Two weeks old!

In some ways, it's been a very long two weeks but I also can't believe that the pups are two weeks old already!  Between my almost constant worry about Gypsy and then the issue with Rev, I feel like I've been on a bit of a roller coaster.  Gypsy isn't gaining weight as much as I'd like, but she seems to be just fine.  The last few days have been just absolutely amazing watching as the pups develop.  It's hard to put into words how incredible it is to see them do things for the first time: first poops, first pees, first tail wags, first eyes open, first startle response to sounds.  Incredible!!!

Rev, Kahoona and Octane seem the most advanced at this point, but in different ways.  Kahoona has been up and walking for days now and almost never crawls anymore.  He's the most advanced physically.  Rev had his eyes open first, but has also been the one to seek out attention from me more than anyone else at this point.  And Octane was the first to hear and remains the adventure seeker--climbing up Rave then sliding down the other side over and over again for his own entertainment.  It's too cute!  Yet, Octane is the one whose eyes are barely open yet.  Envy is right behind Rev in terms of interacting with me, she loves to come over to me for attention.  And her eyes are just about open now too.  Bolt and Gypsy have been the slower ones to develop.  Bolt has been the smallest boy from the start and was the last boy up to walk, though now his smaller body makes him more nimble and efficient.  I have been really surprised at Gypsy's eyes starting to open already.  She was the last to walk but she can see now too!  I expected her to be a bit more behind the other pups in development, but she's right there with Bolt. 

The pups have started playing with each other now and it's so cute!  They wrestle a bit and make crazy noises.  Most of the pups have growled at me now--it's so cute to see them finding their voices.  Rev let out the first little bark this morning---I think he startled himself!!!  And Octane grabbed my finger in play today too. 

They all now just LOVE being pet and getting attention (at least when they aren't hungry!!).  Most of them seek me out when I come in the room now too.  And a few of them have wagged their tails at me when I pet them--now that just melts my heart!

On the flip side, they are peeing like banshees now and making a bit mess!  And it's only going to get worse!!!  But oh how much fun we are going to have!!!

Rev

It was a long week!  Rob had to go out of town for work, so I was flying solo all week.  Not a big deal, until Rev decided to not feel well on Wednesday night.  He started crying about 9:30pm, and just wouldn't stop.  He also kept moving around nonstop like he couldn't get comfortable.  He didn't want to eat, had no pee in him and I couldn't stimulate him to poop.  It wasn't hot in here (he's been the fussy one about temperature) either so I was at a loss.  But listening to him cry non stop was tearing me up, since I didn't know what was wrong.  I called a breeder friend about 10:15 and she had a few ideas, but wasn't entirely sure what was going on either.  Then I noticed the poor little guy was drooling too, which made me think upset tummy.  I also noticed when I rubbed his belly he relaxed a bit.

I turned to the internet as a reproduction group which has a huge number of member, who are all over the world, so I figured if I posted what was happening, someone was bound to respond.  My internet research pointed me in the direction of gas and constipation and the folks on the group agreed.  I gave him a warm water enema and wow, did the flood gates open!!  Once he was empty, I thought he'd feel much better, but he still kept crying.  So it's after midnight, and I really want to go get the infant gas drops folks recommended....but it's late, and we live 20 minutes from the 24 hour drugstore.  And Rob's not home, and I don't want to leave a crying pup by himself.  I managed to make it to first light and set out to get the drops for him.  Within minutes of giving the drops, he relaxed and immediately fell asleep.  At this point, he'd cried so much, he had dried tears all over his face.  :-(

By the time I reached my vet, Rev seemed back to normal.  He was nursing again and sleeping comfortably.  So I didn't want to stress him out by running him into the vet clinic (not to mention making me worry about all the potential disease issues that could arise from that).  He's been fine since then, so I am guessing maybe he gorged to much on food on Wednesday and gave himself a back up.

What an exhausting night for both of us!  I am just so glad he's back to himself.  And he's taken up the position of being the most active of the pups now too.  He's quite full of himself!!!

Day 9 Update!

Have I mentioned how much I love these puppies already???  I can't believe how big they are getting and all have more than doubled (tripled in Gypsy's case!) their body weight already.  They are getting more active now too and have become very responsive to my presence in the whelping box.  Last night, Kahoona was up on all fours and took a few steps.  It was amazing to see at eight days old!!!  This morning, Rev was a wild man all over the whelping box, crawling up and down (well falling down!) Rave and even managed to get himself up on the pig rain using Rave's back.  Again, just amazing for nine days old!

When I get in the box now, they make their way over to me to sniff me out.  It's very clear their sense of smell is working well already.  When I put them in my lap, they sniff all over me.  I am not sure if they are looking for a food source or if they are just processing information.  Either way, it's so cute.  And they love being touched now!  Envy rolled over on her back this morning for belly rubs and it was so stinkin' cute.  Then she gave me a lick on the hand.  Oh man, did that melt my heart.

Gypsy is doing so great now, and I feel like I can finally relax and not worry about her so much.  I am still making sure to give her time alone at the milk bar, because she can easily get knocked off by the bigger kids who are really just downright aggressive at the bar now.  They push, shove and fight for the prime nipples!  Rave has a few that don't work (which I guess is normal) and the rear ones produce much more milk than the ones up front.  So they are always jockeying to get back there.  Interestingly, Gypsy always feeds at the rear nipples.  She must be very clever!!!  I cannot put into words how emotional last week was for me, and working so hard to ensure that Gypsy was given every chance to thrive.  And I am so incredibly grateful that she's doing so well.

It's still so early in this journey, but everything about this litter has been "more" than I expected.  I had planned on it being a lot of work, I planned on sleepless nights, I planned on it being emotional.  I think all the issues with Gypsy magnified everything.  But it's all so much more than I could have imagined.  And this morning, sitting with the pups before I left for work, I was overcome with emotion watching those little pups developing and making me laugh.  And I realized that I am so grateful that I have been given the chance to nurture these pups from the start and that I happily accept everything that comes with it.

I am also super grateful that Rave is being such an incredible mom.  She takes such good care of the pups, feeds them well, and worries when they are upset.  She still thinks she needs to protect them from all the other dogs in the house except for Rival.  Rave definitely wants to get out and play more and be a part of the household again, but she's still making sure those pups are well care for.  I am also so glad that Rave seems to still be quite strong and healthy, is producing milk well and has no post whelping issues at all.  So much can go wrong during pregnancy, whelping and rearing so I love that Rave's in such great shape.

I love Rave.  And I love her very special little puppies.  :-)

One week old!

So the pups are one week old today!!!  It was a long week, that's for sure.  Rave won't let me go back to my bed, so I am stuck sleeping on the air mattress in the puppy room a little longer.  But it's worth it since the pups are thriving, including little Gypsy.  I *think* at this point, I can breathe a sigh of relief.  She's been consistently gaining weight since Monday, is active and is now fussing at me when I weigh her or do ENS.  Yay!  She's still much smaller than the other pups, but gaining at the same rate as they are.

The best part of this week has been seeing how the pups have acclimated to handling.  The first few days they made the biggest stink when we picked them up and did things to them.  Now they still fuss a little during ENS (really who wants to be turned upside down!), but now they seem to really enjoy our touch, being held and don't fuss nearly as much when they get moved around.

I did start dremeling their nails this week too.  Their sharp nails were scratching up Rave's tummy and nipples so it needed to be done.  I cut their tiny toenails on Tuesday and that did not go well at all.  Their nails are so tiny and there were so squirmy, it was difficult and I did make Octane bleed.  :-(  So now I am dremeling them and for me it's going much better, since I can't hurt them.  But they beg to differ!!!  I have to put Rave outside when I do it as she gets sooooo concerned.

Rave has started spending more time away from the pups during the day, and wants to  play again.  I think it's healthy for her mentally and emotionally to have a break---what dog wants to be stuck in the same room day after day.  But also I think the physical exercise will really help her recover from the pregnancy physically and keep her endorphins up mentally.  When she comes back in from playing, she runs right back in to feed and check on the pups though.

She is still VERY protective of the pups when it comes to the other dogs.  Rival is the only dog who she's comfortable with in the room and seeing the pups.  No one else has that privilege.  But Rival and Rave have a very special, close relationship and I know she trusts him.

The pups did have some visitors this week.  My mom helped out by stopping by and making sure all was well with the babies during the week while we were gone.  I am so grateful for her help, it made a huge difference.  Then I'd come home at lunch too and make sure all was good.  Yesterday, Pam came by to visit since one of the black boys will be hers.  Rave is more than happy to show off her brood to people.

The biggest issue we've had this week is the bedding in the whelping box.  Rave wants to dig it up and at one point during the week, I had to run home from work and fix it since she had covered the pups up with the pad.  And we don't want any pups to suffocate!  At this point we've resorted to duct taping the whelping mats down, since Rave likes to nest so much!!!  Kind of a pain, since they have to be washed all the time!

It was a pretty stressful week overall, mostly because we worried so much about Gypsy.  All of the others were clearly doing great, but we really worked hard to give her extra care, attention and feedings.  And it's paid off, so well worth it.  I am hoping this week is a bit smoother and I look forward to seeing more development in these little guys.

Pupdate Number 1

I love these pups so much already.  They are so adorable and squeaky and funny!  I've already started seeing some personality features emerging and I am really curious to see if they hold true over time.  They are growing like weeds!!!!  The cutest thing is watching them when they nurse---two days ago they started wagging their tails when they eat.  Just adorable!!!!  They are all quite active and getting stronger by the day. Kahoona can even prop himself up on his back legs now.

I started Early Neurologic Stimulation and the first day all the pups really fussed over it, except for Gypsy.  I do think she was likely conceived on the second breeding (vs. the others on the first) so she's behind the other pups developmentally.  But now she's fussing along with the rest of them when it's time to get weighed (though she gets weighed alot more than the others!!).  And the first few days, the pups really put up a fight when we handled them or held them.  Now they are much more compliant in general during the ENS and really seem to enjoyed being touched and held (at times!).  I have loved seeing that development already.

And I did a nail trim on them and that was NOT fun!  Those nails are tiny so I am going to dremel them tonight instead of clipping.  And I will make sure Rave is outside when I do it, she HATED hearing them scream like that.

Rave's being an AWESOME mom.  She wouldn't leave them at all for a few days and I had to drag her out to potty.  Now she's leaving more, and wanting to play a bit which I think is really healthy for her.  She's still feeding them when they are hungry and taking great care of them, but wanting to interact and exercise a bit more.

On day two, I had put the pups in the warming box while I changed the bedding in the whelping box.  Then I took Rave outside.  When she ran in the front door, she beelined to the puppy room and next thing you know I hear the pups screaming bloody murder!  I found her laying on them in the tiny box!!!  She does love her puppies!!

Right now, Octane is the biggest pup, followed by Kahoona then Envy then Bolt then Rev.  And of course Gypsy is still much smaller.  But trying to catch up!!!

Gypsy

So Gypsy was the second born pup and came out REALLY tiny.  As soon as I saw her, my heart sunk.  She was so small, my initial though was that she might not even be alive.  I immediately took her from Rave and starting working on her.  While Octane came out of the sac kicking and vigorous, Gypsy was quiet and purple.  I suctioned a fair bit of mucous from her throat and stimulated the heck out of her.  She turned pink and seemed to gain some strength.  She weighed 4.2 ounces at birth and Octane weighed in at almost 12 ounces.  A huge difference.

When I felt comfortable enough, I offered her the nipple.  Now Octane latched on instantly and nursed like a champ, but Gypsy would not latch on at all.  I tried for about 30 minutes before I started contacting my "support system" of breeders as well as my vet, because I felt woefully under prepared for this type of situation.

I was provided with a number of suggestions and fortunately I had some Nutrical on hand to put in her mouth to at least give her some glucose.  That seemed to help a bit and she did attempt to nurse, but with very little effort.  In retrospect, I think she was so weak and had a suckle reflex that wasn't as developed as the other pups.  The colostrom that comes in at birth is very thick and she really did struggle to get it out.  I could see the other pups really working to get it out, but she just didn't have the strength.  I tried bottle feeding and she didn't want any part of it.  I syringe fed her a bit, but that's really risky since they can aspirate the liquid though I was able to get a bit into her at least.

Then one breeder suggested something pretty simple, run my nails down her spine pretty vigorously and wouldn't you know it irritate her enough that she started eating!  I had to keep doing it for a bit, but she got the idea, though still not terribly vigorous in her nursing.  We never left her unsupervised and really kept encouraging her to nurse.  And she did start offering more effort over time.

She had a little set back on Monday where I think her glucose level dropped and she was hypoglycemic, as she had not eaten for fours hours. Thanks to a sugar/salt solution suggested by another breeder, she perked back up and began nursing again.  Thank goodness, because I was all set to start tube feeding her and I was glad to have avoided that.  About that time, Rave's milk turned from colostrom to milk, which is much thinner and we could immediately see a change.  Gypsy started nursing much more aggressively and you could see she was really getting milk out now.

Since then, she's been nursing very well.  We make sure to give her special nipple time when Rave is really full and we keep the others away.  All the other pups are really, really pushy at the milk bar and while Gyspy has learned to hang on and try to hold on to her nipple, she is so much smaller that she can get knocked off.

So we are at day five now, and things are still going well for Gypsy.  In fact, she's now doubled her birth weight!!!!  I am still sleeping right next to the box, making sure she gets lots of feedings.  I am still holding my breath a bit, but overall I am feeling much more optimistic about her.

The Rave x Keen Puppies Are Here!!

Six wonderful babies were born very quickly early on Sunday, June 2nd!!!

Rave went into early labor late Saturday afternoon.  I was up with her all Saturday night, as she was uncomfortable and confused.  She was very, very needy and wanted to be touched constantly but also couldn't settle down at all.  Then Sunday morning about 7am I started seeing contractions.  They came more frequently and at 7:40am, a black tri boy entered the world.  Rave was a bit worried at first, she had no idea what it was that came out of her and left me to open the sac, get him stimulated and take care of the cord.  Once Rave layed down and started smelling him, her instincts kicked in and she began licking him and eating the placenta.  He immediately started nursing and we all relaxed.

About 35 minutes later, contractions started again.  Then out comes a TINY little  blue girl.  Rave helped with her part of the job, but I took her away quickly as she was so small and not as vigorous as the first pup.  But not three minutes later, Rave has another pup!!!  Out comes another black boy, and I had to get Rob to help with that one as I was still stimulating the little girl and suctioning mucous out of her throat. So while Rave's taking care of the boy, and I have the little girl, she has another pup!  Less than five minutes later!!!  Out pops another black boy!  So three pups in less than 15 minutes.  It was crazy for a while.

Then it got stressful because the little glue girl wouldn't nurse, while the three bigger pups were nursing like champs.  She seemed weak and wouldn't latch on.  I knew there were still two more pups to be delivered but I immediately reached out to other breeders for ideas on how to get the little girl going.  I am so grateful that there have been so many breeders who have been willing to share their time and knowledge with me.  It's made all the difference.

So I am still trying to get little girl to nurse and about 30 minutes after the trio came out, another blue girl was born.  Rave took care of her and everything went smoothly.  Then 40 minutes later, out came the last pup, a blue merle boy.  Again, Rave did her job well and he went right to work nursing.  So Rave has six pups in two hours, which I thought was pretty impressive.  Maybe I kept her too fit during pregnancy!!!!

So in order of appearance, with their puppy names:
"Octane" Pup 1 Black tri boy born at 7:40am
"Gypsy" Pup 2 Tiny blue merle girl born at 8:15am
"Bolt" Pup 3 Black boy born around 8:20am
"Rev" Pup 4 Black boy born around 8:25am
"Envy" Pup 5 Blue merle girl born at 9:00am
"Kahoona" Pup 6 Blue merle boy born at 9:40am

Rave is being an awesome momma and I am so incredibly proud of her.  She's super attentive to her pups and really doesn't want to leave them at all, even to go out to the bathroom.  I had no idea how she would respond to motherhood, but she's exceeded my expectations.

We spent the rest of the day making sure the pups were content, Rave was clean and comfortable and really working on Gypsy.  But that's a whole other blog post.  :-)