MATING, PREGNANCY & BIRTH

4 July 2008 - Sarnia comes into season.

16-19 July 2008 - Sarnia was mated with Kernow.

13 August 2008 - Ultrasound confirmed that Sarnia was pregnant but showing signs of reabsorbing. In an effort to maintain the pregnancy she was started on a course of antibiotics and metamide.

19 August 2008 - Repeat ultrasound showed that there are at least 4 pups and all seem to be doing well. Antibiotics stopped but metamide will continue for the rest of her pregnancy.

4 September 2008 - Sarnia is now 7 weeks pregnant and doing well. She is really putting on weight now and the waiting game continues for another 2 weeks. The whelping box has been put together and there has been some nesting activity happening in the garden (eg hole digging!!!).

10 September 2008 - Sarnia and I have moved into the spare bedroom to get her used to the change of environment. Approximately 1 week to go before the pups are born. Sarnia is now being fed a number of small meals as she is not able to eat a full meal and keep it down due to the lack of room!! Watched her last night as she lay on the floor and could see the movement of the puppies - very exciting times!!!

11 September 2008 - Managed to get a couple of pictures of Sarnia's preggie belly today. Only time will tell how many pups she is carrying and when she will deliver.

14 September 2008 - Sarnia has expanded more and is now spending more and more time sleeping. I have been taking her temperature regularly as there is generally a significant drop approximately 12-24 hours before whelping, but that has not yet occured so the waiting game continues!!

16 September 2008 - Sarnia began the first stages of labour late morning and kept me up all night as she puffed and panted and allowed her body to get ready for the birth. She was very clingy and did not want to be far from my side.

17 September 2008 -
2.20am - Sarnia's waters broke, contractions started and the wait for the first puppy to be born began.
3.15am - Black Female born
4.26am - Chocolate Male born
4.40am - Chocolate Female born
Sarnia then decided that she was going to have a rest. After 2 hours of nothing happening I contacted the vet and we decided that we would give her half an hour or so and then it may mean a trip to the vet to see how things were going.
7.00am - Sarnia began contractions again so the vet was called and decided that we would leave things and see how things progressed.
8.05am - Black Male born
8.48am - Black Female born
9.15am - Sarnia was given a shot of calcium to try and increase the strength of her contractions as she was getting VERY tired by this point and we could tell that there was still at least another pup waiting to be born.
9.34am - Black Male born
Timelines from this point on are a bit fuzzy!!!
11.00am ish - After no further contractions and still feeling something in her uterus it was time to head to the vets for an ultrasound to see what we were dealing with. We found that she still had a pup retained but it's heart rate was slower than the vet would have liked. Sarnia was given another shot of calcium, a shot of oxytocin and some manual manipulation to try and get contractions happening. After 30 minutes we repeated the ultrasound and the heart rate had slowed further and the pup was not moving. The word that all breeders dread was mentioned - c-section!!! So, it was off to theatre for Sarnia and watching her go under anaesthetic was the worst thing ever!! We found 2 pups stuck up high in the uterine horn in an area that was not contracting so there was no way that they were going to move. Decision was made to get them out as quick as possible which was a bigger surgical procedure than a normal c-section.
12.00pm - 12.30pm ish Black Female and Chocolate Male born and Sarnia's surgery was completed with lots of stitches!!!
3.00pm ish - Sarnia is back at home (very sleepy) but content in the whelping box with her babies!!!
After being awake since 6am Tuesday morning when I got up for work, I went to bed exhausted at 10.30pm Wednesday night!!!

A big thanks to Ann Harris (Kernow's owner and my good friend) for all of her support yesterday as we delivered the pups. And also to the wonderful vets (Ros, Corrie and Anton) and the nurses at Chirnside Park Vet Clinic who did a brilliant job looking after Sarnia and all of the pups as it was a real team effort with surgery, reviving pups and ensuring that all of the other pups were well without their Mum for a few hours.

THE PUPS - WEEK 1

18 September 2008 - The pups are all doing well although have dropped a little bit of weight since yesterday but this will pick up in the next day or two as Sarnia's milk comes in. She is recovering well from the c-section and settled into her role of Mum.

Guinness is used to pups being around (he has seen the process for 2 litters) and Reilly is slowly working out that he is not meant to be around the spare bedroom (at least not whilst him Mum can see him). Showed him a pup this morning as he was inquisitive about the noises coming from the spare room, but he took a look and stepped back - not too sure what they are all about!!!

In birth order, the pups are:
Miss Apricot (black), Mr Red (chocolate), Miss Yellow (chocolate), Mr Red (black), Miss Blue (black), Mr Green (black), Miss Burgundy (black) and Mr Green (chocolate)
(the ribbons are so I can monitor individual pups easily).

20 September 2008 - It seems that Sarnia's milk is finally coming in and the majority of the pups are starting to gain weight. They all seem quite content, with only the occasional noise from one when it gets lost or can't find a nipple quick enough!! Sarnia has settled well into motherhood and takes everything in her stride and quite often the only noise from the whelping box is her snoring!!!

21 September 2008 - We had quite a few visitors today as their new owners came for the first flying visit. Sarnia as always was totally unphased and if she wasn't feeding greeted people with enthusiasm. Reilly and Guinness were also pleased to see so many visitors, although Reilly did get a bit excited but crashed by the end of the afternoon. It was nice to meet so many people personally that I have talked to via phone and email and to see how excited they were to be getting a puppy. The next visits will now not be until the pups are about 4 weeks old when they are up on their feet.

22 September 2008 - Photo taken this morning of Sarnia and the pups. Excuse the quality but the whelping box is enclosed to keep in the heat and this causes the camera flash to reflect but if no flash then the photo is a bit dark. The pups are 5 days old today and all are feeding well and gaining weight.

THE PUPS - WEEK 2

24 September 2008 - Today is the pup's first birthday - 1 week old. Hard to imagine what was going on last week as it seems so long ago. Sarnia has recovered well and is very content spending time with her babies and although she is free to come and go she chooses to spend a lot of time in the whelping box with them sleeping. All pups are now putting on weight steadily. Miss Blue (black female) is the smallest but she is strong and feeding well and is now gaining weight daily. The chocolate boys are the heaviest!!!

Picture shows the pups in birth order (from left to right):

28 September 2008 - The pups are all continuing to do well and are feeding strongly. A couple of them have been complete gluttons!!! The pups are all moving around the whelping box well and starting to realise that they have rear legs. The next exciting phase is waiting for their eye to open (over the next few days) and for the ear canals to open.

29 September 2008 - Eyes not yet opening, but sure that it will only be a couple of days.

30 September 2008 - Exciting times this morning as I noticed the first pups beginning to open their eyes. For some there is just a glint, but I am certain that by tomorrow morning some will be fully open.

THE PUPS - WEEK 3

1 October 2008 - All of the puppies now have their eyes partially open although their vision is not yet able to focus. I am sure they are wondering who it is that keeps staring into their faces each morning!!! Most have now found their rear legs and are starting to put weight onto them although not yet walking. Puppies were wormed this morning.

2 October 2008 - Pups are continuing to find their feet and staggering around the whelping box. It is amazing how quick they develop their motor skills. Came home tonight and found Miss Apricot outside of the whelping box (I had noticed earlier that some of them had been investigating the barrier) so the taller barrier has been installed and Sarnia will have to exert some energy and jump into the box. The pups have also had their first collars put on.

Took a quick video this morning of the pups feeding and trying to walk.

4 October 2008 - The puppy pen was put up in the family room today (thanks Ann and Graham) and the pups spent some time in there this afternoon getting used to a more open space. Introduced a couple of toys (which Reilly and Sarnia decided the pups were too young for) and will continue to introduce new things to the pups over the weeks. Puppies all had their toe nails cut today (I am sure that Sarnia will give me thanks for that later) and over the next couple of days will be gradually introduced to solid food.

7 October 2008 - Haven't written anything for a few days but things are changing rapidly with the pups. They started on their first solid food 3 days ago and enjoyed 2 days of baby porridge and today had their first meal of soaked Supercoat Puppy mixed with some milk replacer. The pups are all on their feet and starting to walk with a bit more stability and are starting to interact with one another (eg pawing at each other and making noises). They have also started to toilet by themselves and is interesting to see at this early age that they try to get towards the outside edges of the whelping box before going. The weather has been a bit chilly for them to spend a lot of time in the puppy pen the last couple of days as despite being indoors the room takes a lot longer to heat up than the puppy room.

THE PUPS - WEEK 4

8 October 2008 - Wondering where the time has gone as the puppies are 3 weeks old today. The puppy pen has been reduced to half size as the pups were finding it a bit overwhelming in size and haven't quite realised that sleeping on newspaper on a tiled floor is not half as comfortable as the nice warm blanket at the other end!!! They will spend their first full day in the puppy pen today. Pups are now walking quite well, are beginning to respond when I talk to them (eg when I come home and talk to them they will stir from being asleep) and are enjoying their solid meals.

12 October 2008 - The puppy pen has been increased to 3/4 and I will probably take the barrier out over the next couple of days to given the the full space. Pups are all enjoying their solid meals (now 3 per day and a mixture of Supercoat Puppy, meat and rice) and are still feeding from Sarnia although less frequently. Lying down to feed is become troublesome and the pups are trying to feed with her standing up but not quite got the height to reach fully so there is a lot of jostling as one loses grip and another steals that spot at the milkbar!! Pups are interacting with one another - barking, growling, pawing and general wrestling but tire easily (5 minutes play to 1 hour of sleep).

THE PUPS - WEEK 5

15 October 2008 - Puppies are now sleeping in the puppy pen and it has been opened to full space which the pups are enjoying. Great watching them play with toys (giving the the death shake) and trying to drag their bedding!!! And, they have teeth (as my foot found out the other day). Pups were all weighed and wormed today. Eating 4 solid meals as well as feeding from Sarnia regularly, although she now stands to feed for them.

Video was taken yesterday of the pups playing. All over in 5 minutes and they went back to sleep!!!!

20 October 2008 - The puppies are now spending time outside in the puppy run and are having a great time exploring and enjoying the extra space to run and play. It is great to see them gaining confidence (eg put a raised timber pallet in the pen and yesterday they could not get onto it, but this morning they have learnt to approach it at more of a run and can get on top). They were also introduced to their first bones and had a great time with 1/2 a chicken wing each.

THE PUPS - WEEK 6

25 October 2008 - Apologies for being a bit slack with the update!! What can I say, except the pups are doing really really well. Today the weather was quite warm and the pups were introduced to the wading pool and enjoyed spending some time in the water cooling off and exploring the garden (a short break out from the puppy pen). Lots of visitors today and the warm weather has tired the pups out and as I write this they are all sound asleep!!

The registration papers from the Victorian Canine Association have arrived and many of the pups have been picked and also now have their names chosen by their new families. The litter has been named using Cornish dances as their base (Kernow is the Cornish name for Cornwall and Sarnia's pedigree name is Waintree RYTHM oth River hence picking up dance from rythm - hope that explanation makes sense!!).

QUIGSAR HELSTON MAIDEN - Miss Burgundy (Carlin) - Black Female
QUIGSAR LISKEARD BELLE - Miss Blue (Molly Bear McDuff - many contributors to the name!!) - Black Female
QUIGSAR BOLINGEY LASS - Miss Apricot (Bonnie) - Black Female
QUIGSAR CROWSHENSA DIVA - Miss Yellow (Yarah) - Chocolate Female
QUIGSAR CORWEDHAN MAJOR - Mr Green (Major) - Black Male
QUIGSAR CORNISH SQUIRE - Mr Red (Dexter) - Black Male
QUIGSAR TREGAJORRAN LORD - Mr Green (Murray) - Chocolate Male
QUIGSAR KERNEWEK PRINCE - Mr Red (Angus) - Chocolate Male

THE PUPS - WEEK 7

29 October 2008 - Time is flying and it is hard to believe that the pups are 6 weeks old today!! This morning they have all been vet checked, vaccinated, microchipped and wormed and been given the thumbs up from the vet. Sarnia is still feeding them a couple of times a day (although rather reluctantly) with the bulk of their diet now in the form of four solid meals a day which they devour within minutes. They are also tackling chicken wings and lamb breast bones with gusto.

This morning also saw another milestone as a number of them learnt to escape from the night pen!!! Door is going to have to be closed tonight as not sure I can handle another 3am wake up!!

THE PUPS - WEEK 8

5 November 2008 - 7 weeks old today and all doing well. Hard to believe tha this time next week some of the pups will begin heading to their new homes to begin new adventures. Pups are enjoying their romps in the main garden and love tracking down "presents" (bits of foam, old bones, branches and anything else they can find). Sarnia has pretty much stopped feeding the pups (unless they are quick enough to grab a quick sip) and they all enjoy their food with nothing left in the dishes at the end of a meal!! Pups were all weighed tonight and all are doing well with nice steady growth.

Decisions have been made over who is getting which puppy, with the only decision left to be made the chocolate males.

8 November 2008 - Pups were a little bit off colour on Thursday but are bouncing around today having a great time with some new toys and spending time with Mum.

Bought the pups a cat tunnel today and they had a ball playing in it. Best $7.00 I have spent!! They had a great time but won't be long before they don't fit in it.

Also hung up the "Home Alone" tug toy today and this has also created a hive of activity as the pups investigated the new toy.

9 November 2008 - The pups enjoyed spending some time playing with my nieces and nephew (4 of them in total aged 2.5-7 years) running around the garden this morning. Socialising them with kids is so important so it is great to seize every opportunity. They then had a couple of visitors and are now sound asleep in their nght pen after all of the excitement.

THE PUPS - WEEK 9

12 November 2008 - At 8 weeks of age, the time has come to start saying good-bye to the pups that have been a part of my life for many months and allow them to continue their journey with their new families. This is a time that comes with mixed emotions as it is sad to see them go, but it also essential for them to leave so that they can develop into the dogs that I hope they will be.

Murray and Angus (the two chocolate males) headed to their new homes this morning and it was rather strange looking out and seeing Yarah as the lone chocolate puppy in a sea of black.

15 November 2008 - Molly and Carlin left today to begin their new adventures.

16 November 2008 - Major has gone to his new family and I will have regular contact as he has literally gone across the road!! The house is now rather quiet with only 3 of the pups still here - Bonnie, Dexter and Yarah.