Upcoming Sylvaen Litters (2013)

Post by **Sylvaen** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 2:04 pm

Puppies are due around 19/10/2013. They will be ready to go to their new homes around 14/12/2013.

Jamille · Post by **Jamille** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 10:29 pm

Exciting! Looks like we'll be seeing some pretty little puppies soon

TParham86 · Post by **TParham86** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 3:16 am

Congrats!

I can't wait to see the puppies!

Post by **TerriHolt** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:39 pm

Yay! Can't wait for puppy pics and get jealous when people announce they will be having one

!

Vixen had lovely babies last time.., exciting to see these.

Post by **Lynwae** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:40 pm

Congrats!

chelle784 · Post by **chelle784** » Fri Sep 20, 2013 3:11 am

Exciting! Congrats

AlexandraS · Post by **AlexandraS** » Fri Sep 20, 2013 10:02 am

So exciting, can't wait to see pics!

akaye531 · Post by **akaye531** » Fri Sep 20, 2013 10:21 pm

This is going to be a great looking litter!

Post by **Sylvaen** » Fri Sep 20, 2013 10:25 pm

Thanks everyone! We've been planning this litter since winter 2011 / spring 2012... so we are really excited that it's finally happening.
Only 1 more month to go - can't wait!

I know it's not much to look at right now, but here are the first puppy pictures.

Post by **Sylvaen** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:17 pm

UPDATE: Xantho X Vixen litter (long version)...

After monitoring Vixen's temperature every morning and evening for a whole week, on the evening of October 19 (her due date) Vixen's temperature finally dipped down to 36.9°C (98.4°F). This drop signaled the beginning of Stage 1 labor, which lasted a whopping 18 hours... a looong night of restlessness, heavy panting, digging in the whelping box, etc. I was expecting contractions and straining (pushing) to start at any time so, of course, I didn't get much sleep that night... I just spent the whole time (aside from when I went to check on Vala and Clover in the kitchen) camped out right next to Vixen's whelping box, which is located in our bedroom. By the next morning her temperature had dropped even further, down to 36.4°C (97.5°F) so I knew we were getting close... yet still the wait continued. Finally, just after noon (at 12:30) there was a small 'pop' and a gush of fluid as Vixen's "waters" broke, signaling the start of Stage 2 labor. I figured that contractions / straining would start within 20-40 minutes, but after 2 hours of nothing more than restlessness, heavy panting, and more digging in the whelping box, I was starting to get worried. Then I remembered, from Vixen's first litter that there had been a 4-hour waiting period from the time her waters broke (the appearance of the first 'lubricating bubble' of amniotic liquid) until the delivery of the first puppy.

However, after 2.5 hours without any visible contractions or straining whatsoever, I decided to do what any self-respecting breeder would do, and check to see if there was anything in her birth canal (a stuck puppy, for instance, can cause primary uterine inertia). Sure enough, far up (almost out of reach) was something dangling down... long and thin. There were only 2 things it could be: the severed end of an umbilical cord; or the tip of a tail. It was unlikely to be an umbilical cord, considering the first puppy had yet to be born (no detached placenta, yet) and the furry, tapered end gave it away. Then I realized... the gush of fluid hadn't come from a "lubricating bubble" of amniotic fluid, it came from the placental sack itself (containing the puppy) which is why I could feel the tail directly. This means the puppy had been positioned in the birth canal for the past 2.5 hours... and wasn't going anywhere. Vixen wasn't straining or pushing and the puppy was firmly lodged in place. It was very difficult to grab hold of the very tip of the slippery puppy tail, almost as far deep as I could reach, but in combination with "feathering" the upper wall and a couple of strong pushes from Vixen, I was able to get hold of the first centimeter or two of the tail (a very loooong tail, I might add).

With more "feathering" and much encouragement (to motivate Vixen) as well as plenty of stretching, I could finally feel, at the very end of my fingertips, the toes/claws of one rear paw. Gripping both the tail and the paw was very difficult (slippery, tight working space, etc) but I realized that unless I could help Vixen to get this puppy out, there was no other way that this first puppy could come out by itself... it was stuck tight. If this puppy blocked the way, all the other puppies behind it were also at risk. After struggling for 30 minutes and barely gaining any ground, I decided to call the vet for advice. He suggested I keep trying for another 30 minutes, and then we'd see where to go from there. In other words, if this puppy doesn't come out, a caesarean section surgery would be the only option (an injection of oxytocin at this point would be very dangerous since the blocked puppy could cause Vixen's uterus to rupture, which would kill all the puppies). Driven by adrenaline and sheer determination, I was finally able to grip an ankle and feel the other back leg. Once I had a (slippery) hold of the back paw / ankle / tail, with more "feathering" and more encouragement / motivation ("come on Vixen!!!"), I was finally able to grab hold of a knee and upper leg. Once I had the back legs in my grip, it took several more strong pushes from Vixen (in combination with me pulling with all my strength, coinciding with Vixen's pushes) to work the puppy loose. I was worried about hurting the pup or causing serious damage but, by this point, I was coming to the realization that this puppy was likely to be already dead. Either way, it had to come out - otherwise ALL the puppies would be dead. So we struggled and persevered and, finally, I saw two purple-ish paw pads sticking out. I didn't have too much time to worry about the color (indicating a lack of oxygen) because, with a couple more strong pushes / pulls, the puppy was out. A boy! Born at 16:00... and alive! What a rush! There was plenty of blood and gore, but it was such a relief. Vixen had been straining (hard) for an hour by that point, so I could tell that she was also glad it was finally out.

Another 2 hours passed, and then a bubble of amniotic fluid appeared - another pup was on the way! Except... there were 2 bubbles!! Two puppies were coming at the same time! Seriously, what next?! The first pup was stuck (in reverse) and now the second/third pups were coming at the same time (almost guaranteed to get stuck and cause another blockage). I tried to push one bubble back inside (without breaking it) and focused on gently pulling the one that was larger / closer to delivery. With a couple of strong pushes from Vixen, the puppy was out - another (identical) male! - born at 18:20. Only 15 minutes later, along came the third puppy... a dark female, born at 18:35. Then, at 19:00 another (almost identical) male was born. We knew from the x-ray that there were 4 puppies (possibly 5) but the uncertain fifth one, positioned by Vixen's ribcage, was hard to identify as a puppy... if it was a puppy, it was well separated from the others and likely wouldn't arrive for a long time after the others. We decided just to wait and see... so we waited, and waited... and nothing. We figured that if there was another one, it probably would arrive at some point during the night and so we decided to let nature take its course. However, by next morning, still nothing. No contractions, no straining, nada. Perhaps there were only 4 pups after all (3 males and 1 female) - not the end of the world, and at least they were all big and healthy (and born on time, not premature). Just to be certain, I felt Vixen's abdomen and felt something hard, which moved. Another puppy, without a doubt. However, by that time (08:00) it had been 13 hours since the previous puppy had been born. Would the puppy inside still be alive? Would it come out on its own? Should we go to the vet clinic with Vixen to give her another ultrasound scan / x-ray, followed by an injection of oxytocin to stimulate contractions and force the puppy out? If that didn't work, would Vixen need a cesarean section to remove the last (possibly dead) puppy?

I figured that during the night the puppy would have moved into a better position, and Vixen should have plenty of oxytocin already in her system (thanks to the placentas and suckling pups). So, once again, I decided to take matters into my own hands (literally). With more feathering, to stimulate contractions / straining, every 10 minutes, along came another puppy... a female, identical to the males, born at 08:50 (almost 14 hours after the previous puppy). A complete family (as indicated by the x-ray) - 3 males and 2 females - or so we thought. Roughly 1 hour later, I was still not convinced... Vixen still seemed quite plump and perhaps it was intuition, or just a hunch, but I palpitated Vixen's abdomen and I was fairly certain (though not convinced) that I felt another puppy inside. I decided to act on the hunch and utilize more feathering technique; sure enough, at 11:05 another (female) puppy was born... alive and kicking. A grand-total of 6 puppies: 3 males and 3 females!

Anyway, it is now 22:00 and I am fairly certain (though not totally convinced) that Vixen has finished whelping. We'll take her, and the pups, to the vet clinic tomorrow so that Vixen can have a final ultrasound scan / x-ray, just to make certain...

wolfwoman · Post by **wolfwoman** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:34 pm

what a story .... such a difficult birth !
Luckily they all live.
congratulations!

Eventide · Post by **Eventide** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 12:51 am

OMG!! You are my hero!! I can't even imagine doing that or even knowing to do what you did. Even if I did know, in the heat of the moment, I'd fail miserably and all would be lost. Maybe the reason I have a male

Can't wait to see pictures!!

Post by **Lynwae** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 8:54 am

What a story!
Happy that all of them are doing good

Can't wait to see the photos!

Post by **Sylvaen** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 1:46 pm

Just got back home from the vet clinic (24-hour post-whelping checkup) and Vixen's ultrasound scan revealed no retained placentas or puppies, which means the final headcount is 6 puppies: 3 females and 3 males...

Pokémon Litter (Xantho X Vixen) in order of birth:
Sylvaen Mew (male)
Sylvaen Pikachu (male)
Sylvaen Vulpix (female)
Sylvaen Charmander (male)
Sylvaen Growlithe (female)
Sylvaen Eevee (female)

HiTenshi16 · Post by **HiTenshi16** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 2:10 pm

Awesome litter theme, can't wait to see photos! So glad your mothers intuition told you right

Valravn · Post by **Valravn** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 3:23 pm

Love the theme! 6 is the perfect number for it, too. I laughed a bit at Eevee being a female when the gender ratio of Eevee is 87.5% male, 12.5% female. …I think I showed my geek…

Saxon · Post by **Saxon** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 9:32 pm

Fantastic, hope everything goes ok , hurry with the photos

Post by **Sylvaen** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:07 am

Valravn wrote:I laughed a bit at Eevee being a female when the gender ratio of Eevee is 87.5% male, 12.5% female. …I think I showed my geek…

Growlithe is also 75% male

But the names really suit each pup (coloring in particular)... you'll see when I post pics!

Valravn · Post by **Valravn** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:17 am

Sylvaen wrote:
Valravn wrote:I laughed a bit at Eevee being a female when the gender ratio of Eevee is 87.5% male, 12.5% female. …I think I showed my geek…
Growlithe is also 75% male
But the names really suit each pup (coloring in particular)... you'll see when I post pics!

Really? I almost never use Growlithe so I didn't know. You'd better post pics soon!

Post by **Sylvaen** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:24 am

Valravn wrote:You'd better post pics soon!

I really want to... this slow internet is killing me... it's pure torture!
At least the forum doesn't take too long to load but uploading pictures to FB is just soooo time consuming. I'll try again tomorrow though and see if I get anywhere - I can leave it to upload for a couple of hours while I do housework.

TParham86 · Post by **TParham86** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 2:59 am

Awww a Pokémon themed litter! Cool

Can't wait to see the puppy pictures!

Gaby · Post by **Gaby** » Thu Oct 24, 2013 9:38 am

Wow, what a difficult labour! I'm so happy that all the pups are alive and well and that Vixen is doing fine. Congratulations! And it is great that you knew just what to do. I'm very curious to see the pictures of Mila's little nieces and nephews.

Post by **Sylvaen** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:55 pm

Thanks!

Here are the photos, as promised!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 3916303618

Tiantai · Post by **Tiantai** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 4:24 am

I find it funny you included Mew when that Pokémon is in fact genderless.

TParham86 · Post by **TParham86** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:50 pm

Sylvaen wrote:Thanks!
Here are the photos, as promised!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 3916303618

Awww there soo cute!

Jamille · Post by **Jamille** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:46 pm

So beautiful!

Ironic how my favourite pokemon happens to be my favourite pup (Vulpix)

Tiantai · Post by **Tiantai** » Sat Nov 02, 2013 5:48 am

Jamille wrote:So beautiful! Ironic how my favourite pokemon happens to be my favourite pup (Vulpix)

What is her called name?

Post by **Sylvaen** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 12:16 am

2 weeks old...

Sylvaen Mew (male):

Sylvaen Pikachu (male):

Sylvaen Vulpix (female):

Sylvaen Charmander (male):

Sylvaen Growlithe (female):

Sylvaen Eevee (female):

akaye531 · Post by **akaye531** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 12:41 am

Beautiful pups!

HiTenshi16 · Post by **HiTenshi16** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:37 am

Growlithe and Eevee my favorite

Valravn · Post by **Valravn** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 2:33 am

I really like Eevee and Vulpix!

balto13 · Post by **balto13** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 2:55 am

I love Mew and Eevee, though I have to say I don't know if I could have a favorite. This whole litter is so cute

Post by **Katlin** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 2:56 am

Charmander! OMG!

Post by **Sylvaen** » Wed Nov 13, 2013 3:00 am

I uploaded some new photos on my FB page: www.facebook.com/SylvaenTamaskans

Tiantai · Post by **Tiantai** » Wed Nov 13, 2013 5:39 am

Quoting my little cousins that I showed the pictures to:

"THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Post by **Sylvaen** » Fri Nov 22, 2013 5:42 pm

I just uploaded some new pictures to my FB page, here are a couple of photos to give you a taste:

Sylvaen Pikachu

Sylvaen Growlithe

JWalthall · Post by **JWalthall** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 1:41 am

Such beautiful faces on your pups!

Post by **Sylvaen** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:16 pm

This past weekend we had a professional (studio) photo-session with Veronika Šantoši Photography... here are some of the photos!

Sylvaen Vulpix & Sylvaen Eevee:

Sylvaen Pikachu:

Sylvaen Vulpix:

Sylvaen Charmander:

Sylvaen Growlithe:

Sylvaen Eevee:

More photos incoming soon! You can also see more pictures HERE.

Valravn · Post by **Valravn** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:01 pm

Beautiful puppies! Wow Vulpix's ears looks so tiny! XD

HiTenshi16 · Post by **HiTenshi16** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:27 pm

So cute!

Post by **Sylvaen** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:12 pm

2 pups out of this litter particularly have the required traits for SAR: Eevee and Charmander. Whereas Pikachu and Growlithe would probably be more suited to therapy / assistance training.

Balto · Post by **Balto** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:31 pm

hope that some future litters have that traits

Post by **Sylvaen** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:43 pm

I think it is likely... not every litter is suitable, and not every pup out of every potential litter has what it takes, but some pups just have all the necessary (natural) traits for SAR... the rest is up to the training they receive.

Tiantai · Post by **Tiantai** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:43 pm

Any going to Canada?

Post by **Sylvaen** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:50 pm

Pikachu is going to live at Oslett in Ontario

https://www.facebook.com/OslettTamaskans

Tiantai · Post by **Tiantai** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 12:10 am

Ah! Congratulations to Jessica!

AZDehlin · Post by **AZDehlin** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 6:59 pm

Evee and Growlith are my favorites.

Balto · Post by **Balto** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:57 am

Sylvaen wrote:I think it is likely... not every litter is suitable, and not every pup out of every potential litter has what it takes, but some pups just have all the necessary (natural) traits for SAR... the rest is up to the training they receive.

how do you test them for that, what are those traits?

Post by **Nino** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 6:03 pm

awesome that one is going to Jesicca!

Post by **Sylvaen** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 7:59 pm

Balto wrote:
Sylvaen wrote:I think it is likely... not every litter is suitable, and not every pup out of every potential litter has what it takes, but some pups just have all the necessary (natural) traits for SAR... the rest is up to the training they receive.
how do you test them for that, what are those traits?

I just noticed I never responded to this question...

Basically, the SAR-potential puppies are the pups that are the most confident and outgoing... bold, fearless, curious and courageous. They have to be active and playful, highly inquisitive, respond to stimulus (play or food) but stay focused on the task at hand (not easily distracted) and not startle or react with fear when they hear a sudden noise (staying calm and relaxed under stress / pressure)... instead of "freezing" and shaking / quivering with fright when they hear a loud noise, they should look to that direction with curiosity and want to investigate further. It is good for the pups to have a bit of "attitude" and be more dominant and boisterous (not overly lazy or relaxed / unmotivated or just want cuddles / attention all the time) and to be a bit more independent... exploring the world around them. Oh, and having a proper bark (not a howl, whinge, whine or other husky-type vocalization) is also a bonus: both Eevee and Charmander can bark AND howl.

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