Frost on the Pumpkin? No! It's SNOW!

I woke up to let Jack and Pippin out in the middle of the night and to check on Treasure, pups and the others to find a full blown snowstorm occuring!!! UNBELIEVEABLE!  The forecast was for a Nor'easter, but we figured it was to be just rain!  Fortunately the temps were not cold enough for the snow to amount to much of anything but it was a slippery trek to the dog house needless to say.  Later on when the sun came up we let the dogs out for some fun in the crust of snow and took a few pictures, a sampling of which are here.  Treasure rolled and rolled on the snow, propelling herself much like the way I've observed otters move across a lake of ice during the winter.  She was thoroughly enjoying herself for sure.  The whelping box of course is heated by the overhead infrared lamp and the pellet stove keeps the air warm as well - so she obviously appreciated the refreshing cooler air and ground!  ALL things Brittany and I mean ALL of them had so much fun this morning - I kind of which there had been more snow for them to enjoy - err... maybe NOT... I am experiencing a bug, virus, or whatever... but the time spend with the crew always manages to make me feel just fine for a little while.  The sun has already melted the snow from the front yard so it will soon be forgotten.  It is, of course a preview of what is soon to come.  I don't remember October being this chilly though - usually it is much warmer.  Global warming? Nah... can't convince this native New Englander of such a thing.

Smiling smiling smiling because it continues to amaze me how absolutely wonderful Treasure and Gibsons puppies are doing. I would like to say I had no concerns about losing a pup during the first week - but there is ALWAYS that concern, especially during the first 24, 36, 72 hours and then the first week.  Absolutely anything is possible despite the very best care and health of all the animals.  We have a 100% survival after the first week. Every single puppy has shown a steady and consistent weight gain.  I look for the birth weight of a puppy to double by the age of 10 days.  The majority of these pups have doubled their birth weight.  The average weight of the litter now is 9.6 oz.  Several are over a pound. We're very pleased. They have had their first 'pedicure'.   Even at this young age their toenails grow rapidly and it's better for Treasure to keep them short and avoid getting scratched while they nurse. The intensity of their nursing increases daily.

We are now well into the first phase of the puppies early neurological stimulation development.  I wrote about this in great detail in the July 2, 2009 post about the pups Wish (Treasure's mother) and Gibson had.  It's very interesting.  Part of the reason for one of the exercises (touching the pads with a Q-tip, is to get the pups used to having their feet handled - this makes it a lot easier for future toe-nail cutting.  Speaking of which - it's good to get in the habit of cutting a dogs nails once a week from the time they come home.  This way the quick does not have a chance to grow into the nail very much, and the risk of bleeding is reduced.  Dogs toe nails should never be allowed to grow very long.  Pups especially have razor sharp toenails, not fun when there are young children involved who just want to love on a puppy - they can get very seriously scratched - just ask my young grandchildren. It's hard enough dealing with mouthing, teething little puppies who must be taught that the human body, fingers, hands etc. are off limits for their teeth.  Speaking of this, stocking up on a good supply of Kongs, and Nylabones will get any responsible dog owner through those rough places of teaching pup NO BITE!  We advise AGAINST ANY kind of rawhide bone, we have had dogs choke from small pieces that break off and worse - the rawhide gets balled up, gummy, ooey and gooey and sometimes can cause blockage.  Rawhide in any shape or form, in anything is bad news and as far as I'm concerned off limits - that's just my personal opinion.   Pig ears, Bully Sticks, Hooves if  prepared in a sanitary facility are treats that we will occassionally offer with supervison.   Personally, we prefer to go to our local butchers frequently and buy a box of bones for @ $5.00.  No need to worry about a dogs teeth when they are chewing on a fresh bone. John cuts the bones up into manageable sizes and let the dogs go at it.  Up until recently, we actually had what was left of Molly's first bone and she is 6 years old.  Kinda cool.  I know there are greenies and tooth brushes and all that - but I'm old school in some aspects - give the dog a bone for white teeth and healthy gums. 

Well I must take some new pictures today of Dottie, J.R., Lily, Cone, Patches, Trish, Sweet Pea, Arnold, Digger, Bert, and Smokey.  These are all the nicknames that John came up with to help us easily identify each puppy and monitor their development. We'll match them up with their names soon.  Also for those who are getting puppies from this litter, we will put together a reminder of our puppy selection process.  As I just say it's better to fall in love with all of these puppies - there will be no disappointment and we work hard to honor the preferences of each person who has an interest in a pup.  The testing and evaluating play a big role in helping us decide which puppy goes where.  It's so important to us.  It is not possible to look at a newborn puppy and say that's the one we want.  There are so many unknowns. Believe me, we experience this all the time ourselves! There won't be a big variance in these pups - we are confident about the disposition and hunting ability; there may be some variations in size/conformation. Each one is going to be absolutely spectacular and wonderful... but we know there are always those that stand out more than others. As breeders working closely with the stud dog owners, the selections will be very deliberate and no one will be disappointed!

In the weeks to come we'll schedule visits with the pups.  The first early visits will, out of concern for mother and pups, be limited to those who have provided a deposit and indicated their serious interest to a pup from this litter. When the pups are old enough to go home, we will schedule another round of visits.  John and I will be sending information out explaining this as times goes on.

That's about it for my energy spurt.  Jack and John are off together and I'm looking at laying back down. Even with the woodfire going, I'm feeling chills... YUCK.  This too shall pass though! Take care and God Bless,  John, Ann and our entire Brittany crew!