The puppies are doing great on day #2 of their lives. They nurse and nap, nurse and nap, all night, all day.  In between, they drag themselves around Finley’s body parts. They lie along her belly, on her neck, across her legs and alongside her back. We watch the goings-on, supporting them minimally as Finley provides most of what they need. Our main job is to to provide Finley what she needs – cool cloths to keep her comfortable, many small meals of beef, chicken, fish, dog food, yogurt (with a little ice cream mixed in) and water (with unsalted chicken broth.)

It was a huge surprise that she only had three puppies! Her first litter (2013) contained 12 puppies and we expected (and hoped for) about eight to ten from this breeding. When she started getting big, we feared that it might be another big litter. So it was a shock when she was x-rayed the week before she whelped, and we learned that she was carrying only three puppies.  We are grateful they arrived safely and are all healthy but are tremendously sad for the families that were hoping for a pup from this breeding.

What a difference it makes in caring for just three! The first thing I realized is that we’re not constantly counting to 12 to make sure no one is underneath her. We’re weighing them twice a day to ensure that they’re growing, but we won’t need to do any supplemental feeding as we’ve done with litters of 12. Still, Biff and I are tag-teaming 24/7 so that one of us is always near.

They began arriving just minutes past their “due date” but Finley’s puppies are here and they’re healthy, moving, nursing, sleeping and eliminating well.  We pulled an all-nighter so Biff is sleeping now and I’m on puppy watch, making sure they lock onto nipples regularly and supporting Finley who, for the next few weeks, does most of the work.  She’s a great mom and has only left them briefly to go out to do her business.  Then she zips right back to the whelping box. “Puppy families” will hear from us soon via email or phone with more info.

Summer’s arrived and we’re counting down the days ’til Finley’s due date – June 8th. That’s Chev in the wading pool.  He knows how to cool himself off when the temperatures rise.  All three dogs have spent part of the day with me, napping on the porch between times out in the backyard. That’s Finley stretched out in the photo below.  Biff and I were both able to feel the puppies moving last night and this morning.

Here are two more views of Finley, taken today as she nears the end of her pregnancy. She appears ready for her upcoming role as a “milk machine.”  Again, apologies if the photo below is a bit indiscreet, but it’s amazing to see how much her underside has changed.

We’ll post again after the puppies have arrived.  Whelping is a bit of a marathon to experience, but we’ll post as soon as we can afterward.

Biff set up the whelping pen this afternoon and has been gathering supplies we’ll need next week.  It’s getting close!