We've named the pups

Geoff, Brigitte and I have named the puppies together. We are her three co-owners.

💙💙💙💙💙💜

The Afternoon Tea litter was born on Friday April 15 to Daintree's Put a Spell on You and Tollchester's Up to no Good. This litter is comprised of five males and one female. Chip is for the little teacup in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Shortcake is for the dessert. Rose is after Red Rose tea. Earl Grey is after the tea blend. Teapot is our little teapot and Branston is a type of pickle served with cheese in a finger sandwich. We name the puppies out of love as a way to tell them apart and give them individual identities. The new families will be free to change their names to whatever they like.

Branston, named after an ingredient in a finger sandwich served at a British tea.

Chip, named for the little teacup in the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. 

Earl Grey, after the tea blend. 

Rose, named for Red Rose, a Canadian brand of tea. 

Shortcake named for the dessert. 

Teapot, because it just sounds so darn cute. 

Afternoon Tea pups Day One

Millie and her beautiful brood are all doing well almost 24 hours in. The pups have a clear range in size with 2 very small and one very large boy; the rest are in between. Millie is eating frequent, small, raw meals with lots of calories to facilitate nursing.  

The small enclosure helps to keep puppies warm and reasonably close to their mama so finding the teats to nurse doesn't burn too much of their precious energy.  At this age, they nurse and sleep, with some necessary but minimal squirming around. Development of a neonate dog is very slow in the first couple of weeks. Pups are helpless; deaf, blind, unable to walk, see, hear or communicate beyond wee cries of distress. Their mother needs to be kept comfortable, calm, well fed, well rested, safe, dry, warm and stress free so that she can do what she needs to so for her offspring.

Every decision Daintree makes is for the health and wellbeing of our cherished moms and their precious  bubs. Not one detail is overlooked; not one choice is made that is not in the best interest of the dogs relying on us for everything. 

First time Mom Millie has taken to motherhood as a duck to water ❤️ 

Afternoon Tea Litter has arrived

This afternoon, Millie gave birth to 5 boys and 1 girl. All are healthy, nursing, cooing and generally chubby, happy newborns. Millie is a fantastic mother.

Millie with her newborn whelps

Further Education Comes My Way

As a breeder, there really is only one way to learn the ropes; breed your dogs. We don't have a course of study after which we are deemed "qualified". I think this is part of the problem as to why there are such things as puppy mills. In breeding, many of us apprentice under established breeders to learn how to do it. Thanks to the help of books, websites, YouTube videos and a few select colleagues who have and continue to mentor me in dog breeding, I have been guided along in my chosen field. Actually breeding my bitches and actually having success and failure has been instrumental in delivering me to where I am today: pretty experienced but craving more knowledge and deeper understanding.

Being able to make the best decisions, practically, medically, scientifically and for optimal breeding with the least amount of stress, discomfort, and effort for the dogs is my goal. Having easy, healthy whelpings not requiring medical intervention or surgery and not involving death or injury to my dams or whelps is just basically not negotiable. I want the best breeding program I can create. These little lives matter to me on a level I sometimes find hard to express.

For example, this year, Daintree is looking at using a stud dog so far away that it makes more sense to collect and ship his semen (fresh, chilled thank you very much) and have it implanted into the female, rather than do a natural mating. Up until now, we have only ever done natural matings. Almost 8 years of dog sex with the male and female both telling me when they're in "the mood" and then me supervising as that happens. After getting the male and female together, my involvement has been mainly putting the other dogs away and clearing the lovebirds a safe space to get it on. Choosing a mate for a bitch involves a whole lot of alchemy; a combination of size, shape, colour, temperament, temperament, health test results, availability, willingness of the owner to work with the bitch's owner, distance, and other factors. To get what we are going for, we gotta do it differently this time. Well, we don't gotta, but we wanna.  He's the one, and he's clear across the country. We're having test tube babies.

This type of breeding involves hormonal testing and trips to larger cities for bigger vet clinics to lend their expertise. As you may be wondering, yes the cost increases as more people and professionals are involved, and so does the risk of poor timing, bad implantation, and a whole host of other issues I don't even know about yet.

So along comes this amazingly timed seminar on the science behind breeding great dogs. A fellow breeder shared the information about this workshop where I quickly saw it, raced to the signup page and laid down my money. Confirmed a spot in the Saturday/Sunday at 10:45 combination. I'm stoked! 

Not only will this educate me on the medical side of breeding better than I have understood to date, but it will also  introduce me to other breeders, give me an excuse to visit the city and keep those brain cells active. I love to learn; it turns out I just need to be passionate about the subject matter and then I turn into a living knowledge sponge. I'm looking very forward to this opportunity.

Some of the Daintree dogs after an outing. 

Guest Blogger Jennifer raymond on adding a baby to a pet-centric household

Our home was always full of animals. Our pets are part of our family. We have two cats and two Duck Tollers named Cadi and Linden.

We expanded our family in August 2013.  While I was still in the hospital, my husband would bring home one of the blankets that our son had been snuggled up in.  I don’t think the dogs really knew what was going to come but this would at least give them a chance to become familiar with the newest member of the Raymond household. 

Toddler James Raymond with one of his family's dogs, Cadi who they got from Daintree's Space and Heavens litter.

A few days later, we brought our son James home from the hospital. We sent one of our dogs outside while the other one would stay inside.  This would allow each dog a chance to smell the car seat and get used what was in the car seat itself.  They examined every little spot on the car seat as well as James.  What was this little squirmy thing?  Does it bark like us?  What exactly does it do?

Over the next year as James begins to develop and become more mobile, our dogs adapted right along.  It was crucial for us to teach James to be gentle with any dog.  With that being said, we were also cognizant of how we acted with our dogs because children copy actions they see from others.

We have learned over the last year that providing a patient, calm and positive environment between the child(ren) and dog(s) helps enormously for both parties.  Adult supervision along with some basic understanding of dog behaviour goes a long way.  I’ve found that kids don’t always understand the concept of personal space so when introducing them to dogs, it’s a good idea to approach slowly.

If the dog appears to show signs such as:

• are the dog’s eyes wide (the whites may often be visible),
• is the dog trying to avoid the child or how is its posture?
• Is it stiff? It’s often a sign that the dog needs a little space.  In my experience, I have found that if this is the case, it sometimes works if you try again another day. 

Perhaps the dog has been agitated by something else? We all have bad days so it’s not that the dog doesn’t like children but that it’s sometimes best to give it a little space and try again later.  If the dog feels cornered, the outcome won’t be positive.

When approaching a dog (with a child) and its behaviour appears to be friendly, its posture is relaxed / happy and appears to lean forward to sniff, those are all great signs.  Allow the child to put their hand out so that the dog can sniff it.  If the dog is comfortable in doing so, allow it to approach you (and not the other way around) and let it sniff you and/or the child.  

In general, be patient and don’t force the child to bond with the dog (or vice versa).  It will happen.  If you treat dogs with respect, they will most often return the favour. 

Jennifer Raymond is a graphic designer, mom, and lover of all animals. Eager to use her creative talents, Jennifer founded a pet photography business, where her passion for photography and animals were united. She was able to use both interests to help the Brooks Animal Protection Society, Pincher Creek Humane Society (SPCA), HeARTs Speak, and Prairie Pit Bull Rescue. She donated her photo services to these establishments by photographing animals ready for adoption, which were uploaded on social media. The experience created many happy memories, but Jennifer closed her business in 2013 when she gave birth to her son, James.

Jennifer’s passion for animals eventually led her to enroll in a Veterinary Assistant program in June 2014, which will be completed by end of 2015. When she isn’t playing with her son, two Duck Tollers, and two adopted cats, Jennifer can be found photographing the environment around her or happily typing away at her computer.