One Day Old...

Both Sashay and I crashed last night and got several hours of sleep! She is such a good mom. This is one smart girl. She is so careful not to lay on any of her pups. Sometimes a momma dog does that by accident and the pups are not big enough at this time to scooch out from underneath her. Sashay is a first time mommy and already knows everything. Well... except that it was her job to lick and clean them when they poop. LOL it cracks me up when I have to break the news to them... A puppy had poop coming out, I held him up to  her and said, "Get the poop, Sashay" and she sniffed and then went "Yuck" and turned her head away. I told her, "This is your job. You have to lick and clean then and stimulate urination and pooping at this age."
I held the puppy up to her and she took the poop but was making a face. LOL Now she is cleaning them like a pro.

1 Day old pups

I was a bad breeder and did not weight them last night before bed. I was just too exhausted. I had a really long and emotional day, just told a bunch of people some bad news and the outpouring of support and love was so wonderful. I did weigh the smallest girl a couple times yesterday. She was not nursing as well as the others, so I kept on placing her on a teat. I also mixed up some puppy formula and tried to get her to nurse. I have to say she is a stubborn one. She never did really nurse. She is getting her suck reflex down and she is nursing well on her momma now. I think she tasted the formula (not Esbilac but a spin-off brand, I know... it's what they had at the feed store...) and she decided she doesn't want that again! Next time I will buy Esbilac. LOL

All are doing well. Watching the little girl close to make sure she starts gaining.

The Puppies Are Here! The Puppies Are Here!

Sashay and her newborn babies! Good job Sashay!

Sashay had to have a delivery style all of her own of course. She is very stoic, never once any heavy panting, she would flick her ears when she was having a new contraction. That is a first in 24 years! There are 6 pups (4 boys and 2 girls - no patches). More later... I was up for 24 hours straight. Not Sashay's fault I just woke up wide awake at 3 a.m. yesterday and did not get to nap until 3 a.m. today. I say 'nap' because I am laying right next to the whelping box and any little squeak or cry and I have to make sure all are okay.

The time of actual whelping was great. It was not in the middle of the night, nor 1st thing in the morning after keeping me up all night.

1) 5:20 p.m. - Black Girl - 11 1/4 oz
2) 6:38 p.m. - Liver Boy - 10 1/2 oz
3) 7:00 p.m. - Black Girl - 7 7/8 oz
4) 7:18 p.m. - Liver Boy - 10 7/8 oz
5) 8:30 p.m. - Boy - 10 7/8 oz
6) 9:00 p.m. - Black Boy - 13 oz

Nothing yet...

Well darn it... no puppies yet. Her expected due date is March 1, 63 days from breeding, but sometimes they appear to come early if you bred late in their prime season. I sure thought she was getting ready to go into labor the other day. I can see pups moving around, but she has not started serious nesting yet, just a tiny bit of pawing and nosing around tonight. It should progress into more serious nesting and then heavy panting on and off. Patience.... not usually one of my strong characteristics, but I am hanging in there.

More waiting and getting Ready...

I woke up at 5 a.m. to check the progress and actually woke Sashay up. Shoot. Pups are still moving around this morning. Her temperature is 99.5. She is acting a more serious than normal, but is still getting up to walk around and drape herself over my lap as I sit at  my computer. Her ears are alert. She knows something is going on. I told her she is going to have puppies and they willl come out "here" and she looked back there. Like "REALLY?" She has not started tearing at her blankets or digging her nest so pre-stages going on now where they move and turn around to get into position. Her cervix should be dilating. It can be a long process... a couple days... or sometimes they just all of a sudden start labor. Historically, my girls don't nest too much or mess around dragging it out... but you just have to be on stand-by and watch and assist as needed. Moral support for sure! My girls love that! I told her we will do this together and she gave me a soft kiss.

Sashay is getting ready to have her pups! She is all snuggled, cozy and resting in the whelping box. Pups have been moving around quite a bit tonight. She would come and lay in my lap while I placed my hand on her tummy and felt them. She then went back in her nest and laid down and is now sleeping. Smart girl. better rest up. She has milk in all her teats at this point so 1st stage labor could begin soon.  But it is early and stage can last for 24 to 36 hours, so I am just waiting and getting some rest myself while I can.