Weaning

We did indeed start the weaning process when the pups turned 4 weeks old. They still nurse a few times throughout the day but its going well. Initially we mixed their dry food with evaporated milk and we've been making it less and less runny as time has gone on. They now are willing to eat dry food all on its own.

6 weeks old & vet checkup!

Today the pups took their first trip to the vet for a full health checkup & their first set of vaccinations. Tomorrow they will each get their first heartworm pill! And, its deworming day again. (Although the pups had a negative fecal test, we want to make sure it stays that way so we'll continue to deworm them every two weeks!).

New Pictures! 24 days old

Well the pups are about 3 1/2 weeks old and they are growing so much! Just yesterday, baby girl 2 was the first pup to clamber out of the box by herself! And today one of the boys was also able to climb out. We're now transitioning them to a new location in our house, where they can leave the box to go potty, as they are about ready to start weaning from Lou. This will help their forever parents because it will get them started on potty training--they will learn not to potty where they eat & sleep!

So here are some new pics of the growing bunch:

They still spend plenty of time cuddled up


Our son is finding them more & more interesting


And don't worry, he didn't get any further than this :)


Baby Girl 1


Baby Girl 2
(With Mommy looking on!)


Baby Girl 3 (she seems to be quite photogenic & willing to look at the camera!)




Baby Girl 4


Baby Boy 1
(With Mommy looking on)




Baby Boy 2

What we eat

Well, I'm actually going to tell you about what we feed our dogs! Lou and Bear regularly eat Biljac. When Lou was pregnant, we switched her to Royal Canin puppy food. Its important for pregnant mamas to get puppy food because it has a higher fat content and helps to better nourish the pups. This continues while Lou is nursing, and once she had the pups and began nursing she has food available to her at all times. She reminds me of myself as a postpartum, nursing mom, in that her appetite is huge! Lou also gets a small wetfood treat once a day (usually Science Diet puppy food), along with her calcium supplement. We didn't start giving her calcium until after the puppies were born, because some research has linked puppy health problems to calcium supplements. She of course also has water available to her at all times. At around 4 weeks, the pups will begin weaning. They'll also get Royal Canin but will get babydog food to start.

Deworming

The pups turned two weeks old yesterday, so they (along with Lou) got their first deworming. We use Nemex 2.

Open wide!

This afternoon when I went to check in on the pups, I noticed that they all had their eyes open! They will be two weeks old tomorrow. They have also now all tripled their birthweight. Their hair is growing as well. I think its time for more pictures.