We had anticipated whelping about September 14th, but Nakita had other plans.  Almost a week earlier, as we were just getting used to our whelping space and still making use of borrowed items while waiting on delayed Covid shipping, she surprised us.

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Nakita had been a little restless that day and spent some time resting in her kennel, which was quite unusual.  At bedtime, we went down to the whelping room for the first night.  She started in her kennel, spent some time with me on the cot and then disappeared again.  

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I awoke to a squeaking sound - I thought the furnace fan was whining.  The squeaking was not regular but didn't go away.  I got up to investigate and found Nakita in the borrowed whelping box with her first puppy, Maple.

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From there, she had a puppy about every 45 minutes, with a scoop of ice cream in between to keep up her strength.  She was all done at 5am and we both caught a little sleep until the vet's clinic would open.

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I wanted to be sure that all of the puppies had in fact entered the world and that she was healthy.  Ian got the car ready and helped carry all of our essential items  The pups came along in their Porta-Puppy.  It looks remarkably similar to a pop cooler, with a fleece blanket and heating pad in the bottom.  The pups were cozy and happy for a little while.

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After a health check on mom and pups we returned home for some serious napping, light meals and numerous visits.  We've seen Victoria (horse trainer), James (cattle manager), Martin (friend out for the day), Pieter (teacher son) & Liz.

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We managed to change out their coloured collars for fresh ones with more distinct colours - surprisingly difficult on such little creatures.  They wiggle and cry when they are lifted out of their warm box.

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We have welcomed to the ranch;

4 girls called Larch, Spruce, Willow & Birch

and

4 boys called Maple, Oak, Aspen, Pine

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Stay tuned for more updates.

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