Raising a litter of pups is a series of milestones...the selection of a mate, the ultrasound that tells us we have pups on the way, the whelping of the litter, the first crucial days, opening of eyes to mark the 2nd week, the introduction of food, so many important milestones that as breeders we wait and watch for, these things that tell us all is normal.
This litter has been a bit of a new adventure for me after more than 20 years of pups arriving here.  My first litter that I have ever raised without the benefit of the pups mother.  It has gone from devastating to stressful, tiring and finally optimistic.  We are now well into the 6th week and the pups are right on track, exactly where they should be,  hitting all our milestones.  They will be 7 weeks old at the end of this week and we will have our normal vet check up, puppy shots, I will introduce them to being groomed, all exciting and thankfully very normal milestones.
We are now headed to the final litter milestone and are less than two weeks away from them heading off to their new homes, this is one I was not sure we would get too 6.5 weeks ago

I hear so often that I have such a great life, spending my days with dogs, training, raising pups and don't get e wrong, it is pretty amazing, most days.  This past summer life with dogs took a turn for the worse and what is usually a fun and exciting time became tragic.

I was excited and looking forward to a wonderful litter of pups to arrive, the mom, Bea a gorgeous Fiddle and Beamish daughter.   Bea lived with my friend in Wisconsin and obtained her American championship with four major wins.  Bea, a funny, outgoing girl came to me at the end of July to deliver her pups.  Sadly, and for the first time, we lost Bea during an emergency c-section to deliver her 11 pups.  This was devastating to me, a breeders worse nightmare. 

I had little time to mourn the loss of the beautiful Bea as I had to work day and night to feed and raise her pups.  It was an intense 3 weeks feeding the pups every few hours, little sleep but, I am happy to say they have thrived and are now almost 5 weeks of age and normal happy pups in every way.

I have a Puppy Blog that follows the birth and the raising of Bea's pups, have a look they are sure a lovely group of pups  http://beapups.blogspot.ca/