It seems like just yesterday that we were scrambling to deal with and prepare for an unexpected and unplanned litter. That was almost 3 months ago and there is no reason to continue to dwell on that situation, to do so would be nothing more than “beating a dead horse.” After all, a lot of good came out of that litter.
We reached this point with mixed emotions. On the one hand, we are happy that the puppies were successfully placed in the most loving homes we could have possibly found. On the other hand, we are sad to say that the purple collar female we came to know as “Bebe” unfortunately did not make it to her forever home. If we had a third hand, the word “exhausted” would be the appropriate description of how we are feeling. Anyone who has raised a litter of pups knows very well what we are talking about, perhaps sharing a few lessons learned would be appropriate:
1. Vici was the youngest female to produce a litter in our kennel. There seems to be a definitive difference between a mature mother whelping and raising her litter vs an immature female such as Vici. Vici’s labor went smoothly, there were no issues or real concerns we’d say it was the ideal delivery. Unfortunately, it took several days and nights of hand feeding, cleaning, and caring for the pups before Vici seemed to understand she had a job to do. We’re not saying Vici was a bad mother, she just seemed to lack the maturity of an older female.
2. Time and Money! Many people don’t realize the amount of time and money that goes into raising a litter of pups. As mentioned above, we cared for Vici and her pups around the clock for the first three to four days and we weren’t able to let our guard down for the next few weeks. The small things like washing bedding, and providing food and veterinary care came as a shock to Vici's owner, it was a good eye-opening experience for him. Additionally, the non-stop cleaning, washing, and sanitizing are seldom mentioned.
3. The hardest part? Letting them go home to their new families. We already knew this, but it was a great reminder. One of our primary goals in breeding is to place our puppies in the best homes possible. This means filtering through countless puppy applications. Countless hours of observation and desensitization to ensure the right pup goes to the right home. There would be nothing worse than sending a high-drive puppy to a family who wants a companion to spend the days watching TV on the couch.
4. Last, and this one is more of a reaffirmation of what we already knew, the best part of this whole thing is helping people experience what we believe is the best breed in existence. This is truthfully somewhat of a contradiction to #3, but it’s the truth. If we didn’t truly believe the Cane Corso was the best breed ever, we would not try to share our love for them with as many people as possible.
In closing, we are excited to watch these puppies grow into the gorgeous dogs we know they will be. Both Vici and Narco are built exceptionally well and despite the negative circumstances surrounding this breeding, the pair produced some excellent pups both structurally and temperamentally. We are thrilled to have formed 8 new friendships in the families that found their new furry family member in one of these pups. We are grateful for the lessons learned, good or bad. We are excited to see what the future holds not only for our new families and their pups but for our kennel as well as two of the pups who are now proudly co-owned with us. We are excited to introduce Vae Victis Goddess of the Night, formerly the teal-collar female, who now goes by Nyx and her owner Ms. Sweany, and Vae Victis Odin Konstantinos Gorgo Alcinder, the blue-collar male, who now goes by Odin and his owner MS. Stewart as part of the Vae Victis team!
We hope you enjoy the puppy pictures that are attached to this post. We intend for this post to the be last in this series, however, we will continue to post updates on this litter on our website and our social media platforms.