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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”.
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