This was a long awaited litter. The sire, Angus, was a dog I met many years ago who has been preserved thru the science of frozen semen. 11 years ago I bred Ch Funny Girl of Croatia, "Brice" to him naturally. That litter produced my lovely liver girl, Aruba. We were hoping for blacks and livers in this litter, to have many beautiful puppies to choose from. Gretchen has her own family in Ely, Minn, but came to stay with us during the many trips to the vet for progesterone testing and finally the surgical implant of the thawed semen directly into her uterus. She stayed with us for a couple weeks until the sutures were removed, then returned to Minn for a month as her family really missed her.
10 days before her due date we drove back north to get her, to give her time to settle back into our household. An x-ray taken a couple days before birth showed only two babies. We had hoped she was having 4-6, as she looked a bit bigger.
Wed morning she was slow to eat breakfast. Usually a sign in a pregnant Dalmatian that something is getting ready to happen. They seldom miss a meal. Her temperature had also dropped below 98 degrees, which signals pups should be arriving within 24 hours. Afternoon and evening Gretchen was much quieter than she had been. (Thru Tues evening she acted as if she didn't know she was pregnant. Wanting to run, jump, and play with the other dogs). Wednesday night I was on watch as she began to pace between an empty crate and the whelping box in the spare bedroom. She found one of her favorite rubber chickens in the toy box, and "nested" with it whereever she settled. 6:30 am she began with a couple easy pushes. 5-10 minutes went by and she would push again. This continued until the first puppy emerged at 7:20. Hind end first, I was there to help clean off his face so he could breathe. What a surprise to see so much black on his head! Double face patches! While his body was still wet, I could see nicely spaced spots. He should be a handsome boy. The second pup was born about an hour and a half later. A girl! She had a few more spots than her brother, especially on her ears and neck. Both were quite large for Dalmatian pups-17 and 18 ounces. Eager to start nursing.
