Busy Builds a Den: It is July 1st and Busy is very restless. She is due to have her puppies on the 4th of July. Gestation is 63 days. I have set up my whelping box and all of the items that I will need for the delivery. Towels, blankets, scissors, paper towels, iodine, weighing scale, string, etc. I have placed an additional electric heater in the room. The room must stay at 98 degrees for the 1st week of the puppies life. I also prepare my warming box. Taking a cardboard box, I put an electric heating pad in the bottom. I place a towel on top of the heating pad for easy cleaning. I use this box to keep the puppies warm while the mother is delivering the next puppy. The mothers do a lot of standing up, lying down, and bending while they are delivering a puppy. I keep the puppies in the warming box so they stay warm and won't get stepped on. I'm all ready for the big day.
A dogs temperature will drops below 98.5 degrees and then starts to climb back up. She will start labor within 24 hours of her temperature rising. I'm taking her temperature every 2 hours. The are normally signs that your dogs is getting ready to whelp. It is common for the female to stop eating 3-4 days before the birth. When they start labor you may see uncommon panting, shaking (quivering), restlessness, taking deep breaths occasionally, collecting toys and putting them in their bed, and a lot of nesting, such as fluffing their bedding or digging holes in your yard.
Busy has stopped eating, but other than her being restless, she is not showing any other signs that she is going to start labor soon. I watched her closely all morning and everything was quite normal. I had her out in the house yard, and when I checked on her she was laying in the sun sleeping. I was sitting at my desk, paying my bills, and I heard a puppy crying. It was yelling. Running to the door, I found Busy with a puppy in her mouth. I gently took it away from her and put her in a crate. The puppy was caked with mud. She must have dug a hole and delivered this puppy in the hole (den).
Quickly I got Scott to come and help. When Scott got there I asked him to go look for a hole in the dog yard and then see if there were any puppies in the hole. I gave the muddy puppy a quick bath then dried him off. I placed him in the warming box and went out to see if Scott had found any other puppies in the yard. I found Scott in a hole, in the yard, up to his waist. I could hear a puppy crying. Scott passed me the puppy, which I took and put in the warming box with the other puppy. Then I went back out to help Scott get out of the hole. There was only one puppy in the hole. When I got back inside, Busy had had another puppy, so we were up to 3.
I breed Golden Retriever and Labrador Retriever in Redmond, WA. I have been Breeding, Training, and Showing in AKC, CKC, UKC Obedience & Agility trials for over 35 years. I love raising puppies and teaching people how to live with dogs. I have bred some of the top Obedience dogs in the US & Canada including the #1 All Breed Dog in Canada for 2008, GMOTCH, Am, OTCH SPIRIT'S ZIM ZAM ZOOM UDX3. My dogs are very athletic, love to swim, hike and are very intelligent. They make wonderful family members and are great with children. If you are look for a new family member, you won't go wrong with one of my dogs. All of my breeding stock have OFA clearance on Hips & Elbows, CERF yearly on eyes, have been tested for PRA and have Heart clearances. I hope you enjoy my Videos and Channel. You can find out more about me on my Web site at www.caninecollege.biz or you can email at spiritpuppy@msn.com or lweaverk9@msn.com Laurie Weaver
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Busy & Zoom 2009 - 3) 2 days Oldby ACaninecollege150 views
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