BUSY

 

Sorry, today was a very busy day. We had one puppy family come for a visit with their little pup, and we have kids heading for ski trips with the school tomorrow. So pictures did not get done today for 4 weeks. But I will hire my 5 year old to help me do the pictures tomorrow. They are growing so fast.

 

Tomorrow I will be upping their feedings to twice a day. I was going to do that for a week, and then increase to 3 times a day. By the time they go, they should be eating 4 times a day, and gradually work down to 2 larger meals a day. They acted STARVING tonight. We fed them a few hours earlier than before because they were not content after nursing. And they licked every crumb clean. I am still mixing the food so it is like mush, but a thicker mush than at the beginning, and they seem to really enjoy it. And no one has the runs (TMI) today. That makes my job so much easier. Roxy will naturally start weaning the pups in the next week or two. She is a great mom, but I can already see her starting to pull away slightly. The pups are extremely aggressive while nursing, and she looks totally miserable during the process. With their sharp little teeth, I can't imagine its much fun.

 

We are working on setting up an kennel area in our heated garage. They are almost climbing out of the whelping box, and they will need lots more space to run and play once all 7 puppies get about a week bigger. I'd say they are about half the weight they will be by the time you get to pick them up. Some are a bit smaller than others, but overall they are all pretty even.

 

My husband sat in the box with them today to try to calm them all down. They were all frantic about something this afternoon, and Roxy wasn't interested in being attacked at that moment. They all climbed in his lap and were very content. They are learning our voices and loving human contact.

 

Watch for pictures tomorrow!