SoftMaple N HunterBay
(Days 1-7) 
The pups are pretty much the same weight now. Just over a pound
It is normal for a dam that has just delivered to have a vaginal discharge. That needs to be monitored for signs of infection. I will also take her temperature twice a day to make sure it doesn't go up, which would be another early sign of infection. You should also check the dam's teats several times a day. Make sure that one isn't getting hot or hard. This could be early mastitis. I watch the pups nurse, making sure everyone is getting a chance, and that no one is blowing bubbles out their nose....which could be a sign of a cleft pallet. There is a long list of things that can go wrong in these early days. (Eclampsia, mastitis, metritis, fading puppy syndrome, bacterial infections, to name a few) I have the whole week off to watch the new mom and babies. You can't be there all the time, and a careless mom could lay on a pup in a split second, but I feel better taking the time off.
Day 2
11/10/2004
Head
The head is a longer-than-wide wedge, readily distinguishable from that of all other retriever breeds, and of a size in balance with the body. Length of foreface is
equal, or nearly equal, to length of backskull and, when viewed in profile, the planes are parallel. The stop is shallow and sloping. At the point of joining, the width of
foreface may be slightly less than the width of the backskull but blending of the two should be smooth. The head has a nearly straight, continuous taper to the nose
and is clean cut, not coarse, blocky or cheeky. Expression--Intelligent and alert. Eyes--Almond-shaped, rather large but not too prominent. Black
or brown in black dogs and brown or amber in liver dogs. Harsh yellow eyes and loose haws are undesirable. Ears-- Rather small, set on a line slightly
above the corner of the eye, and lying close to the head. Backskull--Flat or nearly flat. Foreface--Muzzle is wedge-shaped with no hint of snipiness. The taper ends
mildly, neither acutely pointed nor bluntly squared-off but rather slightly rounding at the bottom. Mouth is level and never wry. Jaws are long and strong. A scissors
bite is preferred. Teeth set straight and even. The lips are tight and clean, not pendulous. The nose is fully pigmented; black on black dogs, brown on liver dogs.
Nostrils are large.
Liver is the recessive color in the curly. Black is dominant. To produce a liver curly, both parents must carry the liver gene. You can breed two
black curlies and get liver pups. You can also breed a black curly to a liver and get all black pups.
Here is demonstrated the color combinations that occur in a breeding. To have a liver dog, the gene match up has to be bb.
Either BB or Bb will produce a black dog. The BB will be black dominant, only producing black puppies. The Bb will carry the
recessive liver gene, and may produce liver pups if combine with either another liver carrying dog, or a liver dog.
A black dominant dog (BB) to a black bitch with a liver gene (Bb).
It is a big day for the pups today. Dewclaws are removed this morning, and later in the afternoon, the pups are put through the Bio Sensor exercises.
Methods of Stimulation
B B BB BB BB BB
produces all black dominant dogs(BB)
B B BB BB Bb Bb
produces all black pups, two of which would carry a liver gene(Bb)
produces one Black dominant dog (BB)B b BB Bb Bb bb
one liver dog (bb) and 2 black dogs with liver genes
(Bb)
produces all pups black with recessive liver gene (Bb)B B Bb Bb Bb Bb
produces 2 black dogs that carry liver (Bb) and 2 liver pups (bb)B b Bb bb Bb bb
Produces all liver (bb) pupsb b bb bb bb bb
Day 3
11/11/2004
Morning chores.
The pups are taken out of the whelping
box while the liner is changed. For whelping box liners, I use yards of fleece material. I get it at the fabric store, when I find it on sale. It gives the pups good traction, but is a bear to wash! It
holds a lot of hair, and creates a lot of lint. It creates a lot of laundry when you can only wash one liner at a time, and you may change it a couple of times a day,
depending on how big the litter is, and how clean the mom is! 
Today the collar bands are put on. When they are born I
take a marker and put a number on their bellies, but that soon fades with all of moms licking.
The liver girls have blue, green and pink. The black girls
are yellow and pink. The boys are blue, green, red and yellow.
The U.S. Military in their canine program developed a method that still serves as a guide to what works. In an effort to improve the performance of dogs used for military purposes, a program called "Bio Sensor" was developed. Later, it became known to the public as the "Super Dog" Program. Based on years of research, the military learned that early neurological stimulation exercises could have important and lasting effects. Their studies confirmed that there are specific time periods early in life when neurological stimulation has optimum results. The first period involves a window of time that begins at the third day of life and lasts until the sixteenth day. It is believed that because this interval of time is a period of rapid neurological growth and development, and therefore is of great importance to the individual.
The "Bio Sensor" program was also concerned with early neurological stimulation in order to give the dog a superior advantage. Its development utilized six exercises, which were designed to stimulate the neurological system. Each workout involved handling puppies once each day. The workouts required handling them one at a time while performing a series of five exercises. Listed in nor order of preference the handler starts with one put and stimulates it using each of the five exercises. The handler completes the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. The handling of each pup once per day involves the following exercises:
1. Tactile stimulation - holding the pup in one hand, the handler gently stimulates (tickles) the pup between the toes on any one foot using a Q-tip. It is not necessary to see that the pup is feeling the tickle. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.
2. Head held erect - using both hands, the pup is held perpendicular to the ground, (straight up), so that its head is directly above its tail. This is an upwards position. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds
3. Head pointed down - holding the pup firmly with both hands the head is reversed and is pointed downward so that it is pointing towards the ground. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds
4. Supine position - hold the pup so that its back is resting in the palm of both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling. The pup while on its back is allowed to sleep struggle. Time of stimulation 3-5 seconds.
5. Thermal stimulation - use a damp towel that has been cooled in a refrigerator for at least five minutes. Place the pup on the towel, feet down. Do not restrain it from moving. Time of stimulation 3-5 seconds.
These five exercises will produce neurological stimulations, none of which naturally occur during this early period of life. Experience shows that sometimes pups will resist these exercises, others will appear unconcerned. In either case a caution is offered to those who plan to use them. Do not repeat them more than once per day and do not extend the time beyond that recommended for each exercise. Over stimulation of the neurological system can have adverse and detrimental results.
These exercises impact the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would be normally expected. The result being an increased capacity that later will help to make the difference in its performance. Those who play with their pups and routinely handle them should continue to do so because the neurological exercises are not substitutions for routine handling, play socialization or bonding.
Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation exercises:
In tests of learning, stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates over which they were dominant in competitive situations.
Morning pictures
If pups are cold, they will all huddle in one big pile, trying to get under their siblings to keep warm. If the room is too warm, they will spread out. You want to see smaller piles or lines of pups. A healthy pup will twitch in his sleep.
You can see some of the pups under the pig rail in the whelping box. The rail is to help prevent a careless mom from trapping a pup against the side of the box.
Why we are doing this litter, and why we are doing this litter at SoftMaple?
Morning pictures
SoftMaple Curly Coated
Retrievers
Mark and Cathy Lewandowski
8282 Soft Maple Road
Croghan New York 13327
Jet and Bailey
CH SoftMaple's
O'Dark Thirty MH WCQ CD CGC TT HOF CR-536G27M-T OFA cardiac, CERF
and SoftMaple N HunterBay's Poetic Justice CGC, PennHip, CR-CA158/21F/C-NOPI, CERF 2004
Pedigree
