Believe it or not the puppies are already getting some of their teeth. They are beginning to chew on each other, their own feet and legs, toys and even Human Fingers! yikes!! Actually you can feel tiny nubs of the teeth under their gums.
They also started to wag their tails for the very first time. These are Very enthusiastic puppies.... and don't hold back on expressing themselves.
I barely had the extension on the whelping box and the puppies were putting it to good use.
Once Puppies start to perambulate they begin to look for a place outside their sleeping quarters to potty. Instinctually they know not to 'piss where they eat.'
Mom likes the idea of them taking care of their own bathroom habits!
Eureka, Nickel and pups stayed home today so I could take Corsa to her swim therapy. Normally I would have left TinTin with Nickel and taken Eureka, but TinTin needed a break. She's been cooped up in the house with Nickel and I thought she deserved a chance to swim.
Turns out that Mica got to swim too. I kept a flotation vest on him to help encourage stronger use of his hind legs. He had a blast both in the water and out.... Little did I know the price I'd pay having to de tangle his hair! Oh well.
As usual, TinTin tried to stay in the water. She likes to float like a barge and wait for me to throw. Nickel's favorite part of swimming is jumping into the water... for TinTin it's the swimming. I think she figured out that the other dogs wont go in the water and there's less chance that the ball will be taken from her if she doesn't get out. Of course that theory only holds water (get it?) when Nickel doesn't Jump into the pool and try to drown her during the struggle over the ball. Luckily TinTin doesn't sink easily! She swam until she couldn't swim any longer.....
What seems like over night the puppies have matured from 'prehistoric potatoes on legs' to little dogs.
Now that Eyes are open and the puppies are beginning to have depth perception, I've added a lot more objects to the whelping box. Some of these are to encourage them to look upward and other objects are for them to start interacting with. There have been lumps and bumps in the whelping box from their first day to force them to use their legs and mind. Now those bumps are becoming more challenging and the objects force them to have to maneuver around. Sometimes you can see the 'gears' starting to work in their little heads.
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Puppies are beginning to be aware of their immediate environment. A few puppies are even interacting with objects
You can see the wide variety of textures the puppies are already climbing over and sleeping on.
In addition to the extra visual and tactile stimulation, the box has Full Spectrum lighting. Now that their eyes are open they are getting the benefit of absorbing vitamin D through their retinas. It has been found that full spectrum lighting not only increases bone density in puppies but is beneficial in promoting a healthier immune system.
The water bottle is there for extra cooling should the puppies be getting too hot. They can move to different areas of the whelping box in order to cool down or get warm.
The pink blanket is a place they can crawl behind for a sense of security or to move away from the light. You can see little black blobs scattered around the box... LOL... those are puppies ;)
Grand Ma, TinTin
Still maintains her spot outside the box
Puppies are beginning to gain momentum in their movement. So much so, that two of them have already figured out how to climb the lattice gate. Ms Blue scaled the barrier when she realized that her mom was on the other side. YIKES. Perhaps she'll be an agility dog!
Corsa is my old girlie. She's 13 1/2 yrs old. She never took much of an interest in the puppies besides laying at the whelping box entrance and watching them (I think I mentioned earlier that she thought they were guinea pigs ;) She seems to be more excited about this litter. I'm not sure if it's her age or the that these puppies are so active. She is constantly trying to get into the box and smell and lick them. Perhaps she wants to know of they taste like chicken.... LOL.
MY MOST HUMBLE APOLOGIES for missing so many posts! I had a killer week at work and by the time I got home needed to spend all my energy and time on Mama and puppies. WEEK 2!!!! and it didn't go unnoticed... but it did go (alas) unpublished. I have a lot of pictures to post about the last few days. Puppies are thriving and growing and maturing. Will catch up in the next few blogs.... I promise :)
First of all, I Thought I'd let everyone know what I was able to do for Nickel's problem with raw nipples and puppy diarrhea. I used an ace bandage to cover the top two nipples that were raw. The Bandages were an integral part of the solution. I shaved around the nipples, applied calendula and colloid silver gel, covered around the site with a sticky ointment (Mastisol). The Mastisol helped the band-aides stick and prevented (very aggressive) puppies from rubbing them off. It was the mastisol that made all the difference in getting the band-aides to adhere to Mama's skin. I found that the ace bandage kept the puppies from working the band-aides off. Having at least 5 more weeks of nursing I was really afraid that this would turn into a terribly infected problem. All I need to do now is make sure she doesn't develop mastitis in these two breasts. I''m happy to announce that this WORKED and things are working themselves out. :) Yipppeee!
Someone has brought to my attention that I haven't posted enough puppy pictures lately... You know who you are! ha ha ha ;^)
and You're right!!! So I'll dedicate this blog to lots of pictures and even a video.
Mr Yellow
Ms Teal
Most of the puppies eyes finished opening today. The break through was lead by Miss Green. In TinTin's litter... when Nickel was born... her sister Ico was the first to open her eyes and guess what? She was Green collar too ;) guess it's a family tradition.
White
Takes a little while to figure out what limbs belong to whom! clockwise starting at 9 o'clock: Black, Blue and White
Black with his baseball mitt
Green and Pink
Auntie Cat brought the puppies a pink Looooong poodle doll. The puppies love to drape over it. You might have noticed that the whelping box frequently looks like the towels are tossed and turned. I actually do this on purpose. The lumps and bumps give the puppies something to drape over (very important for their structural development) and it gives them obstacles to move around and over (very important for their balance, dexterity and mental development). Having the lumpy bumpy pink and curly just makes it all the better :)
Today was the first day I noticed PUPPY BREATH!!! YEAH! Not sure what in their development causes this. It's a sweet soft wonderful aroma.
This is a video of Ms. Green. All the puppies are walking around like little puppy dogs already! I can't believe it but one even sat down to scratch it's ear with it's hind foot. Wow. Anyway. I love this video because you can see Ms. Green's " gears" going to work while she tries to figure things out. Finally in the end she crashes with her siblings.
enjoy......
Finally saw that glimmer. Green was the first pup to open her eyes. It actually took about 12 hours for the rest to start peering into their new world. Despite their eyes opening they wont be able to see for another day or so and then it will take another week for them to have any depth perception. So no running over the agility equipment or parachuting out of planes yet!
Did a little research and apparently puppies can get this kind of diarrhea due to too much nursing and rich milk... go figure ;) Leave it to the Alchmy girls to promote a healthy appetite! Nickel does tend to do more nursing if I hang out by the whelping box so I might try to move my 'operation' to the other room and encourage her to take more breaks. Seems that either the slippery elm or Pepto Bismol (or both) have helped. Pups poops are looking a little better today. Phew.
Here's Corsa checking out the puppies for the first time. She's been sitting outside the whelping box watching them for the past two days. She's intrigued by them. This has been her position for each litter but this time she's finally crossed the invisible line and entered the box. When Corsa was a puppy I would take her to my brother's house for visits. He had a guinea pig that she was just obsessed over. To this day when we go to his house she runs directly to the room... despite the fact that there hasn't been a guinea pig there for 10 years! LOL. Corsa is convinced that these are guinea pigs.....
Corsa watching over the "Guinea Pigs" in TinTin's Litter: Alchmy Magic Litter 2006
Corsa watching over the "Guinea Pigs" in Ico's Litter: Alchmy Royale Litter 2010 (with TinTin and Nickel accompanying her).
Corsa Watching over the "Guinea Pigs" in Nickel's Litter : Alchmy Absolute Litter 2011
And finally takes the plunge into the box!
TinTin the Sentry
TinTin on Guard Duty for her daughter, Ico's Litter
TinTin on Guard Duty for her daughter, Nickel's Litter..... She's also taken the Plunge into the box!
