Zoe x Eddy , 4 weeks

Our Valentine litter puppies are all grown up and big dogs now. At list they think so. :-)

Using whole diapason of sounds to communicate , started to play, run - in puppy understanding of this word, and enjoy time with their humans.

We are on Socialization period officially. Classical music ( Beethoven Symphony #7 seems to be favorite ) , regular household noises - as we are in living room set up now instead of my bedroom, startling sound response protocol, first challenges and visitors.

Valentine

Valentina

Candy ( yes, she loves to give kisses)

 

Misty x Stormy , 2 weeks old.

2 weeks old, have eyes, love to eat and overall are very cool kids. :-)

Here they all are : boy is on the left , then girls.

Little handsome puppy-boy, very active and can make it from the corner of big nest to Mommy's milk bar in a matter of seconds. Not vocal , but can you see unflinching  determination in his face? 

This girl.... Cooperative, relaxed in hands and sweet. Unless it is about food. Then you see a glance of original wolf instinct coming through .

Big salt/pepper girl. Very cool about life in general, can make herself comfortable in any position, no complains.And surely - opportunistic feeder as well. 

Another salt/pepper girl. Her favorite spot to take a nap is on Mom's neck. Misty try not to move her head when this little one resting, and it is very touching to see.

And here - the big black girl. She is a talker, and make sure you know if she is not pleased with you. Love to be warm and usually hogging a heating pad . She is a Royalty , knows it , and using it.

 

Misty x Stormy babies

Misty 's litter is here! DOB March, 3d.

Delivery itself was perfect. 4 1/2 hours , 5 puppies,  no breech positions , intense contractions , and no complications -  Misty is experienced Mom and know exactly what to do , when to breath , when to push. Though , before she decided it was good day to have her kids born to this world , she also made sure she plays a bit of pregnant Diva , tossing and turning and nesting , and everybody watching that performance few nights on a row. By the time of action we about forgot what does "sleep" mean. :-)

But it all was so worth it!

Pretty big puppies from 7.6oz to 9.3oz.  Active, healthy , and for sure know where milk is. 

Black boy , 2 black girls , 2 salt/pepper girls.

Zoe X Eddy pups, transitional period.

Everything is great in life of Zoe's little ones. We are on Transitional period - the period of development between time puppies open their  eyes and time when ears become open as well.

Candy was first to open eyes at 12 days old. She was the first to try out her little legs as well. Few days later Valentine and Tina followed. 

Here is Candy The Explorer

and Tina , trying to pull sophisticated look,

and handsome Valentine.

By now  their ENS program is finished. We will continue to play touch games and new smell introductions as part of Socialization  games , when all pups will officially be in the new period,called - you ,probably , guessed it right - Socialization period of puppy life.

Right now it is lots of  short handling and cuddles, and just sitting with pups few times daily to give them possibility to imprint on humans smell and start to interact with us when they are ready.

 

What is the world is ENS and ESI and why my puppies need it.

So , as promised, here is a little bit more information about ESI and ENS programs, what we use concurrently for neonatal puppies.

Early Scent Introduction program was developed by Gayle Watkins for the working Retrievers and then widely adopted by breeders of dogs involved in Scent , Field trials and Search work. There are a special protocol of introduction of different groups of scents to puppies from 3 to 16 days of their life.The idea behind it is stimulation  of areas of brain responsible for scent processing.

Puppies are born with their eyes and ears closed . They interacting with this world by smell and touch predominantly in first 2 weeks  period  .Therefor , we have unique possibility to help their brain build more neural connection for scent memories and develop better .

Once a day we introduce  new scent to puppies  and keep record of their reaction to each . Scents items can be natural - like grass in these pictures , cloth , metal , birds feathers ,  etc. Selection of scents for this program is  different then in our Socialization to Scents program what we will  run a bit later with these babies.

Another neonatal program is Early Neurological Stimulation  (ENS) - also known as "Super dog  program" and "Bio-sensor program". Based on  scientific research for military dogs , it was then  popularized by 

Dr. Battaglia . Method applies the series of specially formulated  holding positions or light tactile or thermal interaction , which provide right amount of eustress to stimulate  nervous system . Short, few seconds stimulation shapes neonatal development to give puppies more tolerance to stress , greater immune response and resistance to diseases and more .

It need to be done carefully and with individual approach to each litter and each puppy to avoid an over-stimulation. In case of this Zoe's litter - they were  great candidates for ENS to give them extra bonus in their development : this babies were born naturally , quick and easy, Mommy Zoe has plenty of milk and she is fantastic mother , cleaning and licking her pups , nursing with no problem , pups are gaining weight  right on schedule . There is no stress in their little life, therefor ENS is very beneficial  for them. Here is a couple of short videos for you , if you are interested how it is done.

 

Almost Valentine's Day babies.

 Our first litter of 2021 is here! 

We did not have puppies for awhile , and now truly are enjoying our time with them .

 It was textbook perfect delivery. When we have first-time Mom-to-be in our hands, it always is a bit worrisome as you never know how it will turn . This time we were blessed with easiest , cleanest and fast delivery : 3 pups born in 1 hour 22 minutes. Add to it it was morning time event - no breeder can wish for better.

As it was "almost"  Valentine's Day , February ,13th  - therefor the litter names theme .

We have Valentine , big boy with  the most adorable wrinkled face. Born at 10AM , 7.8oz weight

And there is Valentina -  "Tina" .  Born 10.12AM , 7.5oz . I think I see a lot of her mother in her .

                                        

And then - Candy , because there is no real Valentine's Day without candies , right? 

She was ,actually , born first , 8.50am .7.2oz. She has her Grandfather Chant's smile.

                                               

Babies are 10 days old today , and everything goes very well.  In my next post we will talk about puppies neonatal period , ENS and ESI programs , how these pups are doing with it and more. 

Hello again!

 

   

    Hello , everybody!

    We are back. :-)  

    As life goes on and puts everything in right places , here came a time when we  can again spend some

  time blogging. Today looks like great day for new start , there is something charming in 2/22/2021  numbers. And it is Monday. And it's snow day here in PA, which dogs are positively enjoying.

    We are thinking about new  ideas for our blog , have some exciting news to share  and hope you all will enjoy follow us in our journey of life with Schnauzers.