Kaleigh’s Puppies Watching and Waiting

This was Joy’s diary in the days before the babies arrived and whilst we all waited with bated breath to see how many there would be and if they would be all be healthy. It was a tense but exciting time.

12/08/2007

Not much happening at the moment.

She started panting heavily last night but no other signs as she slept close to me last night.

She wants to be with Tara and Fable but we go in her own area for long sleeps.

She is bigger than when she arrived but I am really feeding her up. She is having lots of small meals. I wanted to give her the whelpi but she did not want to know so I made a porridge for her with honey and egg and she loved it.

I’m a bit worried about her calcium levels being low as she has had no special nutrition leading up to the birth and there is a possibility of eclampsia when feeding the pups. It has been recommended, by a breeder, to give her liquid calcium in water, so I will have a chat to the vet and see if someone can get some for me, possibly tomorrow

I am confined here at the moment and going to catch up on sleep on the sofa when the dogs are sleeping. Kaleigh is never more than a foot away from me.

Been reading advice from the breeders who say not to let anyone visit before 4 weeks as parvovirus can be bought in on clothes, shoes etc the same as kennel cough. All visitors must wear clean clothes and have not touched a dog before they visit on that day. They also do not let them touch any pup, they can look but are not allowed to stroke, pickup etc. Maybe paranoid but, when you have worked so hard to raise these dear little things, one silly mistake is all it takes.

13/08/2007

I have started giving her the calcium tablets now. Anne kindly got them for me. She is the one who adopted Teddy Jumble, one of the the first surprise puppies.

Kaleigh loves the porridge made with whelpi and honey and egg but now is now enjoying the whelpi on its own so that will be ideal to give her during whelping, along with water and lectade.

She is having plenty of extra protein. She is already looking bigger again, and, hopefully, some of that is her own weight. I think she will be skinny when the pups arrive. She has still not dropped down completely yet.

She is still eating her food with gusto (so long as the kibble is softened and mashed with other things) and her temperature has not dropped, so possibly not tonight either.. Still, she may get going suddenly. Luckily, it has given her a chance to get settled here and get to know me.

She is so trusting, thank goodness. I dreaded taking the temperature of a dog who doesnt know me but she accepts anything you do. She is so sweet.

Still nothing happening so we are off for a little walk.

Kaleigh loves to sleep wherever I am and especially on the cool kitchen floor on hot days Now she is beside me on a bed while I type. Today is cooler and this is better for her although getting a bit too cool at nights so will have to get some heating on for the pups and hopefully the heat lamp set up. I thought it was going to be warmer than this.

I am going to try to get a bit of sleep when I get back as the dogs will all sleep. So I will be turning the phones off, just for a while.

14/08/2007

Well, Kaleigh enjoyed herself again today, we had a little walk between showers, and I took her to be weighed. She weighs 30.5 kg which is the same as Tara so she is sure to be skinny when the pups arrive. She is a bit shorter than my two, though, but I dont think there is much to her apart from her bulge. I expect the puppies have been taking everything they want from her. However, she seems very well, happy and fit.

15/08/2007

Just to say Kaleigh slept well last night. Her temperature this morning is the same as it has been other mornings, so it has not dropped permanently yet. She is getting bigger by the day, but it does not stop her trying to bar me from moving about. She would be good at tackling in a football match. I think she would like to keep someone in a corner to stroke her all day. Luckily, I managed to get up from the sofa this morning, as I was awake before her.

I have heard that scans can be as much as five days out either side, so no need to get out the champagne just yet.

I have got my Tesco shopping arriving between 10 and 12 noon so I am quite pleased she is giving me time to sort that out. Probably she knows that there is chicken etc in there for her.

She has a good breakfast this morning and is still really eager for food.

16/08/2007

It is still just Kaleigh, Fable, Tara and me here.

Temperature still as normal for her at 7 am and she ate a very big breakfast with lots of chicken. We will be going for our usual walk again later on.

I thought of Pauline at 3 am meeting Maisie and her puppies. Hope all went well. I was lying in the whelping box with Kaleigh at the time.

I am now going to get a bit of sleep while the dogs sleep off their breakfast.

17/08/2007

Kaleigh is still the same, eating well, with the same constant temperature. There was one little sign yesterday that her body is getting ready but still will probably take a while.

She is growing more but her bump does not seem to bother her at all. She tried to keep me pinned down on the sofa again this morning. Kaleigh thinks human beings have one role in life and that is to constantly tickle and stroke her.

18/08/2007

We all had a good sleep again last night (well, the dogs did but I am STILL on the sofa)

This morning she had a big dish of her special porridge at 5 am as she woke up hungry. Now, she has just had mashed Burns food mixed up well with sardines, and the little monkey has managed to suck out everything and leave the mashed kibble. Chicken for her next meal but again, I guess she will do the same. Last night she left a lot of her kibble but ate the meat from two legs of chicken.

When my son came over the other night, he looked in the fridge and and was about to drink Kaleighs goats milk, and I said no, that belongs to Kaleigh. The fridge was full of things for her and he said ‘Is there anything in here that doent belong to Kaleigh?’

It will get worse when she is lactating as she will have to have at least four times the amount of food she normally does. So at this rate, it could mean a couple of chickens at one meal and she will need five large meals a day. At this rate, the local shops will have to get in more meat just to provide Kaleigh with her protein.

I have rung a few people. Julie would love to be on standby but is going to Scotland to work for two weeks on Sunday but Ken is happy to come here for a bit of company if it is a long drawn out time and to spend time with Fable and Tara while I concentrate on Kaleigh. He is also happy to be called out in the night.

Also, Irene (Jasper’s owner) although not available much and not during the night, can help – she watched the whelping videos and dvds with me. Her daughter also would help. Her husband Dick is also happy to be on the list and Alan (Annes partner) would also help.

So, plenty of offers and the main one being Ken as he would not mind being woken up at night. Also, if it happens this weekend, Lorraine wants to come over and stay the whole time, which would be good but I am not sure Kaleigh wants to oblige with that. Obviously, other people might only be able to stay for a while, but I will cut down on traffic by just calling someone if I need emergency help to go to vet but, I think all is covered now. Phew!

Apparently, Naturediet Puppy is for pregnant and lactating bitches. I found a chart and printed of the amounts needed at various stages. I know for sure she will eat this and if I also give her some meals of chicken, sardines, eggs, cottage cheese, etc, as I am doing now, she will be getting everything she needs.

Anne is around until Monday evening now that poor Alastair is home from hospital She does not want to miss the whelping but, of course, will have to if it is after Monday evening because she has to take Alastair back for another ultrascan on Tuesday

I have chicken cooking at the moment. I tried to sneak some mashed kibble into her porridge, just a bit, hoping she would not notice – she loves porridge and I thought I had won, until I saw the usual remnants around the side of her bowl. I have to admit defeat – Kaleigh has won the battle of the kibble versus proper food.

I shall need loads of newspapers as I had no chance to save up any this time. I saved for months before Taras litter of GDBA pups arrived.

Hopefully the patter of tiny paws is not too far away now.

I like the idea of flower names for girls

Tulip, Peony, Marigold, Orchid, Violet, Rose, Poppy, Pansy, Primula, Lily, Aster, Jasmine, Iris, Fuschia

And tree names for the boys

Aspen, Cedar, Oak, Ash, Larch, Beech, Maple, Rowan, Elder, Willow, Birch, Redwood, Poplar, Spruce, Pine, Elm, Yew

19/08/2007

Thank goodness I had no proper holiday booked. I will not leave the mum and pups until I am sure the pups are big enough to get out from underneath her. I cannot make any plans at the moment. My new car might have to be on hold too.

I have a wedding on Saturday but I will cancel that. We have no idea what to expect. There may be some puppies needing bottle feeding, so I cannot arrange too much. I hope she will be a natural mother but I need to be around for anything that doesnt go smoothly.

If it goes on longer than Wednesday I will give the vet a call and explain what the other vet said, about the skulls being one inch and full term, 10 days ago. I do hope she can give birth naturally. She seems fine, though, and any problems would show in her temperature reading so I am not worried. It would be unusual for a young fit dog to have primary uterine inertia, especially as there seem to be several puppies in there. I think the scan was just not very accurate. She has never looked completely ready to me, until now.

Her temperature has been lower all day today but not dramatically. Still, shows we are getting near the big day. She is absolutely huge now, poor girl, looking more uncomfortable.

Tomorrow would be good for Anne. I have a feeling it might be Tuesday evening, or even Wednesday. Hopefully Anne will be back from the hospital by then.

20/08/2007

Well, yesterday her temperature stayed lower all day although not as low as I had expected. She ate her food until the last meal at night when she refused it. I thought that could be because she was just full up so the big test came this morning when she again refused it, and even refused some whelpi.

She was quite restless over night, not scratching or digging, but never slept longer than about half and hour or an hour at a time and would then get up and move to a different position and sit down looking quite uncomfortable, but not unhappy, still wants her tickles and strokes. She slept in her whelping box some of the time.

Her temperature is slightly higher than last night but still low so I think we have the signs we were waiting for. She keeps changing position to get comfy, too.

I am just cooking up some chicken to see if she refuses that later, too. If she does refuse it, I can freeze it until after she has whelped when she will be very hungry. I am also making her porridge, too. If she refuses both these, we can safely say she will whelp in the next 24 – 48 hours so still a bit of waiting to do but at least we can see things are progressing now.

She is now asleep beside me with Fable and Tara.

Memories: I remember being out in the snow at 3 am with pups in the past. They always wake as you begin to fall asleep.

This is a photo of Kaleigh, all snuggled up to her cushion, in another bed. She fits in here without much room to spare but looks so comfy. It is the first time she has got in this bed. She is getting some rest before she has a lot of work very, very soon now.