Spring has arrived and so have the puppies!!

March 20, 2011

Time is going by so quickly as we prepare for the puppies.
Jenga is eating well and very happy during this latter stage. Her only complaint seems to be that she can no longer jump onto our bed. Instead she asks to be lifted for her bedtime snuggles. For a girl who loves her evening walks, she finds it tiring to walk to the end of the driveway and back. Probably a good thing since we are still getting mountains of snow deliveries from above. Instead, Jenga comes every evening for some special time in my lap, lying on her back and getting a belly rub. It feels so good she often naps for an hour or two.  Ahhh, the life of a dog.....

What a BIG belly!

During this time, I feel for puppy movement but rarely is there any in the early evening. Instead babies seem to be active about 2am and early morning. I'm afraid we're expecting a midnight delivery - again!!  We can hear heartbeats these days though which is really exciting for everyone.
The whelping room and baby area is already setup and Jenga has been enjoying some quiet time in there as she takes a little longer to eat her meals. A special treat like a tendon twist, elk antler or piggie ear is often waiting for her too. Yes, life is good.
 X-rays later this week will give us a good idea of expected number of puppies with anticipated due date mid-next week. Will Jenga make it to April 1st for a 'Fools Day' theme? Hard to say.......   :-)
We've had several visitors these last few weeks to meet and play with our Havanese family. The forever homes have been chosen for some of the puppies already. No more visitors until puppies are a month old. It's going to be hard but we'll post lots of pictures and videos.
Now everyone is waiting for a safe delivery of our precious bundles.

 March 24, 2011

Off the vet first thing this morning for a puppy count. The x-rays confirm 5 puppies with the vet's guessing delivery date March 28th. My estimated delivery date is Tuesday, March 29th -)  Regardless, we are anticipating a safe delivery early to mid-week. 

March 30th, 2011 

I knew early morning that it was 'The Day'! Jenga was restless through the night so that morning I decided to go to work for a couple of hours to tidy up some items that had to be done and then go home to prepare to puppies. 

Waiting........

Most of the afternoon I spent rubbing Jenga's belly until mild contractions started after 3pm. Her water broke at 5:15 and an hour later the first baby was seen....feet first! Darn!! It was a struggle but we managed to safely deliver her first born at 6:29 pm - a son, black and tan with white toes.

Our friend and mid-woof nurse, Chris, arrived and baby two quickly appeared. A lovely golden littler girl born at 6:39 pm.

The first two - black & tan boy and golden girl

We fed vanilla ice cream, ice chips and Jenga cared for her babies while we waited for 3 more puppies. Finally at 7:35 we safely delivered another black and tan little girl with white feet. She also came breeched but with little intervention.

Time passes quite quickly as we care for puppies and momma so it didn't seem long before the next 'feet first' puppy showed itself. At 8:55pm another black and tan little girl was born, breeched again. Jenga is true to form - our breech queen.

Jenga obviously was in very good shape as she wasn't stressed or exhausted after the fourth puppy was born, however we did need to remind her that we knew there was still one left. It would be very considerate of her to deliver that baby before midnight, please.......

Chris wanted to take wagers on the sex of the finally baby....she thought girl. I thought the odds were for a boy but I was sure it was a different color. At 10:20, and after the most difficult delivery of all, we safely delivered our finally puppy. A red gold boy (who we originally thought was a girl...) with a small white marking on his forehead. Five lovely and very strong babies. Well done Jenga!!!

Three black with tan (two with white front feet) and two red gold. Four breech and two difficult deliveries. Again my thanks goes to Chris for mid-woofery. We lift Mom and babies for the night who were happy and enjoying a well deserved quiet time ♥ 

A very proud momma - taken shortly after last puppy was born

Under the heat lamp - the three biggest pups taken before I went to bed

First thing the following morning (March 31st) and after I was up a few times through the night to check on babies and momma, we weighed them for the first time.

I should mention that these babies are already very strong. Standing on their back feet and pushing to nurse.
This litter doesn't yet have a 'theme' as a very special person has been given the honor of naming each pup. This young person will return to Canada after the 4th of April and the theme and names will be announced after that. So until then I will introduce you to:

Puppy #1 - Male - Black & tan with white toes and chest marking

Big boy at 272 grams

Puppy #2 - Girl - golden

193 grams

Puppy #3 - Girl - Black & Tan with white feet

253 grams - vocal and wants out of here!

Puppy #4 - Girl - Black and tan (no white feet)

223 grams

Puppy #5 - Boy- Red Gold

272 grams

From left to right in order of birth