We’re excited to be back this week with a very special surprise!
Addie had her puppies!
On April 1, we were blessed with 11 happy and healthy puppies and oddly enough, it was an identical litter as last time.
We had 6 girls – 4 black and 2 brown ones & 5 boys – 3 black and 2 brown.
Such a strange coincidence.
Addie went into labor around 8:00 p.m. on March 31. This was similar to what had happened last time, so I expected her puppies to arrive sometime in the morning.
She was visibly uncomfortable…moving around a lot and panting. I didn’t want her to feel alone, so I slept on the floor with her, in her box. We built a whelping box to give her a place to have her puppies safely and comfortably, and somewhere they couldn’t climb out of.
The morning came and the puppies were still not here. I had called the vet, who thought it was possible that one was mispositioned and that’s why she hadn’t started pushing.
She advised us to walk her around and try to get things moving a bit before she needed to show up and help with the delivery.
I tried to get Addie up and out of the box to take her on a quick walk around the house, but she wouldn’t move.
She began showing her teeth at me, saying “I cannot leave this box”.
She knew her puppies were coming and soon.
I put a leash on her and was able to take her out for a few minutes. As soon as she was done walking, she ran right back in…she knew where she needed to be.
We saw signs that the puppies were closer, as she began nesting in her box and you could visibly see her contractions.
She began to push…
And after about 7 hours of puppy delivery, they had all arrived!
This time around, Addie is somehow an even better mom than she was before.
The first time she had puppies, she was unsure of what to do right away.
We helped deliver them, cleaned them and made sure they were getting plenty of milk as they first entered the world.
But not this time…
It was a long labor, but it didn’t stop Addie from taking care of her new babies. She would clean them, stimulate them and even nurse them between the delivery of each. Although it’s only been a week, you can tell how much she really loves them.
She has been with them constantly…
If she isn’t in her whelping box feeding them, she lays in a bed right beside it and watches them until she falls asleep. Every two hours or so, she climbs back into the box to feed all of them. It’s truly incredible.
Everyday I watch her, and realize how selfless she really is.
There’s been a lot going on, but we will continue sharing the journey were on the next two months while the puppies are here.
The progress they make from week to week is amazing. Soon, their eyes will be open and they’ll be walking around. Their autonomy will grow and Addie’s responsibilities will lessen.
Today’s Lesson: instinct is a crazy thing. Addie knew where she needed to be and why she needed to be there without me telling her. We’d walk into her whelping box everyday so she knew it was a comfortable space, but it was her who knew she had to be there for her puppies. No walk, treat or tennis ball was going to get in the way of her motherly instinct.
#blog-48
Great job Addie!