It is August 4th. True is 59 days into her pregnancy. Won´t be long now until the whelping box is full of pups, and True and I will be in a sleep deficit. This will be True´s third litter of pups. As her first two whelpings went well, I don´t anticipate problems with this whelping, but each whelping over the years has been different, so I am prepared to expect the unexpected. I have done xrays in the past at 58 days to determine litter size, but after determining that even that method is not 100%, I have decided to just see what comes. I love surprises!
I started taking True´s temperature on Sunday, morning and evening. This has proven a really foolproof way of determining when labor will start. An in-whelp bitch will have a temperature of about 100F, or 38C. She is still hovering there. This means it is still safe for me to leave the house for a while, but I no longer venture far. The whelping box and any possibly-needed equipment for the whelping are ready. Pups are viable after Day 58, so technically, if this is a large litter (10+), they could arrive any time. If it is a normal litter (6-8), she should hold on until Day 63 from the first breeding.
Once True´s temperature drops below about 98F, I will not leave the house, nor her side, until 1) labor has started; and 2) all pups have arrived.
August 5th.
Getting hot. 86 today, which is hard on a dog with a wool coat, particularly in whelp. True´s temperature held steady this morning, but at noon had dropped to 98,6. Hmm. She is restless, panting and off her food. I´m not sure her temperature will drop further, and indeed, it was higher again this evening. The sun has about set, and she is lying in the cool grass as I write from a garden chair. I am thinking she is in first stage labor and will stay with her throughout the night, just in case. This would be the first time in years I haven´t recorded a temperature under 97 before labor began. The only rule is that there is an exception to every rule!
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August 6th.
One a.m. and True has been in first stage labor for at least 8-9 hours. At least now we can say it has been 61 days since the first breeding, and pups could start arriving any time. I have tried to doze next to the whelping box, but she will have none of it. She lies next to the bed and is still – except for the panting – as long as my hand is resting on her head. I´ve just poured myself a cappuccino as the night will be long.
There has been an in-and-out all night. True is exhausted before she even starts whelping. Me too! Finally, at 6:20 a.m. True´s first pup, a male, arrived. Small, which means many more to come. Since True´s contractions are weak, I give her two homeopathic remedies: Secale cornutum D6 and Caulophyllum thalictroides D6, which really help move the contractions along. She gives birth to a female pup twenty minutes after the first pup, and then decides to wait an hour to produce puppy number three, another female. Yet another near-hour break before puppy number four arrives – another girl! This is unusual. Males are so often in the majority. She produces two more pups, twenty minutes apart – two more females. Unheard of for me. After yet another hour-long pause, she finally produces two males within half an hour. Better. She decides to take another near hour-long break before she produces another female, so we´re at six girls and three boys. After about 45 minutes and some crazy pressing, with amniotic fluid coming without a pup….no more contractions….oh oh. A tiny female pup, 197 grams, is stillborn. Too small to survive anyway and much better than a live pup that lingers a couple of days and then dies. I will take her out to the garden and bury her.
After a dead pup, I expect more dead pups, but wasn´t sure if True was actually finished. Didn´t take long for more contractions to start, so I knew Number 11 was on the way and I was not excited about the prospect of another stillborn. But no! She produces that pup and I see movement so I let her do what she needs to do. She eats the placenta, and chews the umbilical cord, but this time too far down! Dang it! Blood starts shooting everywhere. I have had short cords with bleeding before and can usually tie them off with dental floss, but this was too far down. I know this puppy is going to bleed to death if I don´t do something fast, but what do I do with only one free hand while I put pressure on this bleeding belly? Managed to call a girlfriend, who was in her car already. She drove over and collected a retired veterinarian who lives around the corner from me. He was here within about 8 minutes. All the while I´m covered in blood and trying to keep this squirmy puppy still. Dr. Czilli clamps it off much deeper than I would have dared, and instructs me to “keep the puppy still for 25 minutes.” Yeah, right!! It is HOT today and I am drenched, but we get through half an hour before I finally feel it is safe to unclamp, and clean up the mess. Pup is fine and bleeding has stopped. It never ceases to amaze me how much energy a quarter-pounder has!
As I weigh and mark (with beeswax crayons) each pup directly after birth, the next task is to get True outside, wash her backside clean, and completely clean the whelping box of bloody towels and blankets so everyone feels better. The wash machine will be running almost daily now for the next two months. Let´s not forget to add additional water costs to the cost of raising puppies! Won´t need any heat, as temps are above 85 now. It is more of a concern to keep the puppy nursery cool enough.
At some point toward evening, True decides to eat a good meal. I am able to nap for an hour as well in the afternoon, and due to her excellent care of pups, and their willingness to nurse, I am finally able to sleep about 11:30 p.m. and she doesn´t get up and want to go outside until 5:30 a.m. Amazing! Blessed sleep for us all!
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August 7th.
It was good to note that all pups have gained weight in their first 24 hours. Not necessarily a given. As True has breakfast, I take the opportunity to weigh them all, check their umbilical cords, put them in a basket, exchange the whelping box bedding and make sure all beeswax markings are prominent. The purpose of the markings is to quickly note which pup might need extra attention, isn´t gaining properly, etc. I will monitor True´s temperature this week to make sure she doesn´t develop any fever, which would only happen if any placenta remained in utero, which I don´t think, since I make sure they appear after each puppy. She will also receive three doses daily of another homeopathic remedy, Podophyllum D6, which helps to clean out her uterus and speed up the discharge process, which is messy, and can go on for a week or more. The sooner that is finished, the less laundry I have to do!
My job, at this point, is to cater to True´s every whim. She is an excellent brood bitch and I have little or no work with the pups the next couple of weeks.
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August 9th.
Pups are now three days old. I am watching just one little female who is not gaining weight satisfactorily yet. Checking True´s teats to make sure all are getting emptied, not that mastitis can set in. Also monitoring her temperature to track any infection that could pop up in these first few days after whelping. True is content, and the pups are quiet. She is nearly constantly nursing five or six while the others sleep. Every now and then they all rush to the milk bar at the same time…
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August 12th.
We are all suffering in the heat. It is stressful for a nursing bitch to deal with these temperatures and pups at this age cannot regulate their own body temperature. Normally it is a problem to keep them warm enough – now it´s a problem to keep them cool enough. 78-80F is plenty warm enough for the whelping box, and our outside temperature will be over 90F today. I finally set up the fan to get some air moving – closing curtains and windows is not enough. Pups do not tolerate any drafts, so placement of the fan is crucial. I work in the puppy room (guest room) and can barely tolerate the heat myself, but notice that the fan definitely helps.
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August 13th.
My order of 100% organic goat milk powder has arrived this morning, so tonight I will have a go at supplement feeding my smallest pups with a bottle. Goat milk is as close to canine milk as it gets, and they do well with it. This gives True a bit of a break, and pups will start to gain weight faster. It´s been a slow process; not unusual in a litter of this size.
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August 14th.
Just another day. Nothing out of the ordinary, except I am a bit bothered by the smallest pup´s minimal weight gain. She is drinking well and I hope she will catch up with the others. They are all small for this age; small pups in a litter of this size are a given. The weather has been hotter than hot, and I don´t know whether or not that influences milk production. I would like to see pups at nearly a kilo at this age, and we are nowhere near that. “Tiny”, my white one, is 225 grams lighter than the largest pup, so I will get even more aggressive with bottle feedings.
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August 15th.
Blessedly, the weather has cooled down. It has been ridiculously hot. Has been okay for the pups, but much too hot for True – and for me. This is toenail cutting day. Front paws. One hundred toenails! I cut toenails once a week now, until pups leave, or True gets bloody teats from the needle-sharp claws.
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August 16th.
Another uneventful day, but busy with bottle feedings. Ten pups are a lot of work, and they are small, so supplementing in this litter is a must. Cooler, raining. Good!
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August 17th.
Supplemented pups gaining better, but I´d still like to see them gaining faster. Milk production is on the increase, so it will improve. Pups are starting to crawl and my feeling is that ears are open because they are reacting when I come in the room. Day 11, and I´m seeing some eyes starting to open. Let the fun begin! I love it when we can finally see and get to know each other!
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August 18th.
And boom! Life in the whelping box. These guys can MOVE. They are not only crawling, but walking – maybe a bit wobbly on the legs – but FAST. And eyes are all open, which is just so cute. Day 12. Bottle feeding the smallest three, but no more worries. They will all do fine.
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August 20th.
Two weeks old today! Getting more lively, starting to be aware of outside noises. I get the feeling that True is sort of tired of birthing puppies. Not as enthusiastic as she was with the first two litters. Spending lots of time out in the garden and outside of the whelping box. Now pups are starting to associate my voice and smell with FOOD!
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August 23rd.
Now pups are growling and barking when they hear new noises. So cute. Today is Day Three of the first deworming with Panacur, which must taste awful. Makes me feel bad when they spit it out all over me, while shuddering. Can´t figure out why one pharmaceutical company can make a good-tasting deworming medication and the other can´t. This deworming takes care of various worms and also Giardia. In two weeks, I´ll use a different medication that will take care of the worms and another parasite that could appear, and is not “addressed” with Panacur.
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August 24th.
Another toenail clipping day. They grow so fast and are so sharp. I know True thanks me.
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August 25th.
Tomorrow pups will be 3 weeks old. I decided to have a go at giving them goat´s milk from a dish – a big no go. Nope, they still want the bottle. Makes less of a mess too, since they are still relatively small. Giving them all a bottle a day – 120 ml – and the smallest two to three times a bottle of 60-130 ml. This is the last task of the day, so I can sleep with a good conscience that puppy bellies are full. True feeds them during the night, but my feeling is that her milk supply is not totally up to par this litter.
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August 26th.
Offered pups their first puppy chow meal today and they loved it. More landed on the blankets than in their tummies, but they were satisfied. And so was I. Now the fun begins. Three solid meals a day with Mom´s Milk Bar in between.
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August 31st.
Now you see what happens when pups start eating chow. Auntie has no time for anything else. Preparing chow, cleaning up messes, more laundry. Pups are eating well and making great gains now. I have a runt; she will probably be a bit smaller than the others, but the little ones are always personality plus. Personalities are starting to develop now at 3,5 weeks.
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