More Puppies...

When you breed a large dog like Great Danes you usually get a large litter. Even on the first time around. There were three puppies that were lost.

Maddy had them okay and cleaned them up, but in trying to keep them warm and not having experience, she laid on them and squashed them.

After they got her inside into her wading pool she had 7 more pups, so her first litter was 10 in all. Here are the magnificent seven... There are 4 boys and 3 girls and I want them all.

During the time I was there I was answering questions and explaining what I was doing or what was going on with Maddy to a 7 year old, an almost 9 year old and adults from the early 20's to a 50 year old.

I only had to help with one pup, the last one, a little boy. His sac was broken and I realized it when I saw his little face. He was blowing bubbles out of his little nose and already trying to find something to nurse.

I swiped his little face and mouth to make sure he could breathe and keep him from going back in when the contraction stopped.

Another couple of contractions and I had most of him in a towel and then on the third, here he was and mom was ready to meet him.

I laid him down by her leg and it was bath time and he wriggled and fussed until she was done with his bath and he managed, finally, to find dinner.

He looks to me it his photo like he's saying, "Awww, MOM..."















Here's mom getting to know a few of her babies and taking a well deserved, albeit short, siesta.















This little one crawled up between her front legs and just went to sleep.
It was so much fun.















Madeline says are we done yet? And maybe you do, too, but I'm not quite there.

There is one more I want you to meet... This little guy in his wriggling around got turned over on his back, but the little bugger never let go of his teat. He was latched on big time and wasn't about to let go, upside down or not.

His little pink padded paws were kneading air pushing to get more milk. He was just so cute I had to introduce him to you.




Now I'm done.


Thanks for letting me brag about this experience.


And to Nancy and Steve, thanks for having faith in your old Aunt Helen. It made me feel useful and I love you all.

I think I'll play along...

Seems like there have been several blogs that I've read this week that were a little of this and a little of that and my week has been a little bit of this and a little bit of that, so that is what you are going to get in this post.

This first little bit is what took up most of my day today. My niece called me from Dallas at 7 A. frickken M. Her Great Dane, Madeline, had started birthin' babies and her husband was freaking.

He had never helped birth babies, Nancy Lu was at a seminar and while she got back in 4 1/2 hours, she hadn't ever helped birth babies. So the frantic call went out for some mutt mid-wifery... i.e. AUNT HELEN----HELP...

So I thru on some clothes, grabbed my meds and cookies to help get 'em down with the assistance of Diet Pepsi and took off for OKC. 40 minutes later I bail out of the car and run into the house and Steve (Nance's hubs) said, "I am so glad you are here. I went out to feed Maddy (the mom) and Max (the dad) and noticed that neither one had eaten and upon investigation, while checking out Maddy's fat belly, it was alive.

It looked like those babies were rolling around in there and it freaked me out. Then I discovered that she had 3 and had laid on them to keep 'em warm and squashed them.'' (1st time mother).


By the time I got to the house, two of the kids and their significant others and their kids had gotten there and they had gotten Maddy in the house into her wading pool birthin' bed and Steven had settled down. I got in the swimmin' pool (kiddie sized) and started checking out mom.

She had 4 living pups by the time I got there and it was soon apparent another was on the way. They let my great neice Chloe (who will be 9 on Monday) watch since I was there and she got to see the next pup come out in it's bubble and was just awed how Maddy tore the sac and chewed the cord and cleaned the baby. She had a lot of questions and I was able to answer all but one... can a momma dog have twins? meaning two babies in one bubble. I told her I hadn't heard of it but I would find out.


Maddy had 7 living pups and only needed help with the last one. His sac had busted and I had to make sure when the contraction stopped that he didn't get sucked back in where he couldn't breathe. Steve and the rest of them decided that they would have freaked out and probably not been able to save the little guy. One of my nieces videod that birth and that was good because next time they birth babies they will all know what to do.

I'm officially whooopppped out.

Thurs. night Bro and I drove to Ft. Worth, got up Friday morning and got my nephew's trailer and loaded as much stuff as we could in my pick up and in the 6' X12' lawn equipment trailer and drove back home. Didn't get home until about 8:30 that night and was exhausted, so when the call came at God-thirty this morning to go help birth puppies...... GROAN. But I couldn't not go and let my kids worry.

I'm so tired I'm going about this backward. I'll post some more puppy pics tomorrow, and a couple of sky shots that I took earlier in the week, too.

Good night... and oh, yeah... OU whooped Texas A&M!!