Made some fun Easter picture with the pup the star of it all😍

and this is blog #200. Who would have thought?

Being the only puppy has its pros and cons. Let start with the pros: you get all mamas attention, and humans attention, all mamas milk is there for you to drink and you don't have annoying littermates that bump into you all time, climb over your head and want to steal your place at the milk bar. You don't have to share, how awesome is that?

But on the other hand you don't have your litter mates to keep you warm, to keep you company when you're not feeling 100% and you have nobody your size to play with or even fight with. That doesn't seem to be any fun?

From the puppies point of view the cons and pros might balance against each other. However, from the human point of view the pros and cons can have negative effects on the puppies welfare, physical and behavioral.
Physical: getting too big while paws are not there yet to carry all that weight (swimmer), under developed muscles because of little crawling. Behavioral there are a lot more consequences, like lack of bite inhibition, trouble coping with frustration, sensitivity to touch, and difficulties in social situations which can by anything.

​Because this is all new to me too I don't have all the answers on how I am going to approach this all. So I decided to take it one week at a time and depending on the development of the pup and her needs, I'll decide on what I can do to prevent any physical & behavioral problems.

For week 1 I am doing a couple of things normally her litter mates do, like pushing with plush bears paws on her side when she is drinking, change her to another nipple when she is drinking and make her crawl over towels and toys to her mama so she uses her muscles frequently.

I also separate her regularly from mom so she doesn't have continuous access to the milk bar, have heating pads and gas stove on 24/7. On day 3 we started with ENS and ESI and I give her daily massages and stroke and carry her.

It's seems like a lot but it's not really. Also Jessie helps by getting up during a drink moment which leaves the pup without her milk. Also Jessie cleans the pup many times a day and not always very gentle. This helps the pup cope with frustration and that things are not always going her way.

I will try to put some pictures and film up with all the things Jessie & I do. In the daily update I'll tell more about the progress, if any. In another blog I will give updates on my approach, like how to prevent excessive biting.

We are very happy the tell the world that for the first time we have white Swiss shepherd puppies here at Sunnyside.

​Jessie had a emergency c section last night. Two girls but one is 1/3 of the other. Don't know if she is going to make it, chances are slim, but she is a fighter for sure. I tube feed her, so hardly any sleep. Jessie is doing better but still has to figure out what to do with something that is constantly needing milk🤣 they are both beautiful and i really hope 'Ieniemienie' will make it💪🍀

For a moment I really thought we were going to have puppies on St Patrick's Day, but no, that obviously didn't happen. So here I am at 5am on Monday morning with a somewhat panting and restless Jessie.
For an update I made a puppy Litter A page, please click here

Our first litter is a fact. A small
litter, two pups, but we are so happy that after all these years of preparation, we finally can welcome our first litter. Our handsome Mojo and beautiful Jessie are going to be the parents of this first litter the 'Americas'.

Pedigree names will start with an A which is common for the first litter, and because we are here in America, living our American dream, we like to dedicate this litter to this wonderful country.

Due date is St Patricks March 17, but it can be earlier or a little bit later. Jessie is doing absolute great, and I even can
watch a puppy or maybe both 'playing' soccer in her growing belly.

ps as soon as I receive the 'puppy count' xrays from the veterinary university, I'll put it here on the website.

Jessie is doing great. Her belly is growing, but not very fast. Her energy level is still very good, but she and the rest of the pack have a very good stamina so I am not surprised. But that there is something cooking in there, is for sure. Her body is changing and she wakes up during the night more often. I think the pup or pups are playing then :-).
Today is day 50 of her gestation (counting from the day of the first breeding) and this Friday Jessie and I have an appointment to have a radiographic done for the puppy count. So in a couple of days we know more. Stay tuned!