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Breeding
Birth
Preparation
Membranes
Birth Problems
Inflammation
Welfare
Reproductive
Unexpected
Whelping
Whelping 2
Whelping 3
Whelping 4
Whelping 5
Chart
Heat
False Pregnancy
Mating
Problems
Home Breeder
Diary
The pups
Home Breeder 2
One Week To Go
Birthday
Birthday 2
Birthday 3
Birthday 4
Day One
Day Four
Week Two
Week Three
Week Five
Week Six
Week Eight
Westie Family
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The Tails of the Nursery
- Our Family
Altogether I have 5 dogs, Belle a Gt. Dane then there is Hattie, Molly, Amos &
Anna the Westie's, there is also my very supportive husband Adrian - bless him.
This is the first time I have had a dog that has had pups so the experience was
new to me. It was an event that I found to be both exciting and heartbreaking as
well as being extremely demanding. Next time - yes, there will be a next time,
even though at the birth I said those legendary words ?never again? - I will be a
little wiser and have a better idea of what to expect I hope the following diary
of events will be of help to other ?first timers?, and please read through John's
very informative pages re whelping and rearing pups. If I can be of any help
regarding the whelping box , bedding, feeding etc feel free to contact me, but
please remember any information supplied is based simply on my own experience.
Best of luck, Sue
- 3 Weeks to go
I put Anna in her whelping box, this was actually a kitchen base unit
(single size) and a door was cut into one of the sides - with hinges and a little
bolt on the outside - to enable her to be let out when necessary. The sides were a
bit high but they prevented the other dogs from peeking in. I gave her lots of
paper, I couldn?t bring myself to use newspaper as the print comes off and makes
the dog look dirty, so we used some white paper, the sort that they use in the
fish and chip shops.
- Anna was quite happy in her new ?nest? and had inspirational moments where she
shredded the paper to bits and spent the whole night moving it round. She would
pop her head up when she wanted to come out and would happily go straight back
into her box. I didn?t keep her in the box all the time but gradually got her to
spend more time in there.
- I also clipped all the fur off her tummy as I had heard a story about a litter
that starved to death, as all they were sucking was their mums? fur and I was not
taking any chances. All this is new to me, so, the wealth of info I printed off
from John's West Highland Terrier web site was an absolute godsend.
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Anna was a bit irritable towards the other dogs in the household, but they soon
found it best to leave her alone. Don?t get me wrong she was not nasty but just a
tad grumpy, she had also developed a fine old waddle and when viewed from behind was
almost comical - poor love. At this stage I increased her food, I have always fed
them a large breakfast with a smaller meal at teatime and she had a calcium tablet
every day. I also noticed that she had to go outside more often and had many an
accident before she made it to the door.
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- 1 Week to go?.
I was assuming that this was the week. I was waiting for her to go off her food,
as this would be a sure sign that the birth was imminent, but she still had a
healthy appetite. I was getting concerned, never having been through this before I
worried about all the things I should know and didn?t. I read John's pages until I
was word perfect and propped the bedroom door open each night so I could hear any
noises that Anna might make. After the weekend had passed I was going to give her
another couple of days and then visit the vets, she seemed a picture of health.
- Wednesday
Anna had spent most of today in her box and eaten heartily. She had her
calcium tablet and half pint of Lactose. She was so big I was getting worried that
she might burst. Strangely Hattie was the one who would not eat and she was pacing
back and forth and kept sitting by Anna's box, she was also sick three times and I
wondered if she was sickening for something. Eventually I had to put her out of
the kitchen. By 8pm Anna was agitated, she started the pacing back and forth, then
lying down for a few minutes then repeating the routine over and over. This
finally stopped at about 10.30pm and she settled down. I went to bed.
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11pm, Anna was barking furiously and I went to see her and she settled down
again. I went back to bed.
- 11.10pm Anna barking like mad, I went down then back to bed. This carried on
until midnight when I decided I might as well stay with her as she was not going
to let me get any sleep. Anna started making little noises and was panting a lot;
I decided she must be in labour. I was surprised as she had not had any morning
sickness or refused food but it seemed that Hattie was well aware of the
approaching birth. I was beginning to think I was wrong to put her through this
and sat at the kitchen table saying ?never again'...
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-
Thursday
12.20 am the first pup was born.
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Anna could not reach to cut the cord as her tummy was so big?.
oh my goodness I will have to do it?. where are the scissors??? I hastily
sterilised them wishing I had been better prepared and armed with the whelping
pages from Johns web site, proceeded to cut the cord. Anna went through the
process of removing the bag and cleaning pup 1 up, I just stood watching,
amazed. |
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12.50 pup 2 born.
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Anna went through her cleaning routine again, then contented, settled down to
suckle the pups while I made a cup of tea. My intention was to give her an hour or
so to make sure she was all right then I was off to bed. I checked the pups first
and found pup 1 pushed to the side, I pushed him back with his mum and he was
rejected again and very cold. I called to my husband (poor soul, I had already
summonsed him to the kitchen three times after he had retired for the night) to help
me with the pup that I had tucked into my pyjamas in the hope of keeping him warm.
He was nestled on my stomach while I poured some lactose into a syringe. Adrian
searched in vain for the hot water bottle, unable to find it we settled for warm
flannels from the airing cupboard to wrap the pup in. Two spare were placed on a
previously boiled kettle to keep warm. I gave pup 1 little drops of milk from the
syringe, holding him up to ?burp? every so often and repeated the process again.
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Anna started making noises again, changing pup1 into the pre-warmed flannels from
the kettle on the way; I went to see what the problem was.
2.05am. Pup 3 born.
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Again Anna could not reach to cut the cord, I found this strange, as she had
managed with number 2 pup. I ran to the bottom of the stairs and called my husband.
He came down the stairs three at a time, looked at Anna, took the pup from me and
handed me the sterile scissors and I cut the cord. I now understood why she was
struggling????.
2.15am Pup 4 born.
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Well to say I was surprised was putting it mildly! Two I expected, but four and
so close together. I continued to try and revive pup number one but with no joy and
sadly, by 3.30am we lost him. I made yet another cup of tea and decided to give Anna
time to settle with her new litter then I would go to bed at 4pm. Anna topped and
tailed each of the pups in turn and nestled them into her to suckle, they were all
squeaking at once and making a beeline for the same teat. Anna soon had them in an
order that she was happy with and settled down herself for a well-earned rest. I
started to tidy the kitchen before going to bed and Anna started making noises again
- would you believe it?
3.45am Pup 5 born.
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The other pups were put out at being disturbed and boy did they squeak. Swiftly
Anna dealt with the latest pup, cleaning etc then he was placed with his siblings to
suckle. I checked that they were all suckling and satisfied they were ok, prepared
for bed. Anna then decided she wanted to go outside. Off she went, she stopped for a
quick fuss and a drink of water on the way back before hopping into her box. I don?t
know where the time went, I looked at the clock and it was 7am and I was shattered
to say the least.
7am - I went to bed.
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Friday - Day 1
I got up at 9.30am and feeling a little wobbly went to check Anna. I fed her half
a pint of Lactose 4 times a day following the instructions on the tin and her
calcium tablet. I also offered her little bits of food, which she refused. I placed
a ramekin, half filled with water, in her box in case she needed a drink. She was so
proud of her brood and it was wonderful to see. She spent the entire day in her box,
recovering and tending the pups.
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Saturday - Day 2
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This morning I entered the kitchen to the sound of puppies squeaking like there
was no tomorrow, it was wonderful. Anna was resting and all pups were after their
breakfast. One pup however seemed to be pushed to the side - I decided to keep an
eye on him. Anna wanted to go outside and when I put her back in the box this little
pup had been pushed out. Anna snuggled them all around her so I thought he must be
ok. I kept checking through the day and the pup was holding his own - so I thought,
but by 10pm he was out on his own again and felt very cold to the touch. Out came
the hot water bottle (we managed to find it) and the feeding bottle that the lady in
the pet shop gave me to try. I spent the next few hours rubbing the pup and feeding
him a few drops of milk at a time. By 4am he appeared fit and healthy again. He was
having a good old wiggle, having a real squeak and even sucking on the bottle teat.
He had warmed up and I thought I would try him back with mum. Anna readily accepted
him and he started to suckle immediately. (I had named him 'spock Ears? for the
obvious reasons) Satisfied he was ok I went to catch a few z's
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Sunday - Day 3
 I
woke at 9.30 am and panicked! I had only intended to have an hours sleep. I rushed
into see Spock Ears. He was lying on his side away from mum and cold. I filled the
hot water bottle, made a fresh supply of milk and sterilized the bottle. We resumed
the routine of the previous night only this time there was no improvement. I felt my
heart sinking. I could see Spock Ears was dehydrated (I pinched up the skin on his
back and it did not go back down); even lay on the fury hot water bottle and me
rubbing his back did not warm him. Ten minutes later it was all over.
Adrian buried him next to McGwiggan.
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I was upset, confused and very tired, was it something I had or had not done. My
back and knees were starting to hurt with the constant bending over to Anna and the
pups in the box, so Adrian built a new box and she was quite happy to go into it.
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Monday -Day 4
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Was afraid to go to kitchen this morning, how many pups did I still have?
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Mum and pups doing fine though Anna is still not eating very much. She takes her
milk supplement ok so at least she is having some nourishment. To put my mind at
rest I made appointment at vets. Glad to say the vet gave Anna a clean bill of
health and said there was nothing wrong with her or the pups. What a relief. I
started to feel better myself though I still feel that I could have saved the second
pup if I had not fell asleep, Adrian was convinced there was something wrong with
it.
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I noticed that the bright pink noses had taken on a darker colouration, almost as
though they had been rooting around in dust. Their pads had also started to change;
little half moon patches of black had appeared on the edge of the pads.
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As I watched them throughout the day I felt sure they were growing in front of my
eyes.
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Tuesday - Day 5
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Mum and pups doing fine. I could see the pups had grown and
looked healthy, I am not worried any more. Noses are darker today and pads are
almost black. The biggest of them is a girl and she scoots around the box like
its Derby day, she is trying to use her back legs now not that they appear to be
of much use. |
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Wednesday - Day 6
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Today the pup's noses have finally turned black, though one of them
still looks as though he has been rubbing his nose in the newspaper. All pads have
also gone black.
Today was the first day that Anna has told them off for either misbehaving or
annoying her but I?m not sure which. Anna has eaten more food, which I am pleased
about. I am amazed at the size of one of the girls, as her paws seem enormous as do
her legs; she is really chunky compared to the other two. |
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Thursday - Day 7
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One week old today, they are really beautiful. I have never seen newborn Westies
and was surprised to see that their coats resembled that of a white Labrador; I
thought they would have spiky or wispy fur. I expect that's to come soon. Their pads
now look as though they have walked over an inkpad and noses are jet black. Mouths
and ears are also developing that black tinge.
Anna is happy to leave the pups for about half an hour, 2 or 3 times a day now.
When she is out of her box the pups are all snuggled up together and sound asleep.
But if they suddenly wake she is back in an instance to check them over.
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Friday - Day 8
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The larger of the two girls has almost doubled her birth size. The other girl is
the smallest of the three and the little boy falls in between the girls. Anna has
started to ?regain her figure? and runs around like a spring rabbit. I decided to
change Anna's diet (those in the ?know? told me this was unwise) as I felt she
needed really good wholesome food now she was feeding the pups, so I started buying
fresh chickens and made a mix with carrots and peas. Anna did not have any problems
with the new food - she thoroughly enjoyed it. Adrian jokingly moaned that the dogs
ate better than he did. He was told he could have the same when he gave birth.
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2 weeks old
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We have names for all three now, the smallest and liveliest is called Juicy Lucy
her sister is Minnie the Moocher and their brother is Big Bill.
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Wanting to see how heavy they were I lined my kitchen scales with tissue paper
and popped Juicy Lucy on, she weighed 400gram's,
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Minnie the Moocher weighed 500 gram's
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Big Bill was 450 gram's.
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I just wished now I had done this soon after they were born.
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Their eyes started to open on their 15th day, just little openings at
first then after a few days they were wide open. It was a few more days before they
appeared to be able to see things Juicy Lucy spent ages just looking round at her
siblings, Minnie the Moocher was only interested in food and Big Bill just wanted
food and sleep.
Anna would leave her brood for longer periods now and always let me know when
she wanted to come out or go back to them. They have been quite mobile which
surprised me. I thought they would sleep the majority of the time; they get around
by shuffling their front feet and push their back legs up; they look like Bambi on
ice. As soon as they are up on four legs one gives way. Juicy Lucy was the first to
have an attempt at being on all fours and was the first to manage to wobble around.
Big Bill was the last to get mobile.
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Anna is eating a lot of food so I am feeding her three times a day and she has
her milk supplement between meals.
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3 weeks old ?
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The pups are getting around really fast though they still wobble a bit. All
sorts of strange noises are coming from their box as they discover their voice.
Juicy Lucy recognises my voice now and when I call to her she will spin round to see
me, she even comes towards me now and they all try chewing my fingers. I can feel
the bumps on their gums where their teeth will come through. Their claws are very
sharp and keep catching in my jumper so I have to take care that I roll up my
sleeves when I handle them.
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Anna's eating has settled into a good routine now and I have given the pups
their first taste of Lactose. On the first attempt they bathed in it and Anna had a
fine old time licking them clean, but they soon got the idea and lapped it up. Next
I tried them on a little mashed jelly from a tin of Butchers Tripe. That went down a
storm.
I increased the amounts gradually then included some of the meat. I fully
expected Anna to stop cleaning up after them but up to now she is still doing it.
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4 weeks old ?
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Juicy Lucy has managed her first howl; well I think it was a howl. She was not
sure herself where this strange noise had come from and sat bewildered for a few
minutes.
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Minnie and Big Bill have a whale of a time rolling round play fighting. The
growls and barks that sprang forth was as much a surprise to them as it was to me. I
let them out of their box for a short while now and they play in the kitchen.
Initially they just sat staring at the huge expanse. It must have appeared enormous
after the confinements of their box. Juicy Lucy was the first (as always) to go
exploring, Minnie the Moocher was soon to follow and Big Bill found it all a bit too
much. Before long they were all cavorting around the kitchen floor, before they were
put back in their box we weighed them.
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Juicy Lucy weighed 850 gram's.
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Minnie the Moocher weighed 950 gram's
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Big Bill weighed in at 1kg.
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Now for the sad bit??. A lady telephoned enquiring after a dog. She came to view
and be vetted and stayed a good hour or so playing with the pups and chatting. They
were a very nice family and I feel sure that Big Bill will have a good home. They
are coming to visit in 2 to 3 weeks time.
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5 Weeks old-
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Well they are certainly coming on and they have all developed their own
personalities, their appearance has also changed.
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Juicy Lucy had one ear that flopped over and its now starting to straighten, she
is still the liveliest of the three ? first to get up and last to go to bed, first
to go missing and first to get into trouble ? she eats like a horse and remains the
smallest.
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Minnie the Moocher looks to be the fattest because her fur is so thick, she is
adorable and it will be very hard to part with her (though I am certain I will keep
her), she has learnt to howl and lets me know it in no uncertain terms. She is the
gentle one of the bunch; she likes to sit between my feet while I am preparing their
food and is never far from me.
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Big Bill, well he's the trouble maker, likes to assert his manly self over his
sisters and the usual result is a scrap, then, win or loose he always struts around
afterwards. Big Bill is always trying to get to my other dogs and has on 2
occasions, got stuck in the bars of the dog gate. We have lost Bill twice along with
Juicy Lucy, they found a mouse sized hole between the wall and kitchen units and
squeezed through only to find them selves trapped under the kitchen cupboards. Each
time I ripped off a piece of the plinth they went further along. Eventually, after
virtually dismantling one half of the kitchen we retrieved the two terrorists,
non-the worst for their ordeal and covered in dust, fluff and cobwebs.
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I weighed them again and the result was:
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Juicy Lucy weighed: 1.3kg
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Minnie the Moocher weighed: 1.4kg
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Big Bill weighed: 1.5gk
- 6 weeks old
Although used to seeing the other dogs they have never been in contact with them -
until today that is. They managed to wiggle thru the bars of the dog gate and went
gambolling around the hall. The other dogs were a bit surprised but soon joined in
with the fun, much to Anna's displeasure. Anna loves playing with them, and it's so
enjoyable watching her and the pups together. She runs up and down the kitchen,
chases them around and rolls them over. It's very funny to see her cuff a pup around
the ear for biting her tail. She play's tug of war and what looks to me like doggie
tag. One of their favourite pastimes is biting the bottom of my pyjama trousers and
hanging on for as long as they are able.
- This made my progress around the kitchen very slow indeed. My pyjama trousers
now look very similar to the 70's style bellbottoms - very fashionable I must say,
though at 6am its not much appreciated To overcome this I have perfected the Goose
Step and found I can get around much faster now. It has to be fast because they
started to bite the foot that was still on the ground, which almost caused me to
drop my best china mugs. Since I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to keep both
feet off the ground at the same time I decided enough was enough. Time to start a
bit of training.
No, was the first word. Actually I was quite surprised as after a few days they
understood, though they think that its only my feet that they must not bite, they
still have a whale of a time with everyone else's feet and take the blood curdling
screams to be praise for their actions.
7 weeks old
Since their escape through the dog gate last week they are not content with just
exploring the kitchen they are looking to broaden their horizons.
It's like having children about the place again but without the aid of Calpol,
Pampers and a health visitor. They are into everything. And I find I have to do many
jobs when they are in their box as things like ironing just end up in a tug of war
and my nice clean washing has to be washed all over again. We used a cardboard box
(with the top, bottom and one end cut off) as a bit of a screen around their box;
this just gave Anna a bit of security where Belle was concerned (her size makes Anna
a little nervous) and when they came out, the cardboard was attached to the cupboard
door opposite thus blocking off the dog gate to stop the pups escaping. Now my whole
family appear to have a ?wonky? walk, developed since we have had to climb over the
cardboard screen and that added to the goose-stepping is a comical sight!
What I find amazing is the change in the pups from week 4 to week 5; the first month
of their lives was spent entirely confined in their whelping box and they just
shuffled around. Then suddenly they were 5 weeks old and frolicking all over the
place. Even the photos show the change.
Their taste in food has also changed; no longer will they eat puppy food preferring
minced chicken and vegetables above all else. I have always given my other dogs raw
carrots as treats and once the pups saw the others eating them they had a taste. Now
they adore them.
I have given them a toy box to keep all their ?bits & bobs? in and they soon learnt
where their things were stored. Everything is put away at night and the toy box is
placed out of reach, once the lights go out they know its bedtime - for us anyway.
Again, like children, they do not want to go to sleep or tidy up when they have
finished playing. Their favourite toys at the moment are empty yoghurt cartons,
which they will toss around and chase for ages. They are very bright and eager and
have also learnt to ?come? when called; however it only works when I call them much
to the frustration of my husband.
8 weeks old
Big Bill and Minnie the Moocher had a barking competition they were so funny. They
sat opposite each other and took turns to bark, each bark getting louder and longer.
Anna was fed up with it before we were and gave them a swift box on the ear to
quieten them. They are no longer the small babies that kept me up nights but little
dogs with determination and a mission. I have not yet worked out just what that
mission is yet but it could be to wreak as much havoc as possible and pee in just
about as many places as they can.
Mind, they are very clean in their bed and my face in the early mornings seems to be
their trigger to pee and pooh for Great Britain. Adrian, bless him, says he can
understand that.
Douglas and Natalie had arranged to collect Big Bill on Saturday and as they had a
good distance to travel we arranged to meet at my mums, which is about half way. All
pups were brushed and combed and looked beautiful, I put them in a box and off we
went. Minnie the Moocher was sick on the journey and Big Bill managed to roll in it.
My daughter sat in the back of the car with them and kept them settled. By the time
I reached mums the pups looked like they had rolled around the yard. Minnie the
Moocher had diarrhoea and got into a right mess, then Big Bill dived into the water
bowl and soaked himself so by the time Douglas, Natalie and their son Kieran arrived
we all looked like wretches. - Before leaving home I packed Big Bill ?going away? bag with his favourite toys
(a couple of plastic pudding basins, a squeaky toy - squeak removed and a chewy
bone) I also put in his ?comfort sheet?. This was an old sheet (a tad smelly but Big
Bill appears to like it) that I put in their bed for a couple of days so he could
take the smells of mum and sisters with him. They decided that Big Bill's new name
would be Jack.
Off ?Jack? went with his new family to start his new life. I sat in the kitchen in
silence and drove home still silent. I know ?Jack? will be well cared for and much
loved but I still feel very sad to loose him. Douglas and Natalie said they would
keep in touch and send me some photos.
The house seems so quiet without ?Jack?. Anna kept counting her pups and looking
around for the third one. After 3 days she seemed over her loss but since then has
not let Minnie the Moocher and Juicy Lucy out of her sight.
After Big Bill's departure Adrian made me a new box for the pups and Anna, this was
a proper dog bed with a cut out front so they could come and go whenever. We put
some batons on the bottom to keep them off the floor and so far they like it. The
only problem now is things like sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor is total
chaos.
I think Adrian picked the right nickname for them when he called them ?The
Terrorists?. They had their dad Amos, pinned in the corner and they just stood
barking constantly, eventually Amos had enough and put Minnie the Moocher in her
place with a sharp nip on the ear. She howled for almost 15 minutes then lay down to
sulk for ?
hour. Anna fussed around her and kept licking her ?wounded ear?. However it did not
stop them, they kept on barking but just stood further away and were prepared to
turn tail and leg it if Dad looked like he was getting cross.
I decided to make a start with the toilet training so I purchased what I thought
would be a great boon. Wee Wee Pads they were called, ?A beneficial aid to puppy
toilet training, 5 individual 24 square plastic backed pads, impregnated with
special oils to encourage young pups to soil? so the packaging said. Following
instructions, I placed a pad by their box, and waited. Minnie the Moocher was the
first to approach and gave it the once over. Juicy Lucy descended and they proceeded
to rip the pad to shreds in around 20 seconds flat. When the pups had finished
Adrian was laughing his head off and I was speechless. Well they say you live and
learn.
Time for the weigh-in again, Minnie the Moocher - 2kg. Juicy Lucy - 1.9kg, they are
certainly coming on.
Well I have reached the end of Anna's diary and I don?t know if I have done thing's
right or wrong (if there is a right and wrong) I expect there are many things that I
could have done to make life easier if only I had known about it, but as with most
things in life, the best way is to learn as you go along.
All I know is that I have had three lively, healthy and happy pups so that must say
something. With luck Molly will be the next to have pups, she was mated with Amos in
October, he has a very good pedigree (12 Ch.'s) and has produced some excellent pups
including Juicy Lucy & Minnie the Moocher sooooo, I am waiting with baited breath.
On a final note, I have decided to keep Juicy Lucy & Minnie the Moocher. Perhaps one
day, in a few years time they might have pups.
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The Pups
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