Emmylou had 6 pups today. She had 3 boys and 3 girls. They are all tri coloured like mom and dad. One girl is 6 ounces and the other pups are 8-9 ounces which is on the large side of what we are used to having. They are all very healthy and are going after their first meal with gusto. Emmylou is a great mom and she looks very proud of herself in these pictures.
In a few days we will post some more pictures so you can see what the individuals look like. Right now mom needs a rest and the pups need to fill their tanks.
May 30 2006
The pups are 2 days old and this is what they do every waking moment. When they wake up they swim/crawl to an available teat and eat until they are full and then go right back to sleep in a little puppy pile. This also shows the tan colour on their cheeks. The tan colour will probably be the dominant colour on their heads and the black will remain on their body spots. Mom was this colour when she was born and you can see how her head colour has faded to tan. The first day they maintain or lose a bit of weight then start gaining the second day. They gain about an ounce or more a day now. They were weighed this morning and had come back to birth weight or gained 1/2 ounce. We weigh them daily for about 2 weeks to make sure they are all progressing well especially the smaller ones who can get pushed off a teat by the bigger ones. If we think they need it they will get some one on one quality time with mom.
Next pictures will individual shots in a couple of days.
The date in the top left will tell you when the page was last updated.
Just added the pile of puppies below while mom was out for p&p.
JRRanch Emmylou Conquest Omen
June 6 2006 The pups are 9 days old now. The 3 girls are on the left and the 3 boys on the right. The little girl in the middle is quite a bit smaller than the rest. It took her a couple of extra days to start growing like the others but she is gaining weight now. Their eyes won't open for another 5-8 days. Their ears will fall after that and they will begin to hear. By then they will be much more mobile, moving from their belly crawl to a wobbly walk. Next update after their eyes are open.
June 14 2006 Sad news.
The little female (middle in the pictures above) died June 9th. She was very listless the day before and died in the vets office in no pain thanks to our excellent vet clinic. The little ones death brought tears to our eyes but we have been in agony ever since. The vet told us that worst case this could be a virus and if that was the case all the pups could get it and die if their temp. dropped below 99 (until 3 weeks they can't regulate their temp to the normal 101.5). It could also spread easily to the other litter born on the 12th and we could lose all of them as well. The only thing we could do was to keep the temp. in the whelping rooms very high and wash our hands and arms and change clothes before going into each of their rooms. We had heaters in each room to bring the temp. up to 95. The moms were stressed due to the heat and we had difficulty spending much time with them. This went on until today when the vet called to say the autopsy performed at Univ. of Guelph was negative for a virus and we could get back to normal around here. We went outside and whooped our joy to all the farm animals. They thought we were crazy.
This afternoon has been the first time we have been comfortable handling the pups. These pictures were taken shortly after we got the good news. Two girls below and 3 boys on the right. Their eyes are fully open now and they are beginning to hear. The pups are getting more mobile now that the temp. is lower. They are progressing to a wobbly walking now..
June 15 2006
Back to the joys of puppy rearing. Thought I would share this with you today. It shows how the pups have grown in relation to mom. They can all hear now and their heads pop up when we enter their room. Their next big adventure will be trips to the kitchen to spend some time outside their whelping pen. This will happen in about a week or so. By that time they will really be getting around well. By 5 weeks they will be spending 1/2 their time outside the pen and by 6 weeks they will only go back to the whelping pen to sleep at night. After that the crate training starts. Thats when we will need ear plugs for a couple of nights. Just kidding, most of them take to crate training real well if you do it right.
More on that when the time comes.
We take hundreds of photo's of the pups as they grow up. Many more than you see here. Rather than file these away we create a Slide show on CD for the new owners to take home. This allows the new owners to follow their progress in much more detail. Also, when their pup grows up they can embarrass them by showing them their old puppy pictures.
From time to time we hear from people who for various reasons cannot have a dog but still love them and check our website out to get their puppy fix. We encourage you to send us an email. Mrs JRRanch loves to talk to dog lovers.
We also encourage people who are interested in a JR to come for a visit. We can help them figure out if this breed is right for them.
June 19 2006
The pups are 3 weeks old now. They are getting around pretty well but still whelping pen bound. At about 4 seeks they will start their trips outside the whelping pen. After a few days of this they will be getting confident and start to run a bit. Right now they are starting to play. They like to gum each others muzzle. In a week or two they will start getting their teeth and it will be time to start a bit of puppy food. Often, pups of this age, will start to taste their mom's food. We are feeding the mom puppy food for its energy value so if they eat some it won't get caught in their throat because it is very small. Most of the time they will gum the food for awhile and then spit it out. When they start getting into moms food too much we will move it outside the whelping pen. We start the pups on a mushy wet mixture of puppy food mixed with pablum the first few days.
The boys are on the right and the girls below.
June 21 2006
These pups are a bit ahead of schedule and they told us they were ready for their first trip out of the whelping pen today. When they get howly and growly and tear around their whelping pen they are ready for the challenge of a bigger world. They only lasted about 10 minutes before they wanted back to their sanctuary. They will be out every day now for increasing periods of time and in about a week they will be getting into trouble. Then they will be ready for the x-pen in the kitchen. They are getting into moms food now so will be ready for their own food soon. When we can feel their teeth that is a sign they are ready for solid food and mom starts to get a break because at this age they consume a lot of food.
June 29, 2006 Pictures taken June 29 but not posted until July 2. Things are getting hectic around here.
The pups have begun eating solid food in the last couple of days. We soak their puppy food in water until it is soft. This way it doesn't get caught in their throat and they can digest it easier. We feed all our dogs dry kibble with water splashed on it. As the pups get a bit older we won't soak it very long and serve it to them al dente.
They have also graduated to the x-pen setup in our dining room. At first they play awhile and then cry to get back to their familiar whelping pen and mom's comfort. They will stay out longer each day. First thing this morning (July 2), when we put mom out for her p&p the pups cried to be taken to the x-pen. They immediately tore around the pen checking out all their toys did their p&p and then demanded breakfast. They are sleeping in there now so I can post this. They are staying in the x-pen for an hour or two now. In a few more days they will spend their whole day there and should be weaned completely.
July 2, 2006
Here's some pictures from this afternoon. This is their 2nd two hour stint in the x-pen today and they look like they are getting real comfortable in here. I think mom will be out of a job soon. They still only play for 10-20 minutes and then crash in a little puppy pile. We will take them for their first walk outside next week. They are growing up fast. More individual pictures as the opportunity arises. These two seem to like getting their picture taken.
July 4, 2006
Emmylou took her pups for their first walk outside today. She is very proud of her kids and she strutted around teaching them all she knows. The pups took to their first trip outside very well. They inspected everything from blowing leaves to crawling bugs and even got their feet wet in a mud puddle for the first time. They will be fully weaned today and they will only see mom on walks and we won't let her feed them any more. They will get their first vaccination today. In a couple of days we will start crate training them.
Final pictures of Emmylou's pups. They are ready to go to their new homes soon and have matured nicely. Almost all the crate training is done and they are sleeping in their own crate at night.
The tough time has come when we have to let these beautiful kids go to their new homes.
The kids saying goodbye on their last morning here.
