Preparing for Puppies

     After we had Bella bred, it was several weeks before we were certain that she was pregnant.  At about week three we thought we noticed some small changes in her energy level (lower than usual) and her appetite (higher than usual).  At four weeks she was definitely eating and drinking more, and her belly was a bit rounder. 

     At about five and half weeks she also started leaking some urine.

     We tried the store-bought doggie diapers first, but they were expensive and even the extra-large size didn't fit.  So, after doing a little research online we found that men's jockeys with a baby diaper safety-pinned inside worked fairly well.  Bella wasn't crazy about having to wear them, but she tolerated it.  (That's our cat, Louie, photo-bombing Bella's picture!)

     At this point, we also took Bella to the groomer and had her belly and back end shaved.  Even though she will naturally lose some of the hair on her belly, this will make it easier for the pups to nurse when they are born.  And trimming her back end will help to keep things cleaner when she delivers.

     By week six, there was no doubt that Bella was pregnant!  Her belly was pretty large, and she was starting to produce milk.  Her annual checkup fell during this time, and the vet assured us that she's a healthy mama-to-be.

     We're in week seven now, and have collected the puppy supplies we need, and brought a whelping box into the house.  Bella wasn't too sure about the box at first.  She started "nesting" a couple of days ago, and appeared to have chosen a carpeted spot under our dining room table!  So, we blocked her out of that room, and added some old bath mats to the whelping box.  I also started putting her treats inside the whelping box so that she'd have to go into it to get them.  Today I noticed that she has started digging at the bath mats (nesting behavior).  I'm also seeing that she's more sluggish than usual and looks a bit more uncomfortable.  Though her due date is May 4, I'm suspecting we'll have pups here before that!
      

A Little Background - Why Collies?

     I've had dogs for most of my life.  Since my family raised sheep, I grew up with Border collies.  Our first family dog, Buster, loved to roam the farm fields and play in the stream with me.  He also tried to herd my sister and me, and would nip at us (gently) when we argued with each other, to get us to stop!

     I don't have many photos of Buster.  Border collies tend to be a bit shy.  But this photo shows Buster watching over the farm.  As Buster got older my parents added other Border collies to the farm, but Buster was always my favorite!

     When I grew up and had kids of my own, I wanted another dog.  Though I had great memories of Buster, I also knew that he was more gregarious than most Border collies.  They tend to be one-person dogs, and I wanted a family dog.  I'd known a few people who had Shelties, and I thought I'd like to get one.  I mentioned this to my husband as we bought our first house.  A few months later he decided to surprise me with one for Christmas.  As a young family with a new mortgage though, our funds were a bit tight.  Purchasing a purebred dog would have been quite a stretch.  So, he first checked with the local shelter.  They did not have any Shelties, but they did happen to have a collie.  He reasoned that since this dog was the same color as a Sheltie I'd probably like him, and so he brought him home!  Though I still laugh at his reasoning, I also readily admit that Cocoa was the best Christmas present I ever received.

     Though we were told that Cocoa had been a washout in the show ring, he definitely excelled at being a family pet!  He was everything which we learned was typical of collies - gentle, intelligent, playful, and eager to please.  I swear that dog could smile, too!  He was great with our boys, and he watched over us all.

     He did seem to think he was a lap dog though!

     We had twelve great years with Cocoa before cancer claimed him.  I only hope that we added as much to his life as he added to ours.   
 
     Eventually we started looking for another collie.  Since we'd had such good luck at the shelter the first time, we checked all the area shelters for collies.  There weren't many collies to be found, and the few we did find were adopted before we could get to them.  It took over a year of searching, but we finally found a collie who needed a home. 

     Bella entered our lives last year, and she was well worth the wait!  She was two years old when we got her, and had just weaned her first litter of puppies.  We had no thoughts of breeding her at the time.  We just took her home with us and enjoyed having a collie again!

     She fit in to our family quite well, and also quickly learned who the "soft touch" was when it came to handing out treats!  She also very quickly won over our family and friends.  She's a friendly girl who loves to greet people, and to try to herd them all into the same room!  She's also quick to alert us to anything which is out of place.  She takes her guardian duties very seriously!

     She's such a great dog - and collies in general are such great dogs - that we started to consider the possibility of having a litter of puppies with her.  After some doing some research on the topic and getting advice from breeders we had her bred in March.  We should have puppies here in early May!  Stay tuned for updates on their arrival!