A New Litter to Evaluate From Birth to Maturity

Hi All,

I have a new litter of four that was born two days ago, 9-14-2011. I thought we could use them as an example to learn from as they mature. Rofl, I realize I am risking criticisms, but feel that the learning experience for everyone, including myself and others joining us later, is worth the risk

The litter is from my Guardian-Rawls Rowdy Ranahan, "Rowdy" and Sugarland Small Town Girl, "Bitty". Rowdy is sired by AM/CAN CH Guardian's Gold Vom Daxi Haus and his dam is major-pointed Guardian's Spirit. Bitty is grandsired by CH Cedarhurst Gold'N Glow. She had a brief career in the ring becoming frightened and having to retire before gaining any points. I am completing Rowdy's info in my pedigree-making program and will make the litter pedigree available on request within the next week.

*NOTE* These puppies are not up for sale! Also, I do not do waiting lists or take deposits on any of my litters until after 1st, or second, evaluation by my handler. I do, however, hope to hold back the female pending her eval and intend to co-own a show potential male if there is one in the litter. The possible co-ownership is already pending with a friend.

Every time we come near the puppies, Bitty picks them up and moves them closer to her, or covers them with her body. So, I am giving her space with them for now. She isn't showing aggresive behavior, just instinctual protectiveness. Due to this, I was only able to determine sex, check palate, & umbilical cord, etc. at birth. However, I managed to weigh them and get a better visual/health check while she was on a potty break the first day. Weight ranges are 4.8-5.8 oz. They all look larger in the pic below, but Bitty is only 8.3 lbs. as a comparison and the camera angle is from above and to the side. Incidentally, Rowdy is 9.5 lbs. But as we all know, there could be a 20 pounder lurking in the bunch

Colors are pending. All are probably red, but specifically for now, 2 are definately red and 2 are very light creamy-colored under their tails and on their faces. Shading on the creamy ones is so heavy that it is simply too difficult to determine. Rowdy is 1/2 cream and Bitty does produce cream. I just hate the "wait & see" game, lol. Oh well, it is just color. Conformations & temperaments are what I am anxious to see

With the help of some additional guidance from my buddies here, I will try to hang the puppies as soon as Bitty is comfortably spending more than a few seconds away from them. I have only tried the method once, which was also with the help of some of you guys Sadly, I failed at it miserably

All comments throughout this thread are welcome. Hurt my last feeling if you need to, I am tough. Besides, it's all for the sake of learning

Here is Bitty and her litter, "Honoring Cherokee Heroes & Heroines". Fitting litter name for my program, don't you agree? Histories about their names will be on my website shortly.



Left to right:
Nanye-hi (pronouced Naa-Nee-Hee). 4th born, 4.8 oz female, shaded red or cream (looking more red now).
Chief James Vann (one of my husbands' ancestors). 1st born, 5.8 oz., male, shaded red. We will call him Vann while he is here.
Tsali (pronouced Saa'-lee). 3rd born, 5.3 oz. male, shaded red.
Sequoyah (one of my ancestral lines). 2nd born, 5.4 oz. male, shaded red or cream.

Looking forward to comments. AWAY

Deb

Deb Congrats on the new arrivals,Bitty looks very contented there,love the unusual names.

They all look red to me, the shading on true creams is more of a deep smokey grey[hard to describe] than the black on a shaded red.

Look forward to following their progress over the next few weeks.

Congrats on the new litter.. I always have to wait a bit to see the color..People thought Buffy was red when she was born I don't worry about colors until later anyway. It will be nice to see them from week to week as they grow. I am still working on getting new camera batteries so I can take pics of mine

Looking forward to this and congrats on the litter

Beautiful litter and it appears a contented mama! You are very creative in naming the puppies. I agree with the others that they all appear red and i so love the reds. Thank you for creating this topic and i look forward to following it and contributing to it. Ruth

Love the names - Very original Its going to be great to see this litter grow and get honest evaluations - I am not sure how much I can contribute unless its really obvious but a great starting point to learn - Thank you Deb !

Hey Guys,

I have been time. Sorry for the delay in individual pics of my 4 shaded red beauties. Shading has now faded enough that there is no doubt on color. I just took these pics Monday(?). I haven't had time to even think about much due to allowing Bitty to adopt an additional litter of 4 from Eadox Dachshunds/Dave Eades on Wednesday. Dave lives in Nashville, TN and I am near Memphis, TN, so I was close enough to offer help. Now we have an "Eight Is Enough" litter. I am going to make a new post for this occurance so people can learn about taking in other pups safely. I guess what I actually have now is "Cowboys & Indians" considering Nashville is the "Country Music Capital of the World" and we all know, mine are Indian dogs

They are 5 days old in these pics. Bitty has been nicknamed "Cujo" by my husband. I didn't know the movie, but apparently is about a sweet St. Bernard that suddenly becomes a killer or something. She is just very protective. But, the last two days has been out for 3-5 minute intervals without rushing back unless we try to go interfere. Maybe, this weekend, I can get some better pics/hanging pics. I feel like she will be fine now if we lock her away from them long enough to get the pics. So, these are just for update sake for now.

I do LOVE that they all have the hump/Roman nose and head like Rowdy's already Now if they just get the rest of the good conformation traits of each.

This is the little girl. She was the main one that I had a question on her being cream because the only light color she had was over her brows and under her tail. Now obviously red.








My vet is a charm. He is at my beck & call always. He helped me prepare for this a day in advance and is guiding/advising me through the entire process of Bitty raising 8 puppies. They take up more room in the whelping box than her little 8 lbs. do

Deb

WOW that is alot for her to take on, you will need to be extra careful with her calcium levels and that she doesn't get dehydrated.

Rhodach wrote:WOW that is alot for her to take on, you will need to be extra careful with her calcium levels and that she doesn't get dehydrated.

Rhona,

Yes, you are right, it is alot. But as you well know being a nurse, it is easier for me to pick up on symptoms much sooner than the average layperson. So, I would immediately be able to implement treatment. In addion, I am very blessed. My vet doesn't just treat my dogs, he knows all of them personally, and examined Bitty and her pups prior to introducing the new four. Guess, I will always be a nurse first, whether disabled or not. I could never live with myself if I passed on an opportunity to help, human or animal, and then learned they did not survive. I do understand your concern, but believe that faced with the same circumstances, you would have made the same decision

Deb

Hi All,

I have been working on the puppies to prepare them for hanging pics while my husband is off Fri-Sun this weekend. I started the neuro-stimulation with them a couple of days after the "adopted 4 puppies" joined us. They are all responding well. I have them where I can suspend them in midair without them squirming around so much. I am hanging them in front of the mirror at least once a day and pick each of them up each time I enter the nursery. Thankfully, Bitty is over her possessiveness and over getting frantic each time we come near the puppies. She is now taking 2-5 minute breaks away from them and joining us on the couch in her favorite spot

I am sorry that I started this link and have not yet posted hanging pics. I really want to learn the correct technique to hang them, so I am looking forward to getting them on here and having some mentoring The last time I was trying to learn this, there were pics on the forum I frequented that I could use for an example. That forum is now suspended so the pics/examples/explanations are gone. Kathleen, you were a great help and I am doing this now from memories of what you taught me at that time

The little girl, Nanye-Hi, opened her eyes night before last. I have a cute picture of her while I have her suspended. She already "takes everything with a grain of salt", very relaxed to be held, touch her feet, lay on her back, rub her belly, etc. I have pics of the others in similar positions, but this one you can tell more because she is relaxed. She may have banded hairs like Bitty (Bitty is genetically a sable, but with a probable variant that masks the widow's peak). Almost all of Bitty's hairs are banded and both of her parents had banded hairs. But, even though they are genetically sable, they do not have the "appearance" that the general population believes that a sable must have with the "looks like a black & tan from afar". Bitty's 2 bands on a hair shaft are red and black and on the 3 band ones, they are cream, red, and black. She would be an interesting dog for a researcher to study Lol, but that is a whole topic for discussion on another area of the forum later.

Nanye-Hi




Deb

Deb, I'll go ahead and just post the pictures of my litter hung so you can see if it helps. Can't believe that was over a year ago.

Wow! Doesn't seem like a year Kathleen.

Bright Star wrote:Wow! Doesn't seem like a year Kathleen.

No kidding! Seems like just yesterday I was sleep deprived and hallucinating that the puppies still had their dewclaws after they'd been removed. LOL

Okay, so after about 100 pics, I still do not have a single one to show for the "hanging" technique. I am getting it in front of the mirror, so it is helping me learn. My camera has a pause of several seconds before taking a pic, so this is simply not going to work. So sorry, that I am throwing in the towel. Wow, can't believe we do not have a "throw in the towel" emoticon, lol. Maybe by next year when I have another litter, I will have it figured out.

The puppies are now 3 weeks old. All, including the 4 "adoptees" and Bitty are doing great, They are taking well to puppy mush, getting their "legs" and moving FAST, yipping while playing, and have done exceptionally well with their neuro-stimulation sessions. All but 1 of Dave's love being on their back having their bellies rubbed. Dave will pick his up next Saturday and I can just focus on mine. I am so proud of Bitty!

What do you guys think...should I continue to post the litter here, or start a new thread for critiques since the hanging pics are not going to materialize? It is the fun time now, stacked first pics are just a few days away based on their current mobilty. I have already been placing them on different surfaces as part of the neuro-stimulation.

My 4 have no notable faults yet. My handler has quit taking on dogs to focus on college. She has not been around to see this litter like she usually does. Her decision has also left me without a handler for Chief

I am going to add some "cute" pics of them as soon as I load to Photobucket

Deb

Hi All,

Here are some pics for our "Pictureholics" in the group

Sequoyah


Tsali


Vann


Nanye-Hi


Chowing Down! The 4 darkest one are the Eadox puppies, 2 bl/tan, 2 dark reds (may be chocolate shaded).


Better pics this weekend while my husband is home to help.

Deb

Pictureholics??? Who could you be talking about!!
Try having your husband take the hanging pics for you too.
It makes a world of difference when you have help and someone
else behind the camera. That is why I never get any good pics
since the kids aren't home anymore. I was trying to figure out
a set up with a mirror and how I could do it myself but the
thought of it all fried my poor little brain

The feeding picture is absolutely adorable ! The two in the bottom centre of the photo crack me up...the one is 'shouldering' the other as if to say "this is MY area..get away!"

I know I have said it before but they are adorable and Bitty is a Super Momma for taking such great care of all of them - I am sorry to hear your without a handler now....has she recommended another one to take her place for Chief?

alaskanlowrider wrote:I know I have said it before but they are adorable and Bitty is a Super Momma for taking such great care of all of them - I am sorry to hear your without a handler now....has she recommended another one to take her place for Chief?

Ang,

Tracy, my handler I lost, is checking around for me. But, in the meantime, my buddy Terry Faulkner (Faulkdachs) referred me to Terry Carr-Hall (Tudor Glen Doxies). Terry is contacting someone he knows well that he thinks only is showing wires and shorts right now and can probably take Chief for me So, hopefully, losing Tracy will end up being a blessing in disguise.

There are disadvantages in losing Tracy. One is that Chief would have gotten to stay at home except for show weekends with her. The other is how much it will cost me. The new handler will have Chief full-time. The advantage is this handler travels nationwide and internationally Terry has not told me the name of the person yet as he wanted to talk to him/her first and let them look at my dogs on my site. Once I know that Chief is accepted, I will make a new post and let everyone know the name of the handler and follow Chief's progress through that post. Terry Carr-Hall feels certain that they will take Chief and some of the others if I am interested. I automatically trusted him because Terry Faulkner and Maria Wild (Sylmar's) are friends with him and because of his successful history in the breed. If anyone is not familiar with him, he has the #6 dachshund in the country for 2011 (as of July 8th), BISS GCH Tudorglen's "Yes We Can" MS, "Barack". Terry's website is here, http://www.tudorglen.com/ if anyone wants to see Barrack. It was a great introduction for me whether his friend takes Chief or not. He is a very friendly man and eager to share his knowledge. He has "adopted" me now I think I will invite him to this group if someone will visit his site and think it would be a good idea to tell him about us.

Deb

Oh good your not left high and dry - Good Luck on this venture I checked out his site and think he will make a wonderful member - ok I am partial because he recommends the same 2 books I get all my puppy adopters to read before their puppies come home

Good Luck finding a new handler.

The link to Terry's site didn't work and when I did find it only the "basics" button worked.

Rhodach wrote:Good Luck finding a new handler.

The link to Terry's site didn't work and when I did find it only the "basics" button worked.

Rhona, when you click the link, it's picking up the comma at the end, if you just copy and paste, but delete the comma, you will find the website.
(or just click the link below
http://www.tudorglen.com/

Colleen wrote:

Rhodach wrote:Good Luck finding a new handler.

The link to Terry's site didn't work and when I did find it only the "basics" button worked.

Rhona, when you click the link, it's picking up the comma at the end, if you just copy and paste, but delete the comma, you will find the website.
(or just click the link below
http://www.tudorglen.com/

Colleen,

Thanks for pointing the problem out and for posting the correct site. I edited my post so the link should work there also now.

Deb

No real matter that the pics didnt happen :: I know how hard it is to get good pics of them stacked in the air LOL : BUT by comparing them and hanging them yourself have you picked out your favourite ? If you can work out who is who :: write your observations down :: it will be useful to you down the track

Tinsnips2 wrote:No real matter that the pics didnt happen :: I know how hard it is to get good pics of them stacked in the air LOL : BUT by comparing them and hanging them yourself have you picked out your favourite ? If you can work out who is who :: write your observations down :: it will be useful to you down the track

Thanks Claire! I will start doing that now

Actually, I have always written down the neuro-stimulation session responses to track progress in that area and to know who may need added work in an area, but not on anything else. I have made mental notes on conformation of each, especially since I learned that my handler was quitting for a few years. But, I agree with you, I need to write these mental notes down.

Yes, I have picked out my favorites, there are two of them. But, I am going to let them be critiqued here (as soon as I can get my husband's help for the pics) to see if I am actually picking from what I know, or from my heart.

I am constantly critically observing them when they are in a natural stack now that they are standing up and running around some. This works especially well when they are eating and out to play in the living room. My handler has evaluated the few litters I have had at 3, 8, and 12 weeks for me, so I mainly just depended on her judgement of their conformation. Now that she is not my handler, I am discovering, while critiquing them myself, that I learned some things from her, thankfully I am still going to take them to her at 8 weeks for evaluations, I believe. I still hope to hold back the female and have one person that I trust that really wants a little boy if at least one turns out well. Unless there is someone else that I know & trust and there is another conformationally sound male, the two will be sold as pet only. They will all be pet only if they aren't up to par, but they do seem to be turning out nicely, thus far. They will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday.

Deb