Rowan's Pups - Day 1

Whew! It was good to get some sleep last night!

All is well in the whelping box. Rowan is eating, drinking and taking good care of the pups. She will come racing out to find me, ask to go out, potty and RUN back to the door. She then SHOULDERS any other dogs out of her way to head right to the box, where she will stop dead, and then CAREFULLY step into the box and circle around, trying to find a place to lie down where she won't squash any pups. She will tuck her front feet in, and sort of kneel down into a down position.

For the most part, the pups are quiet. Their needs are being met. They are warm, clean and the milk bar is full. They will make little happy puppy squeaks and moans while nursing, and sharp little cries of protest if they wander too far from the pile. Rowan will lean down and touch her nose to the pup, leading him back to his littermates.

Puppies at this age sleep and eat, and not much else. When sleeping, they are never still. They are twitching their ears, their lips, paddling with their feet and occasionally crawling from one place to another. If a puppy is very still, or not with the pile and quiet about it, there is likely something amiss.

Puppies at this age cannot elminate for themselves. Their mother must stimulate them and she will clean it up as soon as they go. This keeps the whelping box very clean and in the wild, would prevent the den from becoming soiled after weeks of occupation by a large number of pups.

Now Rowan is getting about one and a half times her normal ration. By the time the pups are 4-5 weeks old and ready for real food, she will be eating nearly 3X her normal amount in order to provide enough milk for them. As they learn to eat regular food, this amount can be tapered off to help her dry up her milk.

For now there is not much for me to do. I just check on the pups and Rowan, make sure she has plenty of clean water and her meals, and change the blanket when necessary. I weighed the pups this afternoon, and everyone has gained at least some weight. THe bigger pups have gained an entire ounce, which is quite a bit considering most of them weighed less then a pound(16 oz) at birth. It's not unusual for pups to lose a bit of weight the first day, but after that they should be gaining steadily. I will be watching this weight gain carefully, as well as their overall appearance, for at least the first 2 weeks.