Hi everyone. Here's my weekly update on Rogue and her puppies...
The puppies are doing great! They are still in my kitchen for the time being, but the diarrhea has finally resolved and the puppies are growing in leaps and bounds. Their eyes are completely open, as are their ears, and I can feel their baby teeth starting to pop through. With these gains, the puppies have become very active and curious. I did have the entryway to the crate blocked off, but the puppies could see mom outside of the box and were launching themselves over the barrier so they could get to her and try to nurse while she was "on break". However, once puppies got out, they couldn't get back in, so the barrier is down and puppies have now decided they like life outside of the crate! They occasionally crawl back in, but for the most part, they want to be outside. This means Dave and I have to be very careful when entering the kitchen because you never know where a puppy has decided to take a nap!
I can't believe how big and active these puppies are. They are further along at going on 3 weeks than any other puppies we've had. They are already walking around on all fours, already wrestle and bite at each other, and have even started eating some gruel (ground up puppy chow soaked in water then made soupy with milk formula)! They seem about a week ahead of schedule to us. We don't usually start offering gruel until 4 weeks old, but they are such vigorous feeders that they are quickly draining mom and still left wanting more! Since they are so young, we just have to make sure we make the gruel very liquid so that they get enough hydration. It is so much fun to see the puppies eating - they get so excited over the food that they even climb right into the dish of food! They are still too little to use the feeder bowl with the raised center to keep them from doing this, so for the time being, food diving it is!
I've added tons of new photos to my slideshow, including feeding pics, so enjoy!
Mom is now doing great with letting us handle the puppies and remove them from her immediate vicinity. Therefore, beginning next weekend, visitors are welcome. We'll let you know where puppies will be, but we are hoping to move them back to Dave's parents' next weekend. Til the next post....
Monday, July 14, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Eyes have started opening!
Everyone is doing well, and the diarrhea issues seem to be resolving. White girl was hit the hardest by the diarrhea and is much smaller than her brothers and sisters now. Nonetheless, all the puppies are getting so big, its hard to believe they aren't quite yet 2 weeks old! Usually we wait until at least 2 weeks of age to give puppies their first wormer, but I gave wormer 2 days early just to be on the safe side and to make sure that the diarrhea issues aren't due to a heavy roundworm load.
I'm including individual pics of all the puppies in my post today so that you can all begin to start thinking about which puppies you are the most interested in.
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Blue boy - Birth weight 10¼ ounces, Today's weight 26 ounces!
Pink Girl - Birth weight 10 ounces, Today's weight 24 ounces!
Green boy - Birth weight 10 ounces, Today's weight 23 ounces!
Orange girl - Birth weight 9½ ounces, Today's weight 23¼ ounces!
Yellow boy - Birth weight 10¾ ounces, Today's weight 27½ ounces!
White girl - Birth weight 10¼ ounces, Today's weight 18½ ounces.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Latest Update
Hi everyone,
Wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about all of you who are waiting to hear more news about the puppies. I have been so busy with animals this week that I am exhausted! Dave is out of town for his brother's wedding, so I have been caring for dogs at the property, newborns, hop-a-long Blackie, & Nika, my indoor doggie. This in addition to my other responsibilities! Then, to add to things, one of my cats who has had some allergy problems manifested by "acne" on her chin had one of her pimples abcess and started running a fever today! 103.5! So back to the vet for another animal! Too bad I don't get frequent flier miles!!!
Mom and puppies overall are doing well. I'm currently dealing with some diarrhea issues in the puppies, which is keeping me busy. I went over to my inlaws (who are also out of town for the wedding) to check on puppies yesterday to find that all the puppies were covered in their own stool - yuck! Apparently mom, who is been very devoted to the puppies, is lacking in one respect - she is not very fastidious about keeping the nestbox clean, which is very unusual! Closer inspection of the puppies and the bedding revealed that while several of the pups had diarrhea, one girl in particular had a very bad case (her stool was green with bile bc everything was going straight through her). She was limp and dehydrated, which could easily result in death for such a little one without quick intervention. I promtly gave her some Pedialyte for the time being, cleaned up all the puppies, loaded them into my car, then headed off to the vet's office & the grocery to pick up necessary supplies.
Having run my errands with everyone loaded up in my car, I finally made it back home. I set up Mom & puppies in my condo (which is getting to be quite a full house!), placed them in my kitchen and blocked access to the rest of the condo by setting up baby gates, which splits the condo into zones. . . the bedroom & office for cats, the kitchen for Rogue and the pups, & the living room / dining room for Blackie & Nika!
All set up, I started subcutaeous fluids on the dehydrated little girl (white collar) and gave her children's Immodium. I followed up with more fluids at intervals through the night. (Who needs sleep, right?) She has since perked up quite a bit and her diarrhea is somewhat improved, but she still requires close monitoring and fluids.
So what is causing this diarrhea bout? Often puppies can get diarrhea just from overeating, and Rogue certainly makes sure they get plenty to eat! There could be other causes, but I suspect that this is the reason for the diarrhea. However, I'll be keeping a close eye on them, continuing to offer Immodium as needed, and will follow up with the vet if this doesn't clear up shortly! Besides, I'm doing laundry like no other right now, trying to keep them in fresh clean bedding, so I sure hope this clears up soon, for both my sake and theirs (poor little puppy hinies :( )
So as you can see from another one of my lengthy blogs, I have had my hands full, and that hasn't left me much time to deal with some of the logistical things for all of you, such as following up on reservations and so on. I haven't forgotten you all, so hang in there! I will try to follow up with all of you individually by Monday evening. Til then, wish me luck!
Wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about all of you who are waiting to hear more news about the puppies. I have been so busy with animals this week that I am exhausted! Dave is out of town for his brother's wedding, so I have been caring for dogs at the property, newborns, hop-a-long Blackie, & Nika, my indoor doggie. This in addition to my other responsibilities! Then, to add to things, one of my cats who has had some allergy problems manifested by "acne" on her chin had one of her pimples abcess and started running a fever today! 103.5! So back to the vet for another animal! Too bad I don't get frequent flier miles!!!
Mom and puppies overall are doing well. I'm currently dealing with some diarrhea issues in the puppies, which is keeping me busy. I went over to my inlaws (who are also out of town for the wedding) to check on puppies yesterday to find that all the puppies were covered in their own stool - yuck! Apparently mom, who is been very devoted to the puppies, is lacking in one respect - she is not very fastidious about keeping the nestbox clean, which is very unusual! Closer inspection of the puppies and the bedding revealed that while several of the pups had diarrhea, one girl in particular had a very bad case (her stool was green with bile bc everything was going straight through her). She was limp and dehydrated, which could easily result in death for such a little one without quick intervention. I promtly gave her some Pedialyte for the time being, cleaned up all the puppies, loaded them into my car, then headed off to the vet's office & the grocery to pick up necessary supplies.
Having run my errands with everyone loaded up in my car, I finally made it back home. I set up Mom & puppies in my condo (which is getting to be quite a full house!), placed them in my kitchen and blocked access to the rest of the condo by setting up baby gates, which splits the condo into zones. . . the bedroom & office for cats, the kitchen for Rogue and the pups, & the living room / dining room for Blackie & Nika!
All set up, I started subcutaeous fluids on the dehydrated little girl (white collar) and gave her children's Immodium. I followed up with more fluids at intervals through the night. (Who needs sleep, right?) She has since perked up quite a bit and her diarrhea is somewhat improved, but she still requires close monitoring and fluids.
So what is causing this diarrhea bout? Often puppies can get diarrhea just from overeating, and Rogue certainly makes sure they get plenty to eat! There could be other causes, but I suspect that this is the reason for the diarrhea. However, I'll be keeping a close eye on them, continuing to offer Immodium as needed, and will follow up with the vet if this doesn't clear up shortly! Besides, I'm doing laundry like no other right now, trying to keep them in fresh clean bedding, so I sure hope this clears up soon, for both my sake and theirs (poor little puppy hinies :( )
So as you can see from another one of my lengthy blogs, I have had my hands full, and that hasn't left me much time to deal with some of the logistical things for all of you, such as following up on reservations and so on. I haven't forgotten you all, so hang in there! I will try to follow up with all of you individually by Monday evening. Til then, wish me luck!
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