November 24, 2008

On Thursday 11/20, we confirmed Nicki was ready for romance using progesterone testing.   A date was set up with Remy for Sunday.   On a beautiful autumn day, Remy came over for a romantic visit with Nicki.  After playing and flirting in a 1/2 acre area, they had their moment in the far corner of the yard.

Remy and Nicki agreed to meet again the following day and another successful mating took place.

December 14, 2008

We had snow recently and the snow from the deck above has melted, and the water dripping through has turned the patio into a very slick ice rink in places.  I had to watch my step this morning going out with the dogs.  I'm sure the bad weather is the reason Wyatt has developed a limp.  He probably stepped into a hole some place.  But Nicki came flying off the stone wall onto the patio as usual, and slid onto her belly.  I checked her over and she reopened the scarring on her right stifle from stitches she had a couple years ago.  I sure hope it didn't cause any ill effects to her pregnancy!

December 19, 2008

It's been over three weeks since we bred Nicki.  Now to find out the news.  I think she's pregnant, but I really don't know.  Sometimes bitches have false pregnancies and I've had a couple of "misses" in the past.

So...we took her in for an ultrasound.  It's confirmed!  The ultrasound detected 5, maybe 6 puppies.  Past experience tells me to expect more.   So now we can let people making puppy inquiries that we're expecting a litter.

December 29, 2008

Happy New Year.  Nicki's pregnancy is clearly showing.  Her teats are getting large and full.  She'll be ready to feed puppies! 

January 12, 2009

Nicki is  really plumping up now.  I'm pretty sure there's more than six puppies.  She still gets around OK, but she's slowing down and being more careful.  A good thing because there's a lot of snow and ice around in the yard.

January 19, 2009

We're less than a week away from due date.  I took Nicki in for an x-ray to see how many puppies we can expect.  She was NOT happy.  She fought hard on the x-ray table and it took all my strength to hold her on there after the x-ray.  We didn't want to lift her down and back up again if the x-ray wasn't good.  Dr. McKenney reported that she could see 9 maybe 10 puppies - big puppies - in the womb.  Before the x-ray was developed we had a friendly bet in the office to the exact number.  Based on her weigh-in (101 lbs) I guessed 10.  She'd gained about 18 lbs since she was bred.  Patty Olney, Remy's owner guessed 9 since that's what Remy generally has produced!  Other guesses ranged from 5 to 13.  So Patty "won" but we'll see what the outcome is by the weekend.

January 21, 2009

Nicki is ready to POP!  Friday is the due date.  She's getting restless and beginning to nest.

January 23, 2009

Nicki was very restless all day Thursday and began nesting and panting late in the afternoon.  "OK", I thought, "This is it".  Her expected Due Date was Friday based on the progesterone test.

So, I got out a spare comforter, crated the other three dogs and waited for the event to occur that night.  She was back/forth, back/forth.  Unable to settle, occasionally peering at her rear, like something was happening.   But nothing did.  Around 2 AM I thought she was going to start real labor, but she stopped again.  At 4 AM, she had about five hard contractions, then stopped.  She went to sleep and I went back to the couch to doze.  I woke up before 6 AM and she again had a couple of contractions.  Nothing serious.  I fed everyone, then called Patty at about 7:30.  She and I discussed the situation and agreed I needed to get to the vet.  The vet opened at 7:30 so I called and came right in.

First the weigh-in.  Nicki had gained another 3 lbs since Monday.  After an x-ray, the vet determined that one puppy was in the birth canal and not moving forward.  But by the position she said it was still just fine.  She also did an ultrasound to make sure there were heartbeats.

We first tried Oxytocin to induce labor, but it had no effect.   The pup in the canal barely moved up.  Nicki just couldn't push.  The vet said her uterus was just too distended with all the pups.   So we prepped for a c-section.  Patty came in and also called a friend, Edwina, to help "swing puppies".   I called Jacques and let him know what was happening and stayed to help.  Nicki was sedated and the surgery began.  As pups were pulled from her uterus, they were passed to people to get them breathing and moving.  The entire office was involved!  Nicki had nine beautiful pups and all were doing well.  As the puppies were put onto a warming blanket, I watched Dr. McKenney finish the surgery and stitch Nicki up.

Nicki came home with her new family about 1:30.  At first she didn't want anything to do with these squirming "sausages", but with Patty's help, we got her to accept them and she began feeding them.  It was really encouraging when she started cleaning them too.

Jacques and I are now on shifts making sure everything is OK.  This is the most dangerous time for a newborn.  Mom could accidentally injure or hurt one by being too rough or by sitting or laying on one.  Now for some sleep!  Tomorrow we'll be identifying each puppy, weighing it and doing that first batch of puppy laundry.