies

Cocoa Crispies was born at 3:58, just as I settled down for a fifteen minute nap. She was the largest of the lot at 13 ounces and was also mostly black with some tan on the face. She has the solid character of her mother, along with the longish back legs of her father. She will be a beauty.

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#7 is named Alphabetty

Alphabetty came along at 4:26 AM. She was really striking right out of the chute because she was striped like a bee. She didn't seem all that interested in going anywhere or doing anything in particular. So she just sort of laid around no doing much, and this worried us a bit.

Ann grabbed a towel and managed to make Alphabetty mad enough to start complaining.

By this time Cinnamon was getting to tired to push, but somehow we still got them out as they popped up. Ann was the primary delivery person this time. Lucky for me since the last time there was only six.

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#8 is named Boo Berry

I had fallen asleep and failed to see Boo Berry pop her little head out.

She was little, 9.2 ounces, but made up for it with an appetite. She came out suckling on Ann's glove and once she got near her mother she went straight in, pushing her siblings to the side.

Her tri-colored coat makes her look a little like a panda bear.

I have a thing for smaller Basset Hounds. I hope she stays small.

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Honey Comb, despite being a non-sugared cereal, is maybe my favorite tri-colored female.

She came to us weighing a scant 10.8 ounces, but had her father's head shape and layed back disposition.

By now Cinnamon was worn out. She slept most of the way through the delivery.

#9 is named Honey Comb

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