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This page was developed to document whelping, puppy development, and to show what we do with puppies whelped here at Aldebaran Labradors. Puppies change so fast!
Bella's Puppies (born 2/17/03)
"Bella" is Int CH Aldebarans Rockin Belladonna WC CGC (now owned by Steve & Jan Korn) The sire of the litter is.......Am/Can CH Skyfire's Oughta Be A Law JH CD WC To see the stud and his pedigree visit http://www.skyfirelabs.com
Pictures of the big event and our upcoming stars:
"Bella at 5 1/2 weeks along" (1/27/03)
"Bella getting ready to whelp" (2/17/03) Before she whelped, Bella measured 361/2 inches around her belly and she only cleared the ground by 8 inches. Bella was huge! Beginning on Sunday we kept a 24 hour watch until she finished whelping Monday night. She had company for most of the night, getting assistance with whatever she desired. She really was the Queen of the house. She did a fantastic job whelping her pups. She is a great Mother and we are so proud of her and her puppies. Her litter consists of 2 black females, 1 black male, 1 chocolate female, and 5 chocolate males.
"All lined up for dinner" (2/17/03) At birth, all pups were assigned different color rickrack collars. I assign the color depending upon the order in which they were born. The colors are set out according to the spectrum: red (first born), orange (second born), then yellow, green, dark blue, light blue (which was changed to multicolored for easier identification), violet, and pink. The ninth one is sparkle. The pups are growing so fast that currently I have to resize their collars each day. Once the pups get older, I will microchip them for permanent identification. Birth weights ranged from 141/2 oz to 17 oz. They are gaining approximately 1-2 oz. per day! For the first week I will take weights daily to be sure all pups are growing well. At two weeks, I will weigh the pups twice a week, then eventually just once a week.
"Sparkle being weighed on day 5" (2/22/03)
"Too pooped to party" (2/18/03)
Day 1 (2/18/03): Click on the pictures below to enlarge.....
"Red (female), Orange (male), Yellow (male), and Green (female)"
"Dark blue (male), Light blue/multi (male), and Purple (male)"
"Pink (female) & Sparkle (male)
Day 2 (2/19/03)
"Red and Green sleeping"
Day 3 (2/20/03)
"Bella and family"
"Lt. blue/Multi with Momma"
Day 4 (2/21/03) The pups had their dewclaws removed today. Once the growth buds were removed, the skin was glued shut, allowing very little bleeding. It was a big day for the little guys.
Click on the pictures below to enlarge....
"Pile of pups, Pink on her back, Multi sleeping, and Puppy feet"
Day 5 (2/22/03)
"Bella's new blanket"
Puppies on Day 5 Click on the pictures below to enlarge.....
"Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green"
"Dark blue, Multi/lt. blue, and Purple"
"Pink and Sparkle"
"Basket full of fun!"
Day 6 (2/23/03)
"Bella with the luck of the Irish!"
"Red on top"
Day 7 (2/24/03)
"More pictures?"
"We are 1 week old!" "All together now, let's sing!" Click on the pictures below to enlarge.....
"Red, Yellow, Orange, and Green"
"Dark blue, Multi/lt. blue, and Purple"
"Pink and Sparkle"
"Pink nursing, Green and Ron, Sparkle's back feet, and Yellow sleeping"
Day 9 (2/26/03) Two videos of Bella and her pups. Turn up the volume on your speakers to hear the pups! To watch the videos you will need to click on the link noted below. Windows media player will appear to the left of your screen and the video will play. At the bottom right of the video you will see a button (looks like a box with an arrow pointed up and to the right) which says undock player when you put your cursor over it. If you click on this it will enlarge the picture slightly and place it on the center of your screen. This is really the best way to view the video. Unfortunately, on my computer all I get are the sounds and no the picture. Hopefully you will get the picture. I tried it on another computer and it appeared to work. Please email me at aldebaranlabs@charter.net if you can't get a picture. Click to view the video
Watch as the pups nurse and Bella gets to cleaning them up. I love this video because it shows how active the pups are. The whole time they nurse they are fighting for pole position! Close to the end of the video, Sparkle gets rolled because of Bella was doing such a thorough job of cleaning him up! It is amazing that they sound a lot like newborn human babies. It is no wonder why dogs are so curious and protective of children.
Are you ready for another video? Click to view the video
This clip is very dark but the audio made it worth keeping. Just close your eyes and listen. Don't you just want to reach out and touch them?
Day 12 (3/1/03) The very first video clips we took were on day 9. It was a two person job, using three 60 watt bulbs directed at the litter. Clips taken today were done by little ol' me with no help from the Ronster. It is difficult to get the pictures light enough so you'll just have to hang in there with me and focus on the contrast the white background provides. "A breeders gotta do what a breeders gotta do!" Sometimes the picture just HAS to be taken! After all, we are on puppy time......
Another video........ Bella is sleeping while the pups are having lunch. Click to view the video
This is a close-up of the pups nursing. You will see the collars of Orange, then Red, and finally Pink. Watch for Pink's little legs and feet under Bella's front legs.
"Yellow and Purple with a tug"
A video of Yellow and Purple, Green and Sparkle next to the tug.... Click to view the video
This video shows the pups crawling. Notice how they are primarily using their front legs to crawl. The back legs are currently jut used to assist the front legs. The tug is a large size and gives you an idea of scale. Notice Purple is having puppy dreams and his back feet are twitching!
"Sweet dreams Purple"
Video of Yellow and Purple, Green and Sparkle, then the remainder of pups nursing..... (The last part of the video is dark but oh well) Click to view the video
Bella is groaning at the beginning of this clip. After all, it is a BIG job taking care of all those puppies! This is one of my favorite videos. I began with taking a video of Yellow and Purple then moved to Sparkle and Green. Moving slowly I panned to the rest of the litter nursing. "I'm no Martin Scorsese, but I have to admit these videos are better than a stick drawings (when they work) and the audios are better than my imitations!"
Day 13 (3/2/03)
"Another fine day at home"
"Chocolates at the milk bar"
Click on the pictures below to enlarge.... "Spotlight at the bar, Little bears......Red, Sparkle, and Green, and Which way is up?"
Day 14 (3/3/03)
"Bella....beauty"
"Two weeks!"
Puppies at 2 weeks old with their eyes opening! Click on the pictures below to enlarge....
"Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green"
"Dark Blue, Multi/lt. blue, and Purple"
"Pink and Sparkle"
Day 17 (03/06/03) The next four pictures explain the exercises these pups have been put through between the age of 3 days and 16 days. These exercises are part of the "Super Puppy" program, also known as the "Bio Sensor" program, designed by the U.S. Military for development of early neurological behaviors in puppies to be used in their canine programs. These exercises expose the pups to small stressors which have been shown to have the following five benefits: a) improved cardio-vascular system, b) stronger heart beat, c) stronger adrenal glands, d) more tolerance to stress, and e) greater resistance to disease. The idea is to do this when they are developing so they will be able to cope with stressors better as adults. Please see Dr. Carmen Battaglia's site for more information regarding this program. The link to his site and the article on the Super Puppy program is: http://breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html
The exercise program: I'd like to thank Red for demonstrating what it takes to be a Super Puppy!
1) Tickle pups toes for 3-5 seconds.
2) Hold pup vertical for 3-5 seconds.
3) Hold pup horizontal with head pointed down for 3-5 seconds.
4) Hold pup on it's back for 3-5 seconds.
5) Refrigerate a washcloth for 5 min. Place the pup on the washcloth and allow it to move off, if it can. Only allow the pup on the washcloth for 3-5 seconds. I never did do this because I usually exercised the pups last thing before bed, and forgot about it until I was already through with the first 4 exercises. By then, my attitude was usually, "Oh, well."
Development: It is interesting to watch these little guys grow. One day they have long bodies and little legs, and the next day their legs have grown. Notice in the picture below how short Sparkle's legs appear in comparison to his body length.
"Sparkle, still growing legs"
"Green sleeping on her back"
"Orange sleeping over Bella's front leg"
Day 18 (3/7/03) Today was a video day. To see the video clip of pups scrambling to find Bella click here
To see the video clip of wobbly puppies click here
Day 21 (3/10/03)
"Three weeks down...five to go. Hasn't anyone other than me noticed these little buggers have sprouted teeth? Could you please feed them some food NOW?" All the pups now have little teeth, both uppers and lowers, front and back.
3 weeks old Click on the pictures below to enlarge....
"Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green"
"Dark blue, Multi/lt. blue, and Purple"
"Pink and Sparkle"
"Pups sleeping off their first slurry of food"
To see a video of the puppies first meal click here
Another video of puppies trying to figure out where the food is click here
"Green at the trough"
Now that the pups have teeth, Bella is careful when she nurses and often
does it standing up. This way she can take off, out of the whelping box if it gets
to be too much for her. To watch a video clip of Bella nursing
click here
Click on the pictures below to enlarge... "Green dozing off after a big meal and Green waking from a nap."
Day 22 (03/11/03)
"Cleaning up after supper"
Day 25 (03/14/03)
"The gang"
Day 26 (03/15/03)
"All around the dinner table" Click here to see the puppies in action
Click on the pictures below to enlarge...
"Tugs are fun and a bone can make a good pillow!"
4 Weeks (3/17/03)
"Red and Orange"
"Yellow and Green"
"Dark Blue and Multi/lt. blue"
"Purple and Pink"
"Sparkle"
Development: The pups have been learning to give pain and feel pain. It is very important we allow them to experiment with this because it isn't until they are able to link bite, pain, and yelp that they then cease hard biting. Some might think allowing them to hurt each other is brutal. Life in the den is brutal. In the wild, the Mother is often off hunting and the pups have to learn this on their own. In the following clip note how the pup doing the biting ends up being surrounded by other pups ready to give him his due. To see a
video clip of them learning this lesson click here
"Nose to nose"
"I got you! No, I got you!"
To see a 60 sec video clip of the pups eating, click here
Happy St. Patrick's Day! The pups have their official "Luck of the Irish" blanket to commemorate this holiday.
"We've been upgraded from newspaper to chips! Lets eat!"
For more video clips, click below:
Today was a big day for the world. To see the pups and listen to President Bush's radio announcement click here
"Sparkle weighs 5 lbs! and Orange is sleepy"
4 1/2 weeks (3/20/03)
"No way am I going to lay down for this!"
"Manners everyone!"
Day 33 (3/22/03)
"The things I do for these pups."
To see move video clips click on the following:
"I want the wing!!!!!!" "Bella looking in on the pups"
5 weeks! (3/24/03)
"Red and Orange"
"Yellow and Green"
"Dark Blue and Multi/Light blue"
"Purple and Pink"
"Sparkle"
Other puppy pictures! "Ready to sleep, Red and Pink"
Day 37 (3/26/03)
"Multi after his dewclaw removal"
"Follow me Red, this is the way out," says Purple. "Orange contemplating his rough life"
Behavior: Meal time is always a free-for-all. The pups end up with food all over the place! Fortunately, there is always a pup around to clean up the leftovers.
"Pink getting cleaned up and Purple looking satisfied"
"I didn't eat it. You can't prove it!"
Day 40 (3/29/03) It was such a nice day today I decided to set up the playpen for the pups. Here in Walla Walla it was 74 degrees fahrenheit! It did not seem too warm to me but the pups were panting as you will see in the video clips taken today. In addition, all the excitement wore the pups out! They had a blast and enjoyed their new environment. "Life is rough here on the ranch. The pups get their own sun shade. All-in-all, they just adored being outside"
Training: We began crate training today. By leaving a crate with no door in the pen, they can investigate on their own time. This technique allows the pups to think it was their idea to use the crate. This is the easy way to train! Some people believe crates are inhumane but as you can see below, the pups actually chose to sleep in them. The crate is like a den to the pups and at times there were three pups in the crate shown below. Noticing the small crate was often packed with pups, I ended up placing the extra-large crate in the pen so more pups could enjoy it!
"Naptime for all" "Crate training for Pink and Orange"
"Red at the door and Pink in the hall" "Pink waking from a nap"
Training: To see video clips of pups parading a duck
wing and a grouse tail around click here and here and here
Now for all the pups.... click here and here
To see Bella feeding her pups click here
How fun are puppies? Just ask Tyler and Chad! Click here to see the
fun
"Wow did we have fun! We're pooped!"
"Red, Yellow, and Multi napping." "Purple and Sparkle snoozing."
"Sparkle sleeping on Purple"
"But I don't want it to be over!" howls Purple.
6 weeks! (3/31/03)
"Red and Orange"
"Yellow and Green"
"Dark Blue and Multi/Light Blue"
"Purple and PinK"
"Sparkle refusing to wake up"
Day 48 Today was a beautiful day. The pups had a blast playing with frozen birds today! To see the pups with birds click here
"Fun, Fun, Fun!" "Pink with Pheasant"
"Pups with Chukars"
"Sparkle with a duck!" "Dark Blue after a big hunt"
7 weeks!!!!!! Almost there! It is getting really challenging taking consistent pictures of the pups. Wiggle warts.
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Dark Blue
Multi/Lt blue
Purple
Pink
Sparkle
Day 52 (4/10/03) Today the pups had their eyes examined by Dr. Collier, a certified ophthalmologist. They all passed their CERF (Canine Eye Registration Foundation) exam. Today was also the first experience with riding in a crate in a truck. They whined, barked, and howled (you name it) all the way to the Tri-Cities, all the time there, and all the way back. They were exhausted by the time they got home. The pups were wormed, weighed and had their nails trimmed today.
Day 53 (4/11/03) Getting ready to take the pups to Oregon for evaluations. I spent most of the night getting "puppy binders" together to give to the new puppy owners. I will describe what is in the packets later. I had 2 hours of sleep before heading to the south and west of Portland for evaluations. Thank goodness my friend Sharon went with me. She really helped out a lot, especially making sure I stayed awake during the drive home.
8 weeks (4/14/03) Well, 8 weeks is here and it is time to see the pups go to their new homes. I will miss them. They received their first vaccinations before they went to their new homes along with a new bone and a binder which included Bella and Alibi's pedigrees, titles, clearances, as well as extra tips on puppy care.
"Red and Red!"
"Orange and his new owner Tim C." AKA: "Brooklyn"
"Yellow, Jason and Cameron B." AKA: "Winston"
"Green with Sally and Jim B." AKA "Sarah"
"Dark Blue with Kris and Dave L."
"Multi/Light blue and Ann with godmother Erin"
"Purple and Pink"
"Sparkle"
9 - 9 1/2 wks
"Red and the Ratchfords" AKA: "Abbey"
"Purple and Russ H." AKA: "Smalls"
12 1/2 weeks (5/16/03)
"Sparkle" also known as "Sherman The Tank"
May 18
"Sparkle's family, the Brookes!"
The puppies all have homes now so we will be able to devote more time to our own dogs. I bet they will be happy now!
And the last picture for this page will be "Ellie" also known as Pink!
"Aldebarans Eleanor Roosevelt" (now owned by Ed & Kristen Powell)
I hope you enjoyed this page as much as I enjoyed making it for you!
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