With their eyes open now, pups begin to explore their environment
Pups seem to grow overnight! They are beginning to notice each other and want to play together. All are walking better even if they still tend to tumble now and again. Deja continues to be a good mommy keeping close tabs on the pups although is now spending some time away from them, but never too very far away.
Looking forward to meeting everyone soon at the “puppy party”! No worries if you can’t make it, we will set another date so that everyone has the chance to play with the puppies!
Definitely a “milk coma” here! Those are some full bellies!
Green Boy: Our First Escapee! (Panel has now been added to keep pups from falling out of the box and getting lost!)Aww… LOVE this shot (and this is how I found them!) So Sweet!
I love how the pups are noticing each other and beginning to “play” with each other. This is the beginning of great socialization between littermates that everyone will need to continue when puppy goes home.
Puppy is thinking… When you leave this box, Mom, I’m coming with you!
It’s amazing what sleep can do for a person! Thinking straight is a biggy! For the folks who realize I am cross-posting, please understand I just don’t want “puppies” to get buried in “other stuff”! Literally and figuratively!!
So, we have 9 puppies: 5 girls and 4 boys! I couldn’t ask for a better break down of sexes! Mom and puppies are all doing well; pups are healthy and CHUNKY! Pups were marked with “vet wrap” at the vet clinic after being weighed; first thing coming home is to change their collars.
The boys:
Blue: 1 lb
Black: 1 lb 0.6 oz
Purple: 15 oz
Green: 15.2 oz
The girls:
Hot Pink: 1 lb 0.6 oz
Lime Green: 12.4 oz
Red: 14.8 oz
Yellow: 13.0 oz
Orange; 12.2 oz
Pups will be weighed every day for the first week then weekly thereafter. As an aside, I really like these new collars I bought for this litter. They are made out of parachute cord in bright, different colors. They expand as the puppies grow and include a matching set for when pups are much larger. I’ve tried several different ways of “marking” pups over the years and so far, I really like these new collars!
We sleep with mom and puppies for at least the first week to make sure there are no problems. It is easy for a puppy to get on the “back side” of mom and have problems finding their way back to the “milk bar”. That is where we come in… we “fly them” to the front side. Yeah, sleep is a valuable commodity around here with all the squeaks from the babies throughout the night! And for those not used to raising puppies, the “pig rails” on the side of the box protect puppies from being laid on. There is space under the rails that they fit under that mom does not. Even the best mom in the world can lose track of a wandering puppy!
It took a while for Deja to wake up from anesthesia from her C-section. Poor girl wakes up groggy to 9 squeaky puppies! Before leaving the vet office, we made sure every puppy nursed from mom that does a few things. 1. It stimulates the maternal instinct in Deja and 2. each puppy receives colostrum from mom that boosts their immunity. Again, for those who may not know, puppies are not born with any immunity; they get it from mom first starting with that colostrum.
For folks “on my list”, I haven’t had a chance to go back to see who wanted what gender. And I need to make sure these puppies will be a right match for the lifestyle each person described in their questionnaire. Right now, my priority is Deja and the puppies; more info forthcoming as soon as mom and pups are taken care of!
Deja is a good mom; her maternal instinct immediately recognizes her babies.Belly up to the milk bar; a common position for the next several weeksLOVE the pigment several of these pups were born with! Orange Girl before burying her head look for a snackYellow girl resting on Deja’s legHot Pink GirlWhen mom needs a break, pups are placed on a heating pad until she returnsLime Green Girl amongst her siblingsI LOVE this shot to show a comparison in size! Blue boy plowing his way through the pile! (Note: turquoise collar puppy has been changed.)LOVE the width of this puppy’s “back skull”! Pups lie in all sorts of positions; definitely a “puppy pile”!
I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos; there will be more 🙂 Off to take care of all of the dogs! I hope everyone has a Golden Day!