Day 9-Wednesday-Growing Up

November 24, 2016June 29, 2017Leave a comment

One of the unique aspects of this litter of Sugar’s is that another volunteer and talented videographer with many credits to his name on a variety of higher profile projects and shows is planning to do a documentary on Sugar and this litter; he will follow their progress through all of the stages of development including puppy raisers, fosters, and the prison program or wherever they may go all the way through to final training and placement with a client at graduation! He has been taping from the day Sugar got pregnant and he was at the vet for the ultrasound to confirm her pregnancy, the x-rays, at the delivery for the c-section and has made a number of trips to our house to chronicle the journey from puppy to placement! We are honored and humbled to be even a small part of that journey and to have the privilege to watch the progress of the documentary and see where it takes him!

The daily routine is setting in nicely now-bio sensor training, nail trims and filing so that they don’t scratch up Sugar’s stomach or create issues with infection, tracking their weights, and waiting for the next stages of their development. As I was filing their nails, I snickered at the fact that they have already had more manicures in one week than I have had in my whole lifetime! They have a very special purpose to fulfill, and their care and treatment along the way is of utmost importance to everyone who comes in contact with them!

Their ear canals have opened because they now have startle reactions to noises in the vicinity of their box; their eyes should be opening this next week and Orange already seems like his right eye is thinking that he wants to see the world; and they should be able to support their weight on all fours in this upcoming week as well.

I actually got two individual chunks of 3 hours each of sleep last night which is a first in 8 days! I’ve become an expert at 10-15 minute cat naps over this past week during the nighttime hours and I’ve been a little surprised at how little sleep you can really function on 🙂 It’s not hard to go without sleep when you look into the whelping box and see these incredible creatures just learning about life! I should be a test subject in a study about the positive effects on humans when surrounded by a newborn litter of pups-a calm, peaceful feeling even though things haven’t been perfect. Maybe that’s a thesis paper for a college student in the future!

Day 8-Tuesday-1 week old today!

November 24, 2016June 29, 2017Leave a comment

This is the 1 week old birthday of these beautiful puppies!

Today is the first day where I really feel that things are going in the right direction without any emerging issues that are going to need my undivided attention! That’s GREAT news for me! Today I’m going to revel in thinking about mundane things, like “what’s for dinner”, and “has the dishwasher been unloaded?” I’m going to spend some time in the kitchen cooking and I’m not going to complain about the opportunity to do so!

The puppies are all doing really well-Purple has been having what seems like the sniffles a little but it doesn’t seem any worse and it’s not really anything that is on the radar-just typical puppy things.

We continue with Sugar on her regimen of medications and every day I see a little more of her spunky self returning. Today, for the first time in over a week, she went to her toy bin and brought me a toy of hers and tried to engage me in some tug of war. How could I say no to that? It’s amazing that a simple gesture like going to her toy bin brought a wave of relief that things are good today!

In my nightly email update with the breeding coordinator I sent her this as a side note with all of the pertinent information about how the puppies and Sugar are doing-and I’m sure she realized that things were going much better in my house this evening:

“Fact of the day: This is why I get nothing done during the day; I live in a whelping box with 7 unbelievably adorable puppies and their momma …..and I’m not complaining 🙂 (but Ken on the other hand….)”

This is the joy of being a whelping home; the days that you wait for, like a present waiting to be unwrapped. Where you sit in a 20 sq ft space with them and you watch in amazement at their development-you don’t notice that you’ve worn the same jogging pants 3 days in a row, but what you DO notice are the smallest things of each puppy, and even though they’re only a week old you pretty much have already discovered some traits in them that allow you to give them nicknames. Because there are 7 of them, I felt inclined to give them one of the 7 dwarfs names as well:

Like Mr. Blue/Clutch/Dopey, who is small but mighty; he was the smallest in the litter, weighing in at 454 grams (1 pound) but he is the one that is continuously working his way around the box looking to stir up trouble with his siblings, waking them up and getting them chirping for their mom so they can get another meal. If I want the litter to stay sleeping, I place him in an area of the box away from his litter mates and gently rock him to sleep so everyone can have some quiet time; In a clutch,(thus his nickname) I would want him on my team because he just keeps searching for the solution to whatever his problem might be at the time!
Then there’s Mr. Red/Grumpy; we affectionately call him Mr. Trouble because he came out loud and he hasn’t stopped since. When he wants something, YOU KNOW IT! Don’t even TRY to hold him if he hasn’t eaten recently or anything with skin is HIS!
Or Mr. Yellow/Happy, aka Chunky, who was the biggest in the group and maintains his stature as the chunk ball of the group. He “chortles” in his sleep and it is ADORABLE! His face is extra “smooshy” with extra skin, and I think he will have the extra face skin like his momma and I try to kiss that beautiful face as much as I can;
Mr. Orange/Sweetie/Doc: I’m not sure what it is about him, but I feel a special warm spot in my heart for him and I have ever since he was born! He’s quieter, he’s happy with a corner and a “snake” (the tubes we use so that they will build muscles by climbing over them). He never instigates anything and he’s happy for me to just hold him;
Ms. Purple/dollface/Sneezy: I gave her a purple collar because I thought she would be spunky, which has been the personality of many of the purple collared pups in the program. But she is quiet and content and unassuming. She loves to stretch out just outside of the perimeter of the heat lamp as she sleeps the day away. I think about whether she will keep that trait or become chaos on four legs very soon!
Ms. White/Hunny/Bashful: I think this dwarfs nickname fits Ms. White well. She’s unassuming and seems reluctant to draw attention to herself which is the definition of the word. She loves being close to her siblings, and her favorite position is with her back legs draped up and over one of the “snakes”. I laugh every time I see it!
Mr. Green./Junior/Sleepy: He’s the one that I’m always looking for throughout the day when I’m constantly doing my 1,2.3.4.5.6…………oh 7 count to make sure they are all accounted for in the box. (I’m not sure where I think they would go as they can’t even walk yet; #theworriesofawhelpingmom)

And, so today I enjoy the lack of craziness, the contentment of time, and the joy in the smallest of things; and I wonder what tomorrow will bring!

Day 7-Monday

November 23, 2016June 29, 2017Leave a comment

Today, the unimaginable happened….my dryer broke-actually, not so unimaginable since it is going on 27 years old, but the timing is very unfortunate to be sure with so many loads of puppy laundry to be done every day in addition to regular life laundry!

And then, something absolutely AMAZING happened! I thought I would post an update in the life of a whelping home on my Facebook page, some type of “life happens” entry:

“Litter of 7 assistance dog puppies under a week old……doing up to 4 loads of puppy laundry a day……dryer just broke……home Service Plus says they are booked until next week…..#lifesneverboring“

Literally, in a flash, offers started coming in from people commenting on my post-Fellow Can Do Canines volunteers, friends, family, neighbors, high school friends and acquaintances! I seriously could NOT believe what I was seeing! Out of the generosity of their hearts, people volunteered to come to my house, pick up my laundry, dry it, and BRING IT BACK TO ME! Initially I felt bad because I didn’t want people to think that’s why I put it on Facebook, but then I realized they would know that wasn’t my purpose and that they really are just THAT generous. My heart literally melted as the comments starting pouring in throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning. It dawned on me that Thanksgiving was another 3 days away, and that was just too far off to wait to be thankful-today was my day to take some time to appreciate all of the special people in my life that are willing to jump in and help someone whenever there is a need. I am so very fortunate to know each and every one of them! By 730am a family friend had seen my post, called me and stopped by my house to pick up a load so he could bring it back to his house and throw it in the dryer. Then he said “get another load washed and when this one is done I will stop back and switch out bags”. The broken dryer gave me a gift that is a priceless reminder of how to be there for others no matter how small the problem may seem.

As for Sugar, the breeding coordinator came out this morning to see how Sugar was doing and we went over some of the things that I had mentioned to her in the email update last night-mainly that her incision continued to have a smell about it and I wanted to make sure it was healing okay. She looked carefully at it and thought that there was some signs that would indicate she would need to be put on antibiotics. Another round of contacting the vet for a consult and sure enough she had to come to the house again later in the afternoon to bring me the antibiotics. I can’t imagine doing her job! So, for now, Sugar has 2 more medications added to her regimen to get her back to 100%. We will continue the process of adjusting meds, food, and watching for signs of improvement or lack thereof.

However, slowly but surely I am starting to see the twinkle in her eyes again and I am hopeful that this is her turning point! I want her back to her happy, energetic, and fun-loving self again and I will do everything in my power to make sure that happens as soon as possible. Being a whelping home is extremely rewarding for me personally; but it also has a level of worry about Sugar and her pups that is unsettling at times. In talking with other whelping homes, I know they struggle with the same thing. We love what we do and we love animals, and that is what makes it stressful sometimes. I do my very best to keep my concerns and worry under control, but thank goodness the breeding coordinator knows me so well. She can help me navigate through those difficult times without losing my perspective of why this role is important and why staying calm even when the chips are down is the best thing I can do for Sugar and her litter of precious pups!

Now it’s time to go back in the whelping box to enjoy these beautiful babies!

The growing list of meds that Sugar needs for her recovery

lunchtime!

Day 6-No Sleep for the Weary

November 22, 2016November 24, 20161 Comment

Last night was a long night-I thought we were doing alright with Sugar’s progress but around 8pm she had nothing major, but she lost her footing. Then, about an hour later she did it again.

I was typing up the daily update for the breeding program coordinator so that I could email it to her and decided to add a side note at the bottom that read:

**Totally Miscellaneous;

Sugar has “fallen” twice tonight out of the blue-I didn’t see if it was a careless slip or something odd-but she hasn’t ever done this before? Just thought I would share that if for some reason it is important?

At around 11:30pm, my phone rang but I didn’t get to it quick enough. Then I got a text saying “Call me please” from the breeding coordinator. I knew something was up.

I called her back and she started asking questions about the falling. What ended up coming out of the ensuing conversation is that she had been in contact with the vet on call after receiving my nightly update and they determined that there was enough cause for concern that it MIGHT be canine eclampsia that they wanted to immediately try some measures to reduce the risk if that indeed ended up being the case. What I didn’t completely know at the time (but of course I researched after that) was that Canine Eclampsia can be deadly if not caught soon enough or treated. Although I have no vet or medical experience, the way I understood it is that Canine Eclampsia is different than the human form ; it is a low blood calcium that can cause neurological issues and can deteriorate somewhat quickly if signs and symptoms aren’t given your full attention. If caught early it is almost always curable, but the secret lies in catching the subtle clues that may not seem important-like Sugar stumbling, which isn’t typical for her but isn’t surprising with her being tired, having a c-section, etc.

Although I didn’t see the importance of that little tidbit of information, luckily there was something inside of me that made me decide to add it to the nightly update and that was an important piece of information for her to have. And luckily, part of this program is having a fabulous breeding coordinator who has a system of getting nightly updates so that she can stay on top of things that we have no understanding of!

Dora was wonderful at giving me the right amount of information to make sure that I could effectively get Sugar what she needed but yet made sure I stayed calm so that I could keep a close eye on Sugar. I had to be the eyes and ears to be able to notice if any other symptoms appeared that would require a change of plans and a trip to the vet ASAP. I was told to give her the recommended amount of calcium supplements per the Vet’s instructions, watch her closely for any signs such as continued falls, tremors, seizures, pawing at the face, as well as a few others.

Being a whelping home, I always think I’m going to be mostly concerned with the health and welfare of the puppies; I had forgotten that things can get a little problematic for the mother as well. I absolutely ADORE Sugar and the thought that she wasn’t feeling up to par and could potentially have a life threatening situation required me to switch emotional gears quickly last night.

I spent the night awake, wondering what I could do to help Sugar; laying on my air mattress on the floor right next to the whelping box (under my office desk!) while keeping my hand on her so that I could know if anything was happening like tremors or seizures. I had to fight the urge to sift through endless amounts of information on the internet because I knew that what I read would send me into a tailspin of fear for Sugar and I wouldn’t be able to keep a clear head and be the best caretaker of her if things got worse-and after that conversation close to midnight, sleep was NOT going to be my top priority!

I joked with friends saying I should be on “Hell’s Kitchen-canine style” with all of the mixing of food items I’m doing for Sugar’s meals to try to regulate her system-pumpkin, rice,wet specialty food, 3 medications and soon to be adding cottage cheese!

Through it all Sugar has maintained her complete devotion to her litter of pups!

Day 5-Sugar is a trooper!

November 22, 2016November 23, 2016Leave a comment

While hoping throughout the day yesterday that Sugar would rebound from her gastrointestinal issues, she seemed to begin getting worse again as the evening progressed yesterday and throughout the night she was needing to go outside every hour or more. You could tell she didn’t feel well and yet she continued to put 100% of her energy into taking care of her pups and wanting to be right by them at all times.

During the morning check-in with the breeding coordinator who was at the vet for another Can Do dog I explained the latest developments and she said she would consult with the vet and get back to me. Shortly thereafter she contacted me and said that she would be coming over again today for another possible round of IV fluids if Sugar needed it and that the Vet had prescribed a medication in addition to the one she was on to be a little more aggressive in treating her issues. When you are a breeding coordinator, you don’t necessarily get the same opportunity for “time off”! When there’s an issue, regardless of the time of day, she is always ready to help and make sure that we are getting the best care for these supermoms! I don’t know if I could volunteer as a whelping home without her expert guidance, her calming personality, and her love of the dogs in her care as well as her job!

Because Sugar is being filmed for what one day may be a documentary, the videographer was also called to let him know of the new situation so he could determine if he wanted to come over and get any footage of the latest medical development. He was able to rearrange his plans and be able to film the process of a home medical visit.

As we did on Thursday, we administered the required medications, watched her closely and let her rest to see if her body would sort itself out now that she had plenty of fluids to keep her from becoming dehydrated. It was amazing to see in a couple of hours how much the fluids really did help and that she started acting like herself again! She wasn’t restless and she didn’t need to constantly go out to go to the bathroom.

The puppies are voracious eaters, and they are trying to nurse as frequently as possible! I can only imagine Sugar trying to keep up with their appetites! She’s got 7 mouths to feed and they are always calling for her with their little, tiny voices!

I sometimes think that it would be difficult for those who aren’t in this position of being a whelping home volunteer to understand how worrisome it is for us to have a dog in our care that isn’t ours and watch it becoming sick or not feeling like themselves. We want so badly to be successful at this mission of providing assistance dogs to those who want and need it that it can almost become an obsession of sorts. (speaking for myself only!) There is a great amount of responsibility we place on our OWN shoulders to make sure that we “do this thing” RIGHT; that we give it everything we’ve got and leave nothing on the table because people’s freedom and independence are counting on it. We want to make sure that when these beautiful puppies leave our home for the next steps in their journey that we’ve given them everything possible so that their great start homes, their puppy raisers, and their fosters are able to teach them all the skills necessary to be rock stars in their respective fields whether that is diabetes alert, seizure assist, autism assist, mobility assist or hearing assist!!

These puppies are meant for something-for someone; they will change somebody’s life in a way that we can’t even comprehend at this moment. And the people who they will serve don’t even know that they exist at this moment! Their destinies started the day they were born. Regardless of whether they make it through the full vision of being placed as an assistance dog, whether they get career changed…….they still have big shoes to fill and this is the beginning of giving them what they need to realize that goal. As you can see, I don’t take this responsibility lightly!

Day 4-Friday, November 18th

November 22, 2016November 23, 2016Leave a comment

We are hopeful that the IV fluids given to Sugar yesterday are going to do their magic and make her feel better, giving her system an opportunity to recover.

Today we continue to add things to the puppy regimen; nail trims so that they don’t scratch Sugar’s stomach and increase chances of infection and putting a few more items into the whelping box to increase their opportunities to crawl over, under, through and on them for muscle building/problem solving skills. They are a beautiful bunch of pups and Sugar is so extremely attentive to their needs that she keeps trying to stay in the whelping box even if it’s dinner time or she needs to go outside!

Some of the things that we do daily with the puppies and Sugar:
* Weights twice a day to make sure they are making adequate growth progress and there are no signs of illness
* Daily updates to the Breeding Coordinator
* Changing of the whelping box liner, padding and beds
* Taking Sugars temp to make sure there are no signs of infection
* Keeping an eye on their feeding schedules, their personalities and their development of critical things like getting around the whelping box adequately, any signs of illness (coughs, sniffles, etc.) and checking where they are in the process of opening their eyes which typically happens at 6-10 days
* Get Sugar her necessary meds which seem to be increasing lately….
* LOTS OF LAUNDRY !
* Keeping a journal of all of the details for any future litters Sugar may have so we know what to watch for, signs of problems, dosage of medications that work for her etc. This is also helpful for other whelping homes because if they encounter the same thing with their litter then there is maybe a solution waiting in the notes from someone else!
* Pictures!!! Lots and lots of pictures, which some of them are used to update fellow volunteers on a closed facebook page so that they can follow along with the litter and share in the joy and excitement of more puppies that will be joining the program! This is really important because we are a community of volunteers and we count on each other for support and to share in our successes, failures, good times and bad to continue this journey that we are so passionate about!

Day 3-1st Day of Training and a small setback for Sugar

November 22, 2016November 23, 2016Leave a comment

Sugar has continued to have intestinal issues, partly because of her surgery I suspect and partly due to the events surrounding motherhood and the changes to her system. Because of the frequent loose stools, the breeding coordinator came out to our house today to check on Sugar. It was determined that her gums were a little tacky and that she could benefit from IV fluids. Because the Coordinator previously worked at the University of Minnesota in the Veterinary hospital, she is more than qualified to be able to take care of Sugar’s needs to try to get her back on her feet and on the road to recovery again!

Sugar was put on a medication to help her system recover (so that was added to the daily schedule) and we added a variety of things to her diet including pumpkin to hopefully settle things down. Because of her lack of appetite, multiple meals of smaller amounts would need to be given.

As for the puppies, today is their first REAL day of training to become assistance dogs! They will start Super Puppy today (also known as Bio-Sensor Training); This is the same type of training that is utilized for dogs in the military. Researchers have studied the genetics of performance and have estimated that 65% of ability is attributable from other influences such as training, management and nutrition. The began looking for ways to improve natural abilities in a variety of animals and some of the methods have produced lifelong effects. They have included early stimulation of puppies as one of the ways that performance can directly be affected. They concluded “During these first few weeks of immobility, researchers noted that these immature and under-developed canines are sensitive to a restricted class of stimuli which includes thermal and tactile stimulation, motion and locomotion.”

From days 3 to 16 I will be doing five different “exercises” with them to stimulate their neurological system to get their brain working in a way that it typically doesn’t do at this stage of the game in their development. This will set them up for the best chance of success in being confident, trainable and solid adult dogs.

Each exercise is only for a short duration of 3 to 5 seconds as MORE IS NOT BETTER. It is important not to overwhelm the puppies and instead just give them a little bit of training.

First, I take a Q-tip between their toes to give them tactile stimulation; this hopefully starts them desensitizing to unfamiliar surfaces and things under their feet and to be comfortable with that. Second, I hold the puppy perpendicular to the ground with the head upright. Third, I hold the head pointed down to the ground, 4th I rest the back of the puppy in the palm of my hands in a supine position. This will teach them trust in what is typically a very vulnerable position for them. Finally, I place their four paws on a damp, slightly cool washcloth for thermal stimulation. Once again, these exercises are only done for a brief 3-5 seconds each, only one time per day.

First Day of Super Puppy Training! (Also called Bio-Sensor Training)

Day 2-the REAL Journey begins

November 22, 2016June 29, 2017Leave a comment

Today is the 2nd day of our puppy adventure and they have already grown so much! I have had to loosen some of their collars because of their growth!

Miss White has come around and has started gaining weight and increasing her activity level, so she’s officially off of my “worry list”. On the other hand, Sugar has all of a sudden started having loose stools and has to go to the bathroom frequently (at least every hour) so now she has made her way to the top of my list to watch!

The days go by very fast; the tasks needing to be done grows along with their age-weighing them in twice a day, temperature check of Sugar, cleaning around the incision and giving the area ample time to dry to prevent infection/bacteria, cleaning the whelping box, mopping the floor of the room, laundry of the towels and changing pads for the next round of cleaning, preparing meals for Sugar to try to reduce the loose stools, keeping a journal for record keeping, etc.

As I sit with them in the whelping box for hours each day, I think joyfully of the upcoming weeks and what I will get to encounter from being part of this opportunity. I wonder what personalities they will develop, which one will be the troublemaker and which will be the quiet one, who will open their eyes first and who will be the one to run and greet me each morning when they are older. As much as I try to keep my emotions in check, knowing that in a few short weeks they will be on to another family, another journey, and another stage in this process I still fall madly in love with the bundles of joy in a whelping box in my office. Their antics already make me laugh and I can’t wait to wake up in the morning(where I sleep on an air mattress right next to the whelping box) to see what they are up to beside me. Often during the middle of the night, I lay awake and watch them move around in the box-watching them drag themselves from one spot to another, blindly, and I know that just around the corner in less than a week they will be carrying themselves on all fours!

Day 1 of Puppyhood

November 22, 2016November 22, 2016Leave a comment

Today is our first day at home with the puppies. All of them seem to be doing great with the exception of Miss White who is a little sluggish and doesn’t seem to be eating as frequently as her siblings. While this can just be a typical part of the daily growing process, I will watch her carefully and make sure that she is getting the first opportunity to nurse. In addition, I will keep a close eye on her weight to make sure that she is gaining adequately every morning and evening.

Whelping puppies for a non-profit service dog organization is different than being a breeding home. There are a variety of processes and procedures that have been established to insure the best possible outcome for these puppies. Whelping homes maintain daily contact with the breeding coordinator and we discuss every minute detail of the puppies and the mom-their growth, their behavior, their personalities and the recovery of Sugar after delivery…..and I will love every minute of it!

Today is the first day of lack of sleep, stress about making sure the puppies are healthy, worrying about Sugar to make sure she adequately recovers after her c-section, and the many other unexpected things that may come up along the way. This journey isn’t always easy, but knowing that these puppies are meant to be with a person who doesn’t even know them yet and will change their lives in unimaginable ways makes the journey one of excitement and anticipation! This journey will fuel me and hopefully allow me to appreciate every moment of their beautiful growth!