Gaining Weight, Stoker's Drinking Problem and Scheduling Appointments

All of the pups have passed the one pound mark as of yesterday (12/18). We'll continue to weigh them daily for another week, then weekly after that.

Yesterday, I worked all day while Jan minded the house and dogs (he was waiting for the cable guy too). None of our dogs drink all that much water on a routine basis. Since they are fed a raw diet, they get lots more liquid in their diet than kibble fed dogs, so it's not usually a concern. Stoker hasn't upped her water intake since she has had the pups, and that is a minor problem. I've been plying her with a lactating bitch supplement and chicken broth to get her to drink enough. If she doesn't drink enough fluids, she can't make enough milk for the pups.

At one point after I got home from work the pups were nursing and ran out of milk before they ran out of appetite. Guessing that she might be a little dehydrated, I pushed some of the "yummy" fluids that she likes and within a short period of time she had plenty of milk again. I'll have to hit the grocery store today to stock back up on evaporated milk and low sodium chicken broth as we're going through it like crazy.

Before they go to their forever homes, the pups will have lots of appointments for vaccinations, eye exams, temperament tests, etc. Although it is too far in advance to schedule many of these appointments, I have already e-mailed nationally acclaimed puppy evaluator and AKC judge Pat Hastings to set up an appointment for the pup's structural evaluation when they are older. We're fortunate that Pat lives in Aloha, Oregon and is very accessible to us. Pat likes to do the evaluations as close to their 8 week birthday as possible, and since her schedule is quite busy it pays to schedule with her well in advance.