We’ve decided to continue our Blog thru our Bulhaven Daily Blog, “The Latest News at Bulhaven Bullmastiffs” to continue our activities beyond updating our litters. Clara’s puppies are soon to go to their new homes so we will continue our Blog regarding upcoming shows, litter plans and puppy updates as the year goes on.
Visit “The Latest News at Bulhaven Bullmastiffs” to become a follower of our Daily Blog!
Enjoy!!
~Mary
"Bulhaven's Lois Lane" ~ eleven days old
Squint and Sparkle, nothing is cuter! Two little Princesses
Well, well, well… Clara’s girls are lifting their heads up and slightly squinting open their eyes. What a dramatic change from the seemingly helpless, “infant crawl”!
"Bulhaven's Lois Lane", eyes opening, head lifting.. getting ready to walk?
At eleven days old they are starting to squint open their eyes which brings a unique transition to the world we share with them. Their eyes and ears should be opening between 10-14 days after birth which also initiates sight and eventually, hearing.
By the 15th day, eyes will be completely opened but the pups still will not see very well. Not until about 28 days will the puppies clearly distinguish forms thru sight. For now, the lights are dim and the music is soothing as the girls gradually enter “our world” of sight and sound.
This is a dramatic transitional period for the puppies. By the end of this stage the puppies will have received all the basic tools of life. They will become more receptive and active in the whelping box as they learn not only to “see where they are going” but also gain balance and stability for walking.
This means that Clara’s two new girls will become much more sensitive to their environment (the whelping box; temperature, noise, hunger) than they were during the previous (and first) week and a half of life.
During this stage between two and four weeks, their sense of smell is refined. We will start to notice as the girls begin to walk and crawl around the whelping box that they are also “sniffing” around them.
The olfactory area of adult dogs is fourteen times as large as a human’s and their overall ability to smell is over one hundred times more sensitive than ours.
While we depend mostly on our eyes for information, dogs rely on their noses, learning about their environment from the air that passes their way.
Hearing is the last sensort faculty to devleop, with their ears opening at about twenty days. We are cautious during these transitions, inviting limited visitation from friends and family until pups can sucessfully develop their entire sensory system.
Emerging from a dark and silent world into one of sights and sound should happen as naturally as possible to allow the pups to adjust without excess trauma. What the pups hear for the first time can leave a strong fear imprint. We play a constant stream of light music in our whelping room and avoid loud noises to build a calm environment for both mother and babies.
We offer a 24 hour live web cam of our puppies and their mama Clara Haute so that awaiting families can enjoy the pups via their computer at home until the puppies are old enough to allow playful visitors.
Enjoy!
Happy Birthday to Ms. Clara Haute!!
If anyone has ever impressed me it’s by far Clara Haute. Her new litter is just 10 days old and by natural instinct she has mastered how to nudging puppies into a pile to feed them, she cleans them, and snuggles them day and night.
Clara and Sweet Pea at 8 days old
As a mother, she is a portrait of concentrated, faithful attention to every detail of the puppies’ lives. It is their vulnerability that she is prepared to defend with her life. On this day I absolutely honor and appreciate Clara as her mothering instincts take full effect, nursing her pups with ultimate care and nurturing.
Clara is celebrating her sixth birthday and final litter! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARA!!
The tons of love she professes for her litter everyday through all her acts, big and small. It can’t even be measured. We just sit and watch as she is unconcerned by our presence.
A mother’s influence on her litter provides the essential foundation for the future development of the litter. Although newborn puppies are born without hearing or sight, they possess a well developed sense of smell. Neonatal behavior also reveals a capacity for the simple learning necessary for survival.
Regardless of how one interprets infant behavior and what constitutes true learning, the fact remains that pups’ brain, motor and sensory capacities are all immature during this period. “Learning” at this point is left to only what is necessary for their survival.
Clara's new puppy, Bulhaven's Lois Lane (ten days old)
Abundance of sleep is an absolute requirement. It is vital to the development of the central nervous system and the brain. Neonatal puppies spend about 90% of their time sleeping. It isn’t until after four weeks that pups are able to stay awake for any sustained amount of time.
During this time, it is the quietness of sleep, combined with regular mothering, nourishment, warmth and elementary movement that establishes the proper climate where the brain and central nervous system may mature.
Overall, we now can see that what is occurring, Clara’s amazing maternal instinct and attention to her pups, lays the foundation for the future, despite the obvious immaturity of the pups at this stage.
Life is growth.
Happy Birthday, Clara Haute! 🙂
The first full week of life went well for the New Bulhaven Baby Girls!! It has taken a few days for mom Clara Haute to get in the routine of things with her new family, but all in all, we’re THRILLED!! Both of Clara’s puppies are strong, overwhelmingly attractive and super snuggly.
Clara's Girls ~ one week old
Clara herself isn’t lacking in the snuggle department either.. pillows and blankets are put to good use as she enjoys her naps, snacks and mommie duties thru the day.
Newborn pups are also very suceptible to cold. Because of it’s inability to maintain body temperature, the greatest danger during the first week of a puppy’s life is getting chilled. The whelping box is kept at 85 degrees or more with warm areas (heating pads and heat lamps) for the pups to find when mama isn’t near enough to provide much needed warmth.
Clara's Girls ~ one week old
C-sections (surgical removal of the puppies from the uterine horns) can save the lives of both puppies and dams but they also provide their own particular set of problems. This is especially true for the first couple of days following surgery.
The act of delivering puppies (whelping) is generally a natural process for dogs but often times with Bullmastiffs, normal birth is difficult or even impossible! Dystocia, (difficult or abnormal birth) and uterine inertia (exhaustion) are commons problem in brachycephalic breeds.
Clara's Girls ~ one week old
After surgery the new mother is groggy from the anesthetics used during the c-section and will take several hours for her to realize she has duties to tend to with the newborns. Clara recognized the seriousness of her responsibilities after only a few days and has focussed on tending to her new family 100%.
🙂
Happy Birthday to Clara’s Girls!
Bulhaven's Clara Haute x Blackslate's Hot Shot ~ Nov, 2011
We are over enthusiastic to announce the birth of Bulhaven’s Clara Haute’s litter out of Blackslate’s Hot Shot, born Sunday afternoon, November 6th, 2011.
Two absolutely lovely, HUGE, beautiful, healthy, strong and adorable females were delivered on Sunday and welcomed into the world just one day before their Grandsire, Cassanova’s ninth birthday!
Bulhaven's Clara Haute with her day old puppies
We spent Sunday evening and Monday getting ourselves organized in the whelping room so that Clara is comfortable, the two infant girls are warm and happy and the rest of our Bullmastiff family is able to enjoy the beautiful Fall weather that Connecticut offers us at this time of year.
Now Tuesday, the puppy girls are enjoying their second day of life happy, comfortable and sharing their days basking in the morning sun with their mama Clara.
Clara's baby girl, 2 days old
What could be better than baby soft fur of a newborn Bullmastiff?!
Welcome to Bulhaven’s Puppy Room..
With Clara Haute’s generous approval we’ve once again set up a live viewing “Puppy Cam” to run streaming live video via our personal web cam, straight from the Whelping Box!!
Bulhaven’s Clara Haute, Live Puppy Cam on Yahoo!
Our excitement is overwhelming and needs to be shared, with the internet that’s possible!!
We want Bulhaven fans to feel right at home day after day (and long nights!) with Clara and her 2011 Bulhaven Litter.
What you’ll need to view the Puppy Cam is access to Yahoo! Once you have a Yahoo account send me the screen name. I will “add you” as a contact so you can view our Puppy Cam. There is no fee to use Yahoo Messenger, all you need is a Yahoo account.
This could be Day One for Clara’s puppies. Her due date is November 6th, and she’s right on time. Clara’s temperature dropped Friday afternoon which gives us the sure sign that within 48 hours, puppies will arrive!
Mother Nature is on our side this weekend, it is a beautifully, quiet, sunny morning and we even gained an hour with daylight’s savings time!!
Stay tuned for our “Welcome to the World” announcement for Clara’s new babies…
~ Mary, Dean and Clara Haute
Bulhaven’s Clara Haute
With 2011′s October 29th Surprise Nor’easter, Connecticut was hit with long term power outages across the state. For 5 days we were left in the dark with no power, heat or water and over two feet of snow that covered our yards.
With Clara in her last week in whelp we tried not to panic as her litter’s due date approached quickly.
Clara is now three days from expected whelping and we are fortunate to announce that our power has been restored!
Clara was bred by surgical implant in September to the well known and very handsome brindle boy, Blackslate’s Hot Shot (also known as “Elvis”). Elvis was born in 1990 and passed away 8.5 years later allowing us access only to frozen semen for this beautiful breeding.
Elvis is the sire of Bulhaven’s Walking in Memphis (“Tygger”), the only Brindle bred by us here at Bulhaven Bullmastiffs.
Thru Tygger’s charm we experienced a part of Elvis that many breeders have found, that wonderful gentleness and comical character that Elvis has continuously produced over and over again.
Tygger passed away in July of 2009 at nearly nine years old. With him he took a chunk of our hearts… leaving us with a plan to someday breed again to his wonderful sire, “Elvis”.
With passing time we considered many females for our breeding plans but Blackslate’s Hot Shot is a special dog who we felt would compliment only the most special girl.
Clara is that wonderful match made in heaven!!
Elvis and Clara compliment each other beautifully both on paper (in pedigree) and in outstanding structure and charismatic temperament.
This line breeding is one we are very excited about, in hopes to produce more of the quality “Bulhaven Bullmastiffs” expects.
Clara is only days away from delivering these beauties into our world.
Keep a close eye out for Clara’s litter announcement thru the upcoming weekend…
due date: 11.06.11
So, let’s fix those ears so that your puppy will grow up looking like the breed that she is and not something silly like a boxer-mix, American bulldog or a pit bull.
"Bulhaven's Forget Me Not", Furgie's ears need to be taped
Yes, just the ear set will change the entire look of your puppy as it grows into an adult. The ears will permanently remain in the rolled back, goofy, flying out position that they go through as a puppy if they are not properly (and persistently) addressed by taping..
Your puppy’s ears should lay flat next to her head, framing her face nicely. Any sort of fold or twist back is an indication that your puppy should have her ears taped down flat to assure that they grow appropriately.
Not only will your puppy become “non show quality” but she will no longer resemble the dogs you preferred when looking to add a purebred Bullmastiff to your family.
Taping a bullmastiff puppy’s ears is not cruel, mean or inhumane. It doesn’t cause pain, irritation or suffering. Your puppy shouldn’t notice the tape at all besides an occasional scratch or head shake. Taping is done comfortably so that the ears will lay flat when the puppy is finished teething. Remember to give your puppy plenty of teething toys (ice, frozen marrow bones etc) to chew on during this time of difficulty for the puppy’s mouth and jaw.
Andre waiting for his ears to be taped
Start out by cleaning your puppy’s ears. It’s best to work with a freshly bathed, dry puppy. Natural dirt and oil on your puppy’s ears will not allow the tape to stick to the ear flap.
Clean the puppy’s ears, inside and out with isopropyl alcohol or an ear cleaning product.
Before you start, be certain that your puppy’s ear flaps are clean and nicely dried.
Ear Taping Materials
You’ll need a few materials to start!
duct tape (there are several snazzy colors available besides the original and very dull duct tape grey)
scissors
(sharp ones that can cut thru duct tape)
bullmastiff puppy (a very cute puppy with goofy ears)
ear cleaning wipes
lots of treats (yummy) for reward!!
4 duct tape strips ready for taping
OK, to start cut (2) strips of duct tape that are about as long your puppy’s ear. Then cut these two strips in half lengthwise. Now you will have (4) one inch wide strips of tape that are ready to stick to your puppy’s ear flaps.
Make a small ‘tab’ by folding over the top of each tape strip and stick it to itself. This will help you later when you need to take the tape off of the puppy.
Bulhaven's One Knight Stand, ready for ear taping
Start with the puppy quietly sitting with you ~ as if that’s even possible!!! It’s easiest if the puppy is very tired (from the bath earlier) and if you have a second person to help gently hold and pat the puppy as you apply the tape to her ears.
Be smart about “when” you choose to apply tape to your puppy’s ears. Late afternoon when she has had a real good nap and is hungry for dinner may not be the best time to sit down with scissors and a puppy.
After dinner, following playtime when the puppy is at her most exhausted time, THAT sounds like a time where two people can calmly convince a young puppy that putting tape on her ears will result in a fantastic bone to chew on, saved just for her!
Offer the puppy something to occupy her attention (a nylabone, empty paper towel roll or favorite toy).
Once everyone is comfortable and quiet, attach the first strip of duct tape to the outside of the ear flap. Placement of this strip of tape should be half way down the ear so that the other half of the strip hangs over the end of the ear leaving the “pull tab” at the top. Press the tape firmly to the ear to assure that the tape will stick.
Strips of tape stick to the front and back of the ear flap, then to each other
Attach a second strip of tape to the same ear, on the inside of the ear flap.
The first piece of tape on the outside of the ear and the second piece of tape on the inside of the ear should stick to each other where they both hang past the bottom of the ear flap.
Press the strips of tape firmly to assure that they stick to both the ear flap and to each other.
“Furgie” is modeling (photo, left) how the tape sticks to her ear flap and to each other.
Repeat the same process on the other ear: attach one strip of tape to the outside of the ear flap and attach a second strip to the inside of the ear flap then stick them to each other at the bottom of the ear.
Furgie with both ears taped. Now the two strips will be taped together under her chin
This extra flap of duct tape (the part that hangs past the bottom of the ear flap) will be pulled under her chin and taped to the other side.
You’ll need one more piece of duct tape. Cut about a 3 inch piece of duct tape for attaching the chin strap.
Leave this piece the full width of natural duct tape. Take the left and right sides of hanging strips of tape and bring them under the puppy’s chin (they will most likely overlap, pull them close to her head without being “too tight”).
Taping completed under the chin
Use the new piece of tape and stick the two sides together under her chin. Press the piece firmly and roll it around the two strips so that no sticky parts remain exposed.
Be certain that you leave enough space to fit your fingers in between the tape and her throat but not so much that a paw can get stuck between there.
Your puppy will want to rub or scratch the tape off her ears at first.
Give her something else to do so that she “forgets” about the light pressure on her ears. You can play a training game, go for a walk, offer a marrow bone or whatever else will help take her mind off of the taped ears. I prefer to give a nice new bone. They will usually work at the bone, relieving the stress of the “something new” that just happened to them.
The perfect Bullmastiff sit.. Furgie with her ears taped
You may have to attach a leash and give light corrections reminding them to “leave it” each time they begin to scratch at the tape. It will only take a few corrections… remember to HUGELY reward good behavior and offer an replacement behavior such as a treat or a bone.
Do NOT leave your puppy alone to “fuss it out”. Spend a half an hour watching television or petting the puppy. It’s important that they take their mind off of their taped ears.
Very quickly your puppy won’t notice the tape on her ears and life will continue as normal.
Keep a close eye on the inside of her ears during the time her ears are taped. Use an ear wipe to clean the inside of the ears as often as possible by moving the ear flap enough aside to wipe out the ear.
Any redness or odor is a sign of irritation and the tape should gently be removed. I use Avon Skin So Soft bath oil on the ear to loosen the glue of the tape for easier removal.
You will leave the tape in place for 4-6 days.. after removing the tape, wash and clean the ears thoroughly. You may have to reapply the tape the next day and want clean ears to start with!!
If you need assistance, just ask… taping the ears is a task that requires patience and persistence.
MBPISS Bulhaven's Cas A Blanca ("Ilsa") and Bulhaven's Clara Haute ("Clara") with correct ear sets! 🙂
Some puppies require their ears to be taped only once, more likely puppies require several weeks of ear taping.
Eleven weeks old and the ears are starting to look goofy. Is my puppy just going thru “the uglies” or are they just holding their ears “funny”? Well, actually neither.
"Furgie" modeling her rose'd ear, prior to taping
What’s going on is “teething”. The puppies’ adult teeth are beginning to cut thru their gums and the teething stage is upon us. This will last several weeks to a few months as the puppies develop, grow and lose their teeth. The cartilage in Bullmastiff puppy’s ears is very pliable. During this rapid growth stage and teething, the ears will “rose” (the ear folds over and back to reveal the inside such as the ears of the Bullmastiffs’ ancestors, the Bulldog).
Bulhaven's Forget Me Not, "Furgie" needs her ears taped
This ear carriage is incorrect for a Bullmastiff and these puppies will need to have their ears taped to ensure proper ear carriage after the teething stage is complete. Ears must not be allowed to remain folded incorrectly, as this greatly distracts from the overall appearance of the Beautiful Adult Bullmastiff skull. Furgie is the first of our puppies to have ears awry… we will be taping her ears to ensure her beautiful head remains framed by her lovely, correct ears. I’m not surprised that Furgie’s ears are folding, her head and skull is growing so rapdily compared to the others, with a shorter, square and more of a “bulldog-ish” muzzle. Yes, that’s where the naturally folded back, rose’d ears come from, the Bulldog.
"Toni" (on the left) and "Furgie" (on the right)
We are enjoying the growth of these puppies. They seem to change day after day… so quickly developing into little Bullmastiffs!
You can see in the photo to the left how Toni’s ear carriage beautifully frames her face (the puppy standing on the left) while “Furgie” (sitting behind Toni on the right) has one ear that “sticks out” rather than laying flat against her head. Taping her ears thru this growthy stage will train her ear cartilage to lay flat.
Continue to follow our BLOG during the week as we post Furgie’s adventure in Ear Taping!
Oh no… not Andre’ too!!!! 🙂
Bulhaven's One Knight Stand, "Andre"
AKC Registration Certificate, "Auggie"
When you bring home your purebred Bullmastiff, you will receive an AKC Dog Registration Application form. As required, you will complete your portion of this application and submit it to the American Kennel Club, enabling you to register the dog.
When the application has been processed, you will receive an AKC Registration Certificate. This Certificate will note the Breeder, Owners, Registration number and the AKC Registered name.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.” ~ Shakespeare
"Toni", "Madd Dawg", "Monday" and "Rusty", 7 weeks old
Here Juliet tells Romeo that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention, and that she loves the person who is called “Montague”, not the Montague name and not the Montague family.
Well, just the same we name our purebred AKC registered puppies by using their “family name” (Kennel Name) followed by certain “meaning”. To agree with Juliet, our dogs are loved because of their temperament, heart and personalities, not necessarily because they are from the “Bulhaven” family. To disagree with Juliet, our family name is much more meaningful than an artificial commodity and creativity arises when naming our dogs.
"Toni" (fawn female) and "Goth" (red male)
Unlike some aspects of dog ownership, naming your dog is just plain fun! The pets themselves don’t require much; they just need a pleasing dog name they can identify with when you speak to them.
But, as part of the Bulhaven Bullmastiffs family, there’s a lot to consider when it’s time to choose a dog name for your puppy’s American Kennel Club certificate. Let’s start at the beginning.
The name of the kennel your dog came from is part of his registered name. Usually, it’s the first part of his name as it appears on the certificate, such as: Bulhaven’s Clara Haute or Ch. Bulhaven’s Hot August Knight.
Bulhaven Tonight's The Knight ("Toni" at 7 wks)
Originality is important when choosing a registration name. We try to look back into the pedigree at the parent’s names or generations behind those dogs to find variations of the names already provided. For example, “Ch. Bulhaven’s Hot August Knight” is the son of “Ch. Blazin’ Summer Daze” and “Ch. Abbey Road’s Full Moon Fever”. You can see the development of Auggie’s name came from a combination of his dams’ and sires’ names with a twist in words from days and nights to daze and knights. Anything goes when naming your dog, this is one place grammar doesn’t count.
"Madd Dawg", "Toni", "Goth", "Monday" and "Rusty"
Once you’ve selected your dogs ‘registered name’, the work isn’t over. You’ll still need to settle on a shorter ‘call name’ for everyday reference. What you call the dog is known as his “call name”. Using our example of Ch. Bulhaven’s Hot August Knight, the name “Auggie” immediately suggests itself for the dog’s call name, while directly referring us back to his official registered name on the AKC papers. You can call the dog anything you want as well, having nothing to do at all with his registered name, if you prefer.
Bulhaven's Monday Knight ("Monday")
You may have noticed we started a few weeks ago naming our puppies with simple names for identification. We play with words day and night to create names that are unique, clever and exciting as well as have something to do with the previous Bulhaven names in our pedigree.
For example, “Toni” was named early on. Toni came from Bulhaven’s Tonight’s the Knight. She is a cute girl with a classic Bullmastiff head type. Truely adorable, little Toni. We gave her some of her sires name (“Knight” from Ch. Bulhaven’s Hot August Knight).
We named “Goth”, Bulhaven’s Gothic Knight. And of course “Monday”… that one came to us easily. Our litter was born on Monday, May 3rd. We call her Bulhaven’s Monday Knight.
So, now that you know the basics of dog naming, you’re ready to choose a dog name that will serve you well both at home and as one of the “Bulhaven” Family..
Enjoy!
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