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"american boxer"

Part 3: Newborn Puppy Photography

November 4, 2015 by info@3QuartersToday.com

Newborn Puppy Photography

Newborn infant photography is very popular, and the concept is the same for newborn puppies. At this age the pups are very accepting to being posed. Taking photographs of the pups was my summer project and I’m a little embarrassed on how many I took. So I just won’t say. I did have a few goals in mind with the photographs, I wanted to document the puppies journey from birth and give a CD of photos to their new families.

My other goal was to learn how to use my new Canon 7D camera which I bought the week before the pups were born. By the way, this camera is now discontinued by Canon so you can get a GREAT deal on it now. But it’s in limited quantity. It’s a legitimate pro camera, several steps up from a Rebel, but at the same price now. I loved my Rebel and I got some amazing photographs from it, but due to an unforeseen event a replacement was necessary. (I may get into that later, but not ready yet)

A white Boxer pup, Leahs puppies from herfirst litter in 2015, she is our fist Boxer but not our last.

 

Here are just a couple of my favorite photographs. I actually won a purple ribbon at the county fair with the brindle Boxer puppy below. At this age cradling a pup in some very masculine hands brings out their baby characteristics and vulnerability. The big friendly looking guy above is six-foot eight inches tall, he’s a big teddy bear himself.

I wish I had a studio set up with box lights, but this time I only had a basement with limited lighting. Mama at this point didn’t want her pups taken very far. So the ISO was pretty high at 1600. My human models were wearing solid colored shirts (for the most part) so the background didn’t compete with the subject.  At ten days of age puppies spend much of their time sleeping so photography was a matter of more posing and trying to get proper lighting. Next litter I will be more prepared.

Boxer Puppy 1 wk old posing for puppy photography

As they grew puppy photography got more challenging. I cranked up the shutter speed and hoped for the best. It was like taking photos of toddlers, but with four feet instead of two.

Puppies Open Their Eyes

Unlike humans, puppies and kittens are born with their eyes closed, their eyes don’t open until around ten days of age. Until then they rely on smell and touch. That’s why it’s very important to get new puppies used to your smell early. They crawl to Mama by smell and hearing. I was very curious to see if the white Boxer pups would have blue eyes, and was ecstatic when they did, but like many human babies their eye color changes with age.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kph-3_YMGFA[/embedyt]

Much like Dalmatian puppies, most white Boxer puppies don’t have any markings when they are born, but as they grow their black spots and black noses appeared in place of their pink noses.

Sweet Puppy Breath, or Not

The term sweet puppy breath is a nice thought, and true for the most part, but while the pups were nursing they have what I call “milk poops”, it’s creamy yellow, it stinks, and Leah, being the good Mother licks their bottoms and cleans it up. Yuck! It’s completely normal, natural, and a sign of a good mother.

During the first week I barely noticed any yellow poops on the sheets and blankets, however as the weeks progressed bedding was changed and washed twice a day, AND the air purifier ran all the time. I LOVED my water air purifier. I did not want to walk into the basement family room and have it smell like a kennel.

Royal Line Pro (R) Deluxe Illuminated Water Based Air Purifier Humidifier Revitalizer Cleaner Fragrance Dispenser Aroma Therapy Machine! Beautiful Pearl/Light Silver with LED Lights! Pro Model!

Boxer pups at two weeks of age are much like 8 month old babies, they are semi mobile, can scoot around a little, exploring their immediate surroundings is high on their priority list, but they don’t know a world outside of two feet yet.

So for now the baby pool still acts as their nursery area, just like a playpen or a baby gate works for a human infant. Next week, watch out! Puppies are active and playing! They also begin nibbling on solid food. Where is the time going?

Puppy Photography

Puppy Photography in South Street Seaport | C’est la Vie …

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Careful.” One fall Saturday this October, we took the kids to the dog park in South Street Seaport. Rice, the Westie in the picture, always enjoys running around and …

Frejya :: Minneapolis Puppy Photography – Sarah Beth …

Frejya :: Minneapolis Puppy Photography. Sunday, September 6, 2015. Here’s a little gratuitous puppy cuteness for your Labor Day Weekend! Frejya. « Open Casting Call :: Dogs + Cats Needed for Commercial Shoot · Facebook · Twitter · Yelp …

PUPPY PHOTOGRAPHY | Trail’s End Labradoodles

PUPPY PHOTOGRAPHY – Worst time to shoot pictures of 3 1/2 week old puppies; NAP TIME. Baxter, Dude. Your eyes are rolling up into your.

Dog & Puppy Photography Ideas – PictureCorrect

Climb a Tree. No, not your dog silly. You! Climb a tree (preferably a sturdy one that is bigger than Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree). Bring a treat and your camera. Take a picture of your pup looking up at you or drop a ball from the tree. Turn up …

when You Come In Puppy Photography | topfoodusa

when You Come In Puppy Photography. Pet photography may be a unique classification of pro photography. I visualize that an enormous component to doing breathtaking pet photos is using pets you own. A great test for …

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: "american boxer", akc, animals, Boxers, dogs, pets, Photography, puppies, puppy photography, pups, purebred dogs

Boxer Puppies and the First Visit to the Vet

October 25, 2015 by info@3QuartersToday.com

The puppy adventure continues and the during the first week of their life the Boxer puppies were blind and wiggly and didn’t do much else other than nurse. Leah was a very good mama. She had plenty of milk, and was very attentive to cleaning the pups and attentive to their little grunts and squeals. Our goal this week was to get Leah comfortable with us handling her puppies and convincing her to go leave them to outside to the bathroom. Several times I picked her up and carried her out the door,only to have her look through the screen window three minutes later with a look of fear that her babies were going to be harmed in some fashion.

Boxer puppies from whelping to furever homes

Leah continued to get a raw egg added to her food after whelping, just like she did during the end of gestation when we gradually changed her over to the high protein puppy food her pups would be eating. Like normal dogs, she ate very little leading up to labor and very little for first few days after whelping. This is why allowing the mother dog to eat and consume the puppy sacs and placenta of each pup, yes it sounds gross, but is natural and normal and necessary for protein and energy supplementation.

I was more worried about her drinking enough water so she would produce enough milk, so several times a day I would place the bowl of water right under her nose and she would drink about a cup at a time. It took about two days before she would stand up and go to the edge of her whelping pool to eat and drink the food I placed in her elevated food dish.

Pet Feeder Feeding Tray Removable 8

Although I immediately announced the arrival of our puppies on Facebook and the Boxer forum we restricted visitors to just immediate family the first week. She loved having her human family visit, but wasn’t quite too sure about us picking up her pups. We would sit by her whelping pool and hold them very close to her because she didn’t want them more than a few feet from her.

However every day each puppy was handled, stroked, and placed on it’s back in our hands. With the exception of my own kids when they were babies, there is very little that is cuter and and more relaxing than holding and cuddling a puppy.

I totally believe in imprinting and socializing puppies early, starting at day one. This accomplishes a few things, our scent is on each pup, thus they got used to our smell and Leah got used to our smell on them and this in turn I believe made her more relaxed. After about four days we could sit back in a chair in the room and cuddle a puppy while Leah stayed with the rest of her litter in the whelping pool. We were always careful in the early stages to only hold one to two pups at a time and made sure each pup got held an equal amount, although everyone in the house had a favorite.

Leahs puppies from her first litter in 2015

Boxer Puppies and Their First Trip to the Vet

We love our veterinarian, he’s a very practical large/small animal vet with very good bedside manner. He reminds me of James Herriot and for that reason alone that’s enough reason for us to use him as our vet.

James Herriot’s Dog Stories: Warm and Wonderful Stories About the Animals Herriot Loves BestMore Dog Stories by James Herriot

Leah had seen him for routine vaccination, dewormings and her pre-breeding examination. We kept in communication with him in regards to the breeding date and expected whelping date and scheduled an appointment the  Saturday morning of Leahs due date for her postpartum exam, puppy exams, dock their tails and have dewclaws removed.

Boxer puppies and the first time to the veterinarian

We worried how Leah would react, so the puppies first car trip was done with purpose and with a plan. Firs,t let Leah out to go to the bathroom. Second, have a small box with a heated rice bag under a blanket and close the top. Third,  carry the puppy box into the back seat of the car where Leah would follow. This worked like a dream, the warmth kept the puppies comfortable and I would occasionally lift the lid to reassure Leah her puppies were fine.

Why Dock Boxer Tails

Boxer pups get their tails docked and dewclaws removed at three days of age. Many people ask why Boxers tails are docked and if it’s cruel or even necessary. While some believe it’s strictly for cosmetic purposes we talked to several breeders and forums and chose to dock the tails more for safety and health reasons. Boxers have had their tails docked for over a hundred years. Therefore breeders cannot tell by looking at a dog if they have a strong hefty tail, or a skinny very long weak tail. Since Boxers are VERY energetic tail waggers there are stories of undocked Boxers breaking or injuring their tails. Leah is a “wiggle-butt” and her 4-5″ tail goes a mile a minute when she comes to greet us, I could just imagine what her tail would do if it were two feet long.

We arrived at the vets and I brought the puppies into the exam room and Leah stayed in the waiting room with my husband. I expected the puppy squealing to make her very anxious and worried. However everything was over and done in 10-15 minutes with Leah being very calm and relaxed. Dr. Gigstad had everything ready, I held and firmly cradled each pup in my hands on their stomach with their head facing me and their tail towards “Doc”.

The Breeder’s Guide to Raising Superstar Dogs – Puppy Development, Imprinting and Training

The everyday holding and cradling of the pups, or imprinting since birth, I do believe had an effect on how easy and calming it made the procedure. Two stitches in their tail, then turned them over for dewclaw removal and back in the warm box they went. Only two pups let out an initial squeal and all were asleep by the time Mama came in 10 minutes later. She looked her puppies all snoozing, looked at me and “Doc” and almost smiled, yes she almost smiled, as if to say “I knew I could trust you.”

Post Whelping Vet Check

Then Leah had her post whelping vet check. She had lost about 5 lbs from her initial breeding weight and had a low-grade fever, so he gave her a general antibiotic as a precaution, gave her a Vitamin B shot and about a dozen cans of canned dog food to stimulate her appetite. He asked about her discharge, the rate of labor, how she was nursing, and examined her teats for mastitis or infection. She was doing just fine he said, “.. just encourage her to eat like you’ve been doing, the pups look great, and let’s schedule their vaccinations”

Boxer puppy dreams

We brought Leah and her pups out to the waiting room where several visitors oohed and ahhhed over them. The ride home was very uneventful, the puppies slept and even Leah was more relaxed and laid down in the back seat and didn’t even look at her pups. This was a lesson in trust and one more important step in the puppy maturation process. After this Leah was more willing to go outside and leave her pups, and by day seven she was willingly getting up and going out.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eabMHoomgw[/embedyt]

Want to learn and hear more about Leah and her puppies? Stayed tuned for the next article and week two of a puppy adventures where they open their eyes.

Raising Boxer Puppies

Hand Raising Boxer Puppies – Boxer Dogs Fawn

Libby also sent us vet appointment updates as well as information and tips on raising Boxer puppies. Download free docs pdf, doc, ppt, xls, txt online about How To Feed Your Boxer Puppy Preview the pdf eBook free before downloading.

Raising Boxer Puppies – Website of dobuhale!

Raising boxer puppies. Sensible advice for raising your Boxer puppy so he lives a long healthy life and seldom needs to visit the vet. The time now is 06:19 PM. Boxer puppies available from breeders for purebred Boxers, find …

Watch Us Grow: Two Week Old Boxer Puppies | LotsaBoxers

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 …

Watch Boxer Puppies Grow | LotsaBoxers

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 …

Filed Under: Dogs In My Life Tagged With: "american boxer", Boxer, boxer dog, boxer puppies, breeding dogs, breeding puppies, docking tails, dogs, Leah, pets, puppies, raising boxer puppies

Boxer Puppies, We Have Boxer Pups

October 22, 2015 by info@3QuartersToday.com

Our First Litter of Boxer Puppies

We had Boxer puppies this summer, ok, our Boxer “dog” had puppies  and now that our puppy grandchildren have pretty much gone to their new furever homes I have some time to sit down and write about our puppy whelping experience. You see our two legged children are all grown, or mostly grown, and we are pretty much empty-nesters. Our dogs have become much like our kids and they have actually given us grand-puppies, unlike our adult offspring. Not that I’m rushing my children, I’m just saying we’re ready.

Leah our Boxer
Leah our Boxer

We had been thinking about breeding Leah for several years, but didn’t want to breed her just for the sake of “experiencing” puppies, no matter how cute they are they are a lot of work. She is a four year old AKC registered Boxer and not only did people comment on how pretty she is, and what a nice confirmation she has, but total strangers come up to us and remark on how gentle and calm she is for a Boxer.

Boxer Dog Breeding: A Simple Guide

Supposedly Boxers are hyper, bounce a lot, are mischievous, and high maintenance. Nope, not Leah. She rarely jumps, doesn’t bark, and won’t push you over when she leans. She is wonderful with kids, a friends six month old baby one day grabbed her jowls and literally put her hand in Leahs mouth and Leah doesn’t move. People in our town would randomly come up to use when we took her for a walk and ask us if you ever breed her we would be very interested in a puppy.

Choosing a Stud Dog

The first thing we did was bring her to the vet had have a health exam, make sure she was current on all her shots, and get x-rays for hip dysplasia.

So we started looking around for an AKC (American Kennel Club) stud Boxer and interviewing people on the local Facebook Boxer Classified page. I wanted a match for her that complimented her coloring, body style and most of all her personality. We were looking for a gentle male and a breeder family that had the same goals of matching pups to families who would appreciate the Boxer breed and personality. One we could trust with our Leah for a week where she would be treated as part of the family and not just another “bitch” and kenneled.

Sire and Dam Boxer breeding pair
Theo and Leah

We found Theo online (yes doggie computer dating) and in January, before Leah went into heat, we visited his home and introduced the dogs. It was a doggie match made in heaven. Theo was just as gently as Leah, he didn’t bark or jump at visitors and didn’t jump or rough house with his future canine girlfriend. The Surghoe family lives on an acreage in central Nebraska and have two young boys who are VERY involved in caring for the dogs and have the main job of socializing puppies.

We compared papers, which in our case was really important because Leah was born about 40 miles away, and found no relation. We also inspected each others health records. I posted our “match” on the site announcing an expected birth date and had a lot of inquiries. One particular person who had shown and bred champion Boxers even felt the need to message me privately and complement me on Leah and her head confirmation and was very impressed with Theo as well.

She spent a week in April with Theo and at the end of the week they didn’t want to let her come home. They too had fallen in love with her. In fact within three days Leah was sleeping in bed with them, even though she doesn’t sleep in bed with us at home. She has her bed on the floor by my head.

Supplies For Birthing Puppies

Puppy Delivery Kit with bulb syringe and hemostatsPlaza MagnaBox Whelping Box, LargeBUBBAS, Super Strength Commercial Enzyme Cleaner-Pet Odor Eliminator. Gallon Size

There is a lot to raising puppies the right way and fortunately we did have the time, and we also had the perfect whelping area in our walkout basement with a 10 x 8 foot entry with a concrete floor and a hallway we could close off with a baby gate. We gradually added to our supply shelf items we would need when it cam time for Leah to have her pups.

Pregnant Boxer one week to delivery

  • Birthing bed – We used a baby wading pool
  • Newspapers- to line the bottom, ask friends, or your local gas station to save them
  • Sheets – from the local thrift store where we got them free
  • Small Towels – to rub the pups dry and stimulate them in case they were slow
  • Bath mats and blankets – again free from thrift store (ask for dog blankets)
  • Heater – to keep the puppies warm
  • Dog thermometer – to watch her temperature when it got close
  • Bulb syringe – in case we had to suck fluid out of the puppies mouth
  • Hemostat scissors and dental floss – in case Leah did not chew off the umbilical cord
  • Rainbow Air Freshener and Purifier– this is VERY essential, puppies don’t smell like rainbows and unicorn farts
  • Veterinarians phone number

Many people use a baby wading pool for a puppy whelping pen and that is what did and it worked fantastic for the first couple of weeks. Then the Boxer pups got big enough to crawl over the side. However if you have Yorkie puppies I imagine they could stay in the pen almost until weaning. This idea has gotten so popular you can buy circular whelping pads made specifically to fit. These are great and I will probably be buying a couple for the next litter. They are washable  and won’t bunch up like blankets or sheets.

EZwhelp Washable Whelping & Puppy Pad 49″ to fit in baby wading pool

 

Whelping Puppies

Leah and puppies one day old
Leah and puppies a few hours old, labor in in progress

We were alerted by our daughter that labor started about noon with heavy breathing and pacing. She took Leah’s temperature and stayed as long as she could, then my nurse friend came over and served as a puppy midwife, or doula, until we could get home after work. Since this was Leah’s first litter she was nervous, so we sat quietly in the nursery area so she could get her head scratched on demand.

Active labor didn’t start until 11:00 pm and Leah let out a scream as she stood/sat and the first pup arrived. This initial pain and shock lasted only a few minutes as she turned her attention to her new brindle puppy. She started licking at the umbilical cord and the “backside” of the sac. I knew the puppy needed to get her head out to breathe so I broke the sac around the puppy’s head and pulled the sac off as Leah continued to clean.

Boxer puppies hours old
Boxer puppies hours old

The next few puppies came slowly throughout the night and in the end we had six puppies; two white, one fawn, and three brindles. Each puppy was lively and nursed very soon after being born. It was amazing to see these blind little pups crawl instinctively to Mama’s teats to feed.

I went to bed about 4 am for a couple of hours of sleep before going to work. The next morning I went down to the nursery to find Leah curled around her pups protectively and she looked up almost with a smile and a look that said “Look, I made these!” She seemed very proud and very protective. Getting her to go outside to go to the bathroom and relive herself was a challenge. She didn’t want to leave her pups, and often the first few days I almost had to carry her outside.

The same was true for eating. She didn’t want to leave the nursery whelping pool to drink or for food so I would place the bowl in front of her in the pool. Later she would stand up and drink from the bowl next to the pool, but for a week to ten days she was reluctant to leave her pups.

Stay tuned for Week 1 of Boxer Puppies as they have their first veterinary visit and get their tails and dewclaws done.

More Boxer Puppy News

Boxer gives birth to 14 puppies in one litter

A dog in California nearly broke a world record when she gave birth to a large liter of puppies. Sasha gave birth to fourteen full-bred Boxer puppies. The world record is fifteen boxer puppies born at one time. 14puppies. The average size litter for …

What is a “good breeder” and why are they so hard to find?

Q. We are looking for a healthy boxer puppy and are confused by what we read on the Internet and in classified ads. Our last boxer died of a heart attack and had temperament issues. Nowadays it’s hard to tell good breeders from bad. We don’t want a …

Boxer Puppies Cute Pictures – Share and Enjoy | Pets World

Who doesn’t loves to see cute pictures of Boxer puppies? Here we have compiled a list of some of the best Boxer puppies that are simply adorable. Boxer Puppy Playing with A Baby. Boxer Puppy playing with Baby. Cute Boxer Puppies in …

Boxer Puppies!!! You Know You Want One – Owned by a …

It’s hard to deny that boxer puppies are about the cutest thing you’ll ever lay eyes on. Just try and watch these videos without adopting one.

Boxer Puppies Sound Like Ghosts – Video – Maniac World

Boxer Puppies Sound Like Ghosts – Video. … Boxer Puppies Sound Like Ghosts. These cute little crying boxer puppies sound freakishly like ghosts. I would hope this noise isn’t a 24 hour a day deal. This was weird enough to add to the Scary …

 

 

 

Filed Under: Dogs In My Life Tagged With: "american boxer", animals, Boxer, boxer puppies, breeding boxers, breeding dogs, dogs, pets, puppies, whelping puppies

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