JRRanch Ticket X Tropical Storm Tracker
pups born April 13, 2011
Updated : May 31, 2011
April 14 2011
Ticket had her pups last night. She had 4 girls and 2 boys. She did the job with a minimum of fuss and bother but she was very tired at the end.
The last girl born was only 3.75oz but she is doing very well today. The boys were 5 and 6oz and the other girls were between 4 and 5oz.
All the pups gained weight nicely after their first night of feeding.
Click on the thumbnails below for larger picturres.
We will post new pictures every few days and also provide a narrative on their progress so stay tuned for updates.
Ticket, the pups and Mrs. JRRanch are all resting and recovering today from a job well done.
April 16, 2011
Some pictures from today. The little girl is the one closest to the camera with the edge of the left blaze running straight down her head to her nose. She is almost 5oz. today and though she took a couple of days to get started she is gaining strong now.
The third picture gives you an idea of the whelping pen. We have a plastic basket inserted in it so the pups can't get out through the bars. They love to climb up the corners and at only 3 days old they almost get out. As soon as the pups are big enough we will remove the basket.
April 19, 2011
Some head shots of the pups today. The top pictures are of the girls and the bottom are the boys. The little girl is in the two pictures on the right and you can see she is smaller but just as fat as the other pups. She is gaining rapidly now and is almost 7oz. today.
The pups have had their tails and dew claws done and are into their 3rd day of 13 days of neurological stimulation. The pups are held in 5 different positions for 3 seconds each. On their back, head down, head up, toes stimulated/tickled then placed on a cold wet cloth. This helps them adapt to stress and also improves cardiovascular health.
The pups noses are pink now but will turn to black over the next several weeks. The pups eyes are shut now and they will open at
about 2 weeks. Their ears are up or sideways now but shortly after they gain their eyesight their ears will drop and they will begin to hear. Right now they just crawl around on their bellies to find their meal then fall asleep until they are hungry again in about an hour. When they develop their sight they will begin to walk more upright. Thats when the fun starts.
Don't forget to click on one of the pictures to see the larger version then cycle through the rest.
April 21, 2011
The pups were 1 week old yesterday. They have all more than doubled their weight in the first week which is excellent progress. The pups can't regulate their own body temp for the first 3 weeks so we keep the whelping pen at about 80F. Towards the end of the second week we will begin to remove the heat lamp until their pen is at normal room temp by the end of the 3rd week.
As you can see by the pictures Ticket is very relaxed with her pups and loves to be with them. She is an excellent Mom and certainly has an ample milk supply to keep these 6 pups growing at the rate they are. Ticket will be retired after this litter and we certainly will miss this no fuss whelping she provides.
Duplicate images because I am testing new processing methods and sizes.
Which one do you prefer? Webcam
April 24 Happy Easter
A couple of pictures of the proud momma and her brood to show how much the pups have grown.
We removed the pan with the high edges. They were crawling over the edge to the other side of the whelping pen and getting stranded.This was needed initially to keep the pups from falling through the bars. They are all big enough now that that won't happen.
They are now free to roam all over their whelping pen. They will initially have difficuly moving on the smooth surface but will get the hang of it in a couple of days.
May 1, 2011
The pups are seeing well now and their hearing has developed because when we talk to them their heads pop up and they sometimes let us know we have woken them up.
They are really getting around the x-pen now and are beginning to use the non bedding side to pee. This is their first step in house training and before they go to their new homes they will be almost completely trained.
In a couple of days they will get their next challenge when we take them for short stints into the living room. It will take a few days of this and they will become more confident and start exploring.
Around 4 weeks old we will take them for short trips outside on the deck, weather permitting.
May 6, 2011
The pups are wandering all over their whelping pen and need a challenge of larger spaces so a trip to the living room is in order.
The first few times they do this they are a little overwhelmed. Only a few are adventurous and they only last a few minutes before they want to go back to their familiar place and Mom.
In a couple of days they will get more confidence and really start exploring the big world.
By next week we will probably put them in an x-pen in the kitchen for longer periods. We need to use the x-pen because at this stage they will be going in every direction and it will be tough to keep them from falling down stairs or all sorts of other trouble.
Later next week they will be ready for short stints outside on the deck weather permitting.
This is the most interesting time to watch their development and individual personalities emerge.
May 7, 2011
Some more pictures from today. Not much exploring yet. Then Mom was let in to see them on their outing and they suddenly got confidence. After Mom wandered through and checked them out they all started to wander all over the living room and a couple had to be retrieved from under the love seat.
Tomorrow we should see this confidence grow and they will really stretch their legs and move about.
They don't have teeth starting yet but when that happens they will be ready to start a bit of solid food. That should happen late next week.
May 12, 2011
The first 3 pictures are from May 8. They really liked to cuddle and sleep with their new toys. At this time they were just starting to explore the living room. Every day they showed much more confidence and yesterday we had to start using the x-pen in the kitchen for their safety.
Yesterday they started their trips outside and they quickly got the idea that this was the place to do their p&p. This morning we whisked them outside shortly after they woke up and they did their duty. They will eventually build up to long walks down the farm lane.
After their trip outside they spent about an hour in their x-pen in the kitchen. Then we tried them on some mushy food and they dug in with gusto. Looks like this litter catches on to new things very quickly. We don't want to wean them yet but will give them one meal each day and maybe by the end of the week they will be ready.
Mom will be happy because she is already relishing some free time away from the pups. When the pups were outside yesterday we had Mom with them and she wandered off. We spent almost an hour walking all over the farm seaching for her. We were getting frantic worrying that we had lost her. Then we noticed the barn door was slightly open and we found her hunting for rats or mice. She was haviing a ball and didn't want to leave her quarry.
Another reminder that these dogs are hunters and can disappear in seconds and get so involved in hunting they won't respond to calls.
May 16, 2011
The pups will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. They have been eating a good breakfast the last couple of days and tonight we will start them on an evening meal as well.
They will spend most of the day today outside the whelping pen and away from Mom. They spend their time in the x-pen in the kitchen, in another x-pen on the deck or on several walks.
They should be weaned from Mom entirely by next weekend. The next big event for them will be crate training starting in a few days when they are weaned.
They still don't have the stamina for long walks down the farm lane but expect by the weekend they will. They really enjoy running around in the grass but it has been a bit chilly the lately so they don't spend too much time outside yet.
Mom is enjoying a well deserved rest from the constant demands of the pups. As soon as the pups are weaned she will be ready to go to her new home. She will make an excellent pet and we are really enjoying her company.
May 23, 2011
The first 4 pictures are the grandkids visit to the farm to see the pups.
The rest are from the walks down the lane and then the aftermath where they need a nap on the deck.
The pups are gaining in stamina daily and are walking all the way down the farm lane before they get tired.
Mom has gone to her new home and the pups are sleeping alone in their whelping pen. They are eating their puppy food with gusto and their appetites are increasing daily as they grow.
This week we will start the crate training. First we will put 3 to a crate for a couple of nights. As soon as they are used to that we will separate them to their own crates for the night.
May 30, 2011
The kids have kept us hopping lately. They are very energetic and play real hard for longer now. When we take them to the yard we have to really keep alert because they can disappear into the tall grass in the pasture in a flash.
They love to race around on the lawn now and are getting lots of exercise and exploring everything.
On good days they can spend most of the day on the deck with the larger x-pen and lots of toys. We also have a tunnel for them to play in and a tent to nap in. On hot days we make them some shade for napping in because the tent gets too hot.
On rainy/cold days they spend more time in the kitchen. The last couple of pictures is a typical puppy pile in the kitchen. They sleep right through all our activity in the kitchen.
They are sleeping 2 to a crate right through the night already. No fussing or crying and no messes in the morning. We do get up before 6am though when we hear them waking up. We immediately carry them outside where they do their duty.
May 31, 2011
Took the kids for a walk down the lane today and took along my camera. The poser of the day was the little fuzzy girl, Rosie.
Physically, the pups could go to their new homes this week but the reason we don't is to better socialise them to make them better canine citizens.
Right now they are biting and fighting each other and sometimes it hurts. The injured pup will then return the pain and teach the aggressor that this is not acceptable behaviour. Before Mom left for her new home we heard her discipline the pups a few times also.
The pups are doing great sleeping through the night. We put them 2 to a crate in the kitchen and turn lights out a 10pm and we don't hear a peep until just before 6am. A few more days of this and we will start them alone in their crate at night. This is the hardest part of crate training and usually leads to a couple of sleepless nights for us. We have high hopes that this litter will be better.
