This will be my last blog for the “Herberts,” this litters collective noun as brilliantly christened by Kate, Dougies mum. The first puppy goes Wednesday, the others at regular intervals over the next week. This is always a sad time for Chris and I, though we are tired, we shall miss them all, they really are special little munchkins. Kate and Matt have managed to visit lots to experience their progress, which I hope has made them feel involved, after all Dougie played an important roll !! 

On Monday they went for their microchip and vet check, John who is having Grettal now Elsa sat in the back of Betty my car with the pups. Kate came over and Carol, Otto’s mum came too. The pups were so good, coped well with the journey and as soon as they arrived at the vets attracted lots of interest from other clients and staff. I do find this quite stressful,after all Jas’s and our hard work rearing them it is such a relief for them to be given a clean bill of health. The only pup to create was Chunks, a bruiser of a boy, he was not happy. The other boys and the girls were more interested in the little bicuits the nurses were feeding them to distract them from that huge needle, poor poppet’s.

Ruby my Shepherd pup ,who is now 5 months old, will miss her playmates especially Betty now Kaiko. She has been brilliant with them, that is until Ox ears came on the scene, she then thought they should all belong to her and spent her time pinching them off the pups and telling them off  if they tried to get them back. I took the opportunity to check she was still happy to give them up to me, which she was. She is such a joy, such a wonderful character and as near to an Ebby daughter as I could have hoped for. Ebby has gone from strength to strength since her operation, she looks years younger in her face and is so loving not being “the only Shepherd in the village”.

Jas is putting weight on again, her coat is sparse but I don’t think it will be as bad as Cassie’s when she had her last litter. She is behaving like a puppy herself playing with her babies. Its so good to see her feeling more like her usual self again.

Finally good luck to all “the Herberts” some will appear in the show ring, others are to be trained as gundogs  and agility dogs while some will be loved family pets . Whatever roll they take on I wish them and their new owners every success. 

The puppies are having busy social lives, lots of visitors, human and canine. The weather has been onside so they have been outside in the garden and down the field lots.

Important decisions are being made at the moment, Kate and Matt are struggling to choose. The pups are such an evenly matched bunch ,well conformed and wonderful charecters. We are all  so pleased with the quality of Dougie and Jas’s babies.

In my last blog I said we were going to attempt a family group photo. Well several attempts later I think we have succeeded. We tried on Thursday which was hopeless puppies running everywhere, then again on Saturday. This time heaven knows why we had much more success. Great Granny Willow, Granny Cassie, Mum Jas ,Dad Dougie and all the pups. Modern technology helped photo-shopping two images together. I am absolutely over the moon. What a sense of pride, 4 generations, a moment I shall treasure.

Final worming is under way and their last nail trimming. All went well, Katie and Sarah provided extra help. Thanks both.

They are such characters,all of them are happy, confident little people. Such fun to be with, having said that the clearing up after them is not so much fun. Chris and I are running around like headless rabbits, but loving every minute. Not much longer now, they will go for their microchips week after next. All their registration documents have arrived, this litter will be my herb litter. Those of you of a similar generation may remember the childrens  T.V.  programme The Herbs, starring  Dill the dog, the very friendly lion called Parsley,  Bayleaf the gardener and a very fat feathery owl called Sage, inspiration for some of the names.

Puppies have had several adventures. We moved them into the conservatory during the day and because the weather is so good they have had the doors open onto their own personal patio! They love it. We have had to put shading on the roof which helps prevent them getting too hot. They still go to bed in the maternity wing in the lounge at night. Jas made the decision not to stay with them over night a few nights ago, she goes in to check them early morning, she still feels the need to clean up their poos so we clean them up beforehand. She then washes them and feeds them for a few minutes and then hops out. We have not heard a squeak from them, they sleep through until 6.00 ish. On average I think Jas feeds them 2/3 times a day but only for a couple of minutes each time. Those needle teeth must be so sharp. All the pups are feeding very well, they have their Burns puppy porridge with either lamb, beef or chicken mince and once a day they have evaporated milk. They were weighed on Thursday and are all well over 2 kilos, such chunky monkeys. They have had their second worming course, not too popular as you can imagine, but they soon forget when their next meal arrives.

 Today, Sunday it was such a wonderful day I thought they were ready to go into the garden for the first time. They were a little shell shocked for about a minute then they were off. They explored the lawn gambolling about, meeting  the chickens, basically having a wonderful time. It was such a special moment to see them, such confident happy babies, I absolutely love this time in their socialisation period. It is so important to let them experience as many different situations as possible. Life then becomes one big adventure and holds no fears. Thanks to John, Julie, Gemma and Mike for help in keeping count and for some of the photos.

The first two photos are of Great Granny Willow saying hello, then the next is Granny Cassie, its hard to believe we have 4 generations of Munsters. What I would love to achieve is a family photo with Jas , Dougie and their babies, we are hoping to give this a go when the pups are 6 weeks. Both Kate and Matt and Chris and I are very keen, I can’t imagine how difficult it will be with 9 babies running around. One of the puppy parents has volunteered to take the photos, heaven help us!

Next weekend Cassie is going to Windsor champ show ,this will be my first time in the ring since I have had my hip done, I am really looking forward to showing again.

The puppies are receiving visitors now and Jas is more than happy to let other people keep watch over her brood while she enjoys some fresh air.

Yesterday, I had fed her her lunch in the whelping box because she was busy feeding her babies and wouldn’t come out to eat,which she does most of the time now, and I had gone into the kitchen to do my lunch, when  I heard her growl, I thought Ruby my Shepherd pup had wandered in to pinch her food . I rushed in to find Jas trying to eat with lots of little noses pushed into her food. This was the moment I decided it was time to start feeding the Munchkins .They have had Burns puppy food mixed with evaporated milk which they loved .I’m not sure how much went  into their tummies, as a fair percentage was spread all over them and the floor . The next part was not so much fun for them ,they have to have a clean to remove all the food stuck to their coats. I am sure Jas would do as good a job as Chris and I, but it is so good for the puppies socialisation to be handled in this way ,it becomes part of life for them.

I have now returned to work and am trying to catch up with all my wait list of puppy training that has accumulated while I have been off . I had 20 families on my list and they all came to their induction last night, minus dogs I hasten to add. Ruby my Shepherd pup made her first appearence. She was so confident ,not at all phased by the people, she did her little demo of heeling on lead ,sit and down and was a star. Ebby did her crowd pleasing “away” which she loves doing, and recall and off lead heel work.

Ruby aged 4 months  and Ebby

People are always keen to meet the Munsters , most having never seen one before. The” meet and greet” is something Great Granny Willow excells at she wins everyone over. Jas didn’t go obviously,but Cassie made a guest star appearence as Crufts Champion!  Her coat is thankfully now growing back.

I am really looking forward to Windsor in a couple of weeks. Karen ,who owns Henry is having another puppy to show and she has entered too, she will stay the night here and we will travel down together. This way she gets to see the puppies too.

 We have now had Ebby spayed, some of you may remember how poorly she has been on and off over the last year, so it was a tough decision to have this operation .I need not have worried she has bounced back and still allows Ruby to torment her.She is such a wonderful role model. 

John Plant took some lovely photos of our girls. Willow top row, Cassie with daffs and Jas BP (before puppies).

Pups are changing every day now,all eyes are open and they are trying their best to get to their feet .Its a bit wobbly still ,but they trundle all over the place. Jas looks at them a bit bemused not knowing where to put her feet when she gets in to feed them.

 Today they have had their nails clipped and their 2 week weigh in, they will be wormed for the first time this weekend too .They are all gaining weight at a good rate and I have no concerns about any of them.

At the weekend the remaining furniture will be removed from the maternity wing and the plastic will go down, they are already trying to wee on the paper at the front of their whelping box so once they are stronger the front board will be removed, more paper put down in front of the box and they quickly learn to keep their vet bed clean.

 We always give them a name for easy identification purposes. Sometimes the reason for their name is obscure, for instance Turner is so called due to him having a solid black head like the sea bird the Turn ! Kitty has a marking on her back which looks like a cat.Hansel and Gretal ‘s markings were so alike and they were a boy and a girl and so on. 

The photographs are of them all individually, enjoy! 

Top to bottom as follows :-  Hansel,Minstrel, Grettal, Chunks, Betty, Kitty, Berry, Turner, Ghost,

Mother and babies are doing well. Jas adores her babies,she is so gentle with them,I love just watching her nurturing them . She has started coming down the field for a leg stretch and bounds around with the others with a big smile on her face. This time is very useful to clean the whelping box and bedding. The pups go into my electrically heated greenhouse propagator, which has served very well as an incubator. Luckily I had finished with it in my greenhouse .The first photo is of them all in the propagator, they will not fit in there for very much longer, assuming they continue growing at the same terrific rate. The next two are “The 5 Boys” and “The 4 Girls” seperately.

 I am having my Kennel Club Assured Breeder inspection Thursday, my first one, I am hoping it goes well,I am not sure what to expect ,not having had one before . I will keep you posted .

Thursday morning, the 22nd of May, Jas was not interested in eating her breakfast, so with that and the combination of a drop in her temperature the night before I knew things were immanent . She started contractions and the first munchkin arrived at 12.00 .By 1.00pm we had 4 and she was finished by 6.30. Final tally 9 gorgeous babies, 5 boys 4 girls . All weighing between 415gm and one a whopping 500gm . 

Chris and I were both feeling the pressure of anticipation with this litter ,they mean so much to so many people.

Jas has done us proud she is so attentive and loves her babies. I am so relieved by the number of babies 9 is such a sensible number and all so strong and healthy.

The following photos are the first we have taken. More will follow.

Jas is hot fat and lumpy poor poppet. She spends all her time lying in our “mud room” on her bed resting her tummy . Chris and I are excited and nervous in equal measure, it’s always a stressful wait these last couple of days , but for whatever reason, this time seems more so .Maybe something to do with how long we have waited for this mating, and God willing the” little splots” will be very special.

In theory they first possible  day is Thursday, but any time  after that, Dougie and Jas mated 3 times over a few days. 

Everyone keep positive thoughts coming this way and here’s hoping for a copy book whelping . 

As far as Ruby ,my Shepherd pup is concerned, she is growing so quickly, she is so beautiful and she and Ebby are  great buddies , perhaps a little more so on Ruby’s side as she does pester Ebby. She is so good with her though and rarely tells her off . It is so lovely too hear ” Shepherd talk” again it is so individual to the breed and Ruby is learning fast . 

 I went to the hospital for my check up and the consultant was happy with the xrays so I can now drive again .The only slight downside is I cannot ride for another 2 months, but that is a small price to pay. My friend Pip is happy though as she is really enjoying riding Johnny.My consultant was very insistent that I take things slowly for 3 months as this new hip has to last me a long time. I am only too happy to oblige as being pain free is great. So I will not be showing for a while, but the timing couldn’t have been better as Cassie ‘s coat is only now starting to grow back and I hope to be preoccupied with some babies.