Munchy Monday: Treat Comparisons

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Not all treats are created equally. It’s easy to think that because treats are a smaller part of a dog’s diet, that their nutritional quality isn’t as important.

But what we give our pets as treats DOES matter! Healthy treats can contribute wonderful nutrients and can be a source of great chewing entertainment. Many of the leading brands of dog treats have a number of unsavory ingredients, which at best are useless fillers and at worst can contribute to health problems.

I broke down the ingredients of just a few of the common dog treat brands from Chewy.com. These are brands I used to think are okay for my dogs, but I now try to stay away from them.

Greenies Dental Treats Original

The first three ingredients in this dog treat are: Wheat Flour, Glycerin, Wheat Gluten. 

Life’s Abundance does not ever use wheat or wheat gluten in their food or treats. While some whole grains are beneficial for dogs, there are some grains, especially processed ones, that should be avoided. Wheat and corn are two of the most common ingredients known to cause food allergies in dogs. A dog treat with two of the top three ingredients being wheat and wheat gluten can hardly be considered a healthy or nutritious treat.

Also, glycerin is a sweetener. When making treats, there are MUCH healthier alternatives to make a treat taste sweet and appealing to dogs. Some Life’s Abundance treats contain fruits or peanut butter. These kinds of ingredients add natural sweetness, as well as vitamins, minerals, and even some antioxidants.

Want some better alternatives? Life’s Abundance Porky Puffs Chews and Buffalo Bully Sticks are excellent chews that can help keep teeth clean. Also, Life’s Abundance Gourmet Dental Treats are great for maintaining teeth and gum health, and they contain probiotics!

Pedigree Dentastix

The first three ingredients are: Rice Flour, Wheat Starch, Glycerin. Also included in the ingredients are the preservatives Sodium Tripolyphosphate and Potassium Sorbate. 

Again you see the wheat and the glycerin in the top ingredients. That doesn’t put things off to a good start for me.

When it comes to preservatives, did you know that there are much healthier alternatives? Many times, big dog treat suppliers use harsh, artificial preservatives to get the maximum shelf life for their products. While these preservatives do give a long shelf-life, they can also compromise the nutritional quality of the treats. There are other natural, gentle preservatives that can be used instead. Some examples, according to Daily Puppy, are “vitamin E, commonly referred to as mixed tocopherols, vitamin C, known as ascorbic acid, and plant extracts such as rosemary.”

Life’s Abundance never uses artificial preservatives in their food or treats. Nutritional quality is more important than extended shelf-life.

Milk-Bone Small MacroSnacks

Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Meat and Bone Meal, Sugar, Dried Poultry By-Products Digest, Cooked Bone Marrow Beef Fat (Preserved with Tocopherols), Salt, Corn Starch, Annatto Color, Red Iron Oxide (Color), Red 40, Sodium Metabisulfite (Used As A Preservative).

Okay, this one is bad. First ingredient is wheat flour. Third ingredient is plain old sugar. Further on you see corn starch- not good. Then to end the list, there are artificial colors and preservatives. The treats looks so cute and tasty, but they are so very unhealthy!

Do you want some healthy treat alternatives? Life’s Abundance has so many delicious and nutritious treat options!

 

 

$9.99-$25.99

Porky Puffs, Buffalo Meat Strips, Buffalo Bully Sticks, and Buffalo Lung Fillets are all excellent, single-ingredient chews. Freeze-dried Turkey Hearts are a great soft single-ingredient treat.

Antioxidant Health Bars are the best-smelling doggie bars I’ve ever seen! They are made from oatmeal, peanut butter, fruits, and veggies for a treat full of antioxidants to help support a healthy immune system.

Tasty Rewards are yummy bite-sized lamb and chicken pieces perfect for training sessions.

Gourmet Dental Treats are a mix are oatmeal, honey, and peanut butter, fortified with calcium and vitamin C. This treat contains probiotics and supports teeth and gum health.

Are you looking for a grain-free treat? The Grain-Free Turkey & Berry Chewies are a great option! This savory recipe features turkey, turkey liver, pumpkin, and berries.

Order any of these treats from my Life’s Abundance page: https://www.lifesabundance.com/Pets/Treats/DogTreats.aspx?realname=20552921&cat=0&hdr=&Ath=False&crt=0&breadcrumb=DogTreats_v11%28Pet_Base%29

Your pup will thank you for it! Mine certainly do!

Kristen’s Happy Tails
Kristen Martin
Life’s Abundance Independent Field Representative
ID 20552921

 

 

My Shop is Open!

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I am BEYOND excited! Kristen’s Happy Tails shop is now open!

During the last few months, I spent hours learning about various pet company brands and the products they offer. Quality and safety are of the utmost importance to me. When I am giving food, treats, or supplements to my dogs and puppies, I want to know that what they are getting is wholesome, safe, and will keep them at their optimal health. When I get my dogs collars and toys, I want to know that I am getting something durable and good quality. I put a lot of energy and consideration into the products that I chose to have in my shop, and I am thrilled with what I have to offer to my puppies’ new families! I may not have a wide variety, but what I do have is guaranteed to be some of the absolute best pet products on the market.

This shop is a way to provide more resources to my puppies’ new families. I am often asked for recommendations on food, crates, and toys; and I wanted to do more than simply give advice. Now, my puppies’ new families can purchase full puppy packs for their new friend! I also want to be able to connect with and offer support to other local breeders, who, like me, want to get their puppies off to a great start. I want to provide excellent products and support to local dog owners who want to keep their special pups strong and healthy (and maybe spoil them a bit, too).

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent building and preparing my shop. I’m eager to see where this adventure leads! As most of you know, I am always up for a good dog adventure, and I love to learn and connect with other dog people.

Here is a brief over view of some of the products and brands that you can find in my shop. (You can view all the products under the Shop tab or by clicking here.):

  • (Of course) Life’s Abundance- This is my favorite brand of dog food, and I know it helps to keep my dogs and puppies healthy from the inside out with it’s science-based, holistic nutrition. Also, the treats they have are AMAZING! My dogs nearly take off my whole hand when I start dishing out their yummy (and super healthy) treats! (Learn more about Life’s Abundance here.)
  • NuVet- This is a new addition to my nutrition program that I am very excited to share about! NuVet Plus is an immune system supplement which helps protect and build a puppy’s immune system, allowing the puppy to remain healthier and also give a better immune system response to vaccinations. It’s also an amazing supplement for adult dogs, helping them to remain in optimal health and protecting them from getting run-down by environmental toxins. (Learn more about NuVet here.)
  • Lupine- This is a big name in the dog industry! Lupine has been making amazing collars and leashes for over 25 years. They offer a life-time, even if chewed, guarantee on their products. The collars and leashes are durable and come in fun colors and patterns.
  • Furhaven- I have stocked some beautiful and unique memory-foam dog beds from Furhaven. These beds have an easily removed cover for convenient washing. I also have some very soft and comfy beds that are designed to fit perfectly in crates.
  • P.L.A.Y.- This is an environmentally friendly company that sells a variety of durable, stimulating, and amazingly cute dog toys! I can certainly attest to the fact that no dog toy is indestructible, but these toys can endure a good amount of tough love and play.
  • Kong- Want to talk durable? You can hardly find more durable toys than Kong toys. These fun, classic toys are great for large breeds or a particularly destructive dog. (Like my lovable hunk Jade, who destroys anything she can find. She ate one of my favorite hard cover books last week, much to my annoyance.) Currently, I have a limited variety of Kong toys, but I plan to expand my selection in 2019!

I hope that gives you a good idea of what I have in my shop. Have a happy Monday!

Taking the Good and the Bad

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As the title implies, this blog post is sharing some good news and some bad news. That’s life, though, isn’t it? Not every thing works out like we wish it would or think it should. But God is always good!

Bad news first. Jade went to the vet yesterday, and an ultrasound confirmed that she is not pregnant. We are obviously very disappointed! We were very excited about her potential litter this year, and we were looking forward to seeing the beautiful puppies she would have. However, she fooled us again.

I had initially been very optimistic. Her breeding went very well, she showed some appetite changes in the weeks after breeding, and her vulva has stayed slightly swollen. All of these things are good signs for pregnancy. However, about a week before her ultrasound, I began checking her underbelly. Another one of the first signs of pregnancy is changes in the nipples. They often become a little larger and change to a noticeably flushed pink color. I did not notice any of that for Jade, and I began to suspect she wasn’t carrying any puppies.

Since this is her second failed breeding, we are planning to do some testing before her next heat cycle. We will also try for a natural breeding next time, rather than AI (artificial insemination). That means we will not be trying for Mini Goldendoodles next time, since mini’s usually require artificial breeding. It is suspected (though not known for sure) that some dogs due to variations in individual fertility or shape/tilt of the reproductive organs may not be able to get pregnant via AI. There are a lot of unknown factors and possibilities with breeding; and for some dogs, it becomes a game of trial and error! So now we get to wait and try again later, but the third time is the charm, right?

Now on to the good news! Jade’s doctor visit was not the only one that happened this week. This morning I made a trip to the doctor myself, and I got to hear a tiny little beating heart!

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Lord willing, our family will get a new little addition in the spring! New life is such a blessing, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to bring a sweet new being into the world in a few months.

There are also some other really exciting things happening around here! We are opening up a small dog and puppy supply shop! I am always looking for ways to give our puppies’ new families a better “puppy experience.” That’s one of the reasons I started this blog. I felt like it gives a window into our lives, and it allows waiting families to watch their puppy growing. Opening our shop will help give our puppies’ families additional resources. Because of our experience with dogs and puppies, we feel like we have a lot to offer families buying a new puppy. One way we thought we can serve them better is by offering a place to buy products we personally use and recommend. These are products we know are safe, healthy, durable, and reputable. So after spending a lot of time shopping around and researching various companies, we have put together a small shop full of practically EVERYTHING you need for a new puppy. I will be posting more about our new shop soon, and you’ll see some new pages added on to the website showing the brands and items we will be carrying.

Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week!

Gun Dogs, Summertime, and Rodents

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Things have been pretty quiet around here for the last few months. We are enjoying a break from puppies for a few months, and life has just been going on as normal!

Normal for us anyway. We have four bird dogs (3.5 maybe). Raising and training gun dogs changes your perception of a normal day.

For example, I finish my morning coffee, slip on my battered flip-flops, and head out to feed the dogs and let them out of their pens for the day. As I walk through the dewy grass, enjoying the warm summer morning, I am greeted by an exuberant Timber. He is prancing about with his tail wagging wildly. In his mouth, he is daintily carrying a dead bird, and he is SO excited to show me.

Mmmm, who doesn’t just love disposing of a dead bird first thing after their morning coffee?

Then later that same week, we repeat this same story, except Timber has a dead mouse.

Then we repeat the story again, and he has a OPPOSUM.

Mind you, each of these creatures was caught by Timber while he was in his pen over night. This dog is a hunting ninja.

What’s very interesting about each of these incidents, is the demonstration of a bird dog’s “soft mouth.” Every time I have found Timber or one of the other dogs carrying a dead bird or rodent, the animal is physically undamaged. Bird dogs have an instinct to catch, hold, and retrieve birds without damaging their feathers. They do not have the instinct to bite or shred. The times that bird dogs do kill their hunted prey, they do it pretty much by playing with them. Which I will illustrate with this story.

We were enjoying a pleasant evening outside, sitting on our lawn chairs when we saw the dogs furiously digging. Then suddenly they all started a mad scramble in random directions. A very unwise mother rabbit had built a nest in our yard. She had managed to raise her babies partway to adulthood before our dogs found them. The dogs unearthed five baby rabbits. One hopped away to safety in our neighbor’s yard, and the other four were each scooped up by one of our dogs. Again, we saw the soft mouths in action. The dogs simply raced around the yard, carrying these live baby rabbits in their mouths. They would drop them in the grass, let them hop a few feet, pounce on them, and then pick them up again. Timber dropped his and rolled on it. Feeling sorry for the rabbits, we chased after the dogs. Unfortunately, two people chasing four dogs isn’t very successful. Of the four baby rabbits, only one was dead by the time we were able to round them up, and I think that was the one Timber rolled on multiple times.

This last summer tale is probably the one that makes me the most proud. 🙂 We bought a batch of pheasant chicks this spring to raise for field training our Irish Setters. We kept them at our place for the first few weeks, and then we moved them to my parent’s place. (Otherwise, our setters would go crazy with a bunch of pheasants around!) When the chicks were almost big enough to move out, a couple escaped their pen when I opened the door to feed them. I was able to catch one of them, but the second one eluded me. He scampered about for several days, hiding in the bushes along the front of the house where the dogs can’t go. Pheasants like to hide in thick brush and bushes, and they can run FAST! They do fly, but they often try to outrun predators before taking to the air.

One afternoon, I found him pecking around the pen where the rest of the pheasants were. I tried to catch him, but he dashed into my tea patch. It was too thick for me to see where he was. Mia was out with me, and she saw the bird run into the tea patch. She flushed him out; and with surprising agility, she caught him! I was amazed! I had never seen Mia do something like that. She held him down with her paws- one paw over his head and the other over his body. When I tried to pick him up, he got away again, running at full speed with his wings flapping. I thought he was gone for good, but Mia raced after him, made a wild pounce, and caught him again! My heart nearly burst with pride.

It was so much fun to see those hunting instincts in my sweet, little Mia. Those inborn instincts to catch and hold are strong and can come out at the most unexpected times, even in dogs that have never been specifically trained to hunt.

That’s just a sampling of the fun and crazy things my dogs are doing this summer. If you have a good story of your hunting (or non-hunting) dog catching sometime crazy, I’d love to hear it!

Friday Introductions: Reese

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Happy Friday, everyone! Here is another #FridayIntroductions post about the last human member of the family. (You can read the first two here and here.)

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My beautiful baby girl! Who is…

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SO BIG!

My sweet “baby” Reese was born in January of 2017. She has been such a huge blessing and joy to our family. I thank God every day that He has given me the opportunity to be her mother.

Here she is at just a few weeks old.

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To be honest, mothering wasn’t the easiest through the newborn stage for me. Reese was a great baby- she slept well and was certainly not a fussy baby. But the adjustment was a bit difficult for me. However, after a couple of months, this mama found her groove, and life with this kiddo has been awesome ever since. And I’m not kidding. This child is the best.

Now that she’s over a year old, we are having so much fun watching her personality blossom. She has a great sense of humor, and she loves the dogs!

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Reese is a very much her daddy’s daughter. She not only looks like him, but she acts like him! That is a mostly good thing, although the strong will and unrelenting determination to tackle big challenges can be tiring some days.  She is such a social butterfly and loves getting out of the house and being with people. She’s often the crankiest when she is at home with me all day long. I’m too boring, I guess. She’s also in the midst of a very curious stage, and she is into EVERYTHING. My kitchen cupboards are usually emptied, along with my bookshelves and game cupboard. It’s a fun stage, but it’s certainly a messy stage.

She has also recently begun climbing. And she is way too proud of her accomplishments!

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This kiddo keeps me on my toes, but she has made my life so much more fun than it ever was before. (And my idea of “fun” includes catching her upside down mid-tumble when she decides to try walking down stairs like an adult and breaking her fall when she tries to stand on the seat of her riding toy)

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It’s also a humbling stage, since she has begun mimicking things she sees me do. It’s such an eye-opening experience to have a miniature human copying your habits. It certainly is teaching me to be more thoughtful about the things I say and do. If I want to raise a gentle, gracious, and godly child, then I better be a gentle, gracious, and godly example.

It truly is amazing what God teaches you through children. He has taught me so much about pure, simple JOY. Life is so much simpler and happier through the eyes of a child. By experiencing such intense love for my child, I have begun to better understand His love for me, and that is a powerful thing. He has also taught me quite a bit about surrender. As a mama, I want nothing more than to keep my baby safe. But there is so much that is outside of my control. That’s when I need to surrender my child and her needs to God, because I recognize my own inability to be “perfect” and protect her from everything.

This post has turned out much more sentimental than I intended. 🙂 Suffice it to say that I love my daughter, and I think she is the most fun kiddo around!

Enjoy your weekend!

 

For Your Viewing Pleasure

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Need a mid-week boost? I’ve got your fix right here- a whole blog post of adorable puppies, complete with oversized paws and disproportionately huge, floppy ears.

Take a deep breath and enjoy.

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Now that the weather has been relatively reasonable, the puppies have moved to our outdoor pen, and they are LOVING it! We have two puppy pens- one in our house and one outside at our shed. All of our litters are born in the house and spend their first bit inside. Then, depending on the size of the litter and the time of year, they sometimes get moved outside for the last few weeks. This litter outgrew the pen in our house, and they have been thoroughly enjoying the extra space outside. Our outdoor pen gives them access to a large wood chipped play area, as well as a cozy indoor section in our shed. The inside part of their pen has their bed and is kept at a cozy 70 degrees. It’s perfect for larger litters like this! The puppies still get to come inside our house on a regular basis while we work on socializing and crate training.

I tried to get a snapshot of each of the puppies while we played in the yard this afternoon. Some were better photo subjects than others.

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Gauge chewing on a piece of rope.

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Dakota stealing a piece of bark.

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Scout and Reese playing on our dirt pile. What is it with kids and puppies and dirt?

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Flush checking out the chickens. (Maggie the chicken is clearly plotting his demise.)

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April trying to figure out how to get in to the chickens.

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Robin. Unfortunately I was a couple of seconds too late to catch a chicken pecking her on the nose. It obviously didn’t phase her, though.

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Brook practicing her downward dog pose.

The best part of this puppy stage is their EARS! I mean, who doesn’t just love these huge, floppy ears?

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The puppies are so playful now, and they never seem to get done wrestling, chewing, and running. It’s a good thing they are soon heading off to their new homes. All the energy drives me crazy, and I lose a little bit more of my sanity every day. But, I also fall just a little bit more in love with them every day. If they stay too much longer, I’ll decide to keep every single one of them no matter how crazy they make me. 🙂

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April and Brook chewing on a stick

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April playing with my towels hanging on the washline

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Robin & April

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Gauge & Dakota

I hope all the adorableness in this post helped cheer up your Wednesday.  Have a great rest of the week!

 

Munchy Monday: Life’s Abundance Ear Care Formula

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Okay, so maybe this Munchy Monday post isn’t so “munchy,” but it’s still about a great Life’s Abundance product. 🙂

Say hello to Life’s Abundance Ear Care Formula!EarCare

This ear cleaner is gentle and soothing, and it helps to make ear cleaning a less traumatizing experience- for my dogs, anyway! It cleans the ears and eliminates odor without any painful stinging! It is also made in the USA. The two first ingredients are water and Aloe Vera, which helps show how gentle this cleaner is. There are also numerous plant extracts included in the formula to create a safe and soothing cleaner.

All of our dogs have floppy ears, which makes them more prone to ear infections. The two main ways to prevent ear infections is to, first, have a good diet to help their immune system; and secondly, keep the ears clean.

There are a lot of great ear cleaners out there. One of the brands I have used a lot in the past (and still do use some) is Epi-Otic. Epi-Otic is a great cleaner, and it certainly gets the job done! However, it is strong. My dogs HATE it. It smells strong; and based on their reaction, I think it stings. When I switched to the Life’s Abundance ear cleaner, I noticed that they didn’t give such a dramatic reaction. In fact, they hardly fight it at all. It obviously feels much better in their ears. And that’s what I love about it. It’s so gentle, but yet very effective.

Now, keep in mind, prevention is best when it comes to your dog’s ears. I like to use Life’s Abundance Ear Care Formula as my regular weekly ear cleaning solution. Whether or not my dogs’ ears look dirty, I try to clean them on a regular basis to prevent any build-up.

To properly clean your dog’s ears, begin by shaking the bottle well. Gently apply enough drops into the ear canal so that it is moistened. Massage the base of the ear canal to help loosen wax. Remove the liquid, dissolved wax, and dirt with cotton or facial tissue. Clean the applicator tip thoroughly after each use. Do not use cotton swabs or insert pointed objects into the ear.

If build-up has occurred or you’re suspicious an infection may be brewing, Life’s Abundance Ear Care Formula can be used twice a day for 4-5 days. However, if the ear still looks dirty or irritated, your dog may need something stronger or even some antibiotics to clear it up.

If your pup needs something to keep his or her ears clean, you may want to give Life’s Abundance Ear Care Formula a try. Here’s to happy ears and happy pups!


Interested in ordering? You can order from the Life’s Abundance site. When ordering through our page, you should see Kristen’s Happy Tails listed at the top of the page as the Field Rep. If I am not listed as your representative, please mention my ID number when you place your first order- 20552921. As your representative, I am able to help you determine what products are right for your pet and answer any questions you may have.

Puppy Update!

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I’m pretty sure each litter we have grows faster than the previous one. Our sweet setter pups are already nearing five weeks old! These sweet red babies are becoming so energetic and fun! They still sleep a lot, but they are slowly demanding more and more attention and interaction. It’s such a fun time!

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Here is a recap of the last two weeks.

  1. The puppies are beginning the weaning process. Yay! At this point, the care of the puppies slowly shifts from Mama Duchess to me. In the last weeks, I have been caring for Duchess, providing clean bedding, and monitoring the puppies’ growth. Other than that, Duchess has done the rest. As the puppies begin to wean and become more independent, I’ll take over a lot of the care- feeding, cleaning, training, socializing, etc. This is where my work truly begins! I always start the puppies off with raw goat milk with a little bit of softened and mashed kibble. Goat milk is a really amazing thing! I’ve heard it called the “universal milk replacer.” Many kinds of animals are able to digest and live off goat milk. It’s much gentler on the digestive system than cow milk. When bottle feeding a puppy, I chose to use raw goat milk over store bought puppy formula, because it’s easy to digest and it contains good bacteria that a store-bought formula would not have. To help puppies learn to eat solid food, I soak kibble in goat milk for the first while. They love the taste, and the liquid is easy for them to lap up while they practice chewing the harder kibble. This insures that the even the puppies that are a bit slower at picking up the chewing part are getting plenty of fat, protein, and nutrients. It also helps keep them hydrated as they transition off of mama’s milk.
  2. Socializing also starts at this age. I am trying something new with this litter. I found a playlist of videos on YouTube specifically for desensitizing dogs to noises. Each video focuses on certain sounds, like rain and thunder, cars and trucks, vacuums and household noises, fireworks, crying babies, and other noises that dogs may find frightening. The idea is that if you play these kinds of sounds at a low volume it helps to get them used to it, making it less likely for them to startle or be frightened when they experience these sounds in real life. So for an hour or two a day, I am playing some of these sounds tracks to help get the puppies used to a variety of different noises.
  3. We are working hard on potty training. Right now, the puppies do excellent with not peeing on their bed, but they still often pee anywhere in their play area. I’m trying to get them to use a certain area for bathroom needs, so that the play area stays dry and clean. That’s going to take a few more days of messy work, but we will get there!
  4. The puppies got the chance to venture into the great outdoors for the first time this week. They were THRILLED! However, the weather has turned cold and snowy again, so it will be a few days until the puppies are able to go outside again.img_1345img_1334img_1354img_1360
  5. Remember the little sweetheart with the torn ear? That was April. This is what her ear looks like now.

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If you look closely, you can tell her ear is not quite perfect. The stitches only stayed in a day or two, but the glue the vet also put on held fairly well. The end result is an ear that is MUCH better than it was right after birth, but not totally perfect. The back of her ear has a slightly uneven edge. However, as the feathering comes in on her ear, I don’t think it will be very visible (if at all) as an adult. Even now, if you didn’t know anything was wrong, you would never notice. At any rate, I am very pleased with how her ear healed.

Other than that, we have just been playing with the puppies and enjoying the brief time we get to spend with them! Five of the seven puppies have homes, which is so exciting! We still have two boys that are available. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I hope all of my north-eastern friends are enjoying the snow!

 

Two Weeks Old

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Happy Monday, everyone! Duchess’s puppies hit the two week milestone over the weekend. It always feels so good to reach this point, because the puppies are much bigger and stronger. I feel really good about how they are all doing!

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After seeing this litter of puppies from Duchess and Timber, it makes me realize how incredible it was that her first litter survived! Her first litter was 11 puppies, with one puppy that had died in utero. That dead puppy prompted labor to begin several days early, so those puppies were much smaller. It’s really amazing that they all survived.

This time around, the puppies were all large at birth and have steadily gained since then. I have one puppy that is a bit smaller than the others, but I certainly wouldn’t call him a runt.

Duchess, also, has been doing very well! Irish Setters are thin, lean dogs to begin with, and nursing mothers can sometimes become more thin than usual as their bodies put extra effort into making milk. However, Duchess is looking great! She was a bit thin the days directly following birth, which is very normal; but she has filled out beautifully since then. She makes caring for seven babies look like a breeze! She is soaking in some extra snuggles from us and enjoying getting some eggs as her “mommy snacks.” This momma is very spoiled! I’m pretty sure she thinks she really is a royal duchess!

Over the weekend, I expanded the puppies’ pen to give them a space to go to the bathroom. It amazes me how much sooner our Irish Setter puppies are ready for potty training in comparison to our Mini Goldendoodles. As soon as our setter puppies have their eyes open, they are on the MOVE. They are ready for more space and ready to begin potty training almost a whole week earlier than Mia’s puppies. It’s so interesting to see these differences in breed temperaments even in puppies so young! In another week or so, we will add on a large play area for them, as well.

I hope you all have a great week! Enjoy these sweet faces as you finish out your Monday!

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Duchess’s Puppies

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What an exciting day! We are excited to announce the arrival of seven beautiful Irish Setter puppies! It’s a smaller litter than she had last time, but the puppies are significantly larger. In fact, the smallest puppy from this litter is the same size as the biggest puppy from the last litter. And the biggest puppy from this litter weighs over a pound! That’s a big puppy! (Mia’s puppies usually weigh around half a pound. Duchess puppies averaged 9-10 ounces last litter.)

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Duchess was very kind to me and decided to have her puppies during the day, which was GREAT! With another delivery under my belt, I gained a few new experiences. With each litter, I seem to pick up valuable nuggets of information and experience. Sometimes those nuggets come from good experiences and some not so good. Every litter is different and presents its own unique challenges.

So here’s how my day went.

Yesterday (Thursday), I charted a temperature drop for Duchess, so I knew we would see puppies sometime in the next 24 hours. I checked on her a few times during the night, but she was pretty calm and relaxed.

Morning came, and with it, some encouraging signs. As the morning progressed, Duchess became more and more restless. Pacing, panting, digging, nesting, and frequent bathroom trips.

Her first puppy was born shortly before 11am. She quickly and steadily birthed five more by 12:30. Then things paused for a bit, which isn’t unusual. I was fairly certain she wasn’t finished, though.

Around 1:00 she began pushing. Typically, I see her push for just a few minutes and then a sac presents. Once I see can see the puppy, it’s usually out within seconds. Duchess doesn’t waste time. However, this time, Duchess kept pushing for almost half an hour with no signs of a puppy. (Thirty minutes is the textbook time frame for delivering a puppy. After thirty minutes of pushing, it’s time to call your vet.) I had given her a few doses of liquid calcium in the last two hours, which helps for strong contractions; but she was still struggling. She started to get very agitated. She left her puppies and began pacing and whining.

I was getting very nervous. I called my sister, who breeds Miniature Schnauzers, because I knew she has had some similar experiences. While on the phone, I saw back feet. The puppy was no longer in it’s sack. Both of these things are normal. Puppies are frequently born back feet first, and it’s not unusual for the sack to break before a puppy is totally born. But when those two things are combined, you need to be watchful. If a puppy is breech with a broken sack, it may drown before it’s born. Those puppies should be delivered quickly.

But this puppy, for some reason, was stuck. Duchess kept pushing, but the puppy wouldn’t budge. So far in this entire delivery, I had not done anything except watch. But this little pup was stuck, and mama was clearly distressed. The puppy was out almost up to its hips. I grabbed the legs and gently pulled during the next couple contractions. And just like that, the pup was out.

But Duchess was too agitated to care for her, and she was more concerned about getting back to her other puppies. This little one wasn’t breathing, which wasn’t a surprise considering her prolonged birth. I spent the next few minutes vigorously rubbing her with a towel and suctioning her airways clear of fluid. She began moving almost right away, and soon started some weak gasps. After a couple minutes, she began squealing- LOUDLY. She wanted to let the world know that she did not appreciate her traumatic arrival. I was so happy to hear those angry squeals.

Would have this puppy died without my intervention? Maybe not, but my help certainly increased her odds of survival. Sometimes, healthy puppies are lost in whelping, because of small problems like this. Duchess almost certainly would have eventually gotten this puppy out by herself, but it may not have been soon enough for the puppy. That’s just how nature works sometimes. But, fortunately, I was able to lend nature a hand. With just a little bit of extra help, this little pup seems to be doing well.

Things quieted down after that, and Duchess has been contentedly caring for her babies since.

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We did have one more little blip, though. Once Duchess was calm and settled after whelping, I began weighing and identifying each of the puppies. As I did that, I noticed one of them had a torn, bloody ear!

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The picture isn’t very clear, but she had a deep tear at the base of her ear. It was bad enough, I was afraid it may tear off completely if I just let it go. (Birth is tough for these little guys!) So off to the vet we went for a couple of stitches and a little glue. I’m hoping Duchess doesn’t bother the stitches! As long as the stitches stay in, the ear should heal nicely.

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All in all, it was a good day, and we are praising God for our seven beautiful puppies! Have a good weekend, everyone!

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