Rocketdog Bassets: The Lady Drinks Litter(s) - Two Weeks Pictures

ClarkeBar Grizwold and our three ladies came up with a total of thirteen pups. Each has its own traits and personalities, but at two weeks only the traits have started to show, so I'll leave the personality discussions for a later date. The pups have done as all litters do, double in size weekly. They are not any more active, but are mostly just larger bags of fur, but some have progressed further than this.

The growth of a litter is fairly predictable. At one weeks there isn't much to report. By two weeks we have eyes open to differing degrees and a few are "bear" walking around the whelping box. By next weekend their ears are open, eyes are open wide, and they have jumped out of their whelping beds and are toddling around exploring their world. We begin putting water where they can find it. At four weeks The whelping beds are no longer useful so we remove them. The pups begin to show distinctive personalities at four weeks and things begin to get fun. We begin weening near the end of four weeks and introduce them to a crate. We're not sure what will happen with this litter, but we assume all of the puppies will pile into the crate in a jumble. By six weeks the puppies are weened and eating out of a dish. At seven weeks the mothers can return to the dog house, leaving the pups until morning. At eight weeks the pups are ready for re-homing. Some of the pups will stay with us a bit longer, but most new puppy parents don't want to wait past the eight week date.

We spent the morning taking pictures and weighing everybody. Thirteen is a lot of puppies so this takes all morning. We also give the pups their first nail trimming, something that should be done once a month for the rest of their lives. Regular nail trimming is important if you intend on keeping the nails short. There is a bone under the nails which grows out with the nails. The shorter the the nails are kept, the shorter the nail-bones will remain. We aren't very dedicated to short nails because our Hounds live outside on a farm with dirt surfaces. We trim nails as needed, but if you have a city dog it might be better to keep the nails shorter. Look at the bottom of this page for directions on how to clip nails.

Bit O'Honey's litter was only two pups. Small, but there's an explanation: When mating takes place, the more coupling that happens, the larger the litter. Since they were sneaking off, and we were in the process of separating everyone, then her and ClarkeBar likely only found each other once. (This numerous coupling theory is not a hard and fast rule.) Since Honey only has the two to care for, they are really quite large when compared with the other two litters.

Hurricane is the heaviest of all thirteen pups tipping the scale at fifty-six ounces. This is quite a gain since he started life a hefty 18.9 ounces. His eyes are opening this morning. He has wonderful skin wrinkling and it looks like he will follow his father's American/ European style.

Hurricane coloring nearly qualifies him as a "Lemon" Basset, but expect a red and white adult.

While bigger than his bother, he seems more compact.

Hurricane's snow white belly is so ticklish.

Ukraine Mule is a wonderful puppy. His eyes are open wide and his fur is very soft. He is definitely a red and white wonder-pup, but has a small belly button hernia which will need addressed if it doesn't go away soon. Hernias are commonplace and this is the only hernia in any of these litters. Ukraine Mule will likely be staying with us until twelve weeks if a hernia fix is needed. He too is doing well for weight gain. He is up to 48 ounces from a healthy 18.5.