Santana litter #2

Note: All puppies have been placed

Litter delivered by c-section: October 10, 2023

Number of puppies: 2 males, 3 females

Sire: Ch. TreeNSea Don't Tread on Gilbert of Brush Creek  "Gilbert"

Dam: Shadetree's Black Magic Woman for Suma "Santana"

Breeder:  Brigitte Rhinehart

Registered names: Brush Creek's U... of Shadetree

Release date: Starting December 5, 2023

Comment:  We were very pleased with Santana's first litter with Gilbert so we decided to repeat the breeding and on October 10, 5 healty lively puppies were delivered by c-section.
As previously, Santana is an excellent mom and after her milk started to come in fully after about 3 days, the babies really started to put on weight nicely.

Update 10-17-23: At one week, the puppies now weigh on average about 27.5oz. up from about 16oz at birth. They are quite active and already move around easily and always doted on by mom Santana.

Update 10-24-23:  The puppies are 2 weeks old today and are doing great, their average weight now is around 3.2lbs. Their eyes are starting to open and their moving around is changing from crawling to a wobbly walk.
As always at 2 weeks, the puppies got their first round of biweekly dose of dewormer. All puppies are born with roundworm passed on by the mother while they are in the womb, these parasites have a quite intriguing life cycle Roundworm in puppies and dogs

Update 10-31-23:  The puppies are 3 weeks old today and growing rapidly, the average weight is about 4.7lbs. Their eyes are fully open and they are pretty secure now on their legs. While mom still lies down most of the time to feed them, they are now moving around so much that she has started to simply sit and let them nurse. This way, she avoids to accidentally laying on a baby while trying to lie down.

Update 11-7-23:  One month and growing! A couple of days ago, we opened up the whelpiing box and the puppies now can use the entire laundry room, mom Santana is camping out in the hallway.
With an average weight of about 6.2lbs, the time has come for changing the food source. We start with a mush of baby rice and milk replacer and gradually switch to soaked puppy kibble. They are adjusting really  well to getting their bellies full by eating soft food out of a bowl instead of just nursing on mom. By the time they are 5 weeks old, they will be fully weaned and the nursing phase will be over.

Update 11-14-23:  On their 5-week birthday, the puppies said goodbye to mom and traveled the 30 miles to the home of our longtime Swissy friend Jessica in Marshfield MO where they will stay until they start to leave on November 8.
Jessica has been raising our puppies starting at about 4 to 6 weeks for the past several years. She has an excellent setup for puppies once they are weaned, with lots of interesting toys to keep them busy. When the weather permits, they also spend time outside.
We will have more pictures about their new home in the next few days.

Update 11-21=23:  The puppies have settlied in very nicely in their new surroundings and have adjusted to the different sleeping, eating and playing schedule. They are having a lot of fun with the many toys and are learning new things every day.
We continue our deworming program, they got their 2nd dose of Toltrazuril against coccidia and are now on a 5-day treatment with Fenbendazole to treat Giardia, this wormer is also effective against intestinal parasites such as the ubiquitous roundworms and others.

Update 11-28-23:  Today, the puppies passed the 7 week mark. Weather permitting, they often spend time outside, this helps them to get used to different surroundings and surfaces like grass. They love to chase each other and chew on the dry leaves and small sticks.
Like always around 7 weeks, the puppies get the first of 3 puppy vaccinations and get microchipped. The chip syringe has a fairly large needle but most puppies don't even flinch when it is inserted under the skin between the shoulders and the lower neck area.

Final update 12-26-23: The last puppy, Ms Purple aka Quinn, joined her new family on December 17, Mr Red aka Ueli, is staying with us.
We wish all of the Santana-Gilbert puppy families the very best and many years of joy, fun and wonderful companionship with their new Swissy family member.