Marvelous

Word got around the internet pretty quickly yesterday about a pregnant female German Shepherd in a shelter in West Virginia who was said to be due within a week. Erika messaged me, I agreed, and she sprang into action making arrangements with the shelter and transport arrangements to get her here. She also pushed through an adoption application for Woody and worked on finding other foster homes to take in the two Doberman pups we still have here. The result was a planned arrival here on Thursday about 1:00 p.m. 

The dobie pups spent their last night in the puppy shed and this morning I got to work cleaning it out for the expected new arrival. While I was up at Lowe's buying a mop I got a message informing me that the time schedule was being accelerated because momma dog had gone into labor and already delivered one puppy at the shelter. I still had plenty of time to finish cleaning but most of the action was happening in the transporters' vehicles. When Gina arrived this afternoon, she had the mother dog and five puppies, four of whom had been born en route. 

We got them moved into the puppy shed and I began watching for the expected delivery of two more puppies (we were told to expect seven). Momma dog was friendly and would even let me handle her puppies some although she clearly preferred that I not. They seemed fine and she seemed fine so I left them alone. I brought her food a couple of times and she would get up to eat it so I could confirm that there were still just the five pups. This continued throughout the afternoon. 

I don't know what the expected count of seven puppies was based on and began to doubt it. She was not displaying any signs of labor at this point and looked to be done. We will continue to monitor her, but I'm assuming that five is the number and it's a good number so I hope we're all done. 

Momma dog is obviously a German Shepherd. She had been surrendered to the shelter and the owners said she couldn't possibly be pregnant because she had never been around a male dog. I'm not sure if that qualifies these puppies as miraculous births, but they are marvelous births at least, so we named momma dog Marvel. The puppies, three girls and two boys, will be named after characters from the Marvel universe. Right now I'm thinking Storm, Rogue, and Elektra for the girls, and Thor and Hawkeye for the boys. One of the boys appears to be solid black, the rest are sort of brownish, but it's too early to tell what their coats will be like. 

They all appear to be nursing and Marvel is taking good care of them. She seemed very relaxed and happy to be someplace stationary. I guess this was the equivalent of giving birth in a cab on the way to the hospital. I missed out on the excitement but I'm okay with that. I see my job as taking care of Marvel so that she can care for the marvelous puppies.

Happy birthday

Happy birthday to Clay, and to Allison's puppies. They are three years old today. Clay is somewhat older. 

As I said before, I'm not in touch with as many from this litter as I am with Della's, but I did manage to get a few pictures of the grown up pups, and a current one of Allison as well. Happy birthday, pups. 

This litter always slept together in one big puppy pile.

 Adele

Elliott 

Irma

Orla

And here's Big Momma herself, Andi, formerly Allison.

And here's a few from three years ago:

These puppies loved sleeping in a pile.

Rainy day arrangements

We had the remnants of coastal storm today, giving us a nice, fairly steady rain for much of the day. We needed it. But a rainy day calls for some different doggie arrangements. We had a character change on Sunday as well. Killian went home and Arlo arrived, taking over the role of second Dane in the household until next Sunday. Arlo is not a former foster but he was here for a while earlier this year so he's not wholly unfamiliar with the routine and the rest of the cast. 

Arlo isn't neutered yet and I'm not sure he and Norman would be a good match. I could keep Arlo in the dog yard but he doesn't like to be alone outside and I can't keep Bailey in the dog yard because she will jump the fence. So I moved the three dobie pups to the dog yard for the day, which they've been doing most days anyway and put Arlo and Bailey in the half of Daneland with the shed that has been the Doberman pups' home base. They had space to run and play when it wasn't raining and good shelter from the rain if they didn't want to get wet. That left the a/c yard available to the cone-wearing Woody in between rain showers. At night Arlo is in the crate next to Della, Woody is in a crate in the kitchen, and the Doberman pups move back over to their shed. 

This worked well during the day and I hope it gave everyone enough outdoor time that they will sleep better, and longer, tonight. 

I looked at the radar and saw that there was supposed to be a good break in the rain from about 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. this evening so I took Bette and Elvis out for a walk at Pleasant Grove. I didn't want to walk the muddy trails so I stuck to the roadways at the park but we still managed to get in four miles.

Elvis pairs well with most any dog on a walk, but he and Bette were particularly well-matched.

They are the same size, could wear the same harness if I had two of them, and have very similar walking styles. They keep moving for the most part, which I appreciate.

Bette is much more interested in deer, however, and we saw a lot of them this evening because our walked ended as it was getting dark. That's when the deer come out to play.

These two even performed a synchronized pooping routine that I have never seen before. They both stopped at the same time and did their business still standing right next to one another. I only needed one bag for both and they chose a spot right near a trash can for easy disposal. I was pleased and impressed.

They rode home in the back of the van together.

Killian on a bed in the bedroom at night. It was very nice to have him here.

Arlo in the big crate next to Della's

Arlo and Bailey played together the last time he was here.

I'll get them out to the pasture to run tomorrow when it's not raining.

Wildlife walks with Bailey

Bailey and I have been hitting the four mile hikes pretty hard lately. I'm trying to lose 10 pounds before we leave for vacation. She just wants to go. For her, it's all about spotting wildlife, deer especially, but she's also keen on squirrels, rabbits, and birds – anything that moves. She saw a pileated woodpecker working its way around and up a tree one day and we stopped to watch that.

When we walk the trails I use a rope harness on her and basically let her pull me as hard as she wants. My arms and back are sore but it adds to my exercise and it must tire her out more too, although that's never become obvious. Sometimes, rarely, I'll spot the deer first just because my height advantage over her let's me see some things before they enter her field of vision. Mostly, however, she's so alert to any movement that she'll spot the deer before I do, and often before they even spot us. Bailey doesn't try to drag me off the trail to go after them, usually she does what they do, stop, freeze, and stare. That gives me the opportunity to get my camera zoomed in to get a picture of them. 

We've encountered horseback riders and she's cool with them. We get well off the trail and let them pass but she doesn't freak out or bark or try to go after them. She's the same way with bikes, and with people, although if they have dogs I do keep an extra tight hold on her. We've had a couple encounters with off-leash dogs and she's handled them pretty well also. She can handle herself well enough, it's the off-leash dogs who should be worried.

One of our deer friends.

The staring contest can go on for quite a while.

This guy was a couple feet off the trail and I was surprised that she alerted on him, but he must have made a movement as we were passing.

Della update:  We've increased her pain meds and she doesn't complain about the pain, but she's completely non-weight bearing on that leg so it obviously hurts. She's more inclined to pick a nice spot outdoors to lay and watch the activity, but she still wants to be in on everything. She sometimes changes beds several times throughout the night, even after everyone has gone to sleep. Maybe it's comfort seeking, or she may just be asserting her authority over the other dogs in the bedroom. If Della wants a bed, she gets it.