It's been a while since we've had puppies on this blog so I thought it would be a good idea to review the kinds of records we keep for our foster pups. Harriett designed a chart that lets us see, at a glance, the status of each puppy.

For each pup we record the gender and a short description on the far left. Once the pups get named we’ll add the name to that information area.

Our main indicator of progress are the puppies' weights. For the first 10-14 days each pup is weighed twice a day. We record the weights, in grams, on the chart. If everything is going well, each pup will gain weight every day. If the weight stays the same or decreases it indicates there is a problem. The circles on the weight chart highlight these situations. If we have the mother we’ll do supplemental feedings or sit with the mom and pup to be sure it gets a chance to eat properly. We sometimes use NutriCal, a high-calorie supplement, to support the pup (indicated by an ‘N’ on the bottom line of the chart).  If the weight does not stabilize and start to increase within two days we might have a serious illness developing and we’ll watch for other symptoms and consult with a veterinarian.



For orphans we record the volume of formula, in milliliters, each pup eats at each feeding. Those are the single-digit numbers in the sample above. We know how much each puppy should consume based on its weight, so we can run down the columns and add up the daily amount to be sure we’re at, but not too far over, our target. It’s bad to under- or overfeed the pups, so we watch these amounts carefully.

Special treatments, such as subcutaneous fluids, are also indicated on the last line of the chart. We use that information if we have to talk to a vet about a problem.

We will post a graph of the puppies’ weights at the top of the left column of this blog until the pups are about 5 weeks old. The weight is shown in ounces on the graph because that measurement is more familiar to most of our readers. Each pup is represented by a colored line.

For the first 10-14 days there will be two weights per day. If the pups are healthy at the two-week-old point we’ll drop to one weight per day. We’ll stop the daily weightings at the five-week-old point if everyone’s doing well and there are no problems.

Let’s hope we see all of the lines moving up as we go to the right.

Chihuahua Pup Update

Bottle feeding orphans is a tricky business. You have to get the right amount of formula into them so they have enough liquids and nutrition, but at the same time you have to be very careful not to overfeed the pups or let them eat too fast. After we got the pups yesterday, we noticed that a couple of them were badly dehydrated. When the pups are dehydrated they don’t feel well. When they don’t feel well they don’t eat properly. When they don’t eat properly they get more dehydrated. It can be a vicious, fatal cycle.

To combat the dehydration we inject fluid under their skin. We wound up giving fluids to four of the five pups at first. After a few hours only two puppies still needed fluid support. They each got two more subcutaneous injections last night. I’m happy to report that by this morning everyone is stable and we haven’t had to give any fluids today. Four pups have maintained or gained weight. Unfortunately, puppy #5 has lost about 10 grams since yesterday so we’re having to keep a very close watch on him.

The amount of milk replacement formula the puppies need is calculated based on their weight. These puppies weigh about 4 ounces each and need 30 – 35 ml of formula per day. The feedings are scheduled to evenly distribute that amount over a 24-hour period. We’ve settled on 3 hours between feedings during the day and 4 hours at night. That means we only have to get up once at night to feed the pups. There are a total of 7 feedings times each day so each pup needs to drink 5 ml of formula at each feeding. To convert that into measurements that may be more familiar, each pup gets one teaspoon of formula at each feeding and a little over 2 tablespoons per day.

We track progress by weighing the puppies twice a day. We consider them making progress if they gain some weight each day. If the weight stays the same they go on the watch list. A decrease in weight means a serious problem may be developing and we have to give that pup special attention. In another day or two I will begin posting the weight chart at the top of the left column of this blog so you can track their weights with us.

Chihuahua Pups

This afternoon we got a call from Michelle McKnight, the Shelter Manager at the Champaign County Humane Society. They had a litter of 5, 6-day old Chihuahuas. She wanted to know if we would take them.

“Is their mom with them?” I asked. Michelle told me they didn’t have the mom. She had died sometime during the night on Tuesday. The owners tried to bottle feed the pups, but they were overwhelmed. “One of us will be over to get them.” I told her, and soon Harriett was on her way to CCHS to pick them up.

Orphan pups are a very difficult foster job. The importance of the work done by the mom cannot be overstated. For the first ten days the pups have to be fed every 2 to 3 hours around the clock. The food intake has to be monitored very carefully to be sure they are getting enough food. Every time they eat, each puppy has to be manually stimulated to eliminate urine and feces—they won’t be able to do that on their own for a couple of weeks. Mom does all that and keeps them warm. We’ll have to take over all of these duties.

Harriett and I manage orphans by doing the daytime feeding every two hours or so. We usually go to three hours between feedings during the night and we take turns getting up on alternate nights. That means we each get a full nights sleep every other day. We’ll keep this up until the pups are 10 days old, then we can drop to 4 hours feedings. Depending on how the pups are doing, we can stop the nighttime feedings when they’re 2 1/2 to 3 weeks old.

The pups are a bit dehydrated so we’re having inject fluids under their skin a few times each day. This is very common with orphan pups. The next few days are critical for their survival.

	Puppy #1 female
	Puppy #2 male
	Puppy #3 male
	Puppy #4 female
	Puppy #5 male

 

Gertie’s Puppies Are Born

It’s been a long night.

Gertie had been showing signs of going into labor for the last few days. On Wednesday she started nesting, a sign that birth is imminent.

It wasn’t too far into our PuppyCam broadcast on Wednesday evening that Harriett, who had been sitting with Gertie by the whelping box, let me know that Gertie was having contractions. I excused myself from the online chat and went downstairs. I arrived to find the first puppy had been born. It was obvious she had been through this before.

We thought we saw six puppies on the x-rays, but by 1:00am it was obvious that Gertie was finished. There had been no contractions for about 2 and a half hours and she curled up to go to sleep. I consulted with the veterinarian (sorry, Rebecca!) and we decided that since she was clearly not in distress we would wait and see what happened.

The simplest explanation is that we misinterpreted the x-ray. When I look very closely this morning I can clearly make out five spines, but the sixth is “iffy.” I think we misread the films. This morning we’ll check in with the vet again and decide what to do.

Gertie and the pups are doing great this morning. All five are very active. We will have better pictures to post later today.

Puppy #1 born 7:15 pm male, 205 grams
Puppy #2 born 8:15 pm female, 230 grams
Puppy #3 born 8:28 pm male, 220 grams
Puppy #4 born 9:59 pm female, 220 grams
Puppy #5 born 10:06 pm female, 225 grams

Watching PuppyCam

For those of you who may never had the opportunity to watch two-day old puppies, I thought I would give you an idea of what you’re watching on PuppyCam.

For at least another two weeks, the puppies are deaf, blind, cannot walk or stand, cannot regulate their body temperature, and cannot urinate or defecate on their own. Because of this, the pups are confined to a whelping box so they cannot move off on their own and “get lost” away from Lucille. Lucille is free to come and go. When she leaves the box she’s probably going to get something to eat or drink.

You may wonder how the pups find Lucille and the nipples if they’re deaf and blind. They use their sense of smell and their ability to sense heat. If they aren’t laying next to her when they wake up, you’ll see them moving their heads around to locate her body.

The pups are not capable of urinating or defecating on their own. It will be two to three weeks before muscles necessary to perform those functions have developed. You will see Lucille licking on the pups while they are eating. She’s stimulating them to eliminate. She will also clean up any “accidents” that happen in the whelping box.

The large red thing in the corner is a special heating pad. When the pups are near Lucille her body keeps them warm, but you will see them move on and off the pad at other times as they regulate their temperature. The pad will stay there for two weeks, then we can remove it.

And finally, when the audio is on you’ll hear the “puppy grunts” and other sounds they make. You’ll also hear Lucille snoring or making a snorting sound. She has some kind of defect that makes those noises. It may sound like a growl, but it isn't. If you hear a lot of barking in the background, it’s our dogs barking at someone who’s arrived at the house or just before they go outside.

PuppyCam Returns

Starting tomorrow morning PuppyCam will be back on the air. Our normal broadcast hours will be 8-10 am Monday through Friday, 9-11 am on the weekends. In the afternoon we’ll broadcast from 4-7pm. We’ll have some scheduling conflicts and will be on reduced hours off and on, but we’ll try to stick to the schedule as much as we can. You can watch the cam here, in the window to the left, or you can go directly to our PupsIsPups Ustream channel.

Also remember that in our rural community we’re at the mercy of the weather gods for the reliability of our internet connection. When it’s storming or very windy we may lose the signal or not be able to be on at all.

The picture to the right is puppy number 5. He’s the one who’s mostly brown. We think he may turn out to be brindle, like his mom. Cute, isn’t he?

The pups aren’t gaining as much weight as we’d like and number 7 has lost a little since birth. Harriett’s continuing with the supplemental feeding. Lucille doesn’t seem to have enough milk to support everyone, but at least she’s here for their emotional development and to keep them clean.

Lucille continues to be a very attentive mother. It’s even hard to get her to leave the pups long enough to eat and go outside.

Also check out the picture at the top of this post. You can clearly see the scar on Lucille’s neck from whatever contraption was used on her. It looks too low to be from a collar. I’m guessing it might be from a cable. A lot of people use overhead cable trolleys or cables on stakes in the ground to tie their dogs outside. That scar goes all the way around her neck.

Minor Weight Problems

We’ve got a couple of pups that lost weight overnight. Harriett’s going to do some supplemental feeding in case Lucille isn’t making enough milk to support seven babies.

Lucille’s Puppies Are Born

If you follow us on Twitter (@PupsIsPups) you know that Lucille had her puppies this morning. On Saturday morning we noticed that Lucille’s temperature had dropped to 98.1°F. That’s usually a sign that the puppies will be born within 24 hours. She was pretty subdued all day, but nothing had happened by the time we were ready to go to bed. We set up an air mattress near the puppy room so I could sleep nearby to monitor her through the night. By morning she still hadn’t had the pups, so we went about our usual morning chores. When Harriett went down to feed Lucille at about 8:30 she saw a lot of fluid on the floor—her water had broken. She was also agitated and wasn’t interested in her breakfast. Lucille was about to have puppies.

Our birthing equipment was ready, so we grabbed the equipment basket and settled in to monitor Lucille and the babies. Our main job is to comfort the mom,keep track of various milestones as they happen, and change the bedding to keep it clean and dry. We keep a log that shows the time events take place. If we run into problems we use the log as a reference to know when the last contraction was, when the last pup was born, how many placentas we saw, etc.

We record the time each pup is born along with a description that includes the sex, weight, color, and markings. We’ll help open birth sacks and cut umbilical cords if the mom doesn’t do it in a timely fashion, but we usually don’t have to intervene. The puppies will be weighed twice a day for a week to ten days. This information tells us if each pup is eating enough and developing properly. The weight graph for the pups will be posted at the top of the left-hand column of this blog.

The first contraction was recorded at 9:10 AM. Lucille had seven puppies in about three and a half hours. So far she’s a very attentive mother.

	Puppy Number 1 10:00 AM Female, Black with white star on chest, 425 grams
	Puppy Number 2 10:22 AM Female, black with white mark on chest, 415 grams
	Puppy Number 3 11:01 AM Female, white blaze, 420 grams
	Puppy Number 4 11:15 AM Male, black with white snip, 420 grams
	Puppy Number 5 11:59 AM Male, brindle (maybe just brown), white chest, 330 grams.
	Puppy Number 6 12:23 PM Male, double white stripe on chest, 440 grams
	Puppy Number 7 12:39 PM Female, white blaze on chest, 405 grams

We welcome foster animals number 1,037 through 1,043.

First Nail Trim

The puppies are two weeks old today and there are a lot of exciting things happening in their development. Let's start out with ther first nail trim.

The pups have fully-formed nails when they are born and they grow quickly, forming needle-like points. When the pups nurse they knead the area around the nipple with their front feet to stimulate their mom to drop her milk and their nails can cause deep, painful scratches. It’s important for us to keep the nails trimmed. At the very least it’s uncomfortable for the mother to be scratched like that. In the worst case the scratches lead to infection.

We use a human toe nail clipper to cut off the sharp points. The puppies squirm around a lot, but it’s a reaction to being restrained, not having their nails cut. As long as we’re careful not to cut into the quick it doesn’t hurt them. As they get used to being handled the whole operations becomes easier. Harriett’s gotten very good at trimming the nails of a squirming pup. They are surprisingly strong.

Another milestone at two weeks is that the puppies are beginning to hold themselves up when they move. Soon they will be able to walk. If you look closely at this picture you’ll see this pup is starting to pull his back feet under his body. He’s already got his front feet straight and is able to lift his chest off the ground. In another week he’ll be walking.

And finally, we’ll start watching for teeth. They aren’t there yet, but you can already see the bumps in the gums where the teeth will be coming in. We monitor them closely because we can start to wean the pups onto solid food as they get their teeth. The canines will be the first to come in another week or so.

Many other physical changes will be happening over the next two weeks. Their muzzles are getting longer, their eyes are open and the will begin to see, and their ears will open enabling them to hear. By the end of the fourth week the pups will look and move like little dogs. Now is the time for us to take an active involvement in their behavioral development as well.

Both of us will handle each pup a few times each day and once the teeth come in we begin working on bite inhibition. If the pups don’t have positive human contact over the next eight to twelve weeks they will never be able to recover. By starting now we will insure they will grow up to be well adjusted, sociable dogs who will make wonderful human companions. Our goal is that when they go back to the shelter for adoption they will seek out contact with people, won’t mind being held, and will not be mouthy.

We Have Eyes!

Today is a momentous day in puppyland. Eyes are beginning to open! The pups will be two weeks old on Thursday and their eyes are opening right on schedule. Their eyes start out a dark blue color and are a little “cloudy” at first, but as the pupil becomes more defined they will turn a nice shade of brown. If you compare the pictures to the earlier ones, you’ll also notice that their muzzles are beginning to lengthen. Our little babies are growing up.

We’re keeping a close eye on Number 5. His weight has dropped a little. It’s possible his weight reading on Monday evening was an anomaly—he gained 110 grams between 8:30am and 6:30pm. If you take that high reading out his weight is on a good trend. He’s not showing any signs of being sick, so for now we’ll just keep an eye on him and see how he does tomorrow.

For those of you following on PuppyCam, you will also notice that some of the larger pups are trying to hold themselves up when they move around. Pretty soon we’ll have attempts at walking. It’s very likely that we’ll see their first steps on cam before we see them walking in person. Keep watching!

Continued Progress

The pups are doing very well. Everyone’s gaining weight and looking good. From now on we’ll be charting the puppies’ weight in the chart at the top of the column on the left side of the page. The pups will soon outgrow our gram scale and we’ll switch over to a baby scale that weights in pounds and ounces, so the chart will show the weights in pounds from now on.

One of the interesting things about puppies is that all breeds start out pretty much the same size and shape. Of course there are exceptions for very large or small breeds, but generally speaking this is true. Breed characteristics such as ear and muzzle shape begin to show up as the puppies grow. A good example of this are the ears.

Puppies are born blind and deaf. At birth the tiny ear flaps are flat against the head and the ear canal is sealed shut. Over the first three weeks the ear flaps drop down. If the pup will have erect ears as an adult, they will often go up and down until the pup is about 6 months old. The ear canal starts to open when the pups are about 10 days old and will be fully open by the end of the third week. Daisy’s pups are now 10 days old and you’ll be able to see in their pictures that the flaps are either sticking straight out or have already dropped into position. Daisy is a Labrador Retriever mix, so we’ll expect these pups to have drop ears—the flaps will hang down, covering the ear canal. The noise in the puppy room will increase dramatically after the pups can hear and they start to bark at each other and their mother to communicate.

Steady Progress

If you’ve been following the weight gain of the puppies, here’s the data from tonight’s weigh-in:

Puppy	Last Night	Tonight	Change
1	945	975	+30
2	795	885	+90
3	490	555	+65
4	505	525	+20
5	775	835	+60

We’re keeping a close eye on Number 4. We gave him a private feeding for 20 minutes tonight and he was eating with great enthusiasm. We think he may be getting pushed off the nipples by the larger pups and isn’t strong enough to muscle back into the feeding scrum.

Daisy is turning out to be a great dog. She seems to be housebroken and knows to sit on command. Harriett was testing her for other commands and thinks Daisy may have had some basic training in the past.

In Appreciation of Daisy

Harriett and I were thinking tonight how grateful we are to have Daisy along with the pups. We feel bad that her life has been so disrupted, she’s been discarded, and will have to compete at the Shelter to find another home. But on the other hand, she does some important things much better than we can.

The first two literally mean life or death for the puppies: feeding and stimulating. At this age the pups are only able to eat small amounts of milk and they need to be fed every two to three hours around the clock. If Daisy weren’t here, Harriett and I would split the times up so each of us could sleep through the night on alternating days. This schedule has to be kept up until the pups are three weeks old, then we can switch to four hours between feedings. Daisy takes care of this for us. She doesn’t spend all her time with the puppies, but she moves in an out of the whelping box so they have food available when they need it. In addition, her milk is much superior to any of the commercial formulas we would be forced to use if she wasn’t here.

Until the puppies are at least three weeks old they are unable to urinate or defecate. Each puppy must be stimulated to pee and poop after each feeding. Failure to do this can result in extreme pain and even death. Even though we have had a lot of practice with litters we received without a mother, we’re no match for mom. Daisy stimulates each pup while it’s nursing and keeps the pups and whelping box very clean. She will continue to do this until the pups have been weaned onto solid food.

Daisy Feeding and Cleaning Her Puppies from Tom Schaefges on Vimeo.

The third important thing Daisy does is teach the pups about proper canine behavior. As they grow and get teeth she will start teaching them about bite inhibition and acceptable behavior. Of course we do our part with socialization and bite inhibition, but it is much more difficult for us to do these things. Mom can convey a message of disapproval with a simple growl or harmless snap faster and more effective than we ever could. If you’d like to see what it takes to raise one orphan puppy from newborn to 8 weeks, here’s a video we put together for a pup we had last year:

Goodbye, Gabriella! from Tom Schaefges on Vimeo.

For those of you following Daisy’s puppies’ weight gain, here’s the data from tonight’s weigh-in at 6:30 compared to last night’s weights (all in grams):

Puppy	Last Night	Tonight	Change
1	840	945	+105 (!)
2	710	795	+85
3	465	490	+25
4	445	505	+60
5	755	775	+20

Evening Weigh-In

The pups were weighed at 6:30 pm tonight and everyone’s doing great!

Puppy	This Morning	Tonight	Change
1	815	840	+25
2	655	710	+55
3	405	465	+60
4	435	445	+10
5	655	755	+100

Number 5 has made up for lost time and is back on track.

Morning Status

Harriett weighed Daisy’s puppies at 8:30 this morning and for the most part things are looking good. Here’s the weight changes (in grams) over night:

Puppy	Yesterday	Today	Change
1	765	815	+50
2	615	655	+40
3	365	405	+40
4	380	435	+55
5	655	655	0

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Number 5 to be sure he’s eating properly.

Daisy and Pups – Foster #1030 - 1035

Harriett just got back from picking up Daisy and her pups from the Champaign County Humane Society. Daisy is a 2-3 year old Lab mix and the pups are 5 days old (born 2/19/09). The story we got was that she had 9 pups, but four died before the owners brought them to the Shelter.

We always have to consider the pups we get as high risk animals. You never know the condition of the mother or what kind of prenatal care she may have had. Sadly, in most cases, it’s zero. Newborn pups are fragile, and there’s a lot of reasons they might die, even for the most well-meaning of owners. I think about this every time I hear someone say they want to breed their dog so their kids can see “the miracle of life.” Life is sometimes more cruel than people bargain for.

This picture shows the pups right after I put them into the whelping box. That’s a box with sides high enough to keep them from spreading out. If a pup gets “lost”, even in a 12 by 12 foot room, it can get cold and die. Mom can get in and out of the whelping box, but the pups can’t get out. The red pad they are laying on is a special heating pad made specifically for newborn animals. It stays at body temperature and is completely waterproof. Puppies at this age cannot regulate their body temperature. We’ll keep this pad in the box with them for a couple of weeks and they will move on and off the pad to keep warm.

Two of the five pups are much smaller than the other three. Our standard procedure is to weight the pups every day to be sure they are gaining weight. At this age we ought to see a gain of 10 – 20 grams every day. If they stay the same we go on special watch and be sure they are eating properly. If they lose weight we know we have a problem and can start to take action. Here’s where they stand as of 6 PM this evening:

Puppy	Weight (gr)	Description
1	765	male, white chest, black feet
2	615	female, white socks, white stripe on head
3	365	female, white blaze on chest
4	380	male, white chest, white left front foot
5	655	male, brown feet

Daisy’s been really nice. For the most part we’ll leave her alone tonight. We have to consider that her life has been completely upended today and we need to give her a day or two to settle in. She seems to be a really nice dog and is taking it very well.