Skip to main content

Howie and Pepper Litter – Week Five

  

We're growing like weeds!


“All You Need is Love” 

Dogs are pack animals and their emotional well-being relies on the presence of their pack-mates, whether other dogs or humans. It underscores the need for love that we all experience. The dynamic in the whelping box is evolving. This is the beginning of the most influential socialization period for the puppies. They’re learning to communicate with each other and with us by wagging their tails. With the increased control over their facial muscles, they are making expressions and are beginning to reveal their personalities and communicate their opinions. They spend longer periods of time awake and they use it to engage in some manner of play with their siblings whether head butting or wrestling, awake or asleep. They’re also craving a lot of attention and affection and fortunately that’s something that’s not hard to provide.

 

This week we removed the pig rails from the main part of the whelping box. Now that the puppies are plumping up, they need a bit more space to allow them to pick up speed to scramble from end to end. One end now features sleeping quarters and the other end which has a tray filled with paper shredding that serves as their lavatory which is their first step toward house training. In addition, the pups now have gym memberships, an elaborate play station and numerous plush toys at their disposal. And when we were removing the pig rails from the whelping box, the group came to investigate with a perfect blend of caution and curiousity. This gave way to a great deal of hand nibbling and cuddling. In short, they’re making friends - both with us and each other, not to mention their little stuffed toys.

 

The gang is growing steadily and is now getting three meals a day. Their muzzles are lengthening and are beginning to look a bit more like the adults they will eventually become. Their emotions are becoming apparent too, so they whine to show fear, whimper if they’re hurt and bark when they are excited, want attention or are ready for dinner. And they seem to be ready for dinner a lot! Since the little ones are getting more accustomed to eating solid food, their food is being prepared a bit drier and they are drinking plenty of water to keep hydrated. Of course, Pepper still nurses the puppies to provide dessert and supplement their diet.

 

That’s it for now but be sure to join us next week for another regal installment of “Puppy Tales”.

 

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Storm and Chanel Litter 2021

Chanel - 49 Days (pre-parturition) Chanel does not appear to be slowing down, still running with the pack and getting into trouble with the rest of them. She did have a little extra winter weight, but it seems her pups have “grown” into her and she is looking good. She enjoys monitoring the perimeter of the yard for possible intruders and occasionally sounds the alarm for wild turkeys. She has a ferocious appetite, so we have broken her meals into three daily to hopefully satisfy her. She continues to eat a very well-balanced diet of antibiotic-free proteins which are rotated daily. She’s very fond of lamb and duck lately but is also having chicken, turkey, beef and pork. Each meal has a mixture of fruits and veggies to balance her diet. Chanel’s waistline now measures 33 inches or 83.8 cm.  Fetus at approximately day 39 By day 30, digestive and respiratory glands, muscles, bones, circulatory, genital and urinary systems, the skin and hair, the nervous system and all the puppy's se
Post a Comment
Read more

Howie and Pepper Litter – Week Two

Sleeping beauties! “I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up” At first glance, it may appear that the puppies spend all their time sleeping, but they also do their share of exercising. As they lay there asleep, they are constantly twitching. These involuntary actions, referred to as “activated sleep,” help strengthen their leg muscles and begin to build muscle mass. We’ve also added a rolled-up towel which serves two purposes. It acts as a barrier to place the pups behind when mom is entering or exiting the whelping box. It also creates an obstacle course that the puppies must climb over to help them get their muscles into shape. All was well until one day; we heard a persistent cry for help emanating from the whelping box. Upon further investigation, we discovered Mr. Supernova stuck on his belly atop the roll with all his legs flailing in mid-air. We’re sure his legs will be long enough in another couple of days. It’s always exciting for us when the puppies’ eyes open at around the 10-day mark
Post a Comment
Read more

Howie & Pepper Litter – Week One

  “Number Nine” Puppies are typically born in the middle of the night, but every now and again we catch a bit of a break. In fact, Pepper surprised us with a quick “deposit” of Miss Twilight (Purple) at 4:15 pm before we even had a chance to set up for the big event. In as much as we follow the science by taking temperatures, monitoring behaviour and stages of labour, we had to do a quick scramble. Her brother, Mr. Galaxy (grey) followed at 5:22 and so it went every thirty minutes of so for Miss Mars (Red), Mr. Martian (Green), Miss Milky Way (Beige), Miss Sunglow (Orange), Miss Comet (Yellow) and Mr. Supernova (Blue) at 8:15 pm. Pepper was dropping them out like a vending machine* so we were optimistic. And then we waited and waited and waited. It wasn’t until we carried out a procedure to “shuffle the deck” (dislodge a stuck puppy) that we were graced with the presence of “Number Nine” - Mr. Starry Night (Black) at 10:08 pm. Fortunately his sister Miss Moondust (Brown) capped off the
Post a Comment
Read more