Oreo x Sophie Puppies - 2 Weeks Old

Lily - Feb 21

Violet - Feb 21

Rose - Feb 21

The pups have spent lots of time nursing and sleeping this past week.  They have become increasingly mobile as they moved closer to their two week birthday and today they were up on all fours moving about.  They are still very wobbly but they're up!  Here is a video taken today of the three sleepy girlies.

Their eyes are all open now.  Lily was the last of the three to open her peepers this morning.  Their ears are beginning to open as well.  During the period when their eyes are opening we keep the lights dim in the room.  We also have the television on and the shifting light that it emits creates a visual stimulation for the puppies.  We play music throughout the day, usually classical which offers further stimulation for the pups' developing brains and we have introduced some soft toys into the whelping box for the puppies to crawl over and around.

We are still continuing with the Bio Sensor and Early Scent Introduction which will wrap up in the next few days. 

It is a sweet time for mom Sophie and her puppies. The little ones have certainly received lots of love and cuddles in their first two weeks and we are looking forward to helping them grow into the best little Barbets that they can be.

The Oreo x Sophie Puppies Are 1 Week Old Today

Northrock's Three Little Flowers Are Blooming!

The puppies are growing by leaps and bounds.  They have all gained very well and are strong, vigorous puppies.  They are still so small and vulnerable as their eyes and ears are closed and they are not yet able to regulate their own temperature.  Sophie is a wonderful and attentive dam and spends lots of time in the whelping box snuggled up with her babies. 

Little Rose snuggled up with Sophie

At three days of age we started performing Early Neurological Stimulation and Early Scent Introduction on the puppies. If you are curious about what these things are I invite you to visit the embedded link for the ENS.  More information about Early Scent Introduction is available on this  AKC webinar where Dr. Gayle Watkins explains the program we follow with the puppies.  The puppies are definitely able to use their noses and it's fun to watch how some scents really interest them while others elicit little to no reaction whatsoever.  

We are enjoying these puppies immensely.   These early days cuddling with puppies and watching them nurse and move about the whelping box are precious.  I cherish these sweet and tender moments with Sophie and her girls.  

Kelly’s Show Debut!

  Thrilled to report that our girl “Kelly” - Northrock’s Anchors Aweigh WC had a great start her first weekend out showing.  On Saturday February 8th, 2014 Kelly took the breed over a male special and went on to be awarded a Group First in a large Sporting Group under Hungarian judge Dr. Levente Miklos. On Sunday Kelly again went Best of Breed over the male special and won the Sporting Group under Canadian judge Mr. John Rowton.  We couldn’t be happier with her success!  Kelly was expertly handled to both wins by Peter Scott.  She is enjoying the show scene and is having lots of fun with Pete.  We are grateful to these judges for recognizing Kelly’s qualities.  Here are her show photos from the weekend.

Northrock's "D" Litter has Arrived!

Please join me in welcoming the Oreo x Sophie puppies to the world.  We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this litter and are delighted to introduce Northrock's "little flowers":

Sophie started into the first stage of labour on the evening of February 6th.  She spent the night in the whelping pool periodically nesting and resting up for the big event.  On February 7th around 5:30pm, hard contractions were noticeable and shortly thereafter she whelped her first puppy.  Sophie was calm and relaxed throughout and easily delivered each pup. Sadly her last puppy, a black girl was stillborn and despite our valiant efforts we were unable to revive her.  We like to think her little angel puppy is now watching over her litter sisters.

Introducing Northrock's little flowers:

Lily - born at 5:55pm - 11 3/4 oz (brown)

Violet - born at 7:07pm - 9 3/4 oz (black)

Rose - born at 8:01pm - 11 1/8 oz (black)

Sophie and her daughters are doing great.  The girls are strong and healthy and Sophie is wonderful mom.  Thank you to Oreo's owners Heath and Helen Kenyon of WulYmut Barbets and Janet Black Evans of Treebeard Barbets for helping to make this litter a possibility.  Thanks also to Nellemarie Hyde and my daughter Olivia for being such supportive whelper helpers!

Please visit our Facebook Page Northrock Barbets for frequent video and photo updates.  We will also be providing updates via the blog, just not as often.