.

Our Own German Shepherd Dogs

German Shepherd Dog Puppies

Tsara, our German Shepherd Dog bitch gave birth to 6 German Shepherd Dog Puppies
and the whole event took about 4 hours, and went without any problems at all - nature took its course.
After each puppy was born, Tsara had cleaned it up, and we had checked it was OK.
The German Shepherd puppies weighed only about 1lbs 8 oz s at birth -  with their eyes shut (they wouldn't open till they were about 14 days old) and were either asleep or suckling their mother's milk for the next 2 weeks.

 We were feeding Tsara twice/ 3 times a day, with more meat and supplements,  proteins and vitamins, and also milk meals, mixed up raw eggs which she really liked to help her get her strength back and give nourishment to her new puppies.

We picked up each of our new German Shepherd puppies and weighed them regularly to make sure they were all eating OK (they should add about half lb per day - they grow fast!) and to get them used to being handled. They were all quite delightful and it was a pleasure seeing them progressing each day. We gave them nicknames, and at about 2 weeks old, their eyes opened and that's when the fun began.

             new born gsd puppy                                              weighing new born gsd puppy

They  started to move around more (because they could see) and  started exploring, they climbed all over their mother when trying to feed and sometimes fell off, their little legs couldn't really support them in their activities!

But as they got bigger, they got stronger and more adventurous - we had introduced them to raw meat which we fed to them in the palm of our hand, and  then introduced them to the dish which they learn t to eat from, and a bowel to drink out of - sometimes if they had exerted themselves too much - they would promptly just fall asleep wherever they were or whatever they were doing!

Of course, we knew what was going to happen -  who was going to be first to be able to climb out of the whelping box? They were all trying with limited success and it was hugely entertaining watching their efforts.
Little did we know what was coming next!

The nicknames we had given to our new German Shepherd Dog puppies were:-
Winge (because he was always moaning), Dino (great name and I love Ferraris),
Guts ( because she pushed the others out of the way and was always eating - so she was the biggest), M (because she was the middle one when born), Claudia (she was very pretty), and lastly Baby Spice (because she was very little and pretty and we nearly lost her -she needed special attention).

So at about 4/5 weeks the puppies were growing very fast and not only out of the whelping box - they were running around downstairs and the next game was to see who could get upstairs first!

We had to be constantly on our guard because the race was on between Winge, Dino and Guts and it wasn't long before they all made it upstairs and we constantly had to keep track of them and counting them to make sure we still had them all!

At about 5/6 weeks old, we decided that we had better introduce them to the back yard - another thrill for them all as you can perhaps imagine. It was great to see them taking their first steps outside with 'wonderment' in their eyes. They followed Tsara very tentatively while our other German Shepherd Dog Kelly looked on in what seemed like mild amusement (as she was our adopted ex ShadowSquad breeding dog, she had no doubt seen it all before at the kennels) so was an amused spectator to the proceedings.

We also had a few friends round to look at the puppies who were the center of attention and they all said how big they looked considering they were only young puppies. Their antics in the garden were something else - you just stood and watched them exploring and playing together, chasing each other and having 'fun time' - it was lovely to see.

The time was coming when we had to take them to the ShadowSquad German Shepherd Dog breeder who as part of the 'deal' when we bought Tsara was going to sell the puppies to good homes. This was brought home to us when they sent some prospective buyers to us to look at the puppies in our home.
Now as our German Shepherd puppies were now 7 weeks old, they were becoming quite a handful, so a decision needed to be made - were we going to keep one of the puppies, if so - which German Shepherd puppy would we choose?

Now after much deliberation we decided to go for M as she seemed to be the most placid as Tsara their mother, was somewhat 'spritely' (- or if you prefer, say high spirited, obstinant or stubborn!) So we chose M and called her  Emma (now how original is that?)

The last day we had our puppies was very emotional, on the one hand  they were 8 weeks old and needed to go to new homes and be independent from the litter, on the other hand, these were our German Shepherd puppies,  Tsara was mated at the breeders, but these puppies were born in our home - we were going to miss them!

It was a long drive to Newbury to take the puppies to the ShadowSquad German Shepherd Dog breeders - we didn't speak much and when we got there,  and handed the puppies over to Maureen to put them in the kennels, we were somewhat emotional to say the least.
We took a last look at them, exploring the kennels they were now in - awaiting their new owners and with a lump in our throats, we got back in the car and drove home.

Would we ever breed German Shepherd Dogs again?
No - we got too emotional about it and while we loved the experience, no we wouldn't ever do it again - it's heartbreaking to let go of those German Shepherd  Dog puppies.
Would we ever see them again? As a matter of fact, we did see some of them again.
I'll tell you about it later, in the meantime I'll get some more pictures sorted out and perhaps a video of the German Shepherd puppies for you to see.