Chihuahua Update

The Chihuahua Pups (l-r): Alice, Ralph, Peter, Lois, Stewie.

The Chihuahua pups are six and a half weeks old and everyone’s healthy and doing great. Stewie, the smallest pup, finally made it over the one pound mark yesterday when he weighed in at 1 pound, 1 1/2 ounces. Alice, the largest pup, is very close to weighing two pounds. These are, by far, the smallest dogs we have ever had in foster care. We have to be very careful when walking or stepping anywhere near the pups so we don’t step on one of them. It’s not uncommon for small dogs like this to get broken legs from being stepped on, dropped, or even jumping off the couch. I can only imagine what we must look like from their point of view. Given our relative sizes, it would be like me looking up at a person who was as tall as a five storey building!

Despite their small size, these pups are developing just like every other litter we’ve ever had. They’ve settled into a normal routine for six week old pups with one exception. Normally puppies at this age are big enough that we give them the run of the puppy room. These guys, though, are so small that they can stay in the whelping box with plenty of room to spare. Since we haven’t been on PuppyCam for almost a week, we get them out at night for socialization. They had their first TV time a couple of days ago. Stewie, especially, enjoyed the experience.

Within the last week we’ve made a change to the feeding regimen. Rather then feeding each pup individually, we’re using as communal food bowl and letting the puppies eat in a group. We felt comfortable making this change because they were all eating well on their own, and steady weight gains indicated that everyone was healthy and getting enough food. We’ve also started leaving the water bowl in the whelping box. The pups are big enough and strong enough that we no longer worry about drowning.

Have a look at Lois’ picture at the top of this post. Within the last few days her ears have lifted and are now erect like the other pups. She’s pretty cute, isn’t she?

This weekend the pups will have some visitors. Cyber Auntie Cindypup and her husband, Mr. Cindypup (aka Gus), will be here on Saturday afternoon. They will be joined by David, Janelle, Logan, and Sean, the family that’s adopting Alice and Ralph. If our internet connection is stable enough (see below) I will try to have the visit on PuppyCam.

Alice and Ralph have been adopted. If you’re interested in adopting one of the other three go to the Champaign County Humane Society in Urbana and fill out an application.

PuppyCam

Our internet service provider is upgrading the equipment that’s on top of the grain elevator in downtown Sidney. Our connection has not been very fast or stable for some time and that has made it impossible to have PuppyCam. I’ve been told that they are having a problem getting the necessary parts. However, despite the difficulty, we’re going to try to have a PuppyCam broadcast on Thursday evening starting at about 7 pm (central time). If our connection holds out and the video streams properly, we’ll get back to a regular broadcast schedule.