Some shocking news...

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delayed update, but things have been a bit topsy turvy here at Westside Beagles. This past weekend, several of you came out to meet puppies for the first time. It was great to meet everyone and it was good socialization for the puppies as well. On Sunday afternoon, Dallas really wanted to do some running around and since it was such a nice day, I let her. She would run into the brush, hunting for bunnies for a bit, then would check back in on the puppies. After getting some scratches from me, Dallas would take off again for awhile, but would always check back. However, when I was finally ready to head for home, Dallas was nowhere to be found. While I was worried that Dallas didn't come when I called, Dave convinced me she was just having fun and would probably be back before I knew it. We grabbed a bite to eat and when I got back to the property, she was still nowhere to be found. I hiked all over, calling for her, but still, there was no sign of Dallas. 

Getting really worried at that point, I let several of the other dogs out hoping that if they jumped a rabbit, this would lure Dallas back. Alternatively, I hoped the dogs might find Dallas while they were running. Well, the dogs did jump a rabbit and as they were making a racket, I thought I heard a cry come from the opposite direction from where the dogs were running. I took off toward the sound and again thought I heard a cry, so I continued til I got to the fence on our property line. Just on the other side of the fence was Dallas - and while she looked at me, she was silent and not moving.

I called to Dallas, trying to get her to come closer to me, but still she didn't move. I climbed the fence and found that she had injured a rear leg, which was tangled in a vine. Once I got Dallas back over the fence and had a chance to check her leg more closely, I could tell she was seriously injured. I packed up Dallas and the puppies, heading straight for the emergency clinic where I work, while Dave rounded up the dogs who were still hunting.

At the emergency clinic, the X-rays revealed the shocking cause and extent of Dallas' injury. She was shot. The bullet had shattered the end of her tibia near her ankle, leaving a spattering of small metal fragments and bone pieces at the break site and a much larger chunk of metal lodged in the soft tissue above her ankle. We gave Dallas pain medication, flushed out the entry wound, and splinted her leg. I left her in the hospital overnight on IV fluids, antibiotics, and pain medication, and the next morning, she was evaluated by the surgeon and her team. The consensus was to hold off on surgery for now, but to cast Dallas' leg for 6 weeks and reevaluate at that time if surgery will be necessary. Dallas will have to have the cast changed out every few days initially, but then will be able to go longer periods of time between changes as her wounds heal.

So I'm sure at this point in my story, you all have several questions, including who could have done this and was it intentional? Well, since our neighbors were shooting target practice on Sunday and their property abuts ours on the back left portion of our property, I think we know who did it. However, I just don't know if this was intentional or not, though I certainly hope not! Clearly, Dallas found a break somewhere in our fence line, so she was likely on their property. Did they shoot her because of that or was this an accident due to ricochet? We may never know for sure, but we have to look into it for our safety as well as our dogs'.

In the meantime, there is now much extra work to be done to take care of both Dallas and the puppies. Dallas cannot nurse puppies due to her medications, so I have to monitor all contact between them and we are weaning puppies a bit earlier than planned.

Well, all, it is really late and I must get some sleep. I wanted to make sure to update everyone but I'm afraid pictures will have to wait a bit longer. I will get some pictures posted tomorrow evening (Wednesday). For now, here is poor mama, Dallas, just after she got back from the hospital.

-Barb

Watch out for your ankles and toes! Puppies are getting rambunctious!

Hi everyone! 

I'm trying to keep my eyes open long enough to get a little something posted to share with you, so I'll keep it brief tonight. These babies are getting really active and spending more time engaging in play - and already they are getting rough! I have to say, it is hilarious to watch and listen to little roly poly puppies wrestling and growling. First rate entertainment, I must say, til they turn their attention to my ankles and toes. There's nothing like little puppy daggers! So without further ado, for your viewing enjoyment...

At 3 weeks old, puppies start to explore...

Hi everyone,

Hopefully everyone had a good Labor Day weekend! This weekend saw the beginning of a lot of fun new changes with the puppies. At 3 weeks old, the puppies are getting interested in doing more than just sleeping and eating. Don't get me wrong, they still do a lot of sleeping and eating, but now the puppies are exploring beyond their crate and I've expanded the area they have access to. 

The babies are now playing with each other and wrestling, often biting at each others' faces, paws, and tails. I can't tell you how fun it is to watch them, especially since they are still pretty uncoordinated! I've added small toys to the puppy pen and you should see those cuties batting fat puppy paws at the toys and biting at them! Dave and I keep commenting that we don't need TV because watching puppies is all the entertainment we need. 

With puppies being so active now, I've not had the time or patience to try for individual puppy shoots this week, but I've still got plenty of cute pictures to share, so enjoy!

While eyes are open, puppies mostly sleep and nurse!

 

 

Hi everyone!

 

So I'm a day or two later posting pictures and providing an update than I was hoping to be, but better late than never. I got pictures over the weekend, but then had a power outage last night that kept me from downloading and editing pictures. Plus, I have just been so busy - I forgot just how much work having puppies could be and between them, work, and caring for the rest of our furry family members, I have to admit I'm exhausted!

 

Despite the hard work, it is a joy to have these little babies in the household. I'm constantly torn between picking them up to snuggle and sniff (nothing like the smell of baby puppies!) or just letting them be while I sit and watch them have puppy dreams. One of the additional benefits of just sitting and watching them is noticing the little changes that are gradually happening. Last Thursday, I noticed the start of the puppies' eyes opening and by Sunday, everyone had their eyes fully open. The puppies still can't see well and their eyes have a blue haze over them, but each day their eye sight gets stronger and they start to explore more. Still, despite their short bursts of exploration, the puppies sleep or eat most of the time and I look forward to the upcoming weeks as they continue to become more active and playful.

 

Well, here are the latest pics. Hope you enjoy!

 

1st born girl, now wearing a pastel green collar.

2nd born boy, now wearing a blue collar.

3rd born girl, now wearing a pink collar.

 

4th born girl, now wearing a yellow collar.

5th born girl, now wearing a purple collar.

Last puppy, a boy, now wearing a red collar.

 

I told you these babies sleep all the time! At least they look incredibly cute doing it!

Sleeping is always better when you have someone to snuggle with.

Out like a light!

Proud mama, Dallas

Dallas' Puppies Turn 1 Week Old!

Hi everyone,

Dallas' puppies turned 1 week old on Friday and to celebrate, we had a photo shoot yesterday! I did my best, but Dallas wasn't very happy with me for snagging her babies one by one, and boy was it ever hard to keep puppies still for their pictures! Despite the difficulties, I think I got some good shots...

Dallas and Bruce's firstborn: A little girl with a pretty white blaze.

 

Second to be born: A little boy with white going down one side of his face like grandma Rogue!

 

Third to be born: A petite little girl - isn't she pretty?

 

Fourth to be born: A little girl with lots of white who seems to be Dallas' favorite.

 

Fifth to be born: A little girl with a big noggin' and a white blaze just like her great-grandma DeeDee!

 

Last but not least: A handsome little boy - don't you love the pink on his nose?

 

The puppies are growing in leaps and bounds and currently weigh between 1¼ lbs. and 1½ lbs. This is double their birth weight, which means they are right on track. Dallas continues to be a very good mama and while at first she wouldn't leave the crate, she finally figured out that the puppies do just fine if she goes away for short periods of time.

 

 

Mama Dallas (pre-pregnancy) with her sister, Eve.

Handsome daddy, Bruce.

 

I return to work this week, so it promises to be a busy one, but I will continue to do my best to take pictures to share with all of you from time to time. Stay tuned!

Six new puppies come to Westside Beagles!

Mama Dallas with her 6 newborn puppies.

Hello everyone!

It has been a long time since I've had something to post about, but finally some good news! Yesterday evening, Dallas delivered 6 healthy tri-color puppies - 2 boys and 4 girls. Bruce (Fan Woods The Boss) is the father. I hadn't been expecting Dallas to have puppies until the middle of next week, as Tuesday would have been Day 63 from her first breeding, but mother nature had other plans! And, even though puppies came early, at Day 59 it was safe for them to be born, as puppy lungs fully mature by Day 58.

So to give you a little bit of the story, Dallas went to the vet this past Tuesday for pregnancy x-rays to determine how many puppies to expect. The vet counted 6 spines, but only 5 skulls, which left some room for doubt as to how many babies we were expecting. As you can tell from the pictures, it isn't the easiest to see where one puppy starts and the next one begins!

I had started monitoring Dallas' temperature on Wednesday, as is a common practice to do one week in advance of anticipated whelping. Doing this gives me a good idea of what the mother-to-be's normal temperature is and a sudden drop of temperature below 99 degrees Fahrenheit is a strong indicator that labor will begin within the next 12-24 hours. I was more than a little surprised, then, when on Thursday night, Dallas' temperature dropped to 98.3. Not sure I believed this, I checked on a second thermometer, and sure enough, that one read 98.5! Then, the next morning, Dallas woke me up digging in her blankets and refused her breakfast. All the signs said that puppies were coming soon and I was more than a little freaked out, since I was scheduled to work all day Friday and also the weekend. So much for my requesting time off the following week!

Knowing it was likely to still be several hours until Dallas started delivery, I went into work for a few hours and my wonderful coworkers got me out early. Another coworker picked up my Saturday shift so I wouldn't have to worry about labor running long or me having to leave the puppies when they had just been born. I rushed home to find Dallas anxious, but happy to see me. A few hours later, just before 6 pm, labor began and by 6:30 pm, the first puppy, a little girl, came into the world. From there on out, Dallas had approximately one puppy per hour, finally giving birth to her final puppy, a boy, just around midnight. Luckily, she delivered everyone with minimal difficulty - the last boy was the only puppy she needed assistance from me in delivering. Why do I say "luckily"? Well, delivery is always a stressful time for a breeder, as it is not uncommon for beagles to have dystocias and require emergency C-sections due to a puppy being too big to pass through the birth canal - especially when breeding for blocky heads. Usually, if there is going to be a problem, it is with the very first puppy but we've also had the last puppy be the one who got stuck!

Friday night - 3 puppies down, 3 more to go!

Since giving birth, Dallas has been an amazing mom. She is very protective and for right now, I'm the only one she wants anywhere near her babies. I've been putting food and water directly in front of her from time to time because she doesn't want to leave the puppies for an instant. As time goes on, Dallas should relax a little, but I'm pleased to see her taking such good care of her babies.

Girls are in pink, boys in green.

In the days to come, for those of you who have already been in contact with me about getting a puppy from this litter, please let me know if you are still interested in one of the babies. Now that puppies are born, I'll be taking deposits. Since I don't allow visitors until the puppies are at least 4 weeks old, I'll be posting occasionally so that you can keep up with the puppies in pictures as they grow. Welcome to the Westside Beagles family!