May 11 Day 62

Unfortunately because the Blog server had problems my entry for the rest of the night was lost.  Instead of trying to recreate it I want to spend my time catching up with what's happening Now.  So!  To make a long story short :)

Puppies started arriving at 11am and the last was delivered at 9pm.  Nickel did a fabulous job of delivering the puppies about every 45 minutes with a few long naps in between.  We now have 9 beautiful, healthy and robust puppies!  5 girls and 4 boys.  It looks like there are several Silvers and the rest are Blues.  Nickel is a blue and her mom is a silver... so basically you can see that the puppies will probably grow up to be the same gorgeous silver color.  I was incredibly happy and relieved that all the puppies survived.  Since Nickel is 5 years old and this is her first litter I was a little worried ... especially knowing it was a large litter.   She is a robust girlie and did an amazing job.

Into a new world

Blue- first born

FIRST PUPPY BORN 11:00am    GIRL 14 0z  


2nd  Girl 
3rd Boy
4th Girl
5th Girl


so far...  all looking healthy and robust... averaging about 45 minutes each...............more to come!

Nickel feeling a contraction.... the puppies nursing helps to induce labor

Looking pretty good and fresh after the first few puppies

May 10 Day 61

IS IT BAD FOR PUPPIES TO DROP?....  Not when it's in a pregnant mom's belly!

Puppies have dropped means that they are starting to get ready to line up for delivery.  Nickel's shape changed over night.  She went from a Bloated tick to a pot bellied pig.... ah poor Nickel... shouldn't make fun of her.  In truth she's glowing like an expectant mom.  When I got home from work today she said hi as usual but proceeded to clamor back under the bed.  Things might start happening around here soon... anyone want to change their vote!?  :^)

DAY 61

Lynne asked me about seeing the puppies move and I decided to respond here.  It's a really amazing experience... especially with so many of them.


Nickel definitely feels the puppies.  Sometimes she'll turn and look.  Feeling them is the wildest thing.  Early on when the puppies move you feel gentle movement.  At this point they are really close to the surface of the skin.  I like to massage them at this point.... not for long but just to give them the sensation on their bodies.  If I gently rub her belly they all start to stir :)  If you place your hand gently on her belly they feel like someone rubbing their knuckle on the palm of your hand,  it can be quite strong.  Sometimes you can tell it's a foot or head.  There are a couple puppies under her rib cage and you can still feel them moving.

Last night the puppies were moving A LOT.  Nickel was also spending a lot of time stretched out.  I've heard that the mom does this so the puppies can start to turn around and get into position for delivery.  It still amazes me that there can be so many in there and that there's an order to them coming into the world.

I have now shaved around Nickel's nipples, otherwise the puppies can have a hard time finding the nipples and get constipated by ingesting hair.  For the  last two litters I shaved mom's entire belly.  This seems to be what all breeders do.  I found that the tiny puppy nails scratched mom's belly.  Despite clipping the nails daily you can see the marks.  I decided to leave the hair long this time.  We'll see if this helps.  The other thing that I start doing the last week is rubbing Lanolin  on her nipples to get them soft.  Never having had a (human) baby,  I never knew how tender the nipples during the first week of nursing.  Poor TinTin was raw from her puppies.  Of course the more puppies there are the harder it is on mom since the nipples never get a 'rest' (the puppies don't rotate on them.  SO!  For Ico's litter I went to the store and found La Leche Nipple Cream.  I'm sure the cashier was wondering why an old lady was buying Nipple Cream but I decided it was safer to let her think I was using it on myself than telling her it was for my DOG!  ha ha ha.  In any case.... the Lanolin does the trick.  The other thing that I'll start for Nickel is a supplementation of Fennuelgrek.  This is an herb that helps promote milk production.  It gives mom a very swell breath too :)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

May 9 Day 60

Let Us Outta Here!!!

It's not that easy to see... LOL.. and it's sideways... but if you have patients and eagle eyes you can see the puppies moving in the video below.

Joanne and Stoli Make The Cut!!

Great news for Joanne and Stoli!  They made the cut for the Box Work Trial~  Cindy and Luna made it too.  I'm glad they'll be there to give each other moral support.  I thought I'd take the opportunity to show the video again and add the descriptions that Joanne gave me.  The video was spliced together but for the three scenes you will see a synopsis of what was happening and why:

1.  Car search:  Car is unknown to Stoli.  "We have learned to circle the car.  Both hides were with birch scent only.  The first hide was out of sight and the second hide was camoplaged on the silver wheel plate.  He is obviously ready to move on!"

2.  Outside search:  Hidden in tall grass at the base of the tree.  Noitce that he needs to check the paarameters (boxes, etc) but had already caught the scent."

3.  The scent was in the black tube.  He caught the scent coming out and then tracked it back.

May 8 Day 59

Since we're so Close and yet So Far...

I hate to admit it... but we're all camped out in the whelping box tonight.  I know I'm a bit eccentric, but it is a lot like the good old days camping out.  I used to bring two tents..  one for me and one for the dogs.  In truth, we'd all end up spilling over into one tent.  The Whelping box it 4' x 5'.  I made it with my own  building plans specifically so I could fit in it with my girlie.   Little did I know that I'd be snuggled in with Momma Poodle, Her Mom and our dear Corsa Bella.  It's quite cozy as I'm watching a Movie on Netflix, Working on my blog, and nestling with the girlies.  Mica is laying next to the door and Eureka is just outside.  I'm sure, given the opportunity and time, they'd all end up in here.  Frankly, at this point in time it's more roomy than the guest bed that we're sleeping on!!! ha ha ha.

Here's a view from inside the "Nest."

Black area in the back of a beautiful quit that Lavena Chapman made (you'll see it in subsequent photos),  the pattern in the right upper corner is a tapestry Phil and I bought in Ecuador 20yrs ago, the heart material and other clutter is the 'work station out side the box.  The fuzzy head on the left is Nickel on and on the right is Corsa.

I thought I'd make today's blog all about the last few days of Nickel (et al) playing.  She's  still going strong and not showing any signs of wanting to settle into motherhood.  Pups are rolling and turning in her belly... but apparently not ready to venture into their new world :)

Yesterday we went to the Arboretum for a great poodle play.  Cat had a few of her poodle charges and (of course) her black beauty, Vita.  I had all my girls (and boy).  The all had a fantastic time.  First of all, it wasn't raining!  and secondly, it had been a very long time since we've ventured to this wonderful spot. 

Today we went to see Cassie, the wonderful Water Therapy Guru.  She works on both Vita and Corsa.  Abut 6 months ago, Corsa was so sore from her arthritis that she would be painful in the morning.  She is doing a lot better now and even as a few puppy moments everyday.  Of course TinTin and Nickel will do anything to get in the water too. Once in a while we indulge them with a swim.  It took a little to convince Nickel that she wasn't allowed to jump into the pool like she normally does!  You can see I put a flotation device around Nickel's belly.  The first time she went in she was swimming bottom down... I guess her puppies aren't very buoyant!  Do we get to call this their first swim?

BiG MaMa  after a day of Play

May 7 Day 58

From this day on,  it's safe for puppies to be delivered.

May 6 Day 56

Big girlie but still wanting to play :)

Just doing it in slow motion !!!!

7 days still to go????!!!

A LITTLE ABOUT STOLI's BOX WORK

By Joanne Wike

K9 Nose Work focuses on encouraging and developing natural scenting abilities while using the desire to hunt
and joy of treats, toys, and activity. Dogs learn to search for specific odors under a controlled step by step procedure while their people learn to read their signals. Boxes and treats or toys are used in the beginning. A scent (birch) is later introduced and searches include cars, outdoor settings, and entering a room. It progressively becomes more complex with different scents and more difficult searches. Some "hides" are in streams or buried. K9 Nose Work is becoming popular very quickly as people see their shy or frenzied dog focus and become confident, or like Bosun the Corgi that is losing use of his back legs and was dying from boredom. He uses a cart and now lives for nose work, one of the best in the class. If anyone is interested  www.nacsw.net

The films of Stoli use a birch scent on a q-tip in a small tin with holes in the top. It also has a magnet so I can attach it under things or to surfaces. He made these look incredibly easy but our new class has us stepping things up and working on techniques.

Joanne and Stoli are waiting to hear if they got into a Nose Work Trial that is coming up soon.  This is the very first trial of it's kind in this area and according to Joanne, "K9 NW is growing too fast! They can't keep up with all the people that want to compete. There were about 66 places altogether, 33 taken and a draw this afternoon for the remaining places ...well over 200 requests, minutes after lines were open to apply."  

Cross your fingers that they make it in the Draw!!  I know that they'll kick Poodle Butt in the trail!

May 5 Day 56

ONE WEEK UNTIL DELIVERY

Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) arrived (via over night delivery) today.  

FFP is the non-red blood cell portion of whole blood.  It is obtained via centrifugation, and frozen to preserve its immunoglobins and coagulation factors. FFP also contains fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and proteins in the same concentrations found in circulation.  

Most people are familiar with FFP as a product given intravenously to treat a variety of clotting factors.  What many don't know is that given orally or intraperitoneally,  FFP is a source of globulins (plasma antibodies) which can help protect newborn puppies against common infectious diseases and boost the effects of mom's colostrum.  It's been found that puppies given FFP within the first 24 hours of delivery tend to gain weight more rapidly during the first week are healthier and more robust .  

It's possible to administer the FFP orally because within the first 24-36 hours of life, the gastrointestinal tract absorbs proteins directly into the bloodstream (they are not digested).  Basically we're taking advantage of the puppies' natural physiology that allows it to absorb colostrum from the dam.