Day 3 - All is Well and Green!

We are very pleased at how things are going. On the average, the puppies have gained over an ounce per day in weight and increase weight gain is a good thing. Though they do not have their eyes open, it's uncanny that they have a sense in where their mother Ming is so they can feed.

As with tradition, we are documenting the individual puppies. Now these pictures are a bit blurrier than we want but the puppy Green isn't cooperating as he is moving!

A Sign of the Times

Many thanks to (Ming's daughter) Julep's family who sent this.

Day 2 - New Quarters and Some Motherly Observations

Here we are in Day 2 and we'd like to report that everything is going really well. Ming has certainly bonded with her puppies. We've observed that she is really attached to them. When we try to move her for feeding time, she doesn't move. When she needs to go out, she does so reluctantly; takes care of her business and literally runs back to her babies. All this concern and bonding is a sign that she is a great mother. In her first pregnancy, she had little guidance and clearly her natural instincts clicked in. For this pregnancy, Ming did not skip a beat and knew what to do right away. She immediately turns to the side for her puppies to nurse and quite frankly, the puppies are really good at latching on. This means that they are being fed well without any need to supplement.

As you've seen in the previous posts, Ming was initially in a plastic container feeding her young. That was way too cramped. Her living area is a platform of sorts so the puppies can grown into the space. Meanwhile, we constructed some cardboard shelter where she appears to be much happier. Since it worked in her first pregnancy, it should work now. And we were right. She has the feel of a secure enclosed space and at the same time it gives her plenty of room to stretch out. As you can see below, we put a sheet up so that the bright sunroom doesn't overwhelm Ming and her puppies.

The Morning is Here and Puppies Are Nursing

We all had a late night preparing the puppies for their first night outside of the womb. Wanting to ensure that they had enough heat, they slept inside a container with the security and warmth of a heating pad. Ming was a doting mother last night and did not want to be separated from her young'uns. Still, she needed to rest for the days ahead. This morning, we were heartened to see the puppies latch on. In contrast to her first labor where she delivered nine puppies, four seems awfully manageable. We are also happy to observed that they gained anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce from last night!





Part of it may be that Ming's milk is coming in well, the puppies are latching on and there is no contention for milk as there are just four. In contrast, recall back over a year ago when Ming nursed nine! The picture below depicts the 'mob' scene back then.

Tranquility Base Here, The Puppies Have Landed

With apologies to Neil Armstrong, the puppies have landed!

Thursday, May 28 - 8pm

Ming had four puppies. 3 boys (Orange, Blue and Green) and 1 girl (Purple). All are healthy. Ming is in good spirits - spritely and hungry.

Still No Movement But More Nesting

In spite of the widely held belief that weather impacts birthing, Ming is not having any of it. A cold front has been hanging around here for a couple of days and we were hoping that this would stimulate the birth but our Ming is chugging along normally. Of course when she naps, her snoring is distinctly different from her non-pregnancy snores. These pregnancy snores are a bit louder. We captured her in the picture below in a quick nap moment. Note the wider body area.



From the front, it appears that she hides her pregancy well.



But from the back, it's pretty apparent.



Still, we are a little more encouraged to see her nesting. What you see below is kind of messy. The 'before' picture the night before was a bit more tidy. As the time nears, we anticipate that she will be shredding the newspapers.



Oh well - we will all wait this out.

Is This the Face of a Pregnant Ming?

Time marches on and we still do not have any indication that Ming will 'go.' The morning shots looked promising but this girl is not ready to go yet! The panting is on and off and to be sure, she is not her spritely self.



The day has been in normal dog fashion - eat, sleep, walk around the house, sleep. We have to say that she is a good sleeper as we can occasionally hear her snoring. Or was that Audrey?



Still - from these pictures, does Ming look ready? The fur does hide her pregnancy well we must say.

Memorial Day - Early AM, Not Yet!

We were expecting Ming to go into labor last night but she has not. However, overnight Ming did sleep in her whelping box.



This morning shows us a Ming clearly wanting to deliver.



As always, stay tuned.

New Meaning to Curling Up in a Corner

Ming loves to be in a secure place to nap. At times, she sleeps under a desk with a wall behind her. These pictures are no different. What you see is a nice sized dog bed that Ming and daughter Audrey share during parts of the day as them roam about the house. What is awfully cute is how Ming tries to take a nap and get comfortable.



What you don't experience is the accompanying sounds as Ming grunts to wedge her way into the optimal spot. Well, she is sort of in a corner.



Truth be told, Ming only stayed in that spot for a couple of minutes. Perspective-wise the picture is deceiving as Audrey (foreground) appears to be larger than her mother. What one doesn't see is Ming's larger body (and belly) hidden.

The Whelping Box and Today is Ming's Due Date

Today is Ming's due date and as of 3-ish, nothing is happening. She is indeed walking around grunting or panting. We have been monitoring her temperature closely but alas we are on a holding pattern until nature takes its course. As there is a cold front running through the region, we theorized that the change in weather fronts would prompt a delivery. It remains to be seen.

In the previous post we discussed building a whelping box for Ming to deliver her second batch. This one is quite spacious as you can see by the accompanying pictures. She had some hints of nesting as the newspapers had been shuffled about but previously she shredded newspapers. So as of now, no shredding. But her pink bed is there. The bed is significant as that is her 'security blanket' of sorts that has been with her since she was a puppy.

Stay tuned!

A Bear Rug and Sluggish Demeanor

The countdown begins for our Ming. Today is Saturday morning and her temperature has been up an down between 100 and 99 or so. A good indicator for an impending birth is that her temperature decreases. We've built a whelping box for her but she just shows minimal signs of nesting so far.

Meanwhile she remains sluggish.



Top view - a bear rug of sorts?

Ming Is With Puppies Again

Almost a year later, Ming is due for her second brood of puppies. Her due date is approximately May, 24th. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile here is a recent picture of her.

The Fuzzy Rug

We got a new rug recently and Audrey likes it a lot.