Maks is one of a small number of Dalmatians worldwide that carries two copies of the desirable SLC2A9 gene therefore every puppy he produces will have one copy of the gene and therefore Low Uric Acid (LUA)! Emily has one copy of the LUA gene so we expect some of these puppies to have two copies! This beautiful litter is the result of breeding an outcrossed female back to her sire. I believe that homozygous puppies from this litter will be very useful in incorporating the LUA gene in other bloodlines. They are very healthy and consistent.



Saturday, September 24, 2011

Day Thirteen

Today I got to spend more time watching the puppies and I observed the very beginning of their desire to go away from the nest to pee.  In about a week I will be taking the pool away and putting in the bottom of an extra large crate. At that time they will leave the crate to potty on the paper. It is amazing how they automatically do this. In another day or so their eyes will be totally open. That is when I start conditioning them to a sound that means food is coming.  The sound I use is "PSST" like I am trying to get their attention. I don't use a loud sound just a gentle psst. I will take tiny balls of ground beef and make that noise at the same time I am popping the beef into their mouth. I will do this one time the first day and two times the second day and so on. It won't be long and they will wake from a sound sleep when they hear that noise. If one of the puppies doesn't jump up for the sound I will suspect he is deaf. If he jumps up only part of the time I will suspect he is a unilateral hearing dog. It is a very fast way to tell early the hearing status of the litter.

Here is a picture of the puppies eating. I am sure she will be happy when they are eating from a bowl.

When I walked in the room one time today the pictures below are what I saw. Holly provided a Kodak moment!



I thought I would add a picture of my other litter too!


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