day 2: introducing FRANKLIN

in the beginning the puppies get weighed once a day to make sure that they are doing well and getting enough milk. everybody but one little girl has gained weight – with the boys each gaining a full ounce. i think the boys are making it hard for the girls to get their share. the one little girl is now getting some alone time with mom and me on my bed so she can’t be pushed off the nipple. i think she will be fine with the added nourishment.

i have pretty much decided on the ‘theme’ for this litter. see how soon you can guess what it is. this is FRANKLIN getting weighed.

answer to yesterday’s question: frankin is on the left with his butt sticking the farthest out. the other two boys are on the far right.

day 1: pile of puppies

the thing on the top of the picture with numbers on it is actually a ruler so you can get an idea of just how tiny these little babies are. see if you can pick out who is a boy and who is a girl (hint: the boys weighed 2 oz. more than the girls at birth).

PRESENTING THE PUPPIES !

no real drop in temperature, no real frenetic nesting – thought i was in for another sleepness night with one pacing in the puppy pen. just as i was ready to try to go to sleep, there was this little puppy cry coming from the puppy pen! here are the details.

#1 at 12:10 am – sable/white girl 7.6 oz.

#2 at 01:01 am – sable/white girl 7.8 oz.

#3 at 01:21  am – sable/white boy 9.0 oz.

#4 at 01:58  am – sable/white boy 9.6 oz.

#5 at 02:10 am – sable/white girl 7.6 oz.

#6 at 02:40 am – sable/white girl 7.6 oz.

AND SURPRISE !!!

#7 at 03:01  am – tricolor (??? the black may turn sable/white, will know better in a couple of days) boy 9.8 oz.

after the first little girl was born, my friend elaine braved a treacherous thunderstorm and came over once again to ‘assist’ in the delivery.  while i take care of the newborns, she sees to the mom and makes sure that mom is okay. thank goodness for good friends. this is elaine giving ‘one’ one of her babies back before the next baby is delivered.

and now to sleep for me!

just because

typical tibetan terrier, i post ‘no nesting’ and 1/2 hour later she starts building her nest! this can sometimes go on for over a day, so still don’t think the puppies are imminent, but it is starting. am still waiting for that temperature drop.

and . . .

one had a pretty good night, only waking me up at 4:00  a.m. and 6:30 a.m. with her pacing. just took her temp and it is 99.0 – so we may be on our way to hitting that 97 degree mark! still no ‘nesting’ so birthing is not imminent. just to give you an idea, her ‘waist’ now measures 25-1/2″. darla, who is about the same build as one, is a svelte 18″ at her waist.

. . .and waiting

one had a very restless night, but temperature remained up at 99.9 this a.m. she has been resting and dealing with the heat pretty much all day . . .

still waiting . . .

took one’s temperature at 11:00 and it was 99.7 – so not yet. we ‘spooned’ a little bit and i rubbed her tummy. i could feel the babies kicking – a lot. poor thing in this heat, although the bedroom is tolerable – unless, of course, you are a pregnant dog with at least six puppies ready to make their appearance.

not yet . . .

no babies yet. it’s like the calm before the storm . . .

one of the best indicators for when a dog is going to deliver is a sudden temperature drop. they run a normal of 100-101 degrees. 12 to 24 hours before the actual delivery the temperature will drop to close to 97.

one’s temperature this morning at 10:30 was 100.5. good news is i will probably be able to sleep through the night and hopefully she will choose tomorrow during the day to deliver. poor little girl, she is so very uncomfortable, lots of pacing and panting and then just lying down – but no ‘nesting’. she is so very wide – i wouldn’t be surprised if, in spite of the x-ray, she has more than 6!

pre-delivery x-ray

if you click on the picture you can enlarge it and see the details a little better. count the heads/spines to see how many puppies you can find. we counted 6!

won’t be long now . . . .