Well, Poppy’s temperature dropped to 37.2 degrees centigrade at 8am on Thursday, 16th May so, we knew she would be going into labour within 12-24 hours. She got more and more restless, throughout the day, was breathing heavily and, not touching food, or treats. She started digging a hole in the garden so, we had to follow her everywhere, in case she had a puppy outside!
She eventually produced her first puppy at 04.40 hours on Friday, 17th. She dropped “Miss Black” on the bedroom floor.. She proceeded to deliver another 12 beautiful, healthy babies, over the course of 11 hours. We thought she was finished after 12 pups, as the vet had told us to expect 11 or twelve. Amazingly enough, she delivered her final puppy, an hour later, “Mr Transparent”. He was a big puppy but floppy and needed a bit of resuscitation. He wasn’t taking to the nipple easily but, he got the hang of it and is now, the most voracious and vocal member of the family!
Their average weight was a healthy 480 grams. The heaviest female was “Miss Orange”, weighing in at 555 grams. Only one little girl was below 400 grams (384g) but, she has gained weight overnight and, is now over 400 grams. The heaviest boy was “Mr Green”, at 563 grams. He was born midway through the whelping process and, Poppy had a bit of a struggle to deliver him.
They should increase their weight by roughly 10% per day, doubling it by 7-10 days. We are keeping a close watch on those who are not gaining weight and giving them more time at the nipple.
Poppy is so accommodating and let’s us move her to expose all her nipples and help attach the babies. She will hardly leave their side and runs out to do the toilet for a couple of minutes only. She watches our every move, if handling her precious babies!
It has been an honour and privilege to see Poppy’s litter being born and watch how capable she is as a new Mum. The babies are adorable, with sticky out ears, a bit like “Yaddle” (“The Wise one below”), in Star Wars! They are already wagging their tails whilst feeding. The puppy hierarchy is already forming. We shall continue to watch with interest, dedication and gratitude, the forming of this new pack of Ridgebacks.
