Willow’s precious puppies are now one week old. We have had a busy week caring for Willow and helping her care for her babies.
Looking Back
Whelping Day
I am always in awe when I puppies are born and to see the instincts God has give to animals. They know just what to do to birth and care for their newborns. Willow did a great job whelping her puppies.
On Thursday evening (October 19th), it was apparent that Willow was preparing to have her puppies.
Now that my daughter is married, I decided to turn her bedroom into my Puppy Room which is where we now set up the Whelping Box. My husband kept the other dogs in our bedroom for the night and I slept in the puppy room with Willow. I didn’t get much sleep that night as I woke many times to Willow digging in her whelping box. This is a sign that puppies are on their way.
When morning came Willow followed me everywhere as we went about our day waiting for puppies. By late afternoon, Willow and I went to the Family Room to relax, watch some T.V. and rest. When I knew that the puppies would soon arrive, we moved to the Whelping Box.
Whelping Begins
Labor progressed and at 7:20pm Willow’s first puppy arrived, a girl weighing 376 gram. Things moved very quickly with the last puppy, a girl arriving at 9:35 pm weighting 411 grams. Over the sort period of 135 minutes Willow delivered nine puppies; 4 boy, and 5 girls.
The next few hours, we spent cleaning Willow and the whelping box, putting fresh vet bedding in and making sure mama and babies were doing well. Willow was tired after a job well done.
CARING FOR WILLOW
It is important to care for our mama’s so that they in turn can care for their babies. It starts at Prenatal care feeding high quality food and continues postnatal care.
Mothers Pudding
We made a special treat for Willow to eat called Mothers Pudding. It is full of protein and calcium to give her energy and help her regain her strength. All our mama’s love this pudding and are willing to eat this even if they are not ready to eat anything else yet.
We also put our mama dogs on a supplement called Оху Momma which is a postnatal Vitamin that supports lactation and recovery. High quality food and plenty of fresh water is a must to produce milk to feed her nine babies. Willow made a quick recovery and had a good appetite soon after birth.
Caring for the puppies
Before puppies are born, they receive immunity and everything they need to grow from the placenta. After birth newborn puppies do not possess immunity. A mothers first milk called colostrum is a protein-rich, nutritious, balanced, and protective food. The special milk provides passive immunity which can last several weeks and protect them from various infections and diseases. For this reason, the first twelve hours after birth it is vital for the puppies to nurse frequently and build up their passive immunity. (Passive immunity is the short-term immunity which results from the introduction of antibodies from the puppy’s mother. Compare with active immunity – the immunity which results from the production of antibodies by the immune system in response to the presence of an antigen
Expert Nursers
Puppies are born with their eyes and ears sealed shut; they cannot see or hear. They have to rely on “smell” and “touch” to find their mother. Puppies are born with a natural instinct to nurse but as the days pass, they have become more proficient at it. The puppies are now experts at nursing! As you watch the video below, listen to the cute little sounds the puppies make as they nurse – so precious !
Willow is attentive mama. She has a large litter of nine puppies and is doing an amazing job feeding her babies.
The first two week of the puppies lives, we weigh them daily and keep records to track their progress. All the puppies are doing very well and gaining weight daily. Good job Willow!
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES
See how they grown newborn on left; one week old on the right
KEEPING WARM
Newborn puppies cannot regulate their own body temperature. They depend on their mother and littermates for warmth. For the first few days Willow spent all her time in the whelping box, feeding and caring for her babies and keeping them warm.
As the days past, Willow started leaving her babies for longer periods of time. Even though she now spends more time outside the whelping box, she regularly heads back in to check, clean and feed her puppies. When she is away, the puppies snuggle together with a buddy or two to help keep warm.
Willow has an evaluated bed just outside the whelping box where she can rest while still keeping an eye on her puppies.
Neonatal Period
The puppies are in the Neonatal Period which is from day 0 to day 14. During this period, puppies spend their time eating and sleeping. On Monday, day 3, we began ENS exercises (Early Neurological Stimulation) which will continue through until day 16. We preform ENS daily during our weigh-in time. Research shows these tiny struggles and stresses in small doses are good for puppies. Research shows that benefits from ENS include greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies during the 3 to 16-day window.
Puppies continue to receive lots of handling to become accustomed to the human touch. Part of the “Puppy Culture Protocols” that we follow when raising our puppies is socialization. I am blessed with a large family that love to hold our puppies.
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO
- Much the same as week one – Eat, Sleep, Repeat!
- Puppies will continue growing
- Puppies still crawl; hind legs will become stronger
- Eyes should begin to open towards the end the week – so exciting !!!
