Eagerly Awaiting

Two days to go until the happy event. At this point puppies could come at any time. The count down is on. I'm hoping that Mercedes (aka Sadie) doesn't start having her puppies when I'm at work. She seems to have puppies during the day. Last year Sadie had them during the day and every time she delivered one, it was a secret that she wasn't sharing with me. I would be there waiting and waiting and no action. Then I would walk away for a couple minutes and come back there would be another puppy. At least I know that she is a good mommy and makes sure all her babies have a good start.


So this weekend we achieved our goals for making sure Sadie is physically ready and she has a comfortable spot for the BIG EVENT. Teddy, our Puppy Whisperer is ready and eager to beginning training and guiding a new batch of puppies from birth till the time they leave our care. Teddy and I worked side by side tonight getting the last few details ready.


We elevated Sadie's crate to enable easy access to everything happening within the crate. This also saves our knees and is a lot more comfortable than crawling into the crate to clean up messes or move puppies around or aide mom with whelping her puppies. It also allows more light and lessens drafts. That is Teddy's bed. Sadie fancies herself Teddy and Cubby's nanny and likes to be close to them. Teddy and Cubby are right there when puppies come. Once puppies are cleaned up enough they are all greeted by all of the family. Puppies first sense is the sense of smell, we make sure they know us as well as their mom right from the beginning. Pups are also greeted and smelled by the other dogs in our house.


Here is Sadie groomed for puppies. This time I elected to keep her look and leave her in a "sweater" and leg and tail poofs. See how big her belly is? It is wonderful to feel her babies move under our hands. All her "feeding stations" except the two forward ones have been exposed. The two forward ones are seldom used by puppies no matter how many pups are trying to feed at once.


This is just another pose. Normally her sweater goes all around her chest, like it's closed or buttoned. When I groom her I follow the line of her rib cage. Did you know that the poodle cut is also referred to a lion cut?


Look familiar? This is almost the exact same set up that we did for Sadie a year ago for her last litter. See how her hair color looks lighter or more silver in this last photo. The shorter Sadie's hair is the lighter it looks, the longer the darker with more chocolate it looks.