HomeLast updated : October 2, 2013
JRRanch Kate X Conquest Dash
pups born July 15, 2013
July 15, 2013
Kate had 3 boys and 3 girls today. She had to have a C-section because once again she refused to push.
It was an exciting few minutes at the vets when the pups started to be taken from the horn everyone had a pup in a towel, removed the placenta and rubbed them to get them breathing. All went very well and they were breathing and squawking in no time.
As Mom came out of anesthesia the pups were started on feeding. By the time we started for home they all had a bit of colostrum in their bellies.
The whole process took less than 2 hours and the pups were home in their whelping pen.
They ate steady as soon as Mom joined them in the whelping pen and the whimpering stopped as their bellies filled.
They weighed between 6 and 6.5 ounces and are very uniform in colour and markings as well.
Very excited to have 3 boys as we are always anxious to find a male suitable for show and breeding purposes to keep our lines progressing.
Check back often for more pictures and discussion on their progress.
July 15, 2013
Here are a few pictures of the pups. Two hours old and a couple have climbed over the edge of their enclosure. As soon as Mom joined them they had no more interest in exploring. They just ate their fill and went to sleep.
July 16
The pictures in the second row were taken Tues. The last picture was taken Wed.
Their life is very simple at this stage. Find Mom, eat for 5 minutes fall asleep for 15 minutes, wake up then repeat.
Click on a thumbnail to see the larger picture and right arrow will take you to the next one.
July 20, 2013
The pups are all doing well and Mom has plenty of milk for them. The pups range in weight now is 9.25 to 12.25 so they are starting to show differences in size.
They had their tails and dew claws done at 2 days old and at 3 days old we started the Super Dog training. This helps them develop a healthy heart and a calm reaction to stress. This training goes for 13 days and involves putting the dog in several positions for 3 seconds each (head up, down, on their back) their toes are tickled with a qtip and finally they are placed on a cold wet cloth. We can see their reaction to these unusual sensations become calmer after a few sessions. They quickly learn that the 3 second sensations are not going to hurt them so they relax. The military use this to train their dogs to withstand the rigors and stress of combat.
The pups are born with pink noses, eyelids shut and they can't hear. You will notice from the pictures that their noses are starting to turn black. At about 2 weeks their eyes will open and soon after that their hearing will develop. After that they really start moving around and playing and their personalities develop.
July 22, 2013
The pups are 1 week old today and all are doing well tonight but the littlest girl gave us a scare over the weekend.
Her problem started sometime Sat. and Sun. morning at their weigh in she had dropped from 9.25oz the previous day to 7.34oz. This is a very serious amount of loss at this stage in their life and we couldn't figure out what caused it but immediately started taking Mom out of the whelping pen with her to let her nurse alone.
This didn't help but at least she didn't lose more. We called our vet and he suggested feeding a formula via dropper 3cc every 2 hours. We did this all through Sun. evening and by morning she was still holding her own and gained a fraction to 8oz.
We took her to see the vet first thing Mon. and he couldn't figure out what caused the problem.
He suggested goats milk would be a better way for her to gain and we started that as soon as we could. By the evening she had gained to 8.75oz and we think we have the issue in hand. All through this the pup was as energetic as the others.
It is very delicate feeding a pup of this size because you can easily get fluid down their lungs.
We will continue feeding every 2 hours until she can feed successfully on her own. We didn't lose any sleep at the birth this time but it looks like we will lose some over the next few days as we continue the 2 hour feedings.
The little girl has only stopped gaining weight for about 2 days but already she looks smaller. The largest pup is now 14.5oz while she is at 8.75oz. We had a pup fall behind like this in Kate's last litter and it ended up a very healthy but smaller pup in the end. We are hopeful this little girl will continue to respond as well.
The pictures show how big they are getting and just how relaxed they are. They love to sleep on their backs. The groups of 3 pups per picture show the 3 males and the next 2 pictures are the females.
July 27, 2013
All the pups are doing well and 5 of them are getting very fat as you can see. No worries, when their eyes open and they start to really walk around they will lose their baby fat fast.
The little one has been fed every 2 hours by eyedropper and we were getting worried by lack of progress so we took her back to the vet on Thurs morning. He put a scope down her throat and found no cleft pallet that we were worried about but deeper down he saw a low grade infection. She started on antibiotic and finally today we are seeing some results.
This ordeal started 6 days ago and we couldn't get any weight gain above 9oz for several days. Yesterday she started to eat a little better as the antibiotic started to work. This morning she weighed in at 9.5oz which is her first gain in over 3 days. She is also latching onto Mom now on her own so we are hopeful we are turning the corner on her problem. We are keeping our fingers crossed and maybe soon we can get a full nights sleep.
Through all her troubles she has remained very feisty and Mom watches her every move. She has a tendency to climb out of the whelping box and Mom fetches her back. Now when she starts to climb the edge Mom notices it right away and nudges her back to the ground.
We don't think this setback in her development will affect her long term but she may remain smaller than the rest. She certainly doesn't lack energy and she is by far the most active of the pups.
You can see the little one in the picture on Mom's hind teat.
July 28, 2013
The pups eyes are beginning to open. In a day or two they will be able to hear as well and then we will see a lot more mobility and noise from the pups.
The little girl is up to 10oz today so seems to be recovering. I slept through her 2am feeding this morning and she must have nursed successfully from Mom a bit because she didn't lose any condition.
We removed the blanket box from the whelping pen as their heads are all too big to go through the whelping pen walls now. They have the freedom to walk out on the tin section and will probably start using this as their potty rather than soil their bed. This will be the first step in house training the pups and they do it all by themselves. The next steps will be up to us.
July 30, 2013
The pups were 2 weeks old yesterday.
All have their eyes open now. They are all moving about more now but only Little Bit is standing completely upright and really moving around fast. The others will need to lose a bit of baby fat before their legs will hold them up but they should be very mobile in a couple of days.
From first born until about 3 weeks Mom does all the latrine duty. They don't do their business unless she licks them and then she cleans up.They are just starting to go on their own and we are seeing pee on the metal half which means that latrine duty will be shifting to us. The good news is they prefer to leave their bed to do their business and are following the pattern of previous litters in house training themselves.
Lil Bit is progressing steadily and is about 11oz today. We are still feeding her every 2 hours but the amount she takes from us is getting less and hopefully she will be totally back on Mom in a few days.
Aug 2, 2013
The pups are beginning to hear now. When we talk to them their heads popup and they sometimes will let out a little yip as if to say "Quiet, we are trying to get a little sleep here".
Lil Bit is coming along very well now. She is developing a very wide body from the supplement feeding and she is doing very well fending off the larger pups and getting her share of Mom's milk. We have also started her on a very light rice pablum which doesn't seem to upset her tummy and gives her some extra nutrition. With all this she is sleeping longer and more sound as she is now being filled up. That's her sleeping on her back and nursing.
We keep the temp. in the puppy room about 80F for the first 3 weeks as the pups can't regulate their own body temp. Last night we lowered it a couple of degrees and we are starting to see much more action from the pups.
Aug 5, 2013
The pups are 3 weeks old.
They made there first trip out of their whelping pen today. They were getting pretty spunky and ready for a new challenge. They handled the trip very well but as expected 5 minutes is about all they can handle before they want back to familiar surroundings. Each day now they will spend more time out of the whelping pen and by the end of the week they may be ready for the x-pen in the kitchen. Eventually they will spend all day out and only spend their evenings in the whelping pen.
Here is a video of one of their first playtimes in the whelping pen. I turned the volume on at 1:20 so you could here their ferocious growling.
The last pictures were taken the following day. The pups are really starting to play with each other now. They are having little faux battles with lots of growling and gumming each other. They stayed out a little longer this day and wandered around more. A few more days of this and we will have to put them in the x-pen for their own safety because with 6 pups it will get harder to keep them contained and out of danger of falling down stairs etc.
Aug 8, 2013
The pups are gaining confidence with every trip to the wide open spaces of our living room. They are more mobile and curious about their new surroundings. Next step is x-pen in the kitchen.
Little Bit is doing great. We are still supplementing her but she is also more aggressively feeding from Mom. I now feed her from a small bowl which she finds easier to lap up her food and gets her hunger satisfied much more easily. As a result, her weight has been shooting up and she is getting bigger but looks like she will always be a bit smaller than the rest. She has no problems looking after herself in the scrums because she is a little quicker and more agile then her siblings. That's her in the first 3 pictures.
Aug 10, 2013
The pups have graduated to the x-pen in the kitchen. They spent about an hour here a couple of times during the day. They will spend greater amounts of time her eventually staying the whole day between here and the pen on the deck. Mom is getting longer breaks from them and is enjoying her freedom.
The next morning they got their first solid meal of pablum mixed with goats milk. Little Bit had no problem with this as this has been her supplement for several days. The others took to it slowly but they will all get into this shortly. We will give them a morning and evening meal her from now on.
Here is a video of the first feeding. Just click on the following http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/37153921
Aug 16, 2013
Lots of pictures over the last couple of days.
The pups are spending all day out of their whelping pen now. They wake up around 6am and are immediately taken to the deck where they do their p&p. They can stay there as long as its not too cold or hot in which case they are taken to the kitchen x-pen.
They are eating 2 main meals a day with a little snack of yogurt at noon. This morning was the first time they all dug into their food with gusto. The little one has always eaten this way so she is showing the big kids how to do it. Little Bit is catching up in size to the smallest male. Mom is drying up and they are only getting a little bit of nourishment from her when she joins them for a couple of hours at bedtime around 10pm.
In a few pictures you see Charly our girl from last years litter trying to play with the pups. We closely supervise her play with the pups through the cage but so far she is very gentle and you can see her putting her mouth around the pups nose. The pups love it and she must be very gentle because we don't hear any cries, only attempts from the pups for more.
Today they are due for their next big adventure when we take them out to the lawn and their first walk in the great big world of our farm lane.
Aug 22
Not much time for commentary tonight. Too busy with latrine duty.
They are completely weaned from Mom now and eating almost too heartily. Will have to watch their intake they are getting pretty fat. Lots of exercise will also help with increasingly longer walks down the farm lane.
Next step will be individual feeding in their crates and spending the night 2 to a crate. By their 7th week they should be almost crate trained.
Enjoy the pictures. Won't be any more until middle of next week.
Aug 27
The pups are into a routine now.
Wake before 6am, immediately out for p&p, breakfast in individual crates, back out for the morning on the deck interrupted by as many walks down the lane as we have time for, in at noon for a snack in own crate and little nap, back on the deck and walks, dinner about 5pm, back on the deck til dark then in kitchen with quick trips outside for p&p until bedtime at 10pm, put to bed 2 to a crate, usually wake us in 4 hours for quick p&p on the deck, back to bed til about 6am. Then start all over.
Two to a crate is working very well with these kids. Not much of a peep when they are put to bed. Next week we will start them sleeping in their own crate and we will probably get some crying. Being alone at night will help prepare them for leaving their siblings at 8 weeks.
Aug 31
Had a puppy party today. A bunch of friends came over to meet the pups. Many people handling them helps with their socialization and the kids got a lot of loving from our friends. They all did very well and none showed any problem with the many hands wanting to pick them up and cuddle them.
Tomorrow they go for their temperament testing which will help make the final decisions on what homes the pups are best suited for. We have a pretty good idea already but another person doing independent testing should solidify our opinion.
They should be ready to go to their new homes next weekend and we will miss them a lot.
This is always a bitter sweet time for us as we will miss these little guys so much but realize they will be getting a lot more individual love and attention then we can share.
Sept 6
Here are the last pictures of the pups together. Their last night they slept right through the night in their crates as if saying to us that they are ready for their new homes.
Thursday 2 boys and a girl went to their new homes. On Sunday another boy will be flying to Colorado with his new friends. A week Sunday the last boy will be flying to Newfoundland to join a pup from one of last years litters.
The last picture is of the girl we hope to keep for our breeding program.
Katey is 6 now and will be spayed soon. She has only had 2 litters but we don't like to breed our females past 6 as we feel it is too hard on them then.
Next summer we plan to have a litter from Charly if she cooperates by coming into heat at the right time.
September 15, 2013
All the pups have gone to their new homes and the one we are keeping here for awhile is settling into her new life without her siblings.
The girl we are running on is on the left in the picture, the boy who went to Newfoundland is in the middle and the Colorado boy is on the right.
We feel blessed that all our pups have gone to excellent homes. We hope they add as much joy to their new owners as they did in their brief stay here with us.
The new owners are encouraged to keep in touch with us and send us pictures of their pups as they grow into their new lives. Also please call us for any advice, questions or just bragging on your new ones as we love to hear from you.
Kate will officially enter retirement soon but hopefully Charly will carry on the JRRanch tradition next summer.
TTFN
Granny and Grumpy
