J-S Pups Day 15: Headshots & First Toy

A fun-filled day for the Rockstars!  A no-flash photo shoot for headshots and they got their   first toy! 

The puppies received their first toy, a soft, multi-color octopus! They were quite curious and enjoyed smelling, tasting and climbing all over the new toy. The pups have also begun interacting with each other and it is quite entertaining watching the beginnings of what will evolve into playing and socializing. Gradually, we will add other toys that make different noises and offer different textures for the pups to explore.

J-S Pups Day 14: Toddling around

 Eyes open everywhere and the pups are moving all over the whelping box.  We are still in no-flash mode to protect the newly opened baby blue eyes.  I've been sick and haven't been able to update the blog - being a teacher, surrounded by sneezing and coughing kids, it was bound to hit me.  Watching the pups is great medicine!

 The pups just woke up from a nap and are quite hungry.

 You can see that they are toddling around, pushing off their front legs and starting to walk with all fours.

 Once Jam comes in the box, it's like a free for all and all the pups surround her looking for the best spot at the milk bar.

 Jam checks their rears to clean them or stimulate them and then will start to settle down for them to nurse.

 How cute is this pups between Jam's front legs!

 All vying for a spot, a bit of chaos and then they'll all settle down to nurse.

Awww, kisses from mommy

J-S Pups Day 12: Look how big!

 The pups continue to gain weight and now look more like miniature Weims than guinea pigs.  All their eyes are now open in varying degrees but we are keeping the lights low and have banned flash photography for a few days to protect their developing eyes. We are doing the best we can to take pictures of the pups without using a flash. Their vision however, is not very sharp but don't worry by day 18 or so, they will be able to focus on objects and people. Very young Weimaraner puppies have striking blue eyes. As the pups mature, their eye color changes to shades of light amber, gray, or blue-gray.

 They still nurse aggressively, vying for the best spot at the milk bar.  Chase, aka Mr. Orange, hasn't mastered the art of nursing so we are still bottle feeding him.

J-S Pups Day 11; Peek-a-Boo

The puppies' eyes have begun to open, so we have banned flash photography for awhile. Even though their eyes are starting to open, they cannot see clearly yet and still bump into each other in the whelping box as they wander around.

With open eyes, these pups have such character in their beautiful faces and it is difficult to not want to just cuddle them all day long!

The Rockstars also had a special visitor today, our good friend, Lilly, who owns relatives of our Weims.  She was a super help, holding the pups while I clipped their nails with a children's size nail clipper.  After their mani/pedis, the pups got lots of hugs and kisses!

J-S Pups Day 10 Part 2: Weigh-in

 Part of the Rockstars daily routine is getting weighed.  We use a digital postal scale and for now, a bowl until they outgrow it and then a tray. We weighed them at birth and will continue daily weighing for the first two to three weeks and then switch to weekly weigh-ins. By charting their weight, we can be sure the pups are eating enough or if there is a problem.

 The pups have been steadily gaining weight and Miss Raspberry, below, broke 2 lbs! Our biggest girl.

J-S Pups Day 10: Where's Waldo?

The Rockstar Litter Logo!

Thanks to KellyAnn for designing this fabulous logo for our Rockstars.  Photo by me, Rockstars produced by Summit, BISS BIF CH Pike's Peak Silversmith Summit,SH,SDX,NRD, V and Jam, CH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD,JH, OA,OAJ,SD,VX, Therapy Dog.

J-S Pups Day 8: Bio-Sensor for Super Dogs

The Bio-Sensor or "Super Dog" method is a tool we use to help ensure our puppies develop superiorly both physically and mentally. Developed by the U.S. Military, the Bio-Sensor method is a series of exercises performed on puppies starting at day 3 and ending on day 16. 

Each exercise is performed one time, for a specific amount of time, daily during this time period. It is important not to perform each exercise more than once per day or for increased amounts of time as it could over stress the puppies. These exercises would not occur naturally during this time frame and work by requiring the pup's neurological system to kick in earlier than normal.Studies have shown that Bio-Sensor puppies have:

• Improved cardio vascular performance
• Stronger heartbeats
• Stronger Adrenal Glands
• Increased tolerance to stress and
• Greater resistance to disease

Studies also show that Bio-Sensor pups are far less affected by stressful situations than pups that do not have these exercises performed. They were more calm and able to perform learning tests with fewer errors.

The benefits from this early neurological stimulation have lasting effects on puppies, lasting a lifetime if proper enrichment and socialization is provided during the dogs life!

We believe this is an important tool in developing puppies and in our breeding program.

 Securely holding the pup in an upright position with head over tail. This position is then reversed and the pup is held tail over head in a secure hold. Each exercise is performed for 3-5 seconds.

 Pup is held between both hands on its back in a supine position.

 Tactile stimulation with a Qtip.

 Pup is exposed to an interesting scent, in this instance, a pheasant feather.

 Even at this young age, the pups react to the scents and get excited by certain ones, like this feather.  I think Miss Yellow is a bird dog in the making!

Thermal stimulation on a chilled plate.

J-S Pups Day 8: Got Milk?

The Rockstars having breakfast at the milk bar.  As you can see, they are pretty aggressive at finding the nipples and then use their paws to help balance and also knead the breast to help the milk flow.

J-S Pups Day 7: A week old - growth & loss

 Most of the pups has grown leaps and bounds.  For their one week birthday, it was time for a few to have their first photo shoot - it is the Grayhart way!

 Keeping the pups in the box was a challenge as they are quite agile and adventurous.

Sadly, Miss Pink who we have been tube feeding lost her battle and went peacefully over the rainbow bridge.  A heartbreaking day but this is the reality of breeding and nature, that only the strongest survive. The photos below were taken this morning, while she was still with us.

 The whole gang

 A puppy Rorschach test!

The other girls and Mr. Orange are just amazing with their little personalities starting to show.  We've been doing the BioSensor on them and will blog about that tomorrow.