We cannot believe just how quickly 5 weeks can pass from the birth of ten beautiful yet helpless little puppies, totally reliant upon their Mum for everything with a little help from us of course into becoming ten adventuous and independant little characters. Life is full on now, very active, very hungry and very little time to spare but would we change anything? hell no. We are enjoying every precious moment in sharing with them their development and seeing how their characters evolve as they grow.
They are now enjoying the outside life and we have expanded their play area, putting up shade of course, lots of toys to interact with and us plus our four goldies to learn from. Baggins remains a bit grumpy and is happy to see them from a distance, he likes his space but thats cool, he is affectionately known as Baggy Baby (much to his disgust).
As you can see they are all beautiful puppies, lovely heads and very affectionate natures, whoever these little darlings go to will be very lucky.
Well, it is quite some time since I last added a post, mainly due to us being kept busy feeding ten very hungry mouths by supplementing the short supply of milk at Flame’s milk bar. Needless to say all are thriving. They are now 3 1/2 weeks old and we have started to wean them They have had minced meat to start with which they adore but a bit costly to maintain so now they will start on proper weaning puppy food, might turn their noses up to begin with but hey when they are hungry enough they will soon enjoy it.
Yesterday was their first outing outside into the big world of the garden even though they were in their puppy enclosure they found grass for the first time and lots of new smells to keep them interested. They are at the lovely age where everything is a big adventure yet are small enough to keep out of mischief. In a week or so the enclosure will be greatly increased and our legs will be kept busy chasing little bundles around who want to continuously play and not be caught.
The time goes so quickly and it is difficult to believe that in 5 weeks time they will be old enough to go to their new homes. We will keep enjoying all the moments we have in being part of their forever changing and developing lives.
Really pleased to see the sun shining today after the horrendous weather of yesterday. Puppies are all snuggled up together, are getting quite noisy so we are concerned they are receiving enough milk from their Mum, not all nipples seem to be producing and when there are ten hungry mouths to feed you have to make sure all is well. We are checking with the Vet that all is well with Mum. Flame is being fed very well and is also having two gruel meals a day which are full of energy boosts as well as her Arden Grange Prestige dry food with extras added. We may have to supplement by assisting in feeding the pups but we will see what the Vets opinion is. The good and essential thing about recording the pups weight on a daily basis is to ensure all pups are gaining the correct amount of weight and that none are being left behind especially as this is a large litter for a maiden bitch.
It seems all is well with Flame but she is probably not producing enough milk to provide enough to satisfy ten pups so we will supplement for now and see how things go
Wow what a night and day of gale force winds, trees down, fences broken and tiles cracked yet our babies sleep peacefully through it all blissfully unaware of the chaos outside.
Thoughts go to the poor dogs and puppies who only know the outside life and who have to survive outdoors despite the weather.
Our babies are now nine days old and very soon a whole new world will open up for them, when their eyes and ears see and hear for the first time. What a wonderful moment to share with them in their on going development as puppies. We do know however, regardless of whatever the weather throws at us the puppies first experience of seeing and hearing will be full of love, gentleness and calm.
They are all growing well, some more than others, Miss Lime is the biggest and most noisy at nearly a kilo whereas her little sister weighs in today at 600 grams so we have been giving her extra time with Mum so she can catch up with her siblings. She is eager to catch up and feeds with vigour and determination.
The 12th of May 2014 was the day 10 beautiful puppies were born to our lovely girl Flame, nine of the puppies were born within 2 hours which was amazing, the 10th born one hour later. Six girls and four boys. All healthy and good weights. This litter was Flame’s first, she is 3 1/2 years old and at the peak of fitness. We were there to assist her breathing, pushing and sharing the delight of each birth. Needless to say we were very proud and Flame is proving to be a fantastic Mum.
We spent a lot of time choosing the stud dog for Flame, studying pedigrees, checking health records and ensuring that the dog we chose had a loving and gentle temperament. We were delighted to be able to use Thevenet Lord of the Rings ‘Hippito’, an International Show Champion. When we visited him in Spain he proved to be everything we were looking for in a mate for Flame. He was very good looking with a strong head and a fantastic loving nature , great bone and superb coat. Apart from having great health records he had also been the top stud dog in Spain in previous years.
The puppies were born indoors and we monitor their weight on a daily basis ensuring that each puppy is gaining the correct weight; all the information is recorded on a spread sheet to enable us to work out the percentage weight gain of each pup and to keep an eye on their development.
At night we take it in turns to sleep with Flame and her pups because so often puppies are lost in the early days when the mother inadvertently lies on them. Although it means we have sleepless nights we are confident that all the puppies will get to the size where they can be left on their own at night, only 2 weeks to go!!!!!!!!
Today the puppies are 8 days old and it was nail cutting day, what a job…. 180 nails to be cut and ten very lively bundles to control. It always amazes us just how fast the nails grow but it is a job that must be done to ease the clawing of Flame’s very large nipples.
In a week we have experienced the joy and birth of ten wonderful little creations, slept and lived with them 24/7, provided their Mum with support, love and total commitment and we loved every moment.
Ambersclan Golden Retrievers only breed occasionally and we whole heartedly believe in breeding responsibly with all efforts being concentrated in developing our line in looks, temperament and health, producing puppies that are of a high standard who make fantastic family pets and if desired, exceptional show dogs.
It is only when all the necessary health checks and research has been undertaken do we consider breeding.
With this in mind we are delighted to announce the successful mating between Thevenet Lord of the Rings ‘Hippito’ and our beautiful girl Ambersclan Flames of Gold ‘Flame’.
Flame is 3 1/2 years old and this is her first litter. She is a very loving intelligent dog, always eager to please and is full of character. She loves long walks and adores swimming whether it be the sea, lake, river or pool. She is a beautiful family pet and gets on with our other Goldens, the cats and the chickens. She does not have a bad bone in her and we are delighted to have her in our lives. Flame has been successful in the show ring and although only lightly shown she has achieved good results and has been placed each time, she has achieved RCACIB and RCACS, EXC plus the TAN for her working aptitude.
We chose Hippito for his incredible laid back and happy disposition, he has fantastic bone, a lovely strong head and great coat plus excellent health records. He has achieved pretty much everything available in the show ring and is an International Show Champion. He was also the top stud dog in Spain. To us, his gentle and loving temperament was paramount and we were delighted to be able to use him in our line.
All our puppies go to their new homes with an information pack full of advice, a worming schedule, a diet sheet, and copies of all the health checks for the parents including Hips, Elbows, and Eyes. In addition all puppies are wormed at 3,5 and 7 weeks, are micro chipped and have had their primary vaccinations. We believe in an life time commitment with the new owners and are there to assist and help in any way we can. If for whateve reason circumstances change we will always have the dog. That is our commitment.
