Misha sure had a tummy full of puppies; eight in total!
I was nervous though. Did you know that the more puppies a Mama has the more risks there are?
It’s a lot of work giving birth eight times over and sometimes the moms get so tired they can’t push hard enough. This can lead to a life-or-death situation and often needs veterinary intervention.
At 6:30 am on the 12th of January 2023 Misha started her labour. I was able to breath a small sigh of relief knowing at least our vet would be available if we needed them.
Green collar, a beautiful apricot parti girl was born! Misha opened the puppy’s sac with her tongue, I towelled her dry and weighed her. Green collar gave us some lusty cries while she was being dried off. This labradoodle was full of healthy energy. Misha was glad I was helping while she chewed off the umbilical cord. Green collar latched almost immediately and began to nurse.
13 minutes later a black parti boy was born! He cried in protest while I toweled him off. Misha gave him a good going over and we both agreed he was the picture of health. Black promptly knocked his sister off her spot at the milk bar and took over.
Another 13 minutes later, puppy number three was here. We were scrambling to keep up with Misha! A solid ebony boy. Misha was busy attending to the first two puppies, so I broke the sac with my fingers, wrapped the puppy in a warm towel and used my clamp to cut the umbilical cord. Misha was ready to take care of the placenta while I weighed Silver Collar. The white goatee on Silver collar stole my heart.
13 minutes passed and you guessed it! Puppy number four! A solid chocolate boy. I also opened the sac and looked after the umbilical cord on this puppy. Misha welcomed him with lots of kisses as he wiggled his way onto the milk bar. It was starting to get crowded!
Again! Precisely 13 minutes later the next puppy arrived. At 7:59 Misha presented us with an apricot abstract girl. A few strong contractions were needed to persuade Dark Blue collar to come into the world. Misha was feeling a bit perkier and took care of the umbilical cord this time after I opened the sac and rubbed Dark Blue Collar dry. Dark Blue had no trouble worming her way onto a spot at the milk bar.
13 minutes exactly again and here was puppy number six. Misha was delivering puppies like clockwork. Puppy six was a girl and an apricot who is now purple collar. Purple was quiet for the first few rubs of the towel and I quickly found my mucus trap to clear out her airways. It’s common for puppies to get fluid in their airways when the sac is broken. Purple was a breached birth and the sac broke open just as she was being delivered. This meant the amniotic fluid ran down toward her nose. It took three sucks on the mucus trap before Purple let out a big healthy cry. A big sigh of relief from the humans.
We expected puppy number 7 to arrive in the standard 13 minutes. But this timely delivery experienced a hiccup. 25 minutes after Purple Collar arrived, we were still waiting for Puppy 7.
Misha was having contractions, but the puppy wasn’t being delivered. Misha was getting tired now. My antennae were quivering looking out for signs of what we refer to as uterine interia.
Uterine intertia is a condition where Mama pushes and pushes with no results. Eventually, she wears out and can’t have any more contractions.
I quickly slipped on my gloves, lubricated them, pulled Misha’s vulva back and brought the puppy into the world. A tender but firm touch is needed when delivering a puppy. You want to be sure to get the puppy out but also not do any damage by squeezing or pulling too hard.
Misha and I were relieved when puppy seven, now Red Collar, was finally out. Misha asked me with her eyes to look after things so she could rest. I happily broke the sac, cut the cord and dried Red Collar. She had no shortage of healthy wails of protest. Misha and I knew she was OK. When I weighed Red it was apparent why Misha had trouble delivering her. She was huge! I breathed a sigh of relief, gave Misha a hug and showed Red Collar the way to the milk bar. She had no trouble making a path for herself and finding a spot.
Red Collar is a female black tri puppy. This means she is both a phantom and a parti.
After all that excitement it was 33 minutes before the last puppy arrived at 9:15 am. I wasn’t concerned with the delay this time. Misha wasn’t pushing and pushing as she had been with Red Collar. The puppy was up high and taking its time getting into the delivery department.
Light blue collar was black parti girl. Thankfully she was an easy delivery, smaller than Red collar. Misha was exhausted and didn’t even lift her head as she pushed Light Blue into the world. She trusted me to do what was needed and once Light Blue was at the milk bar, she gave her some welcoming kisses.
After Light Blue arrived Misha appeared to have delivered all her puppies. Her tummy was flat and there were no apparent signs of more puppies. I palpated Misha’s abdomen and did a final check for any heartbeats. Sometimes a puppy can hide so high up in the uterine horn that they aren’t visible and can’t be felt easily.
There was no evidence of more puppies. I gave Misha the excellent news and I’m sure she was relieved. At this point, she still had her head down as she rested. She was in good spirits though wagging her tail at my touch and I even got a couple of kisses. We let Misha nap. She was exhausted.
While Misha napped we cleaned things up, put all our instruments and tools in the sterilisation container, and wrapped up the paperwork. We sat back in amazement when we realised Misha had delivered all 8 puppies in just 2 hours and 8 minutes! No wonder she was having a nap.
Misha soon roused herself and licked all her puppies from head to toe. When she was satisfied everyone was okay. She had some water and a high-energy snack. she had not had anything to eat for 24hrs in preparation for birth. Mama dogs instinctively empty their systems in preparation for their puppies’ arrival.
Misha was ready to go out for a pee and stretch her legs. While Renald had Misha outside, I put the puppies into their warmed container and moved them into the pre-heated maternity ward. When Misha returned, she carefully curled herself around all eight puppies, providing them with warmth and easy access to the milk bar.
To learn more about the arrival of these labradoodle puppies and see each puppy up close and personal, check out their YouTube video here:
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