Welcome to The Puppy Papers 2005

To see last year's litter view "The Puppy Papers 2004"

Here is where you will find the diary of events leading up to our latest litter and the progress of the resulting puppies.

Start at the bottom as the most recent entries are at the top. Go to the Start.

See more Photos and updates for this litter on their own page.

Puppy Weights

4 Jan 2006

Day #73 for the new puppies: Callie is the last to leave us. She joined her new family today. She made the four hour trip well and slept all the way, with only one stop to potty and other for a little drink. We miss all the pups and we look forward to hearing and seeing how they are growing.

Each family knows that their pup has a web page here, that we will update with photos and exploits that they might like to share with us. You can follow the progress of this litter on their own litter page and their individual pages that are assessible from the litter page.

2 Jan 2006

Day #71 for the new puppies: Today Ripley joined his new family. He is fitting in fine and later reports indicate that he has finally figured out that peeing outside on the grass is what these humans want. They brought in a translator in the form of a friend's dogs to show him what he was supposed to do.

30 Dec 2005

Day #68 for the new puppies: Cash was picked up today to start his new life with Lyndsay & Breanne. Here is is in his new Home.

27 Dec 2005

Day #65 for the new puppies: Linus went to his new home in Rollyview yesterday evening. Tara was wandering around the rec room looking for him last night even though she got to kiss him good bye and saw him leave the house with his new family. The pups seemed to miss him as well. Ripley especially, since he and Linus usually played together.

This morning, Linus’ new family reports that they all had a quiet first night. Linus will be visiting at the end of January, and we are all really looking forward to the visit.

25 Dec 2005

Day #63 for the new puppies: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at QuinnCarlin.

24 Dec 2005

Day #62 for the new puppies: After discussing possibilities with Jaimie and Jordan Hart, we have decided to show Callie in conformation in 2006. They are interested in pursuing activities in the "Dog World" and this is a good way to get started. So, you can look for Callie and Aurora in the show ring this year.

23 Dec 2005

Day #61 for the new puppies: The pups went to the vet's today. They all received their Parvo/Distemper MLV innoculations. We do a limited vaccination schedule where the pups are only vaccinated against the most deadly diseases. They will need a Parvo/Distemper booster at 12 weeks and again at 16-20 weeks. Then at 24 weeks, or older they are given their first Killed Rabies vaccine. At one year they get their booster for Parvo/Distemper. Three to four weeks after their Parvo/Distemper booster they get their Killed 3 year Rabies booster.

The pups were also injected with their micro chips. The chips are registered with the CKC. If a stray pup is ever found wandering the streets, a vet or shelter can scan for the chip and contact the CKC for the contact info associated with that micro-chip number. We provide the contact information when the dog is registered with the CKC. When the ownership is transfered to the new owners this contact information can also be updated.

We had just such a call this fall and were able to reunite one of our pups with the folks who were doggy sitting while the family was away on vacation. The dog was returned before they knew it was missing.

I spent the morning getting the paperwork ready for the new owners. We have contracts, CKC registration forms, CKC non-breeding contracts, immunization information and puppy kits. Each of our new puppy families will receive:

• a book, "How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days"
• a selection of chews: lambs ears, billy bones (beef tendons), rolled unbleached rawhide, teeny greeny
• a sample of Mother Nature’s All Natural Puppy Biscuits
• a toy that the pups have been playing with for the last few weeks. It has the scent of their litter mates and Mother on it and should be comforting for the little bubbie in it’s new home.

• Callie leaves for Lethbridge Jan 3, 2006
• Linus leaves for Rollyview Dec 26, 2005
• Cash leaves for Edmonton Dec 30, 2005
• Ripley leaves for Calgary Jan 2, 2006

21 Dec 2005

Day #59 for the new puppies: Happy Yule from all of us at QuinnCarlin.

20 Dec 2005

Day #58 for the new puppies: Tara wanted to spend some time with the pups today. She takes things into the X-pen to teach them about chews and manners.

19 Dec 2005

Day #57 for the new puppies: Jaimie and Jordan Hart came to visit with Callie and her family. They brought Callie a cute little princess bed, a ball and a pink kitty. Callie loves all the new toys and shares with her brothers.

17 Dec 2005

Day #55 for the new puppies: We had a fun day playing in the X-pen.

13 Dec 2005

Day #51 for the new puppies: The pups are busy, eating well and on their way to becoming loving wonderful Cavalier companions. We will continue to enjoy their antics as we prepare them for their new homes.

Even after the last entry here you can continue to see Photos and updates for this litter on their own page.

9 Dec 2005

Day #47 for the new puppies: The pups spent their first night in the new X-pen. They are so funny. When we put them into the X-pen they were not sure what to think of it. They stretched out cautiously testing the floor under their feet. Once they got their bearings, they started running and chasing each other and fully exploring their new space. We must have watched them for a full 1/2 hour. You cannot buy entertainment like that.

They were not sure what to think of the crate we put in the X-pen for them to sleep in. They also got four new stuffed toys (Stuffies). Later, they gathered the stuffies in one corner of the X-pen, completely ignoring the crate and all went to sleep on top of their stuffed toys.

This morning they were so excited to see me that they dumped their food all over each other. Once they had eaten as much as they wanted, I put Tara in the X-pen to clean them up. She did a lovely job as usual. We had four fresh cleanly washed little faces to take upstairs to the office.

I've added some photos taken over the past few days. They will appear on or near the corresponding day that they were taken. They all look like little dogs now!

Hold your mouse over the photos above to see who you are looking at. The names are listed from left to right.

7 Dec 2005

Day #45 for the new puppies: The pups are such a joy. I can't tell you how good it feels to have these precious little loves so excited to see us every morning. They tumble over each other and leap into our hands to be picked up for morning cuddles. There is no better way to start your day!

Callie is a mountain climber. She is using her claws like a climber would use their fingers to gain a grip. Look closely at the photos below and you will see what I mean.

I've officially closed the whelping room and dismantled the whelping box.The pups now spend their days in their playpen in my office and their evenings and nights in their crate in the rec room. We continue to use a heating pad in each ... just to be sure they do not get a chill. We have been using a collapsible crate that has a top flap that opens. It has worked well so far, but they are starting to need more space. I'll be looking for an X-pen for the rec room today.

A new X-pen will give them more room to play, and room for us to partition a sleeping area, a play area and a potty area. We are hoping the pups will be paper trained before leaving for their new homes.

Hold your mouse over the photos above to see who you are looking at. The names are listed from left to right.

5 Dec 2005

Day #43 for the new puppies: Allan wanted me to report that the pups have all started spinning before they have a bowel movement. He thinks it is really cute because Tannus spins himself dizzy before he can do his business. We all know that Tannus is Allan's 'Little Buddy.'

This was the pups second night without Tara. They ate very well this morning and then got a little drink from Tara. They are starting to be weaned but they still prefer to drink from Tara over any of the other options.

All the pups are now spoken for, since we have the perfect home for our little girl. She will be living in Lethbridge, were she will be well loved.

We have final names for all the pups! #1 Callie, #2 Linus, #3 Cash and #4 Ripley. We are planning two more breedings this spring. Iza is being bred to Brooke from Tamarindo Kennels in the spring. Allie will be artificially inseminated with Tanus' sperm, also in the spring. 2006 promises to be a busy year from QuinnCarlin Cavaliers.

4 Dec 2005

Day#42 for the new puppies (6 weeks old): It has been over two weeks since I last posted. We have been very busy here at QuinnCarlin. I'll try to back post some entries to get you all up-to-date.

All the pups now have real names. The three boys are all spoken for. I am still looking for just the right home for the little girl. She is fearless and very loving. She has a wonderful temperment and has potential as a great agility dog, if placed in the right home.

The puppies went on their first drive to Sylvan Lake today. They travelled well and were quite happy to visit with Great Gramma and Misty (my Mom and her ancient teacup poodle). They have grown a lot since Mom visited when they were a few weeks old.

Hold your mouse over the photos above to see who you are looking at. The names are listed from left to right.

3 Dec 2005

The pups moved into their new Den. Allan built them a little den/play structure for the playpen. They are so funny. The know where their front feet are, but are not so sure of their back feet. This structure is helping them improve their "Spacial Awareness." They are getting better and are not backing off of the structure with quite as much regularity as they did at first. Callie uses it as a launching platform to attack her brothers. Cash and Callie prefer to sleep on top of the structure rather than inside the den portion, as their brothers prefer.

2 Dec 2005

Day#40 for the new puppies: The pups are all eating well and their coats are full, soft and shiny. Here they are spaced around the food bowl to ensure everyone gets their fair share. Tara is still nursing through the night and at least twice during the day. We supplement with RAW food twice a day.

In the photo above, the pups are enjoying their supper arranged clockwise from the top:

1. 1 o'clock is Ripley, formerly known as #4 or Half Collar.
2. 4 o'clock is Calamity Jane (Callie), formerly know as #1
3. 7 o'clock is Cash, formerly known as #3, or thumbprint
4. 10 o'clock is Linus, formerly know as #2, Blenheim

Some close-ups of Ripley, as he enjoys a short break from the dinner table. Eating real food is hard work ... don'tcha know?!?

23 Nov 2005

Day#31 for the new puppies: The pups were in the playpen in my office today. Tara, Tannus and Aurora all settle down and find places to curl up and chew a bone or nibble on a stuffy. Aurora had placed herself not far from the pups. She is keeping a close eye them and is quite protective of the pups. As Aurora was enjoying her rawhide she was wagging her tail slowly back and forth. All the puppies had lined up at the end of the playpen and were watching her tail intently; in much the same way spectators at a tennis match watch the ball going back ... and forth ... and back ... and forth.

20 Nov 2005

Day#28 for the new puppies: Tom, Marina and Sterling came for a visit today. You can see Tom and Marina helping to socialize the pups below.

19 Nov 2005

Day#27 for the new puppies: Allan is going to take me to a movie in the theatre tomorrow night. It is the first time in years ;) The Johnny Cash Bio Pic "Walk the Line" is playing. We were telling the pups about it and Ripley (#4) was quite intrigued as he hung himself on the bars like a convict in the Pen.

18 Nov 2005

Day#26 for the new puppies: The puppies have started growling and barking. It is so cute. I am trying to capture it on video but my digital camera does not have a light for the video so it is too dark to see. More photos will be coming soon.

Tara is spending less and less time with the pups. They have "milk teeth" now and their little claws are sharp, even when clipped. I am sure nursing them is not the most comfortable thing to do these days. Tara is still taking an extra meal each day and she is maintaining her weight while the pups each gain an ounce a day, on average.

Two of the pups are spoken for now. The Blenheim boy and the last tri-coloured boy. We have another set of potential puppy parents visiting next week.

Allan and I had the pups out of the whelping box for a little one-on-one cuddling last night. After Tara fed them we each took turns cuddling a puppy. Tannus and Aurora were quite intrigued and washed the puppies' faces, very thoroughly. Allan and I prepared with a big towel on our laps but there were no accidents of any kind.

9 Nov 2005

Day#17 for the new puppies: Everyone is growing at a consistent rate. This is a very healthy litter. I'll be sending in the Litter registration the the CKC today and ordering four micro-chips for the babies.

So far we have two pups whose new owners are trying to decide on names. "Lord Kingsley of QuinnCarlin" is one option and "Cash" is the favourite, so far, for another of the pups. If you have any ideas for puppy names please help our new owners decide by entering your suggestions into our new Guestbook.

7 Nov 2005

Day#15 for the new puppies: All the puppies are walking now on very wobbly legs. They are really starting to look like puppies and not so much like rodents. The pups will huff against your skin and give you little kisses now. They are stealing hearts left right and center.

We started the pups on the Strongit-T for de-worming. Even if there are no signs of worms, the hormones produced during pregnancy will often cause eggs, that had been dorment in the mother, to wake-up and be passed onto the pups during nursing.

4 Nov 2005

Day#12 for the new puppies: All puppies are now squinting at us with their newly opened eyes. They are still spending all their time eating and sleeping. We have been handling them to get them used to us. The little Blenheim boy will lay on his back quite comfortably as long as he feels secure and is not afraid we will drop him. The little girl is the pup who fights laying on her back the most. The other two boys will lay on their back ... as long as they are not too hungry.

We put the pups into the submissive position of being on their backs early so that they learn their position in the "pack" --with respect to the humans-- as soon as possible. We do it as part of their handling and play time. Who doesn't like a good belly rub? ... The pup just happens to have to be on their back to get one. It works for us! :)

3 Nov 2005

Day#11 for the new puppies: The little girl started opening her eyes tonight.

31 Oct 2005 - Happy Samhain (Halloween)

Day #8 for the new puppies: The pups have almost all doubled their weight since birth. They continue to eat well. Tara is now eating her breakfast of stewed pumpkin, cottage cheese and hard-boiled egg with no complaints. She is quite hungry and so far we have not seen very-bad diarhhea as we have in the past. Tara is spending less time with the pups each day. The pups are more efficient in getting their fill of milk. This allows Tara to have some "people time" for herself.

We de-wormed Aurora and Tannus today. The pups start their de-worming when they are two weeks old. Tara is on weekly de-worming for the next few weeks.

28 Oct 2005

Day#5 for the new puppies: We took some photos of the pups this morning. They are getting the black dots on their noses. They are so cute!

Dr. Hubbard from Cedarwood Veterinary Clinic called today. They recieved Tannus' biopsy results, from the growth on Tannus' nose. He thinks that is is most likely scar tissue from a local infection. Although, it could be something called Discoid Lupus, as it is manifesting in the cells of the nose where they meet the normal skin. We will be keeping a close eye on "The Tan Man" to ensure there are no additional outbreaks.

27 Oct 2005

Day# 4 for the new puppies: We visited the Vet today. Tara is doing well. She weights 19 lbs, so she has lots of reserves for nursing the pups. We have been augmenting her normal diet with cottage cheese (for extra calcium and protein), hard boiled eggs (for extra protein) and stewed pumpkin (to help prevent diarrhea). Tara has suffered from really bad diarrhea in the first six weeks of nursing her last two litters. We are working hard to prevent it this time.

We had Tara de-wormed with Strongit-T. The Vet gave me more Strongit-T and instructions on deworming Tannus and Aurora. The pups will start the de-worming process when they are two weeks old.

The pups also had their dewclaws removed. They have little stitches in their paws. Tara is nursing them to comfort them. The little boy with the 1/2 white collar was the only one to have rear dewclaws. Tannus has rear dewclaws, and we know that it is a genetic trait. Our first litter had one puppy with rear dewclaws; that was Iza.

The pups are doing very well. They are all gaining weight steadily. We are quite pleased with their progress. They are starting to get the little black spots on their noses. The pups are born with ears and eyes closed and their noses are pink. Their noses start turning black around four or five days. At first it looks like someone drew dots on their pink noses with a black felt-tipped marker. I'l try to take some photos of their noses today.

I'll be going through the assessment forms that I have received so far. We will assess what color and sex people wanted and compile a "short list ". I will then contact them to ensure that they are still interested in getting a puppy at this time. The final decision as to which pup goes to which family will be made a little later; once the personalities of the puppies becomes apparent.

24 Oct 2005

Day#1 for the new puppies: After getting some sleep we started the new routine. Tara goes outside with Tannus and Aurora, while I clean the whelping box and weight the babies. We keep the babies in a laundry basket with a heating pad whenever tara is not in the whelping box with them. The baby puppies or "bubies", are all doing very well as you can see in the photos below.

23 Oct 2005

Day#62 from first breeding: Tara had her puppies late this evening. She had three beautiful Tri-coloured babies (2 boys & 1 girl) and 1 lovely little Blenheim boy. Mother and babies are all doing well. We will have photos up soon. We are all getting some sleep now. Nighty Night!

The puppies were born in the following order and times:

1. #1 - Girl Tri-Colour - born at 8:02 pm MST
2. #2 - Boy Blenheim - born at 9:09 pm MST
3. #3 - Boy Tri-Colour - born at 9:48 pm MST
4. #4 - Boy Tri-Colour - born 10:20 pm MST

Below is the first photo of the puppies and Tara.

Here is a short video clip of Tara nesting in her whelping box just before giving birth.

My niece Morghanna helped assist the birth. She has definately earned her certificate as an official "Mid Woof". When the first puppy was born we were not sure if it was a boy or a girl. We had to wait for the second to be born in order to compare them. We all got a good laugh about that!

22 Oct 2005

Day#61 from first breeding: Tara and I have been sleeping together in the spare room for the last few nights. She is very restless and needs lots of back rubs and belly rubs. The babies are very active.

21 Oct 2005

Day#60 from first breeding: We took a photo of Tara this evening. She is so ready to have these babies. She is full of milk and ready to go. "The Table is Set" as Sterling's Owner likes to say.

19 Oct 2005

Day#58 from first breeding: False alarm ... I think I need to get a new thermometer. Still no sign of puppies. The wait continues.

18 Oct 2005

Day#57 from first breeding: Tara was quite restless and was panting heavily last night. She and I moved downstairs to sleep in the rec room near the whelping box around midnight. I think Tara got more sleep than I did. She came to me regularily for back rubs last night. I would know when I hit the right spot as she would moan in appreciation.

The puppies are quite active and we can feel them moving lower into the birth canal. Dogs have uterine horns rather than a single uterus. The uterine horns look like a tuning fork with the handle being the birth canal. The horns span along both sides of the bitches abdomen. When Tara first starts showing she actually gets larger around her rib cage. Her lower abdomen and belly do not distend until the last week or so before the puppies are born.

Tara's temperature dropped this morning so we should see puppies within the next 24 hours, although she is resting calmly by my feet right now. She has been laying all stretched out in order to help reposition her pups for birth.

17 Oct 2005

Day#56 from first breeding: I ran across a really comprehensive web site about breeding dogs. They do a really good job and supply photos through all the stages. It is well worth a visit to Dog Breed Info.

16 Oct 2005

Day#55 from first breeding: Tara is growing so big and definitely has her "I'm so pregnant" walk going on. She groans when you rub her back, like it feels so good. If all goes well we should have puppies by Thursday or Friday.

15 Oct 2005

Day#54 from first breeding: We got out the whelping box, cleaned it up and installed it into the warmest room in our house; the furnace room. This is our first cold weather litter and I am not taking any chances on the puppies getting chilled. When they are first born they cannot regulate their body temperature and are very susceptible to chills.

We have all the whelping essentials in order and are ready whenever Tara is. Previous litters have come on day 60. This litter could be the same or it may be different. Time will tell.

12 Oct 2005

Day#51 from first breeding: Tannus came home today. He is much more energetic than I expected. The vet neutered Tannus and took a biopsy of a small growth on his nose. They froze the site of the growth with liquid nitrogen. We will know the results in about a week. The vet also stitched Tannus' ambilical hernia. Tannus only had a small hernia. Tara had quite a large one that was getting worse. We had hers fixed last year and had her teeth cleaned as well, while she was under anesthetic.

11 Oct 2005

Day#50 from first breeding: We took Tannus into the vet's today for his 'procedure'. He was so excited to be going out that he tried to get into his harness while it was on the hook. The poor little guy doesn't know what he is in for.

18 Sept 2005

Day#27 from first breeding: Iza was checked heart and eye clear at the clinic in Edmonton today. We did not test Aurora this year as she is just over one year old and will not be bred before September next year.

17 Sept 2005

Day#26 from first breeding: Tara, Tannus and Allie were checked heart and eye clear at the clinic, organized by the Golden Retriever Club of Alberta, in Edmonton today. Iza has her appointment tomorrow.

We also visited Joan Brascombe in Tofield. Her kennel is called Tamarindo. We met her two boys, Devon and Brook. We discussed using her boys for the upcoming breedings.

Joan also introduced me to a product called LEBA III. It is a blend of essential oils in an alchohol base that reverses tarter build-up and prevents further tooth decay in animals. Cavaliers are very sensitive to the bacteria in the mouth. It can travel through the bloodstream and affect the heart adversely. Clean teeth are essential for Cavalier health. Joan has reported glowing results. We, at QuinnCarlin, will start using the product.

27 Aug 2005

Day #15 of Tara's heat: Tannus seems to be losing interest but Tara is still strutting and waving her tail in his face (called flagging). They did tie again today for thirty minutes. We were outside, but the conditions were a lot more comfortable this time.

I suspect that this will be their last tie this heat. Four times should be plenty .. although Tannus may disagree. Tannus is such a Dog!

If all goes according to plan, the puppies should be born 60 days from the first tie (give or take a day or two). That would be 20th of October 2005.

We will now wait and see if Tara is pregnant. Allan and I are discussing showing Tannus one last time in the Red Deer show before we have him neutered. We have not decided one way or the other just yet.

25 Aug 2005

Day #13 of Tara's heat: Another successful tie. It was again indoors in the rec room and for 30 minutes.

24 Aug 2005

Day #12 of Tara's heat: Another successful tie. This time indoors in the Rec room and I was able to watch "Jeopardy" for the duration of the 30 minute tie. It was a much more comfortable experience ... well ... for me at least.

22 Aug 2005

Day #10 of Tara's heat: We have decided to breed Tara and Tannus one last time. We sure would like to get a Blenheim girl out of this union.

Tara and Tannus successfully tied for 20 minutes today. Tannus looks very proud of himself. Tara had to be held as usual. She gets scared when Tannus swells to make the tie. I can only imagine that it must feel weird ... to say the least. Tara would run off with Tannus joined if we let her so she must be held.

This was the first time that Allan was there for the conception. He was quite fascinated. We let them tie outside in our backyard (No that does not make us "Backyard Breeders"). Unfortunately, we are experiencing a large number of wasps this year and the site they chose to copulate was right beside an ant hill. Does twenty minutes sitting on an ant hill constitute torture. I have to say ... YES! Allan was swatting wasps and I was enduring ant bites. The things we breeders do for the cause.

16 Aug 2005

We took Tannus to Cedarwood Veterinary Hospital to see Dr. Hubbard today. We took Tara as bait and Tannus was quite distraught any time he could not see her. Tara is not in the least interested yet and warns him off. You can almost hear her saying "No ... means NO!!"

Having our friend Leanna Mottus there was a big help. Leanna breeds Pugs under the kennel name XOE. She works as a Vet assistant at Cedarwood and is going to school this fall to further her education in this field.

Once we had the initial exam we took them into a private room. Tannus was very ready to do the deed until he noticed the large medical light on the ceiling. This took his attention for a few moments and we were not sure we would be successful today. Once he got over his fascination he got down to business and did the job. We successfully collected four straws of semen.

We will use them to inseminate Allie if she can get past some of her current issues. Allie is currently residing in a new home were she is getting a lot of love and attention. Allie has exhibited some issues regarding aggression with other dogs and potty mistakes. These seem to be stemming from her insecurities and high strung nature. The food agression is most likely due to being fed in a group of dogs and having to fight for her meals. QuinnCarlin Cavaliers are fed in their crates so that I can monitor their intake of food as well as eliminating the behaviour called "food aggression". We want to be absolutely sure that her behaviour is stemming from her early experiences and is not something that her puppies will exhibit.

13 Aug 2005

Day #1 of Tara's heat: She has surprised us again. This time she is 1 1/2 months early. We had planned on breeding her to another male (one of Joan Branscombe's beautiful little boys) and thought we had lots of time. The best laid plans ... and all that ... sigh!

We have also decided that it is too stressful for Tannus to be living in a houseful of intact girls. He is first and foremost Allan's little buddy. We are discussing collecting semen and having him neutered.