Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Can I See Your Baby

When we first moved to California we had to do the obvious things such as the address changes and getting our California license, Dixie (our Long Haired Daschund) had to get hers also, so down to the vet we go to get all of her shots and to inquire about getting her spayed, we made the decision to go ahead with the procedure even though Dixie was asking why we were getting her fixed even though she wasn't broken, this confusion was just the beginning.

Dixie was a little over two years old and had never been bred, we actually were not planning on going into the puppy business and being in heat was something that always scared her to death, she would actually hide under the back of my desk and act so embarrassed if she made a mess anywhere, this continued until she came out of heat every time.

Dixie went through the surgery just fine and was up and running like nothing had happened next day, she had never used a "doggie bed" except for a place to store her toys. Cindy's Dad has a poodle "Buttons" who is very protective of this bed which didn't bother Dixie any at all before the surgery, well a couple days after we are sitting watching TV when Dixie goes to Buttons bed and is sniffing it over, she crawls in and scratches around a bit and lays down, we thought this strange for her but figured it was because she may be sore from the surgery, next day she does this again gets herself settled in then makes a beeline for the bedroom and comes back with her favorite toy "squeaky mouse" which she places in the bed and off to the bedroom she goes again returning with another squeaky toy, this goes on until there were six toys in the bed and she is laying on top of them, we thought this was kind of funny and had a good laugh.

Next morning she is still in the bed and the squeaky toys are laying in front of her, she wouldn't go outside to play and just wanted to stay in the bed, we decided then it was time to take her for a ride which is something she likes to do more than most anything, all you have to say is "you want to go bye bye" and she is almost getting your car keys for you, so the "b" word was spoken and off to town we go, she is sitting on my knee looking out the passenger window when I notice my knee is wet, OK I move her over to investigate and while I am looking I see a stream of milk running down the door and this is when we realized that Dixie was now a Mom, the vet said she was in heat when they spayed her to which I explained she had just come out of heat about a week before we brought her in so this couldn't be true, the conclusion to this was she was in a false pregnancy and the surgery told her little hormones that she had given birth, which brought on the nesting and the gathering of the six toys which she is now nursing, we were told after about a week she would give up and go back to normal.

Well about six weeks later she started weaning these pups, this whole thing was quite an experience and she was such a good Momma, she nursed and cleaned each one and when she received more attention than she wanted one by one she moved the babies underneath our bed, a small blanket was dragged under also and we like to have never gotten she or them out, when I did get them all out and back into the bed was only temporary because one by one back under our bed they went, Cindy's brother thought it was humourous and said he could get her out only to end up running all the way to the front door with a Long Haired Daschund on his heels, so we let her be. It was kind of cute to come in and see her laying in the living room with the toys in a semi circle around her head, she would just lay and watch for a bit then take them one by one back to either the bed or underneath ours, funny thing is you know that sweet smell you get from a litter of pups was evident in the doggie bed she was nursing her babies in.

She eventually weaned them and stopped gathering them all up daily to either nurse or watch them play, one by one the squeaky toys returned to the toy stash, she still brings squeaky mouse out to play, only to turn and take her back to the safety of the bedroom when Cindy's Dad says "Hey Dixie can I see your baby"

13 comments:

  1. OMG, Jimmy...this is such a GREAT story!

    This was such an educating post because I had no idea about the "false pregnancy."

    I bet it was adorable to watch her caring for those toys! I was giggling just from reading this.

    This post reminded me of when my cat had her first litter. It was so funny to watch her carrying those kittens in her mouth, as she transfered them to a different spot each day. She too was such a great little mama!

    This cracked me up....

    ..."even though Dixie was asking why we were getting her fixed even though she wasn't broken."

    HA!

    Hope you're having a great time, buddy!

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  2. Thanks Buddy,

    Yes Sir this little dog has taught us a lot, I'm kind of sorry we didn't allow her to have a litter as good of a Mom as she was to these toys, she went through all the motions and cared for them just as if they were real live pups.

    We are doing good getting close to the wedding now just two more days :^)

    I thought of this situation with Dixie last night and just had to share, glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. I guess even when physically our bodies won't let us be mommies anymore the "mind over matter" takes effect and fools our bodies into thinking it still can. My hygienist Carol once told me after she adopted her son...and she had one daughter already naturally, that it was possible to have milk form in the breast just from being around anew born and being mother to that newborn. It trigers hormones in the mother's body to think she has just given birth. I guess that is what happened to your precious little Dixie. I love the story...a mother's love is the strongest force in the world...even if it is to some cute little toys!!!

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  4. Amen Susie,

    "A Mothers love is the strongest force in the world" from little dogs who obviously were meant to be a Moms to Ladies like you who raised good children and still are a force in their lives, there is no love stronger than this.

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  5. What a sweet story. Dixie is a great "little mommy". thanks for sharing this. I love it!

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  6. I've never had a dog that had pups, but we've had several cats that had litters. One was a very good mom. Our last one though was too young, she was only 4 months old and we didn't even think she could go into heat yet, when suddenly she was pregnant. Since she wasn't so up for being a mom, the male cat who fathered the kittens stepped up to the plate. He would lay with the kittens to keep them warm, clean them and sit near them when she was nursing. When they got bigger and began to explore, he would make sure they didn't stray too far. I've never seen a male cat act this way before! It was too cute.

    Thanks for sharing! And I hope the wedding is fabulous!!
    ♥Spot

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  7. Precious little Dixie! What a love she is! And such a cute story, too. Daisy, my "big" beagle at 50 lbs, has a white stuffed cow she carries everywhere with her and two tiny "human" toys. They all came with her from the shelter. The two human toys belonged to her and her "brother" ~ another beagle she lived with before she was given away to animal control. When he was adopted from the shelter and she was not, she ran outside to the yard and grabbed "his" human and hid it under her bed. When I adopted her a few weeks later, I also adopted Cow and Humans too. She tears up a lot of toys but these just get her lovin'.

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  8. Thank You Suzi,

    She is something else, I am glad you enjoyed the story

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  9. Hey Spot,

    I haven't had much experience with kittens and like you wouldnt have thought a four months one would be having kittens, it's amazing that the male stepped up like he did, some humans could learn from this.

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  10. Karal,

    It's funny how they adopt toys like they do, we were packing for this trip and had an empte duffle bag sitting by the bed, came in and found Dixie placing toys in it, Squeaky Mouse was in the bottom so it appears she was the first one picked.

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  11. Awesome post about Dixie. I think dogs having pups are one of the most amazing things in the world. If only all human mothers could be as doting as dog moms!

    Lindsey Petersen

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  12. Thank you Lindsey,

    "If only all human mothers could be as doting as dog moms!"

    Amen to that, I have seen a few Human Moms who could take lessons from Dog Moms like Dixie.

    Thanks for stopping by and come back anytime.

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  13. That is such and interesting story. It's a wonder what can happen. Thanks, Wray

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