Skip to main content

Heidi and Hudson’s Litter – Week Five


We are a cute bunch!


“The Drive-Through”


A big step for the puppies this week is their transition to more solid food, which coincides with Heidi’s dream of an early retirement. It seems that mom has limited her contribution to something akin to a drive-through milk wagon. The puppies are drinking more water now as well to keep themselves hydrated. This transition is a welcome change for us too, since this group is one of the messiest eaters on record requiring countless baths and wipe-downs. Boasting plump bellies, the puppies are weighing seven pounds on average. That in itself is starting to become a bit of a workout when we pick them up. And that happens to be frequently since they love to be held and cuddled, with many falling asleep in our arms.

The gang is becoming increasingly more curious about their surroundings and about the large humans in their midst. There’s no more sneaking up on them as they react to every sight and sound. This is the beginning of the most influential socialization period for the puppies. They wag their tails to us and to each other. They are even displaying affection toward the little toys we’ve given them. The puppies are entertaining some of their future forever family visitors and they’re making friends with some of the rest of the pack. Our Sierra, Bailey and little Surrey have taken a keen interest in the little ones and waste no opportunity to try to squeeze into the puppy area for some playtime.

Since the weather is still a little cold for outdoor activity, the group now has access to the foyer, a.k.a. the gymnasium:  a 350 square foot space where they can enjoy their favourite leisure activities. Mostly these include various forms of gymnastics such as running, sliding, catapulting, tumbling and bouncing – usually off one another. Others just like to run around in circles until they topple over, while in the group sports department, there is usually a game of tag team wrestling or football without the ball underway. Once the weather warms up, we are looking forward to engaging the puppies is some forms of winter sports outside and we’re certain to be entertained in the process.

That’s it for now, but be sure to join us next week for another enthralling installment of “Puppy Tales”.



Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Ruly and Tulip Litter - Week 1

Ruly and Tulip Litter - 1 Week Old What a week it's been! The Tulip puppies continue to thrive, gaining weight steadily and remaining fairly quiet. Tulip dotes on her family, rarely straying far from the whelping box. As you can see on the 24/7 camera, she is starting to spend a bit more time outside the box, but she consistently checks on her babies. Tulip currently eats around 4 pounds of food per day, along with calcium and pre-probiotics supplements. As her pups grow, her daily food intake will be gradually increased, reaching 5 - 6 pounds per day by the time the pups are about 7 weeks old. This increased caloric intake is necessary to meet the energy demands of milk production and to maintain Tulip's own body condition. Tulip still believes an outdoor den would be best for her pups, so we are monitoring her closely when she ventures out. The whelping box is lined with padded bedding and clean, white bleached towels on the bottom. The white towels allow us to quickly spot a...
2 comments
Read more

Ruly & Tulip Litter - Week 2

Many viewers of the 24/7 puppy camera have raised questions, such as what are the pipes running alongside the whelping box. These are called "pig rails" and they are designed to protect the puppies from their mother accidentally lying on them, ensuring the puppies' safety.  Since the puppies are unable to regulate their own body temperature, we use a heat lamp over the whelping box to keep them warm when Tulip is outside the box. However, we turn the heat lamp off when she is nursing the puppies. By 3 to 4 weeks of age, the puppies can regulate their temperature, which should then be in the normal range of 100.5°F to 102.5°F (38°C to 39.3°C). The most significant event this week is that the puppies' eyes have opened. Mr. Devil's eyes (the one with the red collar) were the first to open. Each puppy followed and within 48 hours they had all opened.  The puppies are now weighing almost 3 lbs, and Tulip provides them nourishment at least every 2 hours, often throughou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ruly & Tulip Litter -Week 3

Three Weeks of Puppy Love: Tulip's Little Ones Are Growing Fast! Our "Spanish" Halloween litter is now 3 weeks old! As they enter their 4th week, we're seeing even more changes. The puppies are much steadier on their four paws and are actively walking around, as you can observe on our 24/7 camera. Mom Tulip continues to provide nourishment every few hours. Tomorrow, we'll introduce the puppies to their first solid food - a mix of pure turkey, ground bone, organ and muscle meat, along with goat's milk. This will be a communal feeding, and while the puppies may not know exactly what to do at first, they quickly devour the meal once they've had a taste. We'll start with one feeding per day and gradually increase to three times daily over the next few days. They'll continue on this three-times-a-day schedule until around 6 months of age, when we'll transition to twice-daily feedings. Mr. Broomstick cuddling with momma❤️ In other updates, the puppie...
1 comment
Read more