Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Hamburger moves in


Raina is very unhappy. She is sleeping in a crate like the other dogs rather than in my bed. All of her puppies have gone to their permanent homes and it is time to make room for a new mother.

I have never seen a face like Hamburger's before. She actually sticks her lower lip out when she is not getting her way. Normally she has what my son has described as a "swimmer's body". Hammy is very muscular without any fat on her body. She is an athlete. The dog runs and can jump incredibly high. Her hindquarters are so slim that it almost looks like we never feed her. Everything that dog eats goes into muscle. Since she spent time with Ozzie while she was in heat, Hamburger's belly has been getting bigger. I can't quite feel the puppies yet, but I am very sure that Hammy is about to become a mother.

Based on her private time with Ozzie, the first due date is June 5. Around June 2 I want to get an x-ray so that we know how many puppies we are expecting and if Hammy will need a C-section. Hamburger is a Boston Terrier and the breed is prone to needing help with delivery. Our other Boston was not able to deliver her puppies. We lost both pups and decided to have Penny spayed. We were just happy we did not loose our Penny. Now Penny happily spends her days playing with our Shih Tzus. The problems with Penny convinced us to breed Hamburger with a Shih Tzu instead of a Boston. We are hoping the heads will be smaller than pure-bred Bostons and that Hamburger's pelvis is large enough to birth the pups. If the x-ray shows that she may have trouble, we will schedule a C-section and probably have Hammy spayed so that she does not breed again. I would not put her through surgery again for another litter. No matter what, our main concern is Hamburger's health and happiness. You just can't resist that face.

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