Waiting for things to kick off! With only one puppy on board, I knew that the whelping of Fiia and Mika's puppy might be rather stressful. Sam the Scan confirmed the week before that indeed there was just the one pup but that it was an average size - so all I could do was hope for the best and hope that Fiia went into labour naturally and delivered without any problems. I was buoyed up by the fact that Fiia's sister Kaija had herself had a singleton pup last year and went into labour & delivered 'Little Pickle' with no problems. As this litter was the result of chilled semen inserted by AI, I knew exactly the due date as Fiia had been progesterone tested. Three times Fiia's temp dropped and she displayed signs of early stage labour, but it would come to nothing. I was liaising closely with my vet during this time and when a shot of Oxytocin brought nothing more than half a dozen half hearted contractions, it was obvious that Fiia was suffering from Primary Intertia (inability to progress in labour due to insufficient hormones released, a relatively common condition in the case of a singletone pup) and a C-Section was now the only alternative. I've never had a bitch need a C-Section before so it was a little nerve wracking to say the least, but it wasn't long before the puppy was brought into the consulting room where we'd been waiting, swaddled in a blanket with just its little face sticking out. Welcome to the world Billy No Mates! Once Fiia had been stitched up, she too was brought in and Billy allowed to suckle whilst we waited for Fiia to come to.
"Look what I made!!!"
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A desperate attempt overnight to bring Fiia's temperature down. Five and a half hours after arriving at the vets, we were able to leave with Fiia and Billy. Fiia was a bit of a zombie for many hours afterwards, so we were having to stimulate Billy No Mates to go to the toilet using wet cotton wool - thankfully he got the hang of feeding although he was noticeably whingey for another twelve hours. Later that evening Fiia seemed mostly over the anaesthetic and was able to take over her maternal duties.
Sadly the following day things took a turn for the worse and Fiia developed an infection and soaring temperature. I'm not going to go into details but suffice to say it's been a very stressful time with intermittent sleep and round the clock nursing. It has been gruelling with endless vet visits and one problem after another - poor Fiia, she's been so unlucky. Billy No Mates failed to gain any weight (although really strong and vigorous) and so yesterday he was 'topped up' after his feeds with goats milk. Small wonder Fiia's milk has been lacking after the amount she has been through.
Sadly the following day things took a turn for the worse and Fiia developed an infection and soaring temperature. I'm not going to go into details but suffice to say it's been a very stressful time with intermittent sleep and round the clock nursing. It has been gruelling with endless vet visits and one problem after another - poor Fiia, she's been so unlucky. Billy No Mates failed to gain any weight (although really strong and vigorous) and so yesterday he was 'topped up' after his feeds with goats milk. Small wonder Fiia's milk has been lacking after the amount she has been through.
I knew my black hairy muff would come in useful one day! I pop the heated wheat bag inside & it becomes Billy's warm and cosy sibling :-)
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Andrew hand feeding Billy using the amazing sponge method (thank you Jennifer for putting me on to this, it's been brilliant!).
To learn more about this easy way to hand feed a pup, click here. |
Gorgeous Billy No Mates - 2 days old.
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Fiia feeling much better and actually enjoying the buster collar as she's rather fond of having a pillow!
Billy looks very much like his half brother Kimi at the same age. |
A Lappy temperament is a sight to behold, Fiia has been so stoical it's unbelievable - the vets have been most impressed. Totally compliant at every stage, she has moved us to tears with her beautiful nature - it's really been an exceptionally emotional time. My heartfelt thanks to my friend Mary of Starlapps Finnish Lapphunds who initially came for a weekend and ended up staying over a week, offering both moral support and hands on help as each crisis hit. Fiia's co-owners have also been amazing and it was wonderful for them to visit a cheerful and proud Fiia as her condition improved - Andrew even got to hand feed Billy, awwwww that was a tear jerker.
I'm pleased to report that Fiia is now healing and loving being a Mummy Dog again and Billy No Mates is eating well and growing. What a special little boy he is (not to mention rather expensive!!!!). There is always a massive investment in each litter, both prior to the mating (researching pedigrees/health etc) and then once the pups have arrived, copious amounts of time and love are poured into each - but I have to say, this one is a record breaker on all counts! I think we're going to have lots of fun with this special little chap - it's going to be agony to part with him but I'm not thinking about that just now.
Despite being a brilliant Mummy and a beautiful bitch with a temperament to match, Fiia will not be bred from again - I love her far too much to ever risk the same thing happening. Instead I shall look forward to seeing what her gorgeous son Roope will produce in the near future - if they are anything like her, they will be special pups indeed :-)
Here's a little video of Billy No Mates taken yesterday at three days old - I'm afraid it's very dark, but just look at that little tail wagging!!
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