Day 11 – Thursday February 11, 2021
Ideally puppies should double their birth weight between ten to fourteen days. We have had four puppies reach this milestone with the rest of our puppies on track to double their weight by day fourteen. Ruska is doing a great job feeding her little ones!
We have a daily routine caring for our puppies. We weight each puppy daily and record their weight in the log. This helps us track each puppy’s growth. Healthy puppies should gain weight every day. At this time, we also check their collars and adjust any that have become snug. Puppies grow so fast, so it is important to check them a few times a day. Then we clean and disinfect their whelping box. Finally, we line the bottom of the whelping box with a clean “Vet Bed”, a product that resembles sheepskin. I love this man-made product because it is easy to clean and keeps the puppies dry, warm, comfortable and provides good traction. A puppy moves forward by pushing its hind legs backwards. When a newborn puppy is placed on a surface with inadequate traction, its feet can slide right out from under it and may cause the legs to extend and adduct. By providing a surface with great traction (Vet Bed) when the puppies are moving around and learning to walk helps reduce the stress on their growing joints.
More Puppy Pics
Next Milestone
The next development we look forward to is the puppies eyes opening. If you look closely at the inner corner of the puppy’s eyes, they are beginning to unseal. The opening process happens slowly over a two day period. So exciting!
