Northwoods Carly Simon whelps eight on Thanksgiving weekend

Although there is some biological basis to the timing of when a dam whelps, Jerry and I haven’t figured it out. In fact, there seems to be no rhyme or reason for us and our dams. We take their temperatures; we watch their appetites; we listen for scratching and other signs of nest preparation. And in our 21 years of breeding and subsequent crowding around whelping nests, dams have whelped at all hours of the day and night…sometimes even stretching across 24 hours.

So we were grateful to Northwoods Carly Simon on the morning of Saturday, November 26. She began at about 7:00 and in a couple spurts and then a final female, she was done and resting by 12:30 p.m.

Carly whelped eight puppies. Two are tri-color females and six are males. Of the males, two are tri-color and four are black-and-white. Although this is Carly’s fourth litter, it’s her first by RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus.

One might think after countless litters and many bleary-eyed vigils that Jerry and I are now blasé about whelping puppies. Not at all. We still consider the whole thing miraculous. We’re still amazed at the sight of a tiny sac, resembling a bubble when it first appears, and we’re still in awe when the dam’s instincts kick in and we watch her careful, thorough ministrations to her newborn.