Greta’s puppies are 2 weeks old
So, the puppies are two weeks old yesterday. They are huge. I know I haven’t had pups in the house for a year but I don’t remember them being so big so young. And these little ones are already trying to walk! It is so cute to see them wobbling around, bumping their noses on the ground as they toddle about. All of them have their eyes opened to little slits, which is why there are no photos today – the room is too dark to take pictures without using the flash, and the flash isn’t safe for their newly opened eyes. There will be more photos soon though!
On Saturday, I noticed one of the females was sounding really stuffy and coughing. Then by Sunday night all of them had it, but not Greta. By Monday, it seemed one of them was getting better and today, two of them seem to have fought it off. I’ll keep watching them closely but so far it seems they are shaking this on their own, with Greta’s help. I sure would like to avoid of repeat of what happened with Willow‘s pups! She and her 8 pups all had a severe case of kennel cough when the pups were only 3 days old. I had to bring the entire litter into the vet’s office. Once we got home, Willow refused to nurse them. Totally rejected them, didn’t clean them or care for them. It was awful and scary for me. I ended up, I’m sort of embarrassed to say, literally restraining her about 4 times a day to let her pups nurse. It was stressful for both of us but finally, after three days of that her mothering instincts kicked back in and she finished off her duties properly. Never again will I do that though. If a vet needs to see a litter of pups under 5 weeks of age again, I’d make sure they did a house call.
Anyway, it seems that we are out of that particular woods. I’ll keep you posted. Pictures soon, and some video of their wobbly attempts at walking.
And anyone out there have any suggestions for names? One of Chloe’s puppies adoptive moms (Karen with Jackson) suggested the following names: Elsa, Trina, Amelia and Delia for the females and Fritz for the male. I like the October themed German names to go with Greta.
Puppy news and names
So, they are barking like crazy right now! My son LOVES playing with this group and I must say that I’m really enjoying them as well. As long as they don’t infect my home and family with ringworm, this will be easy sneezy! Really, I had no idea how much work I was doing when I fostered entire litters with their mama. Three puppies are so easy to handle, they make a small mess – especially these dogs, they are tiny compared to what I’m used to, and they don’t completely overwhelm you with snapping mouths when you sit down. Really, this is fine. I could do this all year round! Except, puppy poop does smell rather stinky. Don’t like that so much.
Ryan and I are arguing over names. I like the names for the leads in the TV show I Carly: Freddy, Sam, and Carly. The names are cute and fit their personalities well. Ryan wants names like “Anealduln” (for real, he’s been after me for an entire year to name a puppy that – his own made up name), Crusty, Wet Head, Crazy, Bitey, Barky, Ice Cream, Miss Puppy, Ruffy, Missy, Cutie … sigh. He was the one to name past puppies “Chocolate Cookie Wrinkly Face, and Madame Puffykins.
It is clear that these puppies miss their mama terribly. When they saw my adult dogs they started crying frantically and trying to get through the baby gate we have set up. It was really sad for me to see because I really like how nature works – how when I raise the litters, by the time they all leave they are done with their mamas and really don’t react much to her. It tells me that this group was separated from their mama far too early. For whatever reason, she wasn’t part of their lives for as long as they needed her. I am hoping that they are clear of ringworm and that I can bring my own dogs in to help them remember that side of themselves. For now, they are learning how to play with kids, how to come when called, and how to keep away from the mop.
