The Kennel Kapers….Poms ‘N Kids

A STORY JUST 4 KIDS

By Barbara Breden

Once there was a young lady that came to work at a dog kennel. She pretty well knew a lot about dogs as her mother was also a breeder. She married the kennel owner’s son and they began their new life helping care for all the beautiful pommies. Life was good for them and two years later they had a little girl to light up the lives of everyone. They named her Ashley. Now kids…..babies and puppies make life full of fun and laughter for everyone….parents and grandparents.

Ashley was a born a natural dog lover from the time she could see them. They loved her too and she thought she had the best toys of any child. You did not have to wind up these toys or put batteries in them. When she began to speak she called her Grandma “Mammy”. You see she followed Mammy all around the kennel and would climb into the pens almost before she could walk to play with these soft furry pommie toys. She though her world of Pomdon was the best and of course Mammy was only a step below Mommy, and that is why she called her that. Ashley would watch Mammy breed the dogs and her greatest desire was one day to be able to do that. She would go to a pen and pull out two poms (the only breed at the kennel) and take them and sit beside Mammy and hold them together and truly think she was copying her Mammy. What she did not realize is that she would have two boys or two girls. Now kids….it takes one daddy and one mommy to start a family. The same for dogs as it it for people.

When Ashley was 4 years old Mommy Melissa announced to Ashley that she was going to have a baby sister. She was so excited and happy when Mommy brought Kiersten home. She thought she would be able to play with her little sister. The baby was so little at first. All she wanted to do is eat, sleep and cry. Ashley was patient as she knew that she had to wait a couple of months to play with the puppies when they were born. There was a litter born about the time Kiersten was born so Ashley was timing it. She felt as soon as the puppies could be played with…her baby sister would be old enough to play with her. Now kids……puppies develop at a much faster pace than human babies.

Ashley was playing with the puppies one day and she knew they got milk from their mommies and Kiersten got milk from her mommy too. She tipped her cup of milk to let the puppies drink her milk. The puppies got a belly ache from this milk and had loose potty. Now kids…… never feed a dog or puppy the same food humans eat as some things affect them differently. In fact some things like chocolate can actually kill them.

One day Ashley was running around the yard with a puppy and he played so very hard with her. He was a tiny little boy but oh could he keep up with Ashley. That night he got really down and looked really sick. Mammy grabbed him and gave him some pumpkin because she realized his blood sugar was down and if not brought up to a good level he might die. Now kids…… when you play with a puppy don’t wear them out without replacing the calories they burned up. Remember they can play as hard as you but can’t eat as much to replace the energy used. We call this hypoglycemia or low blood sugar.

One day Mammy was bathing a girl pommie because she was going to have babies. Ashley asked Mammy why she was shaving Precious’ tummy and skirts from her rear quarters. Now kids……. When dogs are about to give birth it is good to shave the area on the belly so the puppies can get milk easier and not fight through the hair. Also you do not want them swallowing the hairballs.

One night a pommie mommy was digging frantically in some papers. Ashley called Mammy and said I think Precious is going to have babies tonight. Ashley got the thermometer and Mammy took her temperature to see. Now kids…..the normal temperature for humans is 98.6 degrees. The normal temperature for dogs is 101 to 102 degrees. When their temperature gets down close to a human temperature then they are going to have babies within hours.

Precious began digging frantically and then started breathing very hard. Ashley asked Mammy why Precious was panting….was she hot??? Now kids….. dogs have a way to control any pain they might be feeling by breathing in a panting way. It helps their pain not hurt so much to them.

Then Precious stopped panting and started hunching and her belly began to tighten up. “Mammy, what is Precious doing. Is she going potty in her bed??.” Now kids…… when the mommy is having her puppy and it get close to being born she will do this and try to push it right on out. It is natural and normal and nothing to worry about.

Mammy kept checking Precious and pretty soon she saw two little feet appear. She gave Precious a shot of calcium to help her push harder and pretty soon half the puppy was out. Mammy worked to help the little mommy get the puppy down and out. Now kids……. Once you see part of the puppy appear that means the pup is in the birth canal and time is very important that the puppy come out quickly or it may die before birth.

Ashley saw the puppy and said “ Oh Mammy she’s so cute but what is all that yucky stuff on her.” Mammy told her it was everything the puppy needed to survive before it came out in this world and breathed air for the first time. Now kids……. The puppies are in a sack of water before birth and they get everything they need in that sack from their mother. That is why it is so important to feed momma very good while she is carrying her babies. The better she eats, the healthier the babies will be when they are born.

Ashley was watching very closely this time and she saw Precious started to huntch up again. She knew another pup was on the was down. Mammy felt and sure enough she could feel a little head in the birth canal. Pretty soon a little head popped out but there was a whole bunch of water surrounding the puppy. Mammy hurried and used her nails to tear away the water sack off of the puppy. Out gushed all this clear water. Then Mammy grabbed a towel and started cleaning out the nose and mouth. “Mammy, what are you doing with that bulb?” Now kids…. Sometimes you need to actually suction out the nose and throat so the baby does not get that into their lungs.

As the puppy finally came out Mammy gently placed a towel around it and shook it upside down. Ashley cried out, “Mammy, don’t hurt the puppy.” Now kids….. sometimes a puppy will still inhale some of the water and it has to be forced from the lungs so it can breath.

Pretty soon Mammy was rubbing the puppy and it began to squeal, a little at first and then very loudly. “Is the puppy hurt, Mammy?” Ashley asked. Now kids…. This is a GOOD thing when they squeal. It helps expand their lungs and clear them out. The louder the squeal the better.

Mammy dried off the puppy and when she was sure it was breathing nicely she put it with the other baby in a heated bed. Now kids…….if a puppy gets chilled it can die. Puppies can not regulate or control their own temperature for the first week. The only heat they get is from Mommy or a heating element if they are lucky. Remember a chilled puppy is a dead puppy very soon. So they need to be kept warm.

Precious had two lovely babies…. A boy and a girl. Mammy cleaned her up and put her with her babies but Precious looked at them like GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!! She wanted nothing to do with them. Mammy put Precious on her lap and let the puppies suckle on her for awhile. Finally Precious realized these belonged to her and she started licking them. Now kids…….dogs can be like people. Some are natural at being mothers and others have to be taught to be good mommies.

The next morning Ashley got up very early. She was excited to see the new babies. “Mammy……oh yuck…..Precious is licking their booties. Make her stop, that is like nasty!!!” Now kids….there is nothing nasty here. A newborn puppy cannot potty on it’s own and need stimulation from the mother licking it to be able to potty. If mommy won’t do it the breeder must clean them off several times a day to potty them. They will get clogged up and die if this is not done.

Ashley was helping Mammy with the morning feedings and she put Precious’ food in the microwave with some real meat. “ Mammy, why is Precious getting special food??” Now kids…. Sometimes after a mommy has babies she doesn’t feel like eating so she has to be coaxed. If she does not eat well, she will not be able to make enough milk for her babies. The more she eats the more milk she makes.

Everyday Ashley would bound down the stairs to watch Precious with her babies. She just loved to do this. “Mammy, why are the puppies blind?? They can’t open their eyes.” Now kids……. Puppies, unlike human babies are born with their eyes closed shut. If they are opened too early they could be blinded because the light hurts their eyes. Usually they open their eyes at ten days to two weeks.

Ashley was amazed at how fast the puppies were getting their coats. At about four weeks they were getting up on their legs. “Mammy, why can’t Kiersten walk?? She was born a long time before these puppies and look they are walking around.” Now kids….. dogs develop at a much different rate than humans. When a dog is a year old it is more like 14 in human years and then after that it is about 6 years dog life to one year of human life.

At about 6 weeks old Ashley noticed one of the puppies was jumping at right up there to be picked up and the other stood further in the pen and waited to be invited for a petting. Once she got her petting she was happy too. Now kids…… dogs can be as individual as kids and adults. We all have different personalities. One is no better than the other. Just individuals, expressing our feelings in different ways, the best way we know how.

When the puppies were 8 weeks old, a young couple appeared at the kennel wanting to adopt one of them. The little boy was bounding around and making his presence well know…strutting his stuff. And yet, the couple was taken by the little girl. She had such a shy demure way about her that they just wanted to hold and cuddle her. They wanted to take her home. Ashley’s heart was broken to see one of her babies getting ready to leave. Mammy sat her down and told her how happy that little puppy was going to make that couple and how happy that puppy would be with so much love they would give her. Now kids……. Sometimes when we love someone or something we need to let go, not think only of ourselves, and allow the love we have poured into them to go with them…making the world a happier place……because of the love we growed and poured out lives on to make others happy.

Two weeks later Mammy asked Ashley if she wanted to go to the veterinarian with her to take in Precious’ puppy. Someone asked to pet the puppy and Mammy kindly asked them not to. Ashley wondered if Mammy was being mean by not letting them touch the baby pommie. Now kids…….. just like human children getting shots before they are allowed to go to school, dogs need their shots too so they don’t get sick. Some sickness’ can make them die so actually Mammy was trying to protect the puppy because he had not had all of his shots and if that person had something on their hands that could make the puppy sick she would feel very bad.

Everyday Ashley loved to go into the puppy room and play with the friskey puppy. One day she was playing tug of war and she found blood on the flossie. She ran to get Mammy. Something terrible must have happened to the puppy. She had not been rough housing with him . She was so worried. Mammy came in and took a look. She chuckled. “Ashley, looks like Pepe is losing some of his teeth, just like a little girl I know.” Now kids…… dogs lose baby teeth too and need lots of chewy toys to help them get rid of those loose teeth. If they don’t get them out by chewing, then the vet will have to pull them.

One day Kiersten was in the puppy room with Ashley and wanted to hold Pepe. Ashley put down a big blanket and sat her down and let her play with him on the floor because she was just too little to carry around a squiggly, squirmy puppy. Now kids…… if you happen to drop a puppy and he lands on his head it could hurt him very badly and it might even kill them. Play with them on the floor or sitting down.

Mammy put another puppy in with Pepe when his sister left and one day Ashley was watching them play. Two puppies with so much play in them. Why Pepe loved to play with that puppy almost as much as he loved playing with her. She got a little bit jealous about that. Now kids……. Sharing our love with others is a good thing but make sure you give them the freedom to enjoy the company of others too. It won’t affect how they feel about you at all. It may make them appreciate you even more.

One day a call came in and someone clear across the country wanted to adopt Pepe. “No Mammy…..not Pepe.” But it was no use. Mammy had already made all the arrangements and he was going to fly out on a big big plane. Mammy took Ashley to the airport to see Pepe off. Mammy says a little boy was waiting for Pepe and he had had some kind of an operation and Pepe would make him feel better. Ashley knew Pepe had a job to do and she would not stop him if she could. He licked her face goodbye for the last time and she kissed his wet little nose. Now kids…….animals have a way of helping us with our hurts and healing our bodies faster because of the pure joy they bring us. Real living is real giving.

On the way home Mammy told Ashley that she was going on a big plane herself soon. Because she was such a good girl in letting Pepe go, Mammy was taking her to Hawaii with her next summer. Ashley was so very happy, this little girl that had been so sad a few moments before. Now kids……. You never give up something but what something better may come along as a bigger blessing.

Mammy told Ashley to spell DOG backwards. She said G—O—D… Mammy that spells God’s name. Now kids……..Dogs give us unconditional love just like that great big God gives us. Also the dogs KNOW we will feed and take care of them. They trust us for everything, now should not we trust that same God for everything??

Mammy and Ashley got home from the airport and Melissa announced “Looks like we’re going to have puppies today.” Ashley thought…. Another set of puppies to love and send out that love to others before we leave for Hawaii this summer. Oh life is good here at our Pomeranian Paradise. Now kids….don’t you wish you had the kind of toys that don’t wind up or need batteries like Ashley??