Litter "O" Information:
Benelli / Jack
Litter ID: O-BJ_2015
FDSB Litter #: 99532
Whelp Date: May 14, 2015
Take Home: ~July 3, 2015
# in Litter: 3 males / 6 females
Dam: Hickory's HOPE for Birds
Call Name: Benelli
Whelped: January 21, 2011
Coloring: Tri-Belton
Bloodlines: "Hunting with Hank" Bondhu
FDSB #: 1625703
Hips: OFA GOOD
OFA #:ES-8955G30F-VPI
Eyes: OFA CLEAR
CERF #:ES-EYE24/48F-VPI
Owner: Hickory Hollow Llewellins
Sire: Cash's Single Barrel Jack
Call Name: Jack
Whelped: December 7, 2011
Coloring: Tri-Color
Bloodlines: Bondhu
FDSB #: 1642112
Hips: OFA GOOD
OFA #: ES-8999G24M-NOPI
Eyes: OFA CLEAR
CERF #: ES-EYE20/29M-NOPI
Owner: Chuy Garcia Jr.
Price: $800 male or female
Breeding: We are very excited to offer a second litter out of our youngest dam, Benelli (daughter of HOPE) paired with Cash's Single Barrel Jack. Their first litter of all belton pups turned out simply amazing and so we're doing it again! Click here to see their first litter: (Litter N)
Benelli is a great-grandaughter of Hank from "Hunting with Hank" and is of Advie & Dashing Bondhu lines. Being the daughter of Advie Tuck, she is extremely birdy and loaded with natural field instincts. She is heavily ticked Tri-Belton colored setter and has the potential to produce great coloration in her litters from white/orange, to tri-colors and chestnuts. Can't wait to see what their next litter looks like. Benelli has been certified as OFA GOOD (hips) and OFA (CERF) certified Clear (eyes)!
Jack is also from Dashing Bondhu lines although not related to "Hank". He has spent a lot of time training in the fields this spring and summer and has turned into a hunting machine. He is currently working with a trainer toward his Master Hunter's Certificate. Jack has been OFA certified GOOD (hips) and OFA (CERF) certified Clear (eyes)!
Check out this litter's PEDIGREE.
Protocol: These pups will be raised in my home and spoiled rotten on a daily basis with multiple doses of cuddles, hugs and kisses. These pups will be well socialized by the time they are taken to their new homes and will be accustomed to strange noises and other animals. The pups will be wormed weekly from weeks 2 through 6 and will be ready for their new homes at 7 weeks of age.
Portraits of Jack: (click any photo to view a larger image)
Reservation Status:
The Pups:
MALES (#1, #3, #6)
Puppy # 1
Call Name: Oliver
Gender: Male
Colors: Orange Belton
Born: 2:52 pm
Ticking: Very Light
Personality: This cute and sweet boy is the most people-oriented of the males being that he's the first to greet you and want attention. With a bold and stout conformation, he's the most assertive and explorative of the males, and super smart and you can see his wheels turning while trying to figure stuff out. Full of energy and enthusiasm, he loves to explore, check things out and get in the middle of everything, he does not appear to be afraid of much. Extremely intersted in the wing and readily followed it whereever it went.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
Puppy # 3
Call Name: Orion
Gender: Male
Colors: Tri-Chestnut
Born: 4:16 pm
Weight: 9.7 oz
Length: 8"
Ticking: Light
Personality: This little guy will capture your heart with his sweet and gentle nature, being the smallest of the males and also the most laid-back and easy going one. He is content snuggling in your arms on his back and loves the attention. When playing he's got a cute prance and picks up his feet and almost dances toward the other pups. He plays well with his litter mates and is not a bully, but can stand his ground when being picked upon. He is a little shy towards new things at first, but if given time and patience will eventually warm up and become fairly active.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
Puppy # 6
Call Name: Ozzie
Gender: Male
Colors: Tri-color
Born: 6:12 pm
Weight: 11.2 oz
Length: 8 1/4"
Ticking: Moderate
Personality: This adorable boy has a great middle-of-the-road personality. He's people oriented, but balances that with aloof time and exploration. He's laid back and times and rambunctious at others. He barks to get your attention instead of howling or screaming like a few of the other pups, which has it's endearing qualities. He is not an instigator and is usually on the bottom of a pounce during play, but does not tend to like it much giving off warning growls.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
FEMALES (#3, #4, #6, #7)
Puppy # 3
Call Name: Oakley
Gender: Female
Colors: Orange Belton
Born: 3:37 pm
Weight: 11.4 oz
Ticking: Extremely Light
Personality: This little beauty is one of the quieter and more docile females in the litter. With a soft personality, she is content being snuggled on her back in your arms and is mild tempered and easy to handle. She is the one that sits back and watches others play until a littermate gets her involved and then she's usually on the bottom of a tackle. She is not a high strung pup and will tend to easily go with the flow.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
Puppy # 4
Call Name: Odessa
Gender: Female
Colors: Tri-color
Born: 5:17 pm
Weight: 12.0 oz
Ticking: Moderate/Heavy
Personality: Being a healthy eater, she is a stocky and chunky pup that would be great for busting through heavy brush with a personality to be cherished. She is the biggest chow hound and is usually the last to leave the dinner bowl after every bit of food has been licked from it. She definitely appears to be a go-getter, bold and assertive and not deterred by anything. She growls when tackled which means she usually does not end up on the bottom of the pounce, although she gets along well with all her littermates and does not seem to be a bully for her size. She can also be very docile and sweet and enjoys being cuddled without a fight. She is very explorative and was fascinated by the wing, this one will be a great huntress as she already displays many of the desired qualities.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
Puppy # 4
Call Name: Olexa
Gender: Female
Colors: Tri-chestnut
Born: 6:00 pm
Weight: 10.3 oz
Ticking: Moderate
Personality: She may be the smallest of all the pups, but she is packed with personality. She is such a petite little dolly baby and is the most docile, sweet and gentle pup of the group, but is very animated during play. She is somewhat reserved and is one of the quietest of the pups. She loves to be cuddled and is content being snuggled on her back, a real lover.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
Puppy # 7
Call Name: Olivia
Gender: Female
Colors: Tri-color
Born: 6:54 pm
Weight: 12.0 oz
Ticking: Moderate
Personality: This little gal is just a darling little punkin'. She is usually the first to peek over the playpen wall wanting your attention. She is a happy little tail wagger, but also one of the most vocal pups and has an ear-splitting loud and high-pitched scream that readily gets your attention if you are not paying it to her. She seems to be very middle-of-the-road in her playful tactics, spending time pouncing and being the tackled and doesn't seem to have a problem with either.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
Puppy # 8
Call Name: Opal
Gender: Female
Colors: Orange Belton
Born: 7:53 pm
Weight: 13.1 oz
Ticking: Light
Personality: Another of the extremely vocal pups, she will wail when it's dinner time and she wants to be fed or if she wants your attention. Her favorite hang out is the laundry basket under the sink and will snuggle in with the blankets and sheets. She is best friends with Osiri and the two tangle and play frequently taking turns stalking, tackling and being pounced on. She is rather growly when she ends up on the bottom of the pounce, but she and Osiri make great playmates.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
Puppy # 8
Call Name: Osiri
Gender: Female
Colors: Orange Belton
Born: 9:15 pm
Weight: 12.3 oz
Ticking: Light
Personality: One of the most laid back of the females, this sweetheart will steal your heart with her beautiful doe eyes and soft personality. She is quite the snuggle bug on one hand and the master explorer on the other. She is best friends with Opal and the two can be seen tangling a lot during play. She does tend to be an instigator of play and stalks and tackles Opal with enthusiasm as well as any other littermate that walks by, but then will readily lay in your arms to be cuddled on her back.
Birth to 6 weeks pic:
New Homes:
Miscellaneous Photos: Birth Week (Click on the thumbnail to supersize a photo)
Miscellaneous Photos: Week 1 (Click on the thumbnail to supersize a photo)
Miscellaneous Photos: Week 2&3 (Click on the thumbnail to supersize a photo)
Miscellaneous Photos: Week 4 (Click on the thumbnail to supersize a photo)
Miscellaneous Photos: Week 5 (Click on the thumbnail to supersize a photo)
Miscellaneous Photos: "Pups In Flight" - Add'l Week 5 (Click on the thumbnail to supersize a photo)
Developmental Progress:
All
the pups have gone to their new homes now and all is quiet again at Hickory
Hollow. Now we're anxiously awaiting our next litter later this fall! |
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Week
8 |
Day
57 - 07/10/15 |
Ozzie
and Odessa left today! Ozzie's
(now called Parker) new mom and dad flew in on a commercial flight from
Nashville Tenessee to pick up their new baby and drive home. He will have an
older Llew bro named Wyatt whom he can terrorize for the next few months. Odessa's
(now called Stella) new dad flew his private plane into the nearby Vinton
airport where we delivered her to him. It was a beautiful, sunny and
HOT day here today, so she liked to stay in the shade under the picnic table
while we were going through paperwork. Her dad said she traveled really
well in the plane and slept most of the way. LOVE TO HEAR IT!! |
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Week
7 |
Day
54 - 07/07/15 |
Osiri
(now called Nellie) flew to Seattle today to meet her new momma. It was
fun to get the real-time play-by-play when her new family was at the airport
waiting to pick her up and see her cute little face for the first time.
Comments were posted on Facebook as the live action was happening.
That was so cool!! Reports from later in the day indicated that
she has literally "hit the ground running" and was racing
around her new yard, tongue hanging out and "smiling"! LOVE
THESE REPORTS! |
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Day
52 - 07/05/15 |
Three
pups went home today! Oliver, Olivia and Orion. Olivia
(now called "Flyre") will be going to live in Nebraska with her new
mom (a veterinarian) and will have some big shoes to fill as a predecessor to
a beloved Llew family companion named "Jade" that recently
passed. I think she'll do fine, these pups just capture your
heart! Oliver
went to live in Nebraska with his new family and will have a big Llew bro
named Chili ("Coon" from Litter C). As the family left they said,
"See ya in another eight years!" LOVE IT! Orion
(now called Boomer), will stay in Iowa, and will have the opportunity hunt
with his sire Jack and other dogs with his same bloodlines at Faeth's Fowl
Play in Fort Madison. They're planning to start him in field training
with puppy exercises within a few weeks. |
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Day
50 - 07/03/15 |
Two
more pups left HHLS today, first Opal (now called Opie for short) and then
Olexa (now called Bailey). After lavender scented baths and nail trims
for both, they were spiffed and ready to meet their new parents. They
fell in love immediately and gave lots of puppy kisses and tail wags.
Both were headed west, first to Nebraska and the other to SW Missouri. |
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Day
49 - 07/02/15 |
Pups
are starting to go to their new homes today, but first they got their final
worming along with the weekly weigh-in. Here's how the pups are doing at 7
weeks:
Oakley
is the first to leave Hickory Hollow for her new home near the Milwaukee
area, but first she'll get to spend the holiday weekend with her new family
at their lake house. She will be be called "Giblet" (or Gibby for
short) and will be living with a new older "sister" Llewellin named
Morgan (Adena from our "A" litter). She will have lots of new
adventures this weekend and beyond! |
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This
week's milestone: Pups go home. |
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Week
6 |
Day
48 - 07/01/15 |
Sorry
for the delay, but I finally got the 6-week portraits posted online. They
turned out really cute again, I love having a litter of pups on the ground
when the weather's nice outside! ENJOY! |
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Day
47 - 06/30/15 |
The
pups are getting so big that I am now cleaning out the Puppy Playpen and
completely refreshing all the pine shavings and on a daily basis. (FYI,
most of the dark clumps you see on the LIVE Puppy Cam are tufts of stuffing
from their bed pillow as it is brown not white. The pups have chewed
the corners off their pillow and are pulling all the stuffing out.) I
don't know if you have caught me on camera cleaning, but when I let the pups
out to eat their meal, I block off the entrance to the playpen and rapidly
scoop up all the pine shavings trying to get it all done by the time they are
finished eating otherwise they will bark at me wanting back in to potty.
Most pups are very good at their potty training and want to come do
their business in the shavings. I'm happy that they are doing this, but
that means I have to be quick about the clean-up and I cannot allow them to
be in there at the same time I'm cleaning because I would be mauled by sharp
puppy teeth and claws, LOL! Ahhh, my lovely little monsters! |
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Day
45 - 06/28/14 |
Today
my sister (the puppy photographer) came out with my nieces to help socialize
the pups and took some more photos of the pups in the yard for the
6-week portraits. When my sister takes photos she literally takes
hundreds of them so it takes time to review them and pick out the good ones.
I've been super busy lately trying to get all the puppy documentation
and the care packages ready to go, but I'll try to get these photos edited
and posted soon. Stay tuned! |
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Day
43 -06/26/15 |
Pups
were microchipped and paw printed today! They
all did really well during their microchip implantation. The microchip is the
size of a grain of rice that is inserted subcutaneously (just
beneath the skin) with a sterile hypodermic needle on the back between
the shoulder blades. Obviously this is a large gauge needle because the
microchip must pass through it, but all of the pups except one didn't even
flinch when the chip was inserted. What good babies, I was very
impressed with how smoothly that process went today. For
the past few days I have been feverishly working on all the personalized
puppy documents that will go home with each of them upon delivery. One of
these documents is the Certificate of Birth and Development and there is a
spot on that certifcate where I place their puppy paw print, so cute! When I
ink up the pup's paw I always do a test print on a separate sheet of paper
and write the pup's name under it before doing the real one on the Birth and
Development Certificate. I have kept all the sheets of pawprints from each
litter back to my very first and today it was fun to reminisce back through
the stack of those sheets. I should really laminate them to
forever preserve them, and John suggested I take photos of them so I could
keep them digitally and then share them on this site with you. I think that's
a good idea and when I get some "free time" (LOL) I may do just
that! The
pups have become more and more adamant about feeding time, so as soon as I
enter the cottage and begin to prepare their meals, they start wailing and
literally screaming in shrill voices for dinner. So much so, that today
I had to utilize my ear plugs so I could stand to be in the same room with
them. |
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Day
42 - 06/25/15 |
Here's
how the pups are weighing in at 6 weeks:
Third
Worming The
pups were wormed again today and once again the pups didn't fight me while
dosing the medication, they were troopers and licked it right up. |
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This
week's milestone: Eye color changes from blue to brown. This
week, the puppies eyes will start to transition from their current baby blues
to their final adult color, gold (chestnuts) or brown (tri-colors). |
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Week
5 |
Day
41 - 06/24/15 |
The
pups have now been switched to solid food, no more adding canned food to the
mix. I am feeding Native 4 Puppy and they seem to like it very well, the
kibble size is small enough for their little mouths that they don't choke on
it. Momma Benelli is back in the house 99% of the time which is where she
wants to be instead of being sequestered in the Puppy Cottage with her little
ones. She now goes out once or twice per day for a short nursing
session to relieve her swollen teats, but she doesn't want to stay. Pups
are of course turning in to my "little monsters", so they are now
restricted to staying within a gated area within the Puppy Cottage while
eating dinners outside the playpen area, otherwise they are into and
behind EVERYTHING, and biting and chewing EVERYTHING which is very
uncomfortable for their caretaker (ME!), so it's just much easier to keep
them contained. |
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Day
39 - 06/22/15 |
Pups
are now eating a mixture of lamb and rice canned food with dry kibble. I feed
Native 4 because it's rich in calories for growing pups and the kibble size
is perfect for small mouths just getting used to chewing. They are
eating ravenously as hoped and all seems to be going well with the weaning
process. I have been feeding three times per day and Benelli is nursing
twice per day. When the pups are 6 weeks old, I will keep Benelli away from
them and cut off nursing altogether from that point. I
finally got all the photos from yesterday sorted through and have posted the
5-week puppy portraits. ENJOY! |
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Day 38
- 06/21/15 |
Today
my sister Tasha, (aka my 5-week professional puppy portrait photographer)
came out for a shooting session with the pups in the yard. These
sessions are so much fun because she always captures some amazing photos of
the pups, plus the weather is beautiful again and this will be the pups first
time outside in the yard. We
created a huge circular playpen enclosure in the yard using 3 sets of wire
fencing clipped together end-to-end. Then we let the pups loose and
watched them romp in the fresh grass for the first time. I did capture
these first few moments on video which I titled "First
Outdoor Playtime". I
hope to have photos posted within a day or so, Tasha took almost 1000 photos
during the 1.5 hour shoot and I need to sort through them all and pick
the best ones to post as this week's portraits. |
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Day
37 - 06/20/15 |
Puppy
selection is currently underway and should be complete by the end of the day
today. Because of this event, the pups had more special visitors; Rick
Reade from Missouri and Jeri Sill from Nebraska both came to visit and choose
their pups in person. We
have made the tough decision not to take a "breeder pick" puppy
from this litter and wait to see what our next litter brings, therefore
all our reservations have moved up one position and we now have one female
puppy available. If you're interested, please fill out our online Puppy
Application to get the ball rolling. |
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Day
36 - 06/19/15 |
The
pups are actually in a self potty training phase right now. After the meal,
some of the pups are immediately going back into the playpen to potty in the
pine shavings, then coming back out to play afterwards. How smart is
that? The pups I witnessed were Oliver first, then Olivia, Odessa and
Orion. Opal started to doo doo on the concrete floor, so I quickly
picked her up and put her in the playpen, but she stopped mid-poop and walked
back out to the concrete floor, on a 2nd attempt on the concrete, I picked
her back up and put her in the playpen and again she walked back out.
Then I noticed for the 3rd attempt she wandered back into the
playpen and did her business in the pine shavings, YAY! She figured it out,
that's awesome! I am
observing and intervening when possible towards this effort in hopes that it
will make potty training at home much easier. I've even had people go
as far as taking some pine shavings into the yard to a specific place to help
the pups associate potty with outside in the pine shavings. That's actually a
really brillliant idea! Another bit of good news is that after the pups
worming yesterday, I am not seeing any dead worms in the stools today, this
is a really good sign that the pups may not even have any and two more additional
wormings may not be necessary. For a
whole list of potty training tips as well other helpful documentation,
you can view our online Informational
Sheets in preparation for bringing your puppy home. This
morning the pups had their first glimpses of the outdoors and it's such a
beautiful day here today, sunny and 75 degrees. The pups were having
playtime and momma Benelli was in the outdoor run and they knew it and were
curious about it. I captured a video I titled "The
Great Beyond" which is a cute film of the pups all curious
about the outdoors. Notice Oliver and Odessa continue to look out the doggy
door even after momma Benelli comes in and nurses the other pups, they are so
curious they are not even tempted away from the door by a meal. Oliver
was the first pup to escape the Puppy Cottage for the great outdoors all on
his own. After this cute film, I may take the pups outside in the yard
for a first play session and get that on video too, stay tuned! |
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Day
35 - 06/18/15 |
As
you are probably all aware, this is puppy selection week! I am working on
writing up Puppy
Profiles and will post them shortly to help those of you who
cannot come in person to pick out your pup. For those of you who are
selecting a female, the second pick family are coming up from Missouri on
Saturday to pick their pup in person, so therefore the selection process is
delayed a couple days. In the meantime those who want males can start now.
What you can all do now is send me your top puppy picks via
e-mail, message through Facebook or give me a call to discuss. I
will try to get everyone the pup they want. I will either call you or e-mail
you back and let you know which one can be yours. Second
Worming My
new wormer finally arrived today and I was very thankful that the worming
dosing went so smoothly today, just like the old days. I'm using Evict
DS which is a double strength formula meaning use less medicine per pound of
body weight and the active ingredient is Pyrantel Pamoate which kills both
round worms and hook worms. The pups lapped up the caramel flavored
medicine and kept licking the dosing syringe wanting more after the dose was
gone. Now THAT's GOOD STUFF! I apologize that I'm a little late on the 2nd
worming as it should've been done back when the pups were 3 weeks instead of
5 weeks, but I was busy with wedding stuff and didn't have the right worming
formula (only the bitter stuff that made the pups gag). Therefore, I will
worm the pups at weeks 5, 6, and 7 to finish off the schedule. |
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This
week's milestones: Puppy Socialization / Puppy Selection Week - Pups will
belong to a new family! At
the start of this week, the puppies belong to Hickory Hollow, but by the end
of the week, they will belong to a new family! Even though they won't know it
yet, they will have been spoken for by their new puppy parents and in a
couple weeks will get to go to their new homes. Now
that the pups are old enough to have visitors, they will have lots of
opportunities for socialization with our big dogs, adults and children. We
will also concentrate on acclimating them to noises of all varieties
including rapping on pans, opening and closing of doors, blenders, country
music on the radio, and whatever else we can think of to condition them for
life after Hickory Hollow. |
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Week
4 |
Day
34 - 06/17/15 |
The
pups are now eating canned venison and sweet potato dog food every other meal
opposite the raw meal. I never mix raw and cooked in the same meal because
dogs digest them at different rates and would not want to cause any
indigestion for the pups. For the raw meals, I am feeding Darwin's Natural
Zoologics on a rotating schedule of chicken, turkey and duck meat and
occasionally some beef, which contains bone and vegetables. They LOVE it,
they just can't inhale it fast enough and I love it too because their poops are
nice and formed. |
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Day
32 - 06/15/15 |
It's
time to worm the puppies again, but I'm waiting on a new brand of wormer
that is supposed to be "caramel flavored and highly palatable".
I don't even want to attempt another dose with that other awful brand.
It contains the same active ingredient which kills roundworms and
hookworms, plus some extra flavoring to cover up the bitter taste. The
bottles should arrive in two days thanks to Amazon Prime. I
finally got caught up on this webpage after focusing on my wedding and
mini-honeymoon trip for the past week or so. The blog is now up to date
and I have posted puppy portraits and miscellaneous litter photos. ENJOY! |
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Day
31 - 06/14/15 |
Today
the pups had a BUNCH of visitors! Paul Schulte and his brother Chris came to
check out the male puppies since he will be taking one home in a few short
weeks. My parents and mother/father-in-law, step son and girlfriend,
brother-in-law (sister's husband) and his parents and my nieces who brought
a friend were also out to see and play with the pups, 15 people in all,
whew! My two neices especially beg to come hold them and help me
socialize them, it's always fun to have a Puppy Cottage full of puppy lovers! |
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Day
30 - 06/13/15 |
Well,
so far the raw meat diet has done the trick for Benelli and her stools
are back to being formed and solid, YAY! It's the small things that make a
BIG difference in life, LOL! I also noticed that almost
immediately after eating a meal of raw meat, Benelli will go nurse her
puppies and then regurgitate her meal for the pups to eat, I had witnessed
this only on a few other occasions with both Benelli and HOPE and have read
that it is somewhat uncommon in domestic dogs. Naturally this is pure
instinct as that is how wild canines wean and feed their young. The
pups ate momma's offering with gusto, so I got an idea... I decided to try
the youngsters on Darwin's Natural Zoologics for a meal and see how they like
that. Naturally they LOVED it and gulped it down as fast as they could.
This is a huge difference from the enthusiasm they show when eating
canned food... Hmmm, I think there might be something to be said for this
experiment... |
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Day
29 - 06/12/15 |
The
LIVE Puppy Cam is now online in the Puppy Cottage. I apologize for periods of
inactivity on the cam, the puppy playpen is so large that I cannot get the
entire area in the video feed window. When not seen, the puppies are actually
sleeping in a bed against the wall underneath the camera (check out the video
"New
Sleepin' Spot"). The area that will be most fun to watch is
the middle of the playpen when the pups are awake. Benelli
has had one heck of a time with diarrhea during this litter which is
typical for this timeframe in the pup's development. I have to feed her
double or triple her normal meals so she has enough calories to make milk,
but it just seems to go in one end and out the other pretty quickly,
so I'm wondering if the high calorie food is too rich of a diet. She's
currently being fed Native 4 which is a 5-star food. But, I've
just had it with frequency of the clean-up efforts so I've decided to
switch her to a raw diet with meaty bones to see if that helps dry
things up. I have a German Shepherd named Dax that is on a raw
diet which I prepare myself (after much research and mentoring) and
also supplement with Darwin's Natural Zoologics (frozen/pre-packaged). Both
Benelli and HOPE look at Dax jealously at meal time, I know they'd love
to be fed a raw meal instead of dry kibble, so I'm going to give it a try and
see if that helps Benelli's situation. Keep your fingers crossed...
this is the worst part of dog breeding in my opinion is cleaning up this kind
of mess every few hours. I am
now adding canned food mixed with baby rice cereal and feeding it to the pups
three times per day. At first I thought they liked it okay, but they
aren't eating it with as much enthusiasm as I have seen in other litters.
It seems some of the pups are more interested in playing and exploring
the Puppy Cottage at mealtime than eating, and then I worry that they aren't
getting enough of momma's milk to sustain them until the next meal. A
couple of the pups seemed to be a little lethargic and to me that's somewhat
worrysome and a cause for action. I am pondering my next move. |
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Day
28 - 06/11/15 |
Here
is how the pups weigh-in at 4 weeks:
Late
tonight we moved Benelli and the pups out to the Puppy Cottage in order
for us to get some much needed sleep. The pups are just 4 weeks old and this
is the time when I normally move them anyway, but this has been an unusually
vocal litter and the silent night will be a welcome change, not to mention
Benelli begs to get outside at least once every couple hours, so a full
night's rest has been non-existent for a couple weeks now.. I
just posted a video of the pups in their new sleepin' spot, it shows John
gently placing them in their new bed in the cottage and giving them a little
tender lovin' in the process (so sweet). He comments that the pillow is
new knowing what the pups will eventually do to it (chew off the corners and
pull out all the stuffing), but I respond by saying that each litter gets a
new pillow when they move into the Puppy Cottage so they can enjoy a fluffy
and fresh bed, at least for a few days anyway... View
videos |
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This
week's milestone: Rough Play / Weaning Begins / Move to Puppy Cottage I am
no longer weighing puppies on a daily basis now, however I will still
weigh them weekly. Right
now the pups are so sweet and gentle and when they come to see you they are
snuggly and want to be held and get some attention. For the most part, they
like to crawl into your lap and go to sleep. In a few days, this will all go
away and they begin to become little monsters (lovingly referred to of
course). They will bite everything they can get their little mouths on
including fingers, toes and their favorites... shoelaces! As their little
personalities emerge this week, we will be posting puppy personality profiles
in preparation for Puppy Selection Week starting next weekend! |
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Week
3 |
Day
27 06/10/15 |
Today
the pups had their first introduction to weaning cereal. I make a gruel of
goat's milk and baby rice cereal mixing it to a consistency like
slightly thickened milk. Over the next couple feedings I will increase
the thickness so that it is more like a paste and then once they are eating
that pretty well, I will start adding canned dog food. I use
goat's milk because it's easier for dogs to digest than cow's milk. I took a
video of the pup's first cereal meal. View
videos |
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Day
25 - 06/08/15 |
I
always feel bad for the pups during feeding time, since Benelli has 9 pups
and only 8 faucets at the milkbar, one pup is always left out of each meal.
I will be starting the pups on weaning cereal soon so that they can all
enjoy a meal at the same time. |
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Day
23 - |
The
pups had a very special visitor today! Usually I don't allow visitors until
the pups are at least 4 weeks old, but I made a special
exception. Richard Patterson, the owner of our stud dog Jimmy
(paired with HOPE in a few prior litters) was in town from Kansas
City for John and my wedding today, so we invited him to see the
pups. HOPE just loves him and immediately remembered him from her visits to
Kansas City to see Jimmy. How special that he was able to hold and cuddle
them! The
pups canine teeth are starting to cut through the gums today. |
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Day
21 - 06/04/15 |
Here's
how the pups weigh-in at three weeks:
|
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This
week's milestones: Cutting Teeth / Play behavior This
is my absolute favorite time with the pups. Their eyes and ears are now
open and they are becoming playful and inquisitive about their surroundings.
This week the pups will really start playing with each other, play bowing,
yipping, pouncing and chewing on each other. Their individual personalities
begin to develop and they will begin to do some of their natural doggy
behavior for the first time. They will also begin to cut teeth, first the
canines will poke through followed by the incisors a few days later. |
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Week
2 |
Day
19 - |
The
pups are starting to interact with each other more and more and today I
noticed that the pups are atually playing with each other, biting and
pouncing, tumbling and rolling around. I also noticed one sitting
and pawing at the other to initiate play, SO CUTE!! Also
now that the pups can see they are curious about their surroundings, so first
and foremost they are curious about what's outside the box. I had to add
the door to the whelping box to keep a "Curious George" inside. |
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Day
18 - |
FYI...
for those of you who follow the blog, I am going to apologize now that these
posts will be few and far between for the next week or so. I'm getting
married this weekend and have been and will be working on wedding
preparations as well as taking care of pups with not much time for anything
else. I need to prioritize the time I have left before the BIG DAY, and
concentrate on things that MUST be done. Please rest assured that I will
still take notes on developmental progress and photos that I will post
later. I thank you for your understanding and I'm sorry to disappoint anyone. Pups
ears opened today. |
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Day
17 - |
First
Worming For
those of you that have followed my litter blogs in the past, you know how
much I dread worming days. The task used to be so easy before the
manufacturer changed the formula and now the pups hate it. It must
taste bitter because they will protest and shake their heads violently
slinging the wormer everywhere as they cough it up and spit it out as
well as foam at the mouth. It's a horrible task and I feel bad for the pups.
I keep hoping they will make changes to the formula again to make it
more palatable, but so far they haven't. I think it may be about time for a
letter to the company... |
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Day
15 - |
The
pups nails were getting really long and snagging in the carpeting of the box,
so they all got their first nail trims today. Most pups took it like
little troopers, but for the few that didn't luckily at this age they are
still relatively easy to handle even though they are strong little wigglers.
I noticed that their ear canals are deepening and will eventually open
allowing the pups to hear more clearly. Week
2 Puppy Portraits have
just been posted! Look how cute they are with their little eyes open, now is
when things start to get fun with them! |
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Day
14 - |
Pups
are steadily gaining weight and are doing well. Here's how the pups
measure up today at 2 weeks:
|
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This
week's milestone: Cutting Teeth / Ears will open Now
that the puppies eyes are open, they will begin to see clearer and clearer
each day. Supposedly they can only see shadows for the first few days, but
pretty soon they will begin to notice me as I come into the nursery and will
wander to the edge of the box for some love and attention. Just
as significant as the eyes opening, the ear canals will deepen this week
until they will become completely open and allow the pups to hear crisp
noises and not just muffled sounds. Later this week, the pups will be noticeably
affected by all the new sounds around them, so we must be very careful for
the first few days to introduce them to noises gently and not harshly. |
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Week
1 |
Day
13 - |
Here's
today's eye opening update.
I
must say this is one of the most vocal litters I've had to date, they are
"talking" up a storm with frequent yips, barks and howls. I
just posted a YouTube Video called "Stirred
Up / First Steps", ENJOY! |
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Day
12 - |
|
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Day
11 - |
Here's
today's eye-opening update!
|
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Day
10 - |
These
pups are growing like little weeds, they are all strong and healthy and are
already trying to get up off their bellies and walking instead of scooting
across the floor. Also,
I've noticed that this is a very vocal group of pups. They have already
found their voices and are able to howl, yip, growl and bark, which makes for
peaceful nights few and far between, LOL! |
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Day 9
- |
The
pups eyes are starting to open! I can see the eyelids starting to separate at
the inside corners near the nose. It will be fun to see how much they
change each day over the next few days. The
pups are fat, healhty and strong. A few of the pups are even getting up on
all fours trying to take their first steps instead of scooting across the box
on their bellies. |
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Day 7
- |
At
one week, here's how the pups weigh-in:
|
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This
week's developmental milestone: Eyes will open! I
think the most exciting developmental change happens for the pups this week,
their eyes will be opening about mid-week. Once they do, the pups take on a
whole new appearance and personalities start to emerge. The process
starts when the crease between their eyelids starts to deepen until they
separate, first at the middle corner of the eye and then working across to
the outside edges. The opening process can take a few days from
the first peak of the glistening eye beneath until we are able to entirely
see those beautiful baby blues. |
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Birth
Week |
Day
5 - |
At
this young age, I am weighing the pups daily, every morning to make sure they
are gaining and adequate amount of weight. It is especially important when
there are more pups than milk faucets on momma Benelli because this means at
every meal one pup won't get any. I've
noticed that Benelli has been good at waking up pups to nurse when she comes
back into the box, but some remain asleep for a nursing session which allows
the pups to rotate through better, meaning not all pups are nursing during a
particular session. There have been a couple of the smaller pups that I
thought needed a little extra attention because they hadn't gained as much
overnight as expected, so I made sure they got plenty of chances at the
milkbar. Here's
how the pups weigh in at 4 days old:
Also,
I have been taking quite a few miscellaneous photos of the litter which I
will add to this page soon. Stay tuned... |
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Day 4
- |
The
spots on the pups' skin are now showing up, just like a Polaroid photo, they
seemingly have come out of nowhere and have "developed" overnight.
The color is appearing in their noses, right now most pups have spots
of both pink and black, but eventually the black pigment will completely fill
in all over the nose. |
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Day 3
- |
Today
I started the Super Dog program with the puppies. If you don't know what
this is, you can read more about it here: Super Dog Program I
certainly believe that these methods of helping to stimulate the growth of
the puppy's nervous systems do work, otherwise we wouldn't do them. Most pups
don't mind being put in the weird positions, but some are uncomfortable with
it and complain a little. They are only held in these positions for
around 5 seconds so it's over and done with very quickly. The
umbilical cords have dried and shriveled up and are now falling off. During
the daily weigh-in, I also spend time checking them over thoroughly for anything
out of the ordinary. |
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Day 1
- |
All 9
puppies are doing great and nursing well. The LIVE
Puppy Cam is now online and the first puppy portraits
have been posted. Click on any photo to enlarge it. I also posted
a bunch of photos on Facebook yesterday as the whelping was happening, so if
you haven't checked it out yet, you can visit my page here: Hickory Hollow Llewellin Setters |
Web Log of Events(Litter O): (from most recent at top)
Thursday, May 14th, 2015
I checked on Benelli periodically
throughout the night, but she seemed to be resting comfortably without
distress, so I actually got some good sleep last night in preparation for
today's whelping.
The morning went pretty smoothly,
but by around 2:25 pm she started getting anxious and panting heavily so I knew
that was a good sign that whelping would begin soon.
1st |
2:52 pm |
male |
Belton |
11.8 oz |
7 1/4" |
2nd |
3:37 pm |
female |
Belton |
11.4 oz |
7" |
3rd |
4:16 pm |
male |
Tri-color |
9.7 oz |
6 3/4" |
4th |
5:17 pm |
female |
Tri-color |
12.0 oz |
7 1/2" |
5th |
6:00 pm |
female |
Tri-chestnut |
10.3 oz |
6 3/4" |
6th |
6:12 pm |
male |
Tri-color |
11.2 oz |
7" |
7th |
6:54 pm |
female |
Tri-color |
12.0 oz |
7 1/2" |
8th |
7:53 pm |
female |
Belton |
13.1 oz |
8' |
9th |
9:15 pm |
female |
Belton |
12.3 oz |
7 3/4" |
10:45 pm - Momma and pups are
finally in the DuraWhelp box, all are doing well and are now resting after the
tiring ordeal.
The LIVE Puppy Cam will be brought
online tomorrow so stay tuned!
Wednesday, May 13th, 2015
This morning Benelli's a.m. temp was
slightly lower than yesterday's morning temp at 99.5, so I will take it again
in a few hours to see if it is dropping.
At around 1:30 p.m. Benelli's temp
had dropped rapidly and was already reading 97.7, well below the red line of
98.4. I think we are definitely on 24-hour puppy watch now.
Tuesday, May 12th, 2015
For the past several days I've been
monitoring Benelli's condition by taking her baseline temperature every day at
the same time each morning and evening. Pre-whelping her temperature
drops about one degree and hangs out around 99.5, once her temp drops below
98.4 that signifies whelping will happen usually within the next 12-24 hours.
Benelli's evening temp was way up
which could indicate the spike before it starts to drop. Temp reading this p.m.
was 100.1. This could be the beginning...
Friday, May 8th, 2015
Benelli' x-ray showed the
probability of nine pups, due next Friday, May 15th.
Monday, May 4th, 2015
Benelli has an appointment this
Friday, May 8th for her x-rays to get a final pup count before delivery. I will
post the x-ray photos as soon as I can on that day.
So if you're not on Facebook, now
might be a fun time to get on our Hickory Hollow Llewellin Setters page because
we are playing the Name Game during the last week while waiting for the pups to
come. Since this is "Litter O" I always ask my followers to
send me their "O" name suggestions so that I can give each pup a
temporary name while they reside here at Hickory Hollow instead of calling them
Pup#1, Pup #2, etc. It's always a fun time when people start suggesting names.
So here's what our Facebook Followers have suggested thus far:
Oakley, Olaf, Olympia, Orchid,
Orlando, Oasis, Octavia, Ollianna, Ollie, Oops (but I like "Ollie
Oops" together as one name instead of two), Oscar, Olive, Opal (my
grandma's name), Omelette, Opus, Orion, Oriole, Outlook, Oliver, O'Reilly,
O-rangy, Oodles, Orangutan, Octavious, 007, Odoriferous, Outlaw, Otter, Olivia,
Odie, On It, Obiwan, Oscar, Ophina, Oceanna, Otto, Ozzie, Oz, Ophelia, Oprah,
Odd, Odessa, Odum, Opie, Obidia, Othello, Obie, and Oreo.
WOW, there's some really good ones
in this list, no doubt some of them will have the distinction of being used for
one of these pups. Thanks everybody for your participation!
Friday, April 10th, 2015
It has been almost a month since the
first breeding between Benelli and Jack, and upon palpation, I believe I can
feel little puppies in Benelli's belly! At this stage of development,
they are about the size of a robin's egg. I think she is also
experiencing a little morning sickness with the hormone changes because she's
not eating her dinner as well as she usually does and she's been grumpy towards
her mother HOPE. These are all good signs and are to be expected when
pregnant. Expected due date is around May 15th.
Wednesday, April 1st, 2015
Benelli was successfully bred to
Jack between March 13-18, at this point we are just waiting to confirm
pregnancy at about 4 weeks, so not much in the way of news until that
timeframe. An ultrasound would confirm pregnancy around day 28 but for the past
few litters I have decided not to spend the $100 on that procedure since I can
really start to tell at about 5 weeks whether or not she's getting a fatter
belly and her behavior starts to change as well anyway. In lieu of spending
money at the vet for the ultrasound for pregnancy confirmation, I opt to wait
and allocate those funds to an x-ray to be done in the last few days before
pups are born in order to confirm litter count. I think the allocation of funds
in this area is much more beneficial, it takes some of the worry away on
whelping day knowing how many pups to expect and to better judge how to handle
a situation if complications should arise during whelping.
Wednesday, March 18th, 2015
We've had breedings between the pair
at regular intervals from Friday the 13th through today, so as far as we can
tell this mating has been successful. Now we wait for about 4 weeks
to confirm pregnancy.
Friday, March 13th, 2015
It's confirmed, we have our first
breeding between Benelli and Jack today (which is day 10 of her cycle,
PERFECT)!
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015
Benelli started her heat cycle today
and we have plans to breed her to Jack next week, March 11-15, 2015. Then it
will be at least 28 days before we can determine pregnancy. For the past
few litters I have skipped the pregnancy confirming ultrasound to instead opt
for x-rays during the last week of gestation (around 8 weeks) so that we
can count how many pups she will be having. Stay tuned!