Puppies!

Hey! My dog had her puppies! It was SUCH a COOL experience!

I did eventually start researching about whelping puppies. The gist? Let mom take care of it and if it looks abnormal, go to a vet. Okay.... Anyway, I was really glad for my experience helping out my midwife. That made a lot of difference. My dog did a really good job. She took care of most everything. I was mostly there for labor support. When she would be to the point of passing a puppies, she would hide her big head in my armpit and move her bottom around until a puppy came out. She then went to work. After she got through the amniotic sac, I would start working on getting the puppy to breathe while she worked on the umbilical cord. We could then together take care of the mess. She ate most of it (kind of gross and also really convenient), but I was in charge of the chux pads. I got really good at aiming where I thought the puppy would ultimately come out.

She is being a great mother! She had 8 pups, 6 girls and 2 boys. They are all fat and happy. My "runt" is doing really well. I heard that sometimes a mom will kick a puppy or two out of the litter and refuse to let them nurse. A lot of times that can be your runt. I'm not concerned with her being the same size as the rest of the litter. I just want to make sure she is growing, and she is. It has been just over 2 weeks now. Their eyes are open, and I saw yesterday that their ears were starting to open. Soon they will have teeth and Mama might kick them off the boob, so the real work will begin. They are definitely getting messier and messier. In the last couple of days they have started to poop and pee on their own. Mom still cleans it up, but it's already been on the floor by that time where as she used to get it all up by licking them. Messy. Soon we will be adding puppy food to the mess! Yay! I'm starting the daily cleaning routine. I change the blanket they are using, mop the floor, and then feed and water Mom. Soon Ill be adding food and water for babies. Then Ill be adding outside time for everyone. Then Ill be adding some kind of elementery potty training. Yay! It's about to get CRAZY at my house! It will be puppies all the time!

I just really hope the people that said they wanted one still want one when it comes time to let them go home. They better! OR ELSE!

But oh my goodness, can I tell you how good it feels to snuggle with these little guys? I have to wear a t-shirt otherwise they claw my chest to bits, but they are so soft and sweet. Some are sweeter than others already, some are way more interested in trying to play bite. All are interested in having their little bellies scratched. It is fun to see their little personalities starting to emerge. It would probably be similar to a 2 month old human baby that can smile and kind of laugh.

Anyway, its cuteness to the max and it is about to become craziness to the max!