Nine New Faces!
On September 15th Tequila, one of our main leaders, gave birth to a whopping nine puppies, five male and four female.We were not too surprised by this large litter, as Tequila was the largest dam we have ever experienced.She delivered all puppies without a hitch in about 4 1/2 hours.Once again our bathroom was turned into the "maternity ward" for the event!The puppies are now three weeks old and are still living in our bathroom with mum by their side and grandpa Percy keeping a close eye on things!Tequila is Percy's daughter. Tequila was bred to Bailey, who arrived on the scene a couple of years ago (son of Casey & Denali).Bailey is proving to be an outstanding sled dog in all respects.He has a wonderful conformation, an insatiable desire to pull, a great coat and tail and a keen appetite!So far, the puppies are showing that they have inherited these genes.
The puppies weighed between 250g and 600g at birth: seven between 450g and 600g and two between 250g and 300g.We are thrilled to report that the little ones are thriving and have no problem climbing up and over their siblings to get to mum at feeding time!They all doubled their weight in eight days and continue to grow like weeds.Their eyes started opening at 14 days and by 16 days all were looking around and taking in their new world.Every day is a new adventure for our little friends.We find it hard to get any work done because they are so entertaining as they discover new abilities (like sucking on each other's faces, belly flopping onto each other while the other is sleeping, and planning sneak attacks on unsuspecting tails).
On October 4th, they discovered how to howl.The yard was singing their "good morning" howl and when they stopped, the puppies tried to sing back!Now that their personalities are developing, we are in the process of naming.It seemed only fitting that with Tequila and Bailey as parents, their offspring should be named after fine wines!So far the largest of the pups, a bold and spirited female, is looking like a good Chianti!
The puppies and Tequila will move into our newly renovated puppy pen at about one month of age.The new pen has a wooden floor and permanent roof to keep out the elements.We hope that you enjoy the puppy pictures, we are excited to share the newest members of our family with you!
