The birth
Pfff, what a week...
Where do I begin?
Well, let’s start with last week Friday, the day the stress began. At day 56 of the pregnancy Abby stopped eating well and her temperature went down. The first signs of the beginning of the delivery, but way too soon. Luckily it was false alarm, the contractions were pre-contractions but we were really scared.
Above all that I fell ill that night. The flue...I hoped it wouldn’t get worse but I was really ill for a number of days.
The weekend went well but Monday the real work started. Abby started puffing and was very restless. Her temperature was stabile but we noticed the delivery was starting...
Tuesday her temperature dropped. At the beginning of the afternoon her temperature dropped so we were hoping the delivery was on the way. Abby was already further along the pregnancy than last time so it couldn’t take much longer. We thought...But that night the temperature went up and wouldn’t drop below 37 degrees Celcius.
The next day it happened again. Early afternoon again dropping temperature but not low enough. Abby’s breathing went irregular and her belly was hard.
At day 62, a day before the official delivery date it wasn’t any better. Everything was unchanged but Abby’s situation got harder and harder. Eventually we went to the vet in the afternoon for a thorough check-up. He concluded that Abby and the pups were doing well. A blood test was done (to establish the calcium level) and an ultrasound and both results were good. Nothing to worry about. But the vet said it couldn’t and shouldn’t take long. But still nothing happened.
Day 63, Abby’s birthday (and her father’s). But still nothing happened. The night before Abby’s breathing was unstable and her belly made strange movements but there were no contractions. That morning Abby’s temperature went up, and we didn’t trust it. We went to the vet again but she thought it was too early to interfere. Abby’s vulva had softened and she predicted it wouldn’t take long. That afternoon Abby seemed to have her first contraction, we were filled with enthusiasm. But unfortunately, that was it. Abby was restless and her belly was bubbling, but nothing else happened.
We were starting to get worried. The vet had told us on Thursday that she wouldn’t get through the entire weekend (that would be too long) and since it was a large litter the delivery date should be earlier. So it just wasn’t right. Abby’s condition went worse, she was getting exhausted. Above all this we remembered the story of a fellow breeder (who lost almost the entire litter early this week without any particular reason)...It just took too long.
And now it’s today, day 64, a day after the official delivery date. After a long discussion yesterday evening and after talking to the vet and the owner of Ledger we decided the time had come. We wanted a vet to look at her...
However, timing was terrible. ..Our vet normally is available 24/7 was closed for this weekend because of shortage of staff. The replacement vet in our surroundings was not so advanced so we had our doubts. The animal clinic in Lemmer was stand-by, we thought...But when we called them we found out they made a mistake. They were available but the vet on call was trained for large cattle so she couldn’t help us since pets weren’t her specialty. We kept calling. Eventually we found a clinic in Kampen where we could come immediately so we went there this morning. At 11 we arrived and immediately the vet told us he wanted to interfere. Abby was so big and exhausted, above all that yesterdays contraction made us worry even more. After examining Abby we decided to have a c-section. Abby had an iv to give her total anesthetic and was intubated (for the gasnarcoses). Then the hard work started...
We didn’t expect it to go this fast. Off and on the pups came out and we had to take care of them while the two vets took care of Abby (the assistant came in and out to help us because she also had to help at the desk). The c-section went well. Abby was doing fine and came through very quickly. The last week she didn’t have a clear vision in her eyes but after the c-section she looked very bright. As if a weight was left from her shoulders.
The pups are another story. At first everything went well, one was more active than the other but they all looked well. But after a few minutes one of the pups started to turn blue and her breathing went slow. Eventually we tried everything on her during 45 minutes. Rubbing, shaking, bending, giving pure oxygen, giving some drops...But unfortunately it didn’t work. After Abby already had recovered the vet tried to revive the pup but it was all in vain. There was something wrong with her that didn’t let the breathing start. Her hart had stopped beating several times and stopped totally. For this little girl, it just wasn’t meant to be, even though it’s terrible...
The other pups are doing well. After Abby had her last shot, we received the medication and instructions and the pups were ready to go home. After all it didn’t take long. We arrived at 11 at the vet and left round 12.30. Abby was very alert, and started to wash the pups as soon as she laid eyes on them. She stayed alert in the car.
At home we weighted the little ones and fed mommy. And now...Now they are all very comfortable lying and drinking by mommy and mommy is recovering from all that had happened. I must say, what a great dog Abby is. She is in better shape than all of us right now. It seems as if the c-section gave her new energy and she is ready for it. That look, the way she is taking care of her babies...So full of enthusiasm, a real mommy.
We asked the vet if Abby could have given birth without the c-section. He couldn’t predict it but it wouldn’t have started before Monday he said, and that was another two-day-waiting with all additional risks with such a large litter. Above all that the weak puppy wouldn’t have survived it. We will never know if Abby could have done it on her own. Despite the operation was a big deal I am convinced it was for the best, especially when I see Abby and her pups right now....
Oh yeah, you all of course want to know how many pups there are now and what color they are...
Well the diseased pup was a tricolor bitch. But unfortunately she’s not with us anymore...
The litter had 7 pups in it, just like the ultrasound said. And we eventually took 6 pups home with us. These are 4 males, all tricolor. And 2 females, 1 tricolor and 1 very strangely colored blue merle. The blue merle one is so light she almost looks white. But she can’t be, that’s almost impossible (especially when you look at the rest of the litter). We think she’ll be a very light blue merle, but time will tell.
Of course we are thrilled that all the pups are here now and we are enjoying them a lot! But of course we also still are a little bit sad about the lost of that little girl, we would have liked to take her home. But like I said, it just wasn’t meant to be. And we still have 6 beautiful pups with us so that’s more then enough to enjoy and love!
The tricolor female, 283 grams:
The blue merle (?) female, 242 grams:
The 1st male, 266 grams:
The 2nd male, 248 grams:
The 3th male, 229 grams:
The 4th male, 217 grams:
Next week there will be another update. From now on I will be posting a weekly puppy dairy on the site with photo’s, movies and a report of the pups. There will also be a webcam online from time to time, more info about that can be found on the puppycam page. All the latest news will be posted on the news page and well... Till next week!
Birth - Week 1 - Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4 - Week 5 - Week 6 - Week 7 - Week 8 -
Week 9 - Week 10 & 11
Click here for the puppycam!