The wonder of birth, here with our lovely Griffonne bitch, Twig.
Twig is experienced, mother of three other litters. I hope you share with us the wonder of
this event. All the potential for hunting instinct, natural pointing and retrieving is
there at birth. Sometimes hard to believe when you see a puppy this young. One thing that
may surprise you is how white the puppies are. When they are newly born, they are pure
white with liver plates and a mask. Their nose and paw pads are pink, but the pigment
develops soon.
Though the Griffonne can easily give birth to her puppies on her own, we prefer to be
there during whelping. We enjoy being with our bitches when they are giving birth, plus we
can be there to weigh and record markings and birth times. Also, we believe that the
earlier the puppies imprint on human scent, taste and touch the better. Puppies of all
breeds are born helpless. Their eyes and ears are sealed shut, and they can only smell,
taste, and feel things. We help Twig by drying off puppies, and keeping the whelping area
heated with a infra red heating lamp. In the first few weeks of life, puppies cannot
regulate temperature, and it is important the they are in a snug, draft free area.
With this litter, Twig's first puppy was dry and sucking when I came downstairs and
found out that she was whelping. As an expression of the incredible bond between us, when
she was ready to give birth to the second puppy, she picked up the first puppy gently in
her mouth and put it into my lap, then turned around to get to work pushing out the next
puppy. It was as though she wanted me to watch the little one while she was busy with the
next.
This is Twig's final litter. She will now be a lady of leisure, hunting in the autumn,
playing and helping around the farm in the off season. Twig was from our first litter, she
has had 4 litters now, and she is 7 years old.
If you are interested in more information, e-mail
us
