The “T” Litter of 2023 between Wyo Plainsman Kenobi NA I, UPT III, UT I “Obi” and Bluestem Peaches En Regalia NA I, UPT II, UT III arrived the morning of Saturday, July 29th. We had three live births and a few angel puppies. The live births were two boys and a girl.

On Sunday afternoon it became apparant that Ruth was rejecting one of the boys. He was cold to the touch no matter how much I tried to incubate him and whenever I tried to get him to latch, Ruth was pushing him away, even going so far as to pick him up and move him away from the others. I attempted to bottle feed him and keep him warm, but eventually let nature take its course and put him back with mom. I’ve seen other breeders attempt to hand raise rejected puppies, only to have to put them down for internal defects at 5-7 weeks old.

As much as we try for large, perfect litters (and I’ve been blessed with many in the past) we don’t always get those. I had a breeder friend this spring lose an entire litter to spontaneous abortion a week before the puppies were due, with no explanation.

So here’s the two “T” puppies today. It is difficult to get photos when they are young like this, where the mom is constantly cleaning and fussing over them.

Boy and girl puppies nursing
Ruth cleaning the girl
This is the majority of what goes on at this age: nursing and cleaning

We were scheduled to go to the vet this morning to have everyone looked over, but they pushed us back to tomorrow morning. Ruth will be examined for breeding clearance one more time prior to retirement. This time she’ll be paired with our young male from Iowa, Duke, who comes out of Coppershot bloodlines, to see if we get higher productivity. There is also a litter planned between Ruth’s younger sister, Sally, and Obi. But that’s to talk about another time, back to puppies.

I’ve had questions about the wood chips in the past. It is just what has always worked for me. They are absorbant, sanitary and easy to clean up a spot if they get soiled. Any time I have tried any sort of pads or fabric, the dam digs all around and ends up burying the pups and they get all tangled, which is unsafe. The female wants to spend most of the time quiet and alone with the pups, so if I’m worried about pups in fabric it is counterproductive.

That is not to say that I don’t spend a ton of time with the pups. I go down about every hour to make sure everyone is warm and where they are supposed to be. And of course Ruth needs feedings and potty breaks. Right now I have Ruth mostly eating canned puppy food since it is high nutrition and supplements the moisture from her drinking water so that she can produce milk.

She has plenty of good milk and her teats are all working. While the struggling third boy was alive she was pretty fussy, but now that is resolved she has settled down into the routine of being a mom. I’m not seeing any off-color discharge or feeling anything retained in her uterus, so I’m hoping for smooth sailing from here on out. Once the puppies hit the two-week mark on August 12 I will feel in the clear.

I’m going to be totally frank, having angel puppies and losing ones born alive completely sucks. I cry and pout. That’s why you’re just hearing from me now, I had to get all that out of my system and get Ruth, the puppies and I in a good place before I sat down to write. But these are the fires that forge animal breeders. At this point, we’re one of the longest consistent breeders of Wirehaired Pointing Griffons. In order to produce what we want in hunting dogs and to continue this passion project of ours, we have to push through the sorrow and aggravation.

In other news, Charles continues to train Obi for Invitational and Sally is signed up for a Utility Test in Virginia at the end of this month. We just did all of Sally’s health clearances and are waiting for the results to come back, Obi goes in for elbows and thyroid in a week, then everyone gets their eyes looked at by an ophthamologist in the middle of the month for the OFA certification. I have Duke’s K-Locus DNA coat test sitting on the dining room table. Never a dull moment around here.

So, I’ll check back in on the blog when the puppies are a week old, please keep us in your prayers for everyone’s continued health. Best wishes to everyone else out there with pups and training for tests. Email bluestemkennels@gmail.com with any questions.