Gabby's third litter

Tom · Mar 17, 2013

Gabby (the dog) is due to deliver her third and final litter any day now, although the calculated date is Monday, 3/19. She gives us clues that she's ready, then it's like a false alarm. Chris was up all night with her last night, and it's my turn tonight. Hope I can stay awake.

Tom · Mar 17, 2013

Nothing happened yet.

... the calculated date is Monday, 3/19.

I was off by a day; The 19th is Tuesday :-[

SargeW · Mar 17, 2013

See, that's why she is not sure when she is due to deliver.....

Tom · Mar 18, 2013

After a couple of sleepless nights, the first pup was born around 4:00pm PDT today. We're waiting for the others. The breeder was close by (helping deliver puppies from another of her girl dogs), and stopped by to see if Chris needed help.

Tom · Mar 18, 2013

Three boys so far, with more to come.

Tom · Mar 18, 2013

Five boys in all. The breeder was hoping for one girl that she could keep for future breeding. Meanwhile, she already has folks waiting for these puppies.

Tom · Mar 18, 2013

Gabby fooled us and the breeder. She (the breeder) left, and number 6 just popped out - it's a girl.

Tom · Mar 20, 2013

All six pups were "large" at birth. Number 4 had a particularly difficult time, and had us all concerned. He's lost weight, whereas all the others are gaining weight. It appeared that he hadn't figured out how to open his mouth at feeding time and, if given help, he couldn't hang on, then would fall asleep. Chris bottle fed him this.morning, and this afternoon I took him to the vet. It seems that he has a crushed sternum, thanks to that tough birth. He also has some other unknown (undetectable) internal damage, resulting in rectal bleeding. He was dehydrated, and the vet treated that. He was also "cold", so we've taken additional steps to keep him warm.

Chris and I will be taking turns at bottle feeding tonight. The breeder and the vet will.make a tough call tomorrow.

Tom · Mar 20, 2013

As with the first two litters, our grandkids named the pups. Last time, they picked the names of characters from Toy Story 2. This time they picked Sesame Street.

They were present for the prior births, but have since moved to Ohio. Yesterday we Facetime'd with the grandkids, so they could associate their chosen names with the respective pups.

kaylin640 · Mar 21, 2013

so glad to hear they all arrived safely... My heart sank as i started to read your post. several years back my dog at the time a beagle was due to have her puppies. called the vet worried after she had a night of nesting delievery behavior and no puppies. The vet brushed me off told me to give it time. However i knew she just wasn't acting right.
The next day the vet finally agreed to see her and decided to induce her. Sent me home with instructions to give it the night let her relax in her own home. Still nothing that next morning i was at the vet with her when he pulled up in his car. She ended up needing emergancy C section
Lucky both her and the pups were okay however the vet appolgized to me. He informed me that she could not of delivered the puppies due to a complication of pregancy and we were lucky not to have lost her or the puppies.
hope to see some pics of the pups soon
enjoy they are cute when that little

Tom · Mar 21, 2013

Hi Amy and thanks for your story of the beagle. It's unfortunate our furry friends can't talk to us.

We had an interesting experience with one of Gabby's prior litters, when one of the puppies was born with swimmers disease (unable to use his rear legs). That story hsd a happy ending. See here.

kaylin640 · Mar 21, 2013

that was a great story thanks for sharing it with me. After misty had her C section we got her and the puppies all home and settled in. Two hours later her pain meds stopped helping and my poor mommy was yelping as she let her puppies nurse. Not ounce did she ever snap at them or try to move away from them. It was a rushed trip to an 24 hour Vet ER where i pleaded for them to help poor mommy feel better. might of cost alot but so worth it to give her instant relief and help. Its amazing what dogs will endure and still be full of life and love.

Frank Hurst · Mar 21, 2013

How is #4 puppy doing today?

Most people don't realize how important it is to keep newborn puppies warm. Newborn puppies can only raise their body temperatures around 12 degrees. Normal dogs temp. is 101.6. If your home temperature is set at 80 degrees their body temperature without their mothers help would be 92 degrees. Normal body function stops at 92 m-93 degrees.

Tom · Mar 21, 2013

Hi Frank,

In addition to the heating pad we had in the whelping box, the breeder gave us a heat lamp to suspend from above. She also gave us a small "bean bag" to heat in the microwave and use as a cushion when bottle feeding.

Nature never fails to amaze me. Today puppy #4 figured out how to feed off Mommy, although he still needs some help; He has a tough time opening his mouth (or doesn't remember to open it), and he also doesn't 'hang on' very long.

Chris is currently at the vet with the other 5 puppies for their first checkup. She met up with the breeder there, and they'll come home together. I have a feeling that, when she sees #4, she might decide not to keep him.

From what I've read, the "fix' for a crushed sternum is to insert a fiberglass support, but all the examples I saw were on adult dogs. Meanwhile, I don't know what the effect of pressure on his lungs and heart until he gets older. The other unknown is the cause of the rectal bleeding seen yesterday; He's apparently too small to see the intestine-related detail on X-ray.

kaylin640 · Mar 21, 2013

glad to hear that puppy is doing a little better keep us informed on his progress may it to have a happy ending

Conquest aka Robert · Mar 21, 2013

Where are the pics GrandPA?

Tom · Mar 21, 2013

Sorry, the pics were on Chris' phone. I just emailed some to myself. See attached. The first pic is Mommy. The third pic is Zoey, the only girl in the litter.

Conquest aka Robert · Mar 21, 2013

AHHHHH SO CUTE!!!!!

Tom · Mar 22, 2013

Little Oscar is on a bit of a rollercoaster. After we thought he'd figured out how to latch onto mommy for feeding, he seemed to forget. He wouldn't even open his mouth for bottle feeding. Chris eventually resorted to feeding him with a syringe every few hours throughout the night.

This morning, Oscar opened his mouth wide for the bottle, and didn't let go. When she thought he was done, Chris put him back with his mommy so she could stimulate him (to catalyze bodily functions). But Oscar headed straight for the chow line, fought with and pushed his much-larger siblings out of the way, and proceeded to feed off mommy for a while.

Marsha/CA · Mar 22, 2013

Tom, I'm thinking where Little Oscar might end up...but I'll keep my opinions to my self.

We are pet sitting a 5 year old chocolate Lab for the week, while his parents are in Hawaii. He, Cooper, and Charlie get along great!!! He was trained like Charlie so is a great dog to have around. We've taken them on two long hikes in the last 2 days and they stick together like glue. His "come" response wasn't as strong as Charlie's, so I took some great tasting treats with us today on the hike. Now he comes flying back when I whistle and call "come".

Enjoy those puppies!

Marsha~

Gabby's third litter

Administrator

Administrator

Site Team

Administrator

Administrator

Administrator

Administrator

Administrator

Administrator

Active member

Administrator

Active member

Well-known member

Administrator

Active member

Well-known member

Administrator

Attachments

Well-known member

Administrator

Moderator Emeritus

Forum statistics