Motherhood

When my babies were first put into my arms after their birth I felt an immediate love for them. I wanted to care for them, protect them, help them to have a great life. I cannot tell you how happy I am that Tiga seems to feel this way about her new litter. She has been an awesome Mom. She has spent all of her time in the whelping box, cleaning and feeding them and just being there while they have slept. She comes out to eat and go to the bathroom and then runs right back to them as soon as she can. This may not seem like such a big deal - she's a dog, it comes naturally to them, it is instinct. Well let me tell you, not all dog's are great Moms. A prime example of this is Tiga.

She was definitely not in the running for Mom of the Year award with her last litter. As a matter of fact, if she were human, Social Services would have probably been at the door. In her defence she was young (had just turned 2) and she was very sick with diareah for the fist two weeks. She spent a lot of her time laying on the couch listening to her puppies cry. I continually had to monitor her to make sure she went into the whelping box to feed and care for them. I would hear the puppies crying at night and come down to check on them. There would be Tiga laying on the couch ignoring them. When someone would come to the door she would immediately take off to see who was there, sometimes dropping puppies off her nipples as she left the box. I realize this sounds horrible and makes you feel sorry for her puppies, but they had me and I was very attentive. I also had the help of Tori, our Black Lab. What Tiga lacked in maternal instincts Tori had in abundance. She was more than happy to care for the puppies and Tiga was more than happy to let her. Tiga did eventually become a good mom, but those first few weeks were a lot of work for us humans.

This year Tiga is a year older and so far (knock on wood) has not had a problem with diareah. She seems to be very content just hanging out in the whelping box. On the few occasions where she has left the box to check out the rest of us, she has returned to her puppies the minute one of them makes a peep. She is a little obsessive about cleaning the puppies. I was beginning to worry they would all be hairless. She allows Tori to check things out but she watches her every move. Tori must sense the change because she looks in the whelping box but does not enter. When I take the puppies to weigh them or hold them Tiga follows me and never takes her eyes off of them. I am finding I have a lot more free time on my hands. What a difference a year makes.

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