Three weeks old: We can walk!

The puppies are continuing to grow and develop quickly. Their legs are getting stronger and they can now support their weight, though they don't have great coordination yet and tumble down every 3 or 4 steps or so, especially if the floor is slippery. When we take them out of the whelping box we put a blanket on the ground so they can have a bit of traction. They can even run a few paces before tumbling over - particularly if the goal is to get to Mama! But they haven't yet managed to get out of the whelping box on their own unless the blankets are bunched up near the high lip of the entrance, giving them a means to get over the edge.

We are starting to see signs of real puppy behaviour, too - wagging of tails and tussling with each other, in particular. With eyes open and some mobility, their resemblance to little fat wiggly sausages is diminishing daily. Now they are pups!!

Today for the first time we gave them a bit of puppy gruel - at this point a very liquid mixture of goat's milk, egg yolk, plain probiotic yogurt, baby oatmeal, and oil. They lapped it up like little feed-demons and wanted more! This is not yet weaning, just a way to start them getting used to the idea of getting food from somewhere other than Mama, and to supplement their diet so Mama doesn't hve to work so hard making milk. At this point she is eating almost constantly to have enough energy to produce milk for five hungry, growing babes. 

   Black boy  

   Cream boy  

   Apricot girl  

  

   Red girl  

   Red boy  

   A couple of crazy kids!  

Two weeks old (Now we have eyes!)

Yesterday our little pups celebrated their two week-iversary!! Between Sunday (age 11 days) and yesterday (age 14 days) their eyes all opened – first just a slight crack, then half open, then fully wide and bright-eyed!! Now that we can see their eyes they seem less like little wiggly sausages and more like little living creatures.

Puppy pile-up!

The pups are beginning to exercise their legs, too. They are trying to stand and take a few faltering steps. There is still a lot of crocodile walking going on, but more and more we are seeing them pull their legs under them and attempt to bear their weight on their still spindly little limbs. We’ve seen them actually take a step or two, but then kaboom! down they go! They are actually quite capable of covering a fair bit of ground with the crocodile walk, but they really want to stand. By next week’s report we will no doubt have toddlers on our hands! How fast they grow.

Speaking of growing, they are putting on lots of weight. Apricot girl is the smallest at about 530g, while red boy is by far the biggest – or should I say most humongous?!? – at about 930g! When you put the two of them side by side the difference is amazing. Cream boy is second-largest, at around 690g, while red girl and black boy are just a bit bigger than little apricot girl, in their mid-500s to low-600s.

At two weeks old we give them their first deworming – just a wee bit since they are still quite tiny. Apricot girl got 0.1ml while red boy got 0.2ml. They will get a dose every second week until they go to their new homes (or turn 3 months old, whichever happens first).

Here you can see their lovely faces!

   Black boy  

   Cream boy  

   Apricot girl  

   Red girl  

 

I have a lovely chest spot, too!

   Red boy  

Do you like my white spots?

See my white chest & muzzle!

One week old!

The pups turned one week old today! They are still little wiggly sausages that don't do much besides eat, sleep, & poop. Thankfully Mama Momo takes care of cleaning up the poop - not to mention feeding them - so there's not much work for us at this point. We weigh them daily, do neural stimulation exercises with them, and handle them so they get used to human touch and smell, but other than that Mama Momo is the main caregiver. That will change soon enough once we start giving them "real" food in a few weeks' time!!

They are growing well. The youngest, the red male, is the biggest at over 550 grams today. The second-oldest, the cream boy, is second-largest at 450 grams. The other three - black boy, apricot tirl and red girl - are all very close, between 345 and 365 grams. 

   Black boy (first-born) 

   Cream boy (second-born)  

 

   Apricot girl (middle pup)  

   Red girl (second-last)  

   Red boy (last-born)  

Our five-month old pups are curious about these little guys, but know better than to try to investigate too closely or Mama Momo will snap at them. I wonder if they have any memory of being tiny like that and drinking from their mother's milk? Or living in the box in the corner? 

Scarlett with a friend

 

Leo with a friend