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| Mr. Coal |
Despite the fact that he volunteered to be first out, Mr. Coal may have had some second thoughts on his way through the birth canal since he needed a little assistance with his extraction. The remainder of Whitney’s labour was relatively uneventful as one by one, her puppies popped out. Miss Candy Cane was close behind, followed by Mr. Sugar Cookie, Mr. Plum Pudding, Miss Mistletoe, Mr. Cinnamon Twist, Mr. Snowball and finally Mr. Shining Star. All of the puppies made their debut in and around the one pound mark. Whitney embraced motherhood with tremendous zeal. As several of the puppies were attached to the milk bar busily nursing, Whitney was licking them with such enthusiasm that they were flopping up and down like little marionettes. We were doing our utmost to keep the newborns dry and warm while Whitney was taking us to task by cleaning and stimulating them until they were all drenched again.
Apart from nourishment, a mom’s milk contains antibodies vital to the puppies’ survival for the first several weeks of their lives. Whitney proved to be very magnanimous as a mother, spending virtually every waking and sleeping moment in the whelping box nursing her youngsters. This allowed them to double in weight toward the end of the first week. For the first few days, all of Whitney’s own meals were delivered there so she could enjoy breakfast in bed with her flock. She needed a great deal of coaxing to come out of it for her bathroom breaks which were very brief. As the week wore on, Whitney relaxed a little and periodically jumped up on our bed to get a little cuddle or two before returning to work.
We weigh the puppies at least twice daily for the first week to ensure that everyone is getting equal access to the milk bar. Whitney watched us very carefully and even whimpered as we picked up a puppy to take it to the scale. If the process took too long for her liking, she would rush to the scale and escort each puppy back to the warmth and safety of the whelping box. It’s inevitable that at some point in time, a puppy is going to make a break for it, but it usually doesn’t happen during the first week. In this instance, Mr. Cinnamon Twist made a wrong turn and ended up on the carpet outside the whelping box. Since we’d witnessed the episode, he was promptly returned to the custody of his mom.
Newborn puppies are unable to regulate their own body temperature and for the first three weeks, their temperature climbs one degree until it reaches the normal range. When mom is on her break, we use a heat lamp to keep everyone warm and cozy, but when mom’s around, they’ll either snuggle up with her or lay intertwined with their siblings. As the song goes, “love the one you’re with”.
That’s for now, but be sure to join us next week for another beguiling installment of “Puppy Tales”
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