Stay In Touch!
Molly Morelli, Director of Dog Programs at Warrior Canine Connection and host of our Puppy Cam, will be posting weekly puppy Q&A to this blog! If you have questions you’d like to see answered about the Puppy Cam or WCC’s service dogs, drop us an email here: feedback@explore.org.
Week 1 – Misty’s Litter / Post by Molly Morelli
CherylCannone – Are you starting to take daily temperature readings? How do you know when to start? I know this is not your ‘first time at the rodeo’ but it’s mine!!! Thanks for indulging me/us!
I typically start taking temps 5-7 days before the due date. I temp twice per day at roughly the same times each day.
SeaglassSchoodic – How soon after a C-Section can the mom start nursing the pups? Wondering what the mom dog thinks of all those new hungry pups that appeared when she was ‘sleeping.’
Once Misty has been extubated (the breathing tube is removed from her trachea) she will lay down on a soft bed in the clinic. We will start putting the pups on her right away. Misty is a seasoned mom, but if I have a first time mom that needs a C-section sometimes they are not sure what happened. Soon enough hormones and instincts kick in. For most of my girls that is right away. The longest I have had a new mom take to have those hormones kick in is about 2 days.
himmichigal – Do you have any plans to have an outside cam when Misty’s puppies are old enough to go outside & play in the snow?
Yep! I just heard last week that they are sending us a camera just like the one that the Great Danes have.
crowie – Hi Molly, how is Levi doing? It is a long time since we saw any new pics of him and I know a lot of EPW’s miss him so much. Thanks.
Levi is doing great. I’ll ask for some new pictures to post. I am sure there are some from the holidays. Rick sees him 3 or 4 times a week.
lynnesky – Did pups get their “official names” yet? Do you give all the WCC house dogs a present at Christmas?
The pups did get official names. I plan to post a pup per day with official names.
Streak – As excited as we are for the cam to come back up for Misty’s litter, what will happen to the highlights for HHD? Will they be archived for us to go back to? I don’t care how many times I watch them, they will forever be in my heart and I’d love to be able to go back to see them when I miss them.
* A note from explore.org: We will be archiving the the Holly’s Half Dozen highlights which are currently running on the website. A lot of the best highlights are already archived here.
BrendaS MOLLY – What day are you planning the c-section? I would have to agree with himmi! The 29th would be perfect.
We had all plans in place for a c-section on the 30th. On Friday (28th) morning I noticed Misty panting quite a bit. I decided to see if she would eat breakfast, take her temp and then call my vet with an update. I was thinking that even if it wasn’t that day we were not going to make it until Sunday. No sooner had I made that plan my phone alerted me to a text from my vet – she suggested we do a blood test because she wasn’t sure we would make it until Sunday. Yes- she is THAT good. She knows my dogs just as well as I do. Fast forward, the progesterone level in her blood was .61. Anything below 2.0 says labor is impending. We did an ultrasound to check that the pups were sufficiently developed and they were – so off to a c-section. The first incision was made at around 2:00p.m. and we were home by 4:00p.m.
Aly14 – Is there any difference between the bonding of the mom with her pups between a natural birth and c-section? Also, in one of the videos from a while back the mom I believe ate the placenta or afterbirth. Is this just cleaning or do they get nutrients from that? If they do get nutrients does a mom need to be supplemented in a different way if they have a c-section?
In my experience I have not had trouble with bonding after a c-section. I have had two first time moms need c-sections. One we had just one puppy so she never went into labor. She did just fine. The other was my Rain – she had had one puppy before needing the section due to a stuck puppy so she had the hormones in full gear already.
There are differing views on if the placenta offers nutritional value. I will be 100% honest…I think it just gives mom diarrhea.
CherylCannone – Any updates to share on the garage renovation? Pouring rain and driving winds here in Lubec, Maine. I hope your weather has calmed down 🙂
I do have some pictures. So far the walls are framed in, about ½ of the electrical wires are run, the doors and window have been replaced. I am not sure if I want to do a big reveal at the end or just daily photos. There will be much transition this week so we will see.
