This site is devoted to the welfare, care and breeding of Golden Retrievers.

Daily Diary - Sabah's First Litter - August 2009

Visit our Breeder's Notes page to share our experiences with breeding and raising Golden Retrievers
View the comparative weight chart for Elsa's and Sabah's litters

Saturday 10th October 2009

Well we have reached the end of the road and this will be the last of these Daily Diary entries. The two boys have today gone to their new homes and so has Daisy, a week earlier than we had originally expected, leaving us with Molly, Sabah and Elsa. It is quite an emotional time as we are quite sorry to see the three of them go, even though they have kept us on our toes for the last three weeks.

[Note, June 2010: When Molly was around seven weeks old we discovered that she had a heart murmur. It was our first experience of this condition and we were naturally very anxious about the effect it would have on Molly as she grew. Fortunately the condition corrected itself and within a couple of months the murmur had completely disappeared. Having spoken to our veterinary surgeons and a number of other people it transpires that this condition is common and is often only an indication of the fact that the heart has not yet fully formed. More often that not, as in Molly's case, it rectifies itself without the need for any treatment. Occasionally, however, it can be an indicator of a serious problem with the heart.

Thinking that there was a possibility that Molly may have had a genetic cardiac problem, we had originally thought that we would not breed from her. As it now appears that this may not be a hereditary problem we will reconsider our decision over the next year. Watch this space, there may be little Molly's in the future!!

We wish the new owners all the very best with their new puppies. We know that Harry (Freddie), Susie (Daisy) and Billy (Olly) will give them many years of happiness and we know that they are all going to good homes.

Thursday 8th October 2009

They have now found a new interest in life. Not content with their extreme gardening exploits they are now into snail hunting. The wet weather and damp evenings are providing the ideal conditions for molluscs. I have tried removing them by hand before the pups find them but they seem to pop up out of nowhere. The only warning I get is the sight of a puppy that is clearly interested in something that it doesn't want me to see. Fortunately so far none of them have gone as far as biting through the shell to taste the delights of the 'meat' inside. They are usually just content to have them in their mouths and run in the opposite direction when I approach. The big problem with these little creatures is that they can carry lung worm hence the need for regular worming.

Bedtime last night was bedlam. After their supper they went out into the garden to do what all good puppies should do and when they returned they had been drenched by the torrential rain. I took the easy route out and dumped them into their pen and let the ample supply of paper bedding dry them out. Unfortunately the pups had other ideas which mainly revolved around turning the pen upside down and having some jolly good fun. I turned out the lights, went to bed and left them to it. Strangely enough by the time I had got upstairs everything was very quiet. I resisted the temptation to go back and check on them.

When I went downstairs this morning everything looked, and was, in order.

Wednesday 7th October 2009

The heavy rain was obviously a bit too much for them because the pups have stayed indoors for most of the day. They slept for most of the morning but they seem to have made up for lost time this afternoon. There have been many play fights and a lot of running around. Elsa has been keeping them occupied and it has been quite amusing seeing her play with them all.

I had a problem with the boys at bedtime last night as they just didn't want to settle down. They repeatedly set upon the two girls who, fortunately didn't rise to the bait. They did eventually drop off to sleep and I didn't hear another sound from them until 7.00 a.m. this morning - and there was no mess in their pen!

Tuesday 6th October 2009

Saturday cannot come soon enough!! Even then, with the two boys gone, I don't think that my troubles will have been halved. Weatherwise today has been another wet one and the four 'sponge mops' have been challenging each other to see who can bring the most water inside. Out of desperation I closed the patio door so they were shut indoors but that was no problem because then they just paddled in the water bowl!

By mid-afternoon peace had descended, or at least I thought it had. When I eventually went looking for their angelic little sleeping forms I found that three of them (Freddie really was asleep indoors) had upended the waste bin and they were wading through the contents to see what was worth eating. Apparently used tea bags appeal to their palates. Not content with that, whilst I was clearing up the mess they proceeded to see how deep they could dig a hole before I discovered them. The answer was five inches.

Having fallen for the old "it's quiet, they must be asleep" theory once today I made the mistake of falling for it again. This time all four were frantically pruning the Rhododendron bush. Fortunately its in a tub so it can be moved. Unfortunately its very heavy and I have strained my back. Still there's only another 91 hours to go...

Monday 5th October 2009

Well there is no doubting that these puppies are true Golden Retrievers. It rained for most of the morning and because of their protests I relented after I had initially kept the outside door closed. No sooner had they dried off indoors than they were back out into the rain again. They have been keeping themselves occupied with indoor games such as flower pot football (it's amazing how such a simple piece of plastic can provide hours of amusement) and towel tug-o-war. This afternoon the sun came out, the patio dried off and the puppies went to sleep.... indoors! It seems likely that it will be wet again tomorrow and Wednesday.

We had all four pups together in the lounge with us yesterday evening and no accidents were observed. They were very interested in the weekend newspapers and I'm still finding bits of shredded paper.

Both boys will be going to their new homes next Saturday and it will be interesting to see how the two girls react to their absence. Daisy is still very much the quiet thoughtful one who likes to watch the others at play. Molly may be the smallest of the four but she has no qualms about wading in if there is a play fight going on.

Sunday 4th October 2009

Freddie's new owners came along for their second visit today although they probably saw more of Elsa than they did of their puppy. Freddie will be off to his new home next Saturday.

The herb garden (or what little remains of it) came under concerted attack by the pups today as did the Gunnera, the dried leaves of which are apparently quite crunchy.

Sabah was allowed in to play with the pups this afternoon but only after she was forced to put on one of my old T shirts to stop the pups from suckling. Later on we were visited by Sabah's and Elsa's best friend Ella, a young Springer Spaniel who wasn't quite sure what to make of the four little Sabah's but she did gradually get used to them. The puppies also seem to get along quite well with our 17 year old black & white cat Hardy although he has had to cuff them around the ears on a few occasions.

Saturday 3rd October 2009

The change in the weather today hasn't affected the puppies desire to be out and about in the garden. On the one occasion we tried keeping them in they behaved like young children after five and a half weeks of the summer holiday -"We're bored. We've got nothing to do except......."

I had no summons from them during the night and was relieved to see that they had behaved when I woke them up at 6.00 a.m. At the moment (7.00 p.m.) they are recharging their batteries before the evening games session begins. Freddie is laying halfway out of the open patio doorway next to Olly whilst the two girls have snuggled up in the dining room.

Yesterday evening we again allowed them into the lounge, singly and heavily 'supervised', for a shot romp with Elsa. It isn't possible to allow Sabah in to play with them as, in the puppies' eyes, she is simply a walking milk bar.

Friday 2nd October 2009

We managed to sleep in until 4.45 a.m. this morning before the pups asked to be let outside. They were allowed only five minutes to do what was necessary before I rounded them up and put them back to bed. They were very good and settled down quite quickly. The day proper began shortly before 7.00 a.m. Our reward for the early morning call was a virtually clean pen that contained only one wet patch courtesy of Molly who had urinated in the bed as soon as I had put her to bed last night.

This afternoon we were visited by the puppies father, Cooper, and his minders. He was greeted by Sabah and Elsa. Sabah appeared to remember Cooper and was clearly in no mood to reenact their previous meeting. Elsa put on her best flirty, girly, yappy bark and would probably have eloped with him given half the chance.

Thursday 1st October 2009

Another 4 a.m. wake up call of nature but on this occasion I did not allow them to suckle from Sabah after they had been out into the garden. There was a little unrest for about five minutes but then they settled down until shortly before 7.00 a.m.

They are six weeks old today and due for their third worming session!! Their total weight is around 17.85 kilos which is about 2.8 kilos heavier than last week and Olly has now overtaken Freddie as the biggest pup. There has been quite a bit of 'gardening' done today and I have spent some considerable time backfilling holes and reinforcing boudary fences. Sabah also let the side down by pushing down part of the pen so that she could sneak into the puppies room and feed them this afternoon.

For lunch I gave them porridge for a change. They seemed to like it but much prefer their meat. Later on I gave them some of the dried Burns Minibite biscuits in Sabah's large feeding bowl. I found Harry with his front legs in the bowl attacking any of the other pups that dared to try to get 'his' biscuits. When I picked him up and pulled him away, so that the others could get a look in, he leapt from my hands and threw himself back into the bowl.

Wednesday 30th September 2009

Don't let anybody tell you that raising puppies is easy. Elsa had a touch of stomach trouble last night which necessitated her being let out into the garden on three occasions. Having finally got back to bed after her last trip the puppies decided that it was their turn to go out. So at 4.30 a.m. I was standing on the patio, cup of tea in hand, watching four little ghostly white shapes gambolling around the garden. Some twenty minutes later they were rounded up and returned to their pen. I was then able to get a couple of hours sleep before they were demanding their breakfast. There was one consolation for my disturbed night, their pen was clean.

The pups have discovered a new pastime - paddling in their water bowl. Molly has even managed to sit in it! I think that Freddie has been encouraging the others to do this so that it disguises the fact that he is still weeing on the floor indoors.

Tuesday 29th September 2009

Yesterday evening we allowed all four puppies into the lounge. They ran amok for several minutes before I decided that I had chanced my arm long enough and returned them to their own room.

Today we were more strict in keeping Sabah away from the pups. She was allowed to feed them for a short time after they had their breakfast and again after they had eaten their tea. It wasn't so bad. They did create a bit of a fuss at lunchtime when they saw Sabah but I gave them a carrot to play with and chew and that seemed to do the trick, however later, in a moment of boredom, they all decided to try tunneling under the garden fence. Fortunately they didn't get very far!

Monday 28th September 2009

House training is going very well with one large fluffy exception - Freddie. Both yesterday and today we have only had to mop up two puddles indoors on each day. I witnessed Freddie on both occasions today and so he is the prime suspect for yesterdays mishaps as well. He is clearly in need of a little more vocal encouragement. In contrast the other three appear to have no problem going outside to relieve themselves without being prompted although Olly seems to think it is okay just to do it on the patio paving rather than walk over to the slate chippings and do it there.

Molly is the star pupil though, and no we haven't been giving her any additional training! As soon as I put them into their night pen last night Molly started creating a fuss. When I picked her up and opened the patio door she trotted off into the garden and did her number twos. The when I placed her back into the pen she laid down immediately. Having then turned the light out and gone upstairs to bed I heard quite a commotion downstairs. Usually they quieten down very quickly but last night they didn't so I went back down and let them all out into the garden where they all squatted down and did a wee. Once back inside and in their pen they all settled down for a peaceful night.

Although they still do go to the toilet in their pen during the night it is noticeable that they only soil a small area. The corner where they all sleep is usually kept very clean.

Today I have been more strict with Sabah and only allowed her to feed the pups on a few occasions. To ensure that she doesn't get to them whilst my back is turned I have divided the garden with a barrier - Sabah on one side and the pups on the other. Unfortunately she knows that she can stir up the puppies merely by walking up to the barrier.

This evening, in an attempt to keep their minds occupied I tried the puppies with some dry Burns Minibite biscuits. They have not been too keen on them when they have been soaked but they seem to really relish them dry.

Sunday 27th September 2009

It is all quiet on the puppy front today. I got my own back and woke them up at 6.15 a.m. There was very little mess to clear up this morning but because I had four willing 'helpers' it took twice as long as normal. We really have been lucky with this fine sunny weather as it has allowed us to leave the doors open so that the pups can come and go as they please.

Yesterday evening Daisy and Olly discovered that stinging nettles are not good to walk on and that they are most certainly not the the type of greenery you want to eat. Fortunately the effects didn't seem to last for very long.

Saturday 26th September 2009

Daisy was unwell when I went down to see the pups first thing this morning. She was being sick and had obviously eaten something that disagreed with her. She wasn't interested in the food I put out for her but readily suckled from Sabah a little while later. I am pleased to report that her condition rapidly improved as the morning wore on and by lunchtime her appetite had fully returned.

I have been grooming the puppies daily for the last two weeks and they seem to enjoy the experience. Combing has a number of benefits in that it helps the pups to become accustomed to being handled and it also you to more closely monitor their general condition and prevent infestation by ticks and fleas.

Today we went a stage further in their introduction to the car. Having got them settled in the back I then switched on the engine to acclimatise them to the noise and vibration. Apart from a small amount of whining from Daisy they didn't seem to be bothered at all. In fact they were more interested in trying to remove the waterproof dog cover from the floor.

Later on they continued their exploration of the kitchen. Billy managed what no other dog in this household has managed to date - he got himself inside the pet food cupboard. I shall be seeking out the childproof door locks that last saw service over 20 years ago. Their exploits in the kitchen were later crowned by the 'Drag the Water bowl' contest. The pet's water bowl in the kitchen is of the heavy porcelain variety and in order to minimise flooding on the floor it stands on an old tea towel. The pups have now worked out that if they want to move the bowl all they have to do is pull on the towel.

Friday 25th September 2009

I have to confess that when I woke up at 2.30 a.m. this morning, rather than go downstairs and let the pups out into the cold dark garden, I chose the easy way out and stayed in bed. Despite this I am pleased to say that when I did go down at 5.30 a.m. their pen was remarkably clean.

The puppies have demonstrated that you can begin to train them at a very early age and see signs of success. They will all now come (en masse) when called and they will all pee when prompted; the only problem I have with this is that they still pee on occasions when they are not prompted. I have also begun to teach them to sit, a very unnatural state for a young hyperactive puppy to be in. I have also begun to introduce them to the car by putting them in the back and allowing them to get familiar with different surroundings. As a measure of how well they are adjusting to normal domestic sounds, when vacuuming this morning I had four willing assistants.

Thursday 24th September 2009

The pups are five weeks old today. They have grown at a phenomenal rate as have their individual characters. Their coordination is very much better now and they can easily follow the track of a moving object such as a ball. It is quite an incredible sight to see one of them pick up a tennis ball as their mouths seem to totally engulf it.

Apart from the routine tasks such as feeding and cleaning-up after them, such a lot of time needs to be spent socialising and playing with them. I usually sit down in the pen with them during the evening and they seem to quite enjoy the company, probably because I'm just something new to bite. Puppies and small children will always test things with their mouths but the main difference is that puppies also like to see how far their teeth sink into things. Clearly this is a habit that should be discouraged not least because it hurts. I find that if you simply make a loud 'Tsst' noise and at the same time gently push their nose with your finger they eventually start to get the point.

They were all quiet when I crept downstairs at 6.45 a.m. I had been listening out for sounds of movement during the night and, had I heard any, I was prepared to come down and let them into the garden to relieve themselves. Unfortunately they had clearly woken a lot earlier and, having been unable to wait, had gone ahead and performed indoors. Tonight I will have to come down about 1.00 a.m. and usher their sleeping forms into the darkness!!

Wednesday 23rd September 2009

So much for the 'Daily' diary. Apologies for the absence of yesterday's entry but I only got as far as putting on the photos. Puppies, if you don't already know, are extremely time consuming. They all enjoyed another full day in the garden but, unfortunately, they have suffered from the effects of eating too much greenery. It doesn't matter how hard you watch them there is always an individual willing to create a distraction whilst the breakaway group bounds off to cause mischief in another direction.

The effects of the greenery eating were only too obvious when I was woken by them making a lot of noise at 4.00 a.m. I won't go into graphic detail but in the following 45 minutes I bathed them, changed their bedding, washed the floors and got Sabah to feed them (who said men can't multi-task?). Despite the obvious problems with their stomachs they were still quite willing and able to play around and cause mayhem whilst I cleared up.

At least they managed to then sleep through until 6.45 a.m. when they had their second breakfast of the day. There was little mess at that time and it seems as though their tummies have now settled down (fingers crossed).

The weather is a little damp this morning but they have insisted on going outside. Their pen is quite flexible and I have erected it around a circular patio table which has a large umbrella over it so they can have at least an hour outside. Hopefully the weather will improve, otherwise it will be indoor games today.

Monday 21st September 2009

Peace reigns at last. It is just after 8.00 p.m. and all four puppies are now fast asleep. This is not surprising as they have been on the go almost continuously since 6.00 a.m. Again the fine weather meant that they could spend the entire day outside. Most of the time they were confined to their play pen but they were allowed the occasional foray into the garden proper.

It is probably time to clarify the puppies names now that their new owners have had time to choose their own: Harry the Horror is now Freddie, Susie is most probably going to become Daisy, Billy is going to become Olly and Molly is going to stay Molly.

Harry, sorry, Freddie likes to act like the top dog and is often seen throwing his weight around, however, he is always the first to start squealing when the tables are turned. He is still very much a mummy's boy and really still prefers her milk to any other food.

Olly (Billy) and his sister Daisy (Susie) are probably the real top dogs as they can hold their own in most situations. They probably take after Sabah in that they are both fairly quiet. Molly again is another quiet one and is probably the gentlest of the bunch, not that she wont fight if that is what is needed.

Sunday 20th September 2009

After a very peaceful night the price to be paid was a Sunday morning lie-in that ended at 6.05 a.m. The pups pen was fairly clean and when I took them into the garden they all performed on command. Although I am trying to reduce the amount of milk that Sabah produces and gives to her pups, at the moment it is clearly necessary for her to feed them first thing in the morning. The trick is to reduce the amount of time she allows them to suckle.

The warm September weather has allowed them to be outside for most of the day either in their pen sleeping or in the garden exploring and playing. All things green appear to be fair game to them and very gradually all of the succulent plants are being reduced to bare stumps. Planting a garden for puppies requires a degree of planning to reduce the likelihood of accidental poisoning.

Saturday 19th September 2009

Things actually improved very well with the house training yesterday evening. We had them all performing in the garden when prompted and there were only two small slip-ups on the dining room floor, which wasn't bad when you take into account the fact that they are only just over four weeks old.

We were so confident with their behaviour that we even left the lounge door open for them to come in if they wished. Both Harry and Billy took up the offer and while Harry settled down to sleep on the floor next to Elsa, Billy had exploration on his mind. Despite all of this good progress I have one shameful confession to make with regard to the welfare of the pups - Harry seems to like Eastenders. Not only that, he was very interested in Strictly Come Dancing as well.

Today started shortly after 6.30 a.m. when the pups were escorted out into the garden to relieve themselves. This didn't go according to plan as Sabah was obviously in a little discomfort and distracted them all with the offer of a milky breakfast. I left them all feeding in the garden and had a cup of tea before beginning the morning clean up operation.

The al fresco breakfast was followed by a four-pup play fight in the dining room that seemed to go on for ages. All of a sudden it went quiet and I looked in to see all four had collapsed in a heap fast asleep.

We were lying in bed yesterday morning listening to one of the many buzzards 'mewing' as it circled lazily in the sky outside and I jokingly asked whether the pups were running around in the garden. We suddenly realised that this was indeed not so funny as a bird of that size could so easily pick up one of the pups whilst they are the size that they are at the moment.

This morning the pups had their second chance to pick new human companions. Harry selected a nice couple from Hampshire who already own another Golden Retriever. It was nice to see the puppies wide awake and active today. On Wednesday when we had the first visitors they spent most of the time snoozing (the pups that is). On that occasion Billy selected a very nice person, who also comes from Hampshire.

Harry will be known as Freddie when he goes to his new home. It is probably only fair, and far less confusing for him, if we refer to him by his new name from now on although Freddie the Hooligan doesn't have that same ring to it!

This afternoon the last puppy, Susie, met her new family so now all four of them have been spoken for. Whilst there is an element of sadness in the fact that three of them will soon be going to new homes, it is comforting to know that their new owners will love and care for them and that the pups themselves will be a credit to Sabah and us the breeders.

Friday 18th September 2009

Today we tried basic house training. It all seemed to be going well and they all performed in the garden. I say 'seemed' but a short time later I was standing in the kitchen sending a text message When I next looked down I was surrounded by a lake that had three puppies play fighting in it!

This afternoon the pups tried basic gardening. Fortunately most of the plants in the back garden are in pots which I have now moved along with all of the stems and flower heads that the pups so kindly pruned.

Thursday 17th September 2009

They all spent most of the morning out of their pen, running freely around the dining room and kitchen. They were remarkably clean throughout this period with only two 'accidents'. Harry discovered where the cat food was hidden (in the kick space under a cupboard). I only became aware of this when I went to investigate a strange rustling sound in the kitchen and found Harry's back legs sticking out from under the cupboard.

Today was the last day that they will be regularly weighed. As expected both Harry and Billy had passed the three kilo mark. Today was also worming day so we had four rather disgruntled pups wandering around this afternoon with pink froth around their mouths.

Wednesday 16th September 2009

Not a lot to report today. They are all very well and they seemed to enjoy their first night sleeping in the pen.

Sabah wanted to feed them at 2.45 a.m. but she didn't want to do it in the pen, she wanted to feed them out on the floor which of course meant I had to stay and supervise!

We tried a change of diet today, they had a dish of Burns Minibites which had been softened in warm water. It went down quite well but they clearly prefer the Nature's Harvest puppy meat.

Tomorrow we have our first prospective buyers coming to view one of the boys. It would be too much to hope that Harry will be on his best behaviour.

Tuesday 15th September 2009

We have now moved the puppies out of their box and into their indoor pen which they seem to prefer. It can be a bit of a battle to keep the bedding clean and dry because as soon as the old messy bedding has been replaced it seems that they then set about soiling it again. We use newspaper as an under layer and then spread a fairly thick layer of soft shredded paper bedding on top. The shredded paper usually forms clumps around their wee and it is therefore quite easy to remove. I say quite easy but often this is not the case because by this stage there is usually a 'clump' of puppies ready and waiting to be of assistance.

They are actually showing the first signs of being clean. When I put them into their box yesterday afternoon after Sabah had fed them, Molly began to bark and whine quite a lot. I had expected her to settle down quite quickly but she didn't so I picked her up and put her back into the day pen. She promptly squatted for a wee and when I put her straight back into the box, she went to sleep. This morning, when I went down shortly after 6 a.m. Sabah was feeding them in the box. After she had finished I put them into the day pen and three of them promptly did a number two.

Thankfully I will only be weighing them for another two mornings. Trying to get an accurate reading when all they want to do is play is frankly impossible. I am usually reduced to taking the mid-point scale reading. Whilst on the subject of weights, it seems clear that Harry, Billy and Susie will hit the 3 kilo mark on Thursday with Molly not that far behind at 2.8 kilos. By comparison, the largest two puppies from Elsa's litter had only managed 2.2 kilos by that stage.

Monday 14th September 2009

I clearly need to set the alarm clock to an earlier time because their box was in a bit of a state this morning and they had managed to trample 'it' everywhere. Before retiring yesterday evening I had prepared their day pen with a layer of newspaper with a view to putting them into it as soon as I got up this morning. That way I could have quickly removed and disposed of the offending matter before sixteen not so tiny paws had time to trample it everywhere. I think I missed the deadline by about 15 minutes.

They are all in fine form this morning, particularly Harry who is turning out to be the real character in the litter. You can guarantee that if anything is going on Harry is involved in it. Susie and Billy are the calm, quiet members of the litter and perhaps take after Sabah.

The litter's combined weight passed the 10 kilo mark today and we will now start reducing Sabah's diet as the puppies demand on her milk decreases.

Sunday 13th September 2009

Yesterday the puppies all had their first introduction to the 'great outdoors'. There was a good deal of whingeing from a couple of them so after five minutes they returned to the security of their cage. We had a bit of a messy start to today and as a result Susie and Billy had, for them, another first - a bath. Billy went potty and couldn't get enough of it.

Molly is continuing to improve her weight at quite a good rate. On Wednesday her weight was only 84% compared to the litter average but today she is up to 90% of the average. The total litter weight is now just short of 9.5 kilos which is about 8 kilos greater than their birth weight.

We had another excursion into the garden again after lunch and there was a little more exploration than moaning. I had to call a halt after about ten minutes when they became the focus of attention for a couple of wasps.

Sabah is much better today and she managed a slow run along the beach and a paddle in the sea.

Saturday 12th September 2009

The weaning appears to be a great success. All four, including 'Harry the Horror', are now taking solid food very well and with no apparent adverse effects on their stomachs. In the last 24 hours we have seen the largest daily weight increase - 610 gms. Molly did the best and has managed to put on 210 gms /CompWeight Chart.htm. This isn't too surprising because she started to eat the food as soon as we began weaning them on Wednesday. Another good sign is that there is a great deal less mess on the floor after they have finished. Unfortunately there is still the same amount of mess on Harry!

Sabah is progressing quite well and her temperature is now down at the lower end of the normal scale (37.2C to 39.3C). The site of her mastitis is still quite hard but doesn't feel as hot as it has done. We are continuing her course of antibiotics and using the breast pump to keep the site drained as much as we can.

Friday 11th September 2009

Sabah continues to make progress although it is clear that she still suffers pain from time to time. Elsa is a tremendous help as she has taken on the full time role of the puppies nanny. We all had a fairly undisturbed night and the puppies didn't ask to be fed until just after 6.00 a.m. when I got up.

They are all gradually getting the hang of weaning although Molly is taking an unfair advantage of her early start in this new venture. She is clearly a hearty eater and is also very adept at vacuuming up the mess the others produce. The one notable exception is Harry who has taken a few mouthfuls of food but really prefers to lay in it. Harry is our pet name for Ranger (it's only taken us three weeks to find one for him!!).

As we have gone straight onto a meat based diet for the puppies, I was rather expecting there to have been one or two stomach upsets amongst them. Fortunately we have had no such trouble, which is doubly amazing bearing in mind that Sabah is also on antibiotics and they are also known to have that effect.

The average litter weight is now 2.1 kilos. Susie is still the smallest and the only one not to have broken the 2 kilo barrier. I am not too concerned about this because at 1.81 kilos she is the same weight as Harry was five days ago. Also as she is making such great progress with solid food I expect her to make up the difference quite quickly now.

We are now using a breast pump in an attempt to drain the infectious fluid away from Sabah's painful nipple. It is proving quite successful. If it doesn't speed her recovery we are hopeful it will at least help to reduce the painfulness. I bought the pump from Boots for £16.50 and it came complete with strange looks from the cashier! She apparently didn't buy the idea that I was going to use it to unblock my sink.

Update 22:00 Just a small correction to an earlier entry: Ranger's pet name is now Harry the Hooligan. Whilst everyone else was managing to eat their tea he spent the time pushing everyone over then walking or laying in the food bowls. At bedtime tonight he decided he didn't like the Vetbedding and spent several minutes trying to lift it up. He then followed that with an attempted breakout. Having failed at that he promptly joined the others and fell asleep!

Thursday 10th September 2009

Sabah is very much better today. She has been seen by the vet and he is pleased with her progress. Most of the discomfort appears to have eased and we were able to take Sabah for a short walk. Feeding time still requires care though. It is necessary to protect her infected nipple from the ravages of four hungry puppies. Sabah woke me at 3.00 a.m. and at first I thought it was because she wanted me to let her out into the garden. This was not the case and she indicated that she wanted to feed the puppies and clearly she needed my assistance.

We had a little more success with the weaning this morning. Molly was clearly hungry and cleared her saucer of puppy meat in no time at all. She was en route to another dish of food when I called time and put her back into the box. Susie had a good feed and even Ranger managed a few mouthfuls. Billy, on the other hand, was having none of it. He wanted his mum and nothing else.

Why does every route that a puppy chooses take it directly through a plate of wet food?

Wednesday 9th September 2009

We are not out of the woods yet. Unfortunately Sabah has developed mastitis and is in quite a lot of discomfort. It looks as though we have detected it quite early and I'm hopeful that it will soon be under control. Sabah has had an antibiotic injection and we are applying cold compresses to relive her pain.

The vet is also checking Sabah's Calcium level as the first sign of trouble that we noticed this morning was that she was walking quite stiff legged.

The puppies seem to be doing well despite this setback. Molly has again put on weight in the last 24 hours although she was less than impressed with the dose of oral antibiotics she received this morning.

Update 21:30

The good news is that Sabah's Calcium level is normal. Following her visit to the vet Sabah's condition deteriorated during the morning. The pain became so intolerable that she could only stand or wander around unsteadily and feeding the puppies was clearly far from her mind. Even though it was possible that they could have had an adverse effect on the puppies the decision was taken to give Sabah some pain relief in the form of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug Carprofen. At the same time we applied a bag of frozen peas (wrapped in a towel) over the inflamed gland.

Having got Sabah in a more comfortable position we set about sorting out the puppies that were now very vociferously demanding their lunch. We allowed them to suckle for a short time from Sabah whilst being very careful that they did not come up against the painful nipple. Then, only a day earlier than we had planned we set about introducing them to solid foods. At first we tried them with a mixture of Royal Canin puppy milk and pulverised Burns Minibites the bowl full of which they promptly walked through. Even though we dipped their mouths into the mixture and presented them with fingers covered in the milky porridge they would have none of it. The boys then decided that they didn't want to eat they wanted to play. The next attempt was somewhat more successful. We placed a spoonful of Nature's Harvest wet puppy food onto a saucer and Molly tucked in as if she had never tasted anything better. She was closely followed by Susie who had a few mouthfuls. The rest of the food was liberally spread over all of the puppies and most of the floor.

Having had a limited amount of success we called upon the assistance of Auntie Elsa to wash the four miscreants.

Sabah meanwhile was beginning to benefit from the effects of the painkiller and she managed to get up and walk around the garden. You could see she was feeling better because the trademark Sabah tail was beginning to wag. At teatime she ate a hearty meal and then allowed the pups to suckle from her. Later in the evening we put the pups to Sabah again, but this time in pairs as they were suckling from the same side as the infected gland. To supplement this we again tried them with the wet puppy food. This time Susie was not interested as she had had her fill from Sabah. Molly again tucked in and only stopped when I feared that too much would cause her stomach problems.

It was during the last evening feed with Sabah that the boys decided that they would stage a breakout by trying to climb over the front of the box. They failed this time but I have no doubt that they will succeed in the next day or two.

Tuesday 8th September 2009

We are so happy to report that yesterday's crisis is no more. Molly continued the improvement she began to show yesterday afternoon and was quite happily barking at me this morning. That was such a sweet sound compared to her pathetic whimpering yesterday.

The picture shown above was taken at 18:30 yesterday when all four were furiously feeding. To think that four hours before the picture was taken Molly had declined so much that she even seemed to have become incapable of swallowing milk dripped into her mouth from a syringe. What had caused the problem remains a mystery.

The puppies in the above picture are, from left to right, Nullarbor Ranger (we still haven't thought of a nickname for him), Billy, Susie and Molly.

After yesterday we have now decided that, out of the two girls, it will be Molly that we will keep.

At this morning's weigh-in Molly had put on 70gms, Ranger had put on 120gms and Susie 125gms. The Piggy of the Day award goes to Billy who added 140gms. Ranger has now broken the 2kg mark weighing in at 2.05kg. The average weight of Sabah's litter has now exceeded the last recorded average weight of Elsa's litter taken when they were 28 days old.

We still have a lot of ground to make up with Molly as her weight is only 85% of the average weight of the litter. It may well be that once weaning is under way she will put on weight more quickly.

Monday 7th September 2009

Unfortunately we have a crisis at the moment as Molly is quite unwell. She was apparently fine yesterday but when I went to weigh her this morning I found her to be listless. Her weight was exactly the same as it was yesterday morning. During the same period the other three pups had increased their weight by between 120 and 160gms. It was Molly who suffered from an apparent bout of colic when they were six days old but we have discounted colic on this occasion as she has had a couple of normal bowel movements this morning.

The most significant problem is Molly's reluctance to feed from Sabah or take from a bottle. In order to prevent her becoming dehydrated we are feeding her with a syringe and at the same time being careful to ensure that she doesn't take any of the fluid down into her lungs. It seemed that as the day wore on she became less and less able to swallow any fluid.

We have taken her to the vet this afternoon although he is unable to offer any suggestion as to what the problem is although he did notice that she seemed to have no suck reflex. Whilst her temperature was normal, the vet has given Molly an injection of broad spectrum antibiotics just in case.

The other three puppies are fine. The boys were very active at bedtime last night. At one stage Billy had grabbed hold of a sleeping Molly's ear between his jaws and was shaking it about. Not content with doing that to her he then opened his jaws, wider than I thought was possible, and clamped them over Molly's nose and growled. And no, I don't think that Billy has injured Molly in any way.

Sabah has finally allowed Elsa into the box with her. We have always tried to supervise these encounters because of the fear that an altercation between Sabah and Elsa could result in a serious injury to one or more of the puppies, but on this occasion Elsa sneaked in when we were not looking.

Again we have discounted the likelihood that Molly has been injured by being stood on by one of the adults, (a) because there is no sign of any trauma, and (b) Elsa was fast asleep upstairs all night.

Update 18:35

Good news: Molly had a short feed from Sabah at about 15:00. We then put her to her mum on her own at about 17:30 when she suckled for about 5 minutes before falling asleep. A few minutes ago all four pups could be seen feeding heartily from Sabah. It seems, for the moment at least, that things are getting better.

Previous Entries