Skye was quite the challenge for the past two nights - not sleeping much and being an outright pest! Hence, I had minimum rest as well. Yesterday, all day she was in and out and could not settle at all - I equated that with 'early stages of whelping' and we just muddled through the day. Finally, at around seven'ish', she decided to get serious. At 7:44 pm, Skye pushed out her first pup and ABANDONED it! What???? I know hormone levels go wacko so I told her what her duties were and proceeded to tie off the cord, clean the pup and move on. When the next two were born and the same thing happened, I began to get concerned that Skye's calcium was too low (ignoring pups is a common Calcium issue when whelping), so I upped her calcium intake and 'did her chores'. Then the fourth pup, the first male, was born and she acted normally. ??What?? You will only clean up males??? Then the last one was also a male and she cleaned him up as well. Hmmmmm....
Anyway, we made it through the night with me sleeping on the floor in the office and my hand on Skye's belly. She was still not quite sure of what to do with her new duties. By the morning, things definitely began to improve. Sometimes, first time mommies need a lot of paw holding. :+)
Skye and Duckie produced four apricots (some have white markings) and one chocolate phantom - like daddy. Three apricots are females with one male. The chocolate one is a male.
We are all adjusting to our new roles here at ADNE. :+)
More pics and updates will follow as the days and weeks progress. :+)
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