Ouchie

This morning I woke to find one of Gidget's breasts engorged. This particular one has been engorged before but not this badly. Before, it was just one lump and it went down by the next morning. This morning there were 3 lumps and it is very tender for her. Before I could put a warm compress on it, today, she won't stay put for me to do anything. When a puppy nursed on it, I could see the swelling expand until it looked as though it would pop and then it finally went down but was still very swollen. I'll post a photo below but before that, here's your puppy fix. My husband took these yesterday and I think there are some really sweet pics here. (ps nobody's eyes are open yet)

Here's the swollen teat. 

Update 2:30pm

At 2pm, I checked Gidget's side and the swellings had begun to drain a clear, blood tinged fluid. Not from the nipple but through her skin on her side.  I called my rescue representatives and the emergency clinic. There is a 3 hour wait at the emergency clinic and the rescue reps don't feel that this is a life threatening emergency so I will wait until morning to call the vet. Her temp is 100.5 which is normal and she did lie on that side a minute ago so perhaps the draining is a good thing. I'm going to keep a close eye on it. I am a nervous nelly about these things and the rescue is being so supportive. This is scary.

Becoming business as usual

Life around here has settled into a routine (for now). I do fear that I am spoiling Gidget, though. I have to feed her by hand, she won't eat out of the bowl. And she is in and out of the room where the puppies  are a thousand times a day. She just doesn't know where she wants to be. And sometimes, she just barks at me because she wants me to come in and sit with her (and admire her offspring, I guess.

Everyone is growing and all have more than doubled their birth weight with the exception of Haymitch the 1st born and 2nd largest at birth. I think he will have doubled when I weigh tomorrow morning. This morning he was actually the same weight as Gael who was the smallest boy at birth. They all seem strong and can keep their own in the battle for the boobs, though.

Last night I decided that I could take my dog to Rally class (we've been out for 2 weeks). Just as I was getting ready to leave, I noticed that one of Gidget's breasts was hard around the nipple. A quick call to my coordinator at rescue assured me all was ok and when we got home, I put a little heat on it. She was fine this morning but I noticed it's a bit hard again this evening. There are puppies nursing from it now so I guess it'll come down.

I took a file to the puppies nails today. They are so sharp, like little hooks). I kept reading that you're supposed to cut them every 3 days and I think they probably need it but they are O tiny and I could just imagine taking off a toe if I tried to cut them. So, I thought to file them and lo and behold, got an email from the rescue coordinator a couple of hours later recommending the same thing. Not as easy as it sounds as the little toes wiggle when you file but I think if I do a little each day, I can keep them from shredding her belly when they nurse.

I ordered some fleece pads that my dog's breeder recommended. They are fabulous but Gidget likes to dig and I am continually picking fleece fluffs out of the box. I'm not sure she will ever stop that, at least until after she weans the babies.

The exciting thing for me is that when my husband came home this afternoon, I was in playing with puppies and he came into the room and sat on the floor with me. Gidget got a bit antsy but she let me introduce each puppy to him. He got to pet each one. Actually, I had left them with him last night when I went to class and she had to go out while we were gone. She let my husband let her out but he didn't try to go in the room. So, he's the 1st one she's let touch them since my friend (and petsitter) was here for the births.

Gidget and my dog have been very "barky" today. They start up at the least sound. This is not all together something new but taken to a new level. Driving me crazy.

Last night, Gidget was up several times. I never heard her but my husband did and he woke me up to take her out. This morning, I noticed that I am coming down with a cold. Took Vitamin C and Zinc and tons of aspirin hoping to ward it off. We'll see.

No one has opened their eyes yet. I read somewhere that Fox Terriers are later than some breeds but some time this coming week... can't wait. I can wait, however, for them to start walking. They can scoot VERY fast and amaze me at how rapidly they can get where they want to go. Usually under a rail or to the milk bar.

One week old today

I just adore watching them nurse.

They are 1 week old today and both girls have more than doubled their birth weight. I think all the boys will have doubled by 10 days. It's so interesting to see how different they are. Prim, the white girl, stays by herself much of the time and doesn't nurse as much as the others but she is growing the fastest. Gael the smallest boy, is gaining slowly but seems to be the most energetic. He is frequently in motion, kind of running laps. He is so fast, no telling what he'll be like when he can walk but he can "slither" (crawl) really fast. He actually had "rug burns" on his belly yesterday. At least that is what I have decided. I had bought a flannel baby blanket from Goodwill (was looking for things of different textures to us as bedding) and I think perhaps his tender belly skin didn't like it - at least not at the rate he was moving. Katness seems to be very mouthy and has already started chewing on her siblings. I put a skineeze toy in with them this morning and she chewed on it a bit and then snuggled up with it. Peeta seems to like to stick his head under the rail in the box.

I've ordered some fleece pads that my dog's breeder pointed me to which should arrive today. Hope they like them.

Oh! I slept in my own bed last night!! I think Gidget would have been ok with me leaving before but I wasn't. My husband got a baby monitor so we could hear them during the night. I got up and checked on them a few times but she was always nursing and seemed content to stay in the whelping box so I left her there. I got up just before 5am and let her out. I'm letting the air out of the air mattress!

A little lap time

This afternoon I took each puppy and held them on my lap and petted them. I was going to try a little TTouch but found that they were a bit restless so just stroked them with long strokes down their backs. It's the longest I've held them at any one time. I've been weighing and doing the neurological stimulation and moving them around but haven't taken them out of the whelping box and held them on my lap (well, in my hand on my lap). Gidget gets a bit anxious when I do that. She comes and sniffs and paces but lets me do it.

Peet tried to nurse my finger (he had just finished nursing). Pretty strong suction. They are all so sweet. Gael went to sleep and curled up in my palm. But Katness was the one that touched my heart. I'm not sure what she was doing but she kind of climbed up my shirt and nuzzled my chest. maybe she smelled something on it but it certainly felt like a connection. She's started nudging the others when they are just scooting around in the box. Peeta seems like a loner as I find him by himself under the rail frequently. Prim is often alone too but they will all pile up together as well.

I've been moving furniture in hte family room/breakfast room area. I want to move them in the next week or so (not sure exactly) but I want to have them more in the center of the activity once they are a bit older. I think I may have hit on a set up. I'll show you once I get it done. I ordered some toys and have washed up some of my dog's old toys that I thought might be appropriate for the little ones. Will put some in the box soon.

Is this the line for the new IPhone?

I know, that's a pretty corny line but I thought it looked like they were getting in a line waiting for the same teat.

That's Gael plugged in. He was the smallest at birth and remains so. Haymitch is not growing as fast as the girls or Peeta either but they are all doing very well. Gidget is starting to spend a bit of time away from them, she's still a bit nervous when she does so I am wandering around letting her in and out but she did stay on the floor in the family room for about 5 minutes this morning.

I change the bedding in the whelping box every time I feed her. She'll get out of the box to eat and is distracted enough that I can take the puppies out and put them into a dish pan lined with towels while I clean things up. Well, this morning, evidently my handling the puppies was stimulation enough to get them started pooping so I had an absolute mess again. I tried to catch them with baby wipes but they were too fast for me and 5 at once was beyond my abilities to keep clean. So, I had to clean up again. But by this time, she was finished eating and when she saw the puppies in the dish pan, she hopped right in on top of them. Scared me to death. Luckily I had about finished so I could pick her up and put her in the box and then put the babies back, none the worse for wear.

Here are some photos of each puppy:

Peeta (should have named him Jabba the Hut)

Prim

 Katniss

Haymitch

 And here's little Gael chowing down

Starting to get the hang of this now

This has to be one of my favorite photos thus far. That's Haymitch laying across the throat of a smiling Peeta. They don't play yet but are starting to seem to more actively climb on each other. Before, it seemed to be more that they were just climbing over one another to get to the milk bar. They're spending more time away from her and she has been roaming away from the whelping bo a bit more. I've closed the ex pen up on her so she can't go far.

Everyone is gaining weight but not at the same rate. While he appears to be ok, Gael, who was the smallest at birth, has gained the least. I haven't figured it out percentage wise. May need to ask my husband to do that for me. I could do it but I don't know that I want to struggle with numbers, not my favorite thing:-)

When I did the early neurological stimulation this morning, I was amazed to find that none of them seemed to mind the q tip tickle to the foot. In fact, they all stayed completely still except Peeta who only squirmed a little but not much. Gael was the only one that squirmed on the head held erect exercise and he quieted down very quickly (maybe 1 second squirming, 2 seconds quiet).  No one was happy with the head held down but not a whole lot of squirming. Katness yawned on this one. Do they use this to displace stress this young? Peeta and Prim squirmed a bit in the supine position but the others were very quiet and seemed comfortable. Not too much reaction to the wet towel. I keep expecting this to be the hardest and it's the one that I am least certain that I want to do but they don't seem to mind and I do it last and then they go right back to mom and get plugged in.

Just a few more photos. I think they are the cutest things going.

They sure look big:-)

Some observations and ramblings

Thought I'd start talking about what I'm noticing with the puppies. I was really expecting to see a "puppy pile" all the time but they seem to go off in all directions. At first it was mostly Peeta and Prim that were "loners" I kind of though maybe it had something to do with the way they were born so far apart from the others (time wise:-), not location). But now, sometimes they are all scattered around the box. And they all seem to like to huddle under the pig rail. I am getting better about not panicing when I can only count 3 or 4. There's usually at least 1 behind Gidget under a rail.

I put towels as a liner for the box today. I thought the mattress pad was a bit slick and figured that having a bit of texture would help them get a grip on the flooring. I ordered a couple of fleece pads online yesterday. My dog's breeder put me on to them. Can't wait for them to come in. I think they will love them.

I think Gidget's discharge is letting up a bit. I changed the box this morning while she was eating and I usually change it again at lunch but it wasn't bad, only a couple of spots. She was fussing to be fed again around 3pm so I scrambled and egg, mixed in some boiled chicken, cottage cheese and plain yogurt. She wolfed it down. (She had left about half of her lunch so I was glad to see her eat well. Not sure what that was about.) At any rate, there were still just 2 spots on the towels when I fed her then so I didn't change it again. Will feed her again this evening and change then.

And, I've been reading up on how to start potty training. Seems that around 4 weeks or so, you can start teaching them where to go. There are several methods. One that I am leaning towards starts with using the piddle pads but then moving to a litter box. There is even a special litter for dogs. Who knew?  Not me.

We're trying to come up with a design for "housing" for the next stage once they start to get out of the whelping box. We'll need to have a sleeping area, a feeding area, a play area and a potty area. Sure am glad they are little. No idea at all what we'd do with 5 large puppies in the house:-).

I'm thinking I'd like to move them into the breakfast area. We'd need to move the breakfast table. No idea where to put it. All my living room and dining room furniture is stacked up around the edges of those rooms because I was doing some training with my dog in there over the summer and have dozens of training tools, e.g. a set of stairs, a travel plank, a ladder, several balance pods.... all over that space.

Oh, back to the puppy play area though. I'm going to put a crate in there with the door removed, some of the balance pods for them to play on, someone suggested a cat tunnel but don't know that I've ever seen one. I've washed some of my dog's toys that he doesn't play with anymore (like a kid, when he saw me take them out, wouldn't you know he just had to have them?). And I get to buy new toys too!! Fun.

Day 3 and beginning of early neurological stimulation

Everyone is growing. Haymitch gained .6 oz, Katness gained a full ounce, Peeta gained .7 oz, Gael gained .5 oz, and Prim gained a full oz, just like her sister. My husband is going to create an excel file for me so that I can graph their growth. I read somewhere that puppies sleep 90% of the time the 1st week and eat 10% of the time. These guys seem to eat at least 80% of the time:-)

I've been reading about early neurological stimulation (Source: "Early Neurological Stimulation"; Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia) (read more here if you are interested) and talking online with a breeder that has used this method which, among other things, helps puppies better withstand stress as adults. It was first researched by the US army in the 1950's (although from what I read about what they subjected puppies to, I don't think I'd want to consider trying that with any animal). What some breeders are doing these days seems to be a modification of this and while it may not make a great deal of difference, it seems pretty harmless at least so I thought I'd give it a try. Today was the 1st day (you do each exercise for 3-5 seconds and there are 5 exercises. (I think they stressed Gidget more than the puppies - she gets a bit anxious when the babies are moved from the box, even when they are in her sight.

I was kind of surprised to see the different reactions of the puppies. All but Haymitch didn't seem to like the q tip on the feet (he seemed to like it, it fact, he seemed to like everything. At least he was relaxed).  I have been handling their feet every day and they don't seem to mind that. The q tip was only very lightly touching their feet. Maybe it tickled? No one put up a great deal of struggle, I think if they had I might have been reluctant to continue. Gael struggled through everything not seeming to be happy with any of it (he is the smallest, wonder if that has anything to do with it). Katness seemed to like the positional pieces and was very relaxed for them. Prim seemed to like having her head down and being on her back. BTW, the one exercise that I am least comfortable with is the wet towel although none seemed to mind it. I only did any of these for the 3 second timing. You're supposed to do them from day 3 - day 16.

Here is a bit of info and diagrams of each exercise.

Neurological Stimulation Program Details
The five exercises are as follows. The duration of each of the five exercises is 3-5 seconds.

	1.  Tactical stimulation   (between toes) Holding the pup in one hand, the handler gently stimulates (tickles) the pup between the toes on any one foot using a Q-tip. It is not necessary to see that the pup is feeling the tickle. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds
	2.  Head held erect Using both hands, the pup is held perpendicular to the ground, (straight up), so that its head is directly above its tail. This is in an upwards position. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds
	3.  Head pointed down Holding the pup firmly with both hands the head is reversed and is pointed downward so that it is pointing towards the ground. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds
	4.  Supine position Hold the pup so that its back is resting in the palm of both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling. The pup while on its back is allowed to sleep struggle. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds
	5.  Thermal stimulation Use a damp towel that has been cooled in a refrigerator for at least five minutes. Place the pup on the towel, feet down. Do not restrain it from moving. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds

These five exercises will produce neurological stimulations, none of which naturally occur during this early period of life. Experience shows that sometimes pups will resist these exercises, others will appear unconcerned. In either case a caution is offered to those who plan to use them. Do not repeat them more than once per day and do not extend the time beyond that recommended for each exercise. Over stimulation of the neurological system can have adverse and detrimental results. These exercises impact the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would be normally expected. The result being an increased capacity that later will help to make the difference in its performance. Those who play with their pups and routinely handle them should continue to do so because the neurological exercises are not substitutions for routine handling, play socialization or bonding.

Benefits of Stimulation
Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation exercises. The benefits noted were:

1. Improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate) 
2. Stronger heart beats
3. Stronger adrenal glands 
4. More tolerance to stress 
5. Greater resistance to disease

In tests of learning, stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates over which they were dominant in competitive situations.

Secondary effects were also noted regarding test performance. In simple problem solving tests using detours in a maze, the non-stimulated pups became extremely aroused, whined a great deal, and made many errors. Their stimulated littermates were less disturbed or upset by test conditions and when comparisons were made, the stimulated littermates were more calm in the test environment, made fewer errors and gave only an occasional distress when stressed.

Gidget's babies at 2 days

I was just sitting there, watching these little miracles and realized there was some really different dynamics going on, by gender (that big boy in the middle is Peeta, the largest of the litter. He is pretty energetic). Have a look...

And just a few photos...

Love this one.

We're off and growing

Everyone has gained weight this morning.

Haymitch was 6.3 yesterday (down .1 oz from his birth weight). Today he is 6.6 oz

Katness was 6.0 oz and she is 6.9 this morning (up 1.1 oz since her birth 2 days ago)

Peeta is now 8.6 oz (a gain of 2.2 oz since birth)

Gael is 6.1 oz (he didn't gain anything yesterday and is up .3 oz from birth)

Prim is 6.9 oz (up 1.1oz from birth)

A video from the births (just 2 - almost)

I had set the camera up to video the births but promptly forgot it. I left it running and ran out of memory (the camera, not mine - I ran out of my own memory long ago). I tried to post it last night but it was too long so I had to edit it down. Don't know if you can see anything of any interest but am posting it anyway. It was a fabulous experience.

I'll post some photos of each puppy and introduce them to you in my next post.

And here they are

In random order (just the order I took the pictures in)

I had to go back and look at them in person to tell which is which:-) 

I can't tell them apart from the photos yet. Strange.

Actually, sorting them out like this is helpful.

This is Gael.

He was number 4 and the smallest boy.

He weighed 5.8 oz at birth and is a still 5.8 oz this morning.

This is Prim. 

She was the last puppy born at 4:05 pm. 

She weighed 5.8 oz at birth and this morning she weighed 6.2 oz! Hungry little girl.

Not a spot of black on her - easy to tell which one she is.

This is Katness.

She was born 2nd and weighed 5.8 oz at birth. She is 6.0oz this morning.

This is Haymitch.

He was the 1st puppy born and weighed 6.4 oz at birth!

He lost .1 oz by this morning (the only one to lose) and weighs 6.3oz.

And here's Peeta.

He was number 3 and the biggest of the lot.

He weighed 7.4 oz at birth and is a whopping 7.8 oz this morning!

And baby makes 5

She had another one! 1st born at 11:26 this one at 4:05. This all white baby is a girl and weighs 5.8 oz. Seems to be the standard. Just the 2 boys are bigger. The other boy and 2 girls weigh the same. Will be interesting to see how they grow.

Please, no more!

Introducing Gidget's puppies

After a sleepless night last night, I had decided that I was imagining that Gidget was ready to have her puppies.

This morning she started wanting to go out to pee frequently around 8 am and by 10 she was so restless and panting so heavily that I was convinced she was in labor. She started pushing around 10:45 and had her 1st puppy, a boy, at 11:26. He weighed 6.4 oz. She had a little girl next weighing in at only 5.8 oz. Her last pup was a boy again at a whopping 7.4 oz.

Poor baby, she has so few teeth in the front that she had a devil of a time cutting the cords. She kept going back and "trimming" them.

Originally the vet thought he saw 4 skeletons but he wasn't sure. I have a call in to him to see if he wants to check and see if there is another one in there. She seems comfortable, although panting a bit. Eating well (better than well:-) Puppies are nursing well although they all want the same teet.

And! I thought I had my camera videoing the births but it turns out that the memory card was full so I go nothing!!! Here are a few photos.

Hold the presses, as I was writing that last bit, I looked up and saw that Gidget was over on the other side of the whelping box with a puppy on it's back. I was afraid something was wrong with it but... there is the 4th puppy. Another little boy. 5.8 oz, same size as the girl but looked smaller to me. Born at 2:45pm. Hopefully she's done.

Close but no cigar

I really thought we were going to have babies tonight. Gidget has not been eating much at all lately and today, she really just picked a little.

So when she was shivering and panting and pacing all over the place this evening, I figured we were close. So I took her to her whelping box and she started digging and then resting and panting. I got all set to camp out with her and took the video below.

Then she started to get more quiet so I go out a couple of pillows and a piece of blanket I had made up in case we needed extra bedding and made myself a nest.

Well, evidently she thought it would make a nice nest as well because she left the whelping box and scratched around in it until she was able to cocoon herself and relax.

Now I'm really not sure if anything is going to happen tonight at all. It's looking doubtful.

And... here we are... day 64.. still no sign of babies

I'm beginning to think Gidget plans on remaining pregnant as long as possible so that she can see what new and exciting taste treat I can come up with. Last week she practically stopped eating so I began mixing canned food in greater proportions into her kibble. That worked for a while but pretty soon she stopped eating even that so I cooked up some chicken and added that to her kibble and canned food. She ate the chicken out and left the rest. So, I decided to boil some chicken livers. I added some of the liquid to her chicken, canned, dry mixture and she ate most of the chicken and sucked out the broth but left the kibble and canned food. She doesn't appear ready to deliver any time soon. We'll see how well she eats the liver once it cools down. Oh, and I almost forgot, I added some vitamin supplements that you mix into a gravy to add to her food this morning and that didn't tempt her either.

If she weren't pregnant, I'd not worry about her refusal to eat or if I thought she were going to have these babies today i wouldn't be trying to enhance her diet but who knows how long this can go on?

If I place my hand on the side of her tummy and IF she'll stay still for a few seconds, I can feel a puppy moving. I'm not sure if I feel one on the other side. She really doesn't want her belly touched and will wander away. If I try to put my hand on her chest to kind of keep her in one place, she gets a bit trembly. I don't want to stress her so I haven't done it much. If I try to watch her belly when she is lying still, she gets antsy and moves as well:-)

When we went to the vet (2 weeks tomorrow) he said he thought she had about 3 more weeks. I'm beginning to think he's pretty accurate. I was going by the date we were told she was bred but from what I have read, fertilization might not occur for a week or more after breeding so we may be looking at another week. She's not getting bigger as fast as she was but I do think she looks bigger today than she did. No milk yet. She will let me check her teats. Guess they are not as sensitive as her tummy. After 10 pregnancies, I'm guessing her uterus is pretty tired. I am so glad for her that this will be her last. Can't wait to meet the little guys, though.

No Sign of Babies Yet

I really thought she was going to go into labor yesterday. She didn't eat at all until late in the afternoon. But this morning, she seems to have gotten her second wind. Not really active but way more so than the last week or so. Here's a quick clip of her leaving the porch for a second. (she really doesn't like the grass:-) Also, note that she refused the kibble. If our dates are accurate, we should be at day 62.  Tomorrow's another day.

We're still waiting... day 61

Gidget didn't want to go out this morning when my husband got up (5am). That's a first. No problem when I got up at 6 but I don't usually take them out again until after I read the paper and have a cup of coffee. She just kept sleeping so I left her. No problem going out around 7 though. She even seems a bit more energetic. Ate a small amount of food but left most of it (and it was mostly canned). After she ate she barked once which is her way of letting me know she wants to go out. Did her business and came back in (while my dog chased someone walking their dog on the other side of the fence:-(.

So the waiting continues. I stayed home from Rally class last night sure that she would go into labor as soon as I left. Obviously not. Maybe today's the day.

Day 60 and still counting

We're still in waiting mode. I gave up on taking her temperature as it was staying around 99.3 or so and it doesn't' seem to be a good indicator of impending labor for her. Her appetite has diminished. She just ate the boiled chicken I added to her kibble and canned food this morning (she is getting more picky. If I just gave her plain kibble, she turns her nose up. She never touches the kibble that is in her crate at night although I don't really expect her to eat during the night:-). She's also not doing much but lying around and moving from the big bed (which she is shredding) to the floor in the alcove leading to our room and sometimes to the floor by the end table between the 2 stuffed chairs. I still don't see any milk.

She's also not following me around every time I move like she was. She's kind of look up and acknowledge that I am moving and then just lies back down. I also don't think she is getting appreciably bigger although it may just be that she was growing so rapidly for a while that a smaller rate is less noticeable. When she does walk, there is a noticeable "waddle" to her step. I'll try to see if I can catch anything on video later. She doesn't walk around much, even when I take her outside so we'll see.

Another belly photo

It certainly can't be much longer.

Have a look at this belly

This is her favorite spot outside. At least, it's about as far as she gets when I take her outside unless she has to go potty verrrry badly. And even then, she'll plop down here after she goes. It's a sign as to how big she has gotten that I was able to get these photos (did use my phone so maybe she didn't realize what I was doing?) She stayed still and let me take them. 

The countdown continues

I took Gidget's temperature several times yesterday. It's a new digital thermometer (I haven't had a thermometer since my kids were little and my "baby" is 35!) and I am not sure how accurate it is (or if I am able to keep it in long enough). It varied from 98.3-99.6. My husband helped hold her last night so I could get a better reading but he had a hard time keeping the treats coming fast enough to keep her distracted. I was using the super high value stuff I use for training classes for my dog. Sardine brownies, tuna brownies, liver chews, turkey crunches, that kind of thing. She really will wolf those down even when she turns her nose up at store bought treats.

She's digging in the bed this morning(nesting?) but she ate fairly well when she got up. Not as much as she was eating but still ate a good deal. No milk yet. So it's still a waiting game. I do think it will be this week simply from the date she was bred.

The puppies aren't real active. I've felt one move a couple of times but she doesn't like to have her belly touched (even very lightly). I watch when she's lying there but don't see any movement. Hopefully all is going well and we'll get to meet the babies soon.

A friend is going to bring an exercise pen today.(She brought a playpen yesterday- what a great friend). That'll help, especially after I found out that she can jump out of the whelping pen. Silly me, I was thinking that with her big belly, she'd avoid trying. I knew she could but just thought... oh, well. That's what I get for thinking. I hate to confine her but as her time approaches, I worry about her having the babies under the bed or someplace else less appropriate, especially after my husband build that nice whelping box.

Whelping box

I got the whelping box set up. I took her temperature this morning and it was 98.3 but I don't think she stood still long enough to get a good reading so I'll take it again when I have someone to help hold her. I just threw some treats on the floor to occupy her while I tried to take her temp but she scarfed them up pretty quickly. Her appetite is still good so I'm thinking maybe not so quickly.

The orangy thing under the whelping box is an old (sanitized) office chair mat. I was trying to think of something besides a tarp to protect the carpet. The living room is the only room that I can block off and that is also open to the rest of the house so she is still part of the family. I'm going to let her have access to the kitchen, I think, once I get an exercise pen to block off one opening.

For bedding, I put down a layer of towels, then a bunch of layers of newspapers, then a piece of a mattress pad (I was able to get 4 pads from a king sized mattress pad). My husband made the bottom as a tray so that we can put the top pad under it all the way around so that puppies can't get tangled up. I've got some chux type pads and tons of towels which I may add as well.

There's a little "door" that slides into the front cut out to keep puppies in when they get bigger:-)

So, without further ado... the whelping box...

Day 56 (or there abouts)

I've gotten out my DSLR with the telephoto lens hoping that if I am far enough away from her, I can get a photo without her realizing that's what I am doing. She doesn't stand still very long but you can get an idea of the size of her belly. It looks way bigger than this in person to me:-) She lay out in the sun for a while today. The weather is so beautiful right now.

My husband finished the whelping box today. I've got 2 coats of paint on the walls and 1 on the inside bottom. I'm running out of paint so will probably have to run to the store in a sec. I want to get it finished today so that it has time to cure well before we bring it in. We used low fume, low everything paint. Want to be sure it's safe for her and her precious cargo before bringing it in the house.