A successful whelping
On Tuesday night/morning around 2:30am Darcy gave birth to 12 healthy puppies, 6 dogs and 6 bitches. Since then we always need someone with her since she is VERY restless and keeps on trying to move them elsewhere. That means that we moved the whelping pen where she wanted it, turned off the heat lamp after taking her to the vet with a temperature and making her special food so she eats something. Herbal calming drugs and food stimulant are being given often to get her on track as well as antibiotics.
For a first time mother (not like poppy) she is doing well if a bit gobsmacked. We have quickly put in place a basket system for the puppies, 6 on 6 off (excellent that there is 6 of each sex) so she can actually cope. All go on every 2 hours or so for a good cleaning but she doesn't like eating their poop yet so lots of toilet paper in use.
Someone has to sit by her in the box and try and get her calmed down so it is good that Freddy and her mother are here to help us out, leaving me free to do my work.
In other news all the dogs have settled down nicely in their new arrangement, thank god, and are not waking us all up at 2am, 4am and whatnot. It seems like the puppies don't like sleeping in the kennels so they come into the house at night and a bark collar goes on loud Lino. This makes for fun at 5:30am when I take them out.
My new schedule:
Wake up 5:30am- get dressed in many layers and take a flapjack with me
Go up to the kitchen (check on Gill whose slept overnight with Darcy)
Pick up Orchid (8 months) go though the utility room (where 3 boys are) and take her out back in grassy run to pee/poo
Take her back into the food room (next to utility seperated with gate)
Feed her, Raffles (her brother), Circo and Lino.
Taken them ALL on leads........which is hell in a handbasket up to the main dog run
Let 3 off, Orchid, Circo, Lino and take Raffles down to the grassy run to pee/poo and take him back in
I cannot let all 4 out on the main run since Raffles just creates too much chaos
Get the others down and back in their crates to go back to sleep
Get Joseph out
Check on Gill again/ feed +take Darcy out
Go back down to FIR: Feed 4 dogs- Dolly Magda Sia and Fisher (who is in the utility room at day and in FIR with his harem of girls at night)- Take them out on the paddock with bark collar (turned off)
This is now around 6-6:30 am?? and so I go down and feed/clean the 6 week old puppies
They will be going soon though, today and tomorrow so this time will be used as originally-cleaning FIR
Bring them back down, take Aoife who is sleeping in my room on injury time out
Go back to the kitchen, pick up Orchid and then feed let out the kennel girls putting Orchid back with them for the day
Feed let out kennel boys
Clean up inanimate objects, water buckets food bowls poop scoops
8am- eat breakfast - porridge with nuts, fruit
After start walks or alternating paddock time so I can clean up everywhere
Vaccuming if guests are coming, getting stuff done basically
This is only if the paddock is dry, if raining then take them all on walks
Dog groups:
Fir 3 dogs, House 3 dogs, Kennel girls set 1 -3 dogs, set 2 -2 dogs, then kennel boys 2 dogs
Total walking time 2-3 hours
Hopefully finish by 11am-noon for mid-day feedings of wee pups, circo/lino and raffles then let them all out in the paddock to play getting fisher out early since he can't stand the puppies for long
Then start to think about lunch as in many other things distract from getting lunch for about an hour then eat around 1pm.
If things work out then I can sleep from 2-3pm but some days we go out with the puppies, or shopping. Also I bake and cook things in the break, or watch tv/movies.
3pm- Start dogs all over again but much easier since I don't have to move anyone
There is time built in to this slot for many things: grooming, kennel cleaning, main run power washing, and more vaccuming. I have time for one of these per day and all need to be done 2x week.
It takes about 1 hour to do the dogs and then puppies need to be done again so maybe finish around 5:30 or if things go wrong around 6.
Dinner is made for 6pm and is usually very good depending on who made it( I'm not fond of the steak and kidney pie last week) but yesterday's chili was excellent.
A small break from end of dinner ~7pm to 8pm when I have to start the dogs again. This time is spent helping Gill with her computer/setting up the website, watching tv (merlin!!) or monarch of the glen, or being on the computer.
I try and work time in around meals to be on the computer since the connection only works in the kitchen area, or luckily the whelping room.
Putting the dogs to bed is always a rush against darkness but I have given up since its dark when I start now, so I just managed with the spot lights on. A shifting of puppies and Fisher goes on and then biscuits for all. Thank goodness for my rainjacket which has many large pockets and helps keep me warm against the wind off the mountains of Scotland.
After finishing around 9pm its time to take a shower and go to bed, or if I had a nap continuing my Harry Potter movies marathon....which has taken me 2 months to get to movie #6.
A busy life but very rewarding!
For a first time mother (not like poppy) she is doing well if a bit gobsmacked. We have quickly put in place a basket system for the puppies, 6 on 6 off (excellent that there is 6 of each sex) so she can actually cope. All go on every 2 hours or so for a good cleaning but she doesn't like eating their poop yet so lots of toilet paper in use.
Someone has to sit by her in the box and try and get her calmed down so it is good that Freddy and her mother are here to help us out, leaving me free to do my work.
In other news all the dogs have settled down nicely in their new arrangement, thank god, and are not waking us all up at 2am, 4am and whatnot. It seems like the puppies don't like sleeping in the kennels so they come into the house at night and a bark collar goes on loud Lino. This makes for fun at 5:30am when I take them out.
My new schedule:
Wake up 5:30am- get dressed in many layers and take a flapjack with me
Go up to the kitchen (check on Gill whose slept overnight with Darcy)
Pick up Orchid (8 months) go though the utility room (where 3 boys are) and take her out back in grassy run to pee/poo
Take her back into the food room (next to utility seperated with gate)
Feed her, Raffles (her brother), Circo and Lino.
Taken them ALL on leads........which is hell in a handbasket up to the main dog run
Let 3 off, Orchid, Circo, Lino and take Raffles down to the grassy run to pee/poo and take him back in
I cannot let all 4 out on the main run since Raffles just creates too much chaos
Get the others down and back in their crates to go back to sleep
Get Joseph out
Check on Gill again/ feed +take Darcy out
Go back down to FIR: Feed 4 dogs- Dolly Magda Sia and Fisher (who is in the utility room at day and in FIR with his harem of girls at night)- Take them out on the paddock with bark collar (turned off)
This is now around 6-6:30 am?? and so I go down and feed/clean the 6 week old puppies
They will be going soon though, today and tomorrow so this time will be used as originally-cleaning FIR
Bring them back down, take Aoife who is sleeping in my room on injury time out
Go back to the kitchen, pick up Orchid and then feed let out the kennel girls putting Orchid back with them for the day
Feed let out kennel boys
Clean up inanimate objects, water buckets food bowls poop scoops
8am- eat breakfast - porridge with nuts, fruit
After start walks or alternating paddock time so I can clean up everywhere
Vaccuming if guests are coming, getting stuff done basically
This is only if the paddock is dry, if raining then take them all on walks
Dog groups:
Fir 3 dogs, House 3 dogs, Kennel girls set 1 -3 dogs, set 2 -2 dogs, then kennel boys 2 dogs
Total walking time 2-3 hours
Hopefully finish by 11am-noon for mid-day feedings of wee pups, circo/lino and raffles then let them all out in the paddock to play getting fisher out early since he can't stand the puppies for long
Then start to think about lunch as in many other things distract from getting lunch for about an hour then eat around 1pm.
If things work out then I can sleep from 2-3pm but some days we go out with the puppies, or shopping. Also I bake and cook things in the break, or watch tv/movies.
3pm- Start dogs all over again but much easier since I don't have to move anyone
There is time built in to this slot for many things: grooming, kennel cleaning, main run power washing, and more vaccuming. I have time for one of these per day and all need to be done 2x week.
It takes about 1 hour to do the dogs and then puppies need to be done again so maybe finish around 5:30 or if things go wrong around 6.
Dinner is made for 6pm and is usually very good depending on who made it( I'm not fond of the steak and kidney pie last week) but yesterday's chili was excellent.
A small break from end of dinner ~7pm to 8pm when I have to start the dogs again. This time is spent helping Gill with her computer/setting up the website, watching tv (merlin!!) or monarch of the glen, or being on the computer.
I try and work time in around meals to be on the computer since the connection only works in the kitchen area, or luckily the whelping room.
Putting the dogs to bed is always a rush against darkness but I have given up since its dark when I start now, so I just managed with the spot lights on. A shifting of puppies and Fisher goes on and then biscuits for all. Thank goodness for my rainjacket which has many large pockets and helps keep me warm against the wind off the mountains of Scotland.
After finishing around 9pm its time to take a shower and go to bed, or if I had a nap continuing my Harry Potter movies marathon....which has taken me 2 months to get to movie #6.
A busy life but very rewarding!