4 WEEKS OLD - Half Way There!
March 16, 2009 (28 days old)
WEANING PROGRESS:
*Lots of visible, sharp teeth in their mouths
*Eating ~ 12 ounces of wet Puppy Food per meal (3 times a day)
*Still nursing from Maggie
*Replacement Milk - still using for smaller puppies - laps it from a saucer (Aspen)
*I have ordered a Stainless Steel Puppy Feeding Pan
*Maggie is staying out of the Puppy Room more and more
DEWORMED (New Schedule: Weeks 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10)
Deworming #2 - dewormed Maggie and the pups
CLIPPED NAILS
CHECKED RIBBONS AROUND NECK (to make sure not too tight)
TOYS
Starting to play with 'plastic' toys now. Before now, enjoyed only cloth toys. Building block with bell inside and 4 legged 'camel cloth' toy.
PHYSICAL COORDINATION
Playing hard, pouncing, biting on each other's ears to the point they 'scream'
EYES
Some of their eyes are getting rid of the 'blue' glaze
POTTY TRAINING
Doing great. They are pottying the majority of the time on the wee pads, which are held in a 'wee tray'. I have removed all cloth (sheets) from their play area. They now walk on rubber playpen flooring, and they don't pee or poop (majority of the time) on it.
I would like to work on CRATE training this week.
OUTSIDE WORLD
* I have begun taking the more confident ones into different areas of the house, and into the yard (always in my arms)...Socrates, Willow, Rottie, Peyton, Lizzie, Malik
* I am taking the shy ones and holding them more, in my arms, while sitting in the TV room....Aspen, Griffin
* Phoenix seems a little aloof and very rough (something to prove) with his litter mates. I need to work with him on being more loving.
Socrates, BM: 4# 1.6oz (3# 0.3oz) Red Ribbon
Willow, BF: 3# 14.3oz (3# 0oz) White Ribbon
Griffin, BM: 3# 11.6oz (2# 15.oz) Green Ribbon
Rottie, BM: 3# 15.9oz (2# 13.7oz)
Malik, BM: 3# 8.8oz (2# 10.8oz) Yellow Ribbon
Phoenix, BM: 3# 9.6 oz (2# 10.2oz) Blue Ribbon
Peyton, BF: 3# 2.4 oz (2# 7oz) Pink Ribbon
Aspen, YM: 2# 15.8oz (2# 4.3oz) Blue Ribbon
Lizzie, YF: 3# 0.7oz (2# 1.7oz) Pink & Lavendar Ribbon
March 21, 2009 (33 days old)
*Bought a 15" Puppy Litter Feeding pan (picture to be inserted soon!)
*I need to buy the smaller one as well for their water bowl
*8 am: Today I put 2 cups of puppy food - dry with 2 cups of water in the blender and fed that to them - let's see what happens to their stools! I am trying to stop the canned puppy food - very expensive!
*No more Milk Replacement / Evaporated Milk after 35 days - should move to all water (per another litter mom). Someone suggested I buy evaporated milk by the case from Costco / Sam's. Less expensive than canned replacement milk - and quicker than making the milk from powder. Wish I had known about the evap milk thing 3 weeks ago.
*Figured out that 'Mr. Rottie' is really 'Mr. Malamute!'
*We are scheduling appointments for showings next weekend - when they are 6 weeks old. They won't go home to their new families until they are 8 weeks old, but we want to have them (the new families) prepared by then!
*For future rescued litters: From Costco / Sam's, buy cases of: Bleach, Clothes Washing Detergent, Baby Wipes (to wipe off the mats - Clorox wipes too strong for puppies), Paper Towels (to clean up the mats), Evaporated Milk (instead of Puppy Replacement milk)
At this stage:
*Exercise Pen - in a separate room from people - to avoid 'separation anxiety' later in life - don't want them too dependent on people; learn to comfort themselves; this way we all sleep more too! When the puppies see /hear /smell you, they wake up.
*Floor Mats - their 'running' area' - no pee / poop allowed here!
*Dog Bed with mattress protector pad and flannel
*Using the tray from one of my extra large dog kennels as their 'Play area' - no peep / poo allowed in here!
*Wee pads and Wee tray - recommend getting the large wee pads that fit the tray because the pups are in the 'chewing' the edges of the paper stage
*Toys - Baby Einstein cloth / multi tactile play blocks (the pups love them!)
*Puppy Feeding Dish
*FOOD: At 35 days, no more milk, they should be eating blended puppy dry food with water; By 5 1/2 weeks, they will drink noticeably less from Mom. When Mom is totally done, feed them 4 times a day. By 6 weeks, they should be on moistened kibble only, and eating 3 times a day (6am, 2pm, 7pm).
*Baby Wet Wipes & Paper Towels - to clean the floor
*Classical Music playing nonstop
*Maggie is not correcting the pups from too rough of play (As she should), so I am intervening from time to time
*Some people would put the pups on grass /gravel at this point - I'm not willing to risk them getting sick, so this isn't happening yet!
*Trying to touch, hold, talk to each pup several times a day - harder than I thought - loving on 9 pups! How the heck is Octomom going to do it??
*Still have to figure out a new puppy habitat that involves a crate for them to sleep in - start 'crate' training.
*Noticed more 'humping' of each other happening - dominance ordering starting!
*Spend all their time eating, playing, sleeping and pooping. Developing appropriate "social skills," such as learning how to send and receive signals, what an "inhibited bite" means, how far to go in play wrestling and so forth. Play is important to help puppies increase their physical coordination, social skills and learning limits. Interacting with their mother and littermates helps them learn "how to be a dog" and is also a way to explore ranking ("who's in charge"). When 2 pups fight, Mom should knock them over and start cleaning them. That lets them know who is truly boss.
*Had visitors on 2 different days this week. Les on one day and Emily on another day. They gave attention to Maggie first for a good 15 minutes, then entered the Puppy Room. Maggie barked at them at first but they ignored her. They sat down with the puppies and then Maggie came over and put her head on their shoulders! Maggie has been an overprotective (with people) mama so far. Finally think I am breaking her of this!
*Introduced the pups to my pack - Chance (male 4yo) can care less. Gracie (female 3 yo, top dog) is such a good 'foster' mom to them. Myah (blind female 12 mo old pup) sniffed them and walked off. The puppies licked the faces of my pack - weren't fearful at all. Maggie was in the room - and was okay with me holding the pups / sitting on the couch / letting the other dogs sniff her pups. Such a good mama dog - teaching them to be independent!
* NEXT WEEK
>New Environments - Combine eating with new experiences (kitchen , playpen outside, etc.) Positive reinforcement. Add ramps, steps inside the play pen.
>Toys - add Kongs (for mental stimulation), Nylabones (for chewing). Rotate the toys so some are 'new'.
>Crate - put 2 in at a time; feed them in there; hopefully they'll nap in there; then move to feeding alone in the crate; then let out
>Grooming - Start touching their ears (to desensitize them for future vet visits / ear cleanings)
>Real collars and leashes
March 22, 2009 (34 days old)
2am - Need I say more?
Some of the puppies (noticed Griffin so far) are having diarrhea. So I'm going back to the known stable state (replacement milk, canned puppy food) before proceeding with trying solid food again (mushed with water in a blender).
I gave them Replacement Milk tonight (2 cups boiled water, 1 cup Replacement Milk Formula) - cooled down to just above room temperature. Towards the end of drinking this, Maggie jumps into the ex pen and offers herself for nursing (while she laps up the remained milk in the food bowl). It's okay for Maggie to drink this milk because she still needs calcium supplementation as long as she is nursing.
Speaking of calcium supplementation, we noticed today that Maggie was eating dirt and mud today. I called our vet and asked if she was looking for a nutrient. He said it's quite possible that she was looking for calcium. I realized I had stopped giving her a couple of tablespoons of plain yogurt a day. He told me to give her a Tums (2-3 times a day). It's a calcium supplement. I didn't realize that! We gave her one earlier tonight (8pm or so).
After Maggie cleaned up their milk left overs and nursed them, she gobbled up the canned adult food that I offered to her. She then jumped back into the ex pen to nurse again! I guess that Tums really helped her out. Maybe she senses her puppies' tummy aches and knows they need more milk from her right now.
So, tomorrow off to the store again: Yogurt for Maggie, more milk replacement, more canned puppy food.
I want their stools to get back to a solid state. Any time there is diarrhea, I worry about the start of Parvo. I am pretty sure tonight's diarrhea is from the food change, but I want to confirm that by getting back on the canned for at least 24 hours.
10am - Talked to our vet
He said to go back to canned puppy food. Get their stools normal.
After that, then over 3 to 5 days, mix the canned food with crushed dry (and water in the blender) gradually decreasing the percentage of canned food. LESSON LEARNED - doesn't matter if it's the same company / type of food - if it's canned vs dry - that's a food change that can cause dietary indescretion. Just like switching brands - must do it gradually!
OR he said I could continue the dry / water mix only for 24 to 48 hours, enduring the diarrhea. Uhhh..no thanks!
6pm - Lots of 1st today
*Neighbors came by with 4 little girls - we all sat on the kitchen floor with the puppies. This was the puppies' first time in the kitchen (wooden floors) visiting with 7 people at once, with Mama Maggie outside. The pups loved being held by the little girls and being rocked to sleep.
*Gave the puppies their first 'chewable' nylabones. Socrates was one of the first to figure it out.
*Made a flannel tug-of-war puppy toy. Played with Malik. He figured it out fast.
*The puppies were roaming outside their ex pen and found one of Maggie's dry dog food kibble and started munching on it. So...I put about 16 dry Puppy Food kibble in the ex-pen. Each puppy chewed on one - like a chew bone. They took their time and crunched on it. I guess giving it to them as treats is a good way to gradually move them over. : )
