Ahhhh the Smell of Placenta Breath

I was trying to think of a name for this post, something different then the normal “Z-litter Arrives”, or something to that effect. I am sitting in the whelping room and Bailey was up walking around and comes over to me and puts her face up close to my face and does this big panting thing in my face. I think to dogs this is some form of compliment to us humans when they do it. Actually her breath did not smell bad at all but I couldn’t help but think of all those placentas she has eaten today. So far seven in total. Four girls and 3 boys. The radiograph shows 8 little skulls, this last puppy is not wanting to come out.

As of last night Bailey ate her food just fine and showed none of the early signs of impending whelping. This morning her temperature had dropped and she was doing some panting. Yep the pups will be coming, probably tonight or maybe early evening. I head in to work to wrap up a few things and prepare work to bring home for the weekend. I let Mos know that he needs to keep an eye on Bailey, he said OK he would bring her in the bedroom so he can sit in his recliner and watch his favorite re-runs. At 9:05 am Mos calls me at work, “one girl” is what he says when I answer the phone. I make haste to wrap stuff up and get my work for home organized. I get home 3 hours later at noon, Bailey has six puppies. Three boys and three girls. All born in our bedroom. OIY! Do you know what kind blood and fluid is involved in a single birth of a GSD puppy? I had prepared the whelping room the night before. The room with the textured floors so it is always non-slip even when the surface is wet. The room with the dog-exclusive washer and dryer, the room with the whelping box. There is Mos in his recliner with his roll of paper-towels and re-runs of House playing on the TV and six perfect little GSD puppies. Even Bailey was contently watching House along with Mos. I stood there for several moments blinking at the scene. What happened to my husband that would disinfect and tie-off umbilical cords as if part of a surgical procedure? I pick up a puppy and look at the umbilical cord stump…just as mother-nature left it. “All you need is paper towels to dry them off a little” is what Mos tells me. I look at him and wonder who this man is. Reading my expression his only comment is “We (yes “WE”) did not want to miss “House.” I load the puppies into a plastic tub and bring them to the whelping room and have Mos watch Bailey as I clean up the bedroom floor, walls, master bath with the white grout stained by the bloody discharge, then clean the trail left from one end of the house to the other. Oh and look at this lovely bloody wall art. While I was cleaning I couldn’t help but recall a litter we had in 1978 that came a week early and the female had her litter on our bed and at that time we had white carpet in the bedroom. It looked like someone was murdered in that room. That was the end of white carpet in my house. Now 30 some years later I live in a house with no carpeting and I was thinking how glad I was that there was no white carpeting and at least Mos didn’t let her have the puppies on the bed.

Maybe Mos was onto something. Bailey had six pups in three hours, with me she has had one pup in seven hours. Maybe I should get a TV and turn on some re-runs of House?

Z-litter Gavin x Bailey