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Jazz and Bailey’s Litter – Week Two


This week our eyes opened!

 “Peek-a-boo”


This was a big week for the puppies in many respects – the first of which is that their eyes opened. Miss Lemon was the first of the girls and Mr. Mint was the first of the boys. It’s not surprising in Mr. Mint’s case: since he’s always so hungry, we’re sure he felt he could find more food if he could see where he was going. This development had no effect on Mr. Apple as he continued to enjoy his meals splayed out on his back. At this stage, the puppies can only differentiate between light and dark through a kind of haze, but this will clear up very quickly over the next week or so as they begin to experience normal sight. They are able to hear quite well as soon as their ears have opened but it will take some time before the little ones can understand or relate to what it is they’re hearing.

Another highlight is the move of the whelping box from our bedroom to the living room down the hall. Now that the group is well established, mother Bailey takes advantage of her well-deserved leisure time by sleeping outside of the whelping box and tip-toeing back into it many times throughout the day and night to ensure her little clan is well nourished. To Bailey’s credit, some of the puppies have already tripled their birth weight and notwithstanding her new sleeping arrangements, she’s on call around the clock to tend to every whimper.

The puppies get a lot of practice sleeping and it’s fun to watch them. They nestle up to their siblings for warmth and security, sometimes in pairs or in groups of varying descriptions and sometimes in curious patterns, like the other day when their cluster formed a perfect pinwheel. Despite the fact that the little ones can be observed sleeping most of the time, they’re still getting a workout! As they lie there asleep, they are constantly twitching – a state known as “activated sleep”. These involuntary actions help strengthen their leg muscles. The net result is that they are now able to walk on all fours, however “stagger” would be putting it more aptly. This will surely pave the way for adventures down the road.

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

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow
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