Puppy Pics @ almost 5 weeks

Below are pics of everyone.  The lighting wasn't right for good pics of the black pups - too many shadows.  They are truly gorgeous with their shiny coats.  Hopefully I can get some outside soon where the light is perfect.

They've started on puppy kibble, soaked in puppy formula.  They gobbled it up.  They are hungrier than I realized :-)  They will soon start getting 4 meals a day, which should relieve the pressure off Momma Cassonade.

Experiencing family life

The pups have moved out of the quiet of their enclosed box in a bedroom, into a wire pen in the living room.  They can now fully experience life as part of the family.  Guinness is so happy to finally be able to see and smell the pups.  She puts her nose within the gaps in the wires and the pups swat at her with their paws.  Everyone's tails are wagging.  They are now eating two big meals of puppy formula mixed with rice cereal.  This weekend I will introduce them to puppy kibble softened in puppy formula.  Given how quickly they took to formula and cereal, I don't anticipate any hesitation on their part to gobble up the puppy food.

Juno Update

Juno had her ultrasound today.  We could only count 4 pups.  But they were all healthy and thriving.  I'm going to hope that, like Cassonade (we counted 5 and got 9), there were a couple in there hiding.  Unfortunately, since we have 4 spoken for, her reservation list will remain closed until we have the x-ray - and hopefully find a few more!  That will be the last week of March.

Learning to Eat

The pups tried puppy formula for the first time today.  They aren't quite sure how to consume it, so they dip their paws in and then lick their paws.  But they get it all over their face, so then they lick each others faces.  Before long there are milk footprints everywhere and everyones face is either wet with milk or saliva from their sibling.  They love it!  It is like a game.

Feeding Frenzy @ the Dairy Bar

The pups are so efficient at feeding, it only takes a few minutes for them to empty Cassonade's milk glands.  There are 10 teets and 9 pups, so there is always a mad rush for the last one.  I believe that the green collar boy is the most successful as he is 200 grams larger than his 3 sisters.  When Cassonade lays on her side, the pups feed in two tiers.  The top tier lays on top of the bottom tier.

In the video attached, watch the cream coloured pup third from the left as she dives down to the bottom tier from the top.

THE PUPS FIRST VIDEO!

The Pups are walking!!

Wow, did I overestimate how long it would be before the pups would be walking.  Some of the bigger and stronger ones started walking two days ago.  Now they are all walking.  They are surprisingly steady on their feet.  I will post some video this weekend.

They continue to grow like crazy.  The largest is 1 kilo.  The smallest is 750 grams.  They still spend most of their day sleeping in a puppy pile.  I suspect when you are growing like that your body needs lots of rest.

Puppies Eyes are Open!

This evening when I went to check on the puppies I noticed that their eyes were open! They also seem to have gotten over the diarrhea so everyone is much happier. As they get bigger, they also get stronger and so they are able to push their bellies off the ground and crawl along for longer stretches. It is difficult to know if their ears are also open, but I believe they open about the same time as their eyes. Cassonade is spending longer periods of time away from the puppies. She has been able to go to the off leash dog park with the rest of her pack this weekend, which she thoroughly enjoyed. The next big milestone will be when the pups truly learn to walk. We are likely only 7 to 10 days away from reaching a milestone.

Learning to Walk

The pups are trying to walk.  It is so funny because they walk like an alligator.  Their legs are not straight out under them, but off to the outside of their bodies.  The placement is like when a person does a push up, which is sort of what they are doing - lifting their bellies off the floor, but with all 4 legs.  They can only take 3 or 4 steps before they collapse on their bellies.  But they love it and do it over and over again.

Their eyes and ears are still closed, but I expect eyes to start opening in the next 2 to 3 days.  They are now 11 days old.  Pictures start to become harder to take from this point on.  First, I can't use a flash because once their eyes open it is too hard on their eyes.  So I have to rely on natural light.  Second, they will become much more mobile in the next week.  Photographing a moving target is a challenge.

They have now doubled in size.  And Cassonade will spend an hour or so away from them a couple of times a day.  Unfortunately, they have diarrhea.  My vet has put them on Bismuth (pepto bismol) to try and stop it. It isn't causing them any trouble or discomfort.  It bothers me more than them.......

Below is a picture I took two days ago.

We have happy, healthy babies.....

All of the pups have broken 500 grams, which makes them all larger than a pound!  They are extremely mobile (considering they can't walk and their eyes are closed).  They just drag themselves all over the whelping box.  They always lie together in a big 'pile of puppies'.  They are getting harder to weigh because they are so squirmy.

Cassonade is spending more and more time away from them.  She will now leave them for 1/2 hour two or three times a day.  When she isn't with them, all she wants to do is snuggle.  It is like she needs to take a break from being a mom and let herself be a baby for a few minutes.  I suspect most human moms know exactly how she feels.