The 'A' Litter Arrives
The A litter is here! Piper delivered eight healthy puppies on Saturday night - and not without her usual flair for the dramatic.
Early labor began on Friday night and continued into Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon her water had broken, but there was still no progress after a few hours and a strong effort at pushing. A quick call with the vet turned into a recommendation to go into the hospital, just in case the first pup was stuck.
We drove quickly to the emergency vet and got settled into a room to wait. Piper continued pushing and straining. In jest I said, “If you deliver a puppy now, Piper, so help me…,” but she one upped me. She soon pushed out not one but two puppies onto the hospital floor. This was surely my payback for making such careful plans and staging all necessary supplies in a sanitary setup in our living room. The hospital floor.
A tech rushed in to assist with cleaning up the pups and getting the cords tied off. After a quick consult, we were advised to go home since everything appeared to be progressing normally. Now, the concern was to get home - safely - fast enough to avoid a birth in the car. We rushed home with the heat blasting, imploring Piper to please hold off until we arrived home. She dutifully obliged, and pup #3 was born shortly after getting re-settled in the whelping box at home.
Happily, the remaining pups arrived without nearly as much excitement, and Piper settled into her new role as doting mother right away. It’s truly amazing to watch these deep instincts come to life. She is completely devoted to caring for the pups, rising only when I suggest that she go outside or get a bite to eat. Simply magic.
The puppies are beautiful, healthy, and big. Half of the litter was over a pound at birth! They fill their days with eating, sleeping, and eating some more - they are going to grow quickly!
There are three females (one brown with a white chest patch and two dunkelschimmel) and five males (one brown with a white chest patch and four dunkelschimmel). I can’t wait to see them grow up and turn into amazing companions and bird hunting machines. But for now… just some more nap time will do.