ellz

Don't the birds love it! I used my Coat King on one of the horses at the end of last Winter and the birds appeared from nowhere and were stealing it as it hit the ground. There must be lots of lovely, horsey smelling nests out there somewhere!

Just spoke to the vet. She has until mid-morning tomorrow to do something constructive. If she isn't showing signs of whelping, she has to go in for at the very least a check over. If she is dilating, it might be as simple as a shot of oxy to get her moving. If not, it'll be a section. I have to go out now to check the mail and get some milk and the newspaper so I'm going to take her with me and maybe the movement of the car will stir things up a bit.

Temp is still 36.9. She just went outside and did the most revolting coloured sticky poo. Came inside happily, took herself into the Puppy Palace, rearranged her newspaper a bit and is now laying down having another snooze! *sigh*

Are you worried she'll need a c-section? Not entirely but I'd rather have her booked in just in case, then it'll be a daytime thing and save me a motzer on after hours fees. She's just not doing as much as I would hope. This is the third time her temp has dipped. She's not at all keen on eating. She's been nesting off and on since last week. The puppies don't seem to have moved very far back or "dropped" like I'd say that they should. And if she only has a couple on board, there may not be enough hormone present to trigger labour of course and I really don't think she has more than a couple. On the brighter side, the puppies are still active and she's still happy and bright within herself. I'd just feel better if I spoke to the vet, ran my dates and times and numbers past them and got their opinion.

Temp down to 36.9. Have rung vet to have a bit of a chat about how we are going to proceed...just waiting for a callback.

I'm using the one recommended for my breed for show presentation and get LOVELY results with it so I'm happy to recommend it to others.

See I don't honestly think that the "blades" on a Coat King ARE sharp. I've even run the thing through my OWN hair to see what it felt like before using it on my dogs.

Used properly it doesn't cut coat becks. Some people purchase them TO cut coat, others don't. Much the same as using a stripping knife. I can use a stripping knife and just pull out undercoat, whilst somebody else is merrily butchering the topcoat. The Coat King with a rubber band around the teeth works in pretty much the same way as a comb with a rubber band wound through it. But it works more effectively in my opinion and a little bit more quickly.

Pffffftttt

I'd go the Coat King over the furminator. In my experience it isn't as severe IF USED CORRECTLY. You can also place a rubber band around the "teeth" of the Coat King which lessens the action and encourages the hair to stick to the rubber and be pulled out, not cut out.

Still nothing. Very unsettled night though. Puppies are still bumping and grinding around so I'm not too concerned on that front. I'm going to ring the vet today and make an appointment for tomorrow. If all else fails, we can have a section at a civilised hour and not get charged after hours fees! Edited because my eyelids are glued together. Puppy watch is almost as bad as foal watch.

Nothing to report from here I'm afraid. I've just finished telling her that if she hasn't done anything by Tuesday, she is going to the vet. Hopefully that will help her decide to get moving.

Also low in calcium.

Could still be 24 hours for us....but she has just done a revolting poo and squatted about 60 times with nothing coming out, so she's definitely feeling "something".

Well peeps.......if Vanni has read the textbooks, we may have some action starting! Temp just now was 37, down from 38.4 at 7.00am. Mucuous discharge is now more like mucuous "globs" when she gets up from where she has been sitting. She has just happily gone back into the Puppy Palace and is laying quietly AND she has just knocked back a piece of roast lamb.

Vanni has had a mucuous discharge for most of the pregnancy so I doubt she'll have a definite plug to pass. She's been scratching and carrying on for ages, I was awake for a good part of the night listening to her last night. I think I made a post here at 3.30am or some other undoGly hour. I'm not too worried about her at this stage. She's not showing any signs of definite "hard" labour so I'll start worrying on Tuesday if she hasn't shown any signs by then. I'm just impatient. I didn't really "want" the litter at first (it was unplanned) but now it is on the horizon, I can't wait to meet the new bubbas. And of course, the sooner they are out, the older they'll be when my Stafford bitch whelps in November.

If Vanni doesn't hurry up and do something soon, I swear I'll put her in a crate and take her for a drive over some VERY bumpy country roads!!!

It's not a gradual drop you are looking for. It is a rapid drop and it doesn't always stay down. Many/most people actually miss it and then say it didn't happen. Others actually catch it on the way back up but don't realise it. That's why it's always best to start taking the temp a week or so in advance and at roughly the same times so that you can work out an average chart for you bitch so that the OBVIOUS differences are the ones you pinpoint. That said, I'm still waiting as well, the only obvious change to temp so far is a drop to 37.2 which is the lowest I have seen in her yet. The temp the previous night was only 37.7. But what is surprising about that is that it was at 5.00am yesterday and her usual baseline morning temp is around 38.4. And it immediately jumped up to 38.9. But still nothing, just a bit of nesting and lots of peeing and not wanting to let me out of her sight.

I'd probably even go a 4F. But a 7F if you didn't have anything else. And if you didn't have a 7F then a 10 with a gently applied hand WITH the direction of the hair growth.

You're on! Appetite never tells the tale here though, we're talking about American Cockers. The first meal they refuse means that they are on deaths' door!

Also, when you store them, wrap them in kitchen wrap and put a bit of chalk into the container in which you keep them to absorb any moisture and prevent rusting.

Yep, sorry Pesh! Hesa......obviously we both have outstanding taste! ;)

Nothing to report here. Temp is down, but not down enough to make me think it means anything. We've got a little bit of nesting going on though. Not due "officially" til Sunday though so a few days left to make me stress!

Wise move Hesa! I've got my butcher trained well now. They know what I want and I get the most beautiful Lambs Fry for myself AND the dogs as well as an almost unlimited supply of yummy Lambs' Kidneys for myself as well. I just LURVE kidley-didley cooked like Fry and served with mashed taters! :D

If you are buying from the supermarket......the likelihood is VERY good that it is beef liver being sold as Lambs' Fry. Unless you specifically ask for Lambs' Liver from the butcher, most of the time you will be given beef liver.