Though we originally thought Taaku was only going to have three pups, we had a few days notice when an x-ray four days before their birth showed a pig pile of pups.  They were so tightly packed in it was hard to get an exact count but we estimated six with possibly a seventh.  Taaku and Bannack had been bred over a six-day period so we had to estimate her due date.  She began to show preliminary signs that labor was about to begin late Wednesday night, enough to keep me up almost all night making sure all the whelping supplies were on hand and the guest room was transformed into a nursery.  She'd delivered her first litter via c-section so Plan B was in place that if she didn't deliver by Friday morning, Dan Frey, our wonderful vet, would see her again and possibly deliver this litter via c-section as well.  Thursday she showed imminent signs of labor; any time Taaku doesn't finish a meal, you know something isn't right and she only nibbled at her breakfast of puppy kibble with homemade chicken stew and cottage cheese.

All day Thursday I kept a close eye on her, making her go along for the ride while I ran some short errands.  She had no desire to go outside for other than the quickest of nature breaks.  Though she spent most of the day sleeping, I was already noticing the lack.  Carie Taylor came by Thursday evening to keep an eye on her while I took a nap and ended up staying the night.  Carie snoozed on the couch while I stayed up, checking Taaku every hour.  When no real labor had started by the early hours of Friday, we were off to the vet.  When inducing her didn't work, Dr. Frey quickly performed a c-section.  Boulder was the first pup out and quickly woke up from the anesthesia (the pups absorb the anesthesia the mom dog gets before the surgery).  Once he was out, pups came fast and furious.  Vet techs Tonya and Rochelle assisted by Carie and I, stimulated and dried pups as fast as we could and Dr. Alan Marsh helped out between seeing his regular appointments.  The pups were squirming and squeaking long before Taaku herself was awake.  Taaku wasn't fully awake until after we were back home and she and the new babies were carefully nestled into the whelping box.

In between work, caring for my three adult dogs, a temporarily-missing kitty (found after seven days thankfully), and taking care of the seven Big Dogs, I also had the fun of fixing Thanksgiving dinner for the family and having my mother spend a couple days with me.  Luckily Mom likes dogs and had a sense of humor about the logistical nightmare that is my house right now.  We had a few dry days finally so the pups got to spend time playing outside until Sunday when SNOW arrived.  Though Lolo and Taga were instantly chasing each other around, loving the big flakes and colder weather, the pups were not amused at first.  It was cold!  We'll see how they do in the coming days as the snow is forecast to stay around.  Now that they are more temperature tolerant, they have a pen in the garage for playtime on rainy days or if I have to leave for a meeting.  Inside the house, they are now sleeping in Taga's big wire crate and have an x-pen for middle of the night potty breaks.  Of course the pen is set up so that if makes a runway straight to the back door as the pups like to follow the grown ups outside when they all take a "nature break."

It was time for weigh-in and worming medication so while Carie was here to help hold pups, I managed to get some distinct shots of each pup.  All were very cooperative except Rochelle who just couldn't help wiggling and squiggling.  Rather than being nervous on the table, she was ready to dive off and mix it up with the adult dogs who, upon smelling the liver treats I brought out for the pups, decided this must be an important occasion.  Scotty and Cruiser just loved being held.  They would have stayed in Carie's arms all night.

We're on the homestretch now, heading for the big day that the pups go to their forever homes.  This litter is very consistent.  Their weights are all within a narrow range, far narrower than I've had in previous litters.  Their temperaments are also very consistent.  Even with seven of them, there's no bully, no timid pup, etc.  Later this week they'll undergo the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Evaluation which will give us data on each pup compared to a standard of behavior in specific situations.  Hopefully this will show us at least some minor deviations so that I'll have a bit more data to figure out which pup will be best for which home.