I find it amazing that for at least the first week of a puppy's life, they are both blind and deaf. The one thing they are born with though is an incredible urge to gravitate towards a teat, hang on for dear life and suck like crazy :)
The milestones in the development of the puppy include :
- Eyes opening 7 - 10 days
- Ear canals open 14 days
- Primary teeth through 14 - 21 days
- Can see 10 - 15 days
- Barking 18 days (and it seems noisy now with just contented murmurs and the occasional squeal !)
- Stand upright 21 days
- Wee and poo without stimulation from bitch (don't envy her that job ;) 21 days
- Play with other pups 25 - 28 days
- Walk and run 28 days
- Sight as good as adult 28 days
- Hearing acute 35 days
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Finally got some sleep
Last night was bliss - a full nights sleep in a real bed while Morag spent the night with Jess and the pups. They are sooooo adorable ! I can't believe looking at them that they were actually all inside Jess - no wonder she resembled a blimp in the last week of her pregnancy.
Now that the whelping is over, it's time to turn my attention to the next stage of the process - care of the puppies (and mom). I'm paranoid about room temperature (making sure it's kept between 23 and 25 degrees C) as this is the leading cause of puppies not making it past the first week. For the first 7 - 10 days they are unable to regulate their own body temperature and rely entirely on ambient heat for their warmth, either from cuddling close in to mum or the bedding. I was originally going for some heat pads but didn't bother in the end - watching the little guys crawl around the whelping box I'm just not sure how you'd keep them in the area with the heat pad - I suppose they would gravitate to it in search of heat. I figured it was easier to ensure all the pups were kept at the right temp to monitor the room temperature. I have a large digital thermometer placed just above the whelping box with min, max and current temperature so it's easy to keep an eye on it.
We're also keeping a close eye on Jess - the poor thing doesn't get a moments peace. Thankfully she has been happy to leave the bed for a few minutes during the day so we can keep her clean, she can pee and poo and we get the chance to rotate the vet bed in the whelping box. I took her around the estate for 10 min today to allow her to stretch her legs. As soon as she's back in the house though she goes running quickly up to the box and checks on her babies :)
Amazingly enough (never thought I would see the day), jess is somewhat off her food. She normally eats entirely on a raw meaty bone diet - lots of bone, meat, liver, kidney, tripe etc.. but she's turning her nose up at most of it. Was able to tempt her with some steak as well as chicken mince. She had a few chicken wings but turned away after about 4 (previously she would have eaten 4 kg of them !). Started giving her a little bit of puppy biscuit as well, the type we'll be using to wean the puppies.
Up until the birth, my research was solely on the birthing process - what was expected, what was not, what constituted an emergency and how to handle it - I must have read the same chapters in each of the books 20 times at least :) Now I can forget about that and concentrate on getting the puppies through the first 2 weeks which is such a critical period for them. The literature on fading puppy syndrome and the myriad of problems/complications that can arrive is daunting :(
We are lucky enough to already have enough people on the waiting list to ensure that all puppies will have new owners looking to provide them with all the love and the care in the world they deserve :)
Now that the whelping is over, it's time to turn my attention to the next stage of the process - care of the puppies (and mom). I'm paranoid about room temperature (making sure it's kept between 23 and 25 degrees C) as this is the leading cause of puppies not making it past the first week. For the first 7 - 10 days they are unable to regulate their own body temperature and rely entirely on ambient heat for their warmth, either from cuddling close in to mum or the bedding. I was originally going for some heat pads but didn't bother in the end - watching the little guys crawl around the whelping box I'm just not sure how you'd keep them in the area with the heat pad - I suppose they would gravitate to it in search of heat. I figured it was easier to ensure all the pups were kept at the right temp to monitor the room temperature. I have a large digital thermometer placed just above the whelping box with min, max and current temperature so it's easy to keep an eye on it.
We're also keeping a close eye on Jess - the poor thing doesn't get a moments peace. Thankfully she has been happy to leave the bed for a few minutes during the day so we can keep her clean, she can pee and poo and we get the chance to rotate the vet bed in the whelping box. I took her around the estate for 10 min today to allow her to stretch her legs. As soon as she's back in the house though she goes running quickly up to the box and checks on her babies :)
Amazingly enough (never thought I would see the day), jess is somewhat off her food. She normally eats entirely on a raw meaty bone diet - lots of bone, meat, liver, kidney, tripe etc.. but she's turning her nose up at most of it. Was able to tempt her with some steak as well as chicken mince. She had a few chicken wings but turned away after about 4 (previously she would have eaten 4 kg of them !). Started giving her a little bit of puppy biscuit as well, the type we'll be using to wean the puppies.
Up until the birth, my research was solely on the birthing process - what was expected, what was not, what constituted an emergency and how to handle it - I must have read the same chapters in each of the books 20 times at least :) Now I can forget about that and concentrate on getting the puppies through the first 2 weeks which is such a critical period for them. The literature on fading puppy syndrome and the myriad of problems/complications that can arrive is daunting :(
We are lucky enough to already have enough people on the waiting list to ensure that all puppies will have new owners looking to provide them with all the love and the care in the world they deserve :)
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
More puppies !!
Just when we thought it was over and the rest of the house was in bed asleep, Jess started having contractions again at 1:35am ! ( 4 hours since last pup born).
pup 7 (choc boy) was born 1:53am
pup 8 (choc boy) was born 4:10am
At 6am she started straining again but seemed to be having trouble due to exhaustion. Spoke to the vet who suggested leaving it a but longer to see if she could manage by herself. Wasn't happening so got to the vets at 930am for another injection of oxytocin. The vet took a quick x-ray so we would know how many more to expect. Turns out 2 pups were still in there.
pup 9 was unfortunately born still born and all attempts to resuscitate failed :(
pup 10 (choc girl) was born 11:27am.
So, in total we have 9 wonderful pups
- 3 black (2 girls and a boy)
- 6 choc (3 girls and 3 boys)
Jess is finally getting some peaceful sleeping - she has been an amazing mum through a very long (48 hours) labour. She has worked tirelessly to clean them, tidy up cords and stimulate the bowel and is lovingly protective of them all :)
Further costs : Out of hours vet, blood test and oxytocin shot £126.03. Further costs today for vet, xray and oxytocin but haven't paid yet so don't know how much !
pup 7 (choc boy) was born 1:53am
pup 8 (choc boy) was born 4:10am
At 6am she started straining again but seemed to be having trouble due to exhaustion. Spoke to the vet who suggested leaving it a but longer to see if she could manage by herself. Wasn't happening so got to the vets at 930am for another injection of oxytocin. The vet took a quick x-ray so we would know how many more to expect. Turns out 2 pups were still in there.
pup 9 was unfortunately born still born and all attempts to resuscitate failed :(
pup 10 (choc girl) was born 11:27am.
So, in total we have 9 wonderful pups
- 3 black (2 girls and a boy)
- 6 choc (3 girls and 3 boys)
Jess is finally getting some peaceful sleeping - she has been an amazing mum through a very long (48 hours) labour. She has worked tirelessly to clean them, tidy up cords and stimulate the bowel and is lovingly protective of them all :)
Further costs : Out of hours vet, blood test and oxytocin shot £126.03. Further costs today for vet, xray and oxytocin but haven't paid yet so don't know how much !
Monday, 17 May 2010
Puppies ! :)
Well 2 hours passed and still no pups even after regular straining from Jess. Rang the emergency vet (of course the vet clinic had just shut !) and they suggested we bring Jess up so the vet could take a look. After inspection vet believed Jess was doing fine, just slowly. Did a quick blood test to check for levels of glucose and calcium. Seems her glucose drinks and raw meaty bones served her well and both levels were in the ideal range. With that, an injection of oxytocin was made to help Jess kick start the process. The drug cause the uterine muscles to contract meaning that the birthing process is done with little help from her (rather than relying on her abdominal muscles to squeeze the uterus). We we warned to expect a puppy within 15-20 min after the injection and since our trip back home takes 20 min, Jess had her first pup 5 min down the road from home. A hasty stop at the side of the road to make all was ok (she took over instantly, without fuss) and then home with the second one being born 25 min later.
It's now 10.30pm (32 hours after stage 1 labour began) and we now have 6 puppies :
1. Black boy born 7.15pm
2. Choc girl 7:40pm
3. Choc boy 8:22pm
4. Black girl 8:50pm
5. Choc girl 9:00pm
6. Black girl 9:57pm
Jess seems very relaxed now so we think that's all the puppies but we'll be keeping a close eye on her for a while. She is being so good with them all - I had no idea how noisy they would be ! Can't imagine how noisy a litter of 10 would be.
What an exhausting 32 hours it's been ! Got a few more ahead of us no doubt as well :)
It's now 10.30pm (32 hours after stage 1 labour began) and we now have 6 puppies :
1. Black boy born 7.15pm
2. Choc girl 7:40pm
3. Choc boy 8:22pm
4. Black girl 8:50pm
5. Choc girl 9:00pm
6. Black girl 9:57pm
Jess seems very relaxed now so we think that's all the puppies but we'll be keeping a close eye on her for a while. She is being so good with them all - I had no idea how noisy they would be ! Can't imagine how noisy a litter of 10 would be.
What an exhausting 32 hours it's been ! Got a few more ahead of us no doubt as well :)
Stage 2 !
Wow, after an anxious 25 hours her water has broken and we've started to see visible abdominal straining :) First pup should be delivered within 2 hours !
Stage 1 ... still
Perhaps it was my fault, saying that I hoped it wasn't as long as 18 hours ! It's been 20 hours now and Jess seems to finally be calming down - less frantic panting and she even seemed to be having a little sleep. I'm sure she's as keen as we are to get the puppies out !
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Stage 1 labour underway
It started about 2pm this afternoon (Sunday). Jess has been heavily panting and shivering since then (it's now 11pm). She's also having bouts of shredding all the newspaper in he whelping box into confetti ! Poor thing, it does not look comfortable. Right now I'm just waiting for Stage 2 to start. According to the book of the bitch, Stage 1 labour (especially in first time mums) can last up to 18 hours - certainly hope not ! The average is 6 to 12 hours.
Watch this space :)
Watch this space :)
Temperature drop !
Jess was very restless last evening, observed her going in to the corner of a room and started pawing at the ground (around 9pm). From midnight for a few hours she was pacing around, sometimes just standing up still for a few minutes before settling back down. Then she dropped off into a longer sleep and didn't make much fuss for the rest of the night.
This morning she vomited clear, mucus like fluid, the same as what she had about 3 weeks into her pregnancy.
Took her temperature at 9am and it's finally dropped ! It's been very constant between 99.5 and 100.0 for the past couple of days, this morning's reading was down to 98.4. The temperature drop is regarded as the most predictable, nearly constant indicator that stage 2 labour will begin in 12 to 24 hours. I wish now I had taken her temperature a couple of times during the night as it could have dropped anytime between the last reading at 10pm last night and 9am this morning.
I'm certain that come Monday morning, we will have pups ! :)
This morning she vomited clear, mucus like fluid, the same as what she had about 3 weeks into her pregnancy.
Took her temperature at 9am and it's finally dropped ! It's been very constant between 99.5 and 100.0 for the past couple of days, this morning's reading was down to 98.4. The temperature drop is regarded as the most predictable, nearly constant indicator that stage 2 labour will begin in 12 to 24 hours. I wish now I had taken her temperature a couple of times during the night as it could have dropped anytime between the last reading at 10pm last night and 9am this morning.
I'm certain that come Monday morning, we will have pups ! :)
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Still waiting !
Saturday lunchtime now and no movement on the puppy front :( Jess' temperature is still fairly constant. Dropped a little (0.3 F) yesterday down to 99.4 but then this morning was back up to 99.7. Seems it may be Sunday night before we see any puppy action. Jess woke me up at 2am, 4am and 6am this morning by coming over and standing, inches from my face with her tail wagging like mad :) Thought each time she was desperate to go outside but she wasn't - seems she had just woken up, spotted me sleeping there and decided to come over and say hello :)
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