We have happy news! Crystal whelped her litter of puppies on Sunday afternoon. And since some births deserve to have the story told, I will share with you how it began.
First of all let me give you a bit of background. After years of whelping litters I can pretty readily read the signs that one of my dogs is getting close to delivery. The most obvious signs are nesting behaviors, like scratching the floor, trying to nest in a couch, under a bed....or behind a chair. This can start a few days before the actual whelping begins. But usually when the dog is very close to her time, her whole demeanor changes. She is more clingy and wants to be in the same room as me, or follow me about. This can be a problem, in that I don't want her to be in any area of the house where she could suddenly slip away and hide under a bed or in a closet and start her whelping. But it is also very helpful, because with her clinging to me, I can see the minute she starts to act differently.
So as it happened, Crystals due date was only a few days away, and she did not show any of the usual nesting behavior. The only sign I got was on Saturday night when Crystal did not want to follow me up to my room. All my pregnant dogs sleep in my room when they are waiting to give birth. And they are happy to be there. But when Crystal wouldn't come to me, I knew she must not bet feeling well, and I carefully lifted her up and carried her to my room. I fully expected to see whelping begin that night.....but instead she was very quiet with hardly any nesting or restlessness.
The next morning, which was Sunday, Crystal followed me down the stairs and out to the backyard as if it was a normal day. That calmness made me feel comfortable leaving her to attend Church in the morning. I felt it important to go early, as I new things could change over the next few hours. Before I left I put Crystal in a pen with her bed to keep her as safe as possible until I returned.
When I got home, Crystal looked quite well. I had hoped to keep her close to me, but she wanted to be in the basement rec room next to my 9 year old son while he played his video games. I already know my kids cannot read the signs of whelping...so I was calling down the stairs often to check on her status. "Where is Crystal....Next to you....Ok how does she look. " "Mom, she looks fine!" So it is kind of funny, that Crystal was acting so normal....but somehow I knew the time was near..
After several minutes of checking her status, I decided to answer an email in the adjoining room where I could listen out for any scratching or digging that would signal a change. And it is quite commonplace that while I work at my computer I hear squeals of joy or frustration from my son as he plays his games. But the sudden squeal that I heard as I typed away, was nothing usual. I couldn't tell if it was dog or child. I froze for a moment trying to process it and in the next split second was rising from my chair when my son came running through the doorway yelling, "Crystal had a puppy!" "Oh my Goodness!" I thought, "That was fast!" And sure enough there it was. A puppy born on the video game chair!" (Thankfully its a large chair that lays flat on the floor and actually a pretty harmless spot to whelp a puppy!)
I rushed over and hovered over Crystal as she continued to clean up the newborn. My little boy was so helpful. He rushed about corralling the dogs into their crates. It wasn't such an easy task. The dogs new something was afoot and they were trying to push their noses past me to check out the newcomer. I called to my husband to help me and as soon as the umbilical cord was cut, he carried the baby upstairs. I followed close behind, having wrapped Crystal in a towel to carry her to the whelping pool in my master bathroom.
The rest of the story was peaceful and uneventful. All the puppies came at 15 minute intervals as smoothly as any puppy can be born. The total number of births were as follows: 3 girls and 2 boys! What a joy that it all went so smooth and easy for Crystal!
When I shared the birth story with one of my customers she intuitively knew the first born was a boy. "Of course it was a boy", she said, "Boys love video games!"
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