Through the years my children have each taken turns as my nurse as I perform the procedure. They have learned the responsibility that comes with raising animals as they have helped with everything from the breeding to the birthing, and even the sad times when we must bury one that didn’t make it.

This litter started out with 11 puppies – a huge litter by just about anyone’s standard. Miya is a first time mom and I freely admit that she is more than a little spoiled, so as a consequence she was quite nervous about suddenly being faced with the task of caring for all these little squeaky bodies! I think I would have been nervous too!

As is sometimes the case, nature takes care of things, and one by one we lost puppies until we were down to our current number of 6 – a number that Miya seems comfortable managing.

Right from the start, two were not expected to live due to immaturity in one, and the other suffered injury during his birth when he got stuck in the birth canal and had to be forcefully pulled out. The other three appeared perfectly healthy except for the fact that they just didn’t gain any weight.

Despite my best efforts, puppies just failed to thrive and within 5 days had slipped away. My best efforts included supplementing them with formula, making sure everyone got a portion of colostrum, keeping them all at the right temperature night and day, and the part that took the most work, sleeping in shifts so that there was always someone awake to help Miya when she became overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do.

Sometimes, despite a herculean effort, puppies just don’t make it. That is part of the lessons of life that children learn from raising dogs.

Sometimes the pain of loosing these precious little babies is almost too much and I think about giving it up. Loosing a whole litter brings one very, very close to that threshold.

Thankfully this time, I can go and pick up one of the remaining puppies and marvel at the miracle of birth and watch with fascination as these little creatures grow and learn and begin to interact with each other and eventually with me. It is a wonderful process, even the painful part.

I guess if I ever get to the point that my heart doesn’t ache for each one lost, that will be the time to walk away. I can’t imagine that ever happening – I love them too much! Raising Boxer puppies is certainly a labor of love and I am one that puts my whole heart into it.

New photos have been posted on each of the puppies pages. Their eyes are open now and they are starting to get up on their feet and stagger around the whelping box. They are so darn cute!

Next week they will be introduced to a food bowl for the first time and probably take a swim in it as well. Be sure to check back – I’m going to post videos as soon as I figure out how my camera works!

I can, and often do, spend hours and hours just watching them as they learn how to find thier first meal all the way to playing tug of war with a littermate.  It is during these times of quiet observation, that I get to see how they interact with each other, when I learn about the personality traits of each pup.  This is when I gain the insight that is invaluable when it comes time to place these pups in new homes.  There aren’t many breeders out there that spend the time to get to know their pups as individuals.  It makes it harder to let them go because in getting to know them, I fall in love with them.  That too is to the advantage of the puppy buyer because my puppies know the joy of being loved by a human from a very young age, and it shows.  One of the most common comments I hear from new owners is “I swear this puppy can read my mind!”  Maybe they do.  

I invite you now to take advantage of this opportunity to watch as our new litter of puppies grow.

Most people do not get the opportunity to get to know a litter of puppies until they are 6-8 weeks of age, usually when they arrive to pick one to buy.  This is your chance to see what breeders see, the evolution of individuality that comes as a puppy matures from a tiny little newborn into a bouncy, wiggly and totally lovable bundle of energy that is ready to go to his or her new home.

On a weekly basis I will post new photos and a description of each puppy’s behaviors, cute events and other information that makes each pup distinctive from the other.

From a breeder’s perspective, I will share with you the things that I look for when choosing a pup and also how I guage their personalities so as to place them in suitable households where there will not be any personality conflicts that could lead to an unhappy family.  I call it “Personality Matching” and it is something that I specialize in.  Personality matching is part of the reason why, after almost 30 years of raising Boxer Puppies, I have had very, very few needing to be re-homed.  Most of them have enjoyed a lifetime home in the same household I placed them in to begin with.

I will even share with you the everyday tasks like teaching them to eat from a dish or use a litterbox, that while they may seem mundane to me, may be very fascinating to you.  I will try my best to remember to explain the whys of how I do things as well as the hows. If I miss something or you think of a question you would like to have answered, please contact me and I will address it in my next post.

It is my hope that by sharing this experience with you, it will help you in choosing a pup of your own.  Whether it be one of ours or someone else’s, if this information will help you to make a wise choice then at least one more Boxer puppy will have found a forever home.