GOING BETTER

 I have now graduated from every three hours of feeding to every four hours. The little ones are doing well. They have learned to nurse as long as the bigger pups are out of the way. So I take half of the pups, the biggest ones and put them in my little box with the heating pad. Then the two little ones and the two medium ones can nurse all they want without being pushed away. They must do pretty well during the night as they often have full tummy's in the morning. Bonnie is not confined with her babies, she is able to come and go as she wants. This works well for her because if she is confined she will spin and that creates havoc for her and the pups. When she can get in and out she is perfect. Not sure what I will do in another week when the pups are able to get out, even  accidentally.That will take some thought. I have always had mom dogs who would sleep right in the pen with the pups. I am so thankful that I did not lose power last night. I use heat lamps to keep the pups warm as they cannot adjust their body temperature for the first two weeks. I was hoping that I would not have to go out into the wind and pouring rain to hookup the generator and get it going. The power did stay on which is amazing with a storm like the one we had. We almost lose power here no mater what the weather is.

I say to Bonnie, lets go check the babies, and she will run to the other room and take a look and if they are all sleeping she will come back into the kitchen. If they are restless or crying she will go get in and check them out with her nose. She knows when they need attention. She is a good little mother.The little ones are finally growing, sometimes when I go in to feed I will get them mixed up with the medium pups. 

Tonight I will spend time brushing Sammy, their shedding times are so mixed up. But he is blowing his coat as if it was summer. So strange.

I plan on one last litter in February and then I am done breeding. I do like producing healthy, quality pups for people but I am ready for a long break.I want to spend time with my adults, do some training and have some fun with them. Litters like this one are a lot of work. Although litters of 9,10 and 11 are very unusual for Shelties. Next year I plan to expand my dog yard so they can really run and I will set up all my agility equipment. I will totally enjoy my dogs.

In another two weeks the pups will be fun; they will be learning to play and run and can be so funny. Time to socialize starts. 

Well it is almost four which means the dogs inner clocks will be going off soon and they will be wanting dinner. They don't have much patience. I will try for some good pictures soon.

Please take care and be safe. 

BONNIE AS A BABY

NOT A GOOD NIGHT

 Last night one of the boys, not the little ones, a strong, healthy boy had his navel open up. I have never in all my years seen this. He was bleeding internally so I knew he would not survive the night. It was sad but better for him. He just curled up went to sleep and did not wake up. I am glad it was so quick for him. 

We now have 9 healthy pups and the two little ones are starting to nurse quite well. I will be sitting by the whelping box when Bonnie feeds so that I can have half nurse and put the other half in a little heated box that I have. Then when the ones nursing are done I will put the others in to nurse.When the first batch finishes Bonnie thinks she is done for awhile so I have to be sure she lets the other half nurse. It is a lot of work but necessary. It is best for the little ones to get as much of mothers milk as possible. 

I will still get up twice during the night to help the little ones nurse. I have switched them to a bottle for other times and they do well with it.

When you breed dogs for so many years you will come across so many things that take the lives of little pups. Not every litter but every so often. Something we learn to deal with and live with.

Breeding is not for the faint of heart. But on the other hand there are so many joys of breeding and watching these babies grow and develop. It is amazing how they progress in such a small amount of time. How quickly personalities develop and how quickly they grow up and are ready to be a family  companion. 

I plan to get some pictures today and will post them soon.

Hope  you all had a Happy Thanksgiving

 COOKIE TIME

 

BONNIES TEN LITTLE INDIANS

 This past Sunday Bonnie decided it was time for her babies to arrive. She started having pups at 4:30 am and had the last one at 5 pm.A long day for her and for me. By the the time she was finished she given birth to 11 pups. The last one was not born alive, probably too long arriving in this world. She has ten surviving babies. I am feeding round the clock, every three hours to keep the little ones going. Three days and they are doing well.It is a lot of work but Bonnie gave me these babies and it is up to me to keep them going. We have 9 boys and one little girl. In about a week I may be able to sleep through the night. But for now the little ones have trouble nursing and need the nourishment that I give to them. I can see growth already and I am really happy with that. Bonnie is so good and so careful getting into the puppy pen, she knows exactly where she places her feet. 

I will try to keep the blog up to date on the pups growth and development. Bonnie is a good mom and very concerned with her pups. And they are hers, everyone else needs to stay away, she tells then in no uncertain terms. 

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and take care and please be safe!

This is Izzy the papa to all these little babies.

TIME HAS JUST FLOWN

 It is amazing how fast the time goes when caring for a litter of seven pups. Once they moved to the kitchen for more exposure to noise and activity they developed a good routine. It made for an early day but that is ok, its good to get going early. Breakfast by 5:30, the pups were really hungry after a good nights sleep. I get them out to run in the kitchen while I clean the pen. I need to figure a way for a larger pen as the pups are very clean and only potty in one corner. It is amazing how they did this on their own. Once the pen is clean I make their breakfast and I ask them "are you hungry" they run over to me and all sit and watch while I get breakfast ready for them. They know what hungry means. They are so cute to see them lined up for food.

Once this is done all the adults go out to potty and spend a few minutes outside. During this time I get my coffee made and the pups are all settled, ready for their morning nap. The others all come back in to join me for coffee hour sometimes longer. They all get a treat and then settle down. For the most part they are very good. Walter will test me with chewing and he has now learned the word LEAVE IT and is getting very good when I tell him to leave it.

Walter can be a challenge, he is an independent boy and wants what he wants. I am going to start working on tricks with him, the goal is for his AKC trick title. I think it will be fun and I think that Walter will enjoy it. When they have fun training they learn so quickly.

Covid is raising it's ugly head again and once again we all need to be careful. It is so important to wear a mask for you and for others so both can be safe.

My dogs could not care for themselves if anything happened to me. So I am super careful, the dogs need me.

Puppies are going to their homes soon. They are ready for more one on one and some basic training. These pups are so smart and so pretty. I know that they will be wonderful family companions!

Sorry it has been so long since I wrote but raising pups does not leave a lot of time. Maybe a New Years resolution will help.

Take care, have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

PUPPIES ARE SO AMAZING

 The pups will be four weeks on Tuesday morning. Two days ago I started feeding baby cereal with goats milk, they were not sure what to do. So I waited until today,made up some goats milk with baby cereal and a little softened puppy food. Well they just chowed it right down. It is amazing that two days development can make such a difference. They are now eating three meals a day plus mom is still taking care of them and nursing. Glory is the best mother, she is getting a little tired but always goes in with the pups when I ask her to. She still spends the night with them and they still need her throughout the night. I wish all my girls were such good moms, but Glory has been a mom a couple of times and she knows what is required. The pups are responding to my voice, they pop right up and come over to see me. It is hard to believe that in four weeks these pups will be fully developed to the point where they can go to their new homes. Their personalities are emerging and they are so cute and so funny. I love this age, even though it will get a little messy. Soon I will be able to take them to the kitchen to run and play and experience new things. It will be a busy time for sure. A friend of mine gave me a really nice camera for my birthday. I am looking forward to taking some really great photos. I can get close ups and the details are amazing. Of course I do need to practice, since I just grab my cell phone to get shots. I will post updates as they grow and hopefully will have some awesome photos.

 Glory's pups at three weeks!

PUPPIES AND MORE PUPPIES

 I love puppies. From birth to watching the daily development is just amazing. First week they are able to crawl to mom to eat and then they sleep a lot. Mom stimulates them to poop and pee.She does that for the first week through about the fourth week. I change the bedding twice a day and it stays nice and clean.  Glory had four girls and three boys. The three boys and three of the girls are spoken for. They are now getting close to three weeks, which will be this coming Tuesday. Their eyes are open and they are hearing now. They are starting to respond to my voice and they hear noises. They are so darn cute right now. I am a little nervous about visitors, the covid is beginning to increase in New Hampshire. We will social distance and wear masks. The visits will be short. We won't be picking pups until they are eight weeks. The litter is co-owned with a friend and she has to pick her pups first. The pups are really getting into the fun age and I love pups at this stage. I will move them to the kitchen at four weeks. This will make it easier for them to run and play on the kitchen floor. 

I did not write for awhile as I was so intent on watching Glory, as she was very late to have her pups. But all was well, she and mother nature knew what was going on.It was not a real easy birth but she did very well.

Lots of pictures soon. Hope you are all well and take care.

 

COFFEE THIEF

 Every  morning I have all the dogs up with me and we have morning coffee together. Topaz is my paper thief, any thing she can reach, any type of paper, paper towel, cardboard, even wall paper which is not good at all. I don't know the attraction but she loves paper. So this morning she grabbed something that I definitely did not want her to have, I got up quickly and told her "leave it" and she did. Before I sat down again, there she was lapping coffee from my cup. She loves coffee too and if I forget and leave my cup too close to the edge of the table she will stand up and drink my coffee. You really have to be on your toes around her.  So many things to think of. She can outsmart me so quickly. She has quite a sense of humor, you can see it in her eyes. Bonnie is at Illusion Farm Shelties being bred to a lovely dog. But she is Topaz's playmate and Topaz is lost without her. They are such best buddies. All I have to do is get down just a little and Topaz's front goes down and her rear comes up tail, wagging, she is ready to play. You can see the joy on her face. 

We are still waiting on Glory, one more due date. I really did not expect her to go so long before whelping. If we get past the last due date, and pups have not arrived, we will make a trip to the vet. Hopefully those pups will show up this weekend and the vet won't be necessary.All I can do is wait and I am not good at that. Mother Nature is in charge so not much that I can do.