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The New Litter - born July 2000 - Week One

This is a nine week diary of a Weimaraner litter, it has been updated every few days with news, and information. Originally, it was created for new owners who live far away to feast upon the smallest of details in the development of their pup. There are photographs of the litter at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks. I hope to carry this on with pictures that the new owners send to me. There is also a link to a newsgroup, created for owners to stay in touch should they so want.

1pm 16th July 2000

The pups are due any time now, but Molly is not showing any signs just yet

I am taking her temperature with an anal thermometer three times daily. It has stayed constant at 37.8 C but this morning has dropped to 37.3. When it drops to 35-36C we know that we are in business.

A whelping box has been placed under the stairs ready for her, and I have tacked a curtain round the area. All we can do now is watch and wait.

10pm 16th July 2000

Molly's temperature has dropped down to 36.2, we are definately in business. At present she is unable to settle, going from her bed to the garden every few minutes. I think we have a long night ahead

7.50am 17th July 2000

After an extremely restless night, with Molly racing between the garden and the whelping box, trembling, crying, and obviously distressed, hard labour did not begin until 7.50am. Molly began panting and straining. Unlike with her previous litter (18 months ago) she lay on her side to push. I could hear the whelps moving down the uterine horns, a squelchy noise which was kind of reassuring!

Although Molly was turning looking after the very first strain (you'll be lucky!) the first whelp didn't arrive into this world until 8.45am. After a very long break, with Molly taking great care of her new boy, the second, a bitch, arrived at 11am. Another text book whelping.

Then the nightmare began at 11.45am when I noticed the next whelp was presenting hind legs first (posterior birth) Thankfully, with gentle traction the pup arrived safely and began to breathe normally.

The next birth was even worse,at 12.47pm a whelp emerged without the placental bag, and stopped with just its head presenting. Worse still was the lack of a further contraction for at least (a nail biting) minute. The next contraction was very weak, but Molly managed to push the pup out as far as its belly. A couple more minutes past, and I had to step in and assist again. It was very emotional, the pup didn't breathe for what seemed a lifetime and had to be resuscitated. Im really happy to say that he is alive and well.

The next three arrived at 1.15pm, 2.30pm and 2.50pm. Parturition is now over, and the final count is 6 dogs and one bitch, all fat and healthy and ranging in weight from 380g to 460g. Guess who was 460g?

Molly has settled happily with her new brood, has drunk some water and eaten some toast (as well as 7 placentas and all the other gubbins ugh!) She is yet to leave the box, but the decision is hers for the present.

Right now I need some sleep!!

Stay tuned for more news as it happens!

10pm 18th July 2000

Molly and the pups settled down for a good night last night, this is the quietest litter ever !! they all seem so contented. There is the occasional squeak when a pup gets knocked off the teat, or gets squashed by mum, but on the whole, they are amazingly quiet. For those of you who have never seen a newborn Weimaraner, they have the most amazing tiger stripes down their bodies. Im not sure why, and they fade after a few days. I made a closer inspection of each this morning, and all looks well. I have to smile at their ears, they are like fake breast pockets on a jacket or shirt, or Play Doh stuck on ears (their ears are sealed at birth) They have a strong sense of smell already, immediately I pick one up, it sniffs at me hard.

Molly is reluctant to leave the whelping box, and do so only for a very quick toilet visit, racing back to her brood and 'counting' them by nudging each one. It never ceases to amaze me how they do that !

I am spoiling her for a few days, and bringing egg and milk (warned a touch) cups of tea :-) and boiled rice to her bed, a couple more days of that, then she can get up again.

The little fellow that was born hind legs first is the smallest, but also is the strongest, you want to feel him wriggle when he is handled.

Tomorrow I am getting some ribbon and some sticky Velcro to make little collars so that I can record details on then for the prospective owners, name them, and record their weights accurately. More news tomorrow.

21.00 19th July 2000

There is not a lot to report today. Saying that, the pups have grown already! putting a couple of grams on each, they are spending most of their time feeding and sleeping. Molly is still not keen to leave the bed, although she will come out to eat now. Spoiling time over !! The one bitch seems to be a real fighter.......suppose you would have to be with all those brothers. She will not allow anyone to knock her off a teat......no way !! Girl power huh?

The personalities of the pups are beginning to show through already, some are bolshy and strong, while others are more laid back, what kind of pup would you prefer ?

22.35 20th July 2000

My how they have grown! they seem to be twice the size already, although the scales don't agree!. I just feel so attached then when I have to go out, I feel like stuffing them up my t-shirt and taking them with me. Molly feels the same. She is leaving the box now for quick toilet and food trips, but she still refuses to go for a walk. Sunny (her son from the last litter) is behaving quite odd. He seems very submissive and sensible at the same time. I wonder if she has 'had a word with him' when I wasn't looking !! He does seem quiet, almost subdued.

Tomorrow the pups are going to get their dew claws removed and to be docked (no flames please, I'm tired of the argument, refer to the Council of Docked Breeds for more information. I can assure you all that the last litter did not flinch when they were docked. I am the softest person ever, yet I held each pup as the vet done the business. They object more to being picked up. But a damaged tail later on in life can cause untold misery (and to see these dogs when they are on the scent of something, you would see why their tails are so often damaged, they quiver like a jelly and are prone to getting ripped on brambles.

I have managed to post a picture gallery for those of you who requested. It has been put together really quick, and, at present, contains no pics of the present litter, but I am working on it !! stay tuned !!

Good night !!

13.00 22nd July 2000

The pups are fine and healthy. They responded to the docking exactly the same as before, yelling about being picked up, but not even noticing the dew clawing and docking. Molly is leaving the box a little more often each day. This afternoon she had a quick walk. For anyone of you about to go through all of this, then take some advice, keep them on the lead at all times when you walk a new mother, they can behave totally out of character, and suddenly decide to dash home. We knew this from our last litter, and almost too late.

The stripes that Weimaraners are born with, are all about disappeared. One is a little darker than the rest, but their colour is pretty much uniform.

Again, there is not a lot to tell just now, but stay tuned for the next pupdate!

Apologies for the quality of this site, I am learning by trial and error. The piccy page should be up and running now, and the other pictures on the site should have a quicker download time. If you are experiencing problems, I would appreciate the feedback so that I can make these pages an enjoyable surfing experience as well as being informative.