We have some excellent news. Our dog, Biscuit gave birth to a beautiful litter of Cavapoochon puppies last week. This Biscuit’s second litter and we were all very excited about the arrival of the little bundles of joy.
Biscuit was due to give birth on Monday 29th April. We knew her due date as we made a note of the date that she and the stud mated. We also had a scan to confirm the pregnancy and this also confirmed the due date.
Last time, Biscuit gave birth on her due date which was 63 days following her last mating session. On this occasion, Biscuit surprised us with an early birth. She gave birth to her cavapoochon puppies on Friday 26th April, 3 days before her due date.
Signs of Labour
Around 18 hours before Biscuit went into labour, she disappeared upstairs which is unlike her. She seemingly wanted to be alone in her whelping box. She slept a lot at this time.
We all went to bed around 11 pm. Biscuit looked unsettled. She moved around her bed quite a lot. I nodded off around midnight and was awakened an hour later by Biscuit pining. She didn’t seem to be in a lot of pain, rather she looked as though she struggled to settle in a comfortable position. I lay beside her and she fell asleep. A couple of hours later she woke me once again making pining noises. I comforted her and she fell back to sleep. This would be the pattern until around 6 am.
It wasn’t glaringly obvious that Biscuit was in labour at this point. Throughout her pregnancy, there have been nights in which she would wake me for a stroke and a cuddle.
Labour
Once it reached 6 am, it was obvious she was in labour. Biscuit panted (a good indication she was in pain). She stretched her legs out at times and her abdomen felt hardened to the touch.
She then began to lick her genitals and lick the bedding. For the next two hours, she panted and struggled to settle. I continuously offered her water and she drank lots of it. It got to 8 am and Biscuit was visibly pushing. About 10 minutes later, we saw the first signs of the first puppy.
A water sac appeared in Biscuit’s vulva. She pushed and within a few minutes, the first puppy was born, feet first. We could see her little legs wiggle as Biscuit pushed!
Biscuit immediately removed the sac from her face and quickly severed the umbilical cord. The placenta soon followed which Biscuit quickly ate. We were checking over the first puppy when the second arrived. This puppy was born head first and once again, Biscuit set to work removing the sac and the cord.
Biscuit cleaned these first two puppies and allowed them to feed. It was a mere 20 minutes after the birth of the second puppy and she began to push once again. The first two puppies were feeding and the third suddenly appeared underneath her siblings. Biscuit frantically tried to remove the sac from the third puppy and in doing so, seemingly removed one of her ear flaps. We saw the wound but the bleeding stopped immediately.
To say we were in utter panic is an understatement! We inspected the ear over the next few hours and Biscuit was incredibly attentive, cleaning the wound at any given opportunity.
A Trip to the Vet
Naturally concerned about the wound, we made an appointment with the vet to check over the third puppy. She was given the all-clear! At this time, the vet can see no reason for concern. It appears that only the war flap has been removed and hopefully, this won’t affect her too much as she develops. We are back at the vet once the puppies are 8 weeks old and the vet will check the ear once again. The vet was incredibly reassuring. I felt so guilty! With hindsight, I should have removed all the puppies from the bottom half of Biscuit’s body. She told me these things are not uncommon and it was best not to interfere too much during birth. This may have increased Biscuit’s panic and made things even worse. I was told a missing ear flap is manageable, losing a leg or a tail is much worse.
We have 2 girls and 1 boy. For convenience, we have given them nicknames – introducing Toffee, Pudding and Bo. As the puppies grow, Pudding, the puppy with the missing ear flap is in fact the strongest of the litter. She is the largest of the puppies and she is progressing well.
Since birth, all the cavapoochon puppies have been doing well. They are gaining weight as expected and Mum has done a remarkable job bonding with them. Biscuit is an incredibly attentive Mum and reacts to her babies’ cries. She is fiercely protective of the litter and keeps both puppies and their habitat incredibly clean.
Please check back for further updates on our cavapoochon litter!
