The Gemstones Puppies Continue Their Journey

Tonight, the Gemstones puppies are joining their puppy raisers! Taz, Aqua, Topaz and Opal will don their purple SSD service dog-in-training harnesses and begin learning the skills they'll need to assist their future partners.

You've probably noticed that there are a few puppies missing from that list. Amber has traveled to Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS), where she'll join their program. The Gemstones' mother, SSD Pearl, originally came from PADS, and we have an agreement with them to exchange puppies.

But what about Coral and Diamond?

We believe that Coral and Diamond will be much happier as beloved family pets than as service dogs, so we have released both puppies from our program.

Not every dog is suited to service dog work, even though they may be wonderful dogs. (And Coral and Diamond are definitely sweethearts!) When puppies come to the kennel before they're placed with their puppy raisers, they go through temperament testing to make sure that life as a service dog is a good fit for them. In this test, we look at 40 different traits in the puppies.

Dogs that will be most successful and happiest in our service dog program have a moderate amount of energy, and they display confidence in a variety of different situations. During the test, the puppies are exposed to different surfaces, sights, sounds, loud noises, things they can chase and retrieve, and other dogs. We look for puppies who recover quickly when startled or excited. A dog will undoubtedly encounter things that startle or excite him, but it's the dog that can recover quickly and refocus that will make a good service dog. We also dress the puppies in their harnesses and watch their reactions, and look at how well the puppies cooperate with their handlers during the test. A puppy that wants to do what its handler asks will have a greater chance of success as a service dog than a puppy who would rather investigate all of the interesting distractions.

This temperament test gives us a fairly clear picture of each puppy's personality and helps us decide whether service dog work is right for that dog. For Coral and Diamond, service dog work might not be a life that makes them happy and is best for them.

When we release a dog from our program, we find permanent homes for them where they will be happy and loved. We're currently looking for forever homes for Coral and Diamond, and we're sure that they will be very happy with their new families.

Each Gemstone is moving on to the next stage of their lives. For Coral and Diamond, they're heading toward lives as beloved family pets. For Amber, she's embarking on her service dog journey with Pacific Assistance Dogs Society.

And for Taz, Opal, Aqua and Topaz, they're beginning their journey as Susquehanna Service Dogs, learning to change lives.

The Gemstones Puppies Go Shopping!

Aqua, Amber, Coral, Diamond, Topaz, Taz and Opal didn't really go shopping. But they did go to the mall!

Today the puppies went on one of their first public outings to the Colonial Park Mall. Our trainers, the puppies' breeder caretakers and several of our wonderful volunteers each took a puppy and walked around the mall. Even though the puppies are only seven weeks old, it's important for them to have early socialization with new people and to visit many new environments. Sometimes new people and environments can be very scary for dogs, so we make sure that the puppies have plenty of new experiences so they learn to adapt quickly and easily. Once they become service dogs, they'll find themselves accompanying their partner to all sorts of different places, and they need to be able to continue to assist their partner no matter what situation they're in.

The Gemstones puppies seemed to have a blast in the mall. The puppies probably greeted every person who was in the mall today - great experience for the pups! Normally, you shouldn't just stop and pet a working service dog or service dog-in-training, especially without asking first. However, for this particular outing, we wanted people to pet the puppies. We invited everyone to stop and pet them.

In addition to greeting people, the puppies encountered stairs, ramps, and loud noises. In this video, SSD Amber (red collar) walks up the steps.



SSD Taz and his handler found a photo booth at the mall, and Taz had no trouble walking through it to reach his handler on the other side.



SSD Diamond checks out the kid cars.




SSD Aqua walks on a loose leash.




SSD Opal has a great time exploring the mall. Check out her smile!




SSD Topaz takes a quick look around.




After taking care of an itchy spot, SSD Coral heads over to greet more people.

The Gemstones Are Growing Up

You may have noticed on the Puppy Cam that the whelping box is gone. Coral, Opal, Aqua, Topaz, Taz, Amber and Diamond have moved on to a much larger space. Crystal enclosed part of the room, so the puppies have lots of space but aren't able to get into mischief.

The puppies have lots of new surfaces and objects to walk on and explore, including a wooden board, an aluminum pie tin and a big red ball. Not only do these new objects stimulate their minds, but they also get the puppies used to encountering new things in their environment. These puppies may become service dogs, and they'll need to take changes in the environment in stride. For example, a balance dog must be able to walk calmly over drainage grates. If the dog were to swerve to avoid the grate, he may injure his partner, who is using him for balance.

The pups are also learning crate behavior. It's important for the dogs to be calm and quiet in their crate. There will be times when a service dog needs to be crated, and they need to stay calm and not get stressed. When we first start crate training the puppies, we fill the crates with soft blankets and toys. We also put open crates in their whelping box or area. The puppies are free to come and go in the crate as they please, and sometimes they even go in to curl up for a nap. When the puppies are three weeks old, we start closing them in the crate with at least one littermate. After three to five minutes, we open the door and let them out again. Overall, we want to make sure the puppies learn to associate the crate with good things, so it becomes a place where they can relax.

Some of the Gemstones puppies like the crate more than others. Most of the puppies want to jump right out and start playing again. But not Taz! In the short time he was in the crate with the door closed, he curled up and went to sleep. Crystal just left him there with the door open. He woke up in a little bit and wandered out of the crate. However, he just looked around, and then went into the neighboring crate to sleep again!

Puppies + food = one big happy mess!

If the size of the mess they made is any indication, the Gemstones puppies really enjoyed their first real meal!

When the puppies are about three weeks old, we start them on softened puppy food. Diamond was the first to dive in. As soon as Crystal, the puppies' breeder caretaker, set Diamond in front of the puppy food, she dug right into it. She was doing such a great job eating the new food that we joked that we better get the other puppies around the plate before she ate it all!

The other puppies soon smelled the food and came over to investigate. Without any prompting, they started chowing down, too. Soon there was just as much puppy food on the floor as there was on the plates!

Watch a video of Coral, Opal, Aqua, Topaz, Taz, Amber and Diamond eating their first real meal.

Even though they had just eaten all that puppy food, they still wanted to nurse. After Pearl helped clean up some of the puppy food, the puppies started nursing. Soon, Pearl was stretched out and all seven pups were lined up in a row. As the puppies finally got full, they wandered off and settled down for a nap. Aqua smooshed her face between her mother and the coffee table and promptly fell asleep. Diamond wiggled under the computer chair to nap. The other puppies found comfortable places on the floor. All that eating is hard work!

Meet the Gemstones Puppies!

We have another litter of puppies! SSD Pearl delivered the Gemstones - five girls and two boys - on the Fourth of July in one of the calmest whelpings our whelping team has ever seen. She amazed everyone by resting or sleeping through most of it! After each puppy was born, though, Pearl woke up to care for it.

The story of Pearl and the Gemstones puppies began the week of Mother's Day. Pearl was bred to our own SSD Fire, a handsome dark yellow lab. It must have been a good luck charm to have the breeding around Mother's Day because when Pearl went for her ultrasound on June 7, we learned she was pregnant! The vet thought there would be six to seven puppies.

Pearl has a reputation of being a very calm, extremely relaxed dog, and she kept her reputation intact throughout her delivery. In fact, she didn't seem to show any early signs of labor, even when she was actually in labor! On the evening of July 3, Crystal (Pearl's puppy raiser and breeder caretaker) took Pearl's temperature and saw that it had dropped, which is one of the signs that Pearl would go into labor in the next 12-24 hours. However, she showed no other signs of going into labor. Often, the female will start panting and pacing, only sleeping for short periods. Pearl slept almost the entire night! The only difference was that her snoring came out in short snorts rather than long, drawn-out snores.

Crystal's daughter, Alisha, slept on the couch with Pearl, and Crystal woke up several times during the night to check on Pearl. After going out for her normal walk, Pearl settled right back on the couch, only to surprise everyone about an hour later with the arrival of SSD Coral, a yellow female, at 8:34 a.m. on July 4!

Crystal called Cindi, our training and breeding coordinator, and she walked her through caring for the newborn. The whelping team arrived soon afterward, in plenty of time for the delivery of a second yellow girl, SSD Opal, at 10:57 a.m.

The next three puppies followed in quick succession - SSD Aquamarine (Aqua), a yellow female, at 11:45 a.m., SSD Topaz, a yellow male, at 11:57 a.m., and SSD Tanzanite (Taz), a yellow male, at 12:27 p.m. All that time, Pearl lay quietly in the whelping box, seemingly asleep. She was so calm in between puppies that the whelping team joked that they knew another puppy was coming when Pearl fell asleep!

Pearl rested while the puppies nursed. One hour after Taz entered the world, a dark yellow female joined her brothers and sisters. SSD Amber was born at 1:28 p.m. After Amber's birth, Pearl got a spoonful of NutriStat to keep her energy up. She also received a dose of calcium to help with contractions. Calcium helps build strong bones, but even more than that, it helps the muscles contract. Pearl perked up after getting the NutriStat, raising her head to give the whelping team a big doggie grin. The whelping team took her outside for a short break, following her closely with a towel, just in case a puppy decided to make an appearance. Then she settled right back into the whelping box.

One hour after Amber, the last puppy was born, another yellow girl named Diamond. Pearl gave birth to seven puppies in all.

Each delivery went smoothly, although one puppy needed some oxygen to make sure that it got off to a good start. We had our new oxygen masks on hand (we used to use a duct-taped paper cup), and after a few minutes, the puppy was ready to nurse alongside its brothers and sisters. Thank you to SSD Midge's puppy raisers for donating the oxygen!

We waited another two hours to see if there were any more puppies waiting to enter the world. Pearl enjoyed some cheese while we waited and the seven Gemstones nursed. Around 4:30 p.m., we suspected Pearl was finished giving birth.

The action wasn't quite over yet, though. In its first few hours, one of the puppies had cut the pad on its hind foot. Not wanting to risk anything, we called the vet and then bundled the pup into the portable warming box for a trip to the vet. Four sutures later, the puppy is doing just fine! Crystal is soaking the puppy's foot in Epsom salt water twice a day to prevent infection and help it heal.

This is Pearl's first litter, and even though both Pearl and Fire belong to our program, one of the Gemstones puppies will be going to Pacific Assistance Dog Society in Canada. Pearl originally came from PADS. To expand our breeding lines, we have an agreement with PADS to exchange several female dogs of breeding quality. As part of the agreement, one puppy from each litter from these exchanged dogs goes back to the original organization. Every time Pearl has a litter, one of the puppies will go to PADS.

Pearl and all seven puppies are doing great! The Gemstones are located in Carlisle, PA, and puppy huggers are invited to visit the puppies on a limited basis after the pups are two weeks old. Once the puppies are four to five weeks old, more puppy huggers will be able to visit. (To let mom and puppies get off to a good start, puppy huggers will not be permitted prior to two weeks of age and will be limited until four to five weeks.) We will send more details when Pearl and the puppies are ready for visitors. Please note that regardless of the puppies' age, if you have a dog that is or has been recently ill, or have been around any ill dogs, please help us keep the puppies healthy by postponing your visit.

We're planning on having the puppy cam again. Watch for details in the next two weeks!

Congratulations to Pearl and Fire, and happy birthday to Coral, Opal, Aqua, Topaz, Taz, Amber and Diamond!

If you're interested in raising one of these puppies, call us at 717-599-5920 or visit our website to learn more!

The Gemstones litter

Coral, yellow female, pink collar
Opal, yellow female, lavender collar
Aquamarine (Aqua), yellow female, blue collar
Topaz, yellow male, yellow collar
Tanzanite (Taz), yellow male, orange dots collar
Amber, yellow female, red collar
Diamond, yellow female, mint greet collar

Give the puppies a birthday gift!

The Beginnings of the Gemstones Litter

Take a first look at some of the Gemstones puppies! They're due to be born around the Fourth of July.