The most emotional experience of my life
Breeding Storm
Puppies are now four months old and are doing marvellously in their new homes, Storm has fully recovered back to her bright, lively and beautiful self and me well I sit here with one of the most valuable experiences of my life. When I bred Storm I never would have though it would be such an emotional roller coaster of an experience, there have been highs, lows and some amazing laughs. So I thought I’d let you know, of what I feel is, one of the most valuable experiences of my life.
I bred Storm in February with the absolutely gorgeous Monty’s Bull Breeds ‘Murphy’. I was so excited, I loved puppies and Murphy was such a fantastic dog, excellent temperament, full of energy and as handsome as they come. I knew the pups would be the most amazing looking puppies in the world after all with Storm being the beautiful girl that she was as well as gorgeous Murphy, how could they not be.
At first I wasn’t sure if Storm had conceived, she wasn’t very big at 4 weeks in and the tie had only been a short one of about 10mins, so maybe she hadn’t, but it was ok we could always try again. But then at 6 weeks Storm was huge and getting bigger and bigger. That’s when the tears started, had I done the right thing? My Storm was so uncomfortable with all these puppies inside her, was it right to put her through it?
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Storm began her labour 2 days before she had her puppies, she was panting, looking for prospective places where she could have her pups i.e. the wardrobe, she was restless and uncomfortable and yes there were tears again…I cried like a child.
But then on 9th April 2008 at about 10:30am Storm was getting very anxious, I had our vet Matthew on standby, just in case I needed him to come out and help and Storm was in the whelping box with me in there too to comfort her. And then her waters broke!
I was so nervous, Matthew was on the phone saying “Sonia, stay calm and take deep breaths, she’ll do it herself and she’ll be fine” anyone would have thought I was having the babies.
Then the first puppy appeared, it was in a little sack, so I helped Storm by breaking the sack and clearing the puppy’s airway, and Storm took over. Storm was fabulous licking the pup and cleaning her, it was so natural to Storm. First born was my Bella, she was so tiny and beautiful and yet again tears, but tears of joy and amazement.
It was about every 45mins – 1 hour, Storm was having a pup, it was by 8th pup I was getting a bit concerned as to how many she would have, I really had only anticipated about 5-6 pups at the most. It was at 11:40pm Storm finally relaxed and started falling asleep with her pups and we knew that was it, 11 pups on.
All the pups were blue with fabulous markings of white, 6 girls and 5 boys.
We had friends over, one of my friends had helped the whole way through and Storm was lovely, she didn’t get anxious with my friends presence and was calm the whole way through. I phoned Monty’s Bull Breeds for them to let Murphy know he was the father of 11 gorgeous babies when the good news was doubled up; Murphy had made Champion and was now Ch Murphy. It was just getting better.
When everyone left and I sat there watching Storm asleep with her pups, yep you guessed it there were more tears; I sat there knowing I would keep one. They were all amazing.
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The first night of the pups being born I didn’t sleep, I was so worried Storm would sit on them or squash them, after all she was tired, she had this huge litter and with it being her first, I wanted to be there for her. So I just sat and watched her and the pups all night and its funny but I didn’t even feel I needed to sleep.
I think I was sleeping in the region of about 3 hours a night, on the sofa next to the dining room where the whelping box was, every time I heard a little squeak I was up like a shot running into the dining room to see if everything was ok. Bearing in mind I heard a squeak every 10mins.
Missy R.I.P
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The pups were getting on fabulously, they were 7 days old and I was taking hundreds of pictures, however on 16th April, the pups being 7 days old we were in the lounge, I was checking on the pups about every 10-15mins, when at about 10:00pm I went in and counted all the pups and could only see the 10, Storm got up and I saw one behind her and went on to pick her up, she was limp and wasn’t breathing, Storm had fallen asleep on her and the pup has suffocated. It was a beautiful solid blue girl, I tried my hardest to revive her, but it was too late. I held her and cried all night and cursed myself as to why I had even done the breeding. I was heartbroken, devastated and I just wanted the pup to come back. I felt physically and emotionally ill and worst of all I felt I had let Storm down.
The puppy, which we had named Missy, was buried the next day, in a quiet little spot in the back of our garden. I’m sure Samson and Ben will look after her. R.I.P baby
But it was awful I couldn’t stop crying, I blamed myself for the loosing the pup, I should have been more vigilant and should have been checking up on them more often. Fellow breeders and friends assured me, that this was very common in larger litters, Storm had a lot to cope with for her first litter and sometimes it is inevitable.
So, I took a deep breath and told myself I couldn’t cry anymore and I had to do my best and look after the other 10 puppies to the best of my ability. And I did, I watched the pups like a hawk until they were about 3 weeks old, I would do shifts with my family and there was always someone watching the pups.
3 - 8 Weeks
By about 3-4 weeks the pups were all over the place, they were absolutely stunning. My work was cut out and I think I could not have done it if I hadn’t had 2 month’s off work. I loved every second of seeing the pups grow up it was fantastic, they made me laugh so much with their antics it was such a lovely experience seeing them play with Storm and each other, I could watch them all day and not get bored.
But then my heart was breaking again at 6 weeks when the realisation of them going kicked in. I called all the new owners and told them the pups could not be picked up until they were 8 weeks old and just wished I could keep them all.
But the pups did start going after 8 weeks, I cried every time a pup went; they really were the hardest things I have ever had to let go of or give up.
But every person that was even considered for a pup was in constant contact with me so that I could build a rapport with them and could make sure my pups were going to the very best homes. All their new owners were vetted and being genuine people had no problem with it.
I still have contact with all the owners and manage to see Tubby and Dairylea near enough every day; I get lots of pictures from Spike and Angel and get to see Asbo every so often too. I get emails from Storm Junior and Amy and am told they are doing very well and hope to go and see them very soon. As for Happy Feet well she is going to live with her Daddy Ch Murphy and I’m sure will be Daddy’s little girl. I have every faith all the pups are in good homes and will visit them when they are a year old to give them all presents.
Would I do this all again?? The simple answer is I don’t know, I have cried, I have laughed, I have been heart broken and devastated and to be honest I think its something that you have to be quite tough to do. I became very involved and attached to the pups and found it really difficult to give them up. Although, the puppies were amazing and seeing them grow is one of the most amazing experiences ever, I don’t know if I could do it again.
As for now, I will enjoy seeing the puppies and my gorgeous Kane and Bella grow up in to beautiful dogs like their Mum and Dad, Storm and Murphy!
Here’s an update on the puppies:
Kennel Name Name Now Living in
Star Bella My House
Happy Feet Nell Essex
Angel Sky East London
Storm Junior Storm Leeds
Amy Whinehouse Amy Essex
Kane Kane My House
Tubby Zinc West London
Dairylea Rocco West London
Spike Diesel Sunderland
Asbo Paddy. West London
I will be posting some current pictures of the puppies very soon.