Previous Litter - Ellen and Geordie. The litter of 7 girls and 5 boys was born on April 6, 2014. The pups went to their new homes about June 1, 2014.  Ch Setherwood Quinellen RN CGN Ch Setherwood Xmas Geordie Birthday - April 6, 2014. Ellen did a great job delivering her litter. The first pup was born at 11:05 pm on April 5 and the last was born 4:20 am on April 6. As the majority were born on April 6, that will be the litter's birth date. The births were easy and twice two pups were born just 5 minutes apart. Birth weights ranged from 7.5 ounces to 13 ounces which is smaller than normal (usually about 16 ounces). All 12 nursed well and look good at this point. The next 72 hours are important as Ellen settles into motherhood and the pups organs begin to function. Numbers 7 and 8, born 5 minutes apart. Ellen with the final result - 7 girls and 5 boys. Update - April 9. The pups are now 3 days old and are doing very well. They have grown from an average of 10.6 ounces at birth to 14.5 ounces today. The smallest two have gained almost 4 ounces and are just as vigorous as the rest. It appears that all their organs are functioning and that they are developing normally. Ellen is nursing her pups in two shifts as she does not have 12 functioning nipples. So she nurses the 2 smallest pups and 5 others for 1 hour while the other 5 snooze in a heated green bin. We then leave the 2 smallest with her and swap the other 5 with the snoozers. We do this every hour during the day. This ensures that the smaller pups are able to nurse without fear that the larger ones will push them away. Seven working. Five snoozing. Ellen is a very dedicated Mum and spends all her time feeding and cleaning. However, she sometimes exhibits an unusual nursing position, as this pictures shows. Learning to be mountain climbers. Watch them grow. Each week, we will post a picture of the pups with a favourite toy (whose name is Reginald) so that you see how the pups are growing. One day old. One week old. Two weeks old. Three weeks old. Four weeks old. Five weeks old. Six weeks old. Two weeks old. Somehow, week one went by without an update. Please accept our (read "Norm's") humble apologies. Ellen and her pups have done well. We continued to feed them in two shifts to make sure that the smaller two were able to nurse. During the day, the shifts change every hour. Overnight, she has all 12 with her. Ellen - all ready for the 12-pup sleep-over. The pups are growing well and developing normally. Their eyes are opening and they are beginning to walk. Ellen is still quite dedicated but does spend sometime out of the whelping box. Sardine imitation. Sleeping "outside the box". Three weeks old. The pups continue to do well. As they can see and hear and are learning to walk and play. Ellen still nurses them on 1 to 2 hour shifts and is looking after the housework but is much more willing to spend time away from her puppy duties. All is well. Seven with Ellen. Five in the bin. Learning to walk. Learning to play. Enjoying a visit from Geneva. And from Reginald. Update - May 1. The pups are almost four weeks old and are beginning to consider life outside the whelping box. They are walking well and enjoying each other's company. They have been introduced to solid food but still much prefer Ellen. Here are a few pictures. Early signs of juvenile delinquency. Top dog - bottom dog. "I think I can see your tonsils!" "I need a vacation." "It's a whole new world out there!" "Where? I don't see anything!" Four weeks old. For the first four weeks of their lives, the whelping box was the pups' world. Ellen was with them as much as we could arrange and provided all of their meals. Life was stable. The next four weeks will be a time of change. Before they leave us, they will be weaned, de-wormed, vet-checked, microchipped and vaccinated. They will spend several hours with their new owners and others during visiting times so that they will be confident with people. They will also develop their individual personalities as they interact with each other. It's a lot to experience but essential if they are to be ready for life in their new homes. So the whelping box was removed and a new and larger area was set up. As is usual, they were a bit apprehensive but were still able to eat. Here are a few pictures. "Our new place is huge!" "This pool needs a heater." "The toys are good." "I feel a bit scared!" "Don't worry. June will look after us." "See? Told ya!" The pups will be fed in two groups of 6 pups. Each group will alternate between nursing and eating solid food (Royal Canin starter soaked in hot water until mushy). For the next week, each pup will get 4 nursings and 4 small meals each day. As the weeks progress, the number of nursings will decrease while the amount of solid food per meal will increase. This will continue until the pups are weaned at about 7 weeks of age. Six at the bar. Six in the bowl. Mug Shots - May 4. The pups are now wearing the coloured collars that we will use to identify them until they go to their new homes.  Here they are, each a picture of intelligence and charm. Miss Red. Miss Yellow. Miss Orange. Miss Green. Miss Pink. Miss Pink Check. Miss Purple. Mr Blue Paisley. Mr Blue check. Mr Blue spot. Mr Purple. Mr Black. Visiting hours - May 5. This was the first time that the pups prospective owners were able to play with them outside of the whelping area. As usual, the pups started awake and finished asleep. All enjoyed the experience. And we were treated to a surprise visit from handsome Geordie, the pup's dad. Update - May 8. The pups are doing well. They are nursing and eating solid food enthusiastically and are growing as a result. At present, there are no problems. They are quite active, doing all the things that puppies like to do. Here are some of their favourites. "We like to scratch our chins, bite a sister's ear, and a brother's foot, and any tail available, chew on a towel, play with toys and hang out with friends." "And this is what we like most!!" Five weeks old. This has been a great week for the pups. Each day, they ate five meals of soaked starter food and were nursed twice by Ellen. There were many visitors, some that are interested in future litters and some that have reserved one of these pups. They were able to eat, visit, play, sleep and grow. Not a bad life! Ellen has been doing well (except for a brief bout with mastitis). She is eating 11 cups of starter ration plus peanut butter sandwiches, biscuits and other treats each day. She is losing some weight but this is to be expected as she is producing a lot of milk which the pups remove at high speed whenever the opportunity arises. She will begin to gain weight in the next two weeks as the number of nursings is decreased to allow us to wean the pups by the time they reach seven weeks of age. As usual, the pups gave us some great photo ops. Here is this week's offering. "Just so you know - the others can be a bit naughty." "This must be finger food." "I think I'm having a bad hair day." "OK! OK! I give up! No more tickling!" There was a great turn-out to this week's visiting hours. We all had a great time. Here are a few pictures. The pups seemed to have a preoccupation with feet during this week's visiting hours, as these pictures show. Budding podiatrist. Socks are for pulling. "Blue is my colour too!" "I feel a heel." Good times are better shared. "Even my feet are cute!" Six weeks old. The pups have continued to do well. They nursed only twice each day but have really enjoyed the solid meals. They are growing and developing as expected. Here are a few pictures taken this week. Foot-rest. "I didn't think humans came this small!" This is a nosy puppy. And this one is straight laced. "Careful - I am VICIOUS!" "I think I'm pretty vicious too." "This way I won't be late for lunch!" "It's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way." Eight weeks old - going home. After weeks of waiting, the day to take them home has arrived. The pups have been weaned, vet-checked, vaccinated, micro-chipped, socialized and selected by their new owners. They are completely ready for the next big adventure. It is a bitter-sweet time for us as we always enjoy our time with each group but we know that all the pups are going to people who will give them the love and care they deserve. Our thanks to yet another group of great owners. We have enjoyed meeting and getting to know them and we thank them for choosing Setherwood Goldens. Setherwood Isabelle "Bella" (Miss purple) Setherwood Irish Eyes "Bentley" (Mr. Paisley) On left - Setherwood Isadora "Poppy" (Miss Red) On right - Setherwood Islay's Hamish (Mr Purple) Setherwood Izzy "Ruby" (Miss Orange) Setherwood Iellie "Ellie" (Miss Yellow) Setherwood Ivanhoe "Jake" (Mr Black) Setherwood Ireland "Sadie" (Miss Pink Check) Setherwood Ichabod "Dug" (Mr Blue Dot) Setherwood Isle "Keeley" (Miss Green) Setherwood Izidor "Finley" (Mr Blue Check) Setherwood Isla "Isla" (Miss Pink) Top of  page  /  Home