Week 3

The radiograph was taken just four days before birth to count the number of pups we were expecting.

The new arrivals now 13 hours old and resting in their incubator while mom rests.

All the pups are weighted twice a day to assure good growth and head off any potential problems. This is Raven.

Bear resting with mom - she makes for a good pillow.

Week 2

As the pups grow it is harder for ten pups to get next to mom for nursing all at the same time.

Some of the pups enjoying their first meal. Maybe Veery was enjoying it a bit more than the others.

Playtime has begun!

Week 4 to 5

The pups are enjoying a meal outdoors prior to getting their first romp in the grass.

Lemur, Raven, and Panda

This was Sage just 24 hours and 30 minutes prior to the arrival of the first puppy, Puma.

She loves her babies!

The pups catching a little rest from the strenuous activity of eating. Their names, while living with us, are:

Girls

Pink collar - Puma

Yellow collar - Canary

Lime green collar - Lemur

Orange collar - Opossum

Light blue collar - Bear

Violet collar - Verry

Red collar - Raven

Here is a very short video to show how much the pups have grown in just two weeks. As you can see as well, they are beginning to walk too.

The eyes opened at ten days of age with Badger being the first to have his eyes open.

After eating it was time to wash it down with a little of mom’s milk. It has gotten hard to find room for ten at the table.

In this video, you can see how much the pups have grown and how active they are getting.

Although it varies by litter, three to four weeks after birth is often when the pups need to begin the transition from mom’s milk to regular puppy food. With a litter of ten pups, moms will sometimes have trouble keeping up with the food demand and that just speeds up the need to start the transition sooner. In the photo above and on the left, you can see how well the pups take to the new food, even diving right into the food plate to get all they can. Mom is always watching the process and willing to clean the plate for the pups once their tummies are full. Then, as seen in the right hand photo, mom relaxes and helps the pups wash down their new food, before they all take a nap.

Another thing that happens right around this time is a movement from the whelping box to a puppy pen. At the same time the pups begin their litter training, as is evidenced by the pans in gray pans in the photos above. The first pen (4’ x 4’) is only used for 24 - 48 hours and is configured to encourage the pups to use the litter pans to potty. After that time frame, the pups move to a 4’ x 6’ pen that gives them a little more room to play while staying outside of the litter pans, then within just another few days the pups move to their final pen size of 6’ x 6’ which incorporates an open crate, the litter pans, and plenty of room to play and sleep, when not outside of the pen playing and exploring their world. There are two pens of this size, one indoors and one outdoors where the pups get fresh air, sunshine, and regular visitation from the adults.

Pups are not always too keen on setting foot in the grass for the first time, but this litter showed not hesitation.

Bear (forefront), Badger on left, Raven, and Lemur in the back

A video of the pups at 5 weeks of age enjoying time outdoors.

After a nice meal what do we do? We take a nap with our brothers and sisters.

Pups are lining up for play time while mom finishes with her nursing.

Lemur (center) with Opossum, Bear, Canary and Gopher (top)

Little Badger - such a sweet boy

Dogs are den animals and if you ever doubted that just look how quickly pups take to a crate. This photo was taken ten minutes after the litter was moved to this new pen.

Opossum