Do you know what is nice?  A pregnant mom who is doing everything ‘by the book’.  The last litter I whelped here in my home was Jazz’s brood, two years ago.   Jazz does everything her way, meaning there was no messing around.  She didn’t nest.  She didn’t show any normal signs of labor I have noted in my 20 years of dog breeding.   One morning Keith and I went out to a movie.  Jazz was calm and happy.  Less than 2 hours later I walk into a home with a panicking poodle.   Within an hour she was popping out the first puppy… a full week early.  I swear she must have been crossing her legs, willing herself to make until I made it back home.  I wasn’t prepared to say the least.

Keeping that experience firmly in the front of my mind, I attacked this event with more preparation.  I have had everything set up for weeks, made sure I had plenty of puppy formula supplies, supplements for the mom, fluids, towels, you name it.  When you only whelp a litter every 2-3 years and move as often as we do things go missing.   I was not going to be caught in a similar situation with Miss Billie.

For those eagerly awaiting these babies, Billie is right on schedule.  She tried to keep me awake all night digging in the whelping box last night.  She is panting, sleeping, and not eating as much as she normally would.  Her temperature has dropped, so we will have babies within the next 48 hours!

For more information on this litter, you can visit these previous blog post.

~Becky