Albannach
Skye's First Litter
In 2021 we considered having a litter with our elder girl, Skye. She was
3 years old and unlike our previous girls, was entire. We approached Judy who agreed to help us, to our greatest pleasure.
The father-to-be was no less than her champion, Juscot Johnny Cash. Skye being the sister of her current champion, Juscot Ninja Rose, aka Rosie, this was going to be a promising litter.
Judy helped us throughout the entire journey, from conception, through the pregnancy and mostly, through the first 8 weeks of the puppies lives.
We had no idea what we were embarking ourselves into and with hindsight, we have only one thing to say: we have MUCH respect for breeders now! It is a tough journey, with ups and downs, 24/7, lots of newspapers and a good mop. But that was all nothing compared to what our Skye went through: it was a BIG litter and our girl did a wonderful job, feeding the puppies, cleaning them, keeping them warm, as if she had done that ten times before!"
FROM CONCEPTION TO BIRTH
Whilst we were patiently waiting for the echography revealing if Skye was with puppies, Paul started building a nesting box. Both girls tested it thoroughly and the model was approved and considered comfortable. We also started clearing our spare room and turn it into a whelping room. As soon as we knew that Skye was pregnant, we got some supplies to make tiny ribbon-collars with soft velcro, all of different colours.
A bitch is pregnant 9 weeks and the speed at which the embryos/fetuses grow is amazing; one week is the equivalent of 1 month in humans. Skye's belly became big, huge! The weather during the last week of her pregnancy was warm, and we did our utter best to keep her comfortable, letting her sleep on our bed, with fan and water.
We didn't know how many puppies we would have but we knew it was going to be a big litter. Scotties can struggle to whelp them all, so it was recommended that Skye should have a c-section. Once her temperature had started dropping, we waited 24 hours and went to the vets. The puppies were delivered without issue and Skye was waking from the anesthetics.
Two embryos visible in this image. They are the small ovals.
Photo above: Skye is still waking up and not quite sure what is happening. One moment she is pampered like a queen, the next there are 8 puppies trying to get to her teats. The smallest weighed 215g, the heaviest 245g, the average puppy weight being 230g. All but one fed straight away.
THE FIRST THREE WEEKS
When you have puppies the first time, you have to get creative. How do you transport them back home? A washing basked with a hot water bottles, towels and blankets. Nice and cozy. You turn the heater in the room to a balmy 28-30 C, dim the light, move the newborn to the whelping box equally kept warm with more water bottles under layers of blankets. And you stay with mum every single second, because she hasn't fully recovered, and you don't know yet what her reaction could be. Fortunately, Skye was calm and didn't react negatively to the pups. We made her comfortable on a big pillow and put 2 puppies at a time on her teats whilst gently caressing mum, and thus we all got into a nice routine.
Photo Gallery below, use the arrows to navigate
YELLOW (aka Monteith)
Just after birth, all but one puppy went to mum's teats and fed. Back home, we put him routinely on a teat, alternated teats, but he seemed to struggle, frantically trying to latch on, without much success. Within a day he had lost 20g and although a little weight loss can be normal in the first day, we sensed that something was wrong. So we put him on a teat first and after 5-10 mins supplemented with puppy formula.
This was to become our 2-hourly routine for the next 3 weeks. Little yellow ribbon was not gaining much weight, was struggling to feed even on the bottle; we took him to the vets 4 times and it is only when he was 4 weeks old that the reason was found: soft-palate cleft. We had the option to put him down or wait until he was 3 months old and attempt surgery. We opted for the second option and carried on the routine to feed him with a bottle. This was a grueling time but the little fella was a fighter. Because of the anatomy of their windpipe and esophagus crisscrossing, liquid, and later food, went down the wrong way, but we managed, Yellow survived and the operation when he was 3 months old was successful. This was not the end of the story, he developed seizures when he turned 10 months old, is almost blind, but is a character like no other! We love him to bits.
His name is Monteith.
Mama Skye enjoying a well deserved break.
WEEK 4
The first three weeks, mum does most of the work. Sometime during the third week, their eyes start to open, and they become increasingly more mobile, although stability is not quite there yet. I spent my days watching them discover the world, start to show interest in their littermates and gradually toys.
Mum is still cleaning them, but the whelping box gets increasingly dirty and fast. We changed the top-layer towels 6-7 times per day and the bottom blankets twice a day. They are still in the 'nursery' room and we take them out of the box regularly to wander around the room and discover 'things'.
During the 4th week it is time to introduce food; mum needs a break from those voracious pups! First a liquified mousse, which they lick, stand into, smear all over themselves and their siblings, and it ends up with mousse just about everywhere ;-) Gradually we replace the mousse with softened puppy kibble and introduce water, but they still go to mum for a drink, but now the position has changed: mum is standing and the puppies are all upside-down! Hilarious.
Photo Gallery below. Use the arrows to navigate.
WEEK 5
The puppies spent their first 4 weeks in the 'nursery', it was now time to explore the wider world. We transferred the box to the lounge, it will serve as sleeping quarters, although we quickly learned that they sleep where they crash. It worked initially at least. We also added an extension covered in newspaper and peepads where they spend time playing, feeding (and pooping) during the 5th week. After that the gate remained open and they could roam freely in the lounge and kitchen.
The weather being mild, we took them outdoors after their naps or feeding time - by then, Skye was feeding them much less, even avoiding them at times. No wonder, as soon as they saw her, there was a horde running towards her. Still, at the slightest whimper, she was there. She also had an invaluable help: Isla. We started to introduce Isla to the puppies when they were moved to the lounge - she was over the moon and really playful with the little ones. A bit surprised too when they attempted to go to her teats. It was fantastic to see our two girls looking after the puppies.
Collar colours and their future names:
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Dark Green/Patterned green collar - Bertie
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Light Green - Tilly
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Dark Blue - Franck
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Light Blue/Patterned blue collar - Lachie
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Pink - Sage
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Orange - Milie
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Yellow - Monteith
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Purple - Argyle
Photo Gallery below. Use the arrows to navigate.
WEEK 6
Week 5 is leading to Christmas. The weather is pleasant, so we spend a lot of time outdoors. The puppies have a much better control of their mobility and are really getting into mischief, hiding and ambushing brothers and sisters, finding out who is the strongest, playing with sticks, chasing Isla, etc. We are also making our first attempt to have them all in the same photo; that didn't quite go as expected. And finally, Christmas Day, with all the wrappings turned into balls to bite, chase and rip apart. The puppies also got a few more toys, one that was going to be more challenging, since they could smell the food but not see it. They did pretty well as a team although some worked hard to lift the "bones" whilst others were waiting to snatch the food :-) This week little Monteith is picking up, he has put on weight and i starting to play with his mates.
Photo Gallery below. Use the arrows to navigate.
WEEKS 7 & 8
The puppies are full on now and they are really developing their personalities. We provide them with many opportunities to play and discover new toys, but one of their favourite activities is attacking toes feet and ankles of humans! And it hurts, with their sharp teeth! Skye still tolerates them occasionally for a feed but they mostly eat dry food now. It is also time for a full WOOF at the vets and their first vaccination. We are enjoying them as much as we can, before we know it, they will start leaving their first family to join their new one.
Photo Gallery below. Use the arrows to navigate.
