Poodle mix/puppies

A week ago last Friday I picked up a small dog at our local shelter to give it a bath. After I cut the mats off and gave it a bath, I found a darling little poodle mix--very pregnant. I kept her overnight to let her dry and give her a better haircut. When I learned that the shelter was going to abort her, I decided to keep her until they called me with her vet appointment.

They still haven't called. I think they forgot they had her come in. I took her to the vet on Tuesday to find out when she's due. She got all of her shots and was checked for worms. The vet said she should be a mom within 10 days, and probably has had puppies before.

I have a large carrier set up so she will have a quiet place to keep her family. What I don't know is how to know when she's ready to go into labor. She's eating well, fortunately, because she's very thin.

She's a pretty special little girl. I named her Chiquita because she's so small-17 lbs today. She gets along with all four of my other dogs and even the cat. She likes all of the people she's met, housetrained to a doggy door, not a yapper, listens to commands like come on, and in general fits in to routines easily.

Does anyone (Dixie Dancer?) know what I should watch for before the birth starts? At one time, I was fostering a large dog that had 3 puppies one night at 3AM and she did all the work. I didn't even know she was pregnant. Since we don't know what the dad is, I think I need to be prepared for this.

Help!!

Mary

:confused: :confused:

I am so happy she found you. And thank you so much for taking care her.
Best wishes.
Quanzhan+Zack

Mary, I also want to thank you for taking in this sweet little girl and her family to be.
I wish I could tell you when she would be due, but I don't have any experience, and I hope someone else on here will help you, all I can do is wish you both the very best of luck and please let us know how you both make out.
Jackie

Mary, I have some experience in delivering puppies. When the time is about to come the mother will not take food, become very restless and her temperature will drop. Also you have to watch if she has any difficulty in delivering, contact your vet if something is wrong.

Oh My! Wow! That little dog and her puppies to be be are very lucky you found them! You are a wonderful person for taking her in and giving those puppies a chance. I have never seen a dog deliver but I have heard that they will stop eating and become restless. Why don't you contact your vet and ask him/her for some tips? Also, have the vet's number at hand should something go wrong in the delivery. Please let us know how it goes!

Chiquita hasn't had her puppies yet. I'm not sure who is in a bigger hurry, Chiquita or I.

Thanks to all for the posts. I've been watching for signs of restlessness and a drop in appetite as well as nipple leaks. So far I haven't seen anything. She looks like a watermelon on legs.

She doesn't like dry dog food, but will pick out the canned if I mix it with dry. I try to give her "treats" of dry by hand to get more food into her. I have to sneak it to her because my diabetic dog thinks he should get some too!

I'll update when the situation changes. Soon I hope :D

Mary

It's a bunch!

4 boys, 3 girls!

All are black, some with a little white. All eating well. One is a squealer.

The eighth one didn't make it.

She started before I got home from work. The first one was the biggest. She was standing in the doorway to the bedroom, barking at me when I walked in, as if to say "come on, hurry up, I'm in here!"

By 8PM, she was finished. She was nice enough to leave the carrier bottom so she could pee away from the carpet. She proceeded to eat a whole can of puppy food in about 2 minutes. My daughter helped me replace her bedding and she was ready for a long nap.

Bear (Poodle/Shih Tsu) wants to help her take care of them, but she let him know he's not welcome. The other dogs are curious, mostly because there's ANOTHER animal in the house. There is also a new cat in the spare room. Just got neutered, waiting for the second feline leukemia shot before being released into the neighborhood.

The babies look like little black rats right now. I'll try to get pictures over the weekend.

Mary :D :D :D :D :D :D :eek:

Oh Mary, Congrats! These babies are alive thanks to you. You ar such a wonderful person. And what an experience!

What do you plan on doing with all these puppers? You have lots of puppy breath! I am sure many Pet Talker envy you for that! :D

I am sorry to hear about the 8th puppster. I can not wait to see pictures though.

How wonderful and exciting! Pictures, Pictures!! Congrats and best wishes!

I guess I do have lots of puppy breath! :)
I haven't had much chance to smell it though. Momma keeps pretty close tabs on all of her kids.

Chiquita is eating like crazy. I'm glad to see it. I'm being very watchful of the pups, hoping they are getting enough to eat.

Since I don't have a scanner or a computer at home, I'll have to rely on my sister to get some pics posted over the weekend.

Thanks for the kind words. I probably will hear some not-so-nice comments when I tell the shelter I let her have her pups. They have double their capacity in dogs right now. But the crew down there are very careful about who adopts, so when the pups are 8 weeks, they will all go back so they can find good homes.

Mary

Oh Mary, she sounds like such a caring Momma and you are such a kind person to watch over her so she could have her pups. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking in this poor little girl in her time of need. I'm sure she knows how good you have been to her and her pups. She was so lucky to have you with her.
Jackie

Well. I have to admit it. I'm completely computer illiterate. I have managed to get pictures of Chiquita and her babies into a file on my e-mail but I can't figure out where to go from there. I set up a place on Webshots without any pictures, and put one of the pictures on my Desktop. I'll keep trying.

Mary :o

:eek: Oh Mary!! Congrat's, your a grandma!! You did a great job, and it sounds like momma did too!! I can't blame you for letting her have her babies, with her that far along. I'm sure you'll find forever homes for them! I WANT PIX!!! If you can't get them on here(believe me, it took me FOREVER)then maybe you could post your webshots address!!

I finally have the pictures in Webshots as well as on my desktop.
The address is http://community.webshots.com/album/27299361fFStWLIodY

I tried to right click on the picture and click on "Copy Image Location" but I couldn't find that listed. Am I missing something?

mruffruff- the babies are so very cute - you're so wonderful to have rescued that pretty Mama - Congrats and I hope you will find wonderful, loving homes for all. God Bless ;)