Well, it’s been 9 days since the puppies were born. They no longer fit in that 12 X 12 inch cardboard box. Now when I clean the whelping pen I have to put them in the laundry basket. And that is even snug. They have grown in size and weight. They are very comfortable in the pen. It’s big. 4ft X 4 ft, with blankets on 3 sides on the outside to prevent drafts. A heat lamp is over them. The first week the pen temperature should be about 90 degrees. Each week we raise the heat lamp a little and decrease the pen temperature by about 5 degrees each week, until it reaches 75 degrees. That is the lowest we will go regardless until they are about 6 weeks old.  Puppies cannot regulate body temperature on their own for about 3-4 weeks. More puppies die from being chilled. Regular room temperature is never warm enough. Today the average home temp is 68 degrees or less. A puppy’s normal temperature at birth is about 95 degrees. It gradually increases each day. By 3 weeks old it is about 100 degrees. An adult dog’s temp is 101. Puppies also depend on their mothers to keep warm. They crawl under her, and she curves her body to protect them. Yes we know litters that were born in the outdoors and some even survive. But it’s usually only the strong pups that do while the weaker ones don’t stand a chance in the cold. Our puppies are in the whelping pen until they get to go on their trip to the Doggie Doctor at exactly 6 weeks. After they receive their vaccinations, we turn off the heat lamp; allow them to get accustomed to room temperatures. We also start getting them outside every day where they get to experience new temperatures. There is plenty of room to crawl around in the pen. Jammer has plenty of room to stretch out to nurse them. Right now I am still using newspaper in the pen. But we will soon go to flannel/fleece. Years ago we made 2’’ cushions for the whelping pen. Two, 24 X 48 inch pads. We put crib sheets on them and then fleece or flannel covers over them. It helps keep the puppies warms. And it is very soft. It prevents drafts from underneath the pen. Once the puppies start relieving themselves, we keep a pad in one half of the pen for sleeping. The other half will be newspapers, where they learn to go to the bathroom.. They learn then not to poop or wet where they sleep. This is one of their teachings that they will learn. I wonder how peer pressure works with that?

All the puppies are doing great.  They are nursing and sleeping. The first week not much needs to be done. They spend about 90% of their time sleeping, 10% nursing. Sometimes they fall asleep while still on the teats. They can turn themselves over from one side to another. They could wiggle themselves under another puppy to find a teat. They can nudge another puppy off the teat so they can get to it.  They cannot relieve themselves yet. A new puppy cannot eliminate without stimulation. Their mother licks their bottoms to stimulate them. They have only 3 instinct reflexes when they are born: to crawl, to nurse and find a warm place. They depend on each other and mom for that. It’s so relaxing to watch them. They are so peaceful. And yet fun to watch. You can see who is starting to become the more dominant and submissive ones. We keep watching every one. Making sure they are all ok. Making sure no one is weakening. Sometimes a puppy doesn’t make it. Even if you do everything right, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s the “survival of the fittest” theory. In the animal world the weak ones endanger the rest of the pack. Sometimes the mother will neglect the weak one to save the others.  It’s very sad when we lose one. We haven’t lost many but every one we remember very well. And they are all buried in our backyard in a little area especially for new puppies. There’s a few back there. Along with some of our older dogs from years ago.  So when we think one pup is getting weak, we camp out near the pen. We have spent many, many sleepless nights sitting by the whelping pen, sometimes bottle feeding them, stimulating them, keeping them extra warm, whatever it takes. Sometimes it’s was successful and sometimes it wasn’t. We put a lot into our puppies. We only have them for 7-8 weeks before they go to their new homes. We believe we should give them every chance for a healthy life ahead.

The puppies are changing every day. They are now 4 days old.  They are contented. They whimper very softly. There is such peacefulness in the air that surrounds them. They sleep close to Jammer, but not under her.  Some sleep in their own little groups, 2 or 3. Maybe another one over here. Jammer knows where they are. They are never really very far. She will look around at them. Glance at the rest of them. Then she will lie her head down and get some rest. We make sure no puppy becomes isolated from the group. Sometimes this could mean rejection from the bitch. No one is isolated in this group. Since the whelping pen is in the upstairs hallway alcove between our bedroom and computer room, we are constantly passing through there all day. They are far away enough from the other dogs but close enough to still be part of our “Family Pack”. The music from the stereo is playing from the computer room. The puppies can’t hear the music of course but Jammer can. It’s relaxing for her. And a relaxed bitch will take good care of her babies. The music is soft enough to be heard but not so loud that it will distress her. It’s used as “white noise”, to filter out any sudden noises the other dogs will make. Jammer and her babies are very comfortable tonight. All is resting and contented.

Puppies are here, born on 3/21/08. Jammer went into labor at 10:40AM and the last puppy was born at 10:20PM and there are 10. 5 yellows, 4 chocolates, and 1 black. All 3 colors just what we had hoped for. They all are doing well at this point, Jam is doing well, she is pretty worn out but she is acting very good at this point and is resting with her new children, what a sight to see. She only had a problem with 1; the pup was born with no sack and was not breathing. A little CPR and rubbing with a towel brought him around and he is doing well at present. They all are nursing and are quite content. It was a long day for all and a good few hours rest will be great. We check them every couple hours and hope for the best.

                                                12 hours

We have been asked many times over why we do not have a blog? So we are starting our blog to help keep people up to date with information about our activities and any important information that we would like to share with our readers. We are at present expecting a litter from Sunset’s Break of Dawn Magnum and Sunsets Midnight Jammer. We are hoping for all 3 colors in this litter. It has been a very long 3 weeks with Jammer, she is a very picky eater and has been some what of a problem. She has enjoyed many people food meals these past 3 weeks and is doing well at this time. She is due on 3/23/08 but we do not thing she is going to wait until that time. Hopefully all will go well!