Ginger's Puppies have arrived!

Ginger's puppies have arrived. They came five days before her "due date" which was on Tuesday. Her puppies were born on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010. She started labor around 11:30am. She was out playing ball not even 30 minutes prior to this happening. We knew she was getting close. The previous night her temp dropped to 99 degrees, a known sign of a dog going into labor. Plus she starting digging in the dirt and nesting every where she went. She was really restless the night before her labor started. She just couldn't get comfortable. Her breathing was very shallow and she was panting almost the entire night. She did not accept any food or water for about 24 hours prior to starting labor. Ginger was in labor for a total of 6 hours. She whelped 11 puppies!!! We are so shocked she had so many puppies. She really didn't appear to be THAT big! Her puppies are all healthy. At first Ginger had no clue on what was going on but by the 2nd and 3rd puppy Ginger acted like a seasoned pro! She cleaned the puppies and kept them warm. She is really protective of them. She was ready to eat and drink shortly after finshing with whelping. She was exhausted!

11 puppies total, 7 girls & 4 boys! Whew what a litter!!

First time nursing.. still wet from being born!

Just Born