SASHA HAS 6 HEALTHY PUPS ON FRIDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2018
Sasha’s litter was expected on or around the 27 of February and we weren’t anticipating a big litter based on her scan which showed 2 pups and she didn’t look particularly large.
Worryingly Sasha started showing signs her pups could be arriving as early as Tuesday 21 February then late on Thursday night it was obvious to me that her whelping was very imminent.
I stayed with her during the night and just after 5am on Friday 23 of February her first puppy duly arrived. Within 3 hours she had 4 healthy puppies and I thought that was it.
Sadly about an hour later a very large male puppy partially emerged and it was pretty obvious that the puppy was stuck and despite efforts to help deliver and resuscitate the puppy we lost him.
As upsetting as this was it is fairly common for a puppy to be born dead and there was no time to grieve because shortly after that and much to my surprise she then delivered 2 more pups.
The first of these last two puppies also became stuck but between Sasha and I we managed to get him out and get him going.
Rightly or wrongly on the first day I do not tend to handle the pups or interfere unless I have to because I do not want to cause mum any more stress than is necessary. It was the following day I confirmed that there were definitely 4 boys and 2 girls.
Once all of the pups were born and things had settled down I put in place the wooden pig rails which prevent mum inadvertently lying on one of her pups.
Sasha has her own Sofa next to the whelping box which allows her to take a break from the pups if she needs to. This is particularly useful after a couple of weeks when the pups become larger and more aggressive in their feeding.
The temperature outside the room was as low as -4 degrees and so I used a heat lamp to make sure the pups maintained a consistent temperature because puppies are unable to regulate their own body temperature for several weeks.
Mum is fed a high grade puppy food with mince beef and raw chicken wings to help her maintain her milk quality but she is always grateful for a bit of my lunch.
Sasha was a fantastic mum to her first litter the D litter which consisted of 9 pups but she is even more relaxed and chilled with this litter.
Whether this is because she only has 6 pups this time or because it is her second litter and she is much more confident I’m not sure. There is no doubt 6 is a perfect number because all the pups have easy access to a teat without the constant battle that takes place with a larger litter.
There is one pup we have named Elsie who is always sleeping between Mum’s front legs.
The smallest pup in the litter is a little boy we have named Eddie. I have been giving him individual feeds on mum because he was constantly getting knocked of mum’s teats by the others. It has paid off as he is now putting on good weight.
This picture 6 days in says it all really, a very contented mum and pups.
Because they are all so alike I placed collars on the pups at 7 days to help me monitor their behaviour and weights.
I have named the pups and allocated the collars as follows.
Eddie – Blue collar
Eyke – Silver collar
Errol – Green Camouflage collar
Echo – Black & White Camouflage collar
Ernie – Blue Camouflage collar
Elsie – Black with silver dots
I have included a few videos to show how relaxed and content both Sasha and the litter are.
I have also removed the pig rails because now the pups are 10 days old they are much larger and stronger they are now able to let mum know if she is lying on them by accident.
Sasha is back to getting her regular walks at Killerton and playing in the garden to keep her mind and body fit.
She started sitting by my dog van hoping to go on our adventures at Killerton as early as day 3 after the pups were born. I am always careful where we go and I am well aware that we don’t want any diseases or infections being brought back to the pups.
I believe a female is not a machine to be bred from with little or no thought given to her needs. Those needs are a private environment where she is comfortable and with people she knows and trusts caring for her.
She should have the best food, regular exercise and toilet breaks, fresh water always on hand, a spotlessly clean environment and the freedom to come and go to her pups and certainly not being taken away from them as early as possible for convenience.
In the garden I have to keep my eye on Sasha because she likes nothing more than going up to a muddy den hidden in the bushes and returns with all of her under carriage completely dripping in mud requiring a complete bath.
Here are a few more photos of Sasha and the pups.
Today is day 10 and the pups are now opening their eyes and things start to become more interesting.
I will be doing a weekly blog showing their progress every week. Here is a video of Sasha and her pups taken this morning.
In my next blog I will tell you more about the father of the pups Xato.
As I finish the blog on my laptop Sasha is lying at my feet completely at ease with life but always ready to respond if her pups call her from the room next door.
See you next week
QUINI, HENRY , PEPPE, MERLIN, EVA AND QUEST MEET THE ANIMALS AT SAUNDERCROFT FARM
Due to Sasha’s pups being only 2 days old my wife Di had to look after them while I went to supervise one of my favourite training days the visit to Saundercroft farm near Broadclyst.
It was a day of mixed emotions because normally when we arrive we are greeted by German shepherd Holly who lives on the farm but sadly Holly had recently passed away.
Here is Holly pictured on the far right in happier times with her owner Jean who allows us to use her farm on our farm visit in April 2017.
The farm visit is very important for potential Police dogs because they will be required on occasions to search farm land for outstanding criminals or vulnerable missing persons. They need to be able to work amongst livestock.
Some of the dogs can be a bit reactive on first seeing some of the animals but we keep the dogs back until they get their confidence and eventually get bored. That is the time then to introduce them to the animals when they are no longer in a state of heightened excitement.
Here are a few of the dogs meeting the sheep.
Next it was time to meet the calves.
Next Andi and young Will were waiting to introduce the dogs to the bigger horses.
Last but not least were the chickens. The local fox had killed quite a few recently and naturally they were a bit nervous of the dogs.
It was a sad day for Terri and Mark who have been puppy walking Quini. Terri is going back to work and so can no longer look after Quini and was handing her over to Mary at the conclusion of the visit.
We are grateful to Mark and Terri for puppy walking Quini. I am also grateful to Mary for stepping in at short notice
So another excellent visit and thanks once again to Jean, Andi and young Will for their help and allowing us to visit.
Garry and Gunner have a great day down at Saundercroft Farm
Two weeks into their 3 month initial police dog course an update on how all the teams are doing
An update on the rest of our pups
GARRY AND GUNNER HAVE A GREAT DAY DOWN AT SAUNDERCROFT FARM
I always enjoy visiting the farm with our pups and watching how the pups react to meeting the animals tells me a great deal about their characters.
Before leaving for the farm we did what we always do on all of our training sessions, we carried out a short tracking session at HQ with both pups. Here is Garry doing a short trail where I have laid food drops in my footprints every 3 to 4 steps.
As you can see he is already showing excellent concentration and determination just as his uncle Police dog Lenny did at this age. Tracking/ trailing offenders or missing persons is the most important skill for all Police dogs hence the reason we include it in all training sessions.
On arriving at the farm brothers Garry and Gunner took it all in their stride confidently investigating the animals but in a very calm and measured way.
These two horses were walking by as we arrived and both brothers calmly watched them walk past.
Our first port of call was the sheep and lambs.
It is very important that Police dogs are neutral to meeting all Livestock because they are often going to be working in rural areas and therefore they should be confident and not distracted working near to all types of animals.
With the odd exception our pups are usually confident if not a little excited to start with when meeting the animals but Garry and Gunner were the most relaxed I think I have ever seen pups on a farm visit.
Here are the boys meeting Bella.
Next it was the calves.
Then the boys met Sam.
Then finally the chickens and a couple of roosters who are always very
tempting for the dogs but yet again the boys were completely relaxed and
calm.
Our thanks to Simon and Andi pictured here with their son Will and also to Andi’s mum for helping and allowing us to use their farm.
RUDY, DEVON, DANNO AND BABY OZ ARE TWO WEEKS INTO THEIR 3 MONTH INITIAL POLICE DOG COURSE AND ARE ALL DOING WELL.
Because of all the work put in by our puppy walkers the teams are already at a very advanced level and the dogs are clearly really enjoying the course.
Here are the teams.
STEVE AND TPD RUDY
Rudy is without doubt the most driven and determined dog on the course.
Here is Steve hanging on for grim death as Rudy tracks with fierce determination across country.
Just as determined on the agility.
His criminal work is going to be very entertaining to watch as we progress to off lead chases and I don’t think many criminals will be able to remain on their feet.
Early last week Rudy injured his toe chasing a ball too vigorously and then on Friday Rudy pulled Steve around on his walking line with a bit too much force twisting Steve’s knee. This means that the team will be staying at home this week as Steve rests his knee.
KEVIN ROBERTS AND TPD DEVON
Kevin and Devon are doing really well together particularly when you consider that Kevin isn’t the biggest of blokes, he is a first time handler and Devon is a very strong powerful dog.
Here they are in the early stages of mastering the agility equipment.
Kevin tells me his dad was a professional jockey which would explain Kevin’s position as they negotiate the hurdle.
Here they are practising their control work with Devon showing excellent focus towards Kevin.
Devon is an all-rounder who is doing well on all of his work. His tracking is coming along very nicely and he is starting to show all the promise of his father Police dog Lenny
KEVIN RIGER AND TPD DANNO
Kevin and Danno have an excellent bond and an excellent working relationship.
Here they are performing their control work where their close bond is very apparent.
Danno is a little more sensitive than his brother Devon and he is not as driven but he is enthusiastic, biddable and loves to work.
After a slow start he now starting to understand what is required of him and the fact that he has a calm patient handler in Kevin they are now starting to make excellent progress together.
GRAHAM AND TPD OZZIE
Ozzie is the baby of the group at 10 months in 5 days’ time. Under normal circumstances we wouldn’t put a dog on an Initial Police dog course before they are 12 months old.
The other 3 dogs on the course are 16 months old which is a good age to start
But Ozzie is not your normal dog pictured here with Graham doing his control work.
Ozzie is a very strong willed dog who is totally fearless. He is perfectly happy as long as he has something to occupy his mind. If not he will make his own entertainment which often includes nipping people in the leg to get the action started.
Now that Graham has got him focussing and concentrating he is having a great time
Because of his strong character he has had to change puppy walkers twice finishing with our most experienced puppy walker Lyn Parlour. Unfortunately Lyn has now gone on holiday to Australia and finding a puppy walker suitable for him for a month was a real challenge.
So Graham the course instructor volunteered to take him to live with his family and to give him some training on the course. He loves the course and whist we are being careful not to push him too hard because of his young growing joints I wouldn’t be surprised if passes the licensing schedule in December.
Here he is in the early stages of his tracking.
In my next blog I will give you a more detailed explanation of all the different exercises and disciplines that our dogs undertake during the course.
AN UPDATE ON THE REST OF OUR PUPS
ELSA with puppy walkers Maria and Steve
EVA with puppy walkers Billie and Lisa
6 month old Elsa and 7 month old Eva attended puppy class last Sunday and we covered article searching, tracking, bark on command, sit and down stays and getting the dogs walking on a loose lead environmentally.
Both dogs are at an excellent standard.
Here is Eva showing her natural tracking ability with food drops every 5 paces and a directional change with Lisa handling her.
Steve demonstrates a good solid down stay with Elsa.
Lisa demonstrates excellent loose lead walking with Eva around HQ
Unfortunately puppy walker Terri wasn’t feeling too well and so Eric didn’t attend our training session.
TAG with her puppy walkers Gideon and Marina
Tammy with her puppy walker Margaret
Tag and Tammy are now 12 months old and they are both at a very advanced level as they move towards their Initial course in January 2018. On Sunday we covered Tracking, article searching, an introduction to searching for persons in the open, tugging work and control work.
Here is 65 year old Margaret playing tug with Tammy with a vigour that would put some of our younger Police dog handlers to shame.
Tags enjoyed playing hide and seek to find where Marina and I were hiding. He was rewarded with his toy for barking to say he had found us.
Tag and Tammy are developing into fine tracking dogs. Here is Tag hot on the trail with Marina as always right in the thick of the action.
At the end of our session Marina was still keen to do a bit more work with Tag.
We had a really enjoyable session and I am very pleased with their progression.
OZZIE IS VISITED BY HIS BROTHERS OSCAR AND OLLIE TO SEE HOW HE IS GETTING ON WITH HIS INITIAL POLICE DOG COURSE
At the moment I am spending time monitoring the Initial Police dog course to see how the dogs are getting on and as Oscar and Ollie were due some training I invited them both along.
Ozzie now in his 3rd week of the Initial Police dog course was delighted to meet up with his brothers Oscar and Ollie again.
In between watching their brother we worked on some tracking, bite work and an introduction to person searching in woodland with Oscar and Ollie.
Here is Oscar learning to bark having located a person in the wood.
Here is Ollie tracking across country demonstrating determination and excellent focus.
I think the puppy walkers of Oscar and Ollie were surprised at just how Ozzie has developed since they all last met and they all clearly enjoyed meeting up again.
They really are 3 very impressive males and are a credit to the breeder Richard Evans.
WITH A HEAVY HEART I HAVE RELEASED DIZZY FROM THE PROGRAM
Mary and Dizzy
For me Dizzy has been the most determined and driven of the D litter pups. She has incredible determination to track, search and bite but she also has a mistrust of people in certain situations. This manifested itself in our boldness tests when she was unable to cope with meeting a person in suspicious circumstances.
With time and maturity this could probably be improved but to be a Police dog the ability to deal with stressful situations is very important.
Whilst I have no doubt that Dizzy would be very good as a Police dog in most situations she would also find some situations stressful which would not be good for her health and wellbeing. It is for this reason that I have released her.
I am very grateful to Mary her original puppy walker and to Lindsay and Anthony for the work they have done in trying to improve this area of her character.
Lindsay and Anthony have asked to take Dizzy on as their own dog and I am sure she will be a great dog for them. Here is Dizzy with Lindsay..
We are extremely grateful to Lindsay and Anthony who have previously successfully puppy walked Buddy, Cosmic and Devon for us.
During the next 3 weeks I will be travelling to Belgium and Holland to collect 3 male pups to complete our September 2018 intake.
In my next blog I will introduce them to you and give you a more detailed account of just what is required on the course for our trainee dogs to become Operational Police dogs.
