Last week was a week of new life. In addition to our puppies arrival, Thursday, February 4th we welcomed our ninth grandchild into our family. Robbie,(my forth born son) and his wife Chelsea welcomed their first child, a sweet baby girl. Sadly because of restrictions, we were not able to make our usual excited trip to the hospital to meet her – so, she shall be know as our “Covid Baby” LOL Hopefully before she is too old, this pandemic will be a thing of the past.
Ruska continues to be a wonderful mama and dedicated to caring for her babies. The puppies are gaining weight daily and continue to do what healthy puppies do – Eat, Sleep, and grow!
Notice in this video the puppies are maturing – their heads are changing shape and you can see their eyes that are still sealed shut, developing. When the puppies turn two weeks old, we will see their eyes begin to open. After a good meal there is no better place to sleep than snuggling with mamaPink Girl is relaxed and sleeping on her back – a favourite doodle sleep position LOL!
After nursing, Ruska checks and cleans her puppies. Some of the puppies were hoping their mama would stay in the whelping box so they could cuddle but that wasn’t in the plan. Ruska is now spending some of her time sleeping outside the whelping box. This helps the puppies begin the transition of becoming more independent. Some of the pups took awhile to find a comfy place to sleep!
Wow, our precious puppies are one week old today. We have had a busy week! For the first few weeks of life, a puppy cannot regulate their own body temperature. They need a warm space, their mother, and littermates to help keep them warm. This is a winter litter, and I can’t rely on the sunshine to keep my room extra warm as I do with summer litters. We have added an electric heater to our room to help keep the temperature at a warm 29 degrees C.
Ruska is a wonderful mama. For the first 3 days of the puppies lives she spent all her time in the whelping box with the them, keeping them warm, clean and making sure they nursed often. In the past, I had to encourage her to eat and drink but after this whelp, she had a good appetite and drank plenty of water from the start. For the last few days she has been spending some time away from them. She enjoyed a little exercise in the yard with our other dogs. Ruska looked so happy being able to run again, which is something she wasn’t able to do the last week or so of pregnancy. She even found a large stick in the yard to chew LOL! But as soon as she came in the house again, she ran upstairs check on her babies.
Puppies are born with their eyes and ears sealed shut; they cannot see or hear. They have to rely on “smell” and “touch” to find their mother. Puppies are born with a natural instinct to nurse but as the days pass, they have become more proficient at it. The puppies are now experts at nursing; they can smell when Ruska returns to the whelping box. They wake and make a mad dash to find her and begin their next meal.
Notice the puppies are beginning to use their hind legs as they move. Ruska spent some time cleaning them before letting them nurse..
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO
Much the same as week one – Eat, Sleep, Repeat!
Puppies will continue growing
Puppies still crawl; hind legs will become stronger
Eyes should begin to open towards the end the week – so exciting !!!
The first two weeks of a puppies life they spend 90% of their time sleeping. Now that Ruska’s milk is in they are satisfied for a longer time in-between feedings.
When it comes to matters of the potty, puppies need their mothers help at first. For the first few weeks newborn puppies do not instinctively know how to nor do they possess the ability to eliminate themselves without their mother cleaning them. Ruska has an around the clock job feeding and keeping her babies clean.
Saturday Morning Feed
Puppies fall asleep with full tummies, cuddling with their mama.
The puppies routine today is the same as in previous days…..eat and sleep. They love to cuddle with Ruska after they have full tummies but when mama is not in the whelping box, they huddle together to keep warm.
Puppy Huddles
Group Huddles
A row of puppies
Buddy Huddles
Cuddle Buddies
Two puppies in the “Waiting Box” until it is their turn to eat. Ruska can only feed a maximum of eight puppies at one time. When everyone wants to eat at the same time, I put two puppies in a little box so they don’t get frustrated trying to find a spot to nurse.
Photo Comparison
Puppies have already changed since they were born. Their fur is already growing, they are bigger and their pigmentation is developing. Notice in this comparison photo the puppy’s nose and pads. When the puppies were born, they had those adorable pink noses. They are now darkening and will soon be black. Ruska’s puppies are growing up!
Move the slider on the photo to see the comparison of developing pigmentation
We have been busy both day and night taking care of Ruska and making sure all is going well with our tiny new arrivals. Puppies can loose up to 10% of their birth weight in the first 24 hour. I am happy to say, all of the puppies have re-gained their birthweight and more.
Ruska is an amazing mama. She is loving and protective and constantly caring for her babies. Because she has 10 puppies, she can not feed everyone at the same time; they have to feed in shifts. We give extra attention making sure all the puppies get their share of milk. I continue to be pleased at our daily weigh in ………. everyone is gaining nicely! Newborn puppies grow and develop so quickly it is no wonder that all they do is eat and sleep.
Puppies sleeping, Watch closely and you can see the puppies “twitch”. Twitching in puppies has a very important function and is a sign of healthy development. It is believed that twitching actually helps the puppy develop strong muscles.
Light Blue Boy was wondering where his mama went. Ruska left the whelping box and wanted to go out side, but she returned to see what the crying was about!
Puppies return to their whelping box after it has been cleaned. Yes, all these babies do is eat and sleep!
Today we made an attempt to take singles of Ruska’s puppies. My daughter in law is a great photographer and in the past she usually does this for me but, with our lock down in place, it wasn’t possible. So my husband Tom and my daughter Kendra helped me undertake the task. It was hard work trying to keep these little puppies still. I think they thought the fluffy rug we placed them on felt like Ruska. They wouldn’t stay still and kept moving to find her. LOL! After over an hour, we were finally successful and captured the singles of their adorable faces!
The anticipation and excitement of the arrival of puppies mounts as the days pass by during the Whelping Week. Everything is prepared in advance. The whelping box is cleaned and set up in our bedroom and all the tools needed are ready and waiting for the pending arrival of the puppies. Each night of the week before going to bed I wonder, “will this be the night”, only to wake in the morning with the realization we will still have to wait another day.
On Sunday we were certain that Ruska was finally going into labor. She becomes very clingy and follows us everywhere we go. That afternoon she had made a comfy spot on our corner sectional with blankets and pillows. She even brought one of her stuffed animals with her. I decided to keep her calm and let her labor there. When she started to whelp at 5:30 pm, we moved her to her whelping box in my bedroom to bring her babies into the world.
The miracle of a new life is so precious and I am always amazed at the instincts God has given animals; they just know what to do! I am so thankful to be able to help these puppies into the world!
VIDEO – Ruska cleans a newborn puppy after removing it from the sac. The mother dog severs the umbilical cord and begins the cleaning process. This is when the puppy begins taking their first breath. The pups stay with their mom for awhile after birth to keep warm. We then examine them, towel dry them, weigh them, and record their birth weight. Finally we put collars on – a different coloured for each puppy – to keep track of their progress in the coming days and weeks.After getting cleaned a newborn puppy cuddles with Ruska to keep warm.Newborn puppy getting towel dried
Puppies are cuddling in the “warming box” while Ruska delivers another puppy. It is important to keep newborn puppies warm as they cannot regulate their own body temperature and must be warm before they can nurse.
We get newborn puppies nursing as soon as possible to get all the important first milk – colostrum. It helps build immunity, as they are born with none. This protein-rich special milk provides passive immunity in dogs. It can last several weeks and protect them from various infections and diseases.Our last puppy #10, was born at 10:59 pm After the last puppy was born, we cleaned the whelping box and put clean bedding in. Ruska looks tired after whelping her ten puppies. She had a long night ahead of her feeding and caring for her precious tiny babies. Well done Ruska!!!
Yesterday evening was a busy time and a night of little sleep. Ruska did an amazing job! Whelping is hard work, even for a seasoned mama like Ruska. Over the next few days and nights, we will be staying right by Ruska’s side making sure things are going smoothly. Ruska now has a “round the clock job”. She will spend her days and nights cleaning, feeding, and keeping her babies warm. Ruska is such an amazing mama!
Ruska is now in the “Whelping Week Window” of her pregnancy and is noticeably larger. She is doing well; getting lots of rest, pampering, and love. Her tummy continues to expand which is making her more uncomfortable with each passing day. The only exercise she is getting is a little run in the yard during bathroom break and moving to different spots in the house trying to find a more comfortable spot to sleep. Ruska has become less active and her appetite has decreased which are signs that she will soon begin whelping.
Our Shaggy Mama
Usually by this time in her pregnancy, Ruska has gone to the groomers for a haircut and tummy shave to prepare for her puppies arrival, but not this time. With our province wide lock down, our groomers are closed so, with my daughters help, we used scissors to trim some of her tummy hair. I’m definitely not going to take up dog grooming, – Lol – our job doesn’t look the best but the tummy trim will help when her puppies nurse. This litter of puppies are going to have a shaggy mama.
Whelping Box Ready and Waiting
Last week we set up the whelping box in our bedroom. I like to introduce it to her early, so she gets comfortable with it and hopefully she will begin her whelping there. We expect that the puppies will arrive any day now and we will then be busy helping Ruska care for her little ones – I can’t wait!
As everyone knows, Goldendoodle’s are an intentional cross breed of the Poodle and the Golden Retriever breed. The Poodle was named after “splashing in water” because these dogs were originally bred to be water retrievers. Their job was to bring ducks and other birds back to their masters. The Golden Retriever is also a gun dog that was bred to retrieve shot waterfowl, such as ducks and upland game birds, during hunting. Both these breeds love the water so it’s no surprise that the Goldendoodle also love the water. It is said that the only thing a Goldendoodle likes more than water is the snow. All of our dogs love the water and the snow with the exception of Ellie. She doesn’t enjoy going in the water even on the hottest summer day. I have to force her into the dog pool to cool off in the summer. Ellie does love the snow though and is a true retriever.Her favourite toy is a tennis ball and Ellie never tires of a game of fetch.
Ellie is hanging on tight to her tennis ball. Ruska loves to steal it from her.
We are now into the new year and with it came the “lockdown” making our days quiet around here. We are not allowed to visit inside our home but we are able to visit for outdoor activities by social distancing with a maximum of 10 people. We have taken advantage of this to keep in touch with our family and their dogs of course. Our fire pit has already had more use this winter than previous years.
We had Kona and Echo over to our house to play. Kona is my son Robbie’s dog from Ruska’s first litter and Echo is my son Blake’s dog from Ruska’s third litter. All the dogs love getting together for playdates. No need for “social distancing” for them! LOL
My husband Tom playing with the dogs in the snow.
The countdown is on…..we are excited for Ruska and Tulo’s upcoming litter of puppies due at the end of January. Ruska is an independent dog but when she is expecting puppies she enjoys getting lots of TLC. It’s important for Ruska to continue to get exercise, high quality food and lots rest.
Ruska resting after fun in the snow
When Ellie and Willow, our other two females went into heat , we sent Brinkley to my son Mark’s family for a visit with his father Tulo. They have been having a great time together!
Mark has been working hard this winter making a skating rink for my grandchildren. It takes many hours of flooding on cold nights and staying off the ice if the days are mild to make a smooth ice surface. It appears Brinkley has been more impatient then anyone and is wanting to “try it out”.
On a mild day Brinkley walked on the skating rink leaving behind foot prints.
Tulo, Brinkley’s dad, knows the rules – Stay Off the Ice. Mark has been trying to teach Brinkley to “stay off the ice” too, and thought that he had finally succeeded. So as you can imagine, Mark was not to happy with him when he discovered Brinkley enjoying himself one morning, rolling on his back on the ice rink. You can see Tulo watching him in the very bottom of this short video. Tulo knows how to obey! LOL
VIDEO – Brinkley enjoying rolling on his back on the ice. You can see Tulo watching him in the very bottom of the video. He knows how to obey! LOL
