D Litter
5/29/21 Lilly and I got back home the afternoon of 5/25, and with the A/C not working it was a hot ride! Lilly and Ty had three cover breeding's the week before so I'm pretty confident we have puppies in the works now.
I expect pups to be born between 7/16 to 19, with a go home date of 9/11. If you were already on the contact list emails went out this AM, if you did not hear from me for some reason let me know.
Lilly resting after a hard hunt
7/03/21
Update
About two weeks from delivery now, check out the latest blog entry!
7/10/21
Vet Visit and X-Ray
Saturday was a day that seemed to take forever to arrive, but at the same time, it seems just like yesterday when Lilly and I made the trip west for her 'date". Had it really been 49+ days already?
I was a little worried recently, Lilly just didn't seem filling out like I thought she did in the past, so the trip to the vet was made expecting a depressing report.
After a short talk with the vet, and expressing my desire to see at least 8 pups, along with my feeling that there wouldn't be that many, Lilly headed back to X-Ray.
Lilly was a good girl and the images were done in a hurry. The vet had good news, not 8 but more like 9 maybe 10 good news for all of those on the list and hoping for a new family friend.
In about another week we'll know for sure. Everything is ready for arrival and Lilly is in good shape so let's hope for a strong and healthy batch of pups!
Belly shaved and nails trimmed, ready for pups!
7/14/21
Getting Close!
We had a little bit of a scare over the weekend. Saturday morning before Lilly's x-ray appointment she began hacking every now and then. By Saturday evening she began to drool a little out of the left corner of her mouth, but still less than Albert does when you make him wait for the treat you laid at his feet.
Sunday A M she didn't really want to come out of her box, still drooling, and a little worse. That afternoon and evening she would barely even eat a treat and acted like it was hard to chew and swallow, but no more hacking.
I fished around in her left cheek a couple times during the day, I couldn't feel or see anything. I got no reaction at all when working on her jaws, muzzle or throat area, so i was worried about a throat or tooth issue?
I contemplated a trip to the ER vet, but as it got into evening she started to perk up a little and eat soft treats.
Monday morning she was much better, but we still went to her regular vet, a complete examine showed nothing and no fever.
The drooling has stopped and the appetite, what little their is at this stage, is back, along with her attitude!
Lilly is now at the, "I have to go pee" a lot stage, and as you can see by the picture,Albert is in his continual "I don't really care" stage.
We could see pups on as little as two days, but I'm thinking between Sunday and Tuesday.
7/18/2021
They're here
Pups started arriving about 7:30 this morning. By about 11:30 we had 8 females and 1 male. All looks good right now, they have all got some milk in their belly.
I still think I can feel one more in there yet, but it's been 2 1/2 hours since the last pup, so even if there is I'm not sure what the results would be.
I'll go into more detail later, pictures and video, but for now it looks pretty good.
7/21/2021
Well, I guess it can't be easy?
Today was supposed to be dew claw day and it was, plus some.
The 6 AM check was all good, 7 AM when getting ready to go was different. I was greeted with a horrible odor, Lilly had wet hips and tail, and the pups were wet and almost matted. Lilly had obviously just produced horrible discharge and a large amount of it, here we go again!
At the vet she acted just fine, for some reason she gets real happy and excited about going there. After feeling a mass of some kind the next step was x-rays. The mass was visible on the x-ray, so after discussing options we decided to go ahead with a spay. This was Lilly's last litter and even if it wasn't going to be I may have opted for the spay just to be sure she wouldn't end up with a bad infection.
After the spay the mass wasn't clearly identifiable, but it was more than typical retained placenta.
We'll need to keep an eye on the incision for awhile but she is doing a good job of letting the pups nurse right now, hopefully all keeps going well.
Anesthesia pretty well worn off, back to puppy raising.
7/23/2021
A Bit of a Bumpy Night
With everything that Lilly went through I was real worried about her healing, and the pups feeding. My big pup concern was a couple of the smaller ones, they just didn't seem to be feeding like they should, I could still see ribs.
I ran home at noon yesterday and started a rotational feeding, pulling the big pups out so the little guys could get hooked up. By the evening I decided to try and supplement, before they may get too weak to compete and lose the reflex to suck. The big pups were removed so the three small ones had full access, alone time.
Early evening I decided to try and supplement the smaller ones. One of the pups got the idea and filled up on formula in a hurry, the other two just didn't cooperate, but they did have about a half hour of alone time.
9:30 PM they got a little more alone time and an attempt at more formula which wasn't successful. 11:00 PM alone time and an attempt to supplement, again not successful! But the little guys seemed to be getting a little more chub on.
The last check was at about 3:30 AM today, I went out with warmed up formula in hand, but there was a big improvement in the little guys so I just left everyone alone.
Lilly and the crew are here at the shop today so I can keep an eye on them, and maybe do some alone time if needed, I feel a lot better about the pups now than I did last night. Lilly did start licking her incision a little bit so that needs watched too, so far so good.
7/24/2021
Getting Better!
Last night was a little rough again, but things were getting better. I didn't feel the need to try and supplement during the night, at 2 AM I separated the pups so the little guys could feed and they all seemed satisfied in short order.
About 7 this AM this morning I took Lilly for a walk then separated again, but the little guys seemed pretty full.
Huge change during the day for the little guys, but I still kept separating for nursing. They all seem strong enough now I feel like they can probably hold their own at the dinner table. we'll see how tonight goes, maybe starting tomorrow night I'll be able to sleep through the night!
This picture is just to fill space!
7/28/2021
10 Days Old and Going Strong
Last night was the first time I felt comfortable leaving the pups all night without checking on them. I'll go out shortly and check on them, turn the fan off and leave them for another night of sleep!
Albert had a vet appointment today for his boosters, so Lilly stayed home with the pups. Even with the exhaust fan running to pull air through the building it still gets warmer in there than I would like, this hot humid weather just makes life miserable.
After the encroaching storm clouds moved in this evening the pups got some grass time in while Lilly and I took a walk around the yard for some exercise and relief time. Tomorrow they'll go to the shop so they can keep cool again.
Kicking back in the grass, a big yard to roll around in, and they end up in a pile again!
8/1/2021
2 Weeks Old Today
All the pups eyes are open and starting to clear up now, several are getting up and doing the wobble walk. By the end of this week they'll probably be barking, growling and starting to wrestle with each other, it seems like forever waiting, then they are 8 weeks old and heading home with their new families.
Lilly seems to be much happier now but after a walk around the yard in the evening she's ready to get back to the pups. I will start a picture slide show soon and ID the pups so everyone can keep track of which is which.
A little more grass time, they still pile up with Lilly not being there.
Pictures
I know I told everyone I would start with ID pictures this past weekend, along with more video's, but, I lost an argument with an old aluminum step ladder late Saturday. It decided it didn't want me on it anymore so one leg folded and I made a quick trip to the concrete below.
The good news is, nothing is broken, that I know of, but the left shoulder and ribs are making life real uncomfortable at this time. I will try and start with pictures and video's by the end of this week.
They are getting more active by the day, yesterday, 4 weeks old, several of them were proudly carrying around little twigs!
