Sylvie had an easy pregnancy, but also had some weird things – she bled (giant blood clots) starting from day 30 all the way up till about a week before she gave birth.
On day 64 I took her to my vet with no signs of labor. Her progesterone was 2.4 (we like it to be under 2 for a c-section). With 2 pups on board, we knew there was a possibility that her body wouldnt drop enough progesterone for labor to start and so we opted to give her a c-section and get the pups out safe and sound. I am always so thankful to Dr Anders Thoreson and the team at Klahaya for their care and kindness of my dogs.
I am so thankful that I get to be back there to rub babies down and be some of the first people to greet them earthside. Sylvie’s surgery went off without a hitch, and we got 2 healthy GIRLS – the babies were born hungry and vocal and ready for their first meal
Back at home, Syl settled in well – babies nursed well and quickly started to put on weight. As you might notice in the photos below, one of our sweet girls has a natural bob tail. She was checked over by our vet and he said there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her. I am thankful for that.
I am so thankful to have these healthy girls. The one with the bob tail will be available since I wont be able to show her or use her in my breeding program. She will make a beautiful companion for someone.
Charlotte’s due date was Friday the 26th. We had done the xrays on Wednesday the 24th and we knew there were 4 puppies on board. True to timing, she started panting and nesting Friday evening around 7pm.
I woke up every 1.5 hours through the night to check on her. I walked her, and pottied her but there wasn’t much action happening. This is normal. Stage 1 can be long (just like a human – they are opening the cervix to “10 cm”). Around 4am she cried a lot so I ended up sleeping beside her from that point, with my hand on her as she slept and panted and shifted.
Saturday was much the same – watching her, but not much happening. we went on lots of walks/potty breaks. That was, till about 4:30pm. During one of our potty breaks, her water sack came out and she proceeded to pop it. “Awesome”, I thought. “We will have a puppy soon.” But, as the afternoon wore on, Charlotte kept panting and then would do an occasional push, but nothing worth noting.
In the dog breeding world, you start to worry when your dog has been pushing consistently for an hour. She hadn’t been doing that, but after 3 hours of waiting, it just didn’t feel right. By this stage, Molly and Abbey arrived. Molly is Charlotte’s ‘other mom’ (Charlotte lives in a guardian home with one of my closest friends).
Around 8pm, we spotted a little bubble – YEAH – a puppy was on it’s way, but then we saw feet. UH OH – that’s not usually a good sign. Feet without a sack means a dry birth, which is harder for momma to push out, and a bubble usually means there is another baby competing for space. We did the “wheelbarrow” technique to try to reposition the babies and called our vet. He said since there was a puppy so close, we should grab a towel and try to gently pull the puppy out. We tried to do this, however, Charlotte kept sucking it back inside making it near impossible to grab. I made the call to Dr Anders to do a c-section – he agreed.
At this stage, I will say a HUGE thank you to Dr Anders Thoreson from Klahaya Animal Hospital for being on call – I know this is not normal and it is SO appreciated.
As irony would have is, just as we pulled in the the Klahaya carpark, Charlotte gave birth to that birth puppy on Molly’s arm. In the breeding world we call that “bumpy road protocol” 🙂 haha.
Inside we talked about it – between the lack of pushing and the long labor, we decided to go ahead with the c-section and get the babies out. Better to have healthy babies alive than wait too long and have them die.
I was in the surgical room (far back from the clean area) to “catch” puppies and then i ran them out to Brianna, Molly and Abbey so they could rub them down. All 4 are healthy and strong – at first a little tired from surgery but it didnt take long to get them nursing.
We got 3 girls and a boy. 2 tri girls and 1 blen girl and 1 blen boy. 🙂 Born just before 10pm on Saturday the 27th. Mama and babies were able to come home an hour later and so I got up all through the night to check on their progress.
We are so thankful for these precious little lives and look forward to them growing up.
Since Charlotte is named after Princess Charlotte, it seemed only fitting we did a “Royal” litter in her honor.
Blen girl was born at 6.17oz. We are nicknaming her “Fergie”
Blen boy was born 6.49oz. We are nicknaming him “Archie”
Tri girl 1 (with the larger blaze) was born at 6.53oz. We are nicknaming her “Victoria”
Tri girl 2 (with the smaller blaze) was born 6.67oz and we named “Kate” since she looks so much like her mom.
**please note that none of these puppies are available at this time**
Today I’m writing about a topic that makes me want to reach for a blood pressure pill: the annual (over) vaccination of dogs.
Annual vaccination is unnecessary and dangerous for your dog. Despite what we know about the risks, it seems to be what most vets recommend to all dogs.
Experts like leading veterinary immunology researcher Ronald D Schultz PhD proved decades ago that most dogs will be protected for many years – and probably for life by one round of core vaccines as puppies – as long as they are completed about 16 weeks old.
Only Rabies is actually legally required. Parvo is highly recommended as it can be lethal if not treated quickly and effectively.
Dr Schultz reports:
“The patient receives no benefit and may be placed at serious risk when an unnecessary vaccine is given. Few or no scientific studies have demonstrated a need for cats or dogs to be revaccinated.”
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) have announced publicly that annual vaccination is unnecessary and can be harmful.
But unfortunately, often these studies do nothing to stop vets from vaccinating more often than necessary. Dog owners need to advocate for their dogs and be the ones to say “no” or ask for a TITRE TEST.
A titer test is a simple blood test where they look at the immunity level of your dog’s blood against the virus. If your dog has low immunity, the vaccine is recommended. If they have high immunity then it is not.
Over vaccination has be attributed to auto-immune disorders, allergies, epileptic seizures and neurological issues and cancer.
