I can feel the puppies moving !

I am taking her temperature 3 times a day and it is currently at 37.7 degrees C, which is normal for the week before whelping. She is very chirpy - much happier than during the middle of her pregnancy.

I have done my Kennel name registration and we wait to say which of the 4 names we have suggested will be accepted.

Reading the most recently published book I find there is a huge amount of contradiction - for example the 'Book of the Bitch' says to leave the puppies suckling whilst thesubsequent puppies are born, as it helps to stimulate contractions; whereas the other books, and breeding friends, say remove the newborn pups to a seperate warm box when each new puppy is born. Another contradiction is whether to let the bitch chew the cord or to cut it yourself - the book says let the bitch do it, as there is no evidence it is related to umbilical hernias and it is an important part of the bonding process; everyone else suggests you cut the cord yourself.

Decisions to be made about the best course of action - but one thing I am totally agreed on is that we should not allow any visitors during th first 3 weeks, due to risk of infection and stress to the bitch and puppies. Losing puppies during the first 2 weeks is common and I will do everything I can to ensure this doesn't happen.

From 3 weeks the more visitors the better as the puppies learn all about the outside world and Darcy will become less possessive as they are weaned and she starts to resume her normal lifestyle.

In the meantime I will post lots of pictures on this blog.