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.