Puppy Update

Raina and the puppies are doing great. She is a very devoted mother. I have been able to take her outside off-leash and she always heads back for the pups.

I was worried that Raina was not eating. That's where my books save me. The mother could be tired enough to not be interested in food for a day or two. I tried offering her canned puppy food and she is very happy eating that. I am also giving her some puppy formula to supplement her calcium intake. I guess I am doing it right. I weighed the puppies this morning and all of them have gained at least 9/10 of an ounce. I am using my postage scale to weigh them. It works.

On Monday I am taking the pups to the vet to have their tails docked and dewclaws removed. I almost hate to do it to them, but Yorkies are supposed to have shortened tails and no dewclaws. Three of them have rear dewclaws. Two have 2 hind dewclaws and one has only one.

One of the girls is spoken for already. We don't know which one yet because the request is for the smallest of the female puppies. I believe another is also taken. I will be picky about who gets my baby's babies!

Penny is due in 8 days. I have my bag of supplies ready for her delivery. We are keeping her inside and taking her out when she has the need to go. I'm excited we are going to have another litter. At least Boston Terriers are born with short tails so we don't have to go thru that again until C.C. has her puppies.

Raina is a mother!

It’s 11:20 a.m., The View is on and we are waiting on Raina’s sixth puppy to be delivered. Six puppies!! I am so amazed that her first litter is so large. Her belly looks like a deflated balloon. The puppies are beautiful and perfect. We have 3 girls and 2 boys so far. I color-coded the pups with neckbands. Sean could not understand why I wanted to band them immediately. The second time I said “Because I need to” with my teeth clenched, he backed off. I don’t think he understands it yet, but I don’t care. I know why I did it.

It’s now 1:06 p.m. and number six has not yet appeared. There definitely is a sixth puppy. About 20 minutes ago I called the vet to see if I should be concerned. He says that Raina may just be taking a rest. She may rest for a few hours. We are supposed to give the vet a report on her condition at 5:00 p.m. They may want her to come in for a shot of oxytocin to restart her labor. Hopefully it will restart on its own. When she is in active labor, she digs in the bed and bites the side of it. I think that pink bed is going to become Raina’s birthing bed. Once everything is over, I’m going to wash the bed and all of the towels I’ve used this morning. We still have 2 more litters to deliver.

I’m so proud of Raina. She is being a very good mother. When we take her out of the playpen, she gets frantic if she can’t see her pups. She is cleaning them and nursing them. I know it is instinctive behavior with dogs, but not all dogs are meant to be mothers. Kippy proved that.

Now its 6:04 p.m.; around 4:30, the vet’s office called to check on Raina and recommended she be brought in for an injection of oxytocin. Dr. Morgan examined her and said he felt that there were no more puppies to be born. Raina may have retained a placenta. She showed some signs of increased labor, but it has calmed down and she is busy caring for her 5 babies.

For myself, I am pooped. It has been a very long day. I think it was the adrenalin rush that has me worn out. Shannon had been in the middle of baking dog treats for the dog park fund-raiser and had to stop to transport Raina, the puppies and me to the vet. He did say her puppies looked very good and Raina seemed to be taking good care of them.

Well, Raina finished up with 5 puppies. I took her out for a short walk. After she finished the business part of the walk, she kept looking up at me as if to say “I’m done, can we go back now?” When I turned around, she almost pulled me all the way back. She just wanted to get back to her puppies. This really was a good day.

Waiting on puppies and a new ferret

Yesterday was Raina’s first official due date. I admit to being nervous. On Friday my daughter-in-law had trouble finding Raina and nearly freaked out. It turned out she was in a very small corner of the room sleeping. We thought maybe it was the big day. Poor dog, we have been taking her temperature twice a day. We need to get an idea of her normal temp so that we can tell when it drops a couple of degrees. I hope the puppies come soon, I think she is miserable. I remember my due date passing by and still being pregnant. At least I really understood what was going on.

Even though it was Raina’s due date, Shannon and I spent most of the day on ferret matters. Miss Bourbon, Shannon’s ferret, has being acting very bored lately. She even figured out how to open her cage. I had found an article about 2 ferret rescue groups. I had no idea they existed. We visited one of them to introduce Miss Bourbon to some other ferrets in hopes she would choose one as a friend. Hooray! She liked one young male named Reuben. We promptly changed his name to Goose and brought him home. When the ferrets started bothering Sean and his friends, Shannon and I made a fast trip to Home Depot to make a ferret-proof gate for the living room. Luckily Sean took pity on me after I had whacked my thumb for the second time and finished nailing up the quarter-round strips that hold the gate in place. The next time I saw the ferrets, they were romping around the living room.

We are positive Penny is pregnant. She should be due in about 2 weeks. We think she will have a small litter this time since she only mated twice. C.C. may have a small litter too having only mated once. I let Raina and Ray mate 6 times and I am beginning to think that is why she is so huge. I am so excited about Penny. She is a brindle color and the male was also brindle. It will be interesting to she how many of her puppies will be brindle. We have been keeping her inside during the day lately. If a dog fight breaks out Miss Penny in always in the middle of it. She usually has scabs on her face and ears.

We had a small dog visit us for one night. I was returning from the convenience store and saw a couple of neighbors out walking and being followed by a small dog. I stopped to say hello and they asked if the dog was mine. He was adorable! A purebred Shiztzu or Shiztzu-mix with only one eye and he was very well groomed. Sean and I ended up driving around showing that face to everyone we could find. Finally we gave in to defeat and brought him home. I made up signs with his picture and put them out Sunday morning. Another sign showed up shortly thereafter, “missing: dog with one eye”. It turned out the dog is the pet of one of our neighbor’s grandchildren. I’m glad we didn’t just turn him over to Animal Control. Just what I like a happy ending.

Pregancy update

Raina is getting bigger every day. Next Saturday is her first due date. Since the mating took place over several days her due date could be 63 days from any of those days. She is getting bigger and sleeps a lot. I try to feed her several times a day remembering how I would get indigestion while pregnant. She loves having her tummy rubbed. I guess it feels good to her. I can feel the pups moving and can even see them moving now. I’m guessing the litter will be 3 or 4 pups. I have my delivery supplies together including the map to the emergency clinic in Marietta in case of problems.


Penny is coming along with her pregnancy. She is getting wider where Raina’s belly is becoming more low-slung. My daughter-in-law called me a little while ago to tell me that she could feel Penny’s puppies. I ran upstairs as quickly as I could and sure enough I felt them squirming around! I thought I was excited already.


We are pretty sure that C.C. also pregnant. I have been measuring the dogs’ girth every week and there has been a steady increase for all of them.


Over the weekend my son and daughter-in-law bought a used treadmill to exercise the dogs. Penny, Hamburger and C.C. have taken to it very easily. Winston is not sure about it yet. The one we really want to use it, Jack is terrified by it. I have faith my daughter-in-law will get Jack on that treadmill.

Good luck to Ray!

Our Ray has a new home! The family has 2 pugs already and brought them along to meet Ray. He will have his own person now, a lovely teenager who cuddled up to him. I miss my Ray, but he will be very happy in his new home.

Moody Raina

I guess pregnant dogs suffer hormonal changes just like humans. Yesterday Raina picked a fight with Kippy who is bigger than her. Of course when two dogs start fighting, they all get into the act. I found out about it when my daughter-in-law brought Raina downstairs to me.


I have been measuring Raina’s belly to check her progress. The first measurement of 14 inches was taken on June 26. On July 2 it was 14 ¾ inches. Today the measurement is 15 1/8 inches. I dug up an old stethoscope last night and was able to hear tiny, rapid heartbeats. I must sound like a nut. Who worries this much about their dog? Me, that’s who.


I took measurements on Penny and C.C. yesterday. They are both showing bulges in their bellies, so it looks like we will be having 3 litters.


We have had their whelping areas set up for a while now. My daughter-in-law is very excited too and bought the playpen for Penny months ago. The dogs are all sleeping in their individual whelping areas so that they will be acclimated. Shannon got some advice from a co-worker about the set up. To keep Penny and C.C. from seeing each other, a long dresser is sitting in the center of the room. In the wild, only the alpha female of the pack is permitted to reproduce. Domesticated dogs still carry some of that instinct and will fight if they are exposed to another female with puppies.


I need to get my whelping supplies together. I’ve read two books on the subject. One recommends cotton thread to tie umbilical cords. The other says to use dental floss and never use cotton thread since it will absorb moisture. I think I will use dental floss, but need to buy some since all I have is peppermint flavored. Raina’s first due date is July 21. That is 63 days from her first mating with Ray.


Speaking of Ray, we are looking for a good home for him. We had not planned to keep a stud dog. Buying Ray was the quick answer when the stud I had arranged was not available at the time. I personally prefer female dogs. Having an un-neutered male around is causing some friction with the other dogs. He needs to be in a home with not more than one other dog. He is very cuddly and loves to sit in my lap. When he is outside and hears my voice in the kitchen, he goes nuts scratching on the door. I think he will transfer his affection to another owner easily. I will miss him at first, but I think he will be happier in the long run.