15 and a Half Days Old
Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 10:28AM They turn 16 days old tonight and by Sunday they will be really moving as they will turn 3 weeks Sunday night. It happens faster than you think.
Click on Photo for Larger View
Click on Photo for Larger ViewPups are gaining less now. They are all over a pound. Why less? They are expelling more energy by trying to walk, rollover and start the play process. By 3 weeks you will see more extensive play and by 4 weeks they will be full out playing in a rudimentary sense. Meaning their skills improve as they get older and as they attempt. It is how they learn. So far the mostly white gal is strongest on her legs.
They are now eating every 2.45 hours to 3 hours. So, I am getting a tad more sleep. It takes 15 minutes to 25 minutes to finish the feeding process. We do an outside potty break and crawl back on the couch and try to fall back to sleep quickly for the next feeding. My goal is by the time Nathan is back from the fishing trip on Sunday that Dennis is back on night time duty. They will be older, will have eyes open and can find the milkbar without protecting slots. We shall see. Right now the mostly white gal is 4 ounces less than the siblings. It doesn't sound like a lot but she doesn't push the others out of the way to get her feeding station like her siblings do. She seems to be a polite one.
Each day I clean the bedding at least twice, weigh the pups in the morning and at night and sometimes inbetween if they aren't gaining sufficiently in my mind. Nathan calls it the OCD in me. I call it the making sure everyone does well and if that takes protecting the pups from assertive siblings, so be it even if it means less sleep. Proper nutrition is important. This is me being responsible for beings I brought into the world.
Thanks goes to the Duncans and Coops who is visiting for the extra soft blankets. These pups LOVE soft. I put something in semi rough and they don't like it. So, we really appreciate this!
When Jeannie came off antibiotics we had some loose stools and belly aches. I used a smidge of gripe water and that seemed to help that. This happens over days when the antibiotics get out of mom's system. If mom has the start of mastitis it is a must but it does give them upset tummies either during dosing or as they come off of them. It is a consistent thing that I have experienced as their system is not yet fully developed. Momma's tummy is upset with antibiotics too and a grumbling gassy mom means the same for pups. But as I said short lived and a must. We finally are back to solid stool and no grumbling tummies in mom or pups. Upset tummies in pups means they don't want to eat. Gripe water actually got them eating the next feeding and passing gas.
You couldn't tell as they still managed to sleep. Momma stimulated them to get their system going and they are now at the point that they are mature enough that they do not need stimulation to go. It usually goes hand in hand with ears and eyes opening.
By the way the last puppy opened her eyes wide and then squinted them back up. I must laugh. She is the MOST laid back being there is. They are open more than not now though.
Here are some videos taken in the wee hours to this morning.
Barely moving but if you watch close you do see movement - sleep twitches etc
Reader Comments (3)
Darlah, I can see how you get so attached to them. They are just lovely. I can't get enough of the videos of the pups trying to walk, so precious. I am attached to them from watching all the videos and I bet I'm not the only one. By the way, I think there is a typo in the url for 'rollover time'.
Typo fixed. Had 2 urls in there. That's what you get when you are tired. :-) They are precious!
I agree with Angela, I watch the videos over and over too.... you can really see how much they are developing each day,,, we are counting the days until we can see them... thank you for your constant love and attention to all the doggies.. shame all dog breeders aren't as attentive and caring as you and Nathan...