5/30/01 To give you a glimpse into the early life of this first litter, I'll give you a bit of a report of events to date. Sunny started showing birthing signs in the early morning of May 20th. I had been monitoring her temperature every three hours. About 3AM her temp dropped off about .7 degrees and depressed down to 98.4. I knew that things would start fairly soon. About 4:30 she passed a discharge of fluid. Since Linda was out of town, I called my friend Lorna Cook who agreed to assist with whelping. Sunny delivered her first pup, "Big Red" at 6:20AM. The process for the midwives is to assist the momma by providing hands to coax and receive the pup and to offer reassurance to the momma as well as insure that she doesn't get too "athletic" in her delivery motions. With "Big Red" in hand, we quickly clean off the birth sack, clip the umbilical, and try to dispose of that before Sunny has a chance to gobble it down. We let Sunny sniff and lick the pup briefly and then finish the clean up by gently rubbing the pup with a clean towel. We promptly sex and weigh the pup and tie a "collar" of colored rick-rack around the pups neck for identification purposes. Hence each pup begins life with an exciting name like "red", "orange", "white", etc. Sometimes a pup may endear themselves to their human helpers and become "Lacey" or "Little Goldie". And so it goes. Each birth is routine but always a little different. Some come when momma is lying down nursing. Most come head first (the proper delivery), others back into the world. Most are protected in the amniotic sack, a few a born "dry" meaning that the amniotic sack is ruptured in the birth canal. Sometimes there is forty minutes between deliveries, sometime they come within five minutes of each other and we each have a wiggly pup to administer to. And of course this time little "pink-red" (with eleven pups you run out of colors quickly) surprised us by arriving fourteen hours after "Lacey" in the wee hours of the next morning. Some behemoths like "Big Red" weigh in at 14 ounces at birth. "Little Goldie" was a petite 9 ounces when he hit the deck. Now it is a case of a sigh of relief and WATCHING. Are all the pups breathing and wiggling. Do they nurse properly, Can thy find a nipple--are they staying warm, is the remnant of the umbilical drying and starting to heal. Monitor Sunny's temperature three times a day. Weigh the pups each morning to see if they are gaining. Shift the pups into two boxes with heating pads. Move the pups in shifts onto Sunny to nurse. Supplement Sunny by trying to convince a couple of pups that formula and a bottle are as good as a warm canine teat. NOT! Stick close, sleep in snatches. Begin to be reassured and relax. Wonder what you are going to do with ELEVEN pups. Take Plato to the boarding kennel for a few days so he is not a concern and stressing his mother. And so it goes for the first four to five days. Gradually, Sunny becomes more relaxed with the pups. The pups thrive and GAIN weight. They aren't really much to look at folks. Wrinkled, brown "slugs" with a mouth on one end and a tail on the other. They are interested in two things -- nursing and staying warm. They complain to high heaven when one or the other of their needs are not being met. The neat part is that Sunny cleans up after them -- no poop scooping for me (not yet). Sunny licks their little butts, literally tossing them on their heads to stimulate elimination and to clean up the residue. This too begets horrendous caterwauling from the pups being administered to. Its still very early to learn much about the pups. We can see who is the active nurser, which one lets you know when he/she is displeased, who are the lay backs. Who gains the most weight ("Lacey" TRIPLES her weight in 10 days!), and who grows more slowly ("purple" came into life at nearly a pound and has been coasting since then -- he now weighs in at TWO pounds). Overall the litter stats are these: Sunny birthed a total of 7.7 pounds of puppies -- at ten days the total weight of the litter is 19.6 pounds. This is a weight gain of 254%. This compares favorably with the gain in her previous litter which was 270% at the same point. All the pups went to the vet at day three to have their tails docked and dew claws removed. Sunny is doing well -- her temp has stabilized to 101.5 varying somewhat from morning to evening. Within the next week the fun really begins. The pups are now starting to "get up on their pins" and move more quickly. Eyes and ears will begin to open within a few days. Then the moment of dread -- the first cereal is served. We will make a thin paste of baby cereal and puppy formula. Each pups is unceremoniously introduced to the mixture. Most pups are first surprised and require some gentle "dunking" before they are convinced that this is good. Eventually over the next several feedings (if you can call them that) the pups learn to eat, walk in, and wear the puppy gruel. Momma now gets smart. When the solid food begins, she goes on poopy strike and refuses the cleanup duties. All cameras and camcorders are banned during times when the human puppy tenders must simultaneously feed, wash, and clean up after a huge litter of eleven puppies. God's main purpose here is to help the humans begin to realize that "No--they DO NOT want to keep all the little darlin's" and "Yes--they can go to new homes at the end of six weeks". I'll close it off for now. As the litter develops I'll try to post more reports and begin to "sort out" some of the personalities as they develop. Right now "Little Goldie" is my "top dog". He is an eating machine and has the cutest (show disqualifying, alas) white blaze in the middle of his forehead and chest. Top female goes to "Black Lace" who throws her weight around the litter with the best of them. If you are into Sumo wrestling, you will love "Big Red". This guy is now 2 pounds and 3 ounces and is already starting to get mail from Jennie Craig.
6/17/01 I can hear Sunny's pups even as I am writing this. They are insistently calling out that it's time for Linda and me to mix up the puppy "gruel" and feed them their morning meal. This is the first of three meals of gruel that they will need today. To tide them over in between each (in shifts of 3 to 4 pups) will get an opportunity to nurse quietly with Sunny. By next Sunday the nursing will be a thing of the past and they will be feeding entirely on puppy chow softened with water and formula. And its high time for this. Their mouths are filled with small needle sharp teeth that irritate Sunny to no end. And they are so big and rough that it is only through the greatest of maternal will that Sunny will allow them to nurse. When the pups hit 2 weeks we moved them from the "whelping box" to a 6x4 ft "pen" in the den/family room. They can see out through the wire sides and feel a part of the larger "world" yet be contained safely from trouble. The floor is lined with newspaper. (We have a friend who gives up back copies of the "Wall Street Journal" which makes a high quality thick layer for the litter's litter. If your pup starts to alert when hearing Allen Greenspan over the radio you will know the source of this strange behavior.) Essentially the den/family room has become a puppy nursery because the "ancillary" equipment and supplies surround the puppy pen in all directions. One corner of the pen has their bedding which they generally keep free from pee and poop. Although at times some of the pups don't quite make it to the paper or are too groggy from sleep to venture far from the "pile". The "pile" is a bunch of 11 puppies as much as three deep that slowly trade positions for warmth and comforting contact. In the 18 days between the last report and now the pups have: opened eyes and ears (although most people know that pups are born with their eyes closed, I don't think everyone realizes that their ear passages are also closed at birth); gone from tentative "toddling" to walking and "charging" around the pen; they have discovered each other and chew, lick, pull, tug and spar with littermates; they can whine, growl, and "bark". They understand some signals -- such as when humans come close they will be fed or picked up so they need to strut, romp and beg to make sure they THEY get the attention. They also know that fresh newspaper must be soiled immediately and the whole litter will dutifully get with the program to insure that fresh newspaper does not long sully their pen with its nasty cleanliness. The weight gain is what always amazes me. The total litter weight is now over 50 pounds. That is the equivalent of a full grown dog! Since birth the litter has increased their weight by 750%! You can understand why Sunny is reluctant to nurse the equivalent of an adult dog. The gain of this litter is right on track with Sunny's first litter. All the puppies are thriving and range from a strapping male of over 6 pounds to the "runt" that is a little over 4 pounds! That runt has the highest individual weight gain so relative to the whole litter she is packing in the groceries with the best of them.
In the last two weeks the litter will become completely weaned and be moved to the indoor/outdoor kennel where they can get comfortable with "the field". We will be doing out feedings out in the garden/driveway area and allowing "free play" among the shrubbery. This usually turns into a constant vigil of counting noses and searching for the "lost" pup hiding in the flower beds. Of course there is "worming" to accomplish and puppy vaccinations and health checks. We need to be discussing the details of your visit to select and pickup a pup. Be thinking about when you can visit during the week of 1-8 July. I will be out of town on the 6th of July and the previous evening. While Linda will be around it might be best to try to work around late 5th and 6th July. The "first" pick is only two hours away and 2 and 3 live in the tri-cities area. So that's a good first start. I am concerned that we coordinate the folks who have to travel from the "westside". Truthfully, these pups are all so nice that you could reach into the litter with your eyes closed and get a winner. But first impressions, and free choice are important also. We want to satisfy as many families as possible. I do have one pup that already has its first "field scar". He was born with a cut/tear in the skin on the top of his head. Although it healed well, it did so with a bit of scar tissue that would likely remain hairless. In discussions with our vet, we concluded that the area should be reopened and "stitched" neatly. So at the moment he looks a bit like a sailor returning from a brawl. I fully expect that the area will not be too noticeable within several weeks but you never know. This could be a detriment to any "show" aspirations. From a personality standpoint the little fella is a "sweetheart" and his "boo-boo" has gained him extra attention and loving. And he has born his treatment with grace and dignity. Here's a great set of pictures from another litter |
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From a personality standpoint, we are beginning to realize that all of them are wonderful pups and give us flashes of future glory. I can truthfully say that they are all "above average". They are
eminently cuddly and lovable. We have had three of the new families visit already so if you want sworn affidavits to their "cuteness", softness, and cuddliness, I can probably arrange for some. I know that I owe you pictures. I will try to borrow a digital camera from a friend early this week and get them up on the site.