Motion Activated Spray

Well, I set up the motion activated spray (called SSSScat). It works exactly as advertised :-)

I aimed the spray nozzle about 10 degrees behind the motion detector so that as they pass the motion detector they get sprayed in the face. It is a rather strong spray with a noise that that is startling (just a loud hiss). The spray itself is clear and odorless (at least to me) and successfully deters the whippets from entering the room! If they get down close to look at the can - they get another spray so that keeps them from being too interested in the can itself.

Today I kept the off limits room door open and allowed the dogs free range in the house - while they approached the room - they did not enter after the first time they'd been sprayed :-) I am not too sure I'll keep it in the doorway because it will spray me too if I don't make sure my leg isn't caught by the motion detector! But perhaps before long the can at the doorway will be deterrent enough! Certainly it will work well on any counter top. I will try it there next. Before long I won't have a bad puppy and I will not have had to say the word NO - they will choose to stay off or out without any correction by me (what weird furniture I have - it does all this stuff!)

I love it when a plan comes together!

Deterrents (Scat Mat, spray)

So far so good! The only time JB has been in the house is when one of the adults knocked down a baby gate (yes, of course it was on purpose!!). BUT no one - especially not JB - jumped on top of the console and JB has not been back on top of the room divider :-)

I also ordered a nasty tasting thing called (appropriately enough) McNasty. It is manufactured by Eqyss and is made to keep horses from cribbing [chewing up their stalls]. Yes, it tastes nasty - I got it on my fingers. I sprayed the remote control after JB started working on the new one. I was mean - I put the remote on the floor and let him "find it" - ooh, he got so excited his eyes lit up! He went over to it and grabbed it with his mouth and . . . oh no! he shook his head and tried to get the yuck out of his mouth! He has since left the remote alone :-) Feeling emboldened, I sprayed my slippers and left them around too - worked like a charm!!

I searched around to get the best price I could for the stuff. Equine supply stores carry it and it can be expensive - I found some on sale 32 oz for 18.99. I am going to use it on the puppies when they get teeth - they love to chew toes and shoes. I used this product on litter 1 and it worked great - litter 2 didn't have the penchant for toes - I guess they were saving it up for crates & blankets!!

Breeder's Diary Week 3

Well, the puppies are 3 weeks old - it's hard to imagine that time has gone by so quickly! Here is a lovely photo of Dancer - always so eager for attention that she quickly figured out how to look good for photos! Eye and ears are all working perfectly! Puppies already come to the side of the whelping box when i come into the room calling "Puppy! Puppy!" They fall all over themselves to visit and taste your arms and fingers!

Three weeks - 21 days - average time the teeth come in. I have been checking to see if i can feel any tooth buds - it's hard not to when they are trying to eat your fingers! Voila' today Cupid has her first tooth! Sharp little thing it is too! A couple of other puppies have teeth sitting just under the surface as well. Now their fces will really begin to change - as the teeth come in I've noticed that the muzzles begin to elongate some and the puppies begin to resemble whippets more and more.

Puppies are playing and having "fun" with each other. The fun depends on who is on the receiving end! Blitzen seems to be the most playful right now - he is the butt-biter and tail-puller! Don't turn your back on him!! Dancer likes to bit her brother and sisters on the neck while the others are satisfied with spending their time knocking the others down and in 'face play". We have had our first puppy spat - ooh, so serious - a growl and a yip and two tottery puppies fall right over ;-)

By the end of the week they should all have teeth and be ready for some soft food. Emma will be thrilled! She is getting a little tired of being on call - which for this groups is actually on "howl"! Either Cupid or Prancer will initiate the session - with 7 little voices chiming in calling their mother back to the whelping box. I wonder if they are telling her that they are bored and need her to entertain them! Must be because sometimes she just doesn't even bother to open her eyes or perk up her ears - simply adjusts her position, sighs, and goes back to sleep! There is something herre to learn - the puppies do stop after a little bit!

Scat Mat

Oh my! I think it is actually working! Despite yesterday's debacle - JB has not been on the console once today - and I have left the door to the kitchen open. This is unusual behavior because even if I am in the sun room with him he'll do the console - kitchen leapfrog. Keep your collective fingers crossed!!

Puppy Frustrations Part II

OK - The SCAT MAT came today and I was thrilled - I had the right sized battery and could hook it up right away! I checked it out - yup - the "deterrent" worked for me! I got a super yummy treat and put the scat mat on the dresser in the sun room and put the greenie on it - way at the back so in order to get it he had to endure the shock.

OOPS - not only didn't the shock bother him but he got the greenie too! Emma tried to get the Greenie but when she put her paws on the top of the console she got her chock and took them off (no one else is rude enough to get on this so no one else tried).

So bad me - I rewarded him for being bad. So then I left it alone and what do you know? He got up in the top of that thing and sort of stood on it - DUH - is he thick headed enough?). Since so far, nothing is keeping him off the console (and therefore out of the kitchen if the door is open or off the room divider - we have no place to put important stuff - the new remote was already destroyed today after only 3 days in the house. The scat mat folks say it might not work immediately but to keep trying. . . what's the alternative? I can't return him to the breeder ;-) that was a joke!

Maybe I'll spend the weekend sitting near it and clicking when he stay off and letting him get the shock when he goes on. I really hate to put it on a higher setting (I increased the setting from lowest to low). I will tell you, I've learned my lesson - I do not want to touch that mat again!

Plan B is the SSSScat thing that I got - it's a motion detector and sprays something harmless and not smelly when it detects motion. Where are those AAA batteries when you really need them!?

Breeder's Diary Week 3

Well, every body's eyes are open and the puppies are so much fun! While they still sleep a lot of the day, when they are awake they are interacting with their Mom, me and each other! Prancer was sucking her front foot last night and today Blitzen, Comet and Dasher were sort of sitting in a crcle biting each others' butts! Too cute and since they have no teeth yet - pretty funny - they would squeal and get to chomping on the next one that was foolish enough to come into range!

When I come into the whelping room and speak to the puppies little heads come up, eyes open and those that aren't too sleepy come lurchng in my direction! Now when I pick them up and talk to them they look at me - not alot of tail wagging yet but I did see Prancer wagging her tail for Mama. They still have that special baby smell - different from newborn baby smell but still sweet and soft and clean. Their breath smells like sweet milk that will last about another week until they get their teeth and begin eating solid food. After that their breath will smell like regular old puppy breath (ick).

Some puppies do not have their eyes open all the way - they are still sealed at the outer edges but that will loosen up over the next few days too and they'll be true sighthounds. I should call them LURCHERS because that's how they move around!

Breeder's Diary: Whelping Day

The canine period of gestation is 63 days from ovulation. Although there are a number of ways to calculate whelping dates - I count the day of first breeding as day 1 and count 62 days. This made Emma's possible whelping dates anywhere from December 14 to December 20. Because of what we know about ovulation and the lifespan of sperm in the canine Emma and Jay were bred every other day from the time she arrived to the day I picked her up. So although she accepted Jay before ovulation, there was always a possiblity of fertilization whenever the ova were ready.

For me, the hard waiting comes at the end of the pregnancy. Each day I wonder "Is today the day?" I take her temperature because the end of gestation is marked by a sudden cessation of progesterone that initiates labor and causes the bitch's temperature to drop. A pregnant bitch has a temperature of 9 100.5 about 1 degree below normal). The drop in progesterone may drop the temperature an additional 2 degrees. By taking Emma's temperature twice a day I can catch the drop in progesterone which occurs within 24 hours of the onset of labor.

Days pass. I start taking Emma's temp on December 14 - last time I started a week before she was due and drove myself crazy - not to mention that Emma runs away each time she sees the thermometer! Up an down in her normal circadian rhythm; up and down - up and down. . . finally it's December 18, will she have her babies???? nope - December 19 rolls around - looking like just another normal day - What happens if she goes over dates? C-section? Dead puppies? uterine inertia? Temp time - hmm - 98.5 this could be promising if she hadn't been at 98.8 the other day before she went up to 99.6!

Well, life goes on and I have to go to the University and get some texts for the classes I'll teach next semester. Emma, always glad to take a ride comes along. Since the 14th I haven't left her alone for any significant time - just in case. The Whelping box is set up - cleans linens, towels, & supplies all gathered - all waiting on Miss Emma!

We are walking on campus and she stops to pee so frequently I just know those puppies are lying on her bladder! I take her on what I hope will be the canine version of a ride on a bumpy road: up and down the stairs on campus! We visit with colleagues and friends - she looks miserable and uncomfortable . . . finally she begins panting. My friend and I feel her belly - OOOh - contractions!! It's 1:00 and I finish and leave the U by 1:30. Emma is still panting and now more and more uncomfortable. We head home hoping for babies during daylight hours!!

2:15 and we are home at last! Emma runs for the whelping box while I settle all the others. They have been in their crates and need to get out and have some attention. By the time I can get back to Emma it's 3 pm - she is just lying in her whelping box still having occasional contractions. The other dogs want to know what's going on! Hey - you've been gone and now we want your attention - how am I going to deal with them and whelp the litter?? Simple - call for reinforcements!

By 4 pm Jerry comes home to help out - he has graciously agreed to skip his afternoon practice to help me with the other dogs. I walk into the whelping room and there is Emma - looking at me as if to say "can we have them now?" I get her out to pee - it won't be long now - by 4:20 the first baby girl is born!

By about 5:30 5 babies have made their way into the world - 4 girls and a boy! Emma takes a rest and I clean up the mess. I know she is not finished - I can hear heartbeats and see puppy movement (and we had an X-Ray on the 14th that showed at least 7 puppy skeletons). Emma is taking a break and I am checking puppies - one is missing!

Jerry and I are looking through the trash and unwadding papers to make sure I haven't tossed it! Finally I hear a little cry - the baby boy has crawled under some of the bedding - I thought it was a wrinkle in the linen when I checked it before! Whew!! And just in time - Emma's labor starts up again!

One was nursing before the body is completely born! Emma and I make a good team - she fixates on the placenta and I fixate on the baby - opening the membrane, annoying it until it cries, drying it off so it doesn't get too cold! When I am done drying the baby I trade Emma the puppy for the placenta - she doesn't think it's a fair trade. She eats the placenta and then works on the umbilical cord. I don't mind her eating some but too many tends to give her diarrhea. This litter it's good - I am able to get at least 3 away from her. In an hour the last of 8 puppies are born - all healthy and wiggley and crying for their mama!

It's now 7:45 pm: there are clean linens (we usually go through 6 changes of linens during the whelping); the heater is on; there is low light in in the room, Emma gets some cottage cheese (for the calcium and protein) all the babies are lined up at the milk bar - frantically looking for a nipple! What a relief! Emma is napping and I am fascinated by the puppies and just sit and look!

By 9 pm they are all weighed and identified and back to sleep at mama's side. I make sure she's gone out to the bathroom and that she has plenty or food and water handy. Nothing more to do until tomorrow morning. I fall asleep listening to contented baby grunting coming from the whelping room.