| Labradors of Antler Trails |
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| How we raise our litters at Antler Trails! The following pictures are from our Tasha x Cash litter born March 10, 2007. We welcomed 6 puppies into the world that day, each one was special and unique! Through our pictures and detailed description of each puppy, the new owners had a blast watching them grow and develop their own personalities. We carefully document each puppy, and post the information on our website for the future owners to see. When the time comes to pick up your new family member, you have a lot of information to base your decision on. |
| Two of the six puppies are here! Tasha is resting comfortably in the whelping box, carefully tending to her new babies! |
| All six puppies are here and settling into their new home. For the next three weeks, the puppies will live in their whelping box in the middle of our bathroom. Here they are safe from drafts and the temperature can be easily regulated. Daily weights are recorded. |
| At two weeks old, the puppies are moving around their 4' x 4' box, snuggling up with toys or their littermates. Eyes have opened and they are starting to stand and move around more. A little bit of personality starts appearing. Weights are still being recorded and puppies are handled and talked to since birth. |
| Three weeks old and the puppies are beginning to be very funny to watch! We handle and play with them daily and talk to them constantly. Since they are in our bathroom, they have become accustom to household noises from the beginning like the washer and dryer. The picture on the right shows they are ready to explore more of the world! |
| After turning three weeks old, the puppies are moved to our great room into a 4' x 8' box. They begin eating their puppy gruel and drinking water. At four weeks old, the puppies are introduced to pheasant wings. We let them carry the wings in their mouths and learn the smell. |
| At four weeks, we have also introduced an open crate into their box. On the left, Chase is comfy, cozy taking a nap! We have also hung toys above their heads to get the puppies to look up. As they grow older, they love to try and pull these toys down! |
| After a few days with the open crate, we put the top of the crate on. This helps the young pups with crate training in the future. They are very playful at this age, and more of their personalities are coming out. |
| This little girl enjoying the crate turns out to be our little Windy! |
| By the time they are five weeks old, puppies are taken outside to play (weather permitting) and given the pheasant wing again. We begin to play games with the wing for the next couple weeks, hiding the wing and watch them use their nose to find where it's hidden. We do short retrieves and try and get them to bring the wing to us. Fun puppy games! |
| By seven weeks old, the puppies are introduced to a live bird. It is truly amazing to watch what naturally comes out in these little puppies! Each one displayed natural flushing and retrieving abilities. |
| This is a general overview of how the puppies are raised in our home. For the first three weeks, we closely monitor and document their weight, eyes and ears opening, handle them, and do a lot of "good puppy" and "what a pretty puppy" talking. The dew claws are removed at three days old and vet checked at the same time. By the time the three weeks are up, the puppies are ready to experience and explore more of the world. For the next four weeks, the puppies are in our great room, surrounded by all the normal household noises and general life. More people are visiting them and handling them. Their large box is surrounded by a wire puppy pen, keeping them safe and also allowing our other dogs to meet them. They are exposed to big dogs barking, pots and pans banging, the television on, etc. They are in the middle of all the action! They will be wormed and given their first set of shots, plus micro-chipped. At seven weeks old, the puppies may now meet their new owners and go home with them. |