Tasha's Mother's Day Present

"She's beginning to whelp." I watched as the red Alaskan Husky tried to squat and push the puppy out of her. Tasha, one of my lead sled dogs, mated with her partner, Ed, some 63 days before and carried the pups to full term. She continued to walk back and forth as if trying to defecate, but instead out popped a puppy. On his head; getting dragged in the dirt.

I didn't want her to whelp in her pen, but Tasha had other ideas. She refused to give birth inside, deciding that a warm day in the Rocky Mountains in May was far better than the cozy whelping box I set up. Even so, I brought her inside and cleaned off the little gray and red husky that looked more like a rat than a pup.

For a forty-four pound dog, she gave birth to five one pound puppies. The second, a dark-gray male got stuck and didn't survive, but the three pups after him, two males and a female, came out easily. The pups looked more like their dad, but had their mom's red coloring. My husband and I named them Junior, Rowdy, Yukon and Sweetie after their looks and temperament. Or, so we thought.

Mama Tasha

After whelping, Tasha immediately laid down and nursed the little pups. They looked so huge next to her swollen nipples that it was hard to believe they could've come from her. I quickly learned how fastidious Tasha was, carefully licking each puppy clean, and then licking them again for good measure. She seemed positively content to have them there and spent her time cuddling with her pups.

Although she was a very protective mother, she knew both me and my husband, and allowed us to change the bedding and clean up, as well as pick up the pups. When we brought the pups to the vet, we brought her along. I had my husband take her outside while the veterinarian removed the declaws. Tasha came back in, concerned, but her pups were already asleep and we let her cuddle up to them. When she looked up, she gave me a very pointed look. "Mine," she said. "I know you were messing with them."

Momma Knows Best

The next several weeks proved interesting. I had heard that dogs "correct" their young, but Tasha never showed anything but affection and tenderness for her pups. Not once did I see a correction or a negative behavior towards her pups. When she was tired of them, she just hopped out of the whelping box. Within two to three weeks, the little pups were munching on her food and she was loathed to nurse them. I started feeding the pups and at four weeks, kept Tasha away for a few days, so that she could dry up. When that happened, I brought her back to them and she was thrilled. Suddenly she had puppies to enjoy and have to deal with their needle-sharp teeth.

By six weeks, they were tearing up the house and demanding to go out. Tasha and the pups went into her old house where she began the fine art of teaching them to be puppies. Tasha was all about playing and having fun '" not discipline, as you might expect. Her puppies were her pride and joy, and throughout her life, she enjoyed running with them. She never gave up a chance to give them'"or me'"a good face washing.