On Sunday, August 28, we received our package of puppy surprises when Juneau delivered her litter of puppies out of Max. Juneau is Ch Annihaus Midnight Sun and she is out of our Cassidy and Ch Ivoss Touch The Sun. Dad is Max, Ch Beachwalker Rowdy To The Max who is out of Rowdy and Deepsouth's Raven. The puppies arrived at 9 pm after 64 days from Junie's progesterone peak.

The delivery was going great. We had 5 healthy, chunky puppies by 11 pm and then things got strange. The next 4 puppies were still born. All 4 were full-term and perfectly formed. All 4 did not have a heartbeat when they came out and, despite efforts by us and our veterinarian friend Jane to revive them, there was simply no way. We have several theories about why they died but the bottom line is that Junie has a great manufacturing plant but her delivery (birthing) system is seriously flawed. Linda and I were devastated by the loss. Yet we were also grateful that we actually had 5 survivors and all 5 appeared -- and continue to appear -- strong and healthy.

The Quintessential Quintet consists of 3 boys and 2 girls. All were between 12 and 15 oz. at birth. Here are a few shots of them over the first 3 days. It's important to understand that the first week or so, these puppies eat every 2 hrs. and then they sleep. That's it. Their eyes and ears are closed at this point and don't open until they are 10 days old. They can't pee or poop on their own; they need to be stimulated by their mom -- or in the case of Juneau, by her loyal handmaidens Grandpa Jim and Grandma Linda . Junie's comment to me was "you want me to clean them? Oh, no, Granpy, I'm too tired. Could you do it for me, please. Oh, and don't miss that little spot right under the tail."

So here are the first of what will be many photos of this litter.

First, a shot of the entire litter. Note that Light Blue girl is tunneling under Red Boy and Pink Girl.



Another shot of the kids nursing. Do you discern a theme here ?



A close-up of mom meeting her little Light Blue Girl.



A close-up of the chunk of the litter, Blue Boy, possibly RJ (Rowdy Jr.)



And, finally, a shot I've dubbed "Beware The Interlopers!"



That's it for now. Tonight, we band the tails and in a week, they'll fall off. No pain. We continue to manage the feedings every 2 hrs. and that will continue for the next 2 weeks. Sleep. Highly overrated. Hope you'll enjoy this chronicle of the Juneau/Max kids.

Jim

Hey Jim,

Thanks for sharing all of the photos. I am very sorry about the last four guys and gals. I am sure that was tough for you.

Sincerely,
James

Heartbreaking, James, but nature teaches us lessons every day. Junie simply went on with the act of living -- nurturing the puppies she had. She's had her two litters -- we never breed our girls more than twice and often, not at all -- and given her difficulties in whelping, that's good. For us, it was a sobering reminder that life is very delicate and never to be taken for granted.

The Quintet is adorable! They got their tails banded last night and were not happy for about an hour. And then, they simply adapted to those bands and said "bring on the milk wagon". I'll do studies on each of the kids as they spend more time out of the incubator and in the whelping box. They are really fun. Just holding them makes your heart melt. Yes, they are worth it all.

Jim

"incubator and in the whelping box"

Hey Jim,

This may seem a silly question, but are these specially designed by you? i.e. is it really an incubator?

James

James,
for the first 48 hrs. or so, the puppies cannot regulate their temperature which means keep the overall household or room temps in the mid-80's or have a separate place for the pups which can be kept warmer than the rest of the room. Our whelping box takes up roughly 1/3 of the living room and mid-80 temps would not be comfortable for mom, Juneau, nor grandpa and grandma Garvie so we take a large plastic tub, place several layers of blankets in it and then place it on a heating pad turned to "low". Then we cover it with another blanket when the puppies are in it and the temps are perfect for them. Now that the pups are a week old, they can regulate their own temperatures and they now have the run of the whelping box. I use the word "run" with much exaggeration .

Jim