Lady Archives - Life Gone To The Dogs

Puppy whelping – Lady March 23-24, 2013

13/03/31 at 6.25pm / by Randy McBride / 0 Comment

A record of the whelping process that Lady experienced in 2013.

Whelping of English Springer Spaniel Puppies (March 2013)

When we got up Saturday morning, March 23rd and went to the whelping pen we could see that Lady had entered labor and would soon give birth to her puppies. The night before her temperature had dropped and she was refusing food, totally unlike her. Both are good indicators that a pregnant dog is going to start labor within 24 hours, but not a guarantee. She had a vet appointment set for 10:30 to get an X-ray done, which we do with all our litters to determine the size of the litter of puppies she was to give birth to. This is an extra step taken to ensure the safety of the mother. Having an unborn puppy, or puppies, left inside after the active birthing process is complete can be fatal. While there is a cost associated with this extra level of care it is well worth it. I still strongly recommend this precaution, even after the events that took place as recorded here.

The X-Ray of unborn puppies day of whelping

The vet let us know that Lady was looking really good going into labor, prior to giving birth to her litter of puppies. We were also told that there were seven puppies waiting to be born.

As the day went on Lady’s contractions increased.

Lady became very serious about nesting in her whelping pen:

It was not until 9:36 that Lady gave birth to the first of her puppies. This seems to be normal in the whelping process.

Liglag’s whelping:

Lady was surprised when she saw the little one. With a bit of coaxing she cut the umbilical cord and removed the sac. She then got scared and jumped in my lap. She was returned to the baby, and then attempted to jump out of the whelping pen. She remembered the house rules about puppies and did not want to be in trouble for picking on them. Once again she was settled down, and then jumped in my lap once more. At this point I am not sure who was more nervous, us or her.

This was enough time for more contractions to help in the whelping of Louie:

We were still working on learning how to take care of babies at this point. With a bit of coaxing she was better at cleaning them up. Also she was no longer trying to get out of the whelping pen.

Next in the birth order was Leona:

You can see Lady is now starting to get the hang of this and her wonderful smile has returned. After over a half hour break the smallest of the litter was born,

Little Lee’s whelping:

At this point Lady was getting pretty tired. Normally she is telling me that it is bedtime at 8:30, and now it was getting close to 11:00. That is way past our bedtime. Labor kept getting lighter and had nearly stopped. We became concerned and after consulting our wonderful vet Lady’s birth canal was examined to see if a puppy was lodged. The birth canal was clear and the examination stimulated Lady where the contractions picked up.

While still on the phone with the vet at 12:44 am (March 24th) we were blessed with

the whelping of Lani:

Lady went to work cleaning Lani up and within one minute Lala decided to come out and join the world. Unfortunately the camera operator was scrambling helping Lady with this rapid turn of events and that photo did not turn out.

After Lala was born the 24 minute break before Leo was born came in handy. This gave Lady time to get the two newly arrived girls cleaned up and presentable. We were also given time to rest and prepare for the arrival of the last of the puppies, or so we thought.

Leo’s birth came a bit after 1 am:

With seven puppies being born we all congratulated ourselves on a job well done. We thought the whelping process was done, and were very happy with Lady’s first litter.

Lady and the puppies posed for their first family photo:

The humans the decided that a bloody blanket was not appropriate for the puppies to be spending their first night on. So after much coaxing Lady moved around enough so we could remove the blanket and

they once again posed for a family photo on the pad:

After making sure everything was going well the old humans decided they were going to bed. At about 2:30 am Lady let out a little bark. I got up and went to check on her. All the puppies except for “Lala” were snuggled up to mom. I picked “Lala” up and put her in the pile. She seemed a bit wet, but nothing that unusual since I had been feeling wet puppies all night.

Lost’s Whelping

The next morning we got up and wanted to clean up the whelping pen a bit more. While moving puppies around something odd seemed to be going on. I had moved three over to Lady and there were still five more to be moved. The first thought was that one of these little puppies had moved really fast.

Lifting Lady’s back leg I counted puppies once again. That was when we found out there was an extra puppy. After a bit of detective work we figured out who the stowaway was. Lost had slipped in, and probably was the one I moved at 2:30 in the morning. He also was a great disguise artist and looked so much like Lala that we did not spot him. We are glad that Lost was found, he is a darling little liver and white tri boy.

If you want to see more of our puppies here are some videos.

Night: Puppies mom wants light left on

13/03/28 at 11.30am / by Randy McBride / 0 Comment

When we went to bed last night I knew it was going to be a long one. The whelping pen that Lady has her puppies in is located in an adjacent bedroom. Lady was situation in with the puppies and I had locked up, preparing for bed. I decided to turn out the light in the puppies room for the first time since they were born. I also left her door open so should could go to the bathroom if she needed during the night. With all the changes that happen with a new mother they need to be able to run to the bathroom. I then went to bed, leaving our bedroom door open.

At night Lady does not want to be in the dark

Within seconds I heard a little bit of noise, and I saw our bedroom door being slowly pushed open. It reminded me of a young child coming to the bedroom of their parents in the middle of the night. Lady has this great ability to talk to me. She let out a small woof and did not come through the door. Ellen has allergies to the dogs, so having them in the bedroom is not an option. Lady is one of the best about respecting that boundary, so she stayed outside. With that I climbed out of bed, took her back to the puppies and turned her light on. I then returned to bed where we turned on Netflix so we could watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine before going to sleep for the night. By 10:30 we had went to sleep.

Hungry puppies during the night

When puppies get hungry they cry, even if mom is close by and available for nursing. When they are less than a week old they get hungry often. By 12:30 the litter of Springer Spaniel puppies had decided it was time for a meal, our night was just beginning. They are not shy about letting the world know of their intention either. I guess it is fair for me to blame them for my waking up. The first few weeks in the lives of a new litter of puppies always has us anxious. This time when I got up with them all was well, however I had to make myself feel like there was a real reason for getting up so I moved one of the puppies closer to mom for nursing.

After a long night Lady needs a break from her puppies

This pattern repeated itself until about 3:45 am, what a night. At that point in time Lady decided she needed my attention for something and I heard a soft bark coming from the puppies room. As I climbed out of bed Ellen told me that I was probably awake for the day. I denied it emphatically. I was wrong. Lady had accidentally pushed her door closed and could not get out of the room to go outside. When I opened the door she quickly ran outside, ignoring me as I went to see the puppies. Evidently my getting up saved a big clean up later.

I need coffee after a long night

By 4:30 my first cup of coffee had began to do its magic and I was actually waking up, it had been a long night. I noticed that Lady did not have any food. Keeping her fed is vital if she is to keep producing enough milk for her litter of puppies. By the third week she easily will be eating eight meals per day. Yesterday she had eaten five, which is more than her half-sister Libby was eating when she was at this stage with puppies. Off I went to the kitchen to prepare Lady her first breakfast. I think at this stage she might have decided to become a hobbit as frequently as she eats. Between Purina Pro Plan Puppy Food, eggs, natural yogurt and canned dog food she is getting a high calorie diet, with plenty of protein. Once I had this meal prepared I served her breakfast in bed. There is no doubt she thinks she is a Princess right now, and I am not going to treat her any different.

It all pays off with happy and healthy puppies

Once breakfast was over Lady and the puppies decided it was time to relax:

So if you ever decide to raise puppies remember what I have shared. This is when things are going good. If mom does not have enough milk or if the puppies are too weak to nurse there can be a lot more work involved, and at times a puppy can be lost. Worse yet, the momma dog can have problems. This might even involve her dying. Every time one of our girls goes into labor we watch over them constantly. We spend money with the vet that many breeders would not spend. These dogs are family, and as family making sure they are safe is our number one concern.

Puppies Birth – Lady’s Litter 3/2013

13/03/27 at 3.57am / by Randy McBride / 0 Comment

What is it like with a litter of puppies birth comes early? Here is some of what we encountered.

Puppies Birth Comes Early Arrival

The puppies birth for Lady’s litter came earlier then expected. Because of that many of the puppies birth weight was a little bit low. Additionally

Puppy_Puppies_birth_English_Springer_Spaniel

Cute English Springer Spaniel Puppy

it is good for the puppies to be gaining about an ounce per day at this age.

Puppies Birth Weight Problems

Most of the puppies had not been gaining as much weight as we would have liked. Yesterday we started bottle feeding them some. It also seemed like Lady’s milk finally had come in. Between Lady’s milk coming in and the bottle feeding everyone gained almost an ounce today, with several going over. We can see all of them looking stronger and are much more comfortable than we were a day ago.

Mom’s Problems With Puppies Birth

Lady is being a great mom. Extremely attentive of the puppies and keeping everything cleaned up behind them. Her stools are becoming more solid again. Cleaning up everything from the birthing process along with the puppies does seem to upset the mommy dogs stomachs, and who can blame them.

We are a bit concerned about Lady’s temperature. It is above 102 and the vet has told us to bring her in if it breaks 103. She is panting a bit to cool herself down. This is part of what makes it hard for me to have puppies. I see how much work it is for our girls and want to keep them safe. I never was this protective of my kids when they were growing up.

Today Lady was cooked five meals. Her combination of Purina Pro Plan Dry Puppy Food, yogurt, eggs and Purina Pro Plan Puppy Food makes it interesting. I cook more for her then I do myself. When she is eating it her nose will press it down in the bowl. She now looks at me funny until I get a fork out and fluff it up for her. If my family knew what I was like they would probably all laugh at me for babying these dogs so much. However even when I am exhausted I go to bed with a smile on my face from the joy they bring.

Happenings while living and raising Springer Spaniels