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Vasquez's American Bulldogs |
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Little Girls Tribute
luckys Story
Here at Vasquez's bulldogs the pups have been hand raised and socialized with people from day one. These little guys have been in the planning for a year and when the day came they found themselves to be the awe of all of our friends. All pups had their eyes open by day number 15. The pups are now 16 days old and new pictures will be available next week. I have truly found this to be a learning experience and a very unique situation. This is in fact the first litter we've had and didn't entirely know what to expect. For starters we did not count on 11 puppy's however we have adjusted and now have them on a schedule and feedings are going well. All pups eat well and show increases in size on a daily basis. Watching them develop has also been a treat as every day they seem to add a new aspect and twist to their developing personality. We have pups that will lick your cheek, we have pups that have been growling and barking since day number 2 at all forms of stimuli. We have pups that we will catch playing together. I guess at two weeks this is nothing unusual but I have found the speed of their development to be amazing. Taking into consideration that they are between 1.5 lbs and 3 lbs at two weeks old we have pups that will stand up and walk the length of their 4 foot whelping box. I have two pups that will bark at me if I don't feed them at the proper point of feeding lineup. Overall I have found this to be a wonderful experience and in no way regret this breeding. I am however thankful we planned in advance. We learned of certain things to watch for during the course of her breeding and because of this a lot of potentially serious issues were avoided. The pups for instance have been supplemented with formula since 2 days old because we knew to watch her for drying up, she started to and upon discovering this we began to assist with feedings, gave her cottage cheese, and were able to build her back up so that she did not dry completely. I am still having to bottle feed but she is able to produce milk so they still get her nutrients as well. Minnie however has been an excellent mother and due to her spoiled nature (Jessica's doing and toms as well) she has insisted on only the best. Upon delivery she refused her normal dog food, we had to switch to a more nutrient rich brand. One story that holds in my mind was the day she decided her bedding wasn't clean enough. I had been washing the blanket in the whelping box every few days. I entered the garage one day and there sat Minnie but no puppies were in sight. She had pushed her blanket into the corner with the pups in the center because she didn't want to sleep on it due to smell. Minnie is very attentive to the pups and a tad territorial of our male dog entering the area but she is excellent about human contact with the pups and has never so much as tried to hide them or move them. We are very proud of our girl and her litter and will keep you updated on development and new pictures. Day number 19 was a bad day for the litter. The runt passed away in the middle of the night. We have 10 healthy pups remaining and little girl has been put to rest. I am fully aware it happens and that 10 other healthy pups is incredible but she will be missed; she had a lot of spirit. SEE Little Girls Picture; she was our little baby and will be remembered fondly. Day 25 was exciting. We weighed the pups this morning and they all weighed between 2.7 lbs and 4 lbs. All pups have more then doubled their birth weight, most have tripled it. Today (Day 25) was their start to being weaned. The pups started eating soft puppy food. All have had two servings and everything is going well. Minnie is giving milk in between solid food feeding and few are starting to figure out the water bottle. They seem to be very smart and alert. They are also very into playing. See them at play on our puppy playtime page. Today is day 30 and all pups have developed into quite the little characters. They started puppy food and it now takes two cans every 4 hours to feed them. All pups are showing healthy weight gain for thier age and frame size. Minnie is starting to dry up but she is still right with the pups and they have developed a very positive response to her and people. Bully took his first trip in the house two days ago and all animals took right to him. My male cat can't get enough and is constantly rubbing on him and licking his nose. He is a kisser and loves to cuddle. They heard fireworks tonight and proceeded to bark at the walls for the entire time. Feeding time has been cut in half and I can say all hard problems passed this has been very rewarding and is currently very enjoyable. We are happy to announce two pups will be sold to friends and able to raised in the area. We will watch them develop and allow them to stay close to their mother and they will be raised together. Thanks for checking out our place and the pups and minnie send their love. See theri weight gain progress (click here.) Pups are 5 weeks today and thriving. They are all gaining weight at excellent rates and are leaning toward larger dogs. They started on hard food yesterday and all took right to it. They are also proving to be very smart. We are keeping male #6, and although he has no idea where the door is he will sit up and whine and if you carry him outside he will potty in the yard. Early housebreaking, hopefully :). Pictures will be updated 7/26/02. Check em out. A week late but the pups finally got their appt. with the vet and all is good. The vet has given the pups a clean bill of health and was pleased with their appearance; though they were a little nervous from the ride there. We found out I no longer need a diet as my house scales are unaccurate :) the pups are a little lighter then we had them weighed but the vet said it was actually a healthier range. Boy was it fun getting them there. Three baths, five arrangements on the situation of their crate in a vehicle big enough for it. Impossible to pick up a box with 10 pups between 9 and 13.5 lbs of pups; so while we figured it out they of course rolled in the mud (thus baths 2 and 3). Oh well babies and puppies will be babies and puppies. All is going well here with the pups. Today is 9/27/02 and most of the pups have sold-we have three beautiful little ones left. We were down to two however we ran into a painful situation of taking a pup back as the family was unable to make their payments and come to find out the pup was not given his second round of shots. After speaking with the girl we emphasized the importance of proper vaccination schedules, expense requirements, etc. we decided the best option for the current situation was for them to return this pup and see us at a later litter when things are more stable. Thankfully the girl obligated her contract and the pup is here-their health is important to us and all else would have been workable but I felt the lack of vet visits was inappropriate. I did however find not only is it heartbreaking to give the pups to their new homes; its more heartbreaking to have to take one back. Today is 12/29/03, the pups are a year and a half and still in the same homes. Just wanted to note that all are between 70-100 lbs, very loyal, friendly, and well trained.
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