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.