Changing by the hour

The pups will be a week old tomorrow night. They are in a constant state of growth and change. The noses are black now. When born only one had a little mustache. The points are starting to show more and their bellies are always full. They complain bitterly when they find themselves at the wrong end of the box. Kate ignores them when they scream, but it drives Nugget into a panic if it last more than a yelp or two.

Kate is eating about three to four times her normal amount. I basically feed her whenever she comes out. The boys can't figure out why she gets fed so much and they get only twice a day. However, after a week of it they have pretty much given up on me.

I am tired, but it is only because I spend a lot of time at night just staring at the pups and Kate, instead of sleeping.

I took a couple of pictures today of Saba and found his marking interesting. It is as if when they painted him it ran down on side. There are a couple of collars that are not uniform in size from side to side. However, I can certainly think of a lot more things to worry about.

Lunch at the milk barn

Four different people have now asked me if I had considered Kate's problem pre-delivery to be placental detachment of the still born pup. The more I think about it, the more I wonder. That could account for the vet not finding any specific issue in her neck. We all assumed neck because she held it to one side and could barely walk. Perhaps her head was cocked to her belly, and that was the side where that pup was. It could also account for her not being able to lay flat, and not wanting to be touched at all. It is an interesting thought, and I will likely check out her neck at some point. But the idea sure makes me go hmmmmmmmmm...darn stoic dogs make it really hard to figure out where they hurt!! I sure hope playing ball in the field didn't contribute. I will never know for sure, but do know that the placenta on the pup was smaller and the cord was deteriorating. There was a LOT of fluid that came out with him. Rigor set in very quickly. All signs that it was not a real recent event that took him.

However, I hear of all these monster sized litters and look at my handful of pups and feel pretty darn happy. I am sad about the one that didn't survive, for sure, but I am very happy with my easily handled (actually Kate only handled) first litter. It is as it is supposed to be.