As each of you on the wait list are aware, Getka welcomed her litter of 12 precious babes on the 21st. Each one loaded with potential that is Doberman. I look forward to getting to know each and every one and getting them through their first eight weeks before officially handing the reins over to their new families.
There will be many photos and updates here in the coming weeks so check back often. And don't be shy about commenting. Questions and or comments. The interaction makes blogging considerably more fun for me. Additionally, if you have questions there's a good chance others may have the same ones.
So, the past few days have been busy ones... Getka began the nesting process around 11pm Thursday night just as I was getting ready to turn in. Exhausted. And I thought, oh boy.... here we go. It's showtime.
But, fortunately for me she settled and we both got some sleep. Her first pup arrived at 7am Friday. It's not too often I'm blessed with a daytime delivery. But when they occur, they're always appreciated!
The whelping process and the lead up always create quite a bit of anxiety for me. But with each successful delivery, that anxiety slowly began to dissipate. It seemed my girl was likely done around five. I quickly changed out the birthing bedding with some fresh sheets and settled in to simply relax, watch some TV and hang out with Getka and our new arrivals. Watching and listening... monitoring.
Our last pup arrived around 5pm... at least the last one I witnessed. But she had a holdout providing me with a morning surprise. One more than I counted the night before.
All in all Getka, with such a large litter, did a great job of fulfilling our current reservation list. Especially on the female side of things. We did come up a little short on males but Hopefully Ritz will soon step up to the plate and fulfill those requests.
Yesterday was another day of watching and monitoring. And some relaxing. I also made my calls to update all on the reservation list. The list has been adjusted accordingly, and a new "upcoming litter" tab added above. With just one red male and one red female, Mitch (and Holly) as well as Dalanda can watch the blog and their pups specifically right out the gate. The rest of you will be held in anticipation until roughly the 6-7 week mark when the selection process begins. The pups will begin their outdoor excursions around the 4 week mark. And by 6 weeks each will have gained some confidence and some personality will begin to develop. I'll try and make the wait and the process enjoyable for all.
I'm happy to report my girl has settled in well to her role as mom. She was a bit of a nightmare with her first litter. But as they say, practice brings forth perfection.
Below are a few pics taken the day and evening of arrival.