Growing and Thriving
Posted by Brenda Hedden on Sunday, October 12, 2014
The pups are now 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 weeks old. The are growing and learning so much every day. The older pups are now beginning to interact. After a feeding, they will chew on each others' ears, lick each others' faces and begin to play. Licorice actually crawled out of the whelping box by himself and met me at the door of the den, when I heard him whining. As I was writing this, I heard little claws trying to get to me and looked down, Violet had crawled on top of her mother and was trying to make her way to me. They know I am the other food source. While I am trying to feed her, I see Sky, Sparkles, Fuschia, Licorice and Snowflake also begging for food, even though mom is in the whelping box. Guess it is time to get the feeding dish. I cannot tell Lime and Violet apart yet and need to look at collars. Sky is identical to them, just black in color. Licorice is a character this week and full of life. Sparkles is a great eater and I need to stop her as she will go the distance. Sunshine was vocal today and usually is not. She must have been hungry. I have a hard time telling Fuschia and Pumpkin apart. Pumpkin still prefers to nurse from mom, which is great. Snowflake, Fuschia and Pumpkin really stand out because of the white on them. Did I forget any? These are just observations from today, so take it with a grain of salt, as tomorrow, they may have entirely different stories to tell.
I walked downstairs to the get the dish and wash it, filled it with warm goat milk and came back upstairs. It was a humorous introduction to feeding and I took pictures. Most blew bubbles first but got the hang of it quickly. Sunshine didn't want anything to do with it initially, and all finally enjoyed it. As I look at them sleeping now (I went and fed Java's litter in between), Fuschia is asleep with her head laying in the empty dish and all seem happy and well fed.
Now for Java's litter: Chocolate is still my gentle giant. He is a great nurser and will eat anything in front of him. He is nearly twice the size of his little sister, Rainbow. Rainbow is doing great. She came in to this world so very tiny and we protected and watched her like a hawk and she is thriving. Navy did not like the bottle for the first to weeks, but now relishes the fact that he can get a private feeding. Teal is a great little eater, and Daisy has her times where she will prefer mom over bottle and bottle over mom. Rosebud is like Chocolate, only tinier. She will eat anything you put in front of her. Most of Java's are still just eating and sleeping, as they are younger.
All of our puppies are held at least 6 times a day. They are all checked and fed every three to four hours, coddled, kissed, cleaned and then put back with mom. They can all now focus on us and make eye contact, which is fun. Asia's can hear and we no longer can sneak in, but I can still sneak in to Java's den, unless the pups catch my scent. Life is fun here, busy but extremely rewarding.
I walked downstairs to the get the dish and wash it, filled it with warm goat milk and came back upstairs. It was a humorous introduction to feeding and I took pictures. Most blew bubbles first but got the hang of it quickly. Sunshine didn't want anything to do with it initially, and all finally enjoyed it. As I look at them sleeping now (I went and fed Java's litter in between), Fuschia is asleep with her head laying in the empty dish and all seem happy and well fed.
Now for Java's litter: Chocolate is still my gentle giant. He is a great nurser and will eat anything in front of him. He is nearly twice the size of his little sister, Rainbow. Rainbow is doing great. She came in to this world so very tiny and we protected and watched her like a hawk and she is thriving. Navy did not like the bottle for the first to weeks, but now relishes the fact that he can get a private feeding. Teal is a great little eater, and Daisy has her times where she will prefer mom over bottle and bottle over mom. Rosebud is like Chocolate, only tinier. She will eat anything you put in front of her. Most of Java's are still just eating and sleeping, as they are younger.
All of our puppies are held at least 6 times a day. They are all checked and fed every three to four hours, coddled, kissed, cleaned and then put back with mom. They can all now focus on us and make eye contact, which is fun. Asia's can hear and we no longer can sneak in, but I can still sneak in to Java's den, unless the pups catch my scent. Life is fun here, busy but extremely rewarding.
