I tried to line them up per color so you could see the differences. The two reds were born a dark dust color but their color is coming through and they look like they will be rich red like momma. 9 puppies, four girls and five boys. Four white, two brindle, one black brindle, two red.
The birth weights were lower than what we are used to in our litters – the smallest is generally more like 10 ounces with the largest to 16-17 ounces. The smaller puppy size, combined with Pippi’s statuesque physique is probably what led to such a text book whelping – we literally had not finished cleaning the previous puppy before she lifted her tail and shot another one at us. First puppy was born yesterday at 1:20 AM and last one at 5:30 AM – 9 puppies in about 4 hours.
Of course we love that some of the puppies gained weight in the first 24 hours, but weight gain in the first 24 hours is a bonus. We would expect to see the puppies maintain their weight or even lose a little in the first 24 hours. A combination of the stress at birth and the nutritional composition of colostrum means that some puppies will not gain weight the first day. Pippi’s real milk should come in within the next 24 hours, so for the non-weight gaining puppies (the three littlest ones) we expect to see some gain by tomorrow. We expect to have to supplement the litter because of the number of puppies, and we may start doing this sooner rather than later if the wee ones don’t have significant gain in the next 12 hours.
In any event, if we don’t see any weight gain by three days old, that’s a major cause for concern. We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it, but not gaining weight in the first three days can be a sign of low immunoglobulin levels which associated with high neonatal mortality rate. You can read more about this and possible remedies in my article on fading puppies: http://puppyculture.com/fading-puppy-syndrome.html
Pippi is an outstanding mother and she’s getting the hang of this motherhood thing very quickly. She has her moments of panic and confusion, but we’re very encouraged by the fact that she seems to learn quickly. She’s gotten over having to stare at them every moment to make sure they’re still there, and she will voluntarily get up and go outside to potty. She’s even appears to be learning how to move the puppies around with her nose which is very unusual for a Bull Terrier. Baby steps :o).
Postscript On The Headlamp
Referenced Courses and Titles
26 Comments
L Mutch
8/12/2015 07:26:35 am
I love puppy culture!!!
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 01:45:51 am
Thanks! We're really looking forward to raising this litter and doing lots of new video!
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8/12/2015 07:47:31 am
Love seeing your puppies. My brother had a Bull Terrier 40 yrs ago. No one will ever forget Miss Emma . I see you are going to do Early scent introduction. This is my second litter doing that . Rosebud does scent work and is very good at it. She has a knack for finding money. ( not enough to pay for handlers ) . LOL
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 01:51:10 am
Hi Francine, yes, Bull Terriers tend to be unforgettable ;o). We're not doing the early scent introduction (the one done on neonates) on this litter. We're actually going to be doing some early scent training with the puppies - one of our co-owners is a tracking instructor and we have another interested in nosework so we're going to collaborate on an active enrichment and training program for 4-12 week old puppies. Look for updates, it's going to be lots of fun and, based on our early work with the Communication Trinity, we feel it could wind up being super effective!
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Karen Herndon
8/12/2015 08:22:09 am
Looking forward to watching this beautiful litter grow and thrive with the Puppy Culture experience.
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 02:11:48 am
Looking forward to having you with us for the journey!
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 01:58:43 am
Karen, thanks! So excited about this litter! Just to clarify, we're not doing early scent introduction this time around - we're going to be doing some early scent enrichment and training beginning around 4 weeks old - going to be fun and interesting and we will see how much difference it makes :o).
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8/12/2015 09:14:27 am
Lovely, lovely litter. I am looking forward to following, especially since I have a Lab litter due next week. My Dad had a Bull Terrier as a kid, and I have always admired the breed.
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 02:15:06 am
Susan, thank you! We're quite excited about the puppies and looking forward to hearing about yours - if you're following the Puppy Culture program with your litter, be sure to join and post on our Facebook Discussion group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/383694245140783/. Even if you have not yet seen the film, you're welcome to join and watch the other litters grow :o).
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Susan Lejonhud
8/13/2015 03:20:07 am
Thank you for the invite! I just ordered the DVD set yesterday, so yes, I will be following Puppy Culture with this litter! My plans are to keep a pup for myself, so I am excited to start her right. As a teenager I used to show in obedience, and I would like to get back into that now that my four kids are grown, so this is perfect timing for me.
cheryl
8/12/2015 09:19:36 am
This is lovely- you sharing those adorable puppies with us and providing new information. I'm excited to find out what happens with regards to early scent work with puppies. I have just completed an intro k9 Nosework class with my 8-year old lab & we enjoyed it so much, we're signed up for the next session.
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 02:02:56 am
Cheryl, thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed the information. I learn somethign new every day and I love sharing with others! Yes, Nosework is SO popular! While Bull Terrier owners rarely are interested in performance sports (there has only been ONE TD title on a Bull Terrier, ever) Nosework is something that even Bull Terrier owners want to try ;o). Not doing the neonatal scent introduction this time - going to be putting together an early training and enrichment program which includes scent work. Stay tuned, it's going to be fun!
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I am really enjoying your recent blog on this wonderful new Pippi litter. I find your information and story telling so wonderful and I wake up each morning looking forward to catching up on events from over night (I'm in Australia)
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 02:04:30 am
This is so great to hear - love that we are reaching people all over the world and it makes us feel great that we bring a spot of happiness into so many people's lives each day :o).
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Thank you for sharing such wonderful information. Your dogs are beautiful and your experiences have helped me beyond what I ever could have imagined. With just the first blog about this litter you have given me information on ways to identify my puppies with the food coloring. Thank you
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 02:06:28 am
Thank YOU for writing in and letting us know the information helped! As with just about everything in the dog business, there's a tremendous amount of wisdom that's scattered across the minds of breeders around the world. We try to pick up that information and put it in one place so people have easy access to it - hope you get more and more from our blog!
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wendy Evans
8/13/2015 04:41:01 am
Great stuff
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Jane Killion
8/13/2015 09:48:12 am
Thanks!
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Phyllis
8/13/2015 05:24:19 am
I love the idea of food coloring to identify puppies. Just bred my sheltie last week, her first litter, my first litter in 9 years. I am rusty so really look forward to your blog. Informative & fun.
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Jane Lindquist
8/13/2015 09:47:52 am
Thanks for the compliment and good luck with your litter!
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Chris Mason, CNWI
8/18/2015 04:05:37 am
Jane, you are right not to introduce any un-natural scent training to babies. Everyone needs to remember that these beautiful puppies were BORN using their nose. All we need to do is to allow them to continue to learn how to navigate their world of scent. Let them learn how to follow scents, work a scent cloud, stay on task (hard for BTs!), and most of all how to be successful - they can do all this while on what we call Primary. I like mine to stay on their Primary Reward through puberty! My Badger was born doing K9 Nose Work, grew up searching and learned all the skills he needed to be an awesome Nose Work dog (including Vehicle Searches) all on his Primary. Introducing Target Odors is easy and much less prone to problems if you wait until later. What we learn in K9 Nose Work is that our dogs already know this stuff. They lead, we follow - BTs are PERFECT!
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Jane Killion
8/18/2015 04:11:57 am
Chris, my instinct is 100% in accord with what you say. At least for Bull Terriers, the failure in scent work is not that they can't smell well enough, it's that they lack the bevhavioral/skills to be able to use their scent instruments. We're going to be concentrating on behavioral protocols to see how much difference we can make :o). Would love to talk to you more off-line about this.
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Debbie
5/28/2016 06:43:52 pm
Thank you for posting all the details of your bull terrier generations, and the step-by-step birthing process. This was a delight to read and I can tell you have a love of the breed, by your diligence of daily care, exercise, play time and nap. You seem to know their thoughts and feelings, meeting each desire and need of theirs as they show up. Your dogs are beautiful and your puppies adorable.
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Kellie
9/15/2018 07:17:43 am
I have 3 day old bull terrier puppies. First time Dam. Can I just say that reading your posts, videos and looking at your photos has given me so much reassurance - particularly the one with hubby taking his turn at the 4am feeds 🤭the struggle is real 😍
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AuthorJane Messineo Lindquist (Killion) is the director of "Puppy Culture: The Powerful First Twelve Weeks That Can Shape Your Puppies' Future" as well as the author of "When Pigs Fly: Training Success With Impossible Dogs." Archives
November 2022
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