Puppies change every day

At this stage the puppies seem to change so much from day to day. They are serious about eating and gaining in size and Sasha is a very loving and accommodating mommy. They've put on the ounces....here's the tally from birth to today:

Stella - 9.7 ounces at birth and 13.4 ounces today
Hiro - 9.7 ounces at birth and 14.3 ounces today
Celeste - 10.2 ounces at birth and 16.5 ounces today
Gabriel - 10.2 ounces at birth and 15.8 ounces today

This group has the "huddle up" routine down pat, when Sasha leaves the whelping box they reorganize into a little puppy pile very quickly...you'll see what I mean:

Sasha's puppies are 4 days old now

The pups are now 4 days old; and every day they get faster, bigger....and noisier! Sasha and Emma are at odds with each other as Emma is SOOOOOOOooooooo wanting to get in and take over the puppies and Sasha is having nothing to do with that idea. If its anything like Sasha's last litter; it will take the girls about 2 weeks to get this all sorted out. In the meantime we're keeping Emma away from Sasha and the puppies. Sasha doesn't seem to mind the presence of our male dogs at all; particularly Newton. Of course, the guys aren't very interested in the puppies at this point either. Emma, on the other hand, goes NUTS when she hears the puppies squeaking.

Here are some videos of the squeakers, taken just moments ago:

Puppy introductions - 2 days old

The puppies are now 2 days old and are getting faster and noisier. The sounds range from creaking and squeaking to bird whistle-type calls. Here's a little video of the puppy nest cuddling together for warmth.

Squeakers ALL NIGHT LONG!

Sasha's new puppies are nursing well and crawling around in speedy fashion for one day old pups! They spent last night serenading me with their squeaks, creaks, and groans. Here's the video from yesterday evening!

Sasha's Space Cadets

Well friends we have had a very exciting morning here. Sasha went into labor around 3:30 am and by 8 we still didn't have a puppy...labor pains intensifying.....I called our local vet for reassurance and she gave me good advice. At 9:35 Sasha suddenly AGAIN produced a puppy into the world feet-first. (In her first litter born in 2009 her first puppy, Trapp, was also a footling presentation pup) I gloved up to assist her by gently pulling on the puppy and at 9:40 Stella was born.


I then had to go to a doctor's appointment, so Russell and Alan stepped up as the new midwives. Russell assisted Sasha, Alan cut the cord, Russ massaged the new pups to help with their breathing and circulation, Alan logged in the birth details. Hiro arrived at 10:15, a nice male pup with lots of flashy white.





By 10:38 a total of three pups had joined our clan with the arrival of Celeste. It seemed that all was quiet in the whelping box. Alan and Russ straightened up the whelping box, gave Sasha some water, and set the pups back in with Sasha for their first meal. I arrived home at noon and was pleased to see three vigorous squeaky puppies and a bright-eyed Sasha. I was on the phone to another sheltie lover when....AH-HA...suddenly puppy number four appeared. Gabriel was born 2 hours after pup #3 and was not breathing and lethargic. After some suctioning and a lot of rubbing and praying, he was hiccuping and pink.



So we are proud to announce that mommy Sasha and her four pups are all doing well. Sasha is again showing what a wonderful and attentive mommy she is. All of the pups are crawling, squeaking, and nursing well.

A happy morning! Videos to come soon!