Another "One"

Yesterday around 6 am Hob-b's temperature dropped indicating pups due within 12-24 hours.

So I took Hob-b in for an x-ray to determine how many pups she had. I was concerned because she is such a little girl. Well, the bad news was that she only had ONE puppy. The vet and I talked about it and decided to do a c-section right then and there as the pup seemed large in relation to Hob-b's pelvic opening. The risk of waiting was that Hob-b would have gone into labor and if the pup got stuck in the canal we would have to do an emergency c-section. That is much riskier for the mom and pup and I did not want to risk losing either. When there is only one puppy, those puppies tend to be larger (lots of room to spread out in there!) so we went for the safer option.

I was sad for Hob-b as she had to go thru that surgery but she seems to have come thru fine. The good news is that she has one healthy sable BOY puppy. (my dogs seemed determined never to give me another sable bitch!) He weighs 7 ounces and seems strong. Hob-b is not very interested in him at this point but that is typical for a mom just out of a c-section. She should start showing interest later today. Hob-b is groggy and sore but she lets him nurse and cuddle with her; she just doesn't clean him or get concerned if he cries. Breeders who have experienced c-sections before say this is normal for the first day. In my notes from Jordan (who had a c-section due to two HUGE puppies) I wrote that she showed no interest in the pups for around 36 hours. It is understandable because the bitch never went into labor and never saw the puppy or cleaned the puppy after birth. All Hob-b knows is that she woke up sore and uncomfortable and there was this wriggly brown thing suckling on her!

So "Little Brown Boy" joins the singleton puppy brigade along with "One" who was True's singleton pup 3 years ago. And singleton friends: German Shorthair Pointer "Price" and border collie "Ticket". With some work and knowledge, a singleton puppy can grow up just as adjusted as a pup with littermates.

With all the stress of worrying about Hob-b and pup, I didn't get much sleep last night. I slept downstairs with Hob-b to make sure the pup nursed all night. In addition, because Hob-b is not cleaning him, I have to stimulate him with a damp cotton ball to help him pee and poo. The best moment of last night was when I showed the new puppy to Zen! Zen would gladly take over for Hob-b right now and immediately started licking the pup and whining. I find it so funny that Hob-b was playing and help socializing Zen's older puppies and Zen would like to take over for Hob-b's newborn pup! I guess they both have their preferences!