11 Puppies

Four Weeks Old

Sally holds up 2 of the pups and says, “It’s between these two”. One of them is Punk, who I held on my previous visit, although his name does not suit as well now as the hair on his head has lost its spiky look. The other one has a splodge of nail polish on his back to identify him and, until he has a proper name, I decide to refer to him as Splodge.

Sharon had placed the 5 males outside the pen for Sally to look at and asked her to narrow her choice down to 2. The final decision will depend on the ‘Personality Test’ that the puppies are to undergo shortly. Sally wants a dog that will likely do well in Agility and, therefore, she needs a dog that is forward and full of movement and energy. Sharon surmises that Punk might fit the bill, and I comment that the nickname certainly implies he will be a handful.

Sally’s husband, Clive, sits patiently by and, when I ask him which one he would pick, he shrugs, “They’re all the same to me”. This brings howls of protest from Sharon and Sally. Sharon insists, “They’re all different. They all have their own individual personality”.

When the pups were born, Sharon identified them by painting their toenails with nail polish. But, she’s spent so much time watching them during the last 4 weeks, she now has little problem telling them apart. “That one is Chunky”, she says pointing to a little fat fellow that is busy clambering over my feet. A fourth male pup is with mum having some dinner and the fifth male, nick-named Norty, is hiding under the sofa being naughty. To be fair to Sally, who is having a hard enough time deciding, the girls have all been left in their pen.

Puppy

Sally Wynes, who already owns two GSDs (Georgia and Max) wants a male. She has agreed to let WAGS follow the story of her pup as he matures. Sally does not have first choice – there are one or two people ahead of her – but, with 11 pups (5 males) in the litter, this is not really a problem. In fact, there are almost too many to choose from and they’re all gorgeous.

At 4 weeks old, the pups are starting to show their colouring. The characteristic mask that makes their faces so individual is starting to appear. In fact, the mask (face markings) in German Shepherds is so distinguishing and unique to the individual dog that I often think it is best to wait on a name for a puppy until the mask is clearer. As the mask appears, it almost seems as if a personality becomes visible.

One of the girls, nick-named White Socks, is growing impatient at being left out. She climbs the 10-inch entrance lip to the pen and lands in a heap at our feet. We all laugh. They are so funny at this age. She totters over to mum for some dinner. Then, we hear another pup crying upstairs. This one is Sharon’s pup, 8 month old Joel. He’s woken from his nap and Sharon rushes off to bring him downstairs to join us.

Two pups and two mums

Joel and pup

Joel takes the pups for granted and they seem to accept him as one of their own. Katja settles next to Joel on a rug, and the puppies (including the girls) wobble over to be fed. Joel tosses his toy tiger to Katja and she accepts it as part of the litter.

Babies!

Interestingly, Katja had only 8 teets until after the pups were born. After the birth, two more teets miraculously appeared making a total of 10 for 11 puppies. It seems that Mother Nature, clever as she is, does not like odd numbers.

A few of the pups are not spoken for and, now that the pups are 4 weeks old, Sharon is willing to let potential owners come and meet them. “I will probably start pairing them up with their new owners at 6 weeks”, she says. At 7 weeks the pups are to undergo a personality test which will help decide if each pup is with the right owner.

Joel and pup

I hastily take a few more photos because I know it’s time to let Katja have a well-deserved nap. Feeding 11 puppies and a tiger must be quite exhausting!