Thornfield English Springer Spaniels

September 2017

Em (Wrangham Cathy Earnshaw RRD ADX JDM GD SD) x Monty (Elpendane Applejax (IMP UK))

Born 11th September 2017

Clear by parentage for PRA, Fucosidosis and PFK deficiency

Breeding is one of those blood, sweat and tears kinda things. Em had 7 puppies but unfortunately 2 of the girls were still born due to birthing complications. Try as we might they could not be revived. It was a grateful House of Thornfield, however, with a healthy Mum and 4 boys and 1 girl making up an extremely vigorous litter. Tragically at 5 weeks we had to euthanse one of the boys, known as Luke, who suffered from two very serious congenital conditions, Megaoesophagus and Persistent Right Aortic Arch (acquired through development in utero rather than a genetic issue). Sleep well my little Thornfield angels.

Liver & white male ("Obi" aka Thornfield Walterem now known as Walter)
Liver & white male ("Finn" aka Thornfield Strategem, who is still known as Finn)
Liver & white male ("Haan" aka Thornfield Mayhem, now known as Cooper)
Liver & white female ("Leia" aka Thornfield Diadem now known as Ruby)

Em is getting bigger by the day!

But somehow they can all still fit on my lap...Ginny (L), Em (R), Lilly and Dizzy curled up in the middle plus Zig on my feet

Em's daughter from her first litter, Ginny, takes over nesting responsibilities. Love our new whelping box!

And here they are! What a hectic afternoon and evening but it's so worth it.

Loving the set up (L): Em feels safe and secure, I have everything at hand and, at night, just put out a camp mat to sleep on. Pups are snuggled in the box (R) so I can clean the whelping box without disturbing them too much. Ginny is trying to figure out how to get them to play - what a wonderful big sister!

Ziggy is desperate to meet the babies (L) but Em will not tolerate him being anywhere near them at this young age. Ian, on the other hand, is more than welcome (R).

Pups are weighed daily and handled at every opportunity. Em is more than happy for us to do this.

That level of trust is not quantifiable.

Best Mum...

Em is loving her human visitors but Ziggy has to get snuck in when she's outside...

Pups got a new toy! But apparently Em quite likes it too...

Excuse me kids, would you mind popping over to help socialise the puppies?

She can READ!!! Ruby is a GENIUS!!!

It's so important to expose pups to different surfaces, textures, sounds, people, kids, experiences and challenges. Here's just a small sample of what our pups do each day...

Watching the puppies going to their new homes is filled with mixed emotions....I'll miss them terribly but know that they are heading for a wonderful life and there's every chance we will all stay in touch.

And this is what makes breeding so special...a very Thornfield Christmas Eve 2017 catching up with friends, new and old - Em, Ginny, Murphy, Cooper, Finn along with our other dogs Ziggy, Timber, Roxy (RIP) and their families...