Puppy's Rule



Litter 3 all 11 Puppies

And we have had 24 hours with very little sleep.  We may monitor the puppies in excess but they are so tiny and helpless.During the whelping process, sometimes they need a little extra stimulation or the sack doesn't come off well and the mama needs our help to get or keep the puppy breathing. 
Then crawling around with their eyes closed, they easily get separated from mama and their siblings.  Those lost pups need to be moved closer. 



Duchess and Litter 3



Duchess and Litter 3

Then mama gets up and moves to a more comfortable position. When she sits back down, those wiggly little puppies sometimes end up under her. We do frequent counts (it is easier when the colors are more even).   We need to work quickly to remove any puppies from under her.  This is most critical during the first 24 hours when she is so tired from whelping and the almost continuous feeding schedule.



Mama takes a break

On TV they had a new celebrity mother on and she was complaining about her newborn eating every two hours.  The pups feed in shifts about once an hour.  There is maybe 20 minutes an hour that Duchess isn't feeding at least one of the pups.