Saturday, February 1, 2025

Jessy, mother of Xanthy, had come into heat in the past week. You often see that the next bitch will also do that.

Indeed, today Xanthy came into heat. Of course, I have already contacted the owner of the male dog.

This process is going to be exciting again.

 

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Made an appointment with the vet for a vulva examination of Xanthy to see if everything is okay. The results always take a few days.

 

Friday, February 7, 2025

Today we have the first appointment for the progesterone injection. We already had the idea that she would still be in early heat. The result of the examination of the vulva was good.

And later the vet called with the results and the values ​​were still very low.

 

Monday, February 10

Back to the vet again to have her progesterone tested. Xavi didn't do much with Xanthy yet, so we already knew that she wouldn't be ready for mating yet.

It hadn't really risen yet. New appointment made.

 

Thursday, February 13

Xavi is starting to get more interested in Xanthy so we hope that the progesterone has risen. First we had to take another blood test.

The result was that the progesterone had risen, but not enough to mate. We had to come back the next day.

 

Friday, February 14, 2025

Today is Valentine's Day so it would be nice if she had a date with Cassanova today. Progesterone was tested and it had risen well. However, the advice was to mate on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately no Valentine's date.

 

Saturday, February 15, 2025

We left early. Richard drove, because I broke my wrist and was therefore not allowed to drive.

At 10:00 we were in Belgium at Chris van Beierendonck-Lembrechts. First we had a coffee, because it is quite a drive. After coffee we went to see if mating would work. And yes, Xanthy and Cas were coupled.

After she got loose, we immediately put Xanthy in the bus, so that she could rest for a while.

We drove home, but agreed that we would come back in the evening. Mike also came along.

This was another successful mating. We were tired, because we were home at 23:15.

We agreed that we would come back on Sunday afternoon.

 

Sunday 16 February 2025

Now we drove home at 12:00. After a nice cup of coffee and some administrative things, Xanthy and Cas mated again of course.

We drove home very satisfied. Now we have to wait for the ultrasound.

 

Friday, 28 February 2025

We are almost 14 days further.

Xanthy walks more calmly with me during the walks. She does not pull on the leash. She is calmer in behavior. She also does not feel like playing with the others. She joins in for a while, but then she retreats. We also pay attention to her that she does not play wildly.

 

Friday, 7 March 2025

Xanthy's behavior has changed. She lies down a lot more and does not look at the others much. Her nipples are growing a little and she has vomited bile. She still eats very well.

 

Wednesday, 12 March

It is getting more and more exciting. The ultrasound is on Friday, but I already suspect that Xanthy might be pregnant. Her nipples are really getting bigger and they are changing color and she really avoids the wild play of the others. Furthermore, she had sticky mucus from her vulva quite quickly, which is often also a sign that the dog is pregnant.

Just 2 more nights of sleep.

 

Friday, March 14, 2025

Today is an exciting day. Although I think Xanthy is pregnant, it is always exciting whether it really is.

Richard also came along for the ultrasound. He had never seen an ultrasound like that before. We were called by the vet and Xanthy was allowed to stand on the examination table. She got gel on her belly and the vet quickly went over the belly. I immediately saw that Xanthy was pregnant and so did the vet.

We then looked calmly and the vet explained it to Richard. He did see a number of puppies.

We are so happy. There will be those nice little cuddles again.

It remains an exciting time.

 

 

Once we were in our bus, we called Chris van Beierendonck to tell her that Casanova and Xanthy are going to be parents.

All the effort was worth it.

On the way back, we of course got some delicious pastries and ate them together with Mike at home.

Then I sent a few more messages to a few people to say that Xanthy is pregnant. Hopefully we can make a few people happy in about 5 weeks. We are really looking forward to it!!

 

Friday, March 21, 2025, day 34

We are already a week further. Xanthy's belly is growing well. She is gaining quite a bit of weight. Her nipples are already very big.

Today the weather is nice and we are all outside a lot. Xanthy is taking her rest well, she lies down a lot.

Last week we started feeding her puppy kibble, but she is not eating normally. She really gobbles them down, which makes her spit it out a bit later. So now we decided to give her regular kibble.

 

Sunday 30 March 2025, day 43

Xanthy is doing well. Since she started eating regular kibble again, she hasn't thrown up anymore. She is very hungry. Her food is increased every week.

She has quite a belly.

She walks short distances at a leisurely pace.

She is sometimes a bit more aggressive towards the others. Especially when they want to smell her belly. She is already very protective of her babies in her belly.

She is taking even more rest than she already did. If she has been moving for a while, she immediately lies down afterwards.

Time flies by. The puppies will be born in 3 weeks. It goes so fast.

We have also contacted the people on the waiting list. Of course, we don't know what the gender of the puppies will be, but we and they are all waiting with great anticipation.

 

 

Saturday 5 April 2025, day 49

Xanthy is doing really well. Her belly is growing well. She's still hungry like a horse.

Walking has really become a chore. We are no longer going to walk such a big round with her, otherwise it will take a long time before we get home.

She now gets kibble 4 times a day, she loves it.

Today I cuddled with her outside and then I felt life in her belly. That is always a beautiful and fantastic feeling. It makes me so happy. They are still very light shocks, but they were palpable.

 

 

On Friday, my dear helper Annet and I have already cleaned the space where the whelping box will be placed. This will be set up next Friday.

All the items needed for the birth have been ordered and replenished. Even new batteries have been purchased for the scales and the thermometer in the whelping box.

So in terms of items, we are ready. However, the puppies still have to stay in mom's belly, because they are not yet viable. They still have to grow nicely in mom Xanthy.

I am so curious how she will handle her puppies. She is still such a cute little thing herself.

We have started the countdown.

 

Wednesday 9 April 2025, day 53

Xanthy doesn't really like walking on a leash anymore. She can't keep up with Indy's pace anymore. That's why we decided that she will only be walked with me. Then she can at least walk at her own pace.

We went to the vet today to have an x-ray taken. Something came up on Friday, which meant we had to move the appointment to Wednesday.

Xanthy enjoyed being at the vet, because she got a lot of attention. I helped take the x-ray. Of course, I had to wear protective clothing for this. Then I stood by her head to make sure she stayed calm.

She did great. She was panting a lot, though.

 

 

 

It's quite hard to see in this picture, but at the vet we could see it well. The vet counted 9 puppies. I didn't expect that. I kind of assumed 6 puppies, but I was happy to expect it.

She also has a huge belly. And it's no wonder she doesn't like walking. She has gained quite a bit of weight, but she is definitely not too fat. She could really use more kibble.

Her mammary glands are already quite full. She even has dried milk on her nipples. After the weekend we are going to shave her belly and wash her belly/nipples.

We will also start with temperatures.

She is really sweet and so calm.

 

Monday 14 April 2025, day 58

We are already a week further. She is still gaining weight. She is getting more difficult and heavier. She only wants to walk outside to pee and poop.

She will also be taken her temperature from Friday to hopefully see the temperature drop.

She had also vomited some bile on Friday morning.

We also started preparing the maternity ward. Everything was cleaned again and the whelping box with heat plate and heat lamp were put down.

Furthermore, all the necessary items for the birth were placed on the grooming table. The scales were also brought out again.

 

 

 

Saturday morning Xanthy got her kibble, but she actually ate it reluctantly. She ate it because she was afraid that the others would eat it otherwise and she didn't want that either.

The rest of the day she ate better.

Sunday morning it was the same. She actually didn't want to eat, but eventually she did. She also started digging a bit and sometimes wanted to hide somewhere. She had a quiet night otherwise.

Today she didn't want to eat again, but now she didn't either. She didn't even come to her food bowl. She is still quiet.

 

 

Tuesday 15 April 2025, day 59

Last night I slept with Xanthy. She was very restless. Walking around a lot and then wanting to lie down behind the bath and/or the grooming table. So I didn't sleep much myself.

She pants a lot and still doesn't want to eat or drink.

Today remains the same as last night. She doesn't have the peace to stay in one place for a long time. When turning and/or lying down, she also makes more and more noises.

She also regularly goes outside to pee.

She is in the preparatory phase of giving birth.

We have to be patient and wait for her to start pushing.

Only Mother Nature knows that.

We can only guide her and offer her rest.

In the afternoon Xanthy started to get even more restless. Richard and Mike decided to give Xanthy even more peace and space by going to another room.

I had already been outside with her a few times, where she could pee. Only the last time she was pushing so hard, but nothing came out.

When we went back inside I already turned on the heat plate, heat lamp, because my feeling told me it wouldn't last long.

Once inside she started to groan and dig a lot. At one point she made a pushing movement again and then peed.

I then asked Richard if he wanted to heat the hot water bottles.

Just before Richard gave the hot water bottles, she lost amniotic fluid. I picked up the phone and called Miranda, because she would come and help me.

In the meantime she was pushing and 2 legs came out of her vulva. However, they shot back again. Her amniotic membrane had already broken. I then tried to touch her, but she didn't want that and started screaming.

I waited a little longer, because she might still have a contraction. However, this was not the case. So I had to take action, otherwise the puppy would suffocate.

I touched the puppy again and I had the puppy by her legs. Xanthy was writhing in all sorts of ways, because that of course hurt.

Then the puppy was born. At that moment I saw the silhouettes of Miranda standing in front of the door. I opened the door to let Miranda in quickly.

The puppy had a hard time. Miranda rubbed her dry with a towel and I sucked her out. The puppy colored nicely and then we saw that it was a female.

Weighed. Xanthy thought it was strange and started barking at the puppy. She had not yet realized that she was hers. She did smell it and licked the puppy, but otherwise she thought it was strange.

There was not much to think about, because number 2 was already coming. She barked at them too and only at the third we put her down and put the puppies on. At that moment she became a full mother.

The entire delivery went very quickly. She had an enormous pushing force. Because of this we had to perform some actions every now and then.

The puppies are all doing well. It was a good delivery. Puppies were between 380-316 grams with a male that was 468 grams.

^ males and 3 females were born. We were so happy and especially relieved for the people who had been on our waiting list for so long.

 

 

Wednesday 16 April 2025

Last night Xanthy slept almost the entire night in the whelping box. I lay on a mattress in front of the whelping box. The puppies drank well, but there was no sleeping.

At 8:00 I weighed them and they had all gained weight, so that is always very nice.

Xanthy is still very restless, it is also still difficult for a young dog and then her first litter.

She reacts a lot to the sounds of the puppies. She also lies in the box with her puppies a lot, so they can drink a lot.

Richard and I also looked at the kennel names for the puppies. I will soon be filing a birth declaration with the Old English Sheepdog Club Netherlands.

 

 

Thursday 17 April 2025.

The night went well. Xanthy spent the whole night in the whelping box again. The puppies could drink whenever they wanted or snuggle up nice and warm and close to mother Xanthy.

I lay down with a mattress in front of them again. You don't really sleep, but I'll catch up on that this afternoon.

The puppies were weighed this morning and they have all gained weight again. They have a nice round belly, they pee and poop well. This is wonderfully enjoyable, but also laborious, because you are counting a lot to see if you can still see all 9 of them.

 

 

We also registered the birth at the Old English Sheepdog Club Netherlands and at the Raad van Beheer.

These are the kennel names:

For the males:

1. Daytona From Bobbers Love Of Beauty

2. DeSoto From Bobbers Love Of Beauty

3. Dalton From Bobbers Love Of Beauty

4. Deville From Bobbers Love Of Beauty

5. Denver From Bobbers Lovers Of Beauty

6. Dudley From Bobbers Love Of Beauty

For the females:

1. Dakota From Bobbers Love Of Beauty

2. Dallas From Bobbers Love Of Beauty

3. Delphi From Bobbers Love Of Beauty

We also called the vet to tell them that 9 puppies were born, because they wanted to be kept informed.

Xanthy is already lying comfortably with her little ones in the whelping box. That gave us the opportunity to vacuum, mop and clean.

 

 

Friday 18th of April 2025.

The night is over again and I slept sporadically. When Xanthy is not in the whelping box with her puppies, she remains extremely restless.

It is even so that she does not allow herself any rest to eat. So I give her the kibble when she is just in the box, as well as water. Then I quickly dry her beard.

 

 

We also walk the normal route that we walked before Xanthy became pregnant. Exercise is also good for her, so that she also gets more hungry.

She is doing well, she has her regular day in terms of milk production today. But she is almost in the whelping box all day, so the puppies do not lack anything. They just grow while you are watching.

It is also great to see how they can just drink in certain positions.

Today I took individual photos of the males and females.

They are so beautiful.

These are the 6 males: If you are interested in one of the males, let me know.

 

 

These are the bitches:

 

 

They are 3 days old today and the pigment on their noses and lips is already starting to appear.

 

Monday 21 April 2025

The puppies are 6 days old today. They are growing well. This is going so fast.

Fortunately, mother Xanthy has enough food for the puppies. It is so important that the puppies can drink well from their mother. They pass on essential nutrients through the milk that are good for growth and development. In addition, there are so many antibodies in it from the mother.

Xanthy has already recovered well from the birth. She eats well, in the whelping box with her little ones, drinks well and walks nicely again.

The mammary glands look good, no hard spots or anything like that.

Xanthy has also become a bit calmer. At first it was like this with every sound or movement she stood in the whelping box or she lay there for hours.

Now she has become calmer in her behavior. She also conveys this to her puppies.

 

 

We have now also put some more cuddly toys in the whelping box where the puppies can lay their heads on or snuggle up against them. The heat lamp is definitely still needed, because sometimes they all still crawl under it.

The pace in becoming real dogs is going so fast. At first they still drag themselves along with their hind legs and now they are already starting to stand on them. They are also super fast when mom comes into the whelping box. The nine of them then fly very quickly towards mom Xanthy.

It is so enjoyable to watch them grow etc. In addition, they make such wonderful sounds, I melt from that.

Xanthy's big sister Ginny also reacts a lot to the sounds of the puppies. When she is let out, she always looks through the window at the maternity room. She cannot be dragged away from it. She can sit in front of the window for a while in the hope that she sees something of the puppies.

Mama Xanthy then becomes very watchful. Outside also when she meets a dog while walking then she barks a lot. She is really a mother.

 

 

Wednesday 23 April 2025.

Yesterday the puppies were already 1 week old. They are still growing fantastically. The smallest puppy that was born has doubled its weight today. That is very good. Others will probably have doubled their weight tomorrow and the others exactly on the 10th day.

Xanthy has enough food for all 9. That is really wonderful.

No fuss or stress that you have to feed them and they don't want to drink etc. This happens automatically. I do make sure that the smallest ones are not pushed aside by the bigger ones.

They still seek each other out a lot and often lie on or near each other. That way they still get quite a bit of warmth from each other.

 

 

in a few days the eyes will slowly open and they will learn to walk. Then there will also be more interaction between the puppies themselves. Now they mainly have to eat and sleep to be able to grow.

Xanthy does have a slightly red belly. This is because the nails of the puppies are growing and they are quite sharp and since they move their paws against the belly to stimulate the milk production, that will irritate.