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| Feeling stuffed and sleepy after a nourishing meal! |
“On the Road Again”
Now that her mastitis is under control, Skye and her new family were relocated to the living room from our bedroom this week which is a pretty regal deal for mom. She’s got both a sofa and a love seat to stretch out on, not to mention some carpeting and some sections of cool wood flooring for lounging. There’s also a walkout to the backyard for private bathroom breaks or birdwatching. Skye didn’t bat an eye about being transplanted - she knew this was a good deal.
With their vision established beyond simply being able to detect light, dark and movement, the puppies are becoming increasingly curious about their surroundings and each other. They are beginning to get acquainted with their littermates and can often be seen standing in a group gently colliding or rubbing their noses and heads against one another whether awake or asleep. This is the beginning of a key period for the puppies as they are developing rudimentary social skills. They are testing each other’s limits and learning the difference between hard and soft biting and they also take turns sleeping at the top and bottom of the sibling pile.
The gang had their first raw feeding of hormone and antibiotic-free meat with organic vegetables, pro-biotics, vitamin supplements including vitamin C, bovine colostrum and Puppy Gold for eye and immune system development, goat’s milk and plain yoghurt to supplement the feedings they get from their mom. Once their food supply was depleted, the puppies stood around licking each other’s faces to clean up every last morsel. Skye continues to do her due diligence in keeping the puppies topped up. When they’re not getting drinks from their mom, they have a bowl of water at their disposal to help keep them hydrated. And yes, these pups are getting huge!
In order to accommodate the puppies’ rapid growth, we’ve had to raise the pig rails in their box up a notch. These are rails around the inside of the whelping box that are there to help prevent mom from accidentally squishing one of her kids if they settle in behind her. At some point during the coming couple of weeks, the rails can safely be removed altogether. Since the puppies are getting adept at staggering around, an extension will be added to the box very soon which will give the gang lots more room to play in and that’s when the real fun begins!
That’s it for now but be sure to join us next week for another nail-biting instalment of “Puppy Tales”.
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