The countdown to W-Day has begun here at Roanoke Creek Ranch. Vixen is about 2.5 weeks from a planned whelp. For her part, Vixen received her final pre-whelp worming using puppy-safe meds. She started sleeping in the climate-controlled whelping room with veteran Nurse-dog Josie, and half her diet is now Purina Pro Plan Puppy Formula. Vixen is readily accepting the new food, which in a few days will become her complete diet. For my part, I sanitized the whelping room using Rescue, assembled the whelping box, and began ordering supplies such as Goat’s Milk Esbilac and Calsorb. One thing I’ve noticed in gathering supplies is that the cost of raising a litter has gone up significantly over the past few years. I’ve also started reviewing my Puppy Culture planner workbook, and I will re-watch the Puppy Culture DVD-set as well. There are no guarantees when it comes to breeding and producing healthy pups, but good preparation stacks the odds in our favor.
