Have you ever wondered how we know when a Mama is getting ready to have her puppies? Are there a lot of supplies needed? Does a breeder help the Mama dog or does the dog do it all alone?
Orca took a really long time to deliver her 6 puppies. Did we run into trouble during the whelping? Did all the puppies arrive safely?
In today’s episode, we will share what happened during the whelping process. We will also introduce you to each of the 6 medium Australian Labradoodle puppies from the Salt & Pepper litter.
Getting Prepared
Orca’s due date was May 20th, 2023. A dog’s due date is much the same as a human’s, an approximate time. Dogs are pregnant for 63 days on average. 9 weeks as opposed to the 9 months for human gestation. A lot goes on each week during a dog’s pregnancy.
Orca’s puppies were ready to begin the birthing process on May 18th. That day Orca didn’t eat. This is normal. Dogs instinctively empty themselves in preparation for birth. Orca put herself into bed and didn’t want to leave our bedroom all day. Those 2 things were clear signs that the puppies would be coming within the next 24 hours.
Our puppies are born in our bedroom. Once Orca made it clear the puppies were on their way, I began the process of getting things ready. There are many items we use during puppy deliveries. I have a rolling cart that holds most of my supplies:
- Lots of hand towels to dry the puppies off
- Antiseptic wipes to clean the umbilical cord
- Scissors to cut the cord
- Clamps to stop the cord from bleeding
- A nasal suction bulb to clear the nasal passages
- A mucus trap to remove mucus from the lungs if necessary
- A stethoscope to check for heartbeats
- Surgical gloves if I need to assist in delivering a puppy
- A headlamp to see clearly when delivering a puppy
- Calcium paste to help keep contractions strong
- Nature Mate – a paste that stimulates puppies who might not be fully robust at birth
- Hand-held Doppler to help determine if there are still more puppies to be born
- Hospital pads and towels for the whelping nest
- A scale to weigh the puppies
- Coloured ID collars to identify the puppies
- Pen and paper to record birth details
- Cell phone to take pictures to share on our private Community Facebook page
- Garbage bags
- Portable heater
- Heated discs in case a puppy needs extra warmth
- Coffee or wine depending on the time of day for the midwoofs!
Once we have everything in place, we roll up the towels and hospital pads until delivery actually begins. This keeps things clean. We close the windows and turn the portable heater on to 22 so the room is prewarmed when contractions begin. When that happens, we turn the heat up to 24. Puppies are wet when they come out of the birthing sac and can get chilled easily. This helps them to remain warm.
Orca’s puppies weren’t in any hurry to arrive. Nothing changed much during the day. Orca did a bit of digging but no serious nesting behaviour. We decided to go to bed early as I predicted the puppies would arrive between 2 and 6 am.
We all settled in for the night sleeping with one ear open for sounds of puppies arriving.
The Birth
As it turned out, we didn’t need to have one ear open as Spirit alerted us that it was time. Orca is Spirit’s daughter and Spirit was very attuned to what was happening with Orca’s progress. Just before 4:00 in the morning, Spirit came and jumped on top of me to be sure I woke up and was prepared to deliver her grandpuppies.
Sure enough, just a few minutes after we had shooed all the dogs out of the bedroom and unrolled the whelping nest, puppy number one arrived. We were underway!
Orca was in no hurry to get the job finished. While we didn’t run into any trouble with any of the puppies, the last puppy didn’t arrive until 9:15! 5 hours for 6 puppies doesn’t sound terribly long but for dogs, that is a long, slow whelp. You may have read the Bee’s Knee’s Birth announcement and know that Misha had her 8 puppies in just over 2 hours!
Orca was very relaxed throughout the delivery. We were happy she was so blasé about being in labour but we sure would have liked to have them arrive just a bit more quickly. The faster the puppies get out, the safer it is for them and the Mama dog. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and all 6 puppies were perfect!
Green Collar
The first puppy born was a gleaming ebony and he was a chunky guy! Green collar weighed 315 grams and was solid black except for one whisper of white on his chest. He was born back legs first. That’s quite normal for dogs. He arrived without a fuss and began nursing before he was even fully dried off. Orca was excited to bond with him right away. She licked him from nose to tail and kept bumping off the milkbar. Green persevered and just went right back to it each time. He was a robust puppy and the largest in the litter at birth.
Orange Collar
At 4:33 am we had our second boy. Orange collar was also an ebony on top but he was white underneath. This is a fancy puppy! Orange weighed 263 grams and was also born back legs first. Orange Collar made a quieter entrance into the world. He appreciated Mama Orca’s kisses and wanted to stay snugged up close to her. It didn’t take too much convincing that the milkbar was a better option. Once he was latched, he was off to the races. Orange Collar was the smallest puppy at birth.
Purple Collar
An entire hour went by before puppy number 3, Purple Collar, arrived. An hour is a long wait between puppies. Orca was not in distress or having contractions so we were not worried. We were just tired and wanted things to go faster! Purple was our first girl and a chocolate phantom. Her markings are not very strong, similar to her Papa Tig. She weighed a healthy 275 grams and was born head first. When she came out, Orca stopped pushing just before the entire puppy was delivered. I assisted by easing Purple out of the birth canal. In her excitement, Orca pulled the puppy away from the birth canal with her licking and the cord broke. The placenta wasn’t delivered with the puppy. We made a note of this. Retained placentas, if not delivered in about 24 hours after delivery, can potentially cause infections. It’s important that a breeder knows how many placentas have been delivered.
Pink Collar
While we waited for the next puppy, Orca delivered the placenta from Purple Collar. We could stroke that off our notes and not be concerned about infection. Pink Collar was another girl and arrived at 5:43 am. Her arrival was the shortest time between puppies. Pink was ebony with white markings and weighed 286 grams. Pink was born head first but outside of the birth sac. That meant now her placenta was still inside of Orca so another note was made to track that one. When puppies are born, they are in a sac and the placenta is attached via the puppy’s umbilical cord. When a puppy is born out of the sac, they usually have a lot of mucus in their nasal cavities and sometimes their lungs too from having inhaled fluid. Pink was very congested. I used my mucus trap to draw up the mucus and clear her airways. She was totally fine after I did that and latched easily.
Red Collar
It was over an hour before Red Collar arrived at 7:08 am. Orca expelled the placenta and sac from Pink Collar during that long wait. We stroked that off our note list. Red collar was a shiny ebony with white markings. Red had 4 white toes – how adorable is that! Red Collar was born head first and was an easy delivery. She had lots of gusto and was nursing before I could even weigh her. When she finally took a break, we weighed her and she was 295 grams. A really good sized puppy for late in the litter. Often, puppies born later in the litter are smaller than the ones born earlier. Not the case with this girl though.
Black Collar
Another very long wait until the final puppy, Black Collar, arrived. At 9:15 am we had a pretty light milk chocolate tuxedo-patterned girl. Black Collar weighed 283 grams and was the only light coloured puppy in the litter. A tuxedo pattern is when a puppy has 4 white socks, white on the face that goes up over the head and down around the neck. It is similar to a Man’s tuxedo so that’s where the name came from for this pattern. Black was born head first and was a wee bit quiet on arrival. I gave her a vigorous rub down with a towel to stimulate her to get going. That did the trick and she let out a couple of good howls. That told me she was fine. I put her up to the milkbar and encouraged her to latch. She wasn’t very interested in that idea so I spent about 15 minutes holding her up to the nipples and encouraged her to nurse. She got the hang of it and then she ate like crazy.
Wrapping Up
I felt Orca’s tummy and thought there might be a 7th puppy still. I used my Doppler to check for a heartbeat. In this photo I am checking Noisette to see if she had another puppy to come.
We settled in to wait for puppy number 7. We waited for 2 hours and no puppy showed up. I checked again and could no longer feel what I had thought was a puppy. I offered Orca some food and water and she enjoyed those. Renald then took her out to go to the bathroom. These were enough signs to convince us there would be no 7th puppy.
We gathered up the puppies and moved them with Orca into the maternity ward. We pre-heated the room so it was 23 degrees. Orca remembered this was where she had her first litter and quickly settled down with her new family.
We were excited to see 6 healthy Labradoodle puppies! Orca may have been slow but slow and steady wins the race. The puppies were well worth waiting for. Our families are excited that their puppy has arrived!
After Orca was settled, we packed things up, sterilized our instruments and had an early morning nap. It would only be another 24 hours before Noisette’s puppies arrived.