Welcome Puppy #2 Master Red :o)

Two hours on the dot from the minute pup #1 arrived (I was almost worried), Kenya started active contractions again.  Twenty-five minutes after that she delivered her whopping pup #2.

Weighing in at 1 pound 0.5 ounces (16.5 ounces), the second pup to arrive is a healthy black boy, now officially Master Red.

He's a full ounce heavier than his firstborn brother, and he's been more vocal since his very first breath (a breath, by the way, that he took while the rest of his body was still working its way into this world).  His was a little trickier delivery (sac already ruptured; head and one leg protruding; kinda stuck there for a few a contractions), but after a few stressful moments, and a hearty yip from Kenya, he made his way all the way out of his mother's birth canal.

Master Red's airway and lungs seem fine, and he's very vocal (I love the "whale song" of neonates; we'll try to get a video up as soon as we can). He's nursing well (able to suckle), but not as vigorously as Master Blue (I have to remember that Master Blue has two hours of in-this-world experience on his younger brother).  All is well, though.  It's all within "normal" whelping standards.

That is, except for the pup size. Technically, they say that average Lab pups weigh between 13 oz and 15 oz at birth. Less is a little light; more is a little big.

Because this litter is smaller in number than Kenya's last, I'm not surprised the pups are a little bigger (more room to grow in utero, less competition for nutrients). And they're within an ounce of each other by weight, so they're developmentally where they should be relative to each other.

Kenya has whelped them both successfully (albeit with a little more difficulty than with her first litter).  So we're optimistic for the rest of her process.

So far so good.

Here are a few more pics of the boys. Notice the length of Master Red's toenails (he's without a ribbon in the first two pictures, and that's my white-gloved hand holding him up to Kenya's teat). And notice Master Red's milk mustache. Pretty good for his first nursing experience (and a good indicator that Kenya's milk is abundant).

The boys are "singing" as I write this.

And since we know for certain that there is at least one other pup in there we'll be waiting expectantly.


Stay tuned!

Joan