Artist Wood English Springer Spaniels: Day 5: A Breeder's Hand

Sweet dreams are made of these: Orchid and Indy

There has been a decidedly lack of sleep for myself the last 4 days. You might wonder why if you haven't bred dogs. There is so much to be aware of especially at the start. Mom may become sick and she is dealing with postpartum issues from not wanting to eat, to wanting to eat too much, to panting due to contractions and the heat of the whelping box.

Bella and her nurslings content in the whelping box with guard rail.

The first three days are also the most critical for the pups. Any defects might take them away or Mom might accidently sleep on them, they might lose body heat or not get enough milk. Of course as a breeder you take all sorts of pre-cautions - like in our case, Jim has made the whelping box to meet safety guidelines as well as the guard rail the little ones can sleep under, and a thermostatically controlled heat lamp that keeps the pen at a cosy 85 degrees for the first week and which we will set to cooler temperatures as the pups mature.

Little Violet well fed and fast asleep

But this morning I was more tired than ever when my friend Melanie Conrad, Oliver and Eero's breeder (Waternymph English Springer Spaniels), shared a poem with me. It is ever so true and somehow reading it made my exhaustion fade away.

Here is the poem Melanie sent and I have since found on other sites:

The hand of a breeder...
The hand of a breeder is the hand that calms the dog during childbirth...
It's the hand that caresses his belly to calm her during contractions...
The hand of a breeder is the hand that makes the path free to let the puppies be born easier...
It's the hand that doesn't shake and is under the blood to help a puppy in difficulties.
The hand of a breeder is the hand that breaks the puppies' bag if it is not broken after birth...
It's the hand that helps to rub and clean the puppies and help their breathing.
The hand of a breeder is the one who tries to revive a puppy, but sometimes he has to give up when there is no beat.
The hand of a breeder is the hand that cut the umbilical cord when the mother doesn't...
Also, the breeder's hand is the one that weighs the puppy every day to check if everything goes well.
The hand of a breeder is the hand that puts a puppy away closer to the mother while the mother looks at you full of confidence...
The hand that rubs the chest, so that breast milk is activated...
The hand of a breeder is the one who rubs in his eyes and fights fatigue and sleeps after days without reconciling the dream.
It's the hand that gives milk bottles day and night when there is very little performance.
The hand of a breeder is the one that brings the lost puppy back to the mother, the one who plays with the puppy to socialize, the one who teaches the puppy to change to solid nutrition.
The hand of a breeder is the hand that takes care of the little ones when it does not go well with them
The hand of a breeder is the hand that you have entrusted to your future puppy in the hope that it will go well.
The hand of a breeder is the hand that is ready day and night to answer all your questions if you have any doubt about anything.
For all these and many other things, the next time you shake your hand to a breeder, think about everything that hand has done with love.

Of course it made me all sweetly teary eyed - or perhaps it is these 6 beautiful pups, Bella, and our other two Grandma Addie and Uncle Charlie who are so sweet and gentle right now.