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Gallery - previous litters.
Hazel and Lennie - pups born June 17, 2012 - 7 girls and 4 boys.
Hazel is a beautiful girl of medium colour and coat. She has a calm dependable disposition and enjoys working. She has her Show Championship (Ch), Tracking Dog title (TD), Canine Good Neighbour title (GCN) and Rally Novice obedience title (RN). She has clearances for hips, elbows, eyes and heart and is in excellent health. This is Hazel's second litter. We kept one pup (Mara) from her first litter as a potential breeding female and are pleased with her development. Lennie is a handsome mid-sized male from Kyon Kennels near Shelburne. He has a straight, easy-care coat, jet-black pigmentation and excellent structure and movement. He has a soft, fun-loving disposition and loves to be with people. He has clearances for hips, elbows, eyes and heart and is in excellent health. We selected Lennie because he compliments Hazel in every way. Delivery day - June 17, 2012 The first pup arrived at 8:50 PM and by 1:50 AM there were 9 pups. Hazel then took a 3 hour break and delivered the last two at 4:55 and 5:30 AM. There were no complications. The birth weights were quite uniform (15 to 17 oz) and averaged 15.6 oz. As of 5 PM on June 18, Hazel and pups were doing well.
Watch them grow
Each
week, we will post a picture of the same puppy beside a
favourite toy so that you see how the pups are growing.
Week 1
Hazel's
pups have done well this first week. All 11 have nursed
well and
have almost doubled their birth weight as a result. Hazel is doing the
same great job that she did with her first litter in her usual calm
manner. All is well.
Week 2
Hazel has continued to feed and clean her pups well. She is quite calm
about it all and spends some of her time in the kitchen with some of
the other dogs or sleeping outside the whelping box.
By the end of the week the pups' eyes were opening and they were trying to walk. As there are 11 of them we expect that they will walk somewhat earlier as they have been exercising their legs a lot as they push for feeding space and also because they are a bit lighter than would be the case in a smaller litter. We removed the bars inside the whelping box as there was little danger that Hazel would lie on them and also the pups needed more room. Yola - one of the pups from Rose' litter - has been very interested in the pups and took the opportunity to visit when we left the gate open.
Week
3
This was a week of change for the pups. They tried their first solid food (puppy food soaked in hot water until soft) and were moved from the whelping box because they were beginning to escape. We divided the litter between the two areas - smaller ones in one area and the larger ones in the other - so we could better monitor their growth. As there are 11 pups, a few needed some supplemental feeding so we began to feed them goat's milk by bottle. All of this was well received.
Week
4
This week's visiting hours were fun for people and pups alike, as these pictures show.
Week 5 The pups continued to grow and develop this week. We reduced their nursings with Hazel to 2 per day and increased the feedings on puppy food to 3 per day. By the end of next week, we expect that they will be fully weaned. We all enjoyed another edition of visiting hours on July 22. Here are a few pictures.
Cameo appearances - July 25. Here are individual pictures of the 11 pups, each doing his or her best impression of a deer in the headlights. They are named according to the colour of their collars.
Puppies find the strangest places to sleep. Here are some of Hazel's group sleeping around the water bowl.
Week 6 The pups are progressing well. They are nearing the end of the weaning and worming processes. They are still growing quickly and developing as usual. One of the fun things is to watch their personalities develop. Some are bold and others more reserved but all love people. Here they are enjoying a visit from the neighbours.
Photoshoot - July 29. Each week we take a picture of Mr. Grey beside Mr. Monkey to show how he (Mr. Grey, not Mr. Monkey) is growing. In the first few weeks, he was quite cooperative. That changed this week as these pictures show.
Week 7 This is the last week before the pups begin to move to their new homes. They will finish the weaning process, have their vet exam and first shots, get their microchips, finish being de-wormed and be chosen by the new owners. A busy time! First vet exam - July 30. Dr. Dan of the Uxbridge Veterinary Hospital arrived to give the pups their health exam and first shots. Here is Mr. Blue's account of proceedings.
Microchips - August 3. The microchips are inserted under the skin between the shoulder blades. The chip is about the size in a grain of rice and is inserted through a needle on an insertion gun. The process is quick and almost painless as the pups don't have a lot of feeling in that area. Here is Miss White preparing herself through meditation and deep breathing.
Time to say "Goodbye". These past 7 weeks have gone very quickly for us but seemed interminable for the new owners. Today (August 5) we held the New Owner Seminar and said "Goodbye" to 5 of the 11 pups. One (Miss Red) is staying on at Setherwood and the remaining 5 left over the following week.
Here are pictures of the 11 pups as they leave with their happy owners.
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Week 4
I'm outta here!
