Echo is a loving and attentive mama – whether it is cleaning, feeding, or just snuggling, Echo loves being a mama! This past week we have been busying helping Echo care for her baby.
Milestone Reached
This week on day 13, we were excited to see Echo’s puppy’s eyes had opened! Echo’s puppy is now in the Transitional Period which begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds. I always feel that puppies become more alive when they reach this milestone.
When puppies are in the Neonatal Period (day 0 – 14) they spend their days and nights eating and sleeping. Sleep-time – 22 hours and Awake-time – 2 hours is spent eating.
Without any competition from littermates singleton puppies have unlimited supply of milk resulting in rapid weight gain. Singleton puppies have a higher percentage rate of developing “swimmer puppy syndrome”. To avoid Echo’s puppy developing this condition, we have been pro-active and undertaken a few strategies to help the puppy as she develops.
Solid Footing
Puppies must avoid slipping as they try to maneuver around the whelping box. It is important for newborn puppies to have good traction as they develop. We alway use Vet-Bedding to line our whelping boxes. It is a man-made material that is soft, warm and provides excellent traction for the puppies as they learn to walk.
Slow Down Weight-Gain
When raising a singleton puppy, it is important to try to slow the puppy’s weight gain. Much of my time this week during the day was spent by the whelping box limiting feeding time, much to the dissatisfaction of both mama and puppy. I’m sure Echo’s favourite time is during the night – while I sleep, Echo gets to spend all her time with her puppy without my interference. Even though our puppy is a Chunky Monkey, this interaction has helped slow her weight gain.
Exercise
During the limited awake time we have been trying to help the puppy get more exercise to strengthen her leg muscles. As we discussed in my previous blog, exercise for a singleton puppy doesn’t happen naturally as it does for a puppy with littermates. Less exercise combined with extra weight, makes it more difficult for the singleton pup to support themselves as they are learning to walk on all fours. To lower the risk of Echo’s puppy developing “swimmer puppy syndrome“, it is important to develop strong hind leg muscles. Below are a few ways we are using to help Echo’s puppy in this area.
Nursing Exercise – During feeding time, I have added a couple stuffed animals beside the puppy as she nurses. This mimics littermates and makes our singleton pup work harder as she uses her back legs to compete for food instead of just lying down to leisurely nurse.
Taping Exercise – One of the symptoms of “swimmer puppy syndrome” is a puppy that stays on their tummy with legs spread out trying to maneuver around – much like a turtle on dry land. To help avoid this, we spent a few days doing a taping exercise. Using Self Adhesive Bandage Wrap, I taped the puppy’s legs to help them stay close together. This helped her not to drag her legs behind while she crawled and strengthened her hind leg muscles.
Watch the video as the puppies moves with her legs taped. This exercise helps strengthen her hind leg muscles which further reduces the risk of developing “swimmer puppy syndrome“.
Obstacles Exercise – Without littermates to crawl over, we needed to add some obstacles. We filled our whelping box full of obstacles – i.e. bolster beds, stuffed animals, blanket, sock buddies for the puppy to crawl over as she moves around the whelping box. This helps her build strong muscles. They also make great headrests for sleeping LOL!
Hard Work Pays Off!
It has been a lot of work this week helping our sweet puppy build strong muscles. Without littermates to compare progress with, it is hard to judge. Looking back at my previous litters, I would say the puppy’s walking development is a day or two behind but, she is making great progress!!! As you can see in the video below, all our hard work is paying off!
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK THREE
- Eyes will continue to open wider and sight will slowly become clearer
- Puppy will still eat and sleep most of its day
- Puppy will continue growing
- Ears will begin to open
- Puppy’s hind legs will become stronger as she practices walking on all fours
- Puppy will become more aware of her surroundings and start to play
- Puppy will start to vocalize.
