| KAHLUA March 9 - TEN PUPS! Maybe 11! We could clearly see 10 puppies skulls and spines. The 11th was a little fuzzy so we weren't sure about that one but Kahlua is so thick with puppies right now, it's hard to see all the way through. There was a gray area that was too dark to make out anything. The vet said there may or may not be 1-2 more puppies there. I hope there isn't. Ten puppies is plenty. She's a good Mom, she's proven that before but more than ten would be very taxing. Let's all hope for ten! March 17 - I can see lots of movement in the flank area when K lies down. She's obviously very uncomfortable these days. She will be looking forward to retirement after this litter. Oh, for the easy life of a retired Guardian Angel Shepherd! Room to run, dogs to play with, a warm bed at night and NO MORE RUGRATS! Although, if she's anything like "Angel" (the original Guardian Angel) she'll mother anything she can find! She once raised an orphaned litter of kittens! March 21 - BIRTHDAY! A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We have ten healthy, shiny, fat puppies! Congratulations Kahlua on a job well done! She started whelping at 2:00AM and we had the last puppy at 10:00PM! 20 hours!!! An extraordinary long time and the poor girl was exhausted. (Me too!) She has definitely earned her retirement! I'll contact all the new puppy owners personally when I've caught up on my sleep. However, if you read this and want to send me an email, I'll get back to you a little faster. The picture below was taken March 22nd. The puppy colors for girls are pink ribbon, pink rick rack (wavy), purple, yellow, white and orange. The boys are green, red, light blue and dark blue. Can you spot YOUR puppy? April 1 '06 - This morning, Mr. Light Blue was having trouble breathing. It was very laboured. His respirations were twice what his littermates where. He had no desire to eat in the afternoon and I could tell he was getting dehydrated. We gave him some milk replacer but he wasn't swallowing it. I called the vet and he recommended antibiotics. 1/2 cc pen was given around 5:00PM. After many hours of trying to get him to eat, I decided to give him some dextrose and saline subqutaneously. I will continue this every 2 hours through the night. Hopefully that will keep his strength up enough until the meds kick in. He has the most heart-breaking wail. I can't stand to hear him this way. Please let the medication work quickly! April 2 - Spent the whole night up with Mr. Light Blue. I kept him warm in my arms most of the night. Saline & dextrose every 2 hours. Up to 10 cc per site.I could feel him getting weaker as the hours progressed. He was really trying to fight. I went to town to get some different antibiotics as the pen. didn't seem to be helping. A quick trip, there and back. Mr. Light Blue was left in a quiet box, on his own with a heat lamp and water bottle. When I returned, I immediately went to the box. Yay! He was still alive. But very weak. I put down my things and picked him up. He squeaked a few times and died in my arms... April 26th - Well, you've all been wondering how the rest of the pups have been doing. They all have been doing GREAT! They weigh in at about 8 pounds now which is a considerable gain from the 1 - 1 1/2 pounds they weighed at birth! They are 5 1/2 weeks old now so that means they are gaining more than a pound a week! Fat, shiny and healthy, just the way they should be. Today they went out to meet the real world. Finally the weather was warm and the ground was dry. Poor Kahlua was a little worried at first but she settled down after a little while. You can check out the new pictures by returning to the Home Page and clicking the "Family Album" link. For all you who are waiting for your puppies to come home, I will be making my decisions as to which puppy goes to who, next week. By the time they are 6 weeks old, their personalities are pretty well set and a good match can be made. I just don't understand why some breeders sell people the dog they pick. I had an older lady who had health problems come to look at one of my very first litters. She decided she wanted Mr. Red. I explained to her that Mr. Red was a very dominant pup that would need someone with lots of experience handling dogs and someone who would be able to give him lots of exercise daily. I asked her if she fit the description. She said "Well... no... but..." When I refused to sell her the pup, she walked away swearing at me and said to her husband "Frank! She won't let me have MY dog!" They got in their car and floored it out of the driveway. The dog went to an experienced security dog handler who was very pleased with my pick. During the day, the owner and dog work together and at night, they go home together. A happy ending to what could have been a catastrophe! In actual fact, I don't pick the puppy that's right for you, I just prevent you picking the WRONG puppy for you! May 1 '06 - Today was Puppy Aptitude Test day! A stranger comes to test the pups in an area with no distractions. Each pup is taken individually and tested for both social behaviour and obedience . It has been a very good guage of how the puppy will turn out. It tests everything from dominance to pain tolerance. You don't want to match up a dog with low pain tolerance with a family of children and conversly you don't want to send a dog with high pain tolerance to a working home. Although I have a very good idea of where each individual pup is in terms of hierarchy and trainability, this test allows me to have an unbiased opinion from the puppy tester. There was only one surprise when all things were tallied up. One of the pups who is generally very brave and the first to try out new things, wasn't nearly as fearless when he was in an unknown area, with a stranger, and no littermates. In his case, it has changed where he may go. Instead of a working home (ie security, guard, police work) he will be placed with a family who has previous experience training large dogs. So, most of the decisions have been made in regards to which pup goes to which home. I will watch them for a few more days to make sure nothing changes and then will commit to each person, which dog is theirs. If any of my 06 puppy owners would like to add any more information to my decisions, now would be the time to contact me! May 5 - Well, all the pups had their first vaccinations on May 3. The only one who complained was Mr. Red. And boy did I get a dirty look! I've just now returned from the vet where all the puppies received a clean bill of health! Congratulations to all my new puppy owners! You will all be getting the best possible dog I can give you. I've spent hours going over temperament tests and your questionairres to make sure that each one of you gets the dog they want. I know that you will all be happy with the dog you receive. BUT it's now up to you!! I've done 7 weeks of socializing, including walks in the woods, playing in puddles, meeting other dogs (all relatives) and lots of playtime with strangers. It is your responsibility to carry on. You will have the final say in how your dog turns out. If you scimp on the socializing now, you won't have a well rounded dog that can go anywhere and do anything. I can't stress enough, how important it is to get them out, both daytime and nightime, so they become the kind of dogs they have the potential to be. For those of you who live close enough, don't forget that I include a puppy kindergarten course at Eagle Hill Obedience Club. I expect to see you all there!! So, in a matter of days, the torch will be passed to you. I will be sending home lots of information and advice. And remember, I'm only a phone call away. Good luck! Mary Ann - Guardian Angel Shepherds |
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