A trek to bring home Trek

I was deeply saddened when I was notified that a long-time, very dear and close friend recently passed. The reason I was contacted so quickly… My friend had a dog bred by me. Not only was the dog bred by me, I was also listed as a “co-owner” of this dog with my friend.

Trek: His first week in Colorado (since he was 2 months old) introduced to snow, cats, and his new harem of GIRLS!

After exhausting all possible options of potentially having this dog transferred from California (where my friend lived) to Colorado (where I live), I could see no other option than driving out to get this dog! It was to become the trek to retrieve “Trek”. Unfortunately, this was during the recent “arctic freeze”; I wanted nothing more than to hunker down with my furry and feathered critters to endure the storm. And, of course, there was the pandemic to worry about! Then, too, my girls were due to “come into season”; I didn’t want to miss my planned breedings. But because I couldn’t be sure Trek was “safe”, “getting the dog” took precedence over any other concerns.

I packed in a daze and the next morning, then hubby and I set off to bring Trek home. I am extremely grateful my son promised to take care of my animals and “hold down the fort”. He also agreed to monitor the girls for signs they were finally “in season”. To make things slightly less chaotic for my son, we took my two Havanese girls. I figured this would be a crash course in socializing and travel for them. Plus, as “pocket dogs”, well they really don’t take up much space.

We made it to Richfield, Utah on Friday. FYI: when using the adaptive cruise control, set at 5 miles above the speed limit (so 85 mph), when the sign says to decrease speed to 50 mph for the curve ahead, the adaptive cruise control does NOT adapt to the oncoming curves. Now I know this! On the trip home, in daylight, I got to see the area I drove through mostly at… 85 mph! I’m thankful it was pitchblack dark driving through those mountains!

While today’s cars do a LOT of thinking for us (and offer a great many safety features), it is a really good idea NOT to forget to be the one actually controlling the car and DRIVING yourself!

Saturday morning had us saying “good-bye” to Richfield still continuing west. I really thought that once we made it through Vail Valley/Summit County, we would be past the snow? NOT TRUE! We drove through near white-out conditions for several miles until we were well into Nevada.

It was at this time that I realized… I needed new wiper blades!

Into Nevada and suddlenly palm trees started becoming the norm.

Heading to Las Vegas… We encountered some sort of “dust storm”? It felt like a tornedo with dust and debris all over the highway? The sky was black! We just kept driving…

Las Vegas is just… plain… dirty! I have never seen so much debris flying across the highway before! And the weather… Some sort of a “dust storm”? It was dreadful!

Saturday night’s hotel stay was uneventful. We made plans to meet Sunday morning to pick up “Trek”.

After a brief visit, we were on the road again this time heading home. We made it as far as Cedar City, Utah before having to stop for the night. This was going to make it a long drive on Monday but we were all exhausted at this point… both physically and mentally. It was time to stop for the day.

Trek wants to know WHAT those little dogs are and why are THEY allowed on the bed (and he isn’t)?? SO MANY new things in store for you, my boy!

Monday morning was rough! First, the toilet over-flowed in the hotel room. Gone was the 65 degree weather of Southern California; we were back into “winter”. We had significantly MORE luggage to repack in the car having brought in Trek’s crate from the car the night before to sleep in. And neither hubby nor I slept well. Not a good way to start a day of driving!

Driving through western Utah and we are back in “winter”! Fortunately the roads were fairly dry… for the most part.

Glenwood Canyon is really specatucular! The raised highway (I-70) is such an architectural marvel. The Colorado river runs next to the highway throughout the canyon.

After Utah, now in Colorado, the western slope is a really pretty area. Through Glenwood Canyon and onto Vail. Finally through the Eisenhower Tunnel and back down the mountain with ears popping and our heads feeling like they were about to explode! About 40 minutes from “home” and we came to a complete stall on the highway due to an accident ahead. SO CLOSE and we were stopped! Until finally we were HOME!

GIRLS! Everyone nose-to-nose meeting each other. It will be a few weeks before Trek will be able to run and play with my girls (all are in season!)

Trek has never seen snow and he was pretty excited to meet my girls, now in season, even if only through the fence gate. On Tuesday, Trek had a “spa day” complete with ear cleaning and nail trim. He was a total rock star and seemed to enjoy all of his pampering.

Spa day for Trek… LOTS of dead undercoat removed, nails trimmed, ears cleaned. He did wonderful on the grooming table and LOVED all the attention!

Trek has so much to explore and he really isn’t sure WHAT those little dogs are? He now, however, knows to NOT mess with my barn kitty! One swat from kitty taught Trek some instant manners.

Life for Trek is going to be way different in Colorado with us than his life was in California. First, we have SNOW! Once the girls are done “being in season”, I think he is going to be excited having his very own “harem”? As for the girls, progesterone testing done midweek and we are right on schedule for the upcoming breedings. Deja is meeting her “boyfriend” this weekend and Vee will go in for another progesterone test tomorrow to see how far she has progressed? Although my son “thought” both came into season on the exact same day, more likely Deja was in season a day or two before Vee so… we won’t be having puppies on the exact same day. That is if BOTH girls get pregnant which is our hope. Cross your fingers!!

All in all, it was a trip I would do again… for one of my dogs! It really isn’t just about this particular dog though. It is about being part of the solution for the breed.

Puppy Evaluations

Puppies Off To Their New Homes…

Puppy evaluations… otherwise known as “eenie, meenie, miney, moe”! Puppies were stacked on the grooming table last night (7/29/18) by my friend and fellow Golden Retriever club member, Terri, while we all went over “parts”. What we are looking at is how does each puppy, on his or her own, compare to the Golden Retriever standard on exactly WHAT a Golden Retriever should look like! (The standard for the Golden Retriever was part of your “puppy packet”; it has the absolute specifics of what I’m talking about here. It can also be found on the AKC and GRCA web site.)

It was after work (for Terri) when we did the evaluations. Pups were out in the backyard running around as we evaluated one puppy at a time. And we watched as the storm clouds were moving in too! Pups all brought inside just before the rain and hail started and the evaluations continued inside. Pups were getting hungry (we all were) so I’m afraid some of my photos were only so-so. Today, I re-stacked pups on the grooming table to re-shoot all of them in much better light.

Mark is on his way to the airport to pick up Sherry. Once I confirm with Sherry, I will be able to let everyone know for sure who is getting what puppy. And I will email you the health info I have from MY vet for you to keep for your records/give to YOUR vet on your puppy.

I am sure I’ve said this many times but it bears saying again… These puppies ALL are incredibly beautiful puppies and very consistent with each other in “type” and “substance”. They have been from the start! I am VERY PROUD of each and every one of these puppies!

Black Boy.jpg — Black Boy (now known as “Trek”)

Blue Boy.jpg — Blue Boy (now known as “Ziggy”)

Green Boy.jpg — Green Boy (now known as “Finn”)

Purple Boy.jpg — Purple Boy (now known as “Eddy”)

Red Girl.jpg — Red Girl (now known as “Vee”)

Lime Girl.jpg — Lime Girl (now known as “Charley”)

Pink Girl.jpg — Pink Girl (now known as “Gracie”)

Orange Girl.jpg — Orange Girl (now known as “Westie”)

August 30, 2018

Where did the time go? Oh… crazy busy time with folks coming to pick up their new babies. Puppies getting situated in their new homes, vet visits, and house-breaking/training started. And just like that, my house is back to “normal”! Puppy pen taken down and dining table back in its place.

It occurs to me that while the folks getting their puppies KNOW all of this, others who may be following my blog do not. Sitting in my “drafts folder” is this entry yet unpublished! So for the folks who may want to see how these pups “stacked” up for the evaluation, here they are. These puppies came at a time in my life when I needed a bit of joy and joyful they were! Some litters are just like that!

Puppy Pool Party!

Happy 6 Weeks Old!!

Yeah! Pups are 6 weeks old today! Folks out to meet puppies last Saturday and although cloudy with a breeze, the heat was still stifling for the fluffy pups. What a brilliant idea of Mark’s to bring out the kiddie pool and soak pups to cool them off! Pups went from lethargic, hot, fur-balls looking for shade to perky, playful puppies which is their normal selves!

Pups SO LOVED meeting people and time outside

Perky puppy now that they are cooled down! (Again, I purposely did NOT post any photos of children! I will send those photos privately!)

Patiently waiting for a turn in the pool and being “splashed”!

Puppies continue to be GREAT little eaters now eating solely solid food (no more nursing!) The benefit of this is better poops! You might expect some softer poops upon the transition to your home(s) when you first take home puppy but with consistency and patience, poops should firm up quickly again. Until pups are acclimated to your new homes, I would recommend you NOT feed any additions to their diet at least not right away… At least until they have their “sea legs” again and are getting used to yours and their new routines in their new homes.

Today was much cooler out, although quite humid! Pups are now doing single steps and followed me out to the “dog room”. There, Beanie (the French Bulldog) proceeded to bark at them and as everyone knows, her bark can be a bit shrill. Poor pups just looked at her wondering what on earth was HER problem? Kudos to the pups who walked right up to her and licked her nose! They probably thought she was one of them? She IS their size!!

We didn’t stop long but proceeded to work on learning “doggy doors” today! Again, stepping up and over was no problem for pups (as long as I held the flaps open for them to see where they were going!)

Once outside, a whole new world opened up to them! First and foremost was “chasing the broom” as I swept! After dining Al Fresco, pups enjoyed running up and down the covered run (on cement; another surface mastered!) Because we had rain on and off all day, I didn’t pull out a ton of toys but they all enjoyed running through (and trying to climb over) the tunnel!

I need to prune these evergreens! And tonight, Mark did just that for me so we won’t have sticky/sap puppies!

But the outside slide was the “big hit” of the day! Pups climbed through the tunnel-like slide and enjoyed “spinning” the toys hung on the side of the slide. Funny to watch the pup on the inside of the slide spin the toys back to the pup on the outside of the slide!

It was a full day for pups being outside in the covered runs and then back through the doggy door and back inside everyone went. Some play time, some napping, and then dinner was eaten outside again this time on the grass. Pups had a “mini-bath” since the grass was wet from the rain. Inside just before the rain started again, this time with a bit of hail! Definitely a full “puppy day”!

Weights for this week:

Blue (M): 7 lbs 12.6 oz
Black (M): 8 lbs 8.6 oz
Purple (M): 7 lbs 13.6 oz
Green (M): 8 lbs 1.2 oz
Hot Pink (F): 8 lbs 5.6 oz
Lime Green (F): 7 lbs 12.4 oz
Red (F): 8 lbs 1.2 oz
Yellow (F): 7 lbs 8.2 oz
Orange (F): 7 lbs 5.8 oz

This is probably the biggest weight difference between puppies since birth. Heaviest puppy (Black Boy) at 8 lbs 8.6 oz to the lightest (Orange Girl) at 7 lbs 5.8 oz. Nine puppies all within essentially one pound of each other means… VERY UNIFORM weights between all puppies! The weight difference is really negligible. Puppies de-wormed again today as per their schedule. You will get this info, along with their feeding schedule, when you pick up your puppy to let your vet know. It is standard protocol to de-worm puppies, based on their weight, at 2, 4, and 6 weeks.

And while this probably won’t mean much to most people, both Mark and I have felt both testicles on ALL the boys! That’s a good thing!

Golden Hour

Puppies Playing Outside As The Sun Is About To Set

The Golden Hour, in photography, is that hour or so just before sunset (or after sunrise) where the light is just magical. Add nine bouncing Golden Retriever puppies and that hour just became MORE magical!

I am very thankful for my “help”! Mark thoroughly cleaned the puppy pen then met us outside to help. Andrew watched (and counted) pups while I got the chance to “focus” (tee-hee!) on taking photos.

So here you go… a ton of shots taken of puppies once the temps were cooler as the sun was setting. The only editing I’ve done to these shots is fix my horizon (straighten the shot), changed my ratio from 2:3 to 4:5 (just a bit more square) in some shots, and in some, brought up the shadows. IOW, these are pretty much “straight out of camera”! I’ve tried to get every puppy. If I missed any, well, there is always tomorrow night! 🙂

Enjoy!

I realize this photo is “out of focus” but wanted to show off her beautiful top line!

Black Boy (fluffy butt! DEFINITELY a wide body!!)

Deja is pretty much “dried up” but that doesn’t stop the pups from “trying”! At this point, this is more of a pacifier than food!

“Go Play With Puppies”

Puppy Chaos With Puppies Outside By Myself! (5 Weeks Old)

“Go play with puppies”, Mark says. That sounds like a GREAT idea! But sitting on the tile floor in the puppy pen about kills my knees so I have this great idea… I’ll take puppies outside! I check the temp; only 88 degrees and it IS cloudy out so I decide pups will have a good time!

I start pulling pups out of the pen past the soon-to-be-surmountable barrier. I can do two at a time except for a few out of reach. I step into the puppy pen to get the pups farther back. In the meantime, pups already out of the box decide to pee… THREE of them! I throw down paper towels as I call them to the back door.

Holding the door open, I lift pups two by two outside the threshold. As I’m holding the door open, three flies fly into the house. Drats! I finally get all the pups outside on the back patio and two of them are pooping on the concrete. Oh no… I call them onto the grass (because it will be easier to pick up the poop); some follow, others do not. When you have to go, you have to go!

And then the sun comes out! I go back inside to grab their water bowl and after refilling, I take it outside. Now I’m doing that “count to nine” thing again. I only count eight! Deja is supposed to be “helping” me but she takes off towards the side yard; yep, there is the ninth puppy meandering off! Deja comes when I call and that puppy follows mom. Good girl, Deja!

I leave pups for a moment to grab the pooper-scooper (remember the flies earlier?!) Now I can’t find where they went (except for the ones on the back patio of course). Some puppies are hanging out in the shade but the others, some go right; some go left!

I go out to the grass where I can see them all. Snap a few photos until they see me and then, they come running. I have one biting my ears (I’m lying on the ground) and another chewing on my camera strap. I disentagle the puppy chewing on the camera strap and do my count again… all accounted for!

And then, two decide our little water fountain looks interesting and climb up on the lowest edge peering at the trickling water. I call them back to their water bowl but it is the trickling water that is fascinating pups.

Several are panting by now. I start picking them up two at at time and take them back to the puppy pen. I make three trips with two and two trips with single puppies. I’m missing one! Back outside calling for puppy… P-U-P-P-Y! P-U-P, P-U-P, P-U-P-P-Y! And I hear before I see that last puppy deep in my planting bed! As she comes towards me, she will have to go through a rose bush. I quickly swipe her up thus avoiding the thorny branches of the bush. Whew… all nine pups accounted for and back in the house!

I pull out frozen water bottles and ice cubes. A few lick the ice cubes while some lie on the water bottles to cool off. I sit with puppies until none are panting any longer. As I leave the puppy pen with everyone fast asleep, my parrot starts calling… “PUPPY, PUP, PUP, PUPPY!”

Lesson here: DO NOT TAKE THAT MANY PUPPIES OUTSIDE BY MYSELF!

5-Week Weights:

Blue (M): 6 lbs 3.6 oz
Black (M): 6 lbs 10.0 oz
Purple (M): 6 lbs 1.0 oz
Green (M): 6 lbs 4.6 oz
Hot Pink (F): 6 lbs 9.4 oz
Lime Green (F): 6 lbs 5.2 oz
Red (F): 6 lbs 7.8 oz
Yellow (F): 5 lbs 13.6 oz
Orange (F): 5 lbs 14.8 oz

In other news: Puppies are now eating only slightly softened food. I sat with them to make sure none had a problem chewing the harder kibble the first time. All did great! Watching them wrestle with each other (and chew on each other), time to add more “chew” toys! And time to make sure Deja doesn’t try to steal them from the pups because… everyone likes a good chew toy!

Early Neurological Stimulation

This was brought up with me at the “puppy party” last Sunday. One of my guests was telling me how he was interested in “testing” one of his dogs after he brought the dog home (I don’t recall what age he was “testing” this puppy/dog?) I responded that yes, we do do “early neurological stimulation”. Does it make a big difference long term? Is it really worth doing it? Hmm…

My feeling has always been that it can’t hurt the puppies. And if it helps puppies have a better tolerance to stress and a greater resistance to disease later in life, why not do the early stimulation! And because “I breed for myself”, I’m down for anything that will make MY puppy a better dog!

The stimulation I am talking about is from the “bio sensor” program first developed by the military for their canine program. It consists of five types of early tactile stimulation done to puppies to stimulate their neurological system. The stimulations is done once per day from day three until pups are sixteen days old. It is just something we do for every litter.

There are five exercises or stimulations:

Tactile stimulation (between toes)
Head held erect
Head pointed down
Supine position
Thermal stimulation

The benefits of Stimulation:

Improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate)
Stronger heat beats
Stronger adrenal glands
More tolerance to stress
Greater resistance to disease

These early stimulations are then followed up with various socializing activities (many I’ve already mentioned in the puppy packets). The “window of opportunity” for socializing puppy to those various things that he/she will likely encounter during his/her lifetime is relatively narrow but well worth the effort to get puppy exposed to as many of those things mentioned previously as possible.

And as far as the benefits of that early neurological stimulation… I prefer to err on the side of providing it than neglecting to do it. Here’s hoping that all of “my” puppies grow up to be “super dogs”!

(Link below if anyone cares to read more about this… )

Early Neurological Stimulation

Photos:

I’m using one of my favorites lenses for the below photos. This lens gives a velvety soft look to the shot which may not be the best for moving puppies (the lens requires manually focusing!) Still, it was fun to “play around” taking puppy photos!

Pups are playing harder with each other now

And they are experimenting with their mouths/teeth!

Happy Four-Weeks-Old

Puppies: 4-Weeks-Old

Great time meeting all the new families last Sunday who are getting a puppy from this litter! It COULD HAVE BEEN a bit cooler but all-in-all, we swung with the weather and still had a good time! I know the puppies had fun; they were all exhausted after all the guests left and slept soundly… Until the next meal that is!

Who doesn’t love watching those sleeping puppies?!

LOTS of info sent out yesterday (Puppy Packets + Contracts) along with another email packed with info… Things I wanted to make sure I said on Sunday and may have forgotten?

Puppy Weights this week (4 weeks old):

Blue (M): 4 lbs 10.6 oz
Black (M): 4 lbs 14.8 oz
Purple (M): 4 lbs 3.6 oz
Green (M): 4 lbs 6.4 oz
Pink (F): 4 lbs 13.0 oz
Lime (F): 4 lbs 9.0 oz
Red (F): 4 lbs 12.0 oz
Yellow (F): 4 lbs 6.0 oz
Orange (F): 4 lbs 6.4 oz

So our “biggest” puppy is Black Boy (4 lbs 14.8 oz) and our lightest puppy is Yellow Girl (4 lbs 6.0 oz). Essentially, the puppies are only ounces different in weight from each other! All are “chunky monkeys” and doing well eating solid food. We’ve now increased the amount in each feeding and have increased the number of times puppies are being fed per day. We have quit the goat’s milk substituting water to make sure pups stay hydrated. ALL have sharp puppy teeth; Deja is very grateful for the “help” in feeding her babies!

Speaking of sharp puppy teeth, everyone needs to make sure they buy “teething” chew toys (Nylabones are great!). This is a great way to substitute chewing on hands or clothes that puppy will likely do. And those puppy teeth are SHARP! When puppy puts their mouth on hands, just put the chew toy in their mouths (and remove your hands) instead! Pups will soon learn that hands are a “no!” but chew toys are all right to chew. You will definitely want to make sure they are chewing on these types of toys and NOT your furniture! Goldens are definitely “chewers”. And for those with kids, have them be consistent with substituting chew toys also. I would suggest that when you go to pet puppy, have a chew toy in your other hand as they will likely respond to your petting with chewing first!

After their initial bout of teething, pups will again teeth at around 4 months of age when their permanent teeth start coming in. Have those chew toys handy! ESPECIALLY for the kids when playing with puppy!!

As I may have mentioned to some folks on Sunday, we have a visiting girl with us this week. Rooster is quite enamored with his new girlfriend! I want to specifically thank Terri for helping stack puppies “just for fun”. We were just playing around and only did a few puppies but Terri has promised to come back to help evaluate puppies when they are older. This is great as I can’t stack puppies and take photos at the same time! Terri’s method of stacking puppies is very different from the way I stack puppies… I was very pleased at how well the pups did her way!

Meanwhile, I was worried about pup’s “going home” packages. I’m happy to report that everyone will receive a Royal Canin sampler pack courtesy of Royal Canin! These sample packs are now on order and should arrive soon! YEAH!!

(Pups were sleepy when we woke them up to stack them. But for the first time being stacked, they all did very well. We only stacked these puppies this time; we’ll do all of them when they are older!)

Happy One Week Birthday!

Photos of puppies (and other dogs) taken during pups first week.

Puppies are one week old today; this week seems to have flown by! I’ve talked to a LOT of people, answered a LOT of emails, monitored puppies (and mom)! Fortunately, I’ve had a lot of help too! Today is hubby’s first day back to work (half day) so someone is always here with mom and pups (and to help take care of the other critters too!)

Onto a photo collection of shots taken this week:

Such a fun photo! Pigment at 4 days of age!!

Some may have noticed? Red Girl is the lightest puppy of the litter.

I would say all puppies are “medium” colored except for Red Girl who is “light”.

Sweet puppy face! I wish the “sparkles” of gold showed up better in this shot on his head!

Green Boy plowing his way through the “pile” (Red Girl underneath has great pigment also!)

Where Red Girl is the lightest, Lime Green girl is the darkest. Everyone else is the color of Blue Boy on the left.

Out playing with the other dogs. Here is Pixel; a “puppy” from Deja’s first litter.

And our token French Bulldog, Beanie! She is a hoot!

Four Day Old Puppies

Puppies are 4-days-old and growing every day!

As we are making our way through the first week of the puppies lives, I almost feel like celebrating… ALMOST! That first week is so criticial for the puppies; I feel like we are “watching them” constantly! And mom too!

First the puppies:

All are gaining weight each day; a very good sign!
All are very mobile moving all around the whelping box (and have no problem finding the “milk bar” when mom is in the box with them
And all survived having dew claws removed yesterday (day 3); sites look great today!

And then there is mom, Deja:

It is hot here, Deja is panting constantly (the “up side” of this is that the puppies are definitely NOT chilled!) We have the AC on for Deja but are making sure pups are not in any drafts. Regardless, I have now removed the heating pad in the whelping box… Pups are all spread out indicating they are definitely NOT cold!
Deja’s incision looks good; is healing well. We did pull out 4 staples that were “falling out” but the incision where these staples were has healed; is looking good.
Milk has “come in” as evidence by the puppies all gaining weight.
The “bad news” is Deja has Hot Spots on both thighs and her groin. More shaving for Deja, drying out of these areas, and treating the area w/ topical medication. Poor mama! We are keeping a very close eye on these areas!

New Families:

Thanks for all touching base with me!
I will be putting together “puppy packets” that I will send to everyone via email (in the next few weeks). This will give everyone a chance to read over info and get questions asked/answered long before puppies go to their new homes!
The “theme” for this litter’s registered names will be names that signify a journey (because it certainly has been a journey for us!) Preceding this name will be our kennel name, “Jema”. The “call name” for your puppy can be anything you want and what you will call your puppy/dog on a daily basis. An example of what I’m talking about will be one of the boy’s names: Jema’s Journey To The River; call name: “Fischer” (I hope I got that right, Terri?!) It is nice if you want to have the call name be part of the registered name but you do not have to do this. Coming up with names is a fun, family activity we usually play on long car rides or when anticipating puppy’s arrival.
As always, if you have any questions of me, please don’t hesitate to ask 🙂

How funny that they use each other as “obstacles”!

Green Boy again (he just happened to be in camera range; no preferences, REALLY!)

“Puppy Pile!” (A good place to have pups “hang out” while I change bedding)

Hot Pink Girl (puppy nails getting clipped tonight!)

A-L-M-O-S-T up and over and then, she fell asleep!

Deja is SUCH a good mommy! She is very good with the puppies!

Jennifer

6 Days To Go!

Getting clean for upcoming puppies means… BATH TIME!

Six days to go before… PUPPIES!

Puppy pen is set up and ready; supplies disinfected and waiting. Miss Deja had a bath over the weekend with disinfecting shampoo… WHEW! Special care was given to her belly/nipple area to clean all the cracks and crevices. The last thing I need to do is shave her belly to make it easier for pups to find the “milk bar”.

Deja’s ultrasound appointment is tomorrow, June 6th. We’ll get a “head count” (literally) to know how many puppies to expect on the big day! This will help in the throws of whelping to know whether she is done or not with delivering the puppies. (And if she acts like she is done but we know she still has undelivered puppies yet to go!)

It’s sort of funny… She doesn’t look overly big in these photos or when wet? In reality, she is HUGE!

I think we all are ready for her big day!