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Chapter Two: The Pregnancy
5-21-00
We don't know whether Ivy is pregnant, although she is acting
a bit more lethargic than usual and has become irritable
with Chase, who is usually her buddy. She's also very clingy,
following me everywhere I go. We can't really tell if she's
acting abnormally though or it's just wishful thinking!
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 5-25-00
Morning sickness...and maybe it's my imagination, but she
sure looks pregnant to me. Walt says definitely yes. It
could also be a false pregnancy though. I'm trying not to
get too excited yet.
5-31-00 Well,
she's either headed for a serious weight-loss program or
she's got babies in there. Somehow we thought that a pregnant
whippet would lose her figure a bit more, but she looks
sleek and fit from the side, and huge from above.
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| 6-2-00
Ivy is none too happy about this pregnancy business. She sulks
all day and has nothing nice to say to anyone. I'm feeling a
little guilty about putting her through all this and I worry
about the birth. I keep hearing stories about bitches who died
from complications. I'm not inexperienced at this...I've whelped
a number of collie litters, but it's been several years. Am
I more nervous because I know more than I did when I started
in collies or because I've forgotten everything? Unfortunately
I haven't forgotten everything that can go wrong. In my last
litter of collies we lost all but one of the puppies and had
to hand-raise him. |
 6-6-00
So much for the svelte outline. Ivy looks like a watermelon
on legs. She is doing very little exceptfollowing me around
and eating like a horse. We bought puppy supplies -- bitch milk
replacer and bottles in case she can't feed them. I'm brushing
up on tube feeding procedure in case it's necessary. A friend
loaned us a whelping box and we've turned the guest room into
a nursery. Whelping pads for the bottom of the box, vitamin
supplements, first aid supplies. We haven't changed Ivy's diet
other than the quantity. She's always been in pretty good condition,
but we do have to walk her about a mile a day to keep her toned. |
Supplies
$145
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6-15-00 X-ray today ($90) showed seven little skulls! Ivy
doesn't follow me everywhere like she used to - too much bulk
to move around. We try to get her out for walks at least once
a day, but she doesn't have much enthusiasm for them. Oh, the
x-ray or an ultrasound is always a good idea to see how many
puppies to expect. If one pup isn't delivered along with the
others, there can be serious, even fatal, results. |
Xray
$90
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6-17-00 I started sleeping in the "whelping suite," as Walt
calls the guest room now. The puppies could come any time after
the 57th day, and that's today if she got pregnant on the first
breeding. She refuses to sleep in the whelping box, but stays
in the bed with me. This could be interesting.
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| 6-18-00
Started taking her temperature twice a day now. It will drop
to below 100 degrees 24 hours before whelping. Right now it's
101.1 to 101.9. She groans when she sees the thermometer. |
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 6-20-00
Still nothing. Ivy and I sit in the guest room and stare at
each other. Shewants to be with me all the time...I feel sorry
for her hauling herself up and down the stairs, so I moved
my computer into the guest room. I'm feeling guilty at putting
her through all this. I know it's just cold feet on my part,
but I keep thinking of all the things that can go wrong. I
would never forgive myself if I lost her.
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6-22-00
Okay, her temperature has dropped below 100. I'm ready for
some puppies. Ivy still is not sure what's going on, and she
is very uncomfortable. She pants a lot and actually
lies on her back to get comfortable...something she has never
done. We go outside to walk a lot. She has to pee all the
time, it seems. Our entire household has begun to revolve
around her belly.
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 6-23-00
(4:00 am) I'm exhausted. Ivy and I were up nearly all
night. At least I was. Every time she moved, I jumped. She
crawled under the covers all the way to the bottom of the
bed (her favorite sleeping position) and would not lie still.
I remember from my collie litters that these final few days
seem to go on forever, but at this rate I'm going to wind
up sleeping through the whelping just because I've stayed
up so long waiting for it!
(9:00 pm) Well, this is just great...her last day or
two of pregnancy and Miz Ivy decides to pull out her switchblade
and start a rumble with Judy Street Dog. It was time for their
bedtime biscuits, and everyone lined up in the kitchen, just
as they have every single night for the past two years...ever
since we moved here. I tossed the biscuits...just as I have
every single night for the past two years. Everyone caught
a biscuit, but Ivy dropped part of hers. It rolled underneath
Judy, and I guess Ivy took that as... Who knows what she took
it as, but she jumped Judy. They have never fought, but they
really got into it. Walt pulled out the diet soda (our emergency
dog-fight-stopper) shook it up and squirted them with it.
That broke it up enough that I could grab Ivy by the hind
legs and he could haul Judy into the living room and close
the door. Excitement like this I could do without. Probably
the puppies could do without it too.
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pm) I think Ivy is in the first stages of labor. But then
I've thought that more or less all day long. More panting, "nesting"
on the bed. She's still not interested in the whelping box unless
Isit in it with her. We sat there all afternoon today, me reading
a book and her sleeping, but it gets pretty uncomfortable. Beginning
to wonder if I will ever sleep again. |
Total
expenses during pregnancy $235
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