Whelping and the First Few Days
I discussed in an earlier blog post what it is that makes us different and now I want to break down exactly what we do before, during and immediately after whelping. With our sweet Cupcake having just given birth, I thought this was the perfect time.
When our mamas are about a week out from their estimated due date we set up the whelping area in our bedroom. We start getting mama comfortable with the whelping pool. She may sleep in their or just sniff around it and lay next to it but it is important that she be introduced to it early so she is comfortable delivering in it. We use a combination of disposable pads and washable pads in the pool. We utilize the disposable pads during the actual birth and then change over to the washable pads for the next few weeks.
We begin checking mamas temperature several days before her estimated due date. She is given free reign in the house until we notice her temp drop. Once her temp drops she is kept mainly in our whelping area in our bedroom. We don’t want any puppies to be born under any furniture. She is still allowed out in the house and outside to potty but only when she can be closely supervised. She will sleep in the whelping area and relax in there the majority of the day. We strive to keep our bedroom cool and quiet so as not to cause any stress.
Once we observe that mama is in active labor (panting excessively and occasionally shivering) it is all hands on deck. Mama is never left alone while delivering her puppies, whether she is having her first or third litter. We prefer for mama to do all of the work as this is how God intended it but we will step in to break a sac, cut a cord or dry a puppy if needed. We view ourselves as being as supportive as possible without taking over. After all, mama needs to do as much as possible so she can bond with her puppies.
Once mama has safely delivered all of her puppies and we have made sure that all of the placentas have been expelled we make sure that all of the puppies get a good latch and nurse. Once again though, we view ourselves as merely supporting mama so we allow her to navigate as much as possible on her own. We have a puppy safe heating pad that is placed under the pads in the whelping pool to help puppies stay warm but it is small enough that mama can easily lay beside it as to not cause her discomfort.
We keep mama and babies under almost 24 hour supervision until the puppies are close to two weeks old. We want to be there to assist mama and babies when needed and to ensure that no one gets sat on or under a pad. It makes for an exhausting couple of weeks but it is so worth it. We do not handle the puppies, outside of moving them around to change pads and assist with nursing, until they are three days old. At that time we start our Avidog work, I will cover that in a later post.
