Amber & Gandhi's puppies are here!

We have two girls and one boy <3

Mr Dizzy, Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Chatterbox

25.03.15

Wow, what a maniac two weeks! So it all started off on Monday 23rd at 5 am when Amber began nesting, we knew it wouldn't be long. As well as digging/scratching/ripping her bed and the nesting box she had several massive holes in the garden. Then on Wednesday it all moved up a gear. Her waters went at twelve thirty so we knew the puppies were on their way. After having spent a few hours not doing much we we're trying to make a decision about what to do and then we noticed green discharge..bad sign. So we went to the vets for an emergency c-section. There had indeed been a puppy in distress who wouldn't have made it had we waited much longer. We were there when they were born, the first boy squeaked almost straight away; the girls took a little longer - it's always so wonderful to hear! There were two vets and three nurses there, I'm really glad we got there before they went home as it is safer with more staff. We then brought them home almost straight after, so Amber was quite sleepy and was lifted into the whelping box. All puppies took a few minutes to start feeding but once they did they were flying it. Birth weights, in birth order; Mr Dizzy 560g, Little Miss Sunshine 540g and Little Miss Chatterbox, 560g. We stayed up the first night watching them, by the next morning we were very tired, but of course it was more than worth it!

Since then puppies have been busy feeding, sleeping, growing and being cute :D The vet called out at day three to do dewclaws and give everyone a quick check over. For the first few days Amber didn't leave them at all, as you would expect, so trips outside for toilet breaks entailed putting the pups into a box (with a pre-warmed heat pad and a cosy blanket). Now she goes in to spend time with them but it happy to spend short periods away as long as she is around the house. I will likely start taking her for quick walks in the field tomorrow, once her stitches are out.

Weights this morning are 1780, 1800 & 1960g so they have tripled their birth weights, plus some more! Eyes are nearly totally open, they are starting to try and walk (even if they often end up toppling over) and they are beginning to interact more.

Love them <3

Preparing for Puppies

Amber is now at day 58..so puppies could be born anytime! Most likely they will make their arrival sometime between today and Wednesday. She is getting very big now and I can feel the pups kicking often when petting her belly; it's amazing.

So, as you might expect, we've had lots of things to get ready and I think we've now got almost everything sorted! Whelping kit is together, bedding washed, puppy room organised....this evening we're going to put the lino we bought yesterday into the whelping box, for now she's got old (but still very clean!) vet bed, towels and brown paper in there so she can dig/rip/mess with that for nesting and then once the puppies are here we'll change it to all new vet bed (in some fantastic colours :D )

Her belly is clipped, she had her herpes vaccine last week, she's being wormed with Panacur every day. I'm trying to get as much 'usual' stuff done as possible so I can totally focus on the puppies the whole time. It will mean the other three will miss out on what we normally do - so I've made some stuffed kongs to keep them occupied, they'll get kibble trails and my sisters will walk / play / train with them.

Not long now!

Hello...

So, here's a quick introduction. I'm Anna and I'm 15 years old. It all started in 2010 when we decided we wanted to add a dog to our family - we started to research all about them, having never had any experience with owning a canine before! We then started to think about what breed would be most suitable for us, we knew we wanted a large, loyal dog so we bought lots of books. That's when we first came across the Bernese Mountain Dogs, and I instantly loved their striking tri-colour markings and the sound of their intelligent, affectionate and faithful personalities. We started to focus on finding out more about the breed, and it wasn't long before we knew this was the breed for us. We contacted the Bernese Club here in Ireland and waited on their puppy list, then several months later we got a phone call from a breeder who had a litter, and a girl pup looking for a home. This was Amber, and on the 8th of December, 2010, we brought her home. She was gorgeous! As it was wintertime, the weather was very cold and we even had snow, which Amber loved! She liked to watch the chickens (we didn't have the other animals back then) and thought the beach was brilliant! Before we knew it, we were celebrating her first birthday (complete with a tuna cake!). When she was around 15 months old, we came across Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland, who were looking for puppy walkers. We took on a Flat Coated Retriever puppy, called Skye. Amber and Skye were best buddies! Skye was a challenging dog at times, very high energy and chewed everything. Skye left us at a year old to continue training, and has since qualified as a fully trained service dog. We knew we wanted a second dog of our own, so that's when Holly arrived. She's a little Cavalier X Papillon, and my sisters dog. Holly barks a lot, earning her the nickname of Little Miss Barkalot! She's a sweet girl who loves playing fetch. Amber and Holly get on well, despite the size difference. Wilson is a Cavalier who we got in March 2013. We first met Will at just six days old, he's grown since then, although is still quite small, even for his breed. Wilson is a lovely pup, he would chase birds all day long if he could. Since we first got Amber as a puppy, we had been thinking of potentially breeding from her. When we had completed all her health tests, and after lots of consideration - more on that in another post - she had a litter on July 29th 2013. That's when our Cody was born, along with his five siblings. I love all puppies, but there's nothing quite like a Bernese puppy, they're extra special! It was awesome to have another Bernese pup again, and Cody is a fantastic dog. We also had two other AADI pups over the last two years, Bramble and Louis, although we aren't planning to have another one in the near future, but we do have them for short term boarding occasionally. Over the next few weeks I'm sure you'll get to know more about all of our pets through my upcoming posts. Here's some pictures from the dogs over the last four years, enjoy :) Anna xoxo

Amber in the daisies

Running through the snow, Bernese love the winter weather! 

Skye, service dog

Holly

Wilson

Amber with her puppies at just a day old

Cody