The First week
Having new house guests brings with it several responsibilities to ensure they are content in their stay. A key task is to weigh each pup daily (around the same time) so that you get an idea about how good the milk bar is along with whether each pup is being able to access the best spot. It's common for pups to lose weight in the first day or so but major losses indicate some extra action (supplementary feed - brood checks etc.) may be needed. Thankfully my house guests had good milk bar provision and whilst a small loss was recorded on day 1 this changed direction nicely.
Another key task is a daily health check involving checking the umbilical cord, ears, eyes and general condition so that any discharges or abnormalities can be identified. As mum is naturally protective all handling of the pups, weighing and general checks should ideally be done next to her to avoid stress levels rising. As days progress the handling time can increase as mum will be more content in the knowledge that they'll be returned to her soon.
The milk bar and comforter, mum also needs to be checked to ensure that she is in good health. Specific areas for attention are her mammary glands and teats, vulva area along with general all over condition. Attention to consistency and colour of any discharge and faeces is important so that dietary changes can be made if necessary. Mum is working hard now so the amount of food she needs is more than double her normal portion size.
As the house guests won't be able to control their body temperature their whelping box should be kept at a steady warm temperature.
The house guests will be blind and deaf until their eyes start to open at around day 10-14 and their ears open around day 21. Their sense of smell however is fully developed so they use this to navigate to mum to suckle and snuggle up to keep warm.
One week down and great weight gain progress for the pups due to their attentive mum.
Other posts in this series: Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
The eviction
The pups won!
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