Speaking of puppies, our new home is set up great for having puppies, and it’s dog friendly!  We have almost all tile, or wood laminate flooring, with the exception of a couple of rooms.  It’s wonderful, it makes cleaning up after them so much easier.  And speaking of cleaning… I recently purchased a “Steam Flour Mop” by Shark.  I absolutely love it!  If you have pets and non-carpeted floors in your home, you need to consider getting one of these.  Not only does it clean, but it sanitizes.  You fill it with water, plug it in and go.  It’s as simple as that.  This is a life saver for me with the puppies as I am constantly picking up little surprises they leave behind for me. 

Just a quick note for those that have wood or laminate floors… you do have to be careful how often you use the steam mop on them, you wouldn’t want to damage the floors by steaming them to much.  But with my tile floor, which is where my dogs spend most of their time, I can go crazy with the steam cleaning.  But the most important reason I like the steam mop; is that it doesn’t use any chemicals.  Cleaning supplies/chemicals can be very harmful to our pets.  And yes, your floor can get clean without using harsh chemicals.

OK, back to our dogs.  Most of our puppies have found new homes.  We still have a few of our Biewer Terrier pups available.  You can go see them on our Biewer Terrier puppy page.  But I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to all the families that chose our little ones to bring into their families. You’ll never know how much it comforts our hearts to know they will be loved and cared for by so many wonderful families.  A big “Thank You” to all of you!

© December 8, 2011 – PupJoy

Fancee with Puppies

Fancee had her puppies, 2 boys and 1 girl, on Friday September 2nd.  Thankfully, this delivery was like clockwork.  Boy number one arrived first, then our little girl, followed by boy number 2.  Fancee is such a good mom, she takes wonderful care of her little ones.  This photo was taken shortly after she had her puppies.  While puppies get their nourishment, mom gets some much needed rest.  Come to think of it, I think I did too. 

Camie with Puppies

Cami had her puppies on September 15th.  Cami had one boy and one girl, and I’m glad to say they are all doing well too.  I was a little worried about Cami since she is only 4 pounds, and this was her first litter.  But she did great.  And she took to being a mom right away.  It’s quiet something to watch the moms interact with their puppies when they are born.  At first I don’t think they understand what’s happening.  But as you watch, you can actually see their instincts kick in as they start grooming their little gifts of life.

It was rather comical when I brought Cami and her puppies into the room where Fancee was with her puppies.  Once Fancee heard the little noises coming from Cami’s puppies, she shot out of her whelping box and went right in by Cami.  She wanted to take care of Cami’s puppies too!  She could hardly stand it, not being able to take care of them.  But Cami wasn’t having any of it, they were her puppies and she let Fancee know it.  So side by side the girls are taking care of their puppies.  I think they like the companionship they have, both taking care of puppies at the same time.

Fancee’s puppies are already over two weeks old, boy the time goes fast.  Their eyes are open and they are moving around more every day.  It won’t be long and we’ll be transferring them over to the play-pen.  Cami’s litter won’t be far behind.

© PupJoy – September 21, 2011

P.J.'s Puppies

I know many of you have been waiting for a birth announcement… the wait is over.  Our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies are here!  And what a night it was.  This was my first time delivering puppies AT THE VETS OFFICE!!

First, let me say, that P.J. had her puppies August 31st.  3 girls and 2 boys, all are doing well.  Now let me back up to the night P.J. went into labor.  As any breeder can tell you, with the first signs of delivery, your heart flutters and your blood races through your veins until that first (and last) puppy is delivered and doing well.  This time was no different.

At 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 30th, P.J. was in her whelping box when she had the first signs of labor.  She had some discharge of water.  I’m thinking how great this is, in my mind I have this whole litter born by midnight.  This was not to be the case.  At midnight we still didn’t have any puppies… I called “paged” the “on call” vet.  I was told there was nothing to worry about yet, she was not in distress (which I knew) and I could wait it out for awhile.  If she didn’t have her puppies by morning to call back.  So P.J. and I crawled into my bed at 12:30.  I figured we may as well try to get comfortable while we were waiting.

To say we got any sleep would be an understatement.  P.J. couldn’t get comfortable, she was having contractions pretty regular.  So she was all over the place.  She would rest for awhile and then another contraction would come and she would go from one side of the bed to the other.  Then she’d settle down and another contraction would come.  This went on until about 3:30 a.m. – and then I knew things changed.  I felt the first pushing contraction.  I bounded out of bed and took her with me.  Back we went to the whelping box, where we waited for the approaching delivery of that first pup.

By this time I’m already exhausted from not getting any sleep, but your adrenaline kicks in and you get a second wind.  So now the minutes seem like hours as they slowly tick away.  I waited for about 45 minutes without any signs of a puppy.  Now I was starting to get worried.  I’ve had a first puppy take about an hour before to come, but this wasn’t her first delivery.  She’d had puppies before, I didn’t expect her to take this long.  But I had to remind myself that every delivery is different and I had to focus on how P.J. was doing now, not what she had done in the past.  At times like these you have to learn to follow your instincts.  So I did, something just didn’t feel right to me, so I picked up the phone to call the vet.  I went with the old saying; “it’s better to be safe, than sorry”.

Now remember, this is in the middle of the night, most vets don’t give you their personal home phone number.  So I was calling the vet on call, through a paging system.  My first call was approximately 4:10 a.m. and I waited for the call back.  No call after 10 minutes (which is what the instructions said; “if you don’t get a call back in 10 minutes, please call again”).  So I called again at approximately 4:20.  Again no call back!  At this point I’m starting too panic.  What am I going to do if I can’t get ahold of my vet?  Is the call not going through?  Is the vet on the other end just sleeping through the page?  WHAT IS HAPPENING???

One final call at about 4:30, still no answer!  I couldn’t believe it, of all the times not to be able to get ahold of the vet, this is not the time.  I pulled the phone book out and looked for a clinic that was about 30 plus minutes away from me that my sister had gone to one time when her dog had to have a C-section.  After the second ring there was a “human” on the other end.  I explained my situation and after talking it over we decided it would probably be a good decision to bring P.J. in where he could take a look at her.  She had been working at getting this puppy delivered for long enough and we wanted to make sure we didn’t lose it by waiting any longer.

Now I found myself running around trying to make sure I had everything I need to get P.J. to the vet and her puppies home.  So I grabbed a towel for P.J. to sit on, a couple of microwave heating socks and muffler for the puppies to keep warm, and a crate to put them all in.  And off I went, P.J. sitting next to me in the passenger seat.

Did I mention the vets office was 30 plus minutes away?  At about 20 minutes into the ride P.J. started making whining noises.  Then suddenly she jumped into my lap with a crying sound.  I quickly put my hand under her and felt a puppy coming.  Here I am going as fast as I dare to get her to the vet and she’s having this puppy here in the car!  I wasn’t sure if I should keep driving, or to pull over and try to deliver the pup.  Well the decision was made for me.  With one more push a puppy landed in my hand.  So I had to pull over to the side of the road, put mom and pup back on the towel in the seat next to me to make sure everything was O.K. and the puppy was breathing.  Once I knew mom and puppy #1 were doing O.K. I got back on the road and quickly finished my trip to the vet.

After explaining the situation to the vet, and after discussing all our options, we both felt it would be best if we continued to let P.J. try to deliver her puppies naturally.  I had two choices.  I could either take P.J. and her puppy home and finish the whelping process there (and hope she was able to deliver all the pups naturally).  Or I could stay at the office and deliver them there.  Well it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that I wasn’t about to go home (another 30 plus minute trip) with a dog in labor.  I didn’t want another puppy being born on the trip home.  So I choose to stay and allow P.J. to have her puppies there.  I felt better about it anyway knowing that if in the event something did go wrong, I was in the perfect place to get help.

I made the right decision, because it wasn’t 15-20 minutes later and we had puppy #2.  Puppies #3, 4 and 5 were all born over the next 2 hours.  Once we were sure she was done delivering puppies we all headed home.  Needless to say, the trip home for both P.J. and myself, was quiet and uneventful.

That was two weeks ago, and it seems like just yesterday.  I’m glad P.J. didn’t have to have a C-section.  It’s always best if they can have their puppies naturally.  But that first puppy was the largest in the litter.  He weighed 9.6 ounces, her largest puppy to date.  Which is most likely why it took her longer to deliver him.  But I’m happy to say that all puppies are doing great and they are now at the age where their eyes are starting to open.  So cute!

As to why I never got a call back from the vet that night… I guess I’ll never know.  I made a call into the office that morning to explain what had happened.  They said they would check into it.  I didn’t make a big deal about it, what was done was done.  I just wanted to make sure they knew so someone else wouldn’t have to go through the same thing I did.

All in all, I would have to say it was a great night.  Mom and pups are doing well, and that’s more than anyone can ask for.

© PupJoy – September 14, 2011

P.J. will have her litter first, she’s one of our Cavaliers, she’s due August 31st.  Our second litter will be from Fancee, one of our Biewer Terriers, she’s due September 3rd.  This is about the time I start getting anxious about the up-coming deliveries…but I’m also getting very excited at the thought of having puppies here again soon!

© PupJoy – August 19, 2011

I know for me, most of my time has been spent working outside and around the house trying to get things looking good again after a long, hard winter.  Just this past weekend we worked on the landscaping, $150 worth of new bark around the house and we’re not even done yet!  I keep telling myself that at some point we will be caught up and we’ll be able to just sit back and relax the rest of the summer, but I think I’m just kidding myself.  It seems like when you live on 10 acres of property, there is ALWAYS work to be done.

Of course while I’m busy working outside, wondering if I’ll ever get all the projects done, the doggies are having a great time.  They love the warmer weather and being able to run and play outside.  So I can’t help but ask myself, as I’m busy working my fingers to the bone while they’re playing and watching me work, if they have any idea of how good they have it!  Do they realize how spoiled there are?  Do they have any idea of how much my life revolves around them?  Do they think that my only responsibility in life is to take care of their every need? YES!!  And of course I do.  How can you look at those adorable little faces and not give them everything they could ever want?  And in return they give their total and unconditional love….what more could you ask for.

Well, for me, it’s another day at the grind stone as the normal daily chores are calling for my attention.  For the dogs, well let’s just say…it’s another day in paradise for them. 

© May 16, 2011 – PupJoy

"Brenden"

We have a new addition to our home…Our Biewer Terrier Stud, Brenden. Isn’t he beautiful!

Brenden has already been in the show ring with his previous owner and has won his IABCA (International All-Breed Canine Association of America) National Baby Championship title.   Brenden is an absolutely wonderful boy and we feel he will be a great addition to our breeding program.

"Alvis"

Here’s our little “Alvis”.  Look how sweet he looks sitting on the chair wondering what mommy is doing with that black thing in her hand (my camera).  I had just given Alvis a bath and had to take advantage of the opportunity to get a few nice photos of him.  But I had just put his little ponytail in his hair for the first time and he wasn’t sure he wanted to sit still long enough for me to take a pictures of him.  He wanted that thing out!  But he was a good boy and put up with it long enough for me to get a few nice pictures and then off he went.  As soon as his feet hit the ground he rubbed his head over the floor and tried to get it out.  It was quite funny to watch.  Once he figured out it wasn’t going anywhere, he gave up and went back to find his chewy and forgot all about it.

Alvis is available and looking for his forever home.  He has the sweetest personality and the best temperament.  He absolutely loves everyone!

You can learn more about our Biewer Terriers on our website, at PupJoy.com

Water Slide

I guess I should start off by letting you know that for Christmas this past year we gave each one of our kids and their families a night at a Hotel near us that has a water park in it.  We decided to give a gift that we as a whole family could enjoy together, creating family memories.

Kiddy Area

This was our weekend, we all packed our bags and headed out.  What a wonderful time we had.  The water park area had a huge slide, swimming area, kiddy area and a hot tub.  There was something for every one.  The kids played for hours!

We ordered pizza and had it delivered to a picnic area they had in the water park area.  This was great because we didn’t have to go back to our rooms with wet suits, or how we were going to get all of us in one room to eat.  It wasn’t long and the kids were asking to go back in the water.  But by 10:00 we were all bushed, so we called it a night.

Right about that time I started not feeling so well.  I was really hoping it wasn’t anything other than indigestion, but as luck would have it, I must have caught a flu bug.  Needless to say I was up all night.  Not exactly what you want to be doing on a weekend away with the family.  Of course it’s not anything you ever want to be doing, but especially not when you’re on vacation.

We needed to check out the following morning by 11:00 anyway, so my husband got up and had breakfast with the kids while I stayed in bed and tried to get some much needed sleep.  We then headed home where I immediately crawled into bed where I stayed until the following morning.

I got up feeling pretty good, a little tired and achy, but better.  I proceeded to get the dogs up and get them fed while trying to make sure a few other things in the house were taken care of too.  Things were going pretty well.  About 2:00 however I was feeling a little tired, so once the dogs and puppies had settled down in their beds, I thought I could sneak off to bed myself for a few minutes of rest.  So off I went, looking back at my precious babies all quiet and sleeping.

Shredded Pee Pad

I must have been more tired than I thought.  Because when I woke up it had been about 45 minutes.  I opened the bedroom door and…..SURPRISE!  My precious little babies decided to shred their pee pad.  It was all over the place.  The thought came to mind, you know the one….when the cat’s away, the mice will play!  Those little stinker’s, they didn’t have a care in the world, no idea they had been naughty.  With their little tails wagging as they ran up to me for attention, how could mommy be mad?  Of course I couldn’t, I actually found myself laughing out load.  I wondered to myself about what goes through those little minds while they’re being so mischievous.

Oh well, it wasn’t too big of a mess.  I put them all in the other room so I could vacuum up the mess and all was back to normal in minutes.  Hmmmmmm……I wonder what they will decide to get into next?

© February 28, 2011 – PupJoy

We opted out of the traditional Valentine’s Day evening dinner out however in exchange for a dinner out with our Sunday School class this weekend.  In hind site, I think maybe I should have made arrangements to go out anyway, because I’m actually the “hostess” for our dinner this weekend.  So it won’t actually be a quiet, relaxing night out for me.  But that’s OK, it may be a busy night for me, but I do enjoy offering an evening out for everyone to get together for food, fun and fellowship.

The hardest part for me actually each year is trying to figure out what to do for entertainment.  I am running out of ideas!  I usually try to pick some type of T.V. Game Show that’s popular each year to try to duplicate and do with our group.  But each year it’s getting harder.  I can’t even remember all the different ones we’ve done, but some of our favorites were the Newlywed Game, Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader and Deal or No Deal.  Last year I took a break and we had a couple from church come in and give us a mini concert.  That was a great night of good old Gospel music.

This year I think we’re going to play The Price is Right!  If I can pull it off any way.  I have a few things I have to tweak yet, but I think I can pull it off.  I think the hardest part will actually be trying to get volunteers!  But I’m sure it will all work out just fine, it always does.

If anyone ever has any bright ideas for me, please feel free to let me know, I’m always open to suggestions.  It doesn’t hurt to have an idea already brewing for next year. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

© PupJoy February 15, 2011

The day started out just like any other day, but we knew by evening we were going to get hit by a big storm.  It had been on the news for days, there was no way it was going to miss us.  It wasn’t a matter of “if it was going to hit” it was a matter of “when it was going to hit”.  I had gone into work that afternoon and decided that I better stop at the store on my way home just in case we were snowed in for a few days.  So I picked up some milk, cereal, cookies and candy.  You know, all the stuff you need if you’re going to be stuck at home and can’t get out!  OK, I may have picked up some “real food” too.

My first sign that this was going to be a bad storm was on my drive home.  We live out in the country where most of the ground is flat farm land, so the wind just whips over the roads.  I got halfway home and I could hardly see the road in front of me any more.  I had to stop several times and wait for the wind to die down before continuing.  I was driving at a snail’s pace, slow and stead, doing my best to stay on the road.  I was anxious to get home, so when I finally saw the driveway, I was relieved.

Now our driveway is shaped like an upside-down Y.  I normally drive in the first drive, since it’s closest to the house.  But that drive tends to drift more for some reason.  So I thought I would be “smart” and go in the second drive.  BIG MISTAKE!  Now mind you, I was in our 4 wheel drive Jeep, so when I saw the first couple of small drifts I thought “I can make that, no problem”.  What I didn’t know was that behind them was another couple of larger drifts.  But the wind was blowing so hard I couldn’t see much ahead of where my lights were shining.  So I gave ‘er some gas and away I went.  Oops, half way to the house the Jeep stopped.  There I sat.  I couldn’t go forward and I couldn’t go back.  I was stuck.

I had made it all the way home only to get stuck in the darn driveway!  But at least I was home, I would worry about getting the Jeep out later.  Before getting out of the Jeep I called my husband so he would know two things.  One, that I was stuck, and two, that things were getting bad and he should head for home.  I then crawled over the seat to get in the back where my few groceries were.  I wasn’t about to leave all my “goodies” outside.  I was really feeling the need for one of those cookies right about then.  So I threw a few things in a bag and crawled back to the front so I could begin my trek to the house.

There’s nothing like being in a warm house after making your way through drifting and blowing snow when you’re not dressed for it.  I quickly let the dogs out, lucky for them the wind was coming from the direction that the house was blocking a lot of it.  So they didn’t realize yet that by morning things would be quite different.

My husband came home about an hour later and spent quite a long time plowing the driveway and getting my Jeep out of the large drift I had put it in.  So when he finally came in I had some soup and sandwiches ready.  Mmmm, there’s something about soup on a cold day that just warms your insides.  We didn’t do much the rest of the evening, not that there was much left to it by that point.  We just watched a little T.V. and then called it a night.  Both of us wondering what we would wake up to in the morning.

We woke up to about 10″ of new snow.  Drifts that my husband had plowed out the night before were back, and worse than before!  I briefly thought about crawling back into bed, it seemed like a good thing to do on a snow day.  But the dogs reminded me of why I got out of bed in the first place.  They needed to go out.

Don’t ask me why I didn’t think to look outside the back door, but I didn’t.  I just opened the door to let the dogs out like I do every other day.  There it was, a huge drift about two feet from the back door.  Before I could call them back they were all jumping or trudging through it.  I thought for sure they would stop and turn around to come back in.  But Noooooo…they were either jumping into, or trudging over, the drift.  What a hoot!  They were having a blast.  They couldn’t run, so they looked like little bunnies hopping all over as they went from one drift to the next.  I actually laughed out loud as I watched them play.  Every one of them was covered in snow from head to tail, even their eye lashes had snow on them.

As much as I didn’t feel like “romping” in the snow, I grabbed my winter duds and bundled up to go out with them.  I keep a shovel right outside the door so I can clear a path for them whenever it snows.  I started at the door and worked my way straight down the yard and continued around the inside of the fence.  It wasn’t long and I had a train of dogs following me as I went.  Once I had it cleared it was like a race track, they all ran around it, each chasing the one in front of them.  I couldn’t help but think… why is it that they will come out and play in freezing cold temperatures with 2 feet of snow, but you can’t get them out in a few drops of rain!  I’ll never figure that one out.  But for now they were all having a great time and that’s all that mattered.

By late morning the storm was over.  It wasn’t as big a blizzard as the one in 1978, but it was a doozy.  And as far as the dogs are concerned, the storm was a great thing.  They have a new “race-track”.

© February 6, 2011 – PupJoy

There is always both excitement and fear when one of my girls is due to have puppies.  We just love the time when the little ones are around, but if anyone would ever ask me, I’d tell them that if I had any say in the matter, I would skip the whelping part and go directly to the “we have puppies” part.  Most of you will probably understand the excitement that can come from expecting a litter of puppies.  What is more precious than babies, whether it be human or animal.  They are so tiny and helpless, you can’t help it, you just ooh and aah over them.  And for some unknown reason, before you know it, you’re talking “baby talk” to them.  And they’re puppies!

The fear that comes, while waiting for puppies to arrive, is from thinking about all the things that can go wrong.  Any breeder can tell you that things can go wrong quickly.  Everyone prays for that perfect, uneventful delivery.  When mom has her first puppy at 6 or 7 o’clock PM, just after dinner so you had time to eat and clean up before the puppies come.  And of course they would have each puppy exactly 15-30 minutes apart and be done by 10:00 so you could still get a good nights sleep.  Ya, right!  That perfect deliver rarely, if ever, happens.  Usually the deliveries are in the middle of the night and you go without sleep for almost two days.  And even when you do finally get to crawl in bed, you’re up every few hours to check on the puppies to make sure one of them isn’t getting laid on by mom in her exhausted state.

Now don’t get me wrong, a breeder can have several litters of puppies before something goes wrong.  But if you breed long enough, it’s not a matter of “if” something will go wrong, it’s a matter of “when”.  This isn’t the first time I’ve had something go wrong while delivering puppies, but it is the most recent.  So I thought I would share it with you.

Hailey was due to have her puppies on Christmas Day, 2010.  Now for me, that complicated things, we’re usually gone on Christmas Day to family parties.  Since I wasn’t about to leave her home to have those puppies without me, we took her along.  I was praying she wasn’t going to have those puppies all day.  But I was prepared.  I took my whelping supplies with me just in case.  But I was looking for any sign that would alert me to the fact she was in labor, and if she would have started anything, I would have gotten her home immediately.  We were lucky that our parties were only 15-20 minutes from where we lived, so I wasn’t really worried about not being able to get home to deliver the puppies.

Christmas Day came and went.  So did the following.  But by that evening I knew we were getting close.  It was not going to one of the perfect day deliveries where it’s all done by 10:00.  We were going to be up all night!  So I got all my stuff together and we both went to where her whelping box was and waited for things to begin.  It was a very restless time for her, it always is with the girls when they’re about to give birth, they just can’t get comfortable.  She wanted to be close to me so I placed her in my lap and tried to make her as comfortable as I could.  It actually works out quite well when they lay in your lap.  You can feel the contractions and know when they progress to the place where they start pushing.  Then you know a puppy will be arriving soon.

Our first puppy finally arrived at 3:45am.  She was having trouble breathing.  As I watched her gasp for breath I picked her up and rubbed her little body between my hands.  I was telling her to fight, don’t give up, BREATH!  After working with her for about 10 minutes she was finally able to breath without struggling for air.  It was a beautiful Blenheim girl weighing in at 9.0 ounces.  A good sized girl with a perfect thumbprint.  I laid her by mom so they could start the bonding process while we waiting for more puppies to arrive.

About 1/2 hour later our second puppy was on it’s way.  As I saw the puppy sack come out I knew something was wrong.  The coloring was different, kind of muddy looking and I wasn’t seeing any movement from the puppy.  I usually wait for mom to continue with the normal process of cleaning the sack off the puppy and taking care of things the way nature intended, but knowing something was wrong I carefully opened the sack and immediately knew we had a dead puppy.  It was a little Blenheim girl, perfectly formed and normal in size.  But her mouth was open and her tongue was gray, not pink like it should have been.  She had been dead for a little while, how long I don’t know.  But I knew it was before she had been delivered.  It could have been hours, it could have been a day, or two.  I put her by mom and let her spend some time with her so she would know that her baby was not alive.  I think they know these things, that something is wrong and their baby didn’t survive.  I also think they need to grieve for their little ones.  So I gave her some time to adjust to the discovery that her little one was no longer with us and then wrapped her up in a towel and set her aside.  I placed her living puppy by her side and let her find comfort in the little life that was lying next to her and watched as she licked and nuzzled at her.

What seemed like forever, but really wasn’t to long after, our third puppy was on it’s way.  With the delivery of that last still born puppy I was anxious for this third puppy to get here.  I didn’t want to think about that lifeless little puppy laying not to far away from us.  So as Hailey pushed and I could tell our next puppy was on it’s way, I got ready for it’s arrival.  You can’t imagine my despair as I saw another dark sack surrounding the puppy.  It was full of dark fluid, even worse than before.  Again I opened the sack, and again we had another still born puppy.  WHAT WAS GOING ON?  I had never had this before,  What could this be?  Why were these puppies dead?  I sat there with no answers, my heart breaking.  I don’t know how dogs minds work or what Haily could possibly be thinking at that moment.  But I can only imagine that she must have felt some kind of loss, she had too, I know I sure did.  It is so hard to see those lifeless bodies lay there before you.  Once again I let her have some time with her lifeless puppy before setting it aside.  It was a beautiful Blenheim boy.  And again I placed her live puppy at her side.  And we waited for puppy number four to arrive.

I knew she had at least one more puppy, I could feel it.  I was praying that this next puppy would be alive and healthy.  My mind was racing, my emotions were all over the place and my hands were shaking as Haily pushed puppy number four out.  I noticed this sack too had a lot of fluid in it.  It isn’t normal for that much fluid to be in a sack, some fluid yes, but not like a water balloon!  Once again I opened the sack to get the puppy out as quickly but as carefully as I could.  It looked better than the two before had.  The coloring on this puppy was normal, I had hope that maybe I could save it.  Some times puppies can look lifeless when they first come out.  But if you take them in your hands and rub them briskly you can stimulate them into breathing.  So I took a towel and placed the limp body in my hands and rubbed.  I knew I was grasping at straws, but I had to try.  I had done it before, rubbed the seemingly lifeless body of a puppy until you heard it take it’s first breath.  I had to try.  It wasn’t meant to be, we lost our third puppy.  Once more I let mom have some time with yet another lifeless puppy, another Blenheim girl, perfect in every other way.  Had you not known she never took her first breath, you would have sworn she was just sleeping.

I felt Hailey’s stomach to see if I could feel any more puppies.  Was she done?  Did she have another one inside there yet?  Or was she going to be a mother to a single puppy?  I felt one more and my heart sank.  I had mixed emotions at this point.  I really didn’t want her to have another puppy in there.  I could only imagine that it too would be dead.  I didn’t want her to have to give birth to another dead puppy.  But of course she did have a puppy in there and she was going to have it.  There wasn’t anything I could do about it, she was going to have another puppy… and I would be there for her.

It had been awhile since Hailey had been outside to go potty, so I took a moment when things were quiet to carry her outside and give her a moment to walk around and stretch her legs and five her a chance to relieve herself.  If I ever do this when they’re having puppies I always go out with them, just in case.  So I kept my eye on Hailey as she walked around in the back yard.  She relieved herself a couple of times and just as I was about to ask her to go back in with me when she began to squat and push.  I ran over to see exactly what kind of pushing she was doing.  Since I didn’t see anything “dropping” out, I reached down to see if I could feel anything.  I did, I could feel a sack, the puppy was coming.  I picked her up and carried her into the house.  One hand under her front legs and the other holding the back end of her so I could cup the puppy sack with my other hand.  She gave another push and I could feel the puppy starting to come. As I carried her gently back to her whelping box my heart skipped a beat, my breath caught in my throat….I felt movement…. the puppy was ALIVE!!

Puppy number 5 arrived at 6:30 am.  Much like the first puppy, she too struggle to breath.  But after working with her for a short time she was able to breath comfortably on her own and was resting peacefully next to mom.  She was a beautiful Blenheim girl weighing 7.8 ounces, and was a sight to behold.  I was prepared to have another lifeless body arrive, and to my great surprise and delight, we had a beautiful, health, breathing puppy.  When it was all over, I cried.  I cried over the heartache of the lost puppies, but I think I cried mostly over the joy of the two beautiful puppies I was looking at.  I felt blessed to have two live puppies.  After having three lifeless puppies I was counting my blessings that we didn’t loose the whole litter.  One, two… I had two blessings.  And I was so very thankful for them.

Our Two Girls

Our puppies will be four weeks old tomorrow, but as I write this post, it feels just like yesterday.  I wish I could tell you that I know what happened and why.  But I can’t.  Without doing puppy autopsies we will never know.  But I’m praying that since I never had this happen before, it will never happen again.  And we will treasure the time we have with these little ones as we prepare them for their new “forever” homes.

I hope sharing my experience of both heartache and joy while whelping our last litter of puppies has helped you understand that breeding isn’t always all roses and sunshine.  That things can, and do, go wrong some times.  But the joy far outweighs the heartache, and that’s what we choose to remember as we watch our little ones grow.

© January 31, 2011 – PupJoy