o'cockaigne

Saterday, November 21

After I returned from the vet with Cytaugh and the deceased puppy around 6pm on Wednesday (Nov.18), I didn’t feel like burying it anymore. I did this on Thursday after I first weighed him; it weighed a whopping 618 grams, the heaviest of all. And what a beautiful puppy it was!

The first days after the caesarean section Cytaugh had a significant increase, even up to 39.9 Cº, fortunately it is now dropping but it is going slowly. She feels okay and eats and drinks well. She is a loving mother and keeps her offspring clean.

Fortunately, Cytaugh lies still in the whelpingbox and does not get up to turn around so I don’t have to worry (not yet) about that but she likes to stretch her legs regularly, every 2 to 3 hours, and to pee. Of course, this also continues at night! And of course she doesn’t pee right away, she prefers to walk halfway through the forest! You are immediately wide awake again. Of the first 5 days (180 hours) I slept for a total of 16 hours. The annoying thing is that when the puppies are in their little box because Cytaugh has to get out, they are sleeping well and you don’t hear them. But when they are in Cytaugh’s whelping box, you constantly hear one squeak, suck or moan, it is hardly silent for a moment. Cytaugh is also panting a lot, it is too hot for her, especially now that she is also raised.

Sunday afternoon I saw a wound besides Cytaugh’s tail. When I examined it more closely, a lot of thickened anal fluid came out! So it turned out to be a burst, inflamed anal gland. Very strange that it did not smell at all and that Cytaugh was not bothered by it.

Fortunately, Cytaugh’s temperature is going in the right direction, at the beginning of the evening it had finally dropped below 39. Let’s hope this trend continues.

Monday, November 23

It was a very restless night. Cytaugh wanted to get out at 3:00 am and before she finally had a pee I was half an hour further. Since it is quite dark in our forest, I bring a flashlight. We then act as quietly as possible otherwise a dog in the neighbourhood will bark. You really feel like a thief in the dark and wonder when someone calls the police. Fortunately that hasn’t happened yet! The puppies also kept busy and never slept for a moment, so neither did I.

I went to the vet with Cytaugh to have the anal gland treated with an antibiotic ointment. The vet also checked the stitches. At least that all looked good.

The puppies didn’t like the fact that mothers were not there. When she was not in the whelping box within half an hour, they jointly put up a huge throat. Simon was pretty sweet with it!

The only puppy that has doubled its birth weight after a week is the turquoise male. The red female, the smallest of the bunch, doubled her weight the next day and the rest the day after. They grow steadily, but they all sometimes have an outlier or have gained a lot less weight a day. But they shine towards you and are vibrant.

Thursday, November 26

In the meantime we have already trimmed the nails of the puppies with the nail grinder twice. They grow very fast and the brackets that arise are razor-sharp.

Cytaugh now and then jumps out of the box, but as soon as the puppies start to squeak too much, she also goes back. Now it is still feasible to keep the six aside for a while when she steps in, but when the puppies get faster, it becomes a lot of tricks again. Fortunately, she stays in the whelping box all night long.

In the meantime I also have to deal with the other hounds. Now and then they also need to be brushed and their nails trimmed. And especially Cearrean needs regular special attention in the form of search games. He likes this and uses his nose well. He spends a lot of time outside with Cranston and together they “clean up” the grounds.

Cranston continues to grow considerably, he is almost the same size as Brandir! It is a wonderful puppy who enjoys life to the full.

My Croton is also admired every day at the moment, it has such nice flowers!

Friday, November 27.

This afternoon we went to the vet for a check-up with Cytaugh. Everything was fine and I can let the wound close. One less worry. The nights also get a bit quieter. Usually I “sleep” until 5:00 or 6:00 and then wake up Simon, then I actually go to bed and sleep for a few hours, Simon then stays with the pups.

Most puppies are already over a kilo, only the red female is not quite yet but she is growing fastest in proportion! Who knows, she might catch up with her pink sister! The eyes start to open slowly, with several you can already see a small crack. I wonder how blue they become, light eyes are in the bloodline so it can just pop out, I hope not!