'Jackson' Litter

Page 1 2

This is a pictorial diary of the Messano 'Jackson' litter, Ritzilyn Rock On Tommy For Messano ('Tommy') x Messano Minnie The Moocher ('Roxy'). The puppies were born 3 days earlier than expected in the early hours of 26/06/2009. The puppies arrival coincided with the death of Michael Jackson, so in memory of a great entertainer who is almost the same age as us and who's songs were the soundtrack to our youth, we have decided to break with the alphabet tradition for this litter and name the puppies after Jackson songs. The only other time that we have done this is with our 'D' litter, who were born on the 50th anniversary of D-Day and had wartime names as the theme. The litter consists of 8 puppies, 4 dogs and 4 bitches. Unfortunately Paul was on a business trip in Germany when the puppies made their entrance, so Julie had to cope on her own with support only from text and phone calls! All the puppies have homes arranged for them.

21/06/2009 This photo shows Roxy with 7days remaining until her puppies are born.	21/06/2009 ...it is hard to see by these photos, but she is quite a good size for 55 days.
26/06/2009 Roxy with her 8 puppies after a long night of labour.	26/06/2009 Later in the day after the puppies had been cleaned up.
26/06/2009 One of the puppies being weighed. The average birth weight of this litter was higher than normal, with the biggest puppy weighing 1lb, 4ozs (approx. 500 grammes).	29/06/2009 Roxy catching up on her sleep with her babies. As you can see, they range in colour from cream to dark gold.
29/06/2009 The four boys have been marked black, green, blue and turquoise and the girls are purple, red, orange and yellow.	30/06/2009 The puppies continue to grow, but the heat is making Roxy very uncomfortable.
30/06/2009 The puppies pigment is coming through strongly now, you can see the black noses developing...	30/06/2009 ...but it will still be another week until their eyes are open.
02/07/2009 A few general views of the puppies enjoying the sun...	02/07/2009 ...it has been quite difficult to keep the puppies cool in the high temperatures that we have had this week.
03/07/2009 It is nice to have a litter with a selection of colours.	03/07/2009 These puppies are very laid-back!
04/07/2009 Roxy has had a problem with her milk, which meant that, although healthy, the puppies were not gaining as much weight as they should...	04/07/2009 The decision was taken to supplement them with Liquid Life Aid (a rehydration fluid), as it is important to keep them hydrated, especially in this hot weather.
07/07/2009 They are growing more quickly now and putting on weight at a steady rate.	07/07/2009 They always sleep in a heap.
07/07/2009 The puppies always latch on to the same nipple when feeding.	07/07/2009 The puppies in action at 12 days old

Page 1 2