Sunday, August 2, 2009 11:10 AM

Monroe's temp was 99.0 last night at 11 pm so I put two dog beds by the whelping box and slept on the floor most of the night. I got up and climed into bed at 4:30 am and she came in and crawled up on the bed by Cheri and me -- I guess she just mainly wanted company. This morning her temp was 98.7 and she is definitely having periodic contractions. We will surely be having puppies within a couple of hours. Following is Cheri sitting in the whelping box sorting the large stack of mail that came during our vacation:

1:23 PM

Monroe is continuing to be uncomfortable and is clearly having occasional contractions. As is usually the case with a mother-to-be in early labor, she often gets up and goes outside to squat when she feels a contractions. But of course, she doesn't really need to poop or pee, so she wanders about and comes back inside and gets back into the whelping box. Our house is arranged such that there is a large closet (about 6 x 7 feet) that opens onto the master bath. The room was originally intended to be for a sauna and even has a 220-volt service. Most of the time it is just a storage closet but for the few weeks every year or so when we have a litter of puppies, it is our whelping room. It is convenient because after the pups are born, we can easily hear what is going on from our bed at night, in case we need to make a quick rescue of a pup who has wandered too far from the milk bar. The master bath also has a dog door that provides access to a fully enclosed privacy garden that has a gravel surface, so the mom can leave the box and do her business without having to go too far from the puppies. The following photo sort of gives the idea:

3:20 PM

The first puppy came with some difficulty. Lots of yelping and discomfort for Monroe. It is a ridged male, 18 3/8 ounces. White toes on all four feet and a square white marking on his chest. Rear dew claws on both feet. Looks like he has a single-crowned ridge. No sac or placenta. [TONGA]

4:35 PM

The second puppy is a 14-ounce ridgeless female. Some white toes on all four feet. No rear dew claws. Born with full sac and placenta. Small white chest patch, up the neck a little. [TAHITI]

5:05 PM

The third puppy is a stillborn 11-ounce male. Rear dew claws on both feet, show ridge although a little offset. White toes on all four feet. This puppy appears to have died quite recently as there was no sign of resorption. However, his tounge, nose and feet were all quite white. We did try to revive him but without success. He emerged after a large amount of dark fluid, not in a sac. The placenta was delivered a few minutes later.

6:06 PM

The 4th puppy is a 19-ounce, ridgeless boy. No rear dew claws. White toes on all feet. Born out of the sac, placenta delivered. [COOK]

6:20 PM

The 5th puppy is a 15 1/2 ounce, ridgeless male. Rear dew claws both feet. No white toes, white rectangle on chest. [TUAMOTU]

6:32 PM

The 6th puppy is a 16 3/4-ounce ridgeless female. No rear dew claws, one white toe on right rear foot. Nice symmetrical chest blaze. [FIJI]

7:10 PM

The 7th puppy is an 18-ounce female with a very short ridge (less than half of normal). Rear dew claws on both feet. In sac, no placenta. White toes on back feet, rectangular white blaze on chest. So far not a successful litter -- 4 ridgeless and two pet ridgtes. [MARQUESA]

8:15 PM

The 8th puppy was a 16-ounce, ridgeless male. He has minimal white and has rear dew claws on both feet, double on one and single on the other. He was born in the sac with a placenta. [SOLOMON]

9:31 PM

The train wreck continues. Puppy #9 is a 16-ounce, ridgeless female. No rear dew claws. Minimal white. In sac, no placenta. That makes six ridgeless puppies and two pet ridges. [SAMOA]

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