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Our dog Joy had her puppies last night!. We intended to get her spayed,
but, .. well, we didnt have it done in time. At first, we were bummed
because we really didn't want puppies. The expense of getting vaccinations
and deworming.. The hassle of trying to find good homes. The MESS of a
litter of puppies... BUT, of course, the bigger Joy's belly got, the more
excited we got about our new additions. And, she is now scheduled to be
spayed in June, so we won't have any more (at first) "unwanted" litters.

There is only one problem. She had them under a very low floor of our
work shop. It's probably about an 8 inch space from the ground to the floor.
She had a nice bed in the basement. She usually stays inside(upstairs, in
the house with us) at night, but she made it clear she wanted OUT!.. She
did have one puppy in her bed in the basement, but then she went under the
workshop. We found the lone puppy this morning, healthy, cleaned up, but
obviously hungry. He was HUGE!.. Joy is a yellow lab, I swear, the father
must have been a St Bernard.. lol. Anyway, we took the puppy to her, as
close as we could reach. She was wayyyy under the building.. At first, it
was touch and go.. She came out and sniffed him, licked him, but left him.
Dh and I went back inside, I thought maybe she would come get the puppy if we
left her alone. Dh went back out to check a few minutes later, and she had
gotten the puppy!..

I REALLY did not want her to have them under the workshop, but I guess
"Mother knows best" .. She wanted to be safe( from our other male dog) and
isolated.. Now, I am just dying to know how many she had, what they look
like, their genders.. OK, now here is where I could use some advice.
Should be try to get them out? We can tear the floor up on the workshop to
get to her, but, should be just leave her where she is? She is usually very
happy indoors.. But, I suppose animal instincts precedence over domesticated
traits. Any advice?

Teresa


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jmcseals SEALS

Congratulations on your newest additions! Puppies are *so* cute!

However, <bg>, I'd say get back into the unschooling mode and let Momma Joy
decide what's best for her and her babies. Don't take this the wrong way,
but she probably doesn't want humans around too much either, which is why
she may have chosen such a place. To her, it seems warm, comfy and SAFE!

HTH,
Jennifer

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[email protected]

In a message dated 5/3/03 11:50:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time, jmcseals@...
writes:

> However, <bg>, I'd say get back into the unschooling mode and let Momma Joy
> decide what's best for her and her babies. Don't take this the wrong way,
> but she probably doesn't want humans around too much either, which is why
> she may have chosen such a place. To her, it seems warm, comfy and SAFE!
>
> HTH,
> Jennifer
>

I think you are right.. That is the very reason she had her puppies out of
our reach. We are not going to try to move them.. But, now we have another
situation on our hands. She abandoned one of the puppies ( not the first one
that she originally left in the basement), .. She moved it out from under the
workshop, still wet, with the cord and sack still attached. DH cut the cord
and put the puppy back under the workshop.. Little while later, she had moved
him back out. So, evidently, she is not going to accept him.. He seems OK..
strong, able to nurse.. We brought him in, cleaned him up with a dry towel
and got him warmed up. We made him a bed with a hot water bottle and some
shredded newspapers in a little box. I went and go the pet nurser and some
puppy milk. We ended up putting his milk in a regular baby bottle because
the nipple was way too small for him. He sucked and rooted and sucked and
rooted.. I think he got some milk, but he still seems hungry. Anna is
holding him, keeping him warm. Right now, we are hoping that when Joy comes
out to eat, we can maybe get her to lie still long enough to nurse him for a
while. I just couldnt bring myself to let him lay out there on the ground
crying so loudly to die. We already named him Siren, because when he cries,
it sounds exactly like an Ambulance siren.

Teresa




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[email protected]

In a message dated 5/3/2003 11:50:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
jmcseals@... writes:


> However, <bg>, I'd say get back into the unschooling mode and let Momma Joy
> decide what's best for her and her babies. Don't take this the wrong way,
> but she probably doesn't want humans around too much either, which is why
> she may have chosen such a place. To her, it seems warm, comfy and SAFE!

That's fine if you're raising "strays" that may have no contact with humans.
But I'm guessing that you would be placing these pups in new homes in 8 weeks
or so. They need human contact early to make good pets. Get them out from
under the shed. Block it up. Set her up an nice, warm bed with towels and
newspapers. Handle the pups every day. Keep them clean and warm and safe. And
don't place them before 8 weeks old. They need their siblings and mother for
a while to understand how to bite (and NOT!).

~Kelly

You can google "dog breeding" and probably get some good sites for dealing
with whelps.


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jmcseals SEALS

Hmm, never really thought of it that way, good point! Then again, I've
never had a dog with puppies, so I'm probably not the best person for giving
advice, either. LOL

Jennifer


That's fine if you're raising "strays" that may have no contact with humans.
But I'm guessing that you would be placing these pups in new homes in 8
weeks
or so. They need human contact early to make good pets. Get them out from
under the shed. Block it up. Set her up an nice, warm bed with towels and
newspapers. Handle the pups every day. Keep them clean and warm and safe.
And
don't place them before 8 weeks old. They need their siblings and mother for
a while to understand how to bite (and NOT!).

~Kelly








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