A litter from:
Little Brownies O'Henry SH and Little Brownies Ginger Snap
August 2021
Scroll down to see pictures and video
Ginger's pups showed up on time, healthy, and strong. Mom was quite tired.
When we are cleaning up the whelping box or mom goes for a walk with her pack, the pups stay in this incubator. Here they have a controlled temperature environment with pumped in oxygen and humidity, which is monitored to exacting standards. It makes for a cozy and safe environment while they are away from mom.
There is always one pup that seems to throw caution to the wind from the start. In this case it is Panther. Here he is showing that he is not the least bit shy and not about to get out of the way of his siblings who are trying to have a little snack.
If you look closely, you can see that Esther's eyes are just beginning to open. She was right on time at 12 days of age.
Colden at about 2.5 weeks of age is up on all fours and walking pretty well
Gray was looking for a pillow and found Al instead.
Al was not real pleased.
Mom has come to like this position best for nursing the pups. It is getting hard for all six to get in there and nurse at the same time.
At Little Brownies we try to give all of our pups a leg-up on their development while they are in our care. One of the things we have done over that past 29+ years is put the pups through Early Neurological Stimulation which you can read about here. Another program we began to follow is the Avidog Early Scent introduction. This link will get you the information on that program. Both start at just 3 days of age and go up through 16 days of age. In the picture above, Paul is using a turkey feather he found on our property earlier that day. The idea of the program is to simply get the pups' using their nose as their brain begins to develop so that they will have improved scenting as adults. Each day introduces them to a different scent.
Mom gives them a chance to wash down that new food. She continues to nurse for several more days.
While Paul does computer work the pups are allowed to play outside of their pen. They get to have the run of the area under supervision. It takes about 30 minutes for them to tire out.
You know they are having fun when the ears start flying!
If they get hot, they can cool off in the pool.
Some of the pups on a walk-about the property.
Ro was babysitting the pups for Ginger.
And they are off on a swim.
I can do that too.
Ginger loves her time at camp in the Adirondocks. So, the theme for this litter uses the names of some lakes
and mountains near camp.
Panther (m) - Purple collar - Colden (m) - Red collar
Gray (m) - Green collar - Algonquin (m) - Blue collar
Jenny (f) - Yellow collar - Esther (f) - Orange collar
For the first two weeks following birth, the pups are weighed twice daily. This helps us to make sure that everyone is doing well. In this picture you see Esther taking her weigh-in in stride. Usually, the pups will thrash around having been roused from sleep and momentarily taken away from mom. Apparently, Esther was not the least bit bothered by the process.
In this picture the pups are one week old. Everyone is doing very well, and you can even see them starting to try to walk. On the left is Panther who is trying to push himself up into a standing position. It will not be long before they are chasing mom around the whelping box.
Within about 48 hours the eyes are normally fully open. Here Jenny shows off her baby blues.
Gray got up on his feet pretty well too.
Panther found a real pillow... actually it is just a soft toy but it will do.
After a good feeding mom likes to just lay with the pups and snuggle. They like that too.
At four weeks of age the pups were done with the whelping box. They then moved to their first pen where they learned to use the litter pans.
Four weeks old was also the time when we started them on puppy food to help give mom some relief.
Within a few days the pups graduate to a larger pen in our walk-out basement. This pen covers 36 sq. feet and contains a crate, two litter pans, water bowl, and lots of toys.
When the weather is nice the pups can spend time outside in a pen that is identical in size to their indoor pen. Here they are having a quick meal before romping in the grass.
Water is always handy should someone need a drink.
And some, like Panther, just don't want to get out.
Exploring the pond.
Ro says, 'Follow me Jenny.'
Loving this new adventure.
Panther and Jenny.
Here is a little video to show you the pups in action.
A short video of the pups outside.