Blottie reaches eight weeks from her first mating on Tuesday, and although on the cusp of survival at eight weeks, pups can arrive anytime from then and it would not be wise to leave a bitch unattended for any length of time as we get so close. Observation is critical now as we get so close to the birth.  
The whelping box has been up for a week now and Blottie visits it from time to time, more so as her time approaches. We deck it out ready for the days leading upto and the birth. The floor is lined with absorbent pads  and ripped up newspaper, as this is ideal for the bitch to dig up and burrow in as birth approaches. 
At eight weeks gestation the pups now have fur and their skeletons have solidified making them more easy to feel moving and see them moving. The bitch's teats will begin to swell with milk. Trimming of hair (if long) around the teats and vulva is a good idea to make it easier for you to observe things are going okay as she births and that pups are latching on and suckling heartily once born. If a good size litter, the pups will be taking up a lot of room now and Mum will find it hard to eat much, so little meals and offered often is needed. She will also need to relieve herself more often as her bladder and bowels have less room. 
Blottie seemingly really well and her pups are moving well as we enter the last week of her pregnancy. She likes her new more spacious whelping box (below). Which we have adapted from Rosie's (who whelped in it for the first time) litter. Her pups kept getting stuck under the rail, which was more like a shelf and far too low. The pig rail stops Mum squashing pups against the sides of the whelping box.

Sent this lovely photo (below) of Tilly. Tilly is from Ernest and Rosie's litter of eleven pups. ​

New Year greetings from Sam and Don, who have Ezra. Ezra is our Ernest's full brother. Ernest was from the first litter Toby and Treacle had together and Ezra is from the second and last litter Toby and Treacle had. 

"Hi Jane,
Happy New Year!
Here are some recent pics of Ezra, he just keeps getting more beautiful!
Hope you are all well.
Love from Sam, Don and Ezra xx"

New Year greetings came at the beginning of the month from Elly, who has Missy. Missy is from ​Ernest and Rosie's litter of eleven pups. 

"Dear Jane,
Wishing you and the Poundlane family a very Happy New Year! I've enjoyed reading the updates on your blog and it's wonderful to see that Blottie might be pregnant again.
Missy continues to grow into a lovely dog. She has bundles of personalities and keeps us all entertained. At 8 months she is around 7.5kg and her coat is starting to really thicken out with tufts of hair sticking out in all directions!
As she hit adolescence we did have a few training problems. Her recall went completely and she goes bounding up to every new dog she sees but, after many hours of training on the long lead, her recall has improved dramatically in the last few weeks. She still wants to greet every dog but she does now come back very consistently to my whistle. A few weeks in Cornwall over Christmas training alongside my mum's dog was really useful as it taught her to pay attention to me even in the presence of another dog. 
The other issue we are having is with barking. She is very interested in the TV and will bark at many things on it - from animals to suspenseful music. She also sometimes barks at sounds from outside the house, like a person speaking loudly in the street or a dog barking in the distance. We are trying lots of destination and 'counter-conditioning' training to trigger noises but haven't seen much progress yet. If you have any tips on how to address barking they would be greatly appreciated! 
Aside from that, Missy is a complete joy. She has lots of admirers and plays very well with other dogs. We had her spayed recently and she has recovered well from the operation. She also has tonnes of energy and has loved walks on the beach although she is still quite bemused by the sea. 
I'm sharing some recent pictures, including one of her very first ice-cream experience! 
Sending love and best wishes,
Elly"

"Hello Elly,
Happy New Year!
As for the barking at the telly, what you are doing is the way to go. If you are not making any progress, it might be an idea to get some help from a qualified trainer to come to your home and not let the behaviour escalate any further. Often it can just, being them help you get the timing right in intervening when she barks and rewarding her when she ceases barking.
Thanks for the update and love the photo of her licking the ice cream. Your Mum's dog (I presume in the photo with Missy) is a lovely looking dog. 
Hope this is some help.
Love from us all at Poundlane
Jane x"

New Year greetings came at the beginning of the month from Gemma, who has Darcey. Darcey is from ​Puddin' and Teagol's litter of seven pups. She is Polly's sister, so Ernest and Blottie's Granddaughter as well. 

"Dear Jane
I wanted to send you a note to wish you a happier new year in 2022. 
I’m so pleased you continued with breeding as the puppies you bring into this world are such joys. 
Darcey is beloved by all who spend time with her- she is such a wonderful natured dog and she makes us laugh and smile and feel warmth in our hearts every single day, even on days that bring difficult emotions and challenges. 
This I believe is down to your careful breeding, care and your morals too, and of course your lovely family who help to create such gentle well-rounded pups. 
I’m sure many of us will be keeping you particularly in our minds throughout the next month or so with Blottie.
Here attached are a few pics of Miss Darcey herself, one from the summer mid-leap in a wild flower meadow , one of her looking at me in a “really is this worth it?” way, while I do some exercise off the tv and another viewing the outside world from her cosy perch- thought it was a good shot of her head shape and nose. 
Darcey is extremely curious and checks out every hole in a hedgerow and loves pulling seaweed out of the shallows of the sea and rock pools- she can’t get to the edge of the water quick enough but has yet to attempt a swim- she likes to clearly see the bottom of the water - measured - as you said she would be! 
Her recall is getting very good on the whistle now and retrieval is coming along too. Particularly good this winter season with the reward of some Pooch and Mutt turkey festive bites with cinnamon! 
Sending Team Poundlane lots of sniffs, licks and best of wishes from us all here, of both the four and two pawed variety. 
X"

Blottie is looking very large now at around seven weeks pregnant. We can feel good strong movement from her pups now and in the next few days, I expect to be able to see movement as space becomes less for the pups as they grow. 
I have got several updates to get up on here from the New Year until now. When I get a moment I will endeavour to get them up. Always good to hear from and see past Poundlane pups.

Photos (below) taken last night as Blottie stretches out and relaxes in front of the fire. She will be seven weeks from her first mating tomorrow and seven weeks from her last mating on Friday. The gestation for a dog is around nine weeks. We are feeling faint movements, which over the next few days as the pups grow and take up more space, will become stronger. I got the whelping box out yesterday and gave it a good clean. You should have your whelping area up around two weeks before birth to get your bitch used to the area mentally and physically to calibrate her immunity to any pathogens in the whelping box and area. 

Polly yesterday did her first day out on a local small shoot, alongside one of our children beating. Also the first time I have got out beating for nearly two years. Damn that Covid!
I'm hoping to get a couple more days in before the end of the season. Polly has her Mum's drive and also her Mum's bottom, so watching her from behind was very reminiscent of watching her Mum Teagol who we tragically lost in 2021. Polly is proving that she is a proper sporting little spaniel and her Mum lives on through her. Photos (below) are of Polly out on a walk a few days ago

Bought a handy little digital camera for up close photos. 

Tomorrow Blottie reaches six weeks from her first mating. She is now obviously looking pregnant. Blogging lately has been hard due to on and off internet connection. Hoping things will get better when the weather changes.

Just getting wood in with a little help from Polly.

Blottie reached four weeks since her first mating with Ernest on Tuesday and four weeks from her last mating today. On palpation I am pretty confident she is pregnant. She has been ravenous for the last couple weeks and this morning she was a bit sick and has been off her food, which has been her behaviour pattern on her three previous pregnancies. Having a few days of what seems like morning sickness around the four weeks mark. 
This is Blottie's final litter, and if not for the tragedy of losing her daughter Teagol this year in an accident, she would have been spayed (was booked in to be spayed the week after Teagol died) and retired from breeding by now. This litter has been done solely for  retaining puppies from. We will hope to keep at least two from the litter, all going well.
​Blottie is now six years old, healthy and had her three previous litters easily.  This is going to be a very emotional four/five weeks for us, my main concern that Blottie gets through her final pregnancy safely.
​I told her last time, it would be the last time, so I worry when I see her vomiting (been there and done that myself several times) and no doubt I will worry as she becomes ever more uncomfortable as the pups grow. As I suspect she is carrying a good size litter again.
So please be mindful of this and give a little space. I can be prickly as I never enjoy, what can seem like a feeding frenzy when people become aware we have a litter on the way. At this time my concerns lie with Blottie not whether anyone gets a pup from her. 
Here are the links to the births of her three previous litters: 
Ernest and Blottie's ten pups  2017
Casper and Blottie nine pups 2019
Ernest and Blottie's ten pups 2020​

Season greetings from Iris's family. Iris is from Ernest and Rosie's litter of eleven pups.

Oscar update from Lynn. Oscar is from Ernest and Rosie's litter of eleven pups.

"Hello Lynn,
Thanks for the update. The way I have stopped marking indoors is to carry a tablecloth (slightly damp is better) on your shoulder and if you see him about to cock his leg flick it at his bottom and say, "No." A few times normally caught in the act and a flick up the bottom with a firm "No" normally does the trick along with giving him praise when he marks outside, so he learns where marking is okay. I have five entire male dogs that live indoors and they know not to mark indoors by this method. Males most often start this as they become adults and if/when you castrate him, it often curbs this behaviour but, if an established behaviour by the time you decide to castrate him, it may not, so it is a good idea to teach him his boundaries for marking now. Hope this helps.
Wishing you a Wonderful First Christmas with Oscar!
Love from us all at Poundlane
Jane x"