Golden Retrievers – Page 4 – Jema Golden Retrievers

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!!

Happy Two Weeks Old!

LOVE when breeders keep me updated on their/our puppies! Rooster is a proud daddy!

CH Rooster x CH Fizz puppies: two-weeks old today!

LOVE these puppies!!

Good job, momma Fizz… Look at those “plump” bellies!

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!

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!

Gratitude

Gaddy, the Duck Dog! I couldn’t be prouder of the handsome hunting companion he is growing up to be!!

On this week of Thanksgiving as we count our blessings, I am truly grateful to have received photos from the CH Rooster x Trevi litter born just over a year ago (10/30/17). Thank you, Sandy, for bringing your lovely girl to my boy, Rooster, for this litter!

Now truly, there is nothing better than seeing a Golden Retriever do what s/he was bred to do… To be a gentleman’s (or woman’s) hunting companion of upland game and of course… to be a “retriever”!

Gaddy looks like he is a swimmer too! Good boy, Gaddy!

Breeding can pass on genetics of conformation and ability but it truly takes dedication and hard work of each and every owner to bring out the best in his or her dog(s). Jon and Jennifer have done this with their dogs! And, well, like the saying goes… A picture tells a thousand words!

Patience and perserverance… Kudos to Jon & Jennifer for all they do for their two Goldens!

Thank you Jon and Jennifer for including me in “Gaddy’s” journey on becoming the hunting dog you envisioned. I am SURE there have been up’s and down’s in his training. Still, it is through your commitment in sharing this sport with your dogs, that Gaddy is progressing to be a “duck dog”! It is that dedication and perserversance that will make Gaddy an outstanding hunting companion. Of that, I have no doubt!

LOVE Jennifer’s pretty smile! And those two dogs… they are not taking their eyes off of those ducks! These are two very lucky dogs indeed!!

“Eddy”

I LOVE hearing stories about “my” puppies!

I love getting photos of “my” puppies in their new homes. And I love to hear how well they are doing; how much that puppy is loved. I recently received news about “Eddy” and how well he did on a family trip… I just had to share a few photos.

Eddy playing in the water and exploring rock climbing

Great photo of Eddy and his boy. I’m sure they will have many adventures together!

I’m very fortunate to stay-in-touch with many of my “puppy people” hearing about their adventures as their puppy grows into a dog. Seeing them grow up brings back many memories of the time they were with me. That time always seems to go by very fast. Looking back… SUCH great memories of “how I spent my summer!”