Reine still lies down to nurse most of the time but she occasionally just sits and lets the puppies pile in and pile up to get to the nipples.
We’ve known, of course, that we have a litter of puppies, but now they truly look and act like little puppies!
A few days have passed since I’ve been able to post, but we’re back, still not sure what the glitch was with our web hosting. Kudos to the extraordinary Vu Lee for working with Host Gator to get us back on-line.
Changes have been notable since the weekend. The puppies eyes are almost completely open, they’re beginning to walk with some steadiness, they’re vocalizing a lot more, they’re engaging with each other a bit and even squatting to poop! They sometimes sit like dogs sit, too. The transformation is remarkable to witness. Many of their coats are darkening. We have noticed changes from morning to night.
The photos below is from last Friday. I’ll catch some images tomorrow and post some more up-to-date shots.
Biff began introducing the puppies to their first bottles last night and this morning. We had supplemented with some tube feeding prior to this, but now they’re ready for bottles. A few locked onto the nipples immediately and sucked away. Others took a little more encouraging to adapt to this new food source.
Here they are at 9 days old, eyes not yet open. Good morning puppies!
This is just one puppy’s weight gain from birth:
I graphed each of the puppies growth this morning, and their progress is easy to view this way. Another sign of their growth is that we needed just one of these plastic “tubs” to transport all 12 of them to the vet a week ago and now we need to use two containers when we transition them.
We’re going to try to get face shots in the next day or two.
I’d forgotten how quickly puppy development moves along. At one week we are already seeing the darkening of their coats, nails that are about ready for a first nipping and legs that are getting more coordinated in motoring these little pups around their living space. We’ve even seen a couple of them climb on top of Reine when she’s reclined nursing. Their puppy voices are fairly quiet, mostly little squeaks and whines with an occasional surprising yelp. So sweet!
One more post for today, one more peek at this growing gang of puppies.
They are nearly ferocious when they want to get to a teat and they hang on tight while they are nursing. We do a little refereeing to make sure that everyone gets a fair share (and a little supplemental feeding) and it’s working. All their weights are almost double what they were when they were whelped. They’re right on track.
Game for today: Can you spot all 12 puppies in the photo below? We count often, especially when Reine returns to the whelping box and lowers herself down to nurse. It’s easy for one or two to get stuck behind or under her and we count quickly to make sure everyone’s safely accounted for.
It’s a rainy Saturday morning and we’re all catching up on some sleep. Biff was on duty with Reine and the puppies from midnight to 7 AM while I slept, so now he’s sleeping and Reine is downstairs with him (where it’s cooler than the 85 degree heat the puppies need). The puppies do fine on their own for an hour or more. Many of them gravitate to the edges and corners of the whelping box where, we imagine, it feels more protected.
Meanwhile Chev, Finley and Xupe are already with Laura (one of our helpers), who will spend some time in the barn and backyard with them today. They’ve returned to sleeping in the house again, although downstairs and away from the puppies.
At just about 5 days old, the puppies nurse frequently and sleep most of the time in between. Then they scootch themselves around the whelping box to and from Reine, finding the places they’re most comfortable, often bumped up against a sibling. As they sleep they twitch and some make little squeaking sounds. The puppy just below didn’t even wake up for his weigh-in today.
