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Whitney and Jazz’s Litter – Week Two

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Mr. Raven




“Movin’ on Up”



We should have known this was coming. Now that Whitney’s mini pack has settled in, like so many before her, mom decided that she would like to trade up her living quarters (in her opinion) for something of her own choosing. On one particular bathroom break, Whitney excavated a corner of the dog run; rocks, dirt and all, to the extent that we were almost inclined to rent a backhoe to fill it all back in. After escorting Whitney out on subsequent breaks to police her activities, she soon abandoned that endeavour. We, on the other hand did have plans to move Whitney’s group out of the bedroom and into the library. Since we were expecting Sierra’s litter, we set up another whelping box there, hauled Whitney and her family down to it, but again, Whitney had other ideas. Despite her puppies being situated in the library, Whitney with a silent protest, insisted on returning to the bedroom because that’s where she felt the most comfortable. We relented and brought the whole works back into the bedroom which is now adorned with two whelping boxes.



Whitney is an extremely dedicated mom and seldom leaves her puppies day or night; their plump, round bodies are a testament to that. 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 lie there asleep, the puppies are constantly twitching. These involuntary actions, referred to as “activated sleep”, help strengthen their leg muscles allowing them to stagger along on all fours like sailors on shore leave.



The big news this week is that the puppies have opened their eyes. At this stage, they can only differentiate between light and dark, but the haze will clear up very quickly over the next week or so as they begin to experience normal sight. They can hear quite well as soon as their ears have opened. Now that they’re being so well fed with the all-day buffet that Whitney has provided, they’re a little quieter at night. That, of course was one of the conditions we gave Whitney in allowing her to remain in the bedroom.



That’s it for now, but be sure to join us next week for another riveting installment of “Puppy Tales”.
Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

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