Guest Blog from B-Twin-1
PUPPIES!!!!!!!
[Robin added the headline title: B-Twin-1 is obviously Very Tired and Understandably Subdued]
This is the special “puppy edition” blog entry. :-)
Day 59 of Belle’s pregnancy dawned clear and sunny. (Again. This weather is really stuck in a rut.) However, fine weather is good because there were a few hours of shearing left to do and sunny weather is always nicer for us and the sheep.
Trying to stop Belle from working is nigh impossible and exercise is excellent for an expectant bitch so she came too. I was wondering if she was fairly close to whelping because she hadn’t been too keen on dinner the night before. However, she was all eager to go to the shearing shed so she came over with me and sat in her usual place.
We finished a little before lunch time and she calmly moved the sheep out of the yards in her customary gentle manner. There was a little tidying up that needed doing in the shearing shed before I could head home so I stayed to do that. I wasn’t surprised that Belle didn’t hang about in the shed because she doesn’t like the noise of the hydraulic woolpress. I was surprised though when I received a message to say Belle had gone home.
Oh. That’s odd. Really odd.
I dashed back home, the list of things that still needed doing churning through my head. When I arrived I was greeted by an agitated Belle. Yikes! It’s happening! I hurriedly set up her “area” and she went straight to it and tried to dig a hole.
“Close” doesn’t even cover it as she had the first one before I had barely managed to get newspaper and a mat down for her.
It was a girl.
The next one was about 15 minutes later and it was a boy. Hefty sucker too.
Before long there were 2 more. And then another.
She settled down and was cleaning them like a pro and letting them suckle. I took a happy snap and then went to make some calls. A little while later I went to check up on her and was confused… so I did a headcount ….. SIX puppies!
3 boys and 3 girls.
So far so good. :) She’s a great mother and very attentive to every little squawk and whimper. *phew*
All going well there will be six names to choose for this army of pups. If you have suggestions then please go to my blog and let me know what they are. (You don’t have to be registered with Livejournal)
Pupdates to come…. :-)
Here are some more squee-inducing pics just to round it off:
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