Day 11 — Purdey Crosses One Kilogram (and Seven of Eight Are Over Two-and-a-Quarter Pounds)

Purdey, our Green-collar girl, at the eleven-day weigh-in: 1,030 grams. The first Game On puppy to cross a kilogram.

A milestone morning at the whelping box: Purdey crossed one kilogram today. Eleven days old, 1,030 grams, two pounds four ounces — and the first puppy of the Game On litter over the kilo line. She was 435 grams at birth. She is now 2.37 times her birth weight, with about a hundred grams of daily growth still in front of her.

We thought today was the right day to share where the whole litter stands. We've written before about why we weigh every puppy every day (https://three-doves.com/?p=2211); today is what those eleven days of disciplined morning weights look like in one place.

The whole litter at Day 11

Eleven days of disciplined morning weights, in the Three Doves house style. Yes — that's a paper clipboard. Yes — every weight goes into the digital tracker too. Yes — we still trust the paper version when the numbers disagree.

Heaviest to lightest at this morning's weigh-in:

Game On Litter — Day 11 weight standings. Eleven days of disciplined morning weights, all on one page. Purdey is first across one kilogram (2 lb 4 oz); seven of the eight puppies have already crossed 2× their birth weight; Skeet is on track to follow tomorrow. Wildcard, the smallest puppy at birth at 360 g, is now at 800 g and ahead of three siblings — birth weight is a data point, not a destiny.

The rule of thumb for a healthy litter of English Springer Spaniels — and most medium-sized sporting breeds — is doubling birth weight by Day 10. We're a day past that and seven of the eight puppies are clearly over the line. Skeet, the lone holdout, is just 30 grams short of 2× and gained 50 grams overnight, which means she'll cross sometime tomorrow.

What stands out

Purdey is putting on more than three ounces a day. She has gained 595 grams since birth — about 21 ounces, or a pound and a third — in eleven days. There is no one-week period in a Springer's adult life where she'll grow at that rate again. The trajectory is honestly a little staggering when we sit with the numbers.

Wildcard's "smallest at birth → not anymore" story keeps writing itself. Three Saturdays ago she was the lightest puppy in the box at 360 grams. This morning she's at 800 grams and ahead of three of her siblings. Birth weight is a useful data point, not a destiny.

Diver had a small scare and a clean answer.Two days ago Diver gained only 15 grams overnight — the kind of soft signal that daily weights are designed to catch. Yesterday she gained a normal 60 grams. Today she gained another 60 and crossed 2× birth weight. False alarm; exactly the rhythm a careful weight log is supposed to produce — flag the dip, watch the next data point, breathe.

Hunter, the heaviest puppy at birth, has finally been caught. He led the litter on most days through Day 6, was passed by Purdey on Day 7, and has settled comfortably into second place. Both he and Purdey are now over two pounds. Tracker (third) and Trap (fourth) are closing on them at a respectful distance.

Domino's gains have softened a bit — she only put on 25 grams overnight, the smallest of the litter today. Nothing alarming (she crossed 2× this morning and is gaining every day), just a number we'll watch over the next few days.

What's next

The next milestone is eyes opening, which typically happens between Days 10 and 14 for English Springer Spaniels. We checked this morning — all eight still closed, but it could be hours, it could be a couple of days. When the eyes go, the ears follow within a few days, and the entire personality of the litter changes. Suddenly there is seeing and responding and recognizing, where before there was just rooting and nursing and sleeping.

We'll have new photos on the blog and in the private buyer group the day each puppy opens up. Some will go first, some will hold out a few extra days — Wildcard, our smallest-at-birth comeback kid, is a strong candidate to open early; Skeet, our quietest gainer, may take her time.

Stay tuned.

— Albert & Terra