Author: Candice

It truly is a miracle even after 20+ years of helping mommas deliver babies it never stops amazing me. The strength of the Mamas, the way they settle in and just let the process happen, how they know exactly what to do without our help. The calmness and the gentle way they deal with the process, doing everything instinctually to encourage life. Most of the litters are delivered upstairs in my bedroom, it’s a safe quiet place and most of the deliveries take place during the early morning hours. The photos you will see here are of Ruby and Spuds beautiful F1 golden doodle litter.

As soon as the baby is born Ruby gets right to work breaking the sac and chewing off the umbilical cord and eating the placenta, it is full of rich blood and minerals and it will help her sustain her energy and make nice rich milk for her babies. Some moms are quite particular about the length of the cord and will chew and chew until its just the right length. Once the sac is broken we use a syringe to help suck out any mucous and get the airways clear some nice deep breaths.

A perfect illustration of exactly how the babies are in the womb. Totally encased in a sac with the rich placenta joined by the umbilical cord.

During the active stages of labour as the uterus is contracting Ruby sleeps, pants and pushes with an arched tail, the pups come easy with just a few pushes. During her rest time she gets nice cool ice cream with calcium added. This helps strengthen the contractions and gives her energy.

As the pups arrive they seek out the nipples instinctively and start to nurse right away, this also strengthens the contractions and speeds up the labour. After 4 hours of active labour the pups have all arrived and Ruby is a proud and happy mama. All of the pups are weighed daily from here on in. Growth and change is fast, 8 weeks will be over soon and they will be heading for their new homes.