Taz had 5 pups this morning. She had 4 pups starting at 1:15am finishing about 2:30am. We thought she was finished because the x-rays we had done last week showed 4 pups. We waited about an hour and gave her a shot of oxytocin to clean her out. Waited another hour then went to bed about 4:30 content that Taz had done another excellent job.
We woke up at 6:30 and immediately checked on the pups and got a big surprise. Sometime after we had gone to bed Taz delivered another small female. Just proves that they can do fine all by themselves.
So, the total is 3 boys and 2 girls. The boys are 7-8 ounces, one girl is 5oz and the last one born is 3.25oz. We will keep our eye on the little one and give her some special time feeding but she looks healthy and feisty.
Its going to be a quiet day at JRRanch just watching the puppies grow.
The top 3 pictures were taken at 4am and the others later this morning after the last pup was born.
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June 4, 2008
The pups are a day old now and all are feeding vigorously. The small girl is suprisingly smaller than the rest but she is doing fine and gaining weight. We will continue to monitor her very closely and make sure she gets her share of the food. You can see from the pictures her sides are bulging and she is twitching as she sleeps which is another good sign that she is growing properly. For the first couple of weeks they twitch quite a bit as they sleep and its quite a sight to see constant twitching from a pile of puppies. Seems like one of them twitches every few seconds setting off a chain reaction.
June 9 2008
The pups are a week old now. They have had their tails and dew claws done and the Early Neurological Stimulation has begun. This stimulation has the following benefits : improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate), stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease. Stimulated pups were found to be more active and inquisitive and were dominant in competitive situations over unstimulated pups. Stimulation is done from day 3 to 16.
The larger pups are 11-16oz and the little last born girl is 5.25oz.
They should all be double their birth weight in a day or two so all are progressing very well. The little girl had us worried for awhile but she is proving to be very spunky and has no problem burrowing under the larger pups for her share of the food. She took a couple of days to really start gaining but is going steady now. We also supplemented her with a bit of yogurt to help get her gut get going. The last picture illustrates the size difference and her ability to burrow for food.
June 14, 2008
The pups are 11 days old and growing fast. The big kids are between 18 and 25oz and the little girl is 9oz. She gained a whole ounce for the first time yesterday and has put on a growth spurt in the last 2 days so she is doing very well. She will likely remain very small which is not a bad thing in a hunting dog which is bred to go down small fox/gopher holes. Her markings are very similar to mom's so she will likely be a smaller version of Taz.
The next major milestone for them will happen in a couple of days when their eyes open and they begin seeing for the first time. A few days after that they will gain their hearing and this usually means they start to get more vocal as well. After their eyes open they begin to walk more upright as opposed to the belly crawling they are doing now.
By 3 weeks they will be waddling around and playing. Thats when the fun starts and mom wants to spend more time away from them and you can understand why, when you see 5 pups crawling all over her when she is trying to rest.
June 21, 2008
The kids are almost 3 weeks old now. The 3 boys are on the top in the pictures on the right. They all have their eyes open and some can hear a bit. They are starting to wobbly walk around the whelping pen. The big boys are so large that this is quite an effort for them and the little girl is the most nimble. Expect(hope) the big boys to lose some baby fat with the increased exercise. The little girl is gaining steady and is up to 14oz now. The biggest boy is over 35oz and it shows on his wide body. When we get them outside for walks at about 5 weeks they will all get into shape.
At this stage, improvement in their walking skills happens rapidly. They still sleep most of the time though and are only awake for a couple of minutes of activity after each feeding.
They are starting to show interest in Mom's food so we will probably start them on some sloppy puppy food late next week. Their teeth should begin to appear soon and that is when we introduce them to solid food. Makes for some interesting sights as they gather around their doughnut shaped trough for the first time. When they really start to tuck into their food it can get pretty messy as they eat it and step in it and get it all over the floor and themselves. Definately a heavily supervised experience or we would have sloppy puppy food all over the place. Check back for updates of this experience.
June 24, 2008
The pups are 3 weeks old now. Time for their first experience outside their whelping pen. Tried to get some shots of them nicely lined up but that only lasts for a second before they sqirm away. Not much exploring yet. They don't walk about much yet. They just huddle and look around. That is, all except the little one, who wandered all over. She is more agile than the wide bodies at this stage but the others will quickly catch up as they get into shape and lose some baby fat.
They only lasted a couple of minutes before they settled down for a nap and then we put them back in their whelping pen. We will bring them out every day now and each time they will develop their curiosity and stamina. By the end of the week they will be out several times a day and will be tough to contain so we will have to set up the x-pen in the kitchen for them.
In about a week they will get their first taste of solid food and the weaning will begin.
June 26, 2008
They are getting a bit bolder on their treks to the living room. A few more times and they will really be getting around. Their teeth are starting to develop so they will be ready for puppy mush soon. This should be fun. Will get some pictures of it so you can see what kind of a mess they make.
The little one is still the most adventurous although she goes backwards more than ahead. When she gets on the hardwood floor her hind feet slide out from under her and when she raises up on her front legs she slides backwards. No problem, we have had this happen with all litters and eventually they get traction on the slippery floors and away they go. For now she will have to see the world in reverse or stay on the blanket for better traction.
June 30,2008
The pups got their first tast of solid food today. They didn't eat much but Mom enjoyed cleaning up after them. This is only a snack for them and we will give them a taste every day to get them used to solid food. By the end of the week they will be eating more and Mom will be ready yo start the weaning process. We will then increase the feeding to twice a day and keep Mom away from them for longer periods.
They are getting around very well now. Each day we see progress. They are making brief attempts at rolly polly running now. If they get a bit carried away they just fall down or roll over then get back up and try it again. We are also seeing more curiosity and exploring.
They all have teeth showing so every once in awhile we hear a cry from the whelping pen as one of them tries them out on their sibling. This is all part of the socialisation period. They find out that it may be fun to bite but not much fun being bitten. Also, if they get too rough with Mom she will let them know when they have gone too far. This is why they have to be kept with their siblings until they are 8 weeks old. The last week or two is extremely important in developing a well socialised pup ready to go to a family environment.
July 2, 2008
This is the pups first encounter with fresh air. A cool breeze was blowing in the screen door and they all had their noses in the air whiffing in the new smells. Then they got down to some serious exploring. We really have to keep a close eye on them now because they are starting to move fast and can get into trouble quickly.
They are getting a bit of food each day but really not tucking into it yet. Probably by the end of the week they will be eating puppy food with more gusto. When that happens we will increase their feedings to twice a day and Mom will be glad to begin the weaning process.
Pretty soon we will have to put them in an x-pen for their outings. Too easy to lose track of them now and have them fall down stairs or other dangerous activity.
They spend 10-15 minutes out of the whelping pen 3-4 times a day now. By the end of the week they will be out most of the day so the x-pen will be necessary.
July 4, 2008
The pups took their first trip outside today. They had fun in the grass and Mom was along to keep them in line. They didn't last more than 5 minutes and they wanted to get back inside. The sun was pretty hot on them so we didn't push it.
Mom was very proud of her kids as she led them around the yard.
July 6, 2008
Some head shots of the kids. Boys in the top row and girls on the bottom. Threw in an extra shot of the little girl because she posed so nicely.
July 9,2008
Some pictures of the kids on a walk on the farm lane with Mrs JRRanch. They don't follow yet but in a few days their will be a little trail of puppies following Mrs JRRanch on long walks down the driveway.
They started to eat solid food with more gusto yesterday. They are 5 weeks old now so they are on schedule to begin weaning onto solid food now. Mom enjoys her quiet times alone without them now.
They spend most of the day in an x-pen on the deck. It is shaded all morning until just before noon when they come into their whelping pen for a feeding frenzy with Mom. Then it is shady again on the deck around 2 and they stay out again until evening. They nap a lot in the fresh air so we take them for many walks on the lane to give them more exercise and to lose some of their baby fat.
After their walks they crash on the deck as in the last picture. They get a drink of water then cuddle up with their favourite toy or their blankie and take nap.
