Bella and Hudson's Puppies - One Week Old!

Bella is such a fantastic mum!

It seems hard to believe that a whole week has passed since Bella and Hudson’s little ones were born. Time has just flown by for us - perhaps not so much for Bella. She’s such an attentive mum, staying in the whelping box with her puppies, leaving them only briefly for the occasional bathroom break. The other day, we started out on a short walk with Bella in the yard. After about a minute, she darted back toward the door in a panic. Apparently we were not walking back fast enough for she kept running back and forth as if to imply: “Hurry up! My babies need me !”.

We spend most of our days just sleeping and cuddling!

Puppies are born without sight or hearing, however they are able to detect light. For now, their sense of smell is what guides them to mum! They crawl around using swimming-like movements, propelled mostly by their tiny forelimbs and a good deal of determination.

Despite lacking their sight and their hearing, the puppies are definitely born with voices. As they wake up from their naps, one after the other, their tiny voices build to a crescendo like a choir, announcing that it’s dinner time once again. One or two of them have even discovered their little barks, however tiny.

Bella does a great job caring for each and every one of them and she regards us very intently as we take each baby over to the scale for its daily weigh-in. Most of the puppies have almost doubled their birth weight. They have huge appetites and always seem to either be at the milk bar or paddling their way up to it! Quite enviably, they spend most of their day napping and suckling. The boys are occasionally overzealous and try to hog the milk bar. They attempt to nudge the girls out of their way, so we monitor their time nourishing as we don’t want anyone missing out!

Next week will be even more exciting as their eyes begin to open and they become a little more mobile. We look forward to the weeks ahead as these little buds continue to blossom.