A milky puppy mess
Well, it seems Willow (formerly Daisy, formerly Angel too!) is not at all happy about the puppies teeth coming through their gums. She yelped when they latched on last night. So, since they are very mobile for 3 week olds and since she seems to want to end her mama duties sooner rather than later, I introduced them to some formula and BOY did they ever get into it! They, more than any other litter seem very ready to eat from a bowl. They finished each of the meals I’ve given them, although clean up takes as long as their eating does. They trash the room with milky puppy foot prints. And each of them are literally covered in milk. I am hoping they get better at it soon.
The classic milk mustache!
8 Tiny Puppies Nursing
As promised at the tail end of Mama Dog Gets a Bath, here we have an amazing video of eight 12-day old pups nursing their mama. TURN UP THE SOUND to hear all of the precious puppy grunts and slurps!
See this video and many other CanineFostering.com videos on YouTube.
Mama dog gets a bath
Well, today was SO hot that I figured if I bathed Sandy? Daisy? Angie? (still haven’t found a name right for her) outside she wouldn’t mind the cold water and she’d dry off in a snap. Plus I figured she’d like the time outside. Boy was she freaked out by the water! It could be that it was spraying at her from the hose (I tried to be gentle but there isn’t that gentle a way for one to spray another with a hose) or that it was cold, or that she’s never had a bath or a hose bath before – I’m not sure which it is. But once she realized that all I was doing was hosing her down and that she couldn’t get away from me, she submitted. It sort of was humbling to me, how dogs let us submit our will on them rather easily. Now I know what I was doing was for her own good and she ultimately seemed to really enjoy being clean (you know how dogs do that rubbing thing on the carpet once they’re clean? She was rubbing herself along the garage door!!) but it sort of hit me how I could have been doing anything to her and she would eventually give in. How trusting, and how sad that so many people betray that trust. It just really hit me today for some reason.
But anyway, hopefully she will be ok with her next bath and hopefully I didn’t teach her to be deathly afraid of them…I think not as, like I said, she clearly got into it after a bit. And it is nice to have her clean!! Birth is a yucky business and that first week continues to be a bit yucky. Add to that her bout of whipworm and the poop that goes a long with that, and her pups crawling all over her and THEIR loose stool and… well, you get the picture. The dog needed a bath. (more…)
Angel is getting the hang of motherhood
The pups are getting bigger and stronger. And mama is doing better. I’m not sure what to call her, Angel doesn’t really fit…she is far too fallible and young for such a name. I had thought of calling her Brittany, which would be a perfect name for her personality wise, but I suspect she will be getting more mature more quickly than her namesake.
She is getting to be a better mother. Early on the first day as she licked her pups clean she would basically send them sailing across the blanket with the force of her tongue! But now she is more gentle and the pups are stronger so they tend to hang on and only roll around a bit. Plus they seem to be nursing well and are much better at finding and lacking onto the teats. So I am feeling a little more relieved.
Watch this video on YouTube.
Winding down with Chloe and her pups
Well, this puppy group is finally ready to move on. I know it as I see them play more and more with each other and less with Chloe. They still try to nurse but their attempts are half hearted and easily redirected. For her part Chloe is continuing to show herself to be a sweet, loving mother. I will miss watching her mother these little guys. She is so gentle as she tells them to stop nursing, carefully biting their muzzles away growling under her breath. They respond by climbing on all over her, chewing her ears and tail and nuzzling up to her and drifting off to sleep. It is a wonderful, heartwarming thing to see.
calling in the puppies
They come to me now as I call them into the puppy room in the afternoon. I clap and say in a high pitched voice “Pup pup pup pup pup” and they come running. Last night after I walked into the puppy room and woke everyone up I put them outside to potty. Usually after dark I just let them pee in the room on the newspaper covered floor but I’m trying to get them ready to be house trained by their new families. They did great! First they were a bit disoriented but after a bit they all spread out to do their business. The adoptive families will have an easy time of training them I think.
Quiet time with Chloe and pups
Catching up on video we haven’t published yet, here is a beautiful clip of mama dog Chloe quietly lounging and nursing her seven puppies. This video was shot on the evening of May 30, 2009 when the pups are about 5 weeks old.
Watch this video on YouTube.
Mama dog Chloe nurses her pups
Here is a short video shot outside last weekend. Mama Chloe is nursing her puppies in the yard.
Watch this video on YouTube!
Annie is a Good Mama Dog
The puppies had their final nurse on Sunday night. I was shooting video, trying to capture the beauty of nature – how everything works as it should. Pups suck and milk lets down so they can drink deeply and fully. You can even see the milk dripping from the open nipples, and hear the deep gulps of the drinking puppies. As I was marveling at the sight, Annie regurgitated her latest meal for them. I was amazed and excited but Mike was (understandably) grossed out.
