UPCOMING GOLDEN RETRIEVER LITTER
HRCH Highland’s Virtue Mine Honour MH WCX CCA + Nimua’s Little Lake Lady JH CGC TK
This litter is of great personal excitement to me as a breeder and trainer! Both parents have so much to offer and complement each other very nicely in the areas of temperament, conformation and style! Root River retrievers will be keeping pick female for our own training program and will be entering her into hunt tests and fieldwork. I believe from my experience, knowledge and research into this breed pairing, these puppies will make the perfect family hunting dog and excel in the hunt test games as well as be a great active companion!
They were mated on February 10th 2023, and we are preparing for the Puppies to arrive around April 12. Puppies will be ready for their homes around June 7th.
PRIOR TO WHELPING
Prior to breeding, we ensure mom is in good health, is at a good weight and in active shape. She has been dewormed and is up to date on vaccines and currently free and clear of Brucellosis. We keep her in a stress-free environment during her 63-day gestation period, with regular body massages and feeding her quality dog food to help support her growing litter. We make sure she has her daily exercise to ensure she stays in shape to help with whelping process, all while giving her more attention and loving during a time when her hormones can make her feel more insecure. Two weeks prior to whelping, she is moved into the very comfortable whelping house where she has total privacy from all other dogs. Our goal during this stage of the process is her comfort and well-being with an over-all sense of gentle calm for not only her own sake but for the health of her pups.
WHELPING AND PUPPY CARE
Starting about 3 days before earliest expected whelping date, I move into the whelping house and have my checklist of all essential tools ready to assist if/when necessary. This is a crucial time, and the importance of being well prepared cannot be overstated! I have an emergency vet on call, the car is already prepared in the case we need to make an emergency exit with mom or mom and babies.
On one side of the oversized whelping house, I have a warmed whelping box with comfortable, tangle free bedding where mom sleeps 2 weeks prior to birthing and where the babies will be born. Everything surface is kept sanitary and well cleaned with stacks of replacement bedding to be changed as needed. On the other side of the house, I have a worktable set up with all the necessary equipment to needed in the whelping process. A warming box is set up and ready for puppies if necessary.
SUNLIGHT FOR PUPPIES
Around the time puppies start to toddle about, we will apply “Full Spectrum Lighting” to be left on during day light hours, mimicking Mother Nature’s greatest gift-Sunlight. We try for outdoor time (weather permitting) at least an hour out in the Sunlight and fresh air every day. Vitamin D plays a role in the production of bone mass. Calcium is the main player in and is enhanced by the addition of vitamin D. Vitamin D also promotes a healthier immune system, healthier skin and is also noted to help prevent intestinal parasites.
These are just a few things we do to encourage and enhance better health within our dogs and the puppies.
