Jacket had 6 pups in about an hour. This was probably the smoothest no fuss delivery we have ever had. Jacket handled it all very calmly. She also kept Mrs JRRanch calm throughout the process. All we could say was WOW what a great momma. She had 3 boys and 3 girls. They are all tri coloured with most having body spots like mom. The first 4 born are all about 6 oz. and the last 2 were 7oz. Mom has lots of milk and all the pups are eating well.
The pups are 2 days old now. They have been eating non stop it seems. They all gained 1-1.5 ounce since yesterday when they were first weighed. The 3 girls are on the left and the boys are on the right. This is a very uniform litter and they are all very feisty. Today we are starting to see longer breaks for sleeping as they get their tummies full. This gives mom a little time for a well deserved nap.
The pups are a week old now. They are all growing steady and the biggest is 1lb already. They are a feisty lot, squirmy and vocal when they are not amused. The boys are in the two top pictures and the girls in the two bottom ones.
The pups are 15 days old here. The 3 boys are in the top pictures and the 3 girls in the bottom. They all have their eyes open now and soon they will have their hearing. They are starting to stand up and walk more so now the fun begins. At about 3 weeks they will have their first outing in the kitchen. Check back for pictures of this event in their lives.
The pups are 20 days old here. In the past week they have progressed from belly crawling to wobbly walking. In the pictures they are on their first trip out of their whelping pen. Not much action here as expected. The first few times they are a bit overwhelmed by their new surroundings. They will be out for a few minutes more each day and in a week will likely be tearing around and getting into all kinds of trouble. That will be the time we set up their exercise pen in the kitchen. By 5 weeks they will spend their whole day outside the whelping pen. At 6 weeks they will get their first vaccination and then we will take them outside for another experience. They will go for walks with Mrs JRRanch and that usually leads to some very cute pictures.
The pups are 4 weeks old now. They are getting used to their trips outside the whelping pen. A great help with this is when the grand kids come over and get them used to lots of handling and cuddles. They can only take about 10 minutes before they start to get tired. By next week though they will be in their exercise pen most of the day. Can't wait to get them outside for walks. Thats the first picture of me on the website in the top middle and I can tell their teeth are coming in.
These pictures are just a couple of days later. They are progressing very quickly so we decided they were ready to go outside for a new adventure. So here they are playing in the water and enjoying the outside for the first time. I got an individual picture of each one and then a few group shots. They lasted about 15 minutes before they all needed a rest. They had their first mushy food yesterday. I think mom is all in favour of starting the weaning process a bit early. She has done an excellent job and has these kids all plumped up and ready for solid food ahead of schedule.. It looks like they will be completely weaned by 5 weeks. By 6 weeks they will be spending the whole day outside the whelping pen. Shortly after that, they will begin crate training, then get temperament tested and be ready to go to new homes at 8 weeks.
These pictures were taken July 28, 2005. They are 5 weeks old now. They love to go for walks but it is hard to get them organized to go in the same direction. The wagon lets us take them to the farm road where there are less distractions from the kennels. They are starting to follow but a couple are real adventurer's and just want to follow their nose. That's a sign of a true Jack Russell but it sure makes it hard for one person to keep this bunch together. I tried to get an individual shot of each pup but just realised I didn't get the boy with the longer coat. Will make up for that in next weeks shots. A couple of days after these shots they were completely weaned from mom.
The pups are 6 weeks old in these pictures. They stay outside in their xpen all day now. It has been very hot so we brought them in for a couple of hours to cool off. They horsed around for a bit then crashed in their indoors xpen. They are getting very good at following us on the walks down the farm road. They go for 3 or 4 long walks every day and are getting very agile. Their stamina is increasing daily and their walks are getting longer.
The pups went visiting today Aug 7. This is another step in their socializing process. They learned some valuable lessons on this outing. For example- its OK to dig in someone elses yard, approach larger animals with caution, and you can't eat the camera. Then the most useful thing they learned was that you can always find a shady spot to nap in the garden.
They had their first shot this week and soon they will be ready to train their new humans.
Jacket wanted to play with her pups today so they all went for a walk. Jacket took them for a good chase then when the pups slowed down she lay down and they swarmed her. They didn't realize that mom is dry now but they haven't had milk from mom in more than a week so they didn't need it.
Also got a shot of a couple of the boys below.
The pups have slept in crates for the last 2 nights. We start them 2 to a crate then in a couple of days they are put in their own crate for the night. We also feed them separately in their crates now. This helps them cope with the separation from their siblings when they go to their new homes.
The pups are approaching 8 weeks old now. This is probably the last posted pictures of the group. A couple of the pups will be going to their new homes later this week. The pups will begin the long process of training their new owners. This group of puppies taught Mrs JRRanch that if you drag a stick we will follow. The picture at right shows Mrs JRRanch in training with her stick. They think she has caught on now so they are letting her practise on her own only leaving one pup to monitor her progress while the rest are just goofing around. Thats Uncle Pete running around herding the little guys or leading them in a chase as he loves to do. The pictures above are the 3 boys and the pictures below are the 3 girls.
The pups have been sleeping in their own crate for the last 2 nights. They haven't been exactly silent but we have been able to ignore them until about 5:30 when they go out for their p&p. They go to bed about 10 and hopefully by the end of the week will be sleeping until 6. They are almost accident free in their crates now and in a few days they will be completely crate trained.
