Puppies born - Nover 12th 2008 12am - 3am

I had been taking Bella's temperature and noticed the night before Nov 11th that her temp dropped to 98.5 - Yesterday I kept taking her temperature to see if there were any changes and it stayed the same all day. I knew I could expect labor to begin in about 24 hours from that point.

Around 10pm Bella began to be restless. Pacing her Kennel, wanting love and attention, digging like crazy, and moving her bedding around a lot. Every time she would lay down she would get right back up and move some more.

Around 3am Bella had two very beautiful little puppies. She had 1 boy and 1 girl. I had guessed she would have 3, I was one number away!



BOY




GIRL




If you are having a hard time viewing the photo's because they are cut off you can right click the photo with your mouse. A menu should come up and on the menu will be a choice that says " view image " - Just click that and it will take you to the original image or you could go to this link: http://s499.photobucket.com/albums/rr353/ASCDachshund/

Video of Bella's belly at 64 days pregnant

Watch her belly as the puppies inside kick and turn around!

9 weeks

Bella has about 7 more days till her estimated due date! She could go a little earlier, or even a bit later. Her puppies are moving all around inside, I think that's the fun part! Feeling & seeing them move around!


If you take a look, you'll notice that one side of her belly is bigger than the other! This usually means that she will have an odd number of puppies....



Her belly is really fat and hanging lower than before. Her milk is beginning to fill in.

So, the next time I update here will be when she has her litter of Puppies! That went by so fast. I thought I would be in agony waiting it out, but it really just flew right by. I am looking forward to seeing what she throws off. Colors, Patterns and the # of babies.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!



Bella is a ballerina for Halloween, so cute huh?

Feeling the babies

Lately Bella really loves her belly touched and I do not mind what so ever :) I get to feel all her babies moving around! She rolls onto her back and I press my hands on her belly, feeling around for bulges, bumps and kicks! - Lately I can see the kicks through her skin as they move, it's so fun!

I am getting really antsy now. I can not wait to see what she has, Girls, Boys, Colors, Patterns, etc.

8 weeks - wow already!?

Bella is eating more now. She's eating Solid gold, Wellness ( grain free ) and cooked chicken. When you feel her belly now it's "fuller" and no space to really squish in. I can feel the shapes of her puppies now, and I actually did feel a few kicks starting last week and a few more this week.

My husband is guessing 4, I guessed 3. We'll see :)







Everyone in my house has been down with the FLU so I have really lost track of time/dates, lol. I had to edit this post because I added the wrong week as the title, yikes!

Bella relaxing 7 weeks

I was feeling her belly for kicks and this is how she was laying. I actually felt a few kicks, too! So cute...



Bella has been eating Sold Gold Puppy dry food ( and some wet ) & Wellness grain free wet food since she got pregnant. Both are really great quality foods so that she stays healthy during her pregnancy getting everything she and her puppies need during their development! She's been in doors almost all day unless she is on her potty break, we want this girl to stay as healthy as she can be and keep an eye on her for changes, if any..

6 weeks

Some times, she looks skinnier and some times she looks fatter. It's so weird... I wonder if it's because her puppies move, or food she ate or what. Beats me, either way... Thats her Belly!

... Pop!

Bella pretty much POPPED out today! She was obviously showing before if you took the time to look her over but now... she looks pregnant to anyone who see's her :) She is 41 days pregnant or take a few :) So cute!

About 5 weeks pregnant

She's not excited about eating...

Bella is hardly eating. I think she feels pretty icky still from morning sickness. I caught her yesterday in the yard nipping at the grass - Usually means their bellies are pretty upset. Poor girl.

I've tried to Palpate her again recently and now I can't feel anything - I think it's begun to swell and there is now fluid around the puppies so I can't feel them anymore which is normal and supposed to happen...

Getting thicker :)

Bella is beginning to get thicker. She's always been very skinny but her waste is thickening up - it's a lot thicker, and if you stand her up on her back legs she has a definite belly. How cute! We are looking forward to seeing her grow bigger with that baby belly! I'll begin to post pics as it becomes real noticeable!

Bella has morning sickness.

Today I noticed that Bella has morning sickness. She is having a hard time keeping food down. She never actually tossed up - but I could hear that she was about to, and then I could hear her swallowing. Poor girl!

Palpated Bella...

Today I brought Bella in and fed her on my table. Gave her chicken... as she ate I put my hand over her belly and then gently reached up feeling for little hard balls. Sure enough, I felt about 3 in a row! I tried to feel towards her rib cage as I started at her Pelvis and moved up but it was thicker and a little harder, so there could be more but I just can not feel them!

So, it's confirmed. We have puppies on the way!!!!

How to palpate your dog:

This must be done very carefully. You want to feel but not compress at all.

The bitch must be standing and relaxed facing you.

Rub her back and her belly for a few minutes to relax her.

GENTLY place your hand around her belly from underneath.

You are feeling for the uterus, which is a long narrow tube structure lying along the back of the bitch just below her spine, with the intestines filling in below.

Gently reach up towards the bitch's spine to find the uterus (later it might be further down, but at 21 days, the fetuses are smaller and the uterus lies higher.

Carefully, beginning either at the pelvis or the ribcage, bring your fingers together, allowing the insides of the bitch to slide gently through your fingers.

A puppy will feel HARD and Slippery, and usually quite round.

The litter will lie along the uterus like pearls on a string.

So, if you've found the uterus, and a puppy, you want to allow the puppy you've located to easily slide through your fingers and you might find another, another, another!

The idea is to allow them to slip through your fingers, not try to hold onto them. Like reading braille, not like pushing buttons.

21 - 32 days of pregnancy is best to do this, 28 being the better day as the puppies are larger at this time with less swelling from fluids etc...

Belly Shots...

Bella is about 25 days pregnant by now. My husband "thinks" he felt a little ball ( puppy maybe ) inside but it moved out of the way. Either way here are some updated pics of her poochy belly...

Teats!

When Bella went into heat, she got "larger" teats. That is normal. As of today, I noticed some puffiness around her teats and that her teats were extra pinkish. When she is walking/standing I notice small peaks that sort of hang. Good signs!



Just another reason ( other than having been mated ) to think she is expecting! She is almost 14 - 19 days pregnant. ( Just depends on which tie took ) and that sounds about right as far as when she would be showing signs!

I bought my mom & dad a Dachshund.

I still have him, I am giving him to them this Sunday. He still needs one more shot and then he is all hers! - What a good early Christmas gift! How cute is he? :)

He's not registered AKC but he is still purebred and cute. He's all red with a black tipped tail. lol...

Breeding & Expecting....

Bella's breeding cycle is over!


We had 4 successful ties starting on
Sept 7th/CD9
Sept 8th/CD10
Sept 9th/CD11
Sept 11th/CD13

...We never witnessed a tie on CD12 or CD14... but they were doing stuff and having fun! - 6 full days of breeding... but really, We had Odie and Bella together from the beginning of her heat cycle until CD14. We may have missed more breeding!


We're expecting
New puppies... November 10th through November 14th, 2008!


Keep checking back for more updates. I am more that positive that I'll be posting belly pictures and new puppy updates in about 63 days or so! ... Holiday Dachshunds!

Bella (DAM) and Odie (Sire)

Bella began going over to see Odie for visits about 5 months ago. Odie actually didn't care for Bella at all.... Was kind of mean to her! Ever since she has been in heat they are best friends. Running together, Playing together, Mounting, Flirting, etc.

Once Bella was in what I call Cycle day 2 ( CD2 ) I began to take her over to see Odie daily and then we'd pick her back up at the end of the day.


Bella is a RED/PIEBALD.
Odie is a RED/DAPPLE.

They'll make beautiful puppies when they do!

Bella's in heat!

Bella began her "heat" on August 30, 2008. She's ready to breed!

It was dark blood when I noticed it so she could have started earlier and I missed all the signs - regardless I am counting from the days I noticed first.

I'll be breeding her with my Mother in-laws dog named Odie. Another purebred registered Dachshund!