Poppy’s second pregnancy

Poppy’s ultrasound on 19 December 2018. Her appointment was at 9.30am and Dr Bob Cavey of Ultimate Vet Clinic in Narre Warren confirmed her pregnancy. The small marble-like shapes in the centre are puppies! (Note: ignore the dates/times on the image)

19 December 2018 – Day 30

Poppy is now expecting! Bob Cavey counted 5 pups on one side and 4 on the other. There could be more tucked in behind her ribs but it won’t be possible to get a more accurate count until an X-ray at 8 weeks of pregnancy. Based on her progesterone tests in November and likely timing of ovulation, he estimates the due date to be 21 January 2019.

The father of the puppies is Dougie (Kelindebar Power of Magic) again so the pups will be full siblings of her first litter. Dougie is an Australian Grand Champion and was Dogzonline Show Dog of the Year (Victoria) in 2015 and 2017. Thanks to Linda Adams for allowing us to use his services.

The Royal Canin website has a handy guide to the milestones of canine pregnancy. Puppies are still embryos, but by Day 35 they will be foetuses.

24 December – Day 35

Puppies are now foetuses! Poppy seems to be slowing down and is very snuggly and follows me everywhere. She seems less interested in chasing the ball and swimming but was very interested in my Christmas shopping at Pet Barn when I came home with a bag of dog toys!

Merry Christmas to all Papoulab pups and their families!

Poppy looking decidedly pregnant on Christmas Eve (Day 35)

25  & 26 December 2018 – Days 36 & 37

A new crunchy Christmas ball gave Poppy a bit of excitement, but by Boxing day she preferred to snooze on her recently rediscovered toy, Dachsy.

4 January 2019 – Day 46

Now more than 6 weeks pregnant (equivalent to months in a human pregnancy), Poppy has greatly slowed down and is more sedate on her daily walks. Today was the hottest day for 5 years (around the time Poppy came to us as an 8 week old puppy), with a maximum of 43C!

We took her with daughter Luna to Hawker Beach in Mt Martha at 8.30am where she enjoyed cooling her feet, while Luna dashed around with all the other dogs in and out of the water. For the rest of the day she lay on the cool kitchen tiles in the air conditioning and once the cool change came in we went to recover the whelping box, which has spent the past two years safe and dry in the cubby.

8 January 2019 – Day 50

Puppy supplies arrived today! Still to purchase – disposable gloves, sanitising gel, new towels and calcium supplement once Poppy is nursing. She is already on puppy food with a higher protein and fat content.

9 January – Day 51

I swear Poppy is bigger this time! Compared with some pictures (see Poppy’s first pregnancy below) from Day 57 last time, she seems larger. Tomorrow is her appointment at the vet for a puppy count X-ray.

10 January – Day 52

How many puppies can you see? 8? 9? 10?

12 January – Day 54

Driving to the park now instead of walking there to let Poppy have a sniff and stretch her legs. It’s hard for her to get comfortable and her tummy seems to be growing by the minute!

13 January – Day 55

The puppy room is ready! There was a last minute change when I decided to commandeer our daughter’s room (who is away at university in Queensland) which was the most suitable with an en suite, proximity to the laundry and not too big to heat (yes – we must heat the puppy room even in this weather!). Web cam now set up, a fresh set of towels and hand sanitiser ready to go. The countdown for the last week has begun.

Top L-R: Poppy checking out the whelping box; whelping box in place; hand sanitiser and disposable gloves ready; puppy supplies, including collars, heat pillows, weighing scales and emergency feeding bottles. Below: Poppy stretched out on the bed, which she has claimed as hers; snapshot from the webcam.

16 January – Day 58

The heat has taken it out of Poppy, but she has been staying in the nice cool air conditioning. She is now sleeping in our room on her own mattress but very restless, and wanted breakfast at 5.45am! Today is not so hot (yet!) so she was out sunning herself on the deck earlier. Now snoring inside on my feet.

Waiting …..

18 January – Day 60

With slightly cooler weather, Poppy has settled again after a couple of days of panting and general discomfort. She has not lost her insatiable appetite though and thinks 4am is a good time for breakfast! Interestingly, she isn’t really displaying the nesting behaviour (digging holes) as last time but spend a lot of time cleaning herself and is already producing a little milk. When she lies on her back, the puppies are clearly seen moving around.

20 January – Day 62

Where are those puppies?! We all felt that Poppy would go early (as she did last time on Day 61) especially due to her bigger size this time around. Naturally enough she spends her time snoozing, or sometimes visits her favourite lily pilly bushes for a nice back scratch!

Evening resting spot – not interested in the tennis!

Morning lie-in after a night of visits to the garden and early breakfast

Lily pillies are great for a back scratch! This was also the previous litter’s favourite play area.

At around 3pm on Day 62, there were signs that Poppy was entering the first stage of labour, including digging behaviour, and heavy panting. We moved her to the whelping room where we were kindly provided with a TV to watch the tennis!

Puppies did not arrive during the evening but held off until after midnight so it was Day 63 – their due date of 21 January!

21 January – Day 63 Whelping Day!

Although I settled Poppy down to sleep, by 1.45am she was up and had to make several trips to the garden. Had to follow her closely in case puppy number 1 arrived outside! Once inside it was evident contractions were getting stronger and a pup was about to be born. Instead of the whelping box, Poppy decided her old bed in the laundry was a better place to be, which is where the first pup started to appear. She returned to the whelping box and at last at 3.20am a black girl was born. Her name is Agaricia.

L-R: In the whelping box; More comfortable in her old bed; Back in the whelping box with Agaricia.

The puppies have all arrived now, and after being vet checked they have settled into a life of eating and sleeping. Their pedigree names are names of coral genera as suggested by our daughter, a marine biologist.

Welcome to the world! Details of our babies are below, including collar colour, time of birth, weight and pedigree names.

1.  Black girl – pink collar – 3.20am – 481g – Agaricia (Aggy)
2. Black girl – yellow collar – 5.38am – 473g – Galaxea
3. Chocolate boy – blue collar – 5.43am – 452g – Helioseris (Helio)
4. Chocolate boy – red collar – 7.06am – 447g – Madracis (Madras)
5. Yellow girl – light purple- 7.29am – 454g – Astrea
6. Black boy – green – 8.55am – 484g – Porites
7. Chocolate girl – light blue – 9.06am – 375g – Pectinia
8. Yellow boy – dark purple – 10.42am – 492g – Favites
9. Black boy – orange – 12.48pm – 382g – Montipora (Monti)