Last updated : August 13, 2009
JRRanch Emmylou X JRRanch Winston
pups born January 1, 2008
January 2, 2008
Emmylou had her pups yesterday. She had 3 girls and 1 boy. Mom and pups are doing fine now thanks to our excellent vet. Yesterday afternoon we were worried that Emmy hadn't gone into labour after her 63 day of pregnancy. We noticed a black discharge and called the vet and he told us to meet him at the clinic immediately because that was a sign that there was a pup in distress and possibly dead. Sure enough when he did the C-section on Emmy there was a dead and decomposing pup blocking the access to the birth canal to all the other pups. The four live pups were delivered and though a couple were in a bit of distress they recovered quickly. Thanks to Dr. Woodley and his quick, decisive action we have 4 healthy pups. If we had dithered around and not called him for advice we could have lost the whole litter.
Today the pups are eating constantly and mom has recovered from her ordeal.
All is well. Happy New Year!
January 10,2008
Lots going on at the Ranch s not much time to take pictures of this litter until today.
They are all growing steadily and doubled their weight after the first week. They has their tails and dew claws done at three days old. Mrs JRRanch started the neurological stimulation at 3 days and this will continue for 2 weeks. This is also know as the super dog training and it is designed to stimulate the pups at an early age to make them endure stress and change better when they mature. It was developed by the US Military in training their dogs. It involves five stimulations for 3-5 seconds each. These are: tickle the toes with a q-tip, held on their back, held head upright, held head down and then placed on a cold damp cloth. It is also claimed to improve many other health issues.
They have been a bit whiney the last couple of days. It may be that this bunch is more vocal than others. In the event its colic or upset tummy's we gave them each 1cc of yogurt this morning. It seems to be working so far. Perhaps the antibiotics we have Mom on since her c-section has gone through her milk to the pups and has upset their stomachs.
January 12, 2008
One of the pups is just beginning to open its eyes. The rest will follow shortly and in a couple of days they will all have their eyes fully open. A few days after that they will be able to see pretty well. Then their hearing will start to function. This is quickly followed by walking more erect. Right now they are still mostly crawling and sometimes they raise up a bit and walk. A couple of days ago they were crying a bit which indicated some discomfort or pain. The yogurt seems to have fixed that and Mom's antibiotics are finished so we should be over that rough spot. Another reason for the pain may have been overeating since they all are a gaining weight rapidly and have pretty big tummies after a feeding.
For the first 3 weeks of their life they can't regulate their own body temperature so we keep the whelping room at 86F for the first 2 weeks and then about 82F the third week and after that we let the temperature fall slowly until it reaches room temperature. We regulate the heat with a heat lamp above the whelping pen and another heat source (100 watt light bulb) under the whelping pen.
Here are head shots of each pup taken today. The boy has the spot on the top of his head. You can see their noses are starting to turn black.
January 20, 2008
The pups will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. Their eyes are all open now and most of them can hear. The latest to develop is the boy. He was the smallest at birth and so it follows that he develops sight and hearing last. He has caught up to the nearest girl in size so in a couple of days he will see very well and will be getting around like them. He is just beginning the walking they did a couple of days ago. The girls that have their hearing are also getting vocal and welcome us to their room with little yips. They are all growing rapidly and twitching a lot as they sleep. This is a good sign that all is going well with their development. At about 3 weeks Mom will want to go out for more frequent walks. Between 4-5 weeks the pups will start to want more solid food and the weaning process will begin. By that time Mom is ready to wean the pups and they will be ready to strike out on their own. Today they made their first trip out of their whelping pen. This lasted for only 5 minutes before they were ready to go back. This will continue for longer periods each day. We will set up an x-pen in the dining room by their 4th week since they will be tough to contain by then. Shortly after that they will be spending most of their day their and rapid development begins.
January 27, 2008
Emmylou's pups are growing strong and will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. They are running around their whelping pen and playing strong now. They have been out to the living room many times to get them used to wide open spaces. They are starting to get used to it and exploring more on each trip. Next week we will have to set up an x-pen for them because they will start to be hard to contain.
February 6, 2007
The pups are over 5 weeks old now. They will spend the entire day away from Mom. They will go back with Mom for a top up after their evening meal. These are the final stages of weaning and Mom is handling it very well and so are the pups.
They are a real energetic bunch so we have to keep them in their x-pen during the day for their own safety. We had them outside for a couple of minutes yesterday and several times today. The sun is shining on the deck so they will be able to take much more today before they need to get back to the warmth. They are just starting to do their p&p outside. They will learn to do this more regularly and by the time they are ready for their new homes they will hopefully be house trained. By 8 weeks some pups whine when they need to go out. We have reports from puppy owners from previous litters that they can quickly be trained to ring a bell at the door when they need to go outside.
In a couple of days their weaning will be complete and they will sleep in their whelping pen alone at night. Shortly after that we begin crate training by pairing them up in crates for the night. During their last week here they sleep in a crate alone at night. When they go to their new homes they will be completely crate trained.
Check back for outdoor pictures.
February 9, 2008
The pups have been getting used to going outside for their p&p. They can't last too long outside yet but they get their business done right away. It's pretty warm today so took them for a little walk on the farm lane. They had to sniff everything because its all new to them.
They have been away from Mom for more than a day now. They are coping very well but Mom misses them and cried a lot for them today. She has been a great Mom but its time for the pups to be on their own and learn about life.
February 18, 2008
The pups are 7 weeks old now. They are sleeping through the night now. This week we will start them sleeping in their crates at night. By the time they are ready for their new homes they should be completely crate trained.
The weather has been changing drastically so it is hard to get them any regular outside exercise. So after a p&p session outside we let them tear around the living room, dining room and kitchen. The rest of the house we blocked off with baby gates so they don't fall down stairs etc. Sometimes they stand still long enough to get their picture taken and I caught them today. If a Jack Russell doesn't get enough exercise they can get into all kinds of mischief trying to amuse themselves. A tired Jack Russell is a good Jack Russell.
We haven't put too many pictures of this litter up because their are no pups left available. We will probably run on the two girls below and the little princess on the right (Lulu) is spoken for.
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April 20, 2008
Here are pictures of the girl we will be running on to see if she will excel in our breeding program. These are pictures taken on our walks to the back of the farm where the kids love to play in the water and dig in the mud. Tick always comes with us to teach them hunting skills
