New Puppies

[Don Bullock]

I've been very busy this past week. On September sixth we had eight basset hound puppies delivered by c-section.:D I spent about 12 hours per day for the first week watching the puppies. Unlike most breeds of dogs, basset hound puppies have to be watched closely 24 hours a day for at least the first week and always when the mother is present. While basset hound females make great mothers, they don't always know where to place their long, heavy bodies and may lay on one of their puppies if left unsupervised. Unfortunately this usually results in the suffocation of the puppy. I'm happy to report that mother and all eight puppies are all doing great. Joy, the mother, is the first AKC Champion that my wife and I bred. In 2007 she was the #7 basset hound in the country and the #2 female.

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Joy (the mother) was the best basset hound female at the Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York in January of 2008.
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[Jim Becker]

They are MAJOR cute, Don!! Congratulations on the new litter. I'm sure every one will bring great happiness to the folks that they choose to become family with.

[Jeff Caskie]

Congratulations as well. We have a beautiful 4yr old basset (Daisy Mae) that has captured our hearts and always puts a smile on our face. Basset puppies are simply irresistible!

[Belinda Barfield]

Joy is a beautiful dog! But those puppies . . . I just want to snuggle with them all. They are so precious. Don't you just love puppy breath?

[Bob Ross]

Congrats Don. I have never seen a litter of Bassets; sure are cute.

Yeah, puppy breath, especially after "puppy" finds some road kill :D

[Bruce Page]

Precious!!
Joy is beautiful

[Jim O'Dell]

Congrats Don! Now bottle up some of that puppy breath and send to me!! It's been over 7 years since our last lit (singleton litter) Our only other litter was in 95 with 6 Irish.
If you have the capability, put a video camera on a tripod, and set it to time lapse. We had a camera with that on the first litter, and it is amazing how much those little munchkins can motor around!!!
Can't tell from the pictures, but did you build a whelping box? I built one out of melamine, very heavy, but the sides all come apart. I built a "pig rail" out of PVC that bolts in and can be removed when the Irish get big enough to stand on it to crawl out.:eek: :D:D The pig rail keeps the pups from getting squished between the mom and the wall. Not fool proof if laid on, but certainly worthwhile to build for the added insurance. But then, watching pups for 12 hours a day could be considered by some to have died and gone to heaven. ;) Jim.

[Nancy Laird]

Awwww! How cute are they? Wish I could have one, but LOML says "NO DOGS", period!!

[Don Bullock]

...
Can't tell from the pictures, but did you build a whelping box? ...Jim.

Jim, the pictures I posted were taken without a whelping box. To facilitate our puppy watch schedule the first week the puppies were not in the home where the whelping box was set up. The puppies are now in the whelping box.

Our whelping box was made for us by a friend out of Coirian. He was a certified Corian installer and saved scraps from his jobs to make these from. Yes. it's heavy, but it's sturdy and easy to clean. It does have a "pig rail." Unfortunately it doesn't prevent the problems of the mother suffocating a puppy. I've also found that puppies can get stuck under it.

Picture of Corian whelping box with a prior litter in it.
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[Don Bullock]

Thank you all for the complements on Joy. We're very proud of her accomplishments and happy that the judges found her pleasing as well.

BTW -- The handler pictured with Joy is our co-breeder, Heather. She and I showed Joy exclusively which made Joy the # 1 female that was bred by the exhibitor (handler). In dog shows amateur handlers compete in the same rings as the professionals. Here's an even better picture of Joy:
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Awwww! How cute are they? Wish I could have one, but LOML says "NO DOGS", period!!

Nancy, our basset hounds aren't dogs. They're our children.;):D