Litter H - Kira & Rudy

All photos on this site:
© 2009 White Oak English Shepherds

Litter H
Hunter!

I decided to try something a little different
with this litter, but the male I wanted to use
was located in IL. In order to make it happen, a
long distance Artificial Insemination was done.
Everything looked good at the time of the AI,
but when I took Kira in for an ultrasound to
confirm the pregnancy, only one pup was visible.

Hunter (for Huntersville, NC) arrived shortly
after 7 am on August 12, 2009. He weighed in at
1.05 pounds and is doing well. Hunter is already
spoken for by a local family. He is a gorgeous and
very symmetrically marked pup.

Parents to this litter are Amy Dorsch's Rudy and
Kira. Rudy may be seen at Amy's website here.
I am looking forward to watching this little guy
grow and am hoping to eventually repeat this
breeding, but will make a road trip next time!

Week 5-6 - I have to apologize for not
updating the website last week. You would think
with just one pup, that you could actually get
some things done ... not so. ;-) It's hard for me
to believe that he is almost 7 weeks old and will
only be here for a short time. Hunter is weaned
at this point & is pretty much eating crunchy
kibble. He knows when I call him, knows what I
mean when I tell him that we are going inside or
outside. When we go out, he immediately potties
in the grass. This is a big step in the direction of
being housebroken! Big sister Holly is a great
playmate for Hunter & has learned to tone down
her rough & tumble style of play for the baby. At
6 weeks of age, we made a trip to my agility
trainer's house to see how he would react to new
surroundings & situations. I have said in the past
that this kid possesses a lot of confidence for a
young pup. He didn't disappoint in this area.
Most 6 week old pups will climb the puppy sized
A-frame following the tidbits of food to the top,
but when they see how far it is to the bottom,
they will balk. Hunter got to the top and very
matter of factly, followed the food down to the
bottom. Then he turned around & went back up
again. The tunnel didn't faze him either. We are
going to go back later this week, just for fun.
He is a smart boy, happy to be with you (will
follow me from room to room), fairly easy to
correct and shows quite a bit of patience for
such a young pup.

Week 4 - Hunter has been introduced to a
number of new things this past week. He is going
outside to play, he has learned to climb the steps
(is working on the down aspect now), can come
over the side of the pen now and has finally been
introduced to his big sister, Holly, and is playing
with her some as well. He is eager to play and
be around the other grownup dogs also.

Week 3 - This has been an exciting week to
spend with Hunter. Not only has he gained
proficiency in balance and walking, but boy can he
get around now! Usually when pups first start
out on the hardwood, they manage to get "stuck"
with feet sliding out from under them over and
over again. Not so with Hunter ... he did this a
couple of times, but then learned to pull those
legs back up under himself & get moving again.
So, he moved from the rug to the hardwood, to
the kitchen, to the hallway, to the study ... well,
you get the picture. So far he has an amazing
amount of confidence. Guess he has never been
told that he "can't" do it, so he can. ;-) He is
also playing quite a bit with Kira, us and his toys.
He has not escaped from the pen yet, but was
very quick to associate looking up for someone to
take him out.

Week 2 - At 2 1/2 weeks old, Hunter has
really, really grown! Weighing in at 4 1/2 pounds
today, he is a strong, healthy "little" boy. Over
the past couple of days, he has figured out not
only how to stand, but to walk around and keep
his legs under him. Hunter's ears have opened &
he does react to sounds. I have gone to the side
of the pen, made noise and had him walk across
the pen to me. He is pretty good about being
held (not spoiled in the least!). I have noticed
that he also does a lot of air-scent sniffing. He
seems to be very aware of his surroundings.
Sharp little puppy teeth are making their way in
and a few have erupted. We are doing a lot of
intentional interactions with Hunter since he
does not have any littermates. Kira seems to be
making a point of doing this also.

Week 1 - The biggest news on this front is how
much Hunter has grown! The first 5-6 days he
was keeping pace with Kira's last litter & wasn't
getting quite as big as Enka (single pup litter)
did. By the time Hunter reached one week in
age, he took off in the weight department. I
usually look for the pups to double their weight
by 1 week in age. His 1 week weight was 2.20
pounds and he hasn't looked back since. Also this
week, the rear dewclaws were removed, and his
eyes opened at 9 days old! Pictures were made
on day 10, so his eyes are open, but not focused
yet.

2 weeks old with "littermate" Ralph

One Week Old

One Day Old with Kira