Resting in the fall foliage

7 weeks and he can pick up the ball!

Sharing with mom

Ak-Su , now five weeks old, started doing more than merely eating and sleeping. The first few weeks, puppies sleep 90% of the time and eat the remaining 10%. Once their eyes open, starting at about 3 weeks, they get more active daily.

Here are some typical activities:

Mmm — is that funny stuff that mama’s eating any good?

Tug-of war is so much fun!!

Time for another nap!

Ak-Su nursing

We bred our beautiful Entlebucher, Nanda Devi, in June of 2009 and the vet determined, after an x-ray that she probably had two, possibly three, puppies.

She delivered two puppies, but one didn’t make it. She jumped up as it came out and ripped the umbilical cord out of its belly and it had a hole in front and the intestines came out.  It was very upsetting for us and we were very sad to lose one of our gorgeous pups.

So we have only one surviving pup. It’s extremely cute and wiggly.

I’ve had numerous requests for a puppy, but I can’t help the many hopeful owners of Entlebucher mountain dog, since the one we have is already sold.

However, all of the NEMDA Code of Ethics approved breeders, with their contact information, are listed on the NEMDA  website.

NEMDA, National Entlebucher Mountain Dog Association, was founded in 1998 and is the parent breed club for the North American Entlebuchers.  

I bought Nanda Devi in Switzerland from Familie Berger in Riggisberg, a small Swiss farm community near Bern. I was born in Germany, and so speak fluent German, which made it easier. I met the Berger family through Christine Langenegger, head of the SKES – Welpenvermittlung, or Schweizerischen Klubs für Entlebucher Sennenhunde (Swiss Entlebucher Mountain Dog club).

 I visited the Bergers in Riggisberg while working in Switzerland on a journalism assignment, added my name to the waiting list, and got a puppy two years later. 

For would-be puppy adopters, try contacting the NEMDA breeders to ask who has puppies, or try the Swiss club. For the Swiss club, click on Aktuelles (news) and then click on Welpenvermittlung (puppies).

I hope to again breed Nanda in the next year, since I would like a puppy for myself! I’ll post when she again expects puppies, in about  6 months or a year.

Tristan drilling the pig rails; Gore Range in the background

On the Internet I found great plans for building a whelping box - the McEmn Mark III Whelping Box.

“Tristan, look! Let’s build it,” I called to my son, excited to build this deluxe whelping box.

“We have neither the tools nor the ability to build that!” he replied.

Well, it did require a router, which I used to own. And calling for rabbeting joints  …
I  borrowed a router from my neighbor Clint (of sidewalk-pouring fame) and bought lumber and hardware for the box. If we got stuck we could always ask a bona fide carpenter for help.

We cut the 4’ by 8’ sheet of plywood into  20’ by 48’ pieces  – we, that’s  Clint on his radial arm saw (I was also lacking a table saw).

We now had the four required side pieces, and I had the tools to measure, and drill holes in the correct places. It called for Steel Tee Nuts, which I’d never heard of, but the lumberyard found them and sold them to me.

I pounded in the Tee nuts; Tristan cut the “pig rails” to length, and we routed the edges round. Pig Rails go along about 5′ above the bottom of the box to prevent the mother from accidentally squishing a puppy when she sits in the box – instead, they’re pushed aside, beneath the overhanging rail.

It did say to: “Rabbet each end so that the ends of two pig rails can cross and be the same thickness as the original 2×4,” but I instead stacked the alternate rails on top of the lower rails.

A few turns of screws on the corner braces, and voila, we had a whelping box. We even managed some slightly crooked seats, and just in time for mom to start whelping (I hope).

Jonas snowshoeing with Nanda

She’s not content to be second in line, but soon passes to get to the front!

Our normally very active Entlebucher now spends most of her time laying on the floor, panting. she’s geting fatter, and apparently hotter, as she tries to find a cool spot in the shade.

Nanda cooling off on the flagstone floor

Tristan and Nanda Devi

People sometimes ask me if Entlebucher Mountain dogs are good with kids.

I thought I’d let these pictures speak for themselves.

Tristan’s dog, Nanda Devi

Nanda patiently tolerates being rolled from side to side while Tristan sleeps.

Joey, the stud

We mated our Entlebucher bitch, Nanda Devi with  Holden von Brunswick (Joey). Below are more photos of Joey.

Joey

We expect our litter in late August and our puppies will be ready for new homes in October. Please see Nanda’s website for photos of the bitch.