Last night one of the boys, not the little ones, a strong, healthy boy had his navel open up. I have never in all my years seen this. He was bleeding internally so I knew he would not survive the night. It was sad but better for him. He just curled up went to sleep and did not wake up. I am glad it was so quick for him.
We now have 9 healthy pups and the two little ones are starting to nurse quite well. I will be sitting by the whelping box when Bonnie feeds so that I can have half nurse and put the other half in a little heated box that I have. Then when the ones nursing are done I will put the others in to nurse.When the first batch finishes Bonnie thinks she is done for awhile so I have to be sure she lets the other half nurse. It is a lot of work but necessary. It is best for the little ones to get as much of mothers milk as possible.
I will still get up twice during the night to help the little ones nurse. I have switched them to a bottle for other times and they do well with it.
When you breed dogs for so many years you will come across so many things that take the lives of little pups. Not every litter but every so often. Something we learn to deal with and live with.
Breeding is not for the faint of heart. But on the other hand there are so many joys of breeding and watching these babies grow and develop. It is amazing how they progress in such a small amount of time. How quickly personalities develop and how quickly they grow up and are ready to be a family companion.
I plan to get some pictures today and will post them soon.
Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving
COOKIE TIME
No comments:
Post a Comment