Nearly there...

My daughter was born on the day she was due. Will our puppies? If so, we have just two days left!

Summer and I went out today with Judy and her Tibetan Terrier, Harris, to Nonsuch Park near Cheam. It is flat and there is a lovely coffee shop, so perfect for a pregnant Summer walk (and her human friends!)...

Summer did very well, and whilst Harris couldn't get her play, she trotted along quite happily.

Now back home, Summer is still looking for places to get comfortable...

We have moved the whelping box and I've put the indoor washing line along the side of it, and hung a duvet over it, to make it more den like. Above is Summer NOT in the box but under the duvet!!

And now she is sleeping IN the cupboard (we're mid painting the cupboards, which
will now have to wait until after the summertime)

I have now moved downstairs so I can be of assistance with the puppy delivery.  Summer rather likes it. I make the perfect pillow at 2am!!

WEEK SIX

Well we've had a very busy week, but watching Summer change has been enchanting!

Our gorgeous Tibetan Terrier bitch is most definately pregnant, with a round tummy that is making scratching a little bit of a challenge for her...

Whelping Box

We spent ages trying to find non toxic paint to use on our whelping box, and having found some, then spent most of the week painting it. The box is pretty big, about 4 foot square and incredibly sturdy. It is currently taking over our lounge but we are going to dismantle our dining room table and make a puppy area there. The lounge/dining room is open plan so won't be perfectly quiet, but hopefully we can make Summer feel cosy and comfortable.

Vet Bed

The Vet Bed arrived this week. This is special cosy bedding that fluids can pass through. Well this roll is massive, as tall as me at 5 foot 5! We

Keeping cool

It has been a lovely warm week, and like pregnant women, Summer has been having difficulty getting comfortable and cool.  We have a corridor shaped hall way with no windows, and this has proved perfect for dog cooling! I've also bought thining scissors (looks like a comb) so I'm going to try and thin down Summer's coat which is now very thick, having been groomed during the first week of her season (about eight weeks ago).

A walk in the park....

Summer and I, with Judy and Tibetan Terrier, Harris, met some more of our dog walking friends on Friday (7 Jun 2013).

Never think that dog walking isn't sociable. You really do meet some lovely people, and I have - including Judy, and our friend Debbie.

Now Debbie also has a Tibetan Terrier, called Freddie who is about 18 month to 2 years old, and also a Bichon Frise, called Charlie.  Before there was a Freddie, Summer, our TT, loved Charlie. She still does, but since Freddie came along, Charlie doesn't quite like her as much!  Summer gets very excited when she meets Charlie, but he now growls and snaps at her and won't join in the play. Poor Charlie.

Freddie is a full blooded male (not neutered) and when he, Summer and Harris are together, they look like a big bundle of black. Freddie has a sleek, mainly black coat and has only ever been trimmed. He looks very dapper!

Until Friday, it had never crossed my mind that a fully in tact male would find a pregnant female so attractive (in dog terms of course), but a walk around Box Hill with the four dogs, resulted in Freddie having to be placed on his lead now and again. Freddie was so 'in love' with Summer that he would have spent the whole walk with his nose about 2 inches from her bottom. 

Summer would tell him off, gently; a little yap and a snarl, but within seconds he'd be back in his favoured position...trotting after her, a few inches from her back end!

Charlie was also more tollerant of Summer and had lots of sniffs too.  Harris tried to intervene early on in the walk by putting himself between the boy dogs and our Sums, but he then removed himself and was content with trotting into the undergrowth looking for squirrels or rabbits.

I'll up load some pictures tomorrow of our walk.

FIVE WEEKS..and a bit!

FIVE WEEKS - 27 May 2013

I can't believe that the time is flying by so fast! We are less than a month away from Puppy Time!

There hasn't been too much to report on in this last week, except Harris (Summer's boyfriend) has become very respectful of her - no chasing or rolling when we go for walks.

Summer our pregnant Tibetan Terrier is very very hungry and we have now upped her meals to three a day, but only a touch more than she was having with two meals a day.  The change in her was instant and she stopped begging quite so much.

We have decided to introduce an Arden Grange puppy food into Summer's food, as instructed by all the books and our vet, and this will then be used to start weaning the Tibetan pups from about 2/3 weeks old.

Summer's tummy is growing. I didn't think we'd see this early on, but we can. And if we are out walking, and I bump into someone to talk to, she lies down on the floor (lazy!)..

She is still being fed a Raspberry Leaf pill everyday, which I crush in a think plastic sandwich bag and then mix with a touch of peanut butter. When I get the peanut butter out of the cupboard, I turn the lid and say to Summer "And what is this?" - and she licks her lips! I kid you not. I do this each time... Makes me laugh anyway ;-)

DAY 23 - Signs?

It was 3 weeks yesterday that I took Summer to meet Claude for the first time!

And there does seem to be some changes. I think!

"Walk? You've got to be kidding!!"

Summer loves her Harris (Claude's brother), and they trot around the parks and fields together, occasionally touching noses or diving into the undergrowth to chase a pheasant or squirrel.

On Monday (DAY 22), Judy and I drove to one of our favorite haunts, Nonsuch Park, which is located between Ewell (pronounced "Yule") and Cheam. If there is a doggie heaven, Nonsuch Park is what I'd expect it to look like - wide expanses of grass land, lots of trees, a few ponds, woods - and lots and lots and lots of dogs!!

Summer and Harris particularly like the wooded areas and grasslands behind them, but today, for the first time ever, Summer started turning her back on Harris.  She was so excited to see him initially, but as soon as he wanted to start playing "roll Summer" she decided this was not for her...  Most of the walk she just trotted happily between me and Judy, trying her luck for some food, by tapping the sides of our legs about knee-height, with her nose.

Today - DAY 23

The bluebells are out

Summer (above)

 Summer and Harris, trotting side by side

Summer and Harris met again. A local walk where there is parking next to Connick Tree Care (south of Reigate), and you can stroll through public fields and a stunning and very well kept woods, where today, the bluebells were in full bloom.  We hadn't walked this route since the beginning of the winter, so rather than be interested in play, both Tibetan Terriers had their noses to the floor / trees / flowers / grass...  Even out in the open, they didn't partake in their usual romping! It makes me a little sad. But to think Summer could be one third of the way through pregnancy already, is actually very exciting.

Harris (above) and Summer (below)

Last night I watched a series of Youtube videos about some Maltese puppies being born. It was educational, as I'd never seen puppies be born before. The series also followed the puppies at 2 weeks and 4 weeks.

More bluebell pics

Possibly a time of year that most would miss...because they don't have a dog!