Rona's puppies to Z

Page 1: Pregnancy and birth

 
Rona (Goldmali Fabulous)
Hip score 6/4 = 10, eyes last tested clear 16/3 2013, winner of 7 Best of Breeds, 1 CC and 2 Reserve CCs, holder of KC Good Citizen Gold test award

was mated on the 13th of December 2013 to

Z (Goldmali Bohemian Rhapsody)
Hip score 2/6 = 8, eyes last tested clear 16/3 2013, winner of 1 CC, holder of KC Good Citizen Gold test award


Rona at 5 weeks pregnant, just about starting to show

6 weeks pregnant

6 weeks and 4 days pregnant. (Stomach shaved after the scan she had at 4 ½ weeks)

7 weeks pregnant and getting big!

8 weeks pregnant

8 weeks (56 days) pregnant. We honestly thought she'd end up having 10 to 12 puppies, she was that huge!

We thought the puppies would be born early as Rona looked ready to burst, but she took her time. On the 12th of February 2014 (day 61) she decided to check the whelping box out.

In the evening of the 12th she started nesting a lot and licking herself. So we stayed up all night watching her.

The first pup did not arrive until 12.10 pm on Thursday the 13th of February. A dog.
(And by the way, no I do not read The Sun! We have been given newspapers from various kind people. The only papers we read are the dog ones!)

The first pup. He later got the GREEN collar.

I normally put the already born pups into a box in a corner of the whelping box when the next pup is about to arrive, to stop the mum from stepping on them by accident. However, that did not work with Rona! She promptly took the pup out again!

At 12.30 pm the second pup arrived, a bitch. She later got the PINK collar.

Second pup

Second pup

The bitch pup
Looks so uncomfortable with no bedding, but it's difficult to use bedding when pups are actually being born -you need newspaper to soak all liquids up. I kept putting more papers in but they quickly got wet and also moved.

With the first two puppies.

Suckling. Dog to the left, bitch to the right.

At 2 pm the third pup arrived, a bitch. (Far left.) She later got the PURPLE collar.

At 2.10 pm already the fourth puppy arrived, a dog. (At front) He later got the BLUE collar.

At 3.20 the fifth pup arrived, a bitch. (Not sure who she is in photo.) She later got the RED collar.


4 pm and the sixth pup arrived, another bitch. She later got the YELLOW collar. She is at the front here.

6 pups

6 pups all trying to suckle

Proud mum with 6 puppies


Finally at 5 pm the seventh pup arrived, a dog. He later got the ORANGE collar.

7 puppies

After the seventh pup Rona relaxed. And that was it. We had expected such a big litter but there were "only" 7 -which of course for Rona's sake is much better than a larger number -better for the pups themselves too. I had to disappoint 4 potential buyers, and all the 7 pups had homes from the moment they were born. (One of course will be staying here!)

All done and finally clean soft bedding for the new family




This dark blue vetbed made most photos look odd in colour -the pups here look darker than for real, ad the vetbed looks grey when it is blue





The 7 pups a few hours old


And now all the fun and hard work starts!

NEXT: 0-7 days