Last updated : September 4, 2010
JRRanch Taz X Shelmar Tobias
pups born June 15, 2010
June 15, 2010
The Taz pups with Toby were born today. She had 3 girls and 2 boys.
They were a robust 6 to 7.2 oz.
Taz popped out the 5 pups in under 2 hours starting just before noon.
She really enjoys being a mother. On her potty breaks she quickly does her business then will haul us back inside and want right back in with her pups.
We will do frequent updates to this page so check often for more pictures and explanation of their progress.
For now, Taz is resting and the pups are busy tanking up.This picture was taken about an hour after the last pup was born and already their tummies look full.
July 16, 2010
The pups are all doing well.
Click on the first thumbnail and it will show larger pictures and you can sequence through them.
The pups eat and sleep in 5-10 minute intervals at this stage. When they get older they will sleep/play longer.
They grow so fast at this stage that they twitch when they sleep as a reaction to rapid nervous system growth.
July 18, 2010
The pups had their tails and dew claws done yesterday.
Today they started their neurological stimulation also called super dog training by the military. We hold the dog in 5 different positions for 3 seconds each. This apparently helps cardio development, makes the pups respond better to stress and a bunch of other benefits. Will try to get some pictures of the procedure later. They get this training for 13 days.
Pictures are the 2 boys first then 4 pictures of the 3 girls.. In a few days we will get individual pictures.
The pups are all growing steadily and Taz just loves bringing up her pups.
July 23, 2010
The pups were 1 week old yesterday and growing steadily.
In the next few days there eyes will open. One of the girls is already showing signs of opening. A few days after that they will develope their hearing. We will know when this happens because they will get vocal when they hear us enter the room.
Right now they crawl on their bellies to get around but when they develope sight and hearing they will begin to stand up and stagger around. A few days of this and they will really begin to get mobile in their whelping pen.
At about 3 weeks we will begin to take them out to the kitchen for short periods. Thats about the time we start taking some of the workload off Mom for the cleanup duties. But its also the time when the fun starts as they develope their personalities and interact with each other more.
There are 2 pictures of each pup starting with the boys then the 3 girls followed by a couple of pictures of them doing their thing.
July 25, Added 3 pictures from our webcam. The first 2 are from today and the last one is from their birth date just to show how they have grown.
We also removed the shallow box and they can roam all over the whelping pen now. We only use the box until they are large enough to not squeeze between the bars of their whelping pen. Taz likes to sleep on the metal side because it is cooler. We keep the whelping pen at just under 80F for the pups health. For the first 2 weeks they can't regulate their own body temperature so this helps.
Had to add this last one from just before lights out Sunday night. These webcam pictures are taken every 5 minutes automatically and I happened to notice this one when I fired it up Monday morning. Not very good quality pictures but they sure are cute.
For all the following groups of pictures click on the first one to expand it to the larger size and then use the R or L arrow keys to move forward or backward.
July 29, 2010
The pups are 2 weeks old today. Their eyes are all open and they are begining to hear a bit. Soon they will really be motoring around in their whelping pen.
When they get complete confidence there (around 3 weeks) we will start them on short trips to the kitchen to explore a larger world. After about a week of ever longer trips to the kitchen they will be spending a large part of their day outside their whelping pen (at about 4-5 weeks). Each litter progresses differently and we let them tell us when they are ready for the next challenge.
Aug 4, 2010
The pups have been very active the last couple of days. They are staggering all over their whelping pen and beginning to interact with each other with little faux fights and growlies. They are also beginning potty training on their own by going over to the metal side of their pen to pee and avoid soiling their bedding. So far Taz has had all the cleanup duties but now ours starts.
By their activity they told us they are ready for the challenge of new experiences. Today we took them on a little trip to the living room for them to see a little more of the world. This is a few days earlier than previous litters but most reacted in the same way other litters have. A couple did a bit of wandering but three of them (the two boys and large girl) slept through most of it. They only lasted about 5 minutes before they began to cry and want back in their safe place.
They will come out every day now for increasing periods of time.
The last pictures are from a little later in their whelping pen after a bedding change while Taz was out for a walk. They are a lot of fun at this stage because they are learning quickly and their individual personalities are developing.
Aug 8, 2010
The first 8 pictures are from Aug 6, the next 5 from Aug 7 and the last 4 were taken today. Taz is usually outside for a break when we have the pups out but today she came in and joined them before the pups were ready to go back to the whelping pen.
Each time they make this trek we notice them gain in confidence. Today we noticed that the little girl with the spot who on the first trips looked to be the most intimidated was now the most adventurous. She was actually running across the floor. The first one to do this. They are all getting more stamina and the last session was almost 15 minutes before they crashed. Next week we will have to put up the x-pen in the kitchen to keep them safe and contained because it will be tough to keep them under control if they are all tearing around in different directions.
Notice how their noses are turning black. By the time they are ready for their new homes they will be all black. Also their tan spots are taking over from the black on their heads. This is normal for most of our litters and by maturity they will likely have mostly tan heads but most will retain the black in their body spots just like Taz.
Aug 12, 2010
The pups are 4 weeks old today.
For the last couple of days we have been taking them to the kitchen and letting them play in their x-pen. The first 2 days they didn't last more than 15 minutes before wanting back to their whelping pen in the bedroom. But today we see a big step in their development. They played hard for about 20 minutes and without whimpering or requesting their whelping pen they just crashed on their bed in the x-pen. The last 2 pictures are from today when they settled in for their first long nap here.
They can spend a couple of hours at a time in their x-pen now and we expect that by the weekend they may want to stay their all day with only a noon feeding with mom. Then they will retire to their whelping pen for the night only.
By next week we will likely be able to set up another x-pen on the deck to start them getting used to outdoors and doing their potty duties there.
At 5 weeks they may be spending a good deal of their day outside on the shaded and breezy deck. What a life.
Aug 15, 2010
The pups are developing quickly now. Every day brings a new experience for them to cope with. This is a most important time for their socialization. They learn to get along with each other and if they bully they are put down very quickly. The first picture shows the little girl reacting to being harassed by one of the boys. The new owners should correct improper behaviour like the pups and mom do, with a very gruff growl and if necessary a bite like touch.
They are going outside on the deck now and in the second picture experiencing the water bowl for the first time.. They are eating some solid food now and we have cut back visits to mom to 3 times a day. They are still sleeping with mom in the whelping pen.
The grand kids visit frequently and the pups learn to react with more humans. I think they like the cuddles.
Aug 18, 2010
The pups go for at least 2 walks a day on the grass and down the farm lane. Each day they can go a bit further and develop their running skills so they are quite agile now.
They are eating more solid food and by the weekend should be weaned from Taz. For a couple of days they will only spend the night with Taz and then they will spend the night alone and be totally weaned.
The next step will be sleeping in pairs in crates at night and when they get that mastered we will crate them on their own at night.
By then they will also be mostly potty trained and ready for their new homes at 8 weeks.
Aug 23, 2010
The pups have been weaned from Taz for 3 days now and are growing fast and strong.
They still need a lot of sleep but go on many 20 minute walks down the farm lane and on the lawn. They are getting very speedy and are starting to follow their noses and curiosity about all the critter smells about the farm.
They are starting to follow us and we are teaching them to come when called.
Today we started the sound sensitivity CD with loud sounds of cars, ambulance, thunder, fireworks and large and small dog barks. They were a little wary of the fireworks and large dog barks but mostly they just listened with that curious sideways tilt to their head.
Tomorrow we will start feeding them seperately in their crates twice a day. In a couple of days we will pair them up to sleep in their crates all night. After they get used to that they will get to sleep in their own crate. This may get a bit noisy for a couple of hours as they adjust but it will be well worth it to have pups used to this when they go to their new homes.
You can see from the pictures they take to challenging toys very quickly.
Aug 31, 2010
The pups are 7 weeks old tomorrow, are maturing very fast and will be ready for their new homes soon.
They spend almost all day outside for walks and playing in the yard or lounging on the deck. They come in around noon with the hot weather and have a little snack and attempt to nap in their crates.
They are sleeping in their own crates at night. We are getting up 2 or 3 times during the night to let them do their p&p and then right back to bed. In a few days they should be sleeping almost thru the night.
The noise is tough to ignore when they first go in their crates but they settle down in about 5 minutes. They wake up in a few hours and the more urgent cry means I have to go out NOW.
Sep 3, 2010
The pups are sleeping about 5 hours at night now. Mrs JRRanch is getting more sleep.
The two smallest girls are having a bit of trouble sleeping alone so we kept them paired up for a couple of nights extra. They should be crate trained by the time they are ready to go to their new homes.
Love the sequence of pictures with our farm lane sign. In the first one it looks like the boy is reading the sign. Then looks like a heated discussion on the meaning of the sign followed by the girl checking for a message on the back.
Their walks are always interesting and each time they come up with something new to try.
In the last couple of days they have enjoyed digging in the gardens. Flowers are taking a beating.
In the last picture the pup is trying out the new life saver her new owner bought for her. Looks like it fits OK but she will need more practise walking in it.
