Blaze’s puppies.
The male is white and orange.
The female is white, black and tan.
It’s been too hot, even early in the morning, to work dogs so I thought I would tell about the puppies that Blaze gave birth to. On June 6, I started putting Blaze in the shed of the night. The shed has a small air conditioner that keeps the temperature a lot cooler than it is outside. Before the pups are born I lock her in of the night to keep her from having the pups outside. If she would have them outside without me being around and it rained the pups might die. I put her back in the kennel in the day time.
On June 9, when I cleaned pens about 5 pm, she was breathing real hard and I knew she was close to having the pups. I put her in the shed. After finishing feeding and cleaning pens I checked on Blaze. She was nervous and breathing hard. I went to the house and ate supper then went back. She had the first pup about 7:30 pm with no trouble. About 9:30 she was trying to have another pup.
I saw just the tip of a nose sticking out. She was straining but nothing was happening. I have had several litters over the years and never had a female have any trouble. Usually, the pup comes sliding out. This one wasn’t moving. I made sure his nose was out in the open so he could breathe. She strained but he didn’t move. I worked her down to where his whole head was out. She continued to strain but the pup didn’t move.
I decided to pull on the pup to get him out. I thought, just a gentle pull and he would slide right out. I pulled but he still didn’t move. I put my hand on her butt and the other hand around his neck. I pulled a little harder but he didn’t move. Now I’m getting nervous. I decided that even if I killed the pup I needed to get it out. Otherwise, they both would die. I put my left hand on her butt and grabbed the pup by the head and pulled as hard as I could. He came out but it was hard all the way. I laid him down in the whelping box and he started moving. I was amazed.
I moved him over close to Blaze and he started trying to nurse. I stayed until 11:30 and no more pups were coming. I came back to check on Blaze and the pups about 1:30 am. Everyone was doing fine. I came back at 6:30 am. Everyone was still doing fine but only 2 puppies.
I texted my daughter, Dana, and my son, Ryan, then all of the grand kids. They are the ones that help me socialize the pups. One of the pups is sold to a local guy, Jim Tharp, so I texted him, also.
When the pups are one day old I weigh them and then each week until they go home with their owners. This is so I can tell if they are growing and then later they will have to be wormed. The worm medicine is per pound of weight.
The pups are born deaf and blind. They open their eyes about nine days old. They can’t hear until they are about 3 weeks old. From their first day I hold them twice a day at a minimum and everyone that comes by my house has to pet puppies. My puppies always like people.
At 3 weeks old, when the pups just start being able to hear, I play Master’s Voice’s, Gun Dog Conditioning System cd. One of the first things my pups hear is music with gunshots interspersed. You still need to be careful when you introduce the gun but this takes some of the worry out of it. Some of the people that have my pups say they can call their pups in with a gun shot.
I also, at 3 weeks, put small collars on the pups with small ropes about 18 inches long. This is from Delmar Smith’s book, Best Way To Train Your Bird Dog. They will see a rope close to them and grab it and tug. This makes them easier to break to lead and I don’t have anything to do with it.
I get them out in the grass as often as I can. I start this about 3 weeks old, also. The puppies start off not moving around much. Then as they get used to being outside they start exploring more and more. When they get a little way away from me I clap my hands, loudly, and say, “here puppy, here puppy”. When they come to me I pet them and tell them what good puppies they are. I want them to know that when I’m around there is going to be a lot of noise.
I, also, start feeding the puppies at 3 weeks old. My vet, Dr. Becker, gave me a recipe for a replacement milk. The recipe is;
1 can of evaporated
1 can water
An egg yolk (egg white is supposed to be bad for dogs)
1 tablespoon plain Yogurt
1 tablespoon honey or Karo syrup
Later on I’ll mix dry dog food in with this milk until they can eat dry dog food.
The pups are now 4 weeks old and they aren’t taking the milk very good. With only 2 pups the mother has plenty of milk for them. These are the biggest puppies I have ever raised. I continue to put the milk in their box and I play the gun shy cd for them twice a day. I will introduce them to pigeons when they get a little older. I, also, have some quail in a flight pen where they can go around and around the pen.
As they grow I will take them on walks. I have left several rows of grass grow to hide quail and pigeons in. I enjoy playing with pups and watching them learn. Now that the pups are moving around I will do more with them.
The female saw something and stopped. Is this a point.
Blaze is the mother of the pups.
Luke pointing a single quail. Luke is Blaze’s brother..