Watercubs & Kivisilmän
working show-quality newfoundlands
R-litter Puppyblog
(written by both Annina and Bettina Salmelin, hence the perspective and writing style might change between updates)
Before the whelping
Ruuti a day before the opening phase of the whelping with her huge
babybelly - She is still very playful as you can see from the picture!
On the second of June Ruuti (Kivisilman Monitoimikone) woke us up 5.30AM early morning by wanting to go outside and dig a hole for herself in the bushes. We managed to coax her inside with a loaf of bread. Fifteen minutes later, we noticed that she was panting very heavily and stopping every few minutes for a breather. She was starting the opening phase of the whelping process. Puppies..!
A few last things were rushed downstairs to the puppyroom, and after that the rest of the day spent on our tiptoes waiting for Ruuti to start pushing the puppies out. The opening phase has always taken roughly 24 hours (or more) with our previous litters, so we were expecting Ruuti to start whelping towards the evening or early morning of that day. It was quite a warm day, so Ruuti insisted going outside on the porch in the shade to cool down and start digging her den. She emptied her bowel, refused to eat, but drank a lot of water (helped her gulp it down by adding some canned dog food to it). She was getting ready for the delivery.
Towards the early
evening Ruuti was already getting exhausted from all the panting
(opening phase), she realized that she could get moral support from
her mother Capri (Larinkallion Brysselinblicca). She insisted on
getting next to Capri (almost climbing on top of her, with at least
her head resting heavily on Capri's tummy), and she finally relaxed
enough to get a few hours' sleep. It was amazing to watch as Capri
seemed to know what was happening with Ruuti and patiently let Ruuti
come lie right next to her.
The whelping
We moved Ruuti downstairs to the whelping room around 11AM, as she had started having stronger contractions and was clearly stopping to concentrate every time she contracted. Around 11.30AM the first fluids came out, and the first brown male saw daylight at exactly midday 12.00. The next brown male arrived at 12.30, after which Ruuti had a longer break to deliver the third and last brown male at 14.45. The only female of the litter was born at 15.40. All the puppies were born hind-end first, but Ruuti had strong contractions, so they all came out on their own, and we didn't need to interfere to help. Ruuti knew instictively what to do: concentrate and push, check her behind if anything came out ;-), and then open the bag chew cut the umbiblical cord and start licking the puppy. She was absolutely superb, especially for a first-time-mum.
As the ultrasound had estimated, Ruuti had four gorgeous puppies :-). Isn't it amazing what modern technology can do, as the father of this litter would have turned 27 this year!!
Post-whelping
Using their initial temporary names: Tapio, Merita, Puikko and Sampo with the beautiful mum Ruuti- a few hours after whelping
1st week
We usually give temporary names to the puppies directly after they're born to avoid calling them by numbers or by the colour of their nail polish. They are MUCH more to us than ”red”, ”yellow” or ”green”. The nail polish is there, so that we can distinguish each and every puppy clearly (for the weight monitoring). The temporary names we gave the boys were Puikko, Tapio and Sampo (in birth order), though we will be changing them as the families express their call name choices to us. It is completely up to them to determine the call names, as they'll be living with the puppies 24/7 for hopefully 10-12-14 years :-) !
The official names, introducing:
1st
born: passed away soon after birth "Puikko"
2nd
born: Kivisilman Rapakontaa (brown male) [means ”over to the other
side of the ocean”] (temporary call name: Sampo)
3rd
born: Kivisilman Rahtilaiva (brown male) [means ”Cargoship”] (temporary call name: Tapio)
Last
born: Kivisilman Rutikuiva ”Merita” (brown female) [means ”dry
to the bone”, comes as a joke when little-Markus always says
lovingly ”Kuka on kuiva – Ruuti on rutikuiva” after waterwork -
”Who is dry – Ruuti is dry to the bone” - it rhymes well in
Finnish ;-) ! ]
All the puppies have found fantastic homes :-). Our next litter won't be until 2012 summer :-).
These next few days are crucial for the puppies to establish a solid growth pattern. They will be kept under an infrared heater, so that Ruuti can still lie next to the puppies (on the very cold tile floor) all the time. Of course the puppies will be ON Ruuti for most of the time, but as puppies cannot regulate their core temperatures, it is important for the air to be warm enough for them to use all their energy for growth instead of maintenance energy (heat), but the room to be cool enough for the heavy-coated Ruuti, so that Ruuti can actually stand being next to the puppies. Ruuti will have a little fever after the whelping for the next few days, so lying on a cool tiled-floor will only further help cool her down and keep her comfortable.
We weigh the puppies roughly every 6-12 hours (when we change shifts) to see if any of the puppies have gained or lost weight. Even though a rapid weight gain is crucial, we must not let the puppies over-eat either. So far we haven't had problems with that, despite Merita being quite the girl and bullying the others out from their teats if she feels like she got the bad teat to suckle on ;-) !
The veterinarian will come and check the puppies and Ruuti out today (day after whelping) to see if he'll need to administer an oxytocin shot to make absolutely certain that everything that needs to be out IS out. We counted all the placentas (first two came out with the puppies – the last two after Merita, the last puppy), so she should be good to go, but better safe than sorry, as it would be devastating if she DID get an infection due to us not being careful enough.
The oxytocin will also help with the milk let-down (especially important if the litter is huge or if the female is not producing enough milk), though Ruuti has plenty of milk for everyone to go around. She has a total of 4 +1 teats on each side, with the first elbow-teat being ”not the best”, meaning that Ruuti is able to milk everyone at the same time. The puppies with the smallest weight-gain (note: not necessarily the smallest puppy) will need to go to the best teat (often located towards the back). Our smallest puppy with the least weight gain (at this point) is puppy number one, Puikko, though he is doing relatively well as he hasn't LOST weight, he just hasn't gained any yet (12 hours from birth).
Ruuti is finally relaxing and calming down; she wants to either turn on her back feet up to milk the pups or lie on her tummy ”froggy position” whilst, of course, snoring very deep. She's definitely enjoying all the attention she's getting.
Ruuti
is a very good drinker; she's been drinking A LOT of cool fresh water
throughout the whelping process, which is a relief as it is crucial
for her to drink a lot to keep the body's fluid balance correct. She
has be expelling a lot of fluids through milking, but also through
panting heavily (typical for the opening phase, contractions and now
with the high body temperature after whelping). We have a new
baby-thermometer in the whelping room which will help us determine
how warm we should keep the room, and if the warmth is only due to
the humidity. During the whelping, the rooms' humidity rose up to 74%
(with 24.9C), which was definitely very, very high for us and Ruuti
to tolerate. Some good ventilation was needed to bring down the
humidity (and temperature)! But think how much water Ruuti expelled
through panting during the actual whelping, as the whelping room has
quite a large air space and the humidity kept rising over 70% for
most of the time, even though regular ventilations were done. A
window could not be kept open, as the puppies must not be exposed to
any draft. That will cool down their body temperatures very quickly,
especially if they're wet from Ruuti's slobber (Ruuti cleaning after
the puppies).
Ruuti with the four puppies - day 1
Unfortunately
we lost the little Puikko 5-6 June night. There was
nothing we could have done to save the little boy, but in a way we
are all glad it happened now, and not later when the puppy was 2-3
(or more) weeks.. Of course we are devastated that we had to lose him,
but more so are "his family" who were waiting to pick him up in
August..! Unfortunately the losses are something every
breeder will need to go through at some point. We will be burying the
puppy in one of the local forests where we often go for walks. We
were going to send it to be opened, but it is not routinely done here
in Belgium, and so it would have been an expensive hassle to arrange
it, and we just don't have the time to fight over that right now, but
we'll need to see if we can get more info about actually doing for
future in cases like these (as every breeder will at some point
unfortunately lose puppies). Ruuti is a dog and so is not mourning
after the loss of the little one, but she did "scout the house
to find the puppy, but quickly realized he was not with us anymore.
Ruuti is now busy with the other puppies :-D.
The
puppies' birth weights' were 420g (Puikko), 760g (Tapio), 640g
(Sampo) and 675g (Merita). Newf puppies are born usually around
5-600grams, though 400 or 700 is not anything unusual. Usually
smaller litters have bigger puppies and bigger litters smaller
puppies. Now (7th
June) the puppies are already 980g (Tapio), 970g (Sampo) and 1040g
(Merita).
Day 1 photo with the toy - this time a yellow chick - Should we have
gotten a bigger toy if these pups are already this huge at day 1 ??
Updated
06.06.2011 (day 3)
Ruuti
and the rest of the litter are doing superbly. Ruuti is being a
fantastic mum of which I am very happy about. She fusses over the
pups, wants to lick them clean and seems to only fully relax when she
is with the pups, preferably nursing. While the pups drink, their mum
snores her heart out; Every once in a while Ruuti does stop her
snoring just to listen at the sucking sounds to make sure the pups
are alright. This is always followed by even louder snoring.
Puppies 3 days old
What
really fascinates me is that the pups are already starting to develop
personalities. Merita is clearly the bossiest one… she keeps
pushing the other pups away from the teats she wants, mind you they
are not always the best ones, just the ones she has her eye on.. She
is also the one who starts crying when she can’t drink fast enough
(just like Scout from N-litter). Sampo is the calm pup and I call him
the future gentleman. He seems to enjoy the handling the most, always
instantly relaxing while I cuddle him (it takes a second or two for
the others). He has also realized that the best strategy for milk is
to let Merita and Tapio push each other, while finding the absolute
best teat himself. You can often see Sampo digging himself under
Ruuti to find the teat on the other side, the one neither of the
other two has managed to suckle on yet. Tapio is more like Merita,
though not as pushy. He is also the one that seems to love exploring,
I have lost count how many times I have had to grab him before he
escapes.. And he is just 3 days old now, I hope his exploring habits
diffuse a bit when he is older.. or he waits a bit until his eyes are
open ;-).
While there are some subtle personality trait
differences which can be seen now, pups are like clay – you can
mould their personalities at this age to almost anything you want. I
bet in just a day, their personalities will change again..
All
in all things are great, puppies are adorable and I really already
love them dearly.
Updated
08.06.2011 (day 5)
The
puppies are growing so fast I wouldn't believe if I wasn't seeing it
with my very own eyes. They grow around 100 grams each day now.. and
Merita-the-greedy-girl (as Betti calls her) is already over 1kg.
Tapio and Sampo are very very close to 1kg, and will probably reach
it by morning.
The pups are now fed and "running"
around the puppy box all the while yelping and whining and climbing
on top each other. I think I need to put them to sleep next to Ruuti
for a bit longer until they exhaust themselves so we all can have a
nice long sleep (it is now 2am and my internal clock is telling me to
rest my eyes). The pups need to eat about every 1h30; giving us a
good long breather in between each feeding. Ruuti uses this time to
sleep, eat and go for a short walk around the block with mum, while I
completely zonk out for a while. It is fantastic that Ruuti knows
exactly what to do: all I need to do is follow her and help where she
needs me to. I am Ruuti's stalker these days..
Ruuti knows
exactly when to come back to the puppyroom for a feeding - she lies
down next to the basket on her own and I just lift the pups next to
her. She is always very careful not to squish the pups (though I
still keep an eye out just in case). Last night I actually fell
asleep next to her for a bit during one of our midnight nursings (..
was just suppose to close my eyes for a second..) and she woke me up
herself so I could lift the pups to the basket before she got
up.
Ruuti checking that the puppies are OK - a few pups relaxing completely after stuffing themselves overly full (3 days)
Ruuti has also dug a lot of holes in the backyard - just
like Vera and Capri did when they had puppies. Between feedings she
likes to go in the yard for a good digging session, just to make sure
that if we happened to change our minds and let her take the pups
outside - the "nest" would be ready.
She has also
started to flip over the food bowls - I think it's her misguided
attempt to "bury" the food so that when the pups are weaned
she has food in store for them. Silly mother.
.... Ruuti is
staring me down now - time to feed the pups.. will continue in a
bit..
Puppies
are now fed and finally quiet. And Ruuti is now sleeping next to
them; snoring. Ah, quiet house - sorta!
Upstairs Capri, Vera
and Data are all interested in what goes on downstairs. While they
can't hear the puppies, the smells and Ruuti rushing back and forth
has them fascinated. Mom told that Data actually managed to squeeze
herself through the gate once and followed mom and Ruuti downstairs.
Mom didn't notice until after puppy nursing. We keep all of Ruuti's
food on the downstairs landing - cool spot, next to water taps and
safely away from the rest of our greedy dogs.
I think you know
where this is going, right? Well, Data - being the
always-hungry-spoiled Pug that she is, managed to inhale 2 large (and
I mean large!) bowls of milk-bread-cat-food-mince-meat-mush (only
thing Ruuti will eat at this point, she still doesn't have her normal
appetite back yet) before mom found her. Apparently she was so
stuffed that she just Stood there with a glazed look in her eyes,
breathing heavily. Mom took her upstairs and for the next day or so,
all Data would do is just lie in her bed and zone out; I hope she
learnt her lesson. We are also a bit more wary about her following us
now..
Ruuti has already given the pups a good talking to -
they were making a lot of noise today and at one point Ruuti got
annoyed. This was right after a feeding, the puppies tummies were
full (like little balloons) and they still were crying for more.
Though they wouldn't eat, they just wanted to move around and climb
on Ruuti. Well Ruuti was tired and started little short-burst,
staccato, barking session which quietened the pups - for a grand
total of 2 minutes before the whining, yelping continued..
I
need to get a cup of coffee now, my eyes are tired.. More to come
later!
Just
a quick update:
All the pups have reached the 1kg mark! At our
11am weighing today Tapio was 1020g, Sampo was exactly 1kg and Merita
was already 1140g.. They really are big puppies!
Markus with Merita, Merita is getting hungry and trying to eat Markus' earlobe..!! (day 5)
Ruuti has a
lot of milk; a bit too much for just 3 puppies and last night all
three had their first too-full tummies. The night was full of
restlessness and crying from the pups and sleeplessness from me and
Ruuti. Everytime a pup would start crying, Ruuti would lick them from
head to toe while I gently swung them back and forth to calm down.
Good co-operation from us two, but a loooong night for both. I need
to start keeping a better eye on the pups during feeding. We
definitely don't want them overfeeding as it is uncomfortable and
stressing for the pups and to us.
And Data managed to sneak
downstairs again. I have no idea how I can get her weight down if
everytime I don't keep an eye on her she sneaks downstairs..! She is
now lying on the couch, unable to move as her tummy gets in the way..
Silly greedy little girl.
As I missed the first day after the
pups were born (had a friend's wedding in Scotland at the exact time
as puppies were born, only managed to rush back here on Sunday/Monday
night) mom has been telling me little stories about what I
missed.
Here is another little story for you to enjoy:
As
we convert our sauna-room to be the birthing/puppy room for each
litter, there is a smallish drain at the centre of the room for the
shower water. During the birthing process mom had noticed that
someone had removed the top of the drain (metal drain grid) and moved
it next door and pushed it under the benches. Someone had also
stuffed one of the puppy towels in the drainpipe, and I mean really
stuffed it in there. Mom was really puzzled as she couldn't
understand why Betti would take the drain grid and place it under the
wooden benches and why she would stuff a towel down the drain .. When
she asked, Betti was just as puzzled as mom, as she hadn't done it
either..
The only explanation for what happened is that Ruuti
had been worried about her water-loving pups slipping into the
drainpipe and had in all her infinite wisdom removed the top of the
drain, taken it to the adjacent room, taken a puppy towel and really
stuffed it in the drainpipe. I think a pattern is starting to emerge
here of an overprotective Newf-mum.. ;-) !
I have started the
Battaglia handling with each pup. They really are loving the
handling. We have a routine now: after feeding, Ruuti licks the puppy
clean and I make sure that the pup has peed and pood. I start the
handling by placing the puppy on its back as they are already
comfortable with this position, I gently swing them back and forth to
make sure they are as calm as possible. I think the swinging reminds
them of lying on Ruuti's belly and that's why it calms them like
magic. While on their backs, I tickle their toes and move their feet
while calmly talking (and cuddling of course; they are just so loving
and sweet!).
Sampo completely calm during the Battaglia handling at 5 days
Then it's time to place them completely
horizontal and then upside down. I seem to always start with the head
up position - wait 5s and then bring the puppy back on its back to
calm. Though most of the time the head up position doesn't seem to
create any sort of anxiety response, just a calm, happy, stuffed
puppy. The head down position is always followed after the pups are
calm, 5 seconds and then back on their back to calm.
Ruuti
liked to observe me and the pup while we do the handling exercises
and of course she wants to participate too: after each handling
technique she wants to lick the puppy, which is fantastic as it makes
the whole situation feel even safer for the pup. I know I've said
this already - but Ruuti is a fabulous mom!
Sampo completely relaxed after feeding, Ruuti looking at what's happening - Cleaning after Sampo (day 5)
Ruuti is now
outside, cooling down near her "nests". They are so big now
that mom is worried for the sake of the bushes and plants in the
garden. I don't think she's yet realized that the day we decided to
have puppies, all hope was lost for a beautiful garden. When the pups
are born, the mom digs the garden full of big holes and once the pups
are older they run around so much that the whole back yard turns into
one big mudfield. It takes about a year for the yard to get back to
what it was, we get to enjoy it for a bit and then it's completely
messed up with the next litter. I think mom just wants to keep hoping
we'll one day have a beautiful garden...
Updated 09.06.2011 (day 6)
The basket is now officially out of the puppy room (day 5-6). We we still keep it there in case we need to quickly chuck the puppies out of the way, but they're not sleeping there anymore. The puppies have developed very thick coats, and staying in the basket (even if it is well ventilated) is too much for them. They prefer to head towards the very cold tile floor, or at least close to the cold tile wall. Even though it's not THAT hot in the puppyroom anymore, as the humidity has dropped a lot in the last few days (good thing), and the door is always open to the rest of the house (to keep it cool).
Ruuti all relaxed and milking the pups (Tapio, Merita and Sampo) - Tapio and Sampo asleep (day 6)
With
no basket, the puppies also get much more exercise, and are hence
much calmer after the feedings. They will roam around for five-ten
minutes after the feedings, and then settle down to sleep for a few
hours. Ruuti has so much milk that the feedings only occur ever 2-3
hours, despite the pups only needing to drink for a few minutes to
get full. But that's good news for us (more sleep!) and Ruuti (can go
into the corridor to cool down). The door from the puppyroom is open,
so she can come in and go out as she wishes. Usually she'll go into
the corridor after feeding, sleep there for a while, and come back
when she starts hearing the pups move around, ready for their next
feed. Ruuti will occasionally come in to just check that they're all
OK, and will sometimes just lie next to the puppies to give them some
company :-). But it's all great, as she gets to decide where she
wants to be, and the puppies are more than content with all the
attention they're getting either from Ruuti or us (though I have to
note here than when the puppies sleep, they sleep, we would never
distrub them just so that WE could cuddle them – it's important to
let them sleep, and be totally relaxed when they sleep. That way
they'll learn that nothing will ever come to them when they're
sleeping, and will be must more trusting also later in life. If we
were waking them up from their sleep constantly (even if it was for a
cuddle), they could become neurotic, never learning to sleep the deep
sleep as they would expect something unexpected to happen everytime
they close their eyes).
A pup getting on its' feet slowly but surely (day 6), back legs to follow (in the next pic of the series.. ;-) ).
The puppies are already getting on their wobbly four feet (day 5). Sampo (also lovingly called the ”Beachball” (Rantapallo) due to his always full tummy!) was the first to try it out, but Tapio and Merita are following his example. Expanding their area was therefore very important as now they get to practice walking, exercise their muscles and also develop their sense of balance. A few of the puppies are already ”running” away to either the cool floors or under the door to the actual sauna ;-) ! It's amazing how they ”know” where they're going even though their eyes haven't opened yet. Though I have to say I do wish their eyes opened soon, as for example Merita ”ran” into the wall yesterday accidentally on one of her escape trips ;-)!
The
puppies' temperaments have swapped again. Sampo is now the ”Orka”
from out N-litter, meaning that he's the whiniest puppy ever :-D. He
whines if he doesn't get enough food, if he's too full, if he's lying
on the wrong side, if he's unhappy, etc.. the list just goes on. But
then again he'll be fully content and happy if he's in our arms being
rocked, or sleeping Ruuti's tummy ;-) ! I think he's already getting
spoiled for always getting what he wants! Tapio is now much less
bossier than before, though he still is the escape artist of the
group, always wondering off to new places! Merita's not that greedy
anymore, and actually skipped a meal yesteday to have her beautysleep
as she'd stuffed herself full the previous time!
Sampo and Merita sleeping while Tapio is trying to escape to the Sauna! (day 6)
The
puppies are not just ”crying” anymore, but they're definitely
extending their vocal range from content grunts to unhappy murmurs
all the way to whining if they're lost or confused. They're starting
to sound like little-dogs, but no barking yet. They ARE yawning well
though (first yawns day 4-5). And their umbiblical cords have come
off (around day 3). Today (day 6) will be their first nail clipping
session, as the nails are surprisingly long and sharp! In general I
think their feet are much bigger than any of our previous litters'
paws, but it might just be that I've already forgotten. They're HUGE
compared to the rest of their bodies.
A very long-nailed puppy - Trimming the nails shorter (day 6)
Vera is very jealous of all the extra attention Ruuti's getting. Everytime we come upstairs form the puppyroom, she flops on her back (four feet up) and starts smiling, wanting all the cuddling and attention she can get. And who could resist the ”smile” :-) ! This week we've been joking that her face muscles must be hurting already since she's smiling all the time! It really is a ”smile” with her front teeth showing as widely as she can manage :-)!
In
case you were wondering about the call names. Merita is
Betti's pup and her first part of the name "meri" means sea
- good for a waterworking dog; right? In Finland there is also a bank
called "Merita" - though while Nefws are a big drain on the
wallet; that had nothing to do with why we named her that ;-) ! In
Finland there is also an insurance firm called Tapiola (to follow the
theme of banks and such..) And I just really like the name
"Tapio". Sampo is also a bank in Finland - goes well
with Merita and Tapio. In Finnish mythology Sampo is also a magical
artifact that brought good fortune to its holder. Just a
tidbit of information if you were at all interested.
Update 10.06.2011 (day 7)
Today the puppies are exactly one week old. The nails have been cut, the pups are starting to move around and they have almost doubled their birth weights. The weights today morning were 1260g (Tapio), 1240g (Sampo) and 1400g (Merita). I don't know how Merita is so heavy compared to the boys, as she doesn't look any bigger than the others. Actually Sampo probably looks the biggest, just because of his always full tummy.. Hence the nickname Rantapallo (Beachball).
Right
now Ruuti has TOO MUCH milk. She gets uncomfortable if the pups don't
drink every hour, but the pups are STUFFED. They physically can't
drink anymore than what they're drinking now or otherwise they'll
just cry the whole day and night due to their over-full tummies.
Luckily the pups know (at least most of the time) when to stop
drinking, i.e. when they've had enough. Ruuti's eating much better
now, almost back to normal food :-).
Tapio surpised us yesterday and repeatedly tonight. I've been writing in the blog that Sampo was the first to get on his four feet and wobble around, but Tapio actually pooed on his own several times last night! The way he does it is that he'll stop drinking, go to the side, get up on the wobbly four feet and concentrate real hard (to not to fall over and to push the poo out). Amazing, but then again, we're easily amazed when it comes to puppy development :-). You know what this means; the puppy-poo-phase is starting ;-) ! But we're really glad that Tapio knows how to already instictively ”leave the nest” to do his business outside. If he keeps up that skill, he'll be potty-trained in no time (and that'll make our lives a lot easier) !
Today it's time for the weekly chick-pics :-) !
(c) Salmelin