Whelping Day
It is a day that is full of anticipation and awe. I have never tired of the miracle of birth and the instincts God has given animals. Friday, it looked like Willow may start labour. She refused her breakfast. I had even mixed wet dog food with her kibble—still nothing, a sign that her puppies were on their way. But I was confused because in the evening she ate all her dinner.
We had an early night after a tiring week, and Willow again slept in her Whelping Box. I was awakened several times that night because Willow was restless and digging up her bedding.
In the morning, it was apparent Willow was in labour. She spent the morning going back and forth from the Whelping Box to the bed in our Whelping Room.
Our first puppy arrived at 12:27 p.m., and over the next four hours, she delivered seven more puppies. I cleaned Willow and the Whelping Box and put fresh vet bedding in it. Then, Willow went outside for a potty break and returned to care for her newborns.
After a three-hour whelping pause, Willow surprised us with a late arrival. She now had a litter of nine: three boys and six girls.
Breeding is not always joyful. During our many years of breeding, I have been blessed with an extremely low mortality rate. Unfortunately, sometimes, all the hours and extra care spent trying to save a fading puppy end in sadness.
Goodbye to our sweet chocolate parti girl.
The Boys
The Girls
Settling into a Routine
Neonatal Period
Newborn puppies are in the Neonatal Period. During this time, they spend their days eating and sleeping.
Daily Weigh-in
Willow has done a fantastic job caring for her new babies. I have been pleased with our daily weigh-ins, and I’m happy to report that they have all been steadily gaining weight.
Socialization
Part of raising well-adjusted puppies is socialization. We handle our puppies from birth. When our mamas are comfortable, we also let others cuddle the puppies. Willow was less tolerant than usual, with us holding her puppies, so we respected her wishes and held off for a few days. Only my daughter and I handled the puppies when necessary to clean the whelping box and for daily weight checks. I believe Willow’s over-protectiveness was due to losing her baby girl. Willow is now much more relaxed, which means more puppy cuddles.
ENS
On Tuesday, day three, we began our ENS exercises, which are done daily from day 3 to day 16. Through ENS, we introduce little stress to the puppies, which has been proven to produce calmer puppies. It also produces greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, a faster adrenal system, and stronger heart rates and heartbeats.
Newborn Puppies just eat and sleep
BELOW: Sleeping puppies. Newborn puppies spend 90 percent of their time eating and sleeping – that’s almost 22 hours a day!
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO
- Much the same as week one – Eat, Sleep, Repeat!
- Puppies will continue growing rapidly
- Puppies still crawl; hind legs will become stronger
- Continue ENS
- At the end of the week eyes should begin to open towards the end of the week – SO EXCITING!!!
