Here we are doing what we do best - sleeping!!

The pups have been busy over the last few days, but their moms have made some changes.  Both moms are sitting up now for nursing at least half of the time.  We have taken the divider out of the room so both dams are free to roam around.  Although they do not get into each others' boxes, they do stick their heads into them.   Chex and Scoop spend more and more time out of the box and are really enjoying the company.  Today my cousin Mariella and my friend Debbie came and spent a lot of time with the pups.   They seemed to really enjoy the attention!

With the weekend upon us and I suspect they will have a lot more loving over the next few days.   I have put up some new photos in the week 2 section for both litters.   Enjoy!!

Another Day In Their Lives

All the pups are thriving - sleeping, eating, being cleaned by their moms - sleeping, eating, being cleaned by their moms ... you get the picture.       There is not much to report at this point.  We really try to let the dams do their own thing without interfering too much.  Chex is sitting up to let the pups feed.   Visitors all want her to lie down for them to nurse.  I assure them that she knows best and to let her make the choice.   They are then all amazed at how the pups figure out how to latch on and feed.

Both dams are doing really well sharing the room.  We have taken down the sheets from the room divider so they can see each other and they often spend down time on each other's side.   If one dam gets too close for the comfort of the other dam, they simply step between the pups and the other girl.    Simply amazing to watch!!

When we post pictures here we will identify pups by the prefixes CM and H followed by Mister/Miss and their collar colors.   We did not use any of the same colors between the litters, but it will be easier for those of you who do not know which color is from which litter.

I have posted more photos/video on SmugMug.  Enjoy!

CM Miss Purple (above)

H Miss Rainbow and siblings (below)

Canine Duplex

Both the Country Music and Heart litters have settled in nicely.   Chex and Scoop have been very accepting of the other being around their pups, so we divided Lise's very large den into two with an x-pen covered with sheets and moved Scoop into the other side of that room.  The girls' temperatures have returned to normal and all the pups are gaining weight nicely.

Our friend Goretta came to see the pups and we put her to work watching one of the litters while Lise ran some errands.   When the Comedy litter was born I told Goretta that watching pups at this age was like watching a beautiful fish tank.   Yesterday she begged to disagree - she was surprised at the constant up and down to do all the little things - watching a screaming pup who is not in danger figure out how to solve his problem - and of course saving the pup that accidentally was sat on, caring for the bitches, weighing the puppies, clipping nails. Having never done it before I think she was mentally tired, but fully mesmerized!

Yesterday was day CM biosensor day 3 and H biosensor day 1.   The scent of the day was tennis ball.   So fun to listen to them sucking in the scent.  

Helen Sherman and Phoebe are here today from New Jersey for a visit and Mary Paulich is coming for another "fix."   Lise just walked into the room with a big smile on her face and announced, "We are all caught up on laundry!"

Here is a picture of both litters while their mothers are outside.  The Heart litter is on the left, Country Music on the right.

More photos and video are up in the links - enjoy!!

We Welcome The Heart Litter!

Yesterday Chex had quite a day.   She started with slight contractions around 1:30 pm and was slow in starting.  We saw the first pup, Miss Pink, at 4:07.  Everything went really smoothly with the first five pups, but by 8:00 it was clear we might have a serious problem.  A phone call to my wonderful veterinarian, Kevin Cummins, was followed by a trip to the hospital to evaluate what was happening.  After an ultrasound and x-ray we knew that the stuck pup was big and was trying to come through the birth canal upside down.  Trying to rotate him was not working, so we had to do a C-section if we wanted to save one, if not both, of the remaining pups.  So off to the OR they went, while Jim, Lise, Cindy and I waited with Mark, Dr. Cummins' son.   In a fairly short time we heard voices from the back room and were able to watch Alex and Marco work on both pups.   I can tell you there is nothing sweeter than the sound of screaming puppies!   Dr. Cummins came out while later and introduced us to "the cute couple," Mr. Teal and Miss Olive.   Chex came around well enough for us all to head home by 12:30 and she settled in nicely with her pups.

So without further ado, I would like to introduce the Heart litter:

Miss Pink, born at 4:07 pm, weighing in at 16 oz

Miss Black, born at 4:25, weighing in at 16 1/8 oz

Mr. Rust, born at 5:25, weighing in at 16 1/8 oz

Miss Rainbow, born at 6:00, weighing in at 15 1/8 oz

Miss Plum, born at 6:30, weighing in at 16 3/8 oz

Mr. Teal, born at 9:50, via C-section, weighing in at 18 3/8 oz

Miss Olive, born at 9:50 via C-section, weighing in at 16 1/2oz

Thanks to Dr. Cummins, Alex and Marco for being there for me, Chex and her two pups.   Thanks to Mark Cummins for keeping us company while we waited!   To Cindy Groveman, thanks for being the calm presence during the entire experience.  To Phyllis Covino, thanks for staying with Scoop and the Country Music litter while we all headed off to the hospital.   To Andy Chmar, thank you for putting up with the texts and phone calls during your anniversary dinner with Gayle.

I am uploading photos and video shortly - so enjoy!!!

The Heart Litter Arrives!

I'm putting together books for the High litter's departure but wanted to let everyone know that Chex had her babies yesterday.  She had five pups with relative ease but then someone stuck up the works.  No matter how hard she pushed, the pup wasn't budging.  So, Marcy, Lise and Chex headed off to see Dr Cummins.  By midnight, Chex had a c-section and Dr Cummins was able to save both remaining pups :-)!  So, the Heart litter is here--five girls and two boys!  The last boy was trying to do a backwards swan dive into the world and that's a tough way to arrive.  All are well and Chex is doing a great job as a mom.  So, if it's possible for things to be peaceful, they are.  We ended up with six girls and seven boys between the two litters.  What fun!

The Country Music Litter has arrived!

Scoop's water broke at 1:10 yesterday afternoon and at 1:28 Mr. Yellow arrived.  Scoop was a bit unsure of what the heck "that thing" was, but nature took over and within seconds cleaned him up and started caring for him.  By 5:45 she had delivered the last puppy and was settled in with her crew!   We did have one stillborn puppy, which is very sad.  Despite all our best efforts it was clear that she was gone.   But we celebrate the arrival of six strong, healthy pups!

So, I would like to introduce the Country Music Litter:

Mr. Yellow was born at 1:28 pm and weighed in at 13 1/8 oz
Mr. Blue was born at 2:07 and weighed in at 15 3/4 oz
Mr. Brown was born at 2:32 and weighed in at 13 1/4 oz
Mr. Red was born at 3:07 and weighed in at 11 1/2
Miss Purple was born at  4:03 and weighed in at 11 3/4
Mr. Green was born at  5:42 and weighed in at 12 3/8

Thanks so much to Cindy Groveman, Phoebe Teramoto and Phyllis Covino for their help and company yesterday.  And a HUGE thank you to Phoebe for spending the first night with the litter.   Lise and I are fresh and ready to welcome the Heart litter which should be here tonight or tomorrow.   I have uploaded photos and a couple of videos of the Country Music pups - enjoy!

Final Days of the High litter and Country Music arrives!

The High litter is almost done with their evaluations--structure, hearts, eyes and bird test are all done and the temperament test is tomorrow.  The pups start going home on Saturday so all I have to do is decide who goes where.  Ahhhh...it always seems so hard the night before the test and then it falls in place after the test.  I'm practicing patience these days :-).

To keep things exciting, Scoop presented us with five boys and one girl today.  Not quite the numbers we expected but that's not unusual.  The pups and mom are doing great and we are excited about this wonderful combination of Goose and Scoop.  I won't see them for a few days but can't wait to meet them.  Marcy, Lise, Jim and Phoebe are doing a great job with them.

Andy and I are off to bed because tomorrow is a big day.  New photos are up under Week 7.  Enjoy!

Puppy Walk!

What a great day for a Puppy Walk!  Gorgeous day, fired up puppies, happy dogs and a wonderful group of dog lovers from far and wide.  I know I had a great time and hope that everyone else did, too.  The pups were a hoot, going hither and yon, but all ended up safely back in the pen for a lunch of tripe and long nap.  The people also enjoyed a delicious lunch, something other than tripe, and some napped with the pups.  It was truly a special day!  Andy and I send our thanks to all who joined us!

Puppy Walk and more babies!!!!!

We are all up early today because it's Puppy Walk day for the High litter and because the Country Music litter is due today.  How exciting is this?  Very and we can thank the girls for the timing.  If you hang around with me, you'll often hear me exclaim "Bitches!" as I shake my head with resignation.  I've had primarily bitches or girl dogs since I was 23 years old so I know the vagaries of this determined group.  Want to get that long-awaited last leg on a title at a show five miles from your house?  Go ahead and enter and your girl will come in season.  Want to do a breeding but your dearest friend is getting married?  Agree to be maid-of-honor and your girl will need to be bred three states away on the morning of the wedding.  Save 15 years for a dream trip with your husband to Australia?  Sure, enjoy your trip but your girl will come in season three months early and need to be bred while you on on your trip.  If you can't be really, really flexible, either don't breed dogs or just stick with the boys but remember if you are a stud dog owner, all those girls come to your house :-}.

Anyway, Marcy, Lise and I just laughed when Chex and Scoop came in season because we knew their whelping and first week with the pups would take place at my busiest time with the High litter.  You just have to love bitches!  And around here, we really, really do!

Of to clean and get ready for all of the 'parties' we are having this week.  We'll post photos soon.

The Week Ahead

What an exciting week we have ahead of us.  Thank goodness we are three plus supporters or we simply couldn't have this much fun!

First, I wanted to let you know that the charity I started, Canine Health Events is holding a very fun contest to raise money for canine health research and to educate dog owners about preventive care!  We are raffling off a cameo role for a lucky dog in Sheila Boneham's second mystery novel in her new series, Animals in Focus. The Money Bird begins with a wet satchel with a torn hundred-dollar bill and a long red feather in the bottom. Animal photographer Janet MacPhail knows they mean trouble when Labrador Retriever, Drake retrieves them during a field training photo shoot. When an illegal shipment of endangered tropical birds is intercepted by police, Janet is sure there's a connection and decides to look into it between dog-training classes, photo assignments, and visits to her mom at Shadetree Retirement. Despite everyone's cautions, Janet sets out with her Australian Shepherd, Jay, to find out what's going on and how it's all linked to a mysterious retreat center near the island. She discovers that crows aren't the only birds linked to murder.  And your dog could be in the midst of all of this intrigue!  100% of every raffle ticket purchased goes to canine health research so buy your tickets here now and launch your dog's literary career!  Please spread the word to all of your dog-loving friends and help CHE help dogs!

Next, the High litter begins their evaluations on Friday with their first vet check and vaccine, followed by a structural evaluation, more health exams by heart and eye specialists, some fun with birds and finally their temperament test a week from today.  Then we spend a few days finishing preparations of transitioning to their new homes.  High litter owners, the pups are coming!  Get lots of sleep now and if you haven't started a work out program, well, it may be too late :-).  Seriously, I know you are excited to finally meet your new pup and I can't wait to introduce you.

In the midst of all of this fun, Chex and Scoop are going to deliver their long-awaited litters!!  Sometime between Sunday and Tuesday, we are going to meet the newest members of the Gaylan's family.  Both Chex and Scoop look wonderful and are doing great.  Although our first wish is always for easy, smooth deliveries, we also can't wait to see what these two exciting combinations produce.  Will Chex have blond babies like her or handsome redheads like Striker?  Will one or both of Scoop's pups grandsires show up--beautiful Best in Show winner Jake or hard-running Qualified All-Age Rooster?  Ooooohhhh, I can't wait!

Marcy, Lise or I will post as we can during this busy period but be sure to check the photo links because we will, at a minimum, get photos uploaded.

Getting The Girls Ready

About a week before the pups are born we start taking the girls' temperatures three times a day to establish their average temperature.  When the bitch's temperature is below 99 for two consecutive readings we expect the pups within the next 24-36 hours.   

During that last week of the pregnancy we also shave the bitch's belly so we can use the fetal heart monitor with more accuracy and less mess.   It also makes it much easier for the pups to nurse without having the fight through the hair.

Chex started out Sunday looking like this:

Once she was shaved she looked like this.

I am convinced that Chex is aware of what is going on.   Scoop, on the other hand, being a maiden bitch, has no clue what is happening but is taking it all in stride.  It is interesting to watch her trying to hoist her body up on to things like the bed and the grooming table.   She was very good about letting me shave her and listen to all the heartbeats.    After it was all over they were both rewarded with a run on the beach.

Tomorrow we are heading north to visit with Gayle where the girls will enjoy a nice long run at her place.   The focus now is keeping both girls fit while feeding enough to have nice-sized pups without over feeding them so that the pups are so big they are difficult to deliver.   Life, even in dog breeding, is a balancing act. 

The Next Two Litters

For those of you waiting for the blogging to start on the next two Gaylan litters, your wait is over.   Both litters are due next week - the Country Music litter (Scoop x Goose) on Monday March 19th and the Heart litter (Chex x Striker) on Tuesday March 20th.   Collectively we are expecting about 15 puppies.   Since Chex missed her last two breedings we decided to breed her and her daughter so we would likely have at least one litter.   Of course, we were prepared for two litters if luck would have it, and happily that is what we ended up with!   

Today we put the whelping boxes together and let each of the girls spend a little time in them.

Scoop (left) and Chex (right) in Gayle's whelping box.

Scoop in the Jonart box that Lise gave me for Christmas

This weekend their bellies will be shaved and we will start using Sweet Beats to listen for fetal heartbeats.  Right now our focus is on healthy feeding, exercise, taking their temperatures and acclimating each girl to her box.

Check out the pre-whelp photos that have been taken so far located on the navigation bar on the right.   Once the litters are born the photos will be split between the litters, but for now they are in one location.     Since the photos are not captioned and some of you do not know Chex and Scoop - the lighter girl is Chex and the darker one is Scoop. 

Quick Update

I wanted to post a quick update on the pups. Can you tell they are keeping us very busy? Yesterday we did their portraits. Check them out on Barry Rosen's site. The pups and Dreamer did a great job!! Dreamer patiently sat through mamma-puppy portraits with all 10 pups! We did end up having to Photoshop her into the group photo because the pups kept bailing out of the baskets to get on her back. It's hard to describe how chaotic these sessions are but in the end, Barry always gets some great shots. That is certainly the case this time!

The pups spent quite a while outside this morning, exploring the agility field and this afternoon are heading out on their first long woods walk. Wish us all luck :-). Hopefully the weather will stay warm and we will be able to get them out everyday now.

We have opened the entire puppy pen up for the pups now. We limited it initially until their use of the potty boxes was pretty strong. It appears that they can handle it now so we'll see how the next few days go.

Next week the pups' schedules get very exciting with vet visits, the Puppy Walk, and the structural evaluation. The following week is more vet visits, the temperament tests, Sherpa and crate training and then going to their new homes. How the time has flown!

Then it's time for Chex and Scoop's litters! Marcy and I are still chuckling that both girls are pregnant. Chex is 8 years old and had missed twice before so we thought long and hard about breeding her again. However, she is a strong, active girl and produced some terrific pups in the Ice Cream litter. We just knew that if we bred just her, she wouldn't get pregnant but if we also bred Scoop, they would both get pregnant, and that's what happened :-). We have a great team though so all will go well.

We move today!!

Chaos has reigned this morning so the pups move today! Yesterday they outgrew the dining room pen and it's time for a bigger pad. It's funny with puppies, one day everything fits and the next day, they have outgrown their environment. This crew has been active since the start and that hasn't lessened over time.

I love so many things about them--their boldness, their people focus, their coordination and athleticism (how can you be athletic at 5 weeks of age but even the biggest ones are easily hopping over 3" high objects)--but all of those positives mean they are also a handful. They literally knocked Dreamer off her feet this morning, that is how powerful they are. So, today I build them a playground and settle them in across the way. This will be the first litter that has been permanently ensconced in the training room so I'm eager to see how it works out.

I put some of the longer videos from yesterday up on YouTube. Your best bet is to subscribe to our channel gaylansgoldens so you can view all of them. I'm not too familiar with YouTube but let me know if you have problems.

Big Weekend!

The sun finally came out today so all of us headed outside to enjoy the afternoon. The pups did fabulously for their first adventure--they followed us all the way up the path, hung out on the driveway and then played on the lawn for 45 minutes. We had some visitors plus the big dogs so it was a big party. The puppies loved exploring everything, carrying leaves around, digging in the dirt, climbing up and down the hill. Nothing bothered them, even those who rolled down the hill :-). You can see from the photo that they are enjoying the kids that visit. That's Hudson under the puppy pile and Jack is somewhere out of camera range. I've got photos and video up on webshots and some more video loading on YouTube so you'll be able to enjoy our fun, too.

Tomorrow I'm going to start setting up the big pen in the store. The pups have outgrown the dining room and are ready for a real playground. I can't wait to see how they enjoy it. If you come to pick up food, you'll get to have a puppy visit, too! As weather permits, it looks like woods walks will start next week. Yahoo! I think puppy woods walks are the best way to start any day.

About half the pups have hit six pounds and the rest are closing in. Mr Green has resisted eating but gave in today and chowed down with gusto. The rest are enjoying their meals though they aren't crazed over food, which is a good thing in my book!

Little Hellions

Well, the High litter has officially become the "little hellions" as of today! Their forays into the dining room have become adventures all over the first floor, whereever open doors may take them. Oh, how I long for a woods walk or two but the weather simply won't allow it yet. So, they've had about six hours out and about today, rampaging through our downstairs, investigating everything at top speed. I've taken a ton of video so check out what is new. Here are a few that were too big for Webshots.com. Here is one about how we are able to do woods walks off leash with such young puppies. http://youtu.be/ZGF8CnBC31k Here's another general fun video of the chaos here :-). The pups have started to trot in this video, which is a big step in their development. http://youtu.be/oWXJRs0C5AU We are off to bed so enjoy the photos, etc! Gayle