Heidi and Hudson’s Litter – Week One

Miss Ivory and Mr. Ebony all snuggled together!

As the first week draws to a close, we reflect on the journey that has brought us to this happy point in time. Heidi has become the stellar mom we always knew she would be, although it didn’t quite start out that way. For the weeks leading up to the birth, a mother-to-be knows she’s going to have a litter. When puppies are delivered via C-section, it’s a bit perplexing for her because somehow the babies have magically appeared when she awakens from her anesthesia. It takes mom a while to realize that these are her babies! In Heidi’s case, she immediately allowed the puppies to nurse, but kept a wary eye on these tiny creatures as they moved around in the whelping box. Part of mom’s job description is to stimulate her newborn pups to encourage them to eliminate by licking them. For the day or so that it took for her to fully embrace the notion that these were her puppies, we had to perform the task by rubbing each puppy with a towel. Fortunately, Heidi’s maternal instincts kicked in and she relieved us of this duty. She’s now a fully connected, very attentive and loving mother, attending to the needs of her little family with every whimper, never straying very far from them or for very long.

The puppies have all gained well with some of them almost doubling their birth weight. We weigh them twice daily for the first couple of weeks in order to monitor their progress very carefully. Ever the concerned mom, Heidi accompanies each and every puppy the few short steps to the weigh scale and back to the whelping box to ensure their safe passage.

Puppies are born without sight or hearing and it will be a while before their eyes open, so for now their senses of smell and touch are what guide them to their mom. At this stage, puppies spend virtually all of their time eating and sleeping and this group is no exception. It’s interesting to note that while most Goldens have ten teats, Heidi has only eight. This is why we conduct feeding rotations to make certain that everyone gets their fair share at the milk bar. The results are evident as the puppies all have plump bellies that expand and contact like little accordions when they sleep.

Heidi has recovered very nicely from her C-section to the point where she’s able to jump up on the bed to get a quick little cuddle herself before returning to look after her babies. Despite having such a cozy spot indoors, Heidi still seems intent on finding or building an igloo in the back yard to move her little ones to.

That’s it for now, but be sure to join us next week for another beguiling installment of “Puppy Tales”.