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3K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  LittlePapi 
#1 ·
Nike and Tibi both had their litters yesterday.

Pam was up all night with Nike Thursday/Friday night. Nike was in some distress by first light, and we headed to the Vet. I was driving, with Pam and Nike in the back of the WRX hatchback. A car flashed their headlights at me, and by the time I passed the Hwy Patrolman beside the road, I had slowed down to 72.

He saw Pam and Nike in the back, and asked me what was wrong. I told him quickly, and saying he was a dog person too, to head on but not to go more than 5 mph over.

At the Vet's the question was C-section or shot of Oxytocin. Pam had already palpated Nike, and straightened out the puppy before we left home. Pam thought that Nike had just gotten too tired to push the puppy out. Our Vet palpated again, and said the puppy was reversed, which was a good thing if it was in distress. Pam said to try the shot. Robert, our Vet, put us in a back room, and within 10 minutes Nike gave birth to a boy.

If the boy had been head first, there was a much greater chance that he would not have made it. This is the same breeding that produced Java, known here, and the boy was the same color as Java. He was immediately scrambling to get into nursing position, with no worries about anything.

In another 10 minutes, Nike gave birth to a girl, and deciding that everything was going normally now, the five of us headed back home. At home, everything went fine, and Nike ended up with a litter of three.

Later that afternoon, Tibi produced her litter of three Red puppies sired by Red with no trouble at all.

There are going to be some disappointed people on our waiting list. We were all expecting more than 6 puppies.

This morning, all the puppies have gained from a half to a whole ounce. I think they have all nursed for the whole time since they've been born. The Moms are Very proud of them.

Pictures after we get caught up with sleep.
 
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#4 ·
That's a lot of action for one day :laugh: And a litter of red puppies too, fun! Are they out of the red boy you just recently started showing? I hadn't realized he was already 2.

Looking forward to pictures.
 
#6 ·
They are "BY" the red boy Red. They are "Out Of" Tibi, a Gold Sable. Tibi's Mother is the red color, and Tibi carries the little "e". I can't remember if Tibi carries two copies of the little e, but Pam's sleeping right now, so I can't ask her. Red, of course, carries two copies.

Red was barely old enough to have all his health testing verified just before Tibi came into heat.
 
#12 ·
I've been thinking of you and wondering when they'd arrive! Sorry that you two and poor Nike had such a hard time. Poor girl! Now, having been involved in a whelping, I want to know more... why would that first boy been in more danger if he'd been born head first? (Poppy's puppies seemed to be about evenly split... half head first, half bottom first, and she seemed to have about the same effort with each way. (Except for Ralph, who was so big from the beginning... he was harder)

Do you have a litter from Savi due too?
 
#13 ·
The Mother will push for a good number of times before you can tell if she's having trouble. From what the Vet told us, if the head is the part getting pushed against the most, chances are not good for the puppy. Nike had been pushing for a while before Pam decided that it had been long enough.

As you know, Nike is very strong and athletic, and she probably did more than most trying to pass the first puppy.

We've only had this once before. It was maybe a decade or a little more ago with Meg. It was about 2 o'clock in the morning after Thanksgiving dinner, and the only Vet Pam could get on the phone, much less to come out on that night, at that time, was two counties over. Meg had a C-section, and only lost the first puppy that was balled up at the entry to the birth canal.

It's a violent, and delicate process. A lot of stuff has to work right, with some luck, for everything to work out. We were Very lucky this time.
 
#14 ·
We were very proud of Nike too. She never got very worked up, and completely trusted us.

Robert examined her on the table, gave her a shot of Oxytocin to make the uterus contract, and put us on the floor in the little X-ray room at the end of the hall. We had made a "nest box" for Nike on the trip out of a clean, large litter pan with lots of blankets and towels in it in quick order before we left home -actually I put it together while Pam was barking out orders.

Behind the wall is a little outside pen where some dogs are kept until they are worked on. There were two large hound dogs of some sort that were baying loudly the whole time. It was an unusually busy early morning at the Vet's, and one small dog was complaining loudly, in a high pitched voice while in the adjacent examination room. Nike took it all in stride as she gave birth to the two puppies.

Robert checked in on us right as the second puppy was born, said "it looks like everything is going well". Pam said, "Yeah, we'll see you later." Robert said, "Okay." We thanked him as we carried Nike and the two puppies out to the car.

They know us well, and nothing was said about the bill. He and his Wife run the business together, and they weren't worried about it enough to even mention it. We'll settle up later.

As I passed where the young Highway Patrolman had been sitting earlier, I had planned on stopping and giving him a quick synopsis about how things went, but he wasn't there. Nike delivered the third puppy soon after we got back home.
 
#16 ·
What a night is right! I'm so glad everyone is fine... especially Nike! She is such a special girl! It would be nice to have more puppies, but better three healthy ones from each than more with a tragedy thrown in. Panda's litter included a very large puppy who got stuck (not the first one born... Panda was first, followed by another healthy pup before the third got stuck. He wasn't as lucky. Another failed to thrive and was put to sleep 2 days later. It was a huge litter (11 puppies!) but still, I know it was very hard on Elizabeth to lose two of them, even with 9 left.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Same happened with my girly's litter. She was 2nd born... I was getting updated emails from my breeder as each were being born with pictures... we got to 5 pups announced and then heartbreak as we were told about the emergency trip to the vet. I got news in the morning that the 6th was a very large male who got stuck- and there was a smaller 7th pup who was stuck behind him :crying: Sadly neither the 6th or 7th pup made it. The Dame healed well and did a great job with her litter of 5 that remained and is now retired. It was bitter sweet.
My daughter would have been devastated if I would have told her of the loss, so I did not. I know my breeder took it hard as well.
I feel so very lucky and blessed to have a pup from her last litter. She is a beautiful Hav and the pups out of her are just amazing! Fabulous temperaments
and great conformation.

Things don't always go according to plan, but it's great when there is a happy ending. Breeding is not for the inexperienced that is for sure.

eta: cannot wait to see pics Tom.
 
#20 ·
Well, at least you'll have an easy puppy season. Having seen you with 12, I'm betting you can potty train 6 with both eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back! ;)
 
#22 ·
I'm SURE that's true! I try to make it clear to people that a BIG part of what you are getting by choosing an excellent breeder is that breeder's know-how and support. IMO! It's better to wait longer for the right puppy from the right BREEDER than to "settle" for a breeder you don't feel so comfortable with.
 
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#27 ·
Pam finally got some pictures up. If you want to see the puppy pictures, go to our website, hit the New Puppies link, and there are links to the two pages on that page.

Sorry, but none are available.

We'll get better pictures up when their eyes are open.
Adorable as usual!!!
 
#25 ·
Tom,

They are absolutely precious! They look so healthy and strong. I love the surprise of the golden snuggled in between the other two. And the black puppy with the white chest looks just like mama Nike. Even the same pose! :)
The reds are such a pretty deep red.
We look forward to following their growth and adventures. Enjoy!
 
#26 · (Edited)
Thanks.

They Are strong! I got to find out first hand how strong Nike's are night before last. We were watching the Finals of the Voice, and I went back to check on Nike about 10 minutes before the end of the show. She was just starting mastitis in one of her back ones. I pulled a puppy off of another spot, but there was no milk flowing on the problem teat, so he didn't latch on.

I went and alerted Pam to come help. She got the milk flowing, and I moved one of the boys. He did NOT want to be pulled away from nursing, and it was unbelievable how strong such a little animal is. It took some good amount of effort for me to direct him to the problem teat, but when he tasted the milk that Pam had brought to the surface, he latched on, and didn't move until it was drained.

Nike didn't have any more trouble after that, and we made it back to the show to see them announce the winner. She produces so much milk that the three puppies were probably too full to drain everything the last feeding. It only takes one missed nursing session for one teat to clog up sometimes. Every time this happens, I get a mad feeling thinking about all the puppy mill bitches who have to suffer the consequences of having little help from people not watching them.

I'm sleeping in the room with Tibi, and her puppies. Occasionally one will whimper if it's on the wrong side of Tibi when she's ready to start nursing. Last night I woke up to move such a complainer, only to see him climb all the way over her to get to the nursing side, so hers are plenty strong too.
 
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