Well she beat us all to it and had her pups yesterday and through the early hours today. There were 10 in all but sadly, one little girl didn't make it.

Mum has been seen and given a shot to move things along.

My issue with this bitch is her over exuberant licking. She is constantly cleaning the pup's back ends to the point where she has licked off the drying umbilicus on 2 pups.  She did this with the previous pup too. How can I stop her as don't want to risk hernias. Am watching her like a hawk and distracting her with talking thus far.

Lots of panting and heavy breathing still going on but she seems happier.

I have heard that the jab to get things moving or make sure she's cleared right out can make them quite frantic.... Maybe this is the reason and she will settle on a day or two. I can't speak experience as I've never used it.

Panting and heavy breathing very normal,mine do it all the way through nursing for the first 3 weeks.

Thanks bucksmum. She didn't have the oxytocin last time, I think she is a licker. Her lips are already sore but it won't stop her. Do I put anything on the pups if she does remove the drying umbilicus? How high is the risk of hernia?  Anybody?

> Her lips are already sore

Put some Vaseline on her lips and soak her food.

As long as the cord stumps are bleeding then I would not worry.  with 10 of them just rotate them around if she is cleaning one too long.

Hopefully I am doing things right. You plan and plan, have all contingency plans in place and then start 2nd guessing yourself.

Madam has decided she only wants tinned butchers tripe even though she can't tolerate the fresh stuff. I have tried poached fish, scrambled eggs, etc but nothing tempts her. She only had 5 placentas and I disposed of the rest. She did have a small amount of roast chicken last night but what you would find in a co-op sandwich is hardly a tummy full. However, she seems content and is getting on with things.

I towel washed her trousers last night but she wasn't happy about it, even though I did it right next to the whelping box. The blood is clotted and a very deep red. She smells a bit like the odour one might get when a particular aunt visits every month if you get my drift. Nothing foul, just a little whiffy. The vet said just to keep wiping her down when changing the bedding twice daily. So I used luke warm water and tiny amount of antibacterial wash, incase she licked it or the pups did.

3 have nick nnames already, there is dipstick because she has a little white tip of fur on her tail, squealer because she is demanding and makes noise regardless of what she is doing - sleeping, feeding, being washed, handled, sat on or squashed! And finally the littlest one, called poop chute because she has brown fur around her bum to mark her as black and tan. Officially though they are baby boy/girl followed by colour.

My tiniest baby is 420g, 110g smaller than my biggest and she seems a little slow compared to the next smallest who is only 10g heavier than her. I make sure she is warm and even if she has had a feed, I put her on the bigger teats once the others roll off and nap. If she feels a little sluggish, she goes in to my bra. I think I might be falling just a little bit more in love with her. She is also the only black and tan in the litter, the others are all black.

Mum has licked off a couple more umbilical cords, even though I am rotating them, she even licks them in her sleep.

My washing machine and dryer were on 4 times in the night and I'm doing another vet bed now. I fell asleep at 3 but woke to squealing at 3.40 and a panicked mum jumping out of the box and onto me, covering me and the mattress in globs of blood. I think she got frenzied by the pup's cries so I put her out for a quick wee, checked pups, settled them, then her and checked the temperature of the box. They seem happy at 24.5º.

I haven't washed in 2 days, and I think I brushed my hair yesterday but can't remember. I know I had coffee and a sandwich, my tablets and a quick sit with my other furkids but forgot my insulin. My boy thinks I've gone over to the dark side and homed a box of kittens (because thats what they sound like), my youngest can't quite understand where they suddenly came from and wants nothing to do with me because she is always the centre of my attention and my other girlie keeps wondering why she isn't in the whelping box too. I know I haven't got everything perfect but I know I'm doing better than the best I can and that this little bundle of squeaky black twiglets is getting the best of everything because thats what they deserve.

It's all totally worth it.

Hope all settles down soon!

Sounds like u are doing a great job .

> It's all totally worth it.

And it is only someone who is giving their all to their dogs who says that.   

Good on you.

Thanks everybody...starting to catch up on me now as the adrenaline  begins to wear off but we're doing okay and even though I'm  beginning to miss my bed, I haven't  started  counting down days to when I can get back to it :)

Mum still looks hot and has started to get cabin fever but stays settled as long as I'm  with her.  She just gets over excited when hubby gets home and will send puppies flying to get to him. So he rings me and I put them in the warming box first! The things we do...

She turned her nose up at silver side of beef this morning and now requires me to spoon the tinned stuff so she can lick it off at her leisure. She has had a few chunks of boiled chicken, so am contemplating  roasting one and de boning for her. I think the copper taste/smell after cleaning herself might be putting her off raw at the moment.

My sister came over yesterday and washed dishes,  did a load of human washing, hoovered and ran me a bubble bath. I might have refused to come home with her when she was born but I sure am glad my parents persuaded me otherwise!

Who'd have thought a bundle of squirmy pups would have melted  hyacinth bucket 's heart!