Puppy News

Here is our Puppy Blog from the 2010 litter-

Repeat breeding -Whispering Pines Midnight Sun SH was bred to Deep Run Retriever’s AM/CAN/UKC CH POPLAR FOREST PLAY IT AGAIN SAM, MH "Sam”, who is one of a very few Labradors that have achieved both Conformation Champion as well as a Master Hunter titles.

We are expecting the puppies to be intelligent, loving labs with great retrieving drive. They will make excellent family companions, working dogs, and/or hunting dogs with the proper training. Buyers may visit their puppies before Christmas, but they will NOT be ready for their new homes until December 26th. Cost includes vet check, first set of shots, AKC full registration papers, going home info packet, an 8 lb bag of dog food, a 26-month health guarantee and all the love and attention we can give them in their first 8 weeks. They are also exposed to all the sights and sounds in our home, and even swim in our pond, weather permitting. Please visit our Puppy Information page for much more information & links to our Questionnaire and Sales Agreement. Read more at the Puppy Blog at the bottom of this page .

See Litter News 2009 page for photos and videos of Sunny's 2009 puppies.

We choose to use Deep Run studs because they operate one of the finest breeding, training and canine health care facilities in North America. Owners Phyllis Giroux, DVM CAC and Jack Jagoda, co-founder and past president of the North American Hunting Retriever Association (NAHRA), have the absolute best all-round labs available. Their pups have earned over 300 field test and hunt test titles. They conduct numerous clinics and seminars on national radio and television broadcasts including ESPN, TNN, Outdoor Life, Animal Planet and the Outdoor Channel. Since Phyllis specializes in canine reproduction, we feel confident leaving our girls with her during the breeding process.

More Info from Deep Run on Sam:

Sam completed AKC Master Hunter Title in June of 2008, and his AKC Championship on July 5, 2008, with multiple Best of Breed wins over Specials. He was 40 months old when he completed his CH, making him the YOUNGEST Champion Master Hunter in the history of the breed. In August of 2008 he completed his Canadian Championship in one week of showing with a Sporting Group 1. Additionally, Sam completed his UKC Championship in one weekend of showing, with two Group 1's, a Group 3 and two Group 4's. THREE CHAMPION TITLES and a MASTER HUNTER TITLE in ONE YEAR!!! Sam is currently running in Field Trials, and we hope to get him Qualified All Age.

Sam is very outgoing friendly, and is very intelligent. He loves to please, and loves to work. He is a natural water dog, loves icy water and has a great thick double coat to keep him comfortable in all sorts of weather. He is a great marker with a natural good memory for multiple falls. He is very athletic, and loves to run and play with the other dogs here at Deep Run Farm.

Sam was a star in the show ring, his soundness, sporty movement, and breed type caught the eye of the judges who gave him his wins. To those judges, we are grateful for recognizing this great young dog. Sam's father is CH Sundance's Paddy's Irish Cream, CD MH. Sam's mother, Am, Can CH Pembroke Black Mist Poplar Forest, MH, WCX is the youngest CH, MH in the history of the breed. Sam is OFA Excellent, OFA Elbows, CERF, OFA Cardiac (Doppler), Optigen A, EIC Clear and CNM Clear. Full Dentition.

Sire: AM/CAN/UKC CH POPLAR FOREST PLAY IT AGAIN SAM, MH (SM)

Dam: WHISPERING PINES MIDNIGHT SUN JH (Sunny)

Sunny

Sam

Puppy Blog

NEWBORN

See Litter News 2009 page for photos and videos of Sunny's 2009 puppies.
(for more info, see the Puppy Information page).

Halloween night was exciting for us this year, but not because of Trick or Treaters! We knew Sunny had a large litter to deliver because we had xrays taken and our vet saw 10 little puppies on the xrays. To make the delivery easier for her, we decided to have a planned c-section. But she must have heard us talking about surgery and decided to play a Trick on us! She starting delivering puppies about 8 pm on Halloween night. She had 4 puppies at home, then a long delay. We were on the phone with our vet, and decided to bring her to the office in case she needed help. Then she played another Trick, by having 2 puppies in the Jeep on the way! That was a first for us. 3 more puppies were born at the vet's, then another long delay - the 10th pup just did not want to be born. So Sunny had the c-section for the last little girl at 2 am on November 1st. Sunny was looking for the puppies as soon as she came out of the anesthesia, and has been a perfect mom ever since. She will have her stitches out in 2 weeks, but the surgery does not seem to be bothering her a bit. Unlike humans, canines seem to recover very quickly from c-sections.

If the video does not play in the box below, please CLICK HERE to view on youtube

Puppy Blog

WEEK 1

After 1 week, the little pups are doing great! They have almost all doubled their weight already (normal is doubling in 2 weeks). We started their Early Neurological Stimulation exercises on Day 3 (curious about what ENS is? See video below for information & a demonstration). The puppies eyes & ears are still closed, so they find their way around the box (and to Sunny!) by smell only. Their eyes & ears will start opening around Day 10.

Puppy Blog

WEEK 2

Another wonderful week for the puppies! Sunny is a fabulous mom, has lots of milk, and the pups are all gaining weight every day. They are between 2 and 3 lbs. each now, and mostly eat & sleep all day! They are wobbly-walking around the whelping box, but around day 14 their eyes started to open, and they will soon see a big new world around them. Their tiny little toenails are very sharp and can easily scratch Sunny, so all the toenails were trimmed this week - that's ALOT of toenails! Sunny had her stitches out on Day 13 and got a clean bill of health from the vet. Right now Sunny is doing most of the work, so we're enjoying sitting with and holding the puppies and watching them grow!

Puppy Blog

WEEK 3

Wow, what a difference in one week! The puppies now have their eyes and ears open, and are walking around the whelping box. They know when Sunny is coming, and whine and make a fuss. Sometimes they bark so loud, they knock themselves right over! Sometimes we let Sunny nurse the pups outside of the box on a blanket; it gives them more room and they can explore a little bit. Time to re-configure the whelping box, because the 2 yellow pups actually climbed out one night. They didn't know what to do after they got out! Luckily, we heard them crying on the baby monitor, so were able to put them back in the box right away. Since Sunny has so many puppies to feed and they are getting BIG, we started to supplement her milk with some puppy milk replacer on 11/21.

Puppy Blog

WEEK 4

It's hard to believe another week has flown by! The puppies seem to change day by day now. Earlier in the week we started weaning them onto a thin mixture of mashed food and puppy milk. We gradually use less milk and more mash, and today on 11/28 they are chowing down on a thicker pudding-like mash. They LOVE it! We feed them 4 times per day now, that will decrease to 3 times per day once they start eating regular dry food. They are discovering they can run, pounce and play with their litter-mates, including biting ears and tails! Their puppy teeth are coming in too. Three families visited their puppies this weekend, and had a chance to play with them. We enjoyed everyone's visit and are looking forward to meeting all the puppy families soon. Individual puppy photos will be emailed to their families very soon!

Puppy Blog

WEEK 5

The puppies are an absolute joy to play with this week! They are active, playful, and sometimes very noisy too! Lots of new stuff this week! They quickly outgrew their whelping box, and are now in a large x-pen in our living room. There is a crate in the corner, so they are learning to go in and out and have a cozy place to sleep. We are still firing the cap gun when the pups eat to de-sensitize them to loud noises. They also saw & heard the big scary vacuum cleaner, which only bothered them a little. They are playing with their toys now, and we gave them duck wings to play with a couple of times. Some of them hauled them off like treasures and would not given them up - they have great retrieving instincts! They loved playing with their visitors this week, and are very friendly and love to give kisses.

Puppy Blog

WEEK 6

The puppies are all between 7 and 8 lbs. now and are eating regular dry food (only the best for our pups - Life's Abundance). Sunny nurses them just a little bit now. They had their toenails trimmed again, and really love playing with all their toys. Bill made some toys out of old socks, they just love them! It's been too cold to take them outside, so they play in the living room -they play hard for about a 1/2 hour at a time, then tire out and fall asleep. They can climb up and down a step, run circles around the couch, and generally get into everything they can, so we watch them very carefully! Only 2 more weeks until they go home with their new families! We are glad they will bring so much joy to so many people.

Puppy Blog

WEEK 7

It's really "beginning to look alot like Christmas" here in West Virginia! We had our first snowfall (only 2"), but it made everything bright & sparkly. It's been too cold for the puppies to play outside, so they are still playing in the livingroom with all their toys (and each other). They seem to like our socks and shoelaces the best! They are healthy, active and very curious about everything new. Trip to the vets tomorrow for their first set of puppy shots!

New puppy owners, now is the time to "puppy proof" your home. It's like child-proofing but do it even more thoroughly. Puppies are smaller and more active than babies and have sharp teeth and claws. You may need to get down on your hands and knees and look around from that angle. Find what looks interesting, what is breakable, sharp or dangerous (such as electric wires) and remove or hide it. Please watch the puppy carefully, and crate her those times you can't.

Essential puppy items: tip-proof stainless steel water & food bowls, a crate & blanket, correct collar & leash for their size, toys (rubber kong-type toys, ropes, stuffed toys with supervision - please no rawhide or "greenies" -they are indigestable and can cause stomach problems), gates for "off-limits" areas.

Puppy Blog

WEEKS 8 & 9

Well, what a busy couple of weeks for the puppies! They had a vet exam and first set of shots on 12/20 and all the pups are very healthy. Each pup got a big hug and kiss from Dr. Cosgrove and tech Lisa -they just love our puppies! It was actually above freezing this week, so the pups went outside with Sunny to play a little. They were very curious and had fun running around in the grass and what little snow we had. The pups had another bath to get ready for their big day. And then...most of the puppies got their best Christmas present ever on 12/26, going home with their new families. Two more pups went home on 12/30, and the last two will be leaving New Year's weekend. It is very quiet here now, with only 2 little guys to play with and pester Sunny. It's a little sad for us when the puppies leave, after spending so much time with them and watching them grow & learn. But we know they each need a family of their own to love. So THANK YOU to the new puppy families for welcoming them into your homes. We've already heard from some families that their puppies are smart, lovable, and adapting to their new homes very well. And pretty soon, we'll be back to our normal amount of chaos here at the farm!

>Watch Video of Vet Exam Here

>Watch Video of Puppies Getting a Bath Here

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