dogs – Page 2 – Jema Golden Retrievers

Registered Name Ideas?

Possible Suggestions for Registered Names…

In thinking more about “name ideas” for folks, I’ve compiled a list of possible names. Let me know if any of these names resonate with you and I will mark those names as “used”. These are certainly not all possible names; they are just “ideas” of what puppy could be named.

Also… my kennel name, “Jema”, will precede any chosen name to show where the puppy came from/who the breeder was…

Ideas:

Jema’s…

Let Freedom Ring; call name “Belle”? Or “Ringer”?
Free-King Awesome;
Free As A Bird;
Two’s Company; Free’s A Crowd;
Free At Last
Home Free
Free Samples
Get Out Of Jail Free
Free Trade
Free Agent
BOGO Free; call name “Bogo”
Free To Go
Free To Set Sail
Free Falling; call name “Tom” or “Petty”?
Land Of The Free; call name “Soldier”?
Love Will Set You Free
Born Free; call name “Elsa”?
Free At Last
Nobody Rides For Free
Free To Be Me
Freek On A Leash
Feel Free
Let Freedom Ride
I’d Hammer About Freedom
Freebird
Freedom Of Speech; call name “Barker”?
Freedom to Roam
Free Style
Footloose And Fancy Free
Free-quent Flyer; call name “Jet”
Free Spirit
Below Freezing; call name “Polar” or “Polaris”?
Freelance
Scott Free
Free Wheeling
Free Will
Free World; call name “Leader”?
Free To Be
Gravity Free; call name anything from space program like “Apollo” or “Mercury”?
Carefree Trail as in… Home on Carefree Trail (thanks, Krystal!)
Free And Clear
Freebies For All; call name “Alvin”?
Feelin’ Free

Mom and pups doing well this morning. Puppies had their first nail trim last night. Deja, especially, appreciates their nails NOT being quite so sharp!

Milk Coma! Yep… this is what that looks like! (Look at that full belly!)

Day Three

Daily life monitoring mom & puppies…

Day three and watching/spending a LOT of time with mom and puppies. We are specifically watching/waiting for Deja’s milk to come in (it can take a few days). All puppies have received colostrum from Deja; this “pre-milk” transfers Deja’s antibodies against disease and illness to each of the puppies. All puppies have gained weight from their initial birth weight; some have lost a few ounces from that inital weight to their weight on day 2 (last night). Again, this is normal and a sign that Deja’s “real milk” has not come in yet. We are making sure all puppies are nursing; all have a good “suck reflex” and have no problems “finding mom”.

Deja does have a few hardened areas along her mammary chain. We are alternating warm and cold compresses to these areas to ease any discomfort Deja may have as her body adjusts to the puppies nursing. We are very relieved that Deja’s appetite remains normal as well as her other “bodily functions”. And of course, we continue to montior Deja’s temperature which also is normal.

Today is “dew claw” day. Puppies will have their dew claws removed. This will be one less nail for new owners to trim later and… removes the likelihood of that side nail from getting snagged/ripped later in life. “Day 3” is when this is done.

In the meantime, new photos of puppies. I love them all!

Amazing to see the size difference… Some day, this puppy’s paw/foot will match mom’s!

Puppy Pile! This is a small dog bed I use for pups “to be” while changing/cleaning their bedding.

Snoozing puppy after eating (and while bedding is changed)

“Fire Cracker” Puppies!

Born on 4th of July

The big day… Deja had her puppies on 4th of July! What is worse than having puppies on a weekend? Having puppies on a HOLIDAY/weekend! As opposed to how things might have been in years past, now adays, vet care on “off hours” for repro is extremely limited! When Deja had her temp drop the morning of 7/3, it was suggested I bring her in for a progesterone test to SEE if she was close enough to delivery to do a C-section on 7/3? The problem with this option is… that temp drop can last up to 36 hours. That is the time puppies need for their lungs to develop to survive outside of mom. Taking puppies “early”… NOT a good option! We opted to wait it out knowing we would be “on our own” for Deja’s whelping.

We’ve delivered LOTS of litters over the years so weren’t overly worried. Mother Nature knows what to do! The waiting though… It is ALWAYS the hardest part! Deja’s first stage of labor lasted 34 hours! At 6:00 p.m. on 7/4, Deja’s water broke! Time for puppies… the first puppy came 18 minutes later! Deja consistently delivered a puppy approximately every 15 minutes after that… Hardly time to catch one’s breathe before the next puppy arrived!

Sadly, not all puppies survive no matter what heroics are done. This is always very sad and why “having puppies” (or any baby animal) in order for children to experience birth… it’s NEVER a good idea! Still, we feel very blessed with 7 healthy puppies; 4 girls and 3 boys!

I’m in the process of contacting folks that are on my “wait list” (and giving them a chance to reply back). And am taking care of Deja and her puppies! If I haven’t contacted you yet, please be patient! In the meantime, photos of the puppies approximately 12 hours old!

Puppies identified by different color collars… All have gained weight from their initial birth weight… YEAH!

Deja is a “good mommy” shielding her babies with her body! While she DOES allow me to handle her puppies, she is VERY watchful of my touching/picking them up!

Red Girl… she hasn’t stopped eating since she was born!

Happy First Birthday Puppy Vee

Happy Birthday, Vee (and to all of her littermates too!)

Time seems to have a mind of it’s own; I can hardly believe it is almost JULY!

With all the talk about upcoming puppies (and puppies sired by Rooster who is a very proud daddy), I neglected to wish Puppy Vee, and all of her littermates, a happy first birthday (6/11/19).

Sweet, beautiful Vee (the puppy I kept from the CH Journey x CH Deja litter)

Vee celebrated her birthday on Saturday, 6/15/19, by attending her first Health Clinic. We attend this specific health clinic every year where ALL of the dogs get their annual health testing. Am very pleased that again this year, all of my dogs passed their eye tests for breed specific congenital/genetic eye diseases. Yeah!!

Not only did Vee pass her eye exam but she also passed her cardiology exam too. “Puppies” need to be over a year of age for this test to count for their permanent health clearance so four days after her first birthday, Vee now has both her eye and heart health clearance! Super yeah!!

Puppy Vee: She has beautiful, effortless movement! (And she is a joy to live with too!)

Thanks goes to the organizer of this health clinic. She does an amazing job keeping everyone organized both in scheduling the vets for this clinic and the dogs/owners attending this health clinic. Again this year, the vets, from CSU, volunteer their time to do their specific exams. They are very much greatly appreciated. I specifically appreciate the continuity of care having the same vets do their exams who have seen my dogs in previous years. Health testing is the cornerstone of any breeding program because that is really the goal… to breed healthy dogs first and foremost!

As an aside, Vee’s litter brother, Trek, who now lives in California ALSO passed both his eye and heart clearance! I am SO HAPPY for brother Trek, and his owner, also!!

The Big Day Approaches…

Pregnancy x-rays shows a LOT of puppies!

Well, the big day will be next week! We have opted to do a scheduled C-Section on 7/5/19 for several reasons. First off, Deja has at LEAST nine puppies seen on her pregnancy x-ray! It is possible there may be a 10th puppy hiding… It’s possible! That is a LOT of puppies to whelp!

Screen Shot 2019-06-27 at 6.07.47 PM.jpg — Can you count puppies? Remember for each skull, you need to trace the corresponding spine!

The second big reason… we are heading into not just a weekend but a HOLIDAY weekend! This means that “vet help” is greatly reduced/non-existent! IF Deja were to have any whelping problems, my only option for “help” would be the vet E.R.

I’ve been down that road before and what happens is… IF Deja were to have any problems delivering her puppies and we were to go to the vet E.R. for help, Deja’s health would not be a concern per se. That is how the emergency triage works. They don’t recognize a “puppy-to-be” in distress as “living” as long as Deja is not in mortal danger. I can’t bear the thought of “losing” a puppy because, to me, every one of those puppies IS living (all you have to do is hold her hand against Deja’s tummy to feel movement!)

Deja likes lying on the cool concrete! She is carrying a LOT of extra weight with all those babies!

So… Just waiting to hear back from my repro vet as to what time we need to have Deja there?

Meanwhile, we’ve started taking Deja’s temperature (frequently) throughout the day. For those not aware, progesterone levels (which is what maintains preganncy in all mammals) will drop indicating impending labor. That drop in progesterone can actually be monitored via temperature… Deja’s temperature will drop a few degrees below normal which corresponds to her progesterone level dropping signifying impending labor.

Now this drop in temperature isn’t an “exact” science. What that drop in temperature/progesterone really means is… labor is impending in the next 24 hours! If whelping naturally, you want to catch the time of that drop and if you do NOT start having puppies within 24 hours… another cause for concern! Even with a scheduled C-section, we will continue to take Deja’s temp monitoring for that drop because it is possible for her to have puppies on her own a day early, 7/4/19 especially because she is having a large litter.

A “cheat sheet” counting those skulls and spines! That is a LOT of puppies!

It is definitely going to be an exciting week coming up!

“Beacon”

Daily Life For Puppy, “Beacon”

Little “Beacon” is loving life in Durango, CO with his new owner. LOVE getting updates on puppies! Beacon is from the CH Rooster x Charlie litter. He is about 10 weeks old in these photos…

Beacon is learning “stay” (and being quite successful!) SUCH A SMART PUPPY!

Breeding Update:

Puppy plans for the summer…

As the CH Rooster x Charlie puppies are being sent off to their new homes this week, it makes me think about getting organized (ready) for MY upcoming breedings! Many already know this but if you subscribe to this blog, I figured I would update everyone here…

Ms Pink Collar girl from the CH Rooster x Charlie litter

Doodle has recently been bred to CH Tulo. She will have an ultrasound 30 days after being bred to confirm pregnancy. This will be when we increase/change her food to support growing puppies. Assuming she is pregnant (and there is no reason to think she wouldn’t be), her puppies would be due 6/19/19.

Doodle (8 points towards her CH title but really… She LOVES to hike and hang with us!)

As of yesterday, CH Deja is in season. We plan on breeding Deja to CH Elton. If I’m going to be “home with puppies” anyways then I will be HOME WITH PUPPIES! This is also a contingent plan because Mother Nature may have ideas of her own? If all goes as planned, her puppies would be due early July.

Meanwhile, CH Rooster has bred a lovely girl from Nebraska. I recently received confirmation that this girl is indeed pregnant. Her puppies are due May 26, 2019.

Rooster has been busy! He is the sire of another local litter. If she is pregnant, her puppies are due a week before Doodle’s puppies (6/12/19). It is likely that having this girl here to breed to Rooster has stimulated my girls to come into season now also. It is the “dorm effect”… when one girl comes in season, they all do!

LOTS of dog planning going on with trips to the vet for progesterone timing and Rooster “dates”. This is going to be a fun summer with LOTS of puppy breathe. I can hardly wait!!

The End… And New Beginnings

So tempted to keep one of these puppies!

Puppies will be leaving for their forever homes this week. It is the end of watching these babies grow and develop but the beginning of their new lives in their forever homes. I feel very fortunate to have been invited out to play with puppies frequently and watch these babies grow. Such a consistent, healthy litter!

I’m so very proud of the CH Rooster x Charlie puppies… I know they will bring much joy to their new families!

CH Rooster x Charlie Puppies

I’m so proud of these puppies out of Miss Charlie and my boy, Rooster

Time seems to have flown by (especially since I’m not the one caring for the puppies)! The Rooster x Charlie puppies will be 7-weeks old next Monday (4/22/19); I can hardly wait to see them all one more time before they all start heading off to their new homes.

Puppies were born March 4th: 5 boys and 4 girls.

I did get to go see puppies when they were two weeks old. Darling, darling babies!

Charlie with her babies… All NINE of them!

Puppies did a lot of growing in just a few short weeks. Out to “play with puppies” again on April 3rd when they were 4.5 weeks old:

Learning to drink from the big dog water bowl

At this age, pups play hard then nap. I had three napping with me feeling their little heartbeats. Such a special day!

And before you know it… Puppies are 6 weeks old! These are VERY pretty puppies but I may be just a tad biased? I’m so excited for the new owners who also have been out to meet all the babies. Pups will go to their new homes in just a little over a week now. Fortunately, I’m going to see them one more time before they leave their Momma and first home. And take more photos, of course!

Puppy Vee

Growing up but she still does things I would rather she not!

Puppy Vee is growing up (she’s now 9 months old!) Where does the time go?

Vee is a very sweet puppy and although still young and “busy”, she is a constant companion throughout most of my day.

NOT to say she doesn’t have her moments! Chewing my new door mat was NOT especially appreciated but… bad me for not supervising her, sigh! In HER MIND, that new rug was a new “toy” to chew and explore (and chew she did!)

Beyond a doubt, puppies are “busy”! Full of joy and curiousity, they can wreak havoc if not supervised. Still, at the end of the day when I’m petting her and she looks at me with those soft brown eyes, I know… I can always buy another rug!