Photos taken May 7, 2006
Today is the big day. Pups are born starting at 2:39PM Pacific Time and ending at 9:37PM. By the time I got to bed, I'd been up for 40 hours in a row! I didn't even do that in college!!! Ultimate thanks go to my friend, Ginger Corley of Rainmountain Chinooks, who was with me every step of the way, including being up for far too many hours in a row. Ginger also lent me one of her whelping boxes as her theory is, until you've whelped a few litters you really don't know what you want in a whelping box. Makes sense, and I've already got ideas on how I'd like one to work for me -- including making it longer in at least one direction! Ginger is a much smaller woman than I am. She can fit in the box, I cannot!
Morrigan was incredible during the whelping. She just laid there, popping puppies out without any difficulty at all. I did utilize the Whelpwise service, which I recommend. Those women are amazing in their knowledge as well as how much they care about animal husbandry (and the animals themselves!)
The waiting game begins. Morrigan started acting like she was going to pop some pups about 11:00 Saturday night. Ginger came over about 2:30 AM and we waited for another 12 hours before anything happened. Morrigan is looking pretty pleased with herself for making us humans cater to her! |
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This is probably Junior only a few minutes old. |
Morrigan nursing Junior, Piggy, and Spot. You can see Junior's purple rick-rack. |
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Close up of newborns nursing |
This is Yellow girl only a few minutes old. |
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Morrigan nursing pups about mid-way through the delivery. |
5 pups down, the last two, Teal girl and Blue boy, came after a long break of 3+ hours. |
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Morrigan with Spot in front, the rest of the pups are curled under the heat lamp. |
Done and very satisfied with her 7 pups all in a row, Morrigan and I can finally rest for the night. It was a long 40 hours to be awake but the exhaustion is worth it! |
