|
|
|
Last
Updated: Dec 11th, 2008 - 09:24:54 |
Though I’ve never had a dog that was expecting puppies, I have given birth to two human children. So while I don’t know what it’s like to witness the birth of a puppy, I do know first hand what it’s like to see your own child come into the world. For this article, I thought I might compare human and canine pregnancies and birth in honor of the woman of the month: MOM!
Gestation period – The average human pregnancy lasts for 42 weeks. That’s about nine months. During the first three months, human mothers will notice a slight change in stamina and may experience nausea. I was lucky enough to never have experienced “morning sickness” but I know a couple mothers who threw up all day and all night for all nine months. So anything goes. For dogs however, the average pregnancy lasts for 64 to 66 days (two months) and most canine mothers don’t experience any change in appetite, appearance or activity level for the first 40 days! Those moms I know who spent all that time throwing up probably wished they were dogs.
Nutrition – When I found out I was pregnant, my doctor immediately prescribed special vitamins. During the first pregnancy, my doctor advised that I cut down on the salt and cut out caffeine altogether. During the last month, he went so far as to limit my caloric intake because he said I was gaining too much weight! Never mind that I was carrying a 10-pound child. I think he was trying to kill me. Canine mothers don’t have to follow any kind of special diet and in fact, should eat more meals toward the very end since their bodies can only hold so much food at one time. Veterinarians recommend several small meals during the later stages of a canine pregnancy. Vitamins, they say, can be detrimental to a pregnant dog’s health.
Labor – There have been numerous books telling women what to expect when they go into labor but none of them can quite tell you what it’s really like. And no two women are going to ever have the same labor experiences. For the first child they tell you to expect labor to last for hours; perhaps days. Mine first son was born eight hours after I experience what I thought might be a contraction. The second one took his time and doctors had to induce labor when I was two weeks past my due date. For dogs, the birthing process is quite different. Labor consists of three stages. The first stage, passing a puppy through the birth canal, can last between six and 24 hours. And that’s just for one pup. Figure the average healthy bitch carries between three and six puppies; the poor dog could be in labor for an entire week! This is one instance where I think humans get the better deal.
They’re Here! – Once she’s done giving birth to all her puppies, a mother dog will vigorously lick them all to clean off all the mucous. Yeah…humans don’t do that. There are plenty of able-bodied nurses standing nearby in the delivery room to scoop up the newborn baby and immediately wipe off all the goo, suction the mucous out of its mouth and wrap it in a blanket. Oh yeah…the mother dog usually eats the puppy’s placenta too. Let’s not even go there.
Newborns – Immediately after her puppies are born and after they’re all clean and dry, a mother will lie down and let her puppies nurse. Human mothers more or less do this too, assuming they’re opting for nursing over bottle feeding. Of course, as I mentioned before the nurses take care of all the cleaning and messy stuff. Most people are probably familiar with maternal instincts and how canine mothers will risk their own lives to protect their babies. I wonder though, does the canine mother actually experience the sheer emotional bliss when she first sets eyes on her new babies? One look at each of my newborn sons and I was in love.
Bringing up baby – The average puppy learns to walk, albeit a little unsteadily at first, within a very short time after it’s born; usually a couple weeks. Human children don’t usually start walking until they’re about a year old. Canine puppies, although they like to chew, aren’t terribly destructive. They stay close to their mothers and spend a lot of time sleeping and playing with their siblings. Once my children became mobile, my house became a fortress. All cabinet doors had those little plastic things on them to prevent them from being opened. Anytime I wanted to go from one room to another, I had to step over a three-foot high gate. Keeping anything on a shelf lower than one foot off the ground was out of the question.
Leaving the nest – After about eight weeks, most puppies are taken from their mothers and adopted into new families. Mother dogs, after the absence of even one of her litter, will spend days sniffing around, looking for her missing puppy. At eight weeks my children were just beginning to show signs of being real people. I can’t even imagine losing them at that age. Human children spend an average of 18 years living at home before they go off to college or into the workplace. Human mothers spend eighteen years cooking meals that are met with disapproving grimaces, schlepping to little league practice, sorting dirty laundry and applying band-aids. As a mother of two sons 14 and 23, who are still leaving trails of clothing and dirty dishes through my living room, I’m thinking eight weeks might not be such a bad deal after all.
Top
of Page
|
|
|
|
