Here is the story of the puppies birth. Oh, and did I say, our first whelping? Thanks to Kathleen Russell, we were prepared.
Puppy 1: Purple collar, Girl, born 6:06 am, birth weight 14 ounces.
I was sleeping in the whelping room. Lila woke me up around 5:30 am to go outside. She did her business then started running around the yard kind of frantic. We came back in the house and in the box Lila went. We had a baby monitor up to our bedroom where my husband slept. I told him he might want to come down to the room as I thought Lila was in labor. A few minutes later I heard him getting dressed, he was slow, at 6:06 am we had a puppy. Tom missed it. He arrive in time to take the weight notes and help with the first pictures.
Puppy 2: Pink Collar, Girl, born 6:36 am, birth weight 17 ounces.
After all the excitement of the first puppy settled down, Tom went to take our 10 week old puppy Reddington out. Red was slow and
we had puppy 2 while Tom was out of the room. Lila and I were doing OK on our own because things went relatively smoothly. And fast.
Puppy 3: Lime Green collar, Girl, born 6:57 am, birth weight 13.5 ounces, she may be ridgeless.
Tom was in the room for this one. Very smooth and quick. Lila is doing great.
Puppy 4: Blue Collar, Boy, born at 7:06 am, birth weight 16 ounces.
Wow, 4 puppies in an hour! Our first boy. Tom is picking the collar colors so blue for the first boy seems natural.
An hour goes by with no puppies. After 4 within the first hour, we're nervous. Kathleen, our mentor, friend and Lila's co-owner is
an the final day of her cruise. She was supposed to be back in time but no one figured that Lila would have the puppies on the first possible
delivery date. Next time we'll check with Lila. I call backup expert Patty Olney. She was a life line. Patty had two suggestions. Take Lila for a brief walk AND have Tom leave the room. LOL. We did both and puppy number 5 came at 8:22am. while Tom was feeding our 2 greyhounds and Reddington.
Puppy 5: Red Collar, Boy, born at 8:22 am, birth weight 14.5 ounces.
Leave it to a boy to take his time. Tom missed this birth but came back in time to pick the collar color.
Puppy 6: Green Collar (BRG), Boy, born 8:35 am, birth weight 13 ounces, may be ridgeless.
He's a cutie. Lila is doing good. She's being a great Mom so far, cleaning puppies, nursing and
quick contractions for the next puppy.
Puppy 7: Yellow Collar, Boy, born 8:52 am, birth weight 13.5 ounces.
How many puppies do we have? It's happening so fast I'm getting confused. Thank Tom for
keeping the clipboard accurate.
Puppy 8: White Collar, Girl, born 9:22 am, birth weight 16 ounces, may be ridgeless.
White girl is independent. She would rather crawl around then get weighed, collared and nurse. If I set her
down to reach for something,... off she goes.
Puppy 9: Brown Collar, Boy, born 9:38 am. birth weight 17 ounces.
He is a hunk. Ridge looks like a long Mohawk. Oh, reminder to self, we don't need a boy, we don't need a boy, we don't need a boy.
Are we done?? Actually talked to Patty Olney a couple of times during whelping. At one point I had to ask her how many puppies we had since last we spoke. It seemed we would have a question and boom, Lila would have another puppy. Anyway, after puppy 9 it was a wait to see if Lila was done. Kathleen called between ship to plane transfers and that was reassuring. I can't imagine doing this without experienced help available for dumb questions.
Lila is resting, cleaning puppies, nursing and overall being a GREAT Mom. I called the vet for a brief assurance and then we cleaned up the whelping box. Lila was most upset to have her bed disturbed but we got everything cleaned and changed, Mom and puppies settled and time for breakfast, by 11am. Not a bad mornings work.
Puppy 1: Purple collar, Girl, born 6:06 am, birth weight 14 ounces.
I was sleeping in the whelping room. Lila woke me up around 5:30 am to go outside. She did her business then started running around the yard kind of frantic. We came back in the house and in the box Lila went. We had a baby monitor up to our bedroom where my husband slept. I told him he might want to come down to the room as I thought Lila was in labor. A few minutes later I heard him getting dressed, he was slow, at 6:06 am we had a puppy. Tom missed it. He arrive in time to take the weight notes and help with the first pictures.
Puppy 2: Pink Collar, Girl, born 6:36 am, birth weight 17 ounces.
After all the excitement of the first puppy settled down, Tom went to take our 10 week old puppy Reddington out. Red was slow and
we had puppy 2 while Tom was out of the room. Lila and I were doing OK on our own because things went relatively smoothly. And fast.
Puppy 3: Lime Green collar, Girl, born 6:57 am, birth weight 13.5 ounces, she may be ridgeless.
Tom was in the room for this one. Very smooth and quick. Lila is doing great.
Puppy 4: Blue Collar, Boy, born at 7:06 am, birth weight 16 ounces.
Wow, 4 puppies in an hour! Our first boy. Tom is picking the collar colors so blue for the first boy seems natural.
An hour goes by with no puppies. After 4 within the first hour, we're nervous. Kathleen, our mentor, friend and Lila's co-owner is
an the final day of her cruise. She was supposed to be back in time but no one figured that Lila would have the puppies on the first possible
delivery date. Next time we'll check with Lila. I call backup expert Patty Olney. She was a life line. Patty had two suggestions. Take Lila for a brief walk AND have Tom leave the room. LOL. We did both and puppy number 5 came at 8:22am. while Tom was feeding our 2 greyhounds and Reddington.
Puppy 5: Red Collar, Boy, born at 8:22 am, birth weight 14.5 ounces.
Leave it to a boy to take his time. Tom missed this birth but came back in time to pick the collar color.
Puppy 6: Green Collar (BRG), Boy, born 8:35 am, birth weight 13 ounces, may be ridgeless.
He's a cutie. Lila is doing good. She's being a great Mom so far, cleaning puppies, nursing and
quick contractions for the next puppy.
Puppy 7: Yellow Collar, Boy, born 8:52 am, birth weight 13.5 ounces.
How many puppies do we have? It's happening so fast I'm getting confused. Thank Tom for
keeping the clipboard accurate.
Puppy 8: White Collar, Girl, born 9:22 am, birth weight 16 ounces, may be ridgeless.
White girl is independent. She would rather crawl around then get weighed, collared and nurse. If I set her
down to reach for something,... off she goes.
Puppy 9: Brown Collar, Boy, born 9:38 am. birth weight 17 ounces.
He is a hunk. Ridge looks like a long Mohawk. Oh, reminder to self, we don't need a boy, we don't need a boy, we don't need a boy.
Are we done?? Actually talked to Patty Olney a couple of times during whelping. At one point I had to ask her how many puppies we had since last we spoke. It seemed we would have a question and boom, Lila would have another puppy. Anyway, after puppy 9 it was a wait to see if Lila was done. Kathleen called between ship to plane transfers and that was reassuring. I can't imagine doing this without experienced help available for dumb questions.
Lila is resting, cleaning puppies, nursing and overall being a GREAT Mom. I called the vet for a brief assurance and then we cleaned up the whelping box. Lila was most upset to have her bed disturbed but we got everything cleaned and changed, Mom and puppies settled and time for breakfast, by 11am. Not a bad mornings work.