Samantha has been bred to the handsome Tax, GCHB. Mika Itemized Deduction Liswyn, PT owned by The Goddards. Puppies exepected Mid-March 2018. The puppies will have registered names that are Duran Duran song titles. We are expecting OUTSTANDING structure and temperment from this combination. These puppies will be ideal for all dog sport venues as well as family companions. Please follow the links to read more about the sire and dam of this litter.

Week 1 - March 21

It's been a very busy week at Sarron this week. First, we found out on March 9th that we WERE actually having puppies, after being told there were none coming in February at the ultrasound. So, no problem... We stayed home from the dog show in Louisville that began on March 15th to welcome 8 new Sarron babies to the world on March 14-15. This will be the Duran Duran Litter - which means their registered names will begin with Sarron and must then include the name of a Duran Duran song. Their ribbon colors, gender, date/time and weights at birth were:

• Aqua F - White line, back toes white 3/14/2018 9:37 13.6 oz
• White M - White dot and back toes white 3/14/2018 10:49 15.1oz
• Purple M - White dot 3/14/2018 11:40 15.0 oz
• Red M 3/14/2018 12:18 13.6oz
• Pink F - White Star 3/14/2018 13:01 12.6 oz
• Green F - White dot 3/14/2018 13:49 12.0 oz
• Yellow M 3/14/2018 14:50 13.6oz
• Blue M - White Star 3/15/2018 12:19 12.4 oz

Wednesday the 14th started fairly early with the first baby arriving at 9:37 am - but at least she did wait until daylight to begin!!! The first seven puppies averaged about 40 minutes between them with the final March 14th puppy being born at 2:50 pm. Samantha is a GREAT Welper and all the babies came out vigorous and she knew exactly what to do. I tried to mainly stay out of the way and to move puppies quickly as the next puppy made it's arrival. These babies all weighed between 12.0 oz - 15.1 oz - very consistent in size.

At 3:30 pm. I gave her an injection to help her uterus contract to ensure there were no puppies or placentas still inside. I also called the vet to schedule an appt for Thursday morning to have Sam and the babies checked out by the vet and have rear dewclaws removed. Samantha was pretty quiet and content with the puppies on Wednesday and I thought that she might be finished. Samantha spent the first night trying to remember how to tip toe around the babies in the box. She did pretty well and the babies were nursing vigorously. Thursday morning, we made our way to the vet for check outs. Everyone looked good. We removed rear dewclaws off of three babies and my vet advised me to give Samantha one more clean out shot that morning. I gave her the injection at 10:30 am once we got home and at 12:19 pm - Blue boy made his entrance!! He immediately started to nurse and got going well. NO problems for him at all.

This past week has been fairly sleepless as I am in the recliner right next to the welping box just in case Samantha needs any support. I'll do this for another week and then move back to my bed (thank goodness). On Day 3, we started the Super Puppy Bio Sensor program. You can read more about that here. We do this program from day 3 to day 16 for each baby. The interesting part is that today, I noticed that the several of the babies are already pushing themselves up on their feet and moving around the box. They are advanced. At this age, the babies really just eat, poop and sleep. They do make noises, whines, barks, suckling noises. They are not interacting with each other yet as they still do not have their eyes or ears open yet. They know what Mom and what g-ma smell like though. The puppies today are all between 1# 6.4 oz - 1# 10oz. At the end of their first week, their weights were:

• Aqua F - 1# 10 oz
• White M - 1# 9.6 oz
• Purple M - 1# 9.7 oz
• Red M - 1# 8 oz
• Pink F - 1# 6.6 oz
• Green F - 1# 6.4 oz
• Yellow M -1# 8.6 oz
• Blue M - 1# 6.5 oz

Week 2 - March 28

Week 2 update on deck! This week, Samantha started to spend a little time out of the box. Literally, the first week, I had to drag her out of the box to go outside and she'd be back immediately to count and recheck the babies. This week, she is more relaxed, as are the puppies...they seem to know that she'll be back soon if she's not in the box with them. They are really quiet puppies, and they want for nothing. Samantha keeps them, and the box, very clean. Samantha is eating about 10 cups of dry food and a few cans of dog food each day to keep all the babies supported well.

All of the puppies gained at least 1 lb this week - which, considering there are 8 of them to feed and care for, is pretty good. Their updated growth chart is reflected below. They have been pushing themselves up on their feet and scooting around the box this week - in preparation for walking. They also are climbing up on Samantha and pushing themselves along the box rail. White boy did that this week and pushed himself right out of the box one night! HE certainly didn't mean to do that and made a racket as he searched for his litter mates. I was "sleeping" in the recliner right next to him and came quickly to the rescue. To that end, I put the first panel in the door so that the can not slide out of the box, but Sam can get in/out easily.

• Aqua F - 2# 14 oz
• White M - 2# 12 oz
• Purple M - 2# 11 oz
• Red M - 2# 8 oz
• Pink F - 2# 7 oz
• Green F - 2# 7 oz
• Yellow M -2# 12 oz
• Blue M - 2# 9 oz

Just today, the babies are starting to open the inside corners of their eyes. :) At lunch today, they started to get a glimpse of g-ma Sherri as I was home at lunch spending time with them. I noticed today too they are starting to interact with each other more too. Once their eyes are open and they are pushing up on their feet consistently and moving around the box, we'll start to introduce some puppy toys - even though 8 siblings really should be more than enough entertainment! By next update, they will have their eyes and ears open and will start looking more like little dogs instead of baby seals! Additionally, the babies now are moving toward the other puppies and Samantha in the box... they can now start to see the other dogs and not just rely on smell. I've changed their ribbons twice this past week as they are really growing fast.

Week 3 - April 4

This has been a HUGE week for the babies! First and foremost, their eyes are open!!! and they are working on their ears now too. The babies can now make eye contact with you and they are very social. They are starting to understand who I am in their life and they love to be cuddled. The most fun is that they are starting to act like little dogs now, they bark, tussle with their littermates and are beginning to howl a bit to let Samantha know they want her in the box. They are also starting to get their coats in, too. The first two weeks, all their coats were kind of short and slick. Some of that likely had to do with Samantha continually licking them and keeping them clean. But, now, they are starting to get fluffy! The babies got their first nail trim this week too. Their updated growth chart is below too!!! Aqua girl is holding steady as the biggest baby!

• Aqua F - 4# 11 oz
• White M - 4# 6 oz
• Purple M - 4# 2 oz
• Red M - 3# 14 oz
• Pink F - 3# 13 oz
• Green F - 3# 12 oz
• Yellow M- 4# 2 oz
• Blue M - 3# 11 oz

We finished up the Super Puppy Bio Sensor stimulation program this week. They were not very happy about those exercises to start with .. most of them did not like the upside down stimulation. But, they all got through it and will be better puppies for it. The main reasons we do this with each litter are: Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation exercises. The benefits noted were: Improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate), Stronger heart beats, Stronger adrenal glands, More tolerance to stress, Greater resistance to disease. At the end of week 3, I started to introduce some supplemental replacement milk in a bowl so they can learn to lick. Samantha is still with them 100%, but I'm just starting to supplement a little each day. They need to start learning to get food from people in a bowl in addition to their momma. Samantha tolerates my bowl visits, as she gets to clean up the remnants of their feeding. But, she jumps in quickly to clean them and remind them that momma always has the best milk. :) She'll start to change their tune a bit as their teeth come in... but that's OK.

At the end of the third week, we expanded the box and added the puppy play area. This area doesn't have fleece in it, it's covered by packing paper and has a mat in it so that the puppies start to navigate different services and get used to different textures under their feet. They are spending a little time out on the tile in their room too. IF the weather cooperates, we might even take them outside for a bit this weekend. We will be adding a small bowl of water and some new toys this week for puppy enrichment. It's going to get fun now!!! Take care all and enjoy the photos... Visit the FB page for videos of them too! The attached close up head shots are from early in their week so they still were not moving a whole lot.

Week 5 - April 19

Now that we are in the 5th week - they definitely are getting their needle sharp puppy teeth in! And, well - it's time for weaning to begin. I am weaning onto Blue Wilderness Chicken for Puppies dry food. At this stage, I mix pulverized Blue Wilderness kibble with Gerber baby rice cereal, powdered goats milk and warm water about 4 times a day. They also have the Blue Wilderness dry kibble in their pen at all times so they can learn to crunch hard kibble. Also, I've stated to introduce a little treat of whole milk yogurt to them as well. I use Stonyfield Organic Plain Whole Milk yogurt - lots of of good calcium for their growing bodies and good active cultures for their digestive tracks. They are getting about 1 teaspoon per puppy per day right now. Their updated weights are:

• Aqua F - 7# 5 oz
• White M - 7# 9 oz
• Purple M - 6# 15 oz
• Red M - 6# 7 oz
• Pink F - 6# 5 oz
• Green F - 6# 9 oz
• Yellow M- 7# 4 oz
• Blue M - 6# 9 oz

Samantha is only spending about half of her time with them now. She still lets them nurse, but we've cut back her food from "unlimited to 6 cups" a day right now. Samantha is now sleeping back in the master bedroom and the babies are sleeping alone in their room. I do leave a radio on for them all the time so there is sound - we are working through different radio stations to expose them to different types of sounds. They are transitioning well and very content.

I've posted some new videos this week to facebook - as the pups have graduated from their whelping box to an Expen. This change allows them some additional changes to their typical scenery so that they are stressed a little but in a very safe environment. That's really the goal of raising confident, well adjusted puppies, introduce new things gradually during this development period so they can learn to work through and deal with stresses in their lives. With the move to the expen, they are on tile flooring more, have their fleece area, packing paper area and their little grassy spot. They are going outside in their pen too!!! Their outside pen is about 12 x 10 and is concrete and has a outdoor mat and some straw from the dog igloo that is in that area. This area is totally covered, so even when it rains,they'll be able to go outside. We are starting to work on the concept of going outside to potty - but they have a long way to go on that one. In a week or so, I will give them more space to explore in the outside pen too. But, right now, their puppy room and the limited outside pen is a great start to shaping confident puppies.

This week they are much more mobile. THEY RUN FAST... at least they think so. LOL.. It really is fun watching them run fast across the room or outside in their pen and have their rear feet slide out from under them... they are working on building coordination.. it's not there yet. We introduced a new tunnel this week, they are still playing/tugging on their puppy mobile and this week I'll add some aluminum cans to that mobile so that they get additional sounds and feeling. They are confident on the wobble boards and are starting to run over those -which for all performance puppies is a huge benefit. Once we open the outside pen up, I'll introduce the ball pit - which is a kids swimming pool with 2" balls in it for them to tumble around it - that's a great new experience for them.

I'm spending a lot of time with the puppies just watching them move around, seeing who is dominant , who is a more soft puppy, and I'm beginning to evaluate their front and rear movements. We still have several weeks to go, but,very happy to see nice sound moving rears and good fronts. The litter is very consistent in bodies and heads. At this point, Pink, Yellow, Blue, White and Purple have the long flowing coats - more like my Thunder. Aqua, Green and Red have the shorter, tighter coats - more like my Jules. It is very fun to watch them grow and be able to see them change and mature.

Week 6 - April 25

We are now at week 6 1/2 - and the babies are getting big. We are still working on weaning. Samantha is a very good mom and she still wants to be with her babies, but she is also beginning to wean them too... She'll let them know when the milk bar is closed and then she just lays around them and watches them play. They climb all over her and she is very patient with them...

Samantha goes in with them several times and days, but she doesn't stay with them at night. She is sleeping on the bed and happy to be there. The puppies are usually played out around 10 pm l when put them all in their expen. They sleep until I wake them up at 5 am. They go out immediately and get lots of praise when they potty outside. We are working on getting their mindset to potty outside, but they are by no means house trained. Just trying to make that association with them now so it may be a little easier when they go to new homes.

They had ALL TYPES of chew toys - and then need them. They chew continuously. Shoestrings are a favorite and they are expert at untying shoes. They really like the toys that make crinkly sounds so keep that in mind. They haven't figured out how to make the "talking toys" talk yet, but they are working on it. This week they all gained at least 1 pound and a couple gained almost 1 1/2 lbs. They are all doing great, eating well and growing. Weights are:

• Aqua F - 8# 10 oz
• White M - 9# 4 oz
• Purple M - 8# 10 oz
• Red M - 8# 2 oz
• Pink F - 7# 6 oz
• Green F - 7# 14 oz
• Yellow M- 9#
• Blue M - 8# 3 oz

My friend Kate Stephenson came over today and helped me get some stacked photos... A couple were cooperative, most were not. This was their first time on a grooming table and they were unsure about that height as well as the clicking camera - but we got through it. All of the puppies are beginning to learn some bite inhibition. That takes a while in baby Belgians. They do still want to chew on your fingers, etc... but they are learning not to bite your face, etc.. which are useful. LOL... most of the time, now they will give people kisses and save the bites for their littermates.

We opened up their outside expen and let them spread out into the bigger pen and stretch their legs this week. We added a ball pit too today, which they are not too shore about just yet. By next week - they'll think that's great fun too. We don't let them have full run in the big pen all the time as we do have some large hawks in our neighborhood that could make a meal of a 9 lb puppy. Please be aware of the large birds/birds of prey in your area and don't leave the puppy outside unattended until they are 25 - 30 lbs least.

These puppies love to romp and play for 10 - 15 minutes at a time right now.. then they are ready for a nap. Getting their exercise in a nice fenced yard is very important for the puppies - they need to be able to run and play as much as they want - but on their terms. I know that I have a few folks on this list who are avid runners - so just to remind you - the belgians need to have their growth plates closed (usually around 18 months) before they are doing any steady jogging. They can go on easy walks, but no repetitive pounding on concrete or hard ground until their growth plates close.

These babies can go out to a puppy socialization class, they can go into puppy agility (everything on the ground - but getting them used to contacts, etc. ) they can start puppy obedience too.. but again, no repetitive jumping until after 18 months. If you have any question - please email or call me so that we can discuss. I can't believe that we only have 4 weeks to go. Don't forget their is a puppy party here from 10 am - 1 pm ET next Saturday, May 5th if you are in driving distance - you are very welcome. Hopefully, it warm and sunny so that we can go outside.

Week 7.5 - May 6

What an eventful week the babies had this week.... Like I said last week - the babies have decided that the ball pool is GREAT fun!! I've posted a couple of videos on FB showing them running in and out of the pool. They are getting to spend more time out in the bigger pen now and really beginning to stretch their legs and run! We've also had them up in the main house getting used to seeing the other dogs, the TV, etc... and being away from their puppy room. This week also, they took a couple of short trips out in the big yard with a couple of the big dogs, including their Grandma Cara, Momma Samantha and they got to play with their cousin Icey several times too. They did great in the grass, lots of sniffing and munching on grass... but they are fine. They love to find small sticks and carry them around - very cute.

Another first this week was their first baths! OH MY!!!! that was traumatic for everyone... They survived and smelled much better for their puppy party on Saturday. But, the sprayer on the kitchen sink was quite startling to them... as they thought I was just setting them in the sink to love and pet them. LOL All the babies had a big growth week too! Now between 10 # and 12# 8 oz!! Their coats are wonderful - and they are active, adventurous and sweet. Their updated growth chart is below.

• Aqua F - 11# 4 oz
• White M - 12# 8 oz
• Purple M - 11# 2 oz
• Red M - 11# 4 oz
• Pink F - 10
• Green F - 10# 6 oz
• Yellow M- 12# 8 oz
• Blue M - 11# 4 oz

Like I mentioned before, we had a GREAT puppy party on Saturday. Jan and Chris, Greg and Janet., Anne, Meagan, Sonny and Phyllis, Cheryl and Ron, and Danyel came over to play with the puppies. The babies were really active for about 20 minutes and then napped for the rest of the time... :) But, they did get lots of cuddles and enjoyed meeting all the new people. Thanks for coming over all! Our friend Cheryl is in a wheel chair and all the babies did really well with the new set of wheels in the house. None were afraid, and several went right up to her for pets. Additionally this week - I did a couple of temperment test exercises with the babies. I opened up an umbrella and placed in on the ground. A few of the babies ran over to it, a couple were startled,but settle quickly. None of them headed for the hills... so that's very good and stable. I also banged a metal pan with a metal spoon... pretty much the same reaction. I few came toward it and a couple sat and listened for it again... but none of them took off to get away from it. IT has probably helped that they've been listening to different types of music in their puppy room since the day they were born - at varying loudness. Last thing for this week is a new ebook to share with you all. It's by a lady named Denise Fenzi - she is on FB and online with different training programs and I know several folks who take her online classes and really like them... So, if you are so inclined check her out. At the very least, take a look at this ebook. Especially the parts that talk about addressing separation anxiety, puppy training, etc... The biggest thing is to set the puppys crate right next to your bed so that when you put the baby to bed at night in its crate, if it starts to whine, you can put a finger or two through the crate bars and calm the baby. Things like this - Denise does a VERY GOOD job of talking through why you should do it that way.

Week 8 - May 13

This has been another busy week... and we are heading down the home stretch! Not too much longer and these little bundles of fur will be headed to your homes! I've got a great group of homes and I'm excited to welcome all of you into the Sarron family as you welcome these pups home. This week - we had great weather and the puppies were able to go in and out quite a bit. They are such good babies. All eating well and growing right in front of our eyes. They are eating dry food well - Blue Buffalo Puppy, Chicken formula. NOT the large breed, just the Puppy. A photo of the bag is attached for everyone to use for reference. I am giving Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt in the morning - probably about 2 tablespoons per pup.

We took our trip to the vet this week for first shots and micro chips. The vaccination was a a non-event for all puppies, but the microchip on the other hand, was traumatic for everyone! Not one puppy was silent for that... poor babies. Several of them were a bit sore the next day even, but as of today, everyone is back to their outgoing puppy selves and feeling fine. All their bites looked good, hearts sounded good (no murmurs) and their patellas felt good. Their weigh chart is below this week too. The smallest is pink at 11# 4 oz and the largest is yellow at 14# 4 oz...By Memorial Day weekend, I anticipate they will all between 18# - 21#... Good sized group.

• Aqua F - 12# 5 oz
• White M - 13# 11 oz
• Purple M - 12# 8 oz
• Red M - 12# 8 oz
• Pink F - 11# 4oz
• Green F - 11# 11 oz
• Yellow M- 12# 8 oz
• Blue M - 12# 12 oz

I posted several videos today of puppies playing.. they go, go, go and then they stop and sleep. The Go parts times are getting longer, but they are still puppies... they need to sleep a lot. At 8 weeks, all the girls: Pink, Green and Aqua have their ears up. Of the boys, Purple has his ears up. White, Red, Blue - all have one ear up and one still tipped over. Yellow (the biggest boy) right now has both ears on top of his head, but both are tipped still. They will all come up - no worries, just as I am keeping my fingers crossed that all the testicles come down eventually. I've touched base with all homes on the testicle status - please do keep me in the loop on how things go. Thanks everyone for getting back to me quickly on the microchip registration. I spoke to the clinic and they provided me a sample of the registration form. Once the chip is registered, Home Again will reach out to you with an email and letter to have to confirm registration and then give you the option of adding other contact forms, pics, etc... I have already paid for the first year of registration - the bad part about HomeAgain is that they require I annual renewal. My recommendation is when you register your puppy with the AKC, also register in their AKCReunite program. Once you pay the initial registration you DO NOT have to pay an annual fee after that and you can set up all your contact info etc. there too.

Week 9 - May 13

This has been an exciting week here at Sarron. The babies are growing by leaps and bounds! Samantha was separated from the babies for a week to get over her mastitis and that has gone well. She is back with them a bit now and enjoying the time. Their growth chart for 9 weeks is below.

• Aqua F - 15# 2 oz
• White M - 17#
• Purple M - 15# 2 oz
• Red M - 14# 6 oz
• Pink F - 13# 2oz
• Green F - 14# 11 oz
• Yellow M- 17#
• Blue M - 15#

This week - Green Girl in MI (still deciding on a name), White Boy in NY (Skye) and Yellow Boy in KY (Sunny) went off to their homes! All the babies are doing great and boy Skye and Sunny were up to 17 lbs at their 9 week weigh in.. it was time for those two boys to head off!! They were huge. Red Boy (Dash) will be heading out to AZ tomorrow and the other 3 babies will go out Purple (Rio) to IN on May 26th, Aqua Girl (Lundi) to IN on May 28th and finally Blue boy (Shadow) to GA on May 30th. And, Pink girl is staying here for course. This litter has been a lot of fun - such consistent puppies with very good, even temperments. I'm glad that you all are getting puppies from this litter as it may be a while before I decide to do this again..

The babies are all eating solid, dry kibble well. They do love their yogurt in the morning. They are extreme chewers - so make sure that you have ample toys and different squeakers, sounds, etc...You will want many types of chews to be able to trade with the puppy if they get things they should not have or if they are chewing on your fingers, ankles, etc... Once the babies arrive, they should be home bodies for the first couple weeks. You'll want to not take them out around other dogs until after their next vaccination. Don't take them to locations where other dogs would be like the pet food store, dog park, etc... Dogs that are sick or carrying parasites could be or have been there. Don't invite other alot of other dogs over to meet the new baby until after their next vaccination. After they are vaccinated, they can have other new doggie friends over, but not for a few more weeks. Short rides in the car will be ideal as they do not have a lot of car experience and short trips will be a good start. The remaining babies had some additional visitors today Good friends Barb Dillon (BSDs) and her son Eamon and Tami Marshall (Borzoi) came to visit and play with the babies. They all enjoyed meeting more new folks, getting lots of pets and hugs. They play, play, play hard and then took a big nap. Cousin Icey was right in the middle too.