Journal: Week Two...
"Bottle feeding hungry puppies is not as easy as
it sounds."
Day 8: With thanks to the many folk who sent suggestions, we are managing to hold every puppy's weight, and most are still gaining, slowly. Some puppies like the flat nipple, some like the round, some don't like any nipple at all but will swallow if you squirt the milk in their mouth. When feeding on mom they will feed hungrily for 15 minutes and then on and off for as long as you allow. (Remember, because of the size difference it is not a good idea to leave mom unsupervised with the pups until they are older - so we spend a lot of time in the whelping box with them.) However, if you are feeding them one by one it still takes 15 minutes each!
Spending a lot of time in the whelping box is no real hardship as the whelping box is in the middle of the living room. Note the TV and stereo! The fence is to keep the other dogs at a distance the dam considers
"safe" when they go from the dining room to the bedroom.
In one end of the living room, note the "puppy corner" with a table for weighing and supplies and the bassinet behind to keep them warm while they are not with mom. If you look closely, at the left edge of the table, next to the heat lamp pole, you can see a glass of medicinal wine. Note: That is for the humans, not the pups.
Day 10: The pups are continuing to grow, and doubled their birth weight by 9 days. This is an important growth marker and should be accomplished by 14 days. Tulia is now off her antibiotics and can resume all responsibility for feeding the puppies, much to her relief and the relief of the human "parents." Sleep is now possible! (Well, sometimes - but we are thankful for every minute.)
Day 13: Yellow girl is the first to climb out of the box we use to carry them (about 10 inch sides) - twice! She is also the first to open her eyes.
Day 14: We end the week with all surviving pups gaining weight rapidly and beginning to open their eyes, and Tulia and the human beans doing fairly well. Sleep is now more than a faint memory and indeed does "knit the raveled sleeve of care."
