My Animals

[mrdee 1]

I have the impression it is going to happen soon.Dido has been panting since 10.30 this morning, and it seems there are very light, irregular contractions.It is 4 in the afternoon now, so we are quietly monitoring her from a distance in her whelping box.

[sheepdog 10]

Those are certainly signs of impending whelping. I'm home now, and will keep an eye on the board if you have any questions.Labor can last a huge variation in time. In my observations, little dogs seem to do it and get it over with in a short time, I've seen some get it over and done with in less than 2 hours. And large breed dogs, like a lab, are just the opposite, it can take all day and all night, I have seen a very few go 36 hours. It is also rather difficult to palpate a dog to feel if any are left, but they usually don't retain pups so that isn't a problem under normal circumstances.

Edited October 30, 2011 by sheepdog (see edit history)

[mrdee 1]

Hi again, sheepdog.It is now nearly 10 pm, and I have been looking out of the window a few times to see if there was no big bird with long legs with a parcel in its beak flying around, but no luck so fa.I guess the only option is to just keep waiting.Thank you for your advice so far.

[sheepdog 10]

I guess the only option is to just keep waiting.

Yup, that's about your only option at this point.
Most of my dogs like to play sneaky on me. When I make my last check of the evening of the kennel, everybody that is pregnaunt is up bouncing around and acting perfectly fine and unconcerned, "no, no, I'm not going to have puppies, you can go to the house and not worry," but when I get there first thing in the morning, there they are with a new litter, all clean and dry and in find shape.

[mrdee 1]

It is 7.40 the next morning now.After a pretty much sleepless night, Dido is still panting, but there is not much more that seems to be happening.There does not seem to be any attempt at beginningf to push, or no getting at her vulva, just the restlessness and the panting.But nanna is going to pop round the vet's surgery when it opens at 9 o'clock to get some further advice.At about 10.30 this morning things will have been going on for a whole 24 hours.

[mrdee 1]

At 10.30 this morning a healthy boy puppy was born.We are now waiting for the rest.

[nanna 0]

2nd puppy born at 12.20pm a girl.1st puppy is a chocolate labrador.The 2nd puppy is a golden labrador.And both mum and dad are black labradors.

[sheepdog 10]

Well go figure, first two out and already not black! If you have some available, a drink of milk might help her. The body needs calcium to make muscle contractions to expell the pups. There is also oxytocin, but since it's a prescription drug, you would have to get that from a vet. But going a couple hours between pups is not all that unusual, I would panic just yet. As I said, large breed dogs seem to just take a lot longer.

[mrdee 1]

OK then, here is the complete report:

At about 10.15 in the morning, Dido was getting really restless, panting away.

 

At 10.30, nanna said to me "There is something hanging from her bum" , of course I knew what it was right away and I took her straight into the whelping box.

All of a sudden, the puppy came out, and Dido was a bit indecisive and a bit unsure (after all, it was her first ever experience of giving birth), so I helped remove the sack from the puppy, checked its breathing, rubbed it dry a bit, and then left it with the mum to deal with the placenta and the cord. I had immediately seen it was a boy, so I told nanna to put on record: "One boy, black".

 

However, when the second puppy was on its way, and I gave the first one to nanna to have it out of the way, nanna remarked: "He is not black, he is chocolate", which I then saw, because, for the puppies' sake, I had kept the light in the whelping box to a minimum.

 

This, of course, brings us straight into the birth of the second puppy, which was at 12.20 pm, one hour and 50 minutes after the first one.

I could not believe what I was seeing, as the puppy came out, I noticed it was white, it was also MASSIVE, it looked like there were two puppies coming out at once.

I just opened the sack, and Dido handled the rest much better and quicker this time, and yes, what did we have?

A beautiful golden labrador girl, looking a bit like a polar bear cub.

 

Another hour later, at 1.25 pm, once again, smooth and quick, a chocolate girl dog came out, and Dido needed no assistance from me.

 

Then, things started to go quicker: half an hour later, at 1.55 pm, a black boy dog appeared, all I had to do was keep an eye out to see if everything was normal, but Dido did a great job again.

 

Time between births seemed to be getting shorter all the time, at 2.22 pm a golden coloured boy was born, much smaller than the first golden one, and with a more brownish/ginger tint of coat.

 

Then, 23 minutes later, at 2.45 pm, we had another black boy dog.

 

Things got a bit slower again, it took until 4.10 pm before another black dog was born, a girl this time.

 

I was not sure whether that was the end of it, Dido was still panting a bit, but the whole thing seemed over, although I had some suspicions in the back of my mind there could be (a) puppy(ies) left inside her, however, nothing further happened.

 

So, when everything seemed to have calmed down, at 9 o'clock at night, I decided to go and get a shower.

I got out of the shower, and started drying myself off, but, no sooner had I put the towel to my body, or nanna called me down, saying another one was coming.

 

I ran downstairs (didn't even have time to dress ), quickly drying myself as good as I could on my way down, and went straight to the whelping box.

 

And yes, 914 pm, another puppy was appearing, I had to help and gice a little tug to let the placenta come with the puppy, and Dido started doing her job again, only, this time, being a bit rough with the puppy, throwing her all over the place while dealing with the sack and cord, I was a bit concerned Dido would reject the puppy.

 

Thankfully, that was not the case, and another perfectly healthy black girl dog was born.

 

(The only thing is, just before the birth of the last puppy, nanna had just changed the bedding in the whelping box).

 

Never mind though, we have now a nice list of labrador puppies on offer:

 

A chocolate boy, weighed 400 grammes (We are keeping this and calling it Gaston)

A golden girl, weighed 500 grammes, this one my daughter is keeping, calling it Lady.

A chocolate girl, which weighed 400 grammes.

A black boy, weighed 400 grammes.

A golden boy, weighed 400 grammes.

A black boy, weighed 500 grammes.

A chocolate girl, weighed 400 grammes.

A black girl, weighed 400 grammes.

So, we hve 4 boys and 4 girls, black, 3 chocolate and 2 golden.

The funny thing is, Dido and Lucky (the dad) are both black labradors.

The vet said it is practically a miracle, eight puppies, and the three possible labrador colours.

 

Anyway, I am going to put photos in my Gallery now, come and have a look there after you read this.

[velma 6]

Firstly, CONGRATULATION GRANDPA AND GRANDMA!!!!

I actually saw the pictures first and then came to the post I am so happy for you guys and I hope you'll keep us posted on their growth and more PICTURES!!!

All of a sudden, the puppy came out, and Dido was a bit indecisive and a bit unsure (after all, it was her first ever experience of giving birth), so I helped remove the sack from the puppy, checked its breathing, rubbed it dry a bit, and then left it with the mum to deal with the placenta and the cord.

Yeah, my dog was the same during her first whelping, she had absolutely no idea on how to clean or get the baby dry so I had to do it in front of her and then her instinct kicked in and everything was smooth.

I had immediately seen it was a boy, so I told nanna to put on record: "One boy, black".
However, when the second puppy was on its way, and I gave the first one to nanna to have it out of the way, nanna remarked: "He is not black, he is chocolate", which I then saw, because, for the puppies' sake, I had kept the light in the whelping box to a minimum.

I know what you mean, the wet fur makes it harder to guess. One of Delphi's pup was a brownie which I mistook for a black pup.

This, of course, brings us straight into the birth of the second puppy, which was at 12.20 pm, one hour and 50 minutes after the first one.I could not believe what I was seeing, as the puppy came out, I noticed it was white, it was also MASSIVE, it looked like there were two puppies coming out at once.I just opened the sack, and Dido handled the rest much better and quicker this time, and yes, what did we have?
A beautiful golden labrador girl, looking a bit like a polar bear cub.

Like I mentioned earlier, I saw the pics first and was shocked by your little polar bear.. She is so pudgy and so cute >_<.. She is definitely going to have a silverish coat as an adult or I at least I hope she remains beach blonde

So, when everything seemed to have calmed down, at 9 o'clock at night, I decided to go and get a shower.I got out of the shower, and started drying myself off, but, no sooner had I put the towel to my body, or nanna called me down, saying another one was coming.

I ran downstairs (didn't even have time to dress ), quickly drying myself as good as I could on my way down, and went straight to the whelping box.

Ha ha ha ha Must have been quite a rush for you.

A chocolate boy, weighed 400 grammes (We are keeping this and calling it Gaston)A golden girl, weighed 500 grammes, this one my daughter is keeping, calling it Lady.
A chocolate girl, which weighed 400 grammes.
A black boy, weighed 400 grammes.
A golden boy, weighed 400 grammes.
A black boy, weighed 500 grammes.
A chocolate girl, weighed 400 grammes.
A black girl, weighed 400 grammes.

It is so funny because you have them in pairs, chocolate girl + chocolate boy, golden girl + golden boy, black boy + black girl and then the oddball couple of black boy + chocolate girl. Amazing how you got all colors in one litter.

So, we hve 4 boys and 4 girls, black, 3 chocolate and 2 golden.The funny thing is, Dido and Lucky (the dad) are both black labradors.
The vet said it is practically a miracle, eight puppies, and the three possible labrador colours.

Its true, I've been working at the family vet's for quite some time and we've hardly seen multi colored babies from solid parents. I was sort of a mid wife for a black lab couple a few months ago and all babies were black though one of the grandparents was a goldie Maybe the color comes from Dido's and Lucky's ancestry. I am glad that both mother and babies are doing well, they are so adorable.

Me and a friend have decided to wet the puppies' head tonight Let us hope for the very best and congratulations on your addition (Gaston)

[mrdee 1]

Well, Velma,

 

first of all, thank you for the congratulations.

Then, if you are going to wet the babies' heads, please don't do it with a bottle of 4 day old beer.

Also, if you are planning to do so, mine is a whisky, please (Scotch, of course).

 

Later on today, there will also be individual close-up pictures of the puppies both in mine and nanna's Galleries, which reminds me I need to ask you a question:

 

"When I uploaded the pictures to my Gallery, I was not sure what to do, for a while I had the idea of also embedding the pictures in my post, but: 1)There were 14 of them (a lot of work for a lazy so and so like me) and 2)If I had done this, would that have been appropriate and not against the Xisto rules?", I had the idea, because I thought the pictures would have stood out more when embedded in my post rather than my Gallery (It seems some people are not 100% sure how to browse the Gallery, and, in a post, you can look at all pictures, rather than having to switch from one to the other).

 

Anyway, that aside, Dido is an excellent mum to her babies, feeding them and moving them around so everyone gets their turn, and also keeping her puppies nice and warm.

 

Dido also has no problem with letting us handling the puppies, like the sweet animal realises we are doing it to help her.

 

And, of course, I will (or nanna will) post regular updates on how the puppies progress (including pictures, and, no, there is no picture available of me checking the birth of the last puppy in my birthday suit ).

 

We will keep doing this until the day we have to let them go , which would be December the 27th, it will be really sad to sell them and see them go, but, at least, 3 are staying in the family, my son said he wanted a chocolate one too.

 

And little Paige, my little granddaughter, is over the moon with the beautiful puppy called Lady which will join her at her home in some weeks time.

 

So, watch out for the next issue.

[velma 6]

http://forums.xisto.com/gallery/album/46682/58-the-puppies/

Now this is interesting indeed, I remember reading your post and then fiddling with the gallery to see what I could do but didn't realize I published the post, wetting the heads of 8 puppies and their parents is a tricky job And here is your scotch **hands you a glass**, I hope you like yours with ice.You in your birthday suit is not G rated so we'll omit it unless you have pics with strategically placed puppies Wow, December 27th isn't far at all But I guess Dido will still have Gaston & Lady, babies & puppies do so well, I am so sure Paige is gonna have a lot of fun.

[mrdee 1]

Very interesting, velma.I did not realise you could put a URL down that pointed to a whole album.Thank you very much for the tip.(I'll pay you back with a crate of 1 day old beer) .Well, I don't mind my Scotch with ice.**Takes the glass and takes a sip** mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. perfect, you chose a good make too, what a full aroma and flavour.Cheers, Velma.

Edited November 2, 2011 by mrdee (see edit history)

[velma 6]

You can also give direct links to the slideshow, do you see the slideshow when you click on the link? I think Opa will enable the gallery embed once he upgrades to the latest version, would be easier and much more fun to share pics then.http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

[sheepdog 10]

CONGRADULATIONS!
I'm really glad everything went so well for you. I popped in yesterday morning and saw your post, I was glad things worked out, but didn't have time to post, I got an unexpected call and had to make a quick unplanned trip 200 miles to deliver a puppy. Not complaining, it was an older puppy I was begining to wonder if I would ever find a home for him, so I was glad to make the trip.

It's really amazing that you got so much color in this litter. I would of lost the bet had I made it that they would all be black.

Dido started doing her job again, only, this time, being a bit rough with the puppy, throwing her all over the place while dealing with the sack and cord,

Oh how many times have I nearly had a heart attack over that one! I've seen them sling them and bang their heads on the walls, even put their foot down and hold the pup down and pull like crazy. Amazingly enough, they never seem to actually hurt one, though I do think that is is what causes some unbilical hernias. I think all that extra slinging around actually clears the pups lungs better, or maybe it's the screaming the puppy does when they bang around on it that clears the lungs, but either way, they seem to do just fine.

At least with labs you don't have tails to dock or anything like that. When it comes time for wormings and vaccinations let me know if you have any questions. I don't really know what you have available where you are at so I don't know exactly what to tell you in that department. Don't know if you have Neopar in your neck of the woods or not. It is a straight Parvo vaccine, and is the best there is. You should always use at least one high titer straight parvo shot, since it is the most deadly disease to pups. If you give parvo only in a combination shot, they won't get the resistance to parvo that they need because you are introducing too many things at once to the immune system.