Tara and Spinnaker - 10 pups (5M and 5F) born December 27, 2018.
All 10 pups have been reserved.
Grand Ch Setherwood Quitara "Tara" |
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Tara
is a mid-size girl with a gold-coloured coat which is smooth, straight
and very easy to groom. She is athletic and energetic outside and calm
and sweet in the house. She loves to be in the dog show ring and was
able to finish her grand championship easily.
Grand Ch Feli Fey Flying Dutchman "Spinnaker" |
Spinnaker
was born in England at the Xanthes kennels. His pedigree combines top
English and Dutch lines. He is a gentle and confident dog with a
beautiful cream coat. He was campaigned as a show dog in England and
Italy before moving to Canada as a 3 year old. He finished his Canadian
grand championship easily. He has all his health clearances.
Birthday - December 27, 2018.
Not
all pregnancies are normal and smooth. About a week before Tara's due
date, she became quite ill and was on IV for a few days. She had
developed ketone acidosis caused by the pregnancy and would need a
C-section to remove the pups before she would improve. We had hoped
that she would be well enough to care for the litter but, although she
did nurse and clean them for their first night, she became ill again.
The decision was then made to stop her nursing the pups and to switch
the pups to Tilda. Tilda took on the new charges no problem so we could
concentrate on getting Tara well again.
We
had a few nervous and upsetting days but as of January 2, Tara is
definitely better and Tara's pups are thriving under Tilda's care. We
are very grateful to Dr. Les and all the wonderful staff at the
Beaverton Crossroads Veterinary Services for bringing Tara, her pups
and us through this difficult time.
Here is a picture taken on January 1 of Tilda with Tara's 10 (5 males and 5 females).
Tilda with Tara's 10 pups - January 1, 2019
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Update - January 4, 2019.
Over the last few days, Tara seemed to be getting sick again. She was not
eating and was looking depressed (as were we). We thought it was time
to take her back to the vet for more blood work etc to see what was
happening. This morning early, Norm had switched Tilda from her pups to
Tara's as usual. (We had been switching every 2 hours during the day
and every 3 hours at night). By mistake, he put Tara in with the pups
instead of Tilda. When we checked 30 minutes later, there was Tara
nursing all 10 pups, cleaning them and looking very happy. We were
shocked. When we offered her some food, she gobbled it! All day today
she has been feeding and caring for her babies (with feeding help from
Tilda) and doing a great job. She has eaten more today than any day
since December 17 when her troubles started.
We feel badly
that we didn't try her sooner but we had decided that it would be too
much for her given the tough time she had. But it appears that she just
wanted to be with her babies.
This is how it looked at about 7:30 this morning.
Tara and her pups - January 4. |
And here they are at 8:45 pm.
A picture of contentment. |
As
Tara does not have enough milk at present, Tilda has been feeding half
of the pups several times during the day. Here is a picture of Tilda
feeding the girls.
Tilda feeding Tara's girls. |
Two weeks old - January 10, 2019.
Tara
has continued to feed and clean her pups and to act as a normal mother
dog. She has also continued to eat well and is regaining her vigour as
well as her normal behaviour. She seems happy to be doing her mothering
job.
Tilda is still helping by nursing half the litter every
4 hours during the day. At night Tara has all 10 and does a good job.
We are still checking on her each night at about 3 am to see that all
is in order and to let her outside if she wants to go. So far, all is
well.
Here are a few more pictures of the nursing routine.
Tara's boys waiting their turn with Tilda. | 
Tilda with Tara's boys. | 
Tara with her girls. | 
Mothers at work. |
Three weeks old - January 17, 2019.
Tara's
pups are doing well. Tara and Tilda are still sharing nursing duties
and we are feeding them a starter ration (Royal Canin starter soaked in
hot water until soft) twice a day. They were not keen the first few
times but are eating well now. Their eyes are open and they are quite
mobile.
Tara
has bounced back from her earlier troubles. Her weight and condition
are good and she is acting as she did before. We have finished all her
meds and she continues to eat well.
Here are 2 pictures taken on January 17.
Tara - looking good. | 
They like it now. |
Four weeks old - January 24, 2019.
The
pups spend the first 4 weeks of life in their whelping box with Mum
close at hand (actually, close at mouth). Unfortunately, this can't
last forever. Before the pups go to live with their new families, they
must be weaned, de-wormed, vaccinated, microchipped, socialized and
matched to their new owners. So, since the pups are 4 weeks old
today, we moved them out of the whelping box to a larger area. Tara
will not be with them full-time but will nurse them on a schedule. (Tilda will continue to help out with this). We
will also feed them solid food (Royal Canin starter ration soaked until
soft). As the weeks go by, the number of nursings will be decreased and
the starter feedings increased until the pups are completely weaned at
about 7 weeks of age.
Here are pictures of this life-changing event.
Tara and pups - time to leave the whelping box. | 
The new arrangement | 
Time to meet the neighbours. | 
Wondering what just happened. |
The
pups are now wearing the coloured collars that we will use to identify
them until they leave us. We suggested that they should all look serious and intelligent for their mug shots. As you can see, they all agreed.
Miss Lime Green | 
Miss Yellow | 
Miss Purple | 
Miss White | 
Miss Pink | 
Mr Green | 
Mr Red | 
Mr Black | 
Mr Blue | 
Mr Turquoise |
Five weeks old - January 31, 2019.
The
pups are great. They are healthy, active and inquisitive. They are
eating their mushy meals (4 each day) with enthusiasm and
speed. They are making great use of the shavings so our clean-up is
easier. Their personalities are developing and they are gaining
confidence every day. Next week they will be given another dose of worm
medicine. Except for that indignity, it will be a week of growth and
fun.
Tara's milk supply is reducing so she will nurse only
twice each day. As the pups are now too big for Tara to nurse them all
at once, Tilda will nurse four and Tara will take six. The pups don't
care which Mum they get.
Here are some pictures taken as they played while we cleaned their area.
Everything is a potential toy. | 
Learning communication skills. | 
What a boring bunch. | 
Natural retriever. | 
Are you sure that somebody will want me? | 
We always find the best area to sleep. |
Seven weeks old - First time in the snow.
Due
to cold or wet weather, we were unable to take the pups outside until
the February 17 visiting time. The pups were out for about 15 minutes
and had the best time.
One of the pups had a first encounter with the poop
scoop (which was required a few times).
Eight weeks old - February 21, 2019.
The
pups will leave us this weekend so today we gave the pups their microchips
and the final deworming medication. We also trimmed their toe nails. They are ready to go!
We took mug shots when they were four weeks old and again today to show how much they have changed in the past four weeks.
Going home.
And
so, after all the waiting and preparations, the time came for the pups
to go to their new homes. They have received all that we can give to
prepare them for this event. They have been
weaned, vet-checked, vaccinated, micro-chipped, socialized and
matched to their new owners. They are healthy, inquisitive and active
and are completely ready to begin life in their forever homes.
We
always enjoy our time with each
group and miss them (but not the workload) after they have left but we
know that all the pups are going to great families who will treat them
with love and respect. So we thank these new owners for choosing Setherwood Goldens.
We first check the microchips to be sure that each family takes the correct pup.
The technician scans the chip . . . | 
. . . and reads the number - It's correct! |
And then it's time to leave.
Setherwood Donny "Auggie" (Mr Black) | 
Setherwood Daizee "Daisy" (Miss Lime Green) | 
Setherwood Dore "Suko" (Mr Red) | 
Setherwood Doulton "Charlie" (Mr Blue) | 
Setherwood Declan "Maxwell" (Mr Turquoise) | 
Setherwood Dorothy "Cali" (Miss Pink) | 
Setherwood Donegal "Hazel" (Miss Yellow) | 
Setherwood Davis "Davis" (Mr Green) | 
Setherwood Desire "Sydney" (Miss White)
|  Setherwood December Breeze "Bree" (Miss Purple) |
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