More and Less

Things that are less when there are newborn puppies in the house:

• sleep!
• walks and entertainment for the other dogs (Chili is quite put out over all the fuss over the new arrivals!)

Things that are more:

• laundry! lots of towels and doggy bedding to wash and the rug under the whelping box gets swapped out every day and washed
• meals for Ecko - we are pushing as much food into her as she will eat, gearing up for needed calories as the pups get older and drink larger quantities of Mama's milk
• record keeping - pups are weighed twice daily and results recorded to make sure everyone is gaining
• electric bills - space heater runs on and off all night along with hot pad under whelping box to keep puppies toasty warm.  Pups don't regulate their body temperature completely until they are several weeks old.



Ranger uses his sibling as a headrest.

• coffee

 Usually our litters "hit the ground running" and begin gaining weight immediately.  This crew had us a bit worried because they lost a bit of weight the first 24 hours (very common) and then bounced up and down a bit for the next day or so.  We suspect it was because they were born several days before their actual due date, so were perhaps not as strong as they might have been.  They are all gaining nicely now and we are starting to relax a bit.

Cabots nose showing black pigment starting to come in already.

We usually remove dewclaws on our pups, but decided not to this time, mainly in order not to stress the pups (or ourselves!) out any more.  This is considered an elective procedure and last year's litter fussed and cried for 24 hours after their dews were removed.  We just can't face that this year!  Not removing the dewclaws will mean two more nails to clip on the front legs, but also possibly better ability to grasp objects being chewed and traction on an agility course. 

 Kiwi (red, female), Jasper (light blue, male), Hank (no collar male), Capri (light green, female), Pixie (pink, female), Fargo (dark blue, male), Cabot (no collar, male), Ranger (orange, male), Gordo (dark green, male)