“Like Mother like Child”
First it was just one, followed by another and then another. We’re not
clear on why it happened, but since Sierra has been sleeping on her back in the
whelping box, more often than not, her mini-pack has been doing likewise. One
benefit of this sleeping position is that we can inspect everyone’s feet and
schedule them for their weekly pedicures. With their tiny little black paws
pointed skyward, we can hardly wait until they all start snoring in unison.
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| Miss Limoncello |
Since her pack mate Heidi who was about to have her own litter had
designs on moving into Sierra’s whelping box with a ready-made family, we
relocated Sierra and her family to the living room. Here she joins her good
friend Whitney who is already living there with her four week old flock. While
Sierra spends a good deal of her time in the whelping box with her puppies, she
now has the added freedom and flexibility of sharing the end of a sofa with
Whitney in the event she needs a power nap. The living room is a gateway to the
puppy run outside where some of our pack spend their leisure time. Fortunately
both Sierra and Whitney are not possessive and greet all visitors on their way
outside. In fact, both ladies have been observed doing surprise dorm
inspections on each other’s whelping boxes, so we’d best keep things as neat as
possible.
It’s a well-known fact that girls of all kinds excel at many things and
to this end, little Miss Limoncello was the first in her group to open her
eyes. At present, the puppies can only differentiate between light and dark,
but the haze they look through 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. Normally puppies will bellow whenever
they’re hungry, but Sierra keeps them so well fed with the all-day buffet at
their disposal that we barely hear a peep out of them.
Since their body temperatures will not have been regulated until after
week three, the little gang relies on mom and each other for warmth. We use a
heat lamp for good measure when mom’s on her break. As they lay there asleep, they are constantly
twitching. These involuntary actions, referred to as “activated sleep”, help
strengthen their leg muscles but fortunately they don’t have very far to go for
now.
That’s it for now, but be sure to join us next week for
another riveting installment of “Puppy Tales”.
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