Week Two Flame Puppies

Last Update 08/06/2015

Monday, September 25, 2006 -- Day 7

We survived our first week!   And today's visitor was Stephanie Weil, Crystal's mom (Flame's sister), pictured above holding Teal Boy.  Stephanie and her husband, Bob, and son, Daniel, hope to get a little boy from this litter, provided one of the boys turns out to be sweet and laid-back like their great grandpa Tyler, who's currently staying with Stephanie & family.   Stephanie had never seen puppies this young before (Crystal was 18 months when she went to live with them).  Continuing with our visitation program from last week, everything went very well.  Flame was once again so excited to see one of her friends and she was very comfortable with Stephanie around the puppies.  We did, however, put Flame on the other side of the baby gate for a few minutes so Stephanie could handle the puppies.  That was fine with Flame, and when she came back into the room after the puppies were back in their box, Flame was as eager to eat more chicken from Stephanie as she was to check on the status of her litter.

I am continuing to do the Early Neurological Exercises started last week, and everything is going well.  Today's highlight was when Teal Boy actually stood up and pooped on his own while Flame was on the other side of the baby gate.  Yellow Boy also stood on his own for a split second today.  I have dimmed the lights in preparation for their eyes to start to open.  I continue to leave Flame and puppies alone from about 3 to 7 pm, as this seems to be their heaviest nap time -- and Flame's grumpiest time if she's bothered.  She gets a good nap in while the puppies alternately eat and nap.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006 -- Day 9

From left to right, in birth order:  Green Boy, Teal Boy, Orange Girl (yep, she already has a big mouth!), Yellow Boy & Purple Girl.  The photos are not the best quality because we've gone to natural light in preparation for puppy eyes opening; however, look at how they've grown!   Everyone has topped the two pound mark and all are within a couple ounces of each other.

We did have a bit of a stressful past 36 hours.  Monday afternoon Flame exhibited some aggressive behavior toward her puppies.  She did not harm anyone, and her behavior was appropriate for an older puppy or dog -- just not for a puppy that cannot see or hear.  I have never experienced this type of behavior in a dam, so was rather surprised.   In each case Flame was cleaning one puppy when another puppy crawled toward Flame's face.  Flame gave a hard stare, then a very low growl, then a snarl and finally, in two cases, snapped at the air.

Flame has always been a great dog communicator.  She's a dominant, uppity bitch, but has always gotten along with other dogs and puppies.  She has excellent dog body language, knows how to be submissive to bitches that are more dominant than she and has a fantastic temperament.  Her mother was an outstanding mother, as was her grandmother, so where this is coming from is beyond me.

One possibility is that Flame was just thoroughly exhausted and stressed out.  Another is that she's a bad mother.  Finally, and this is my gut feeling, it's related to low calcium levels and a condition that's not widely recognized by the veterinary community called pre-tetanic eclampsia.   (Click here to read more.)  After this happened and I consulted several friends, I started doing some research and certainly find many similarities between the condition described in the articles and other discussion groups and Flame's situation.

Monday night I started giving Flame additional cottage cheese and yogurt to boost her calcium levels, in the event my hunch was correct.  Tuesday morning I spoke with me vet who agreed that bloodwork might be helpful.  This morning we received the results.  Although her calcium levels were normal my vet agreed that the anecdotal evidence presented in my internet research warranted conservative treatment.  Katrina picked up some Cal-Sorb for Flame (oral calcium supplement) with 3 cc to be given once a day for four days.

I carefully supervised Flame's nursing and cleaning sessions with the puppies after this happened on Monday, and am continuing to do so.  I am not leaving her in the whelping box unsupervised.   When she is with the puppies, I am right there to monitor.  If a puppy crawls too close while Flame is cleaning another, I just redirect the puppy.  I also have a soft muzzle in case her behavior worsens.  Yes, it's time-consuming and a hassle and stressful, but it seems to be working. 

It also seems to be helping Flame (and me) get more sleep.  We are sleeping together on the kitchen floor so we are close to the puppies.  Up until now, Flame has only slept a few minutes at a time.

It has been interesting to research this whole situation.  I don't know if the additional calcium will help Flame's behavior but in the meantime, the puppies are doing great and the situation is manageable.   If the worst case scenario comes true, that Flame turns out to be a bad mother, Grandma Keeper is waiting in the wings, eager to nurture and mother the puppies.  She can't provide milk (she's been spayed for several years) but she can do everything else. 

Back to the puppies...they are changing so quickly.  Eyes are starting to open; everyone has little slits.  Ears are twitching more.  Noses are becoming more sensitive, not only to Flame's comings and goings, but also to my arms and hands in the whelping box.  As Cathy Horrocks so aptly describes their movement at this point, they're like little alligators.  They are getting up on all fours, standing and stumbling forward, standing and tipping over.  As Flame enters the whelping box, they're up and ambling toward the milk machine.  When my arm or hand reaches in, they head in my direction, resting their heads on my arm, sucking on my fingers and nuzzling my shirt. 

Behaviorally it's interesting to note how vigorously these puppies nurse and how close they are in weight.  I am continuing the early neurological stimulation exercises and today was another toenail trimming day.   They also respond to soothing touch and stroking.  In the midst of a burst of energy, if I cuddle and stroke a puppy, it easily settles and relaxes. 

So, for the forseeable future my days and nights consist of setting my alarm to make sure puppies are fed and cleaned every 2 to 3 hours.  Flame wants to be with the puppies, has not shown any more aggressive behavior when she is with them and worries about them as she watches them through the wooden swing gate separating the kitchen and dining room (aka whelping room), but I cannot take a chance and leave her with them unsupervised.

The lesson here is something that I've always known happens but never experienced.  I've never had problems with any of my dams.  But there are no guarantees when you breed a litter.  A good breeder has to be willing to deal with the challenges that come up and make the best of them and learn from them.

Thursday, September 28, 2006 -- Day 10

I am happy to report that Flame is like a new dog -- or perhaps I should say that Flame is like the old Flame.  She's been on Cal-Sorb calcium supplement (3 cc/day) for two days now, plus she's eating well (Back to Basics kibble plus a little liver, cottage cheese, vitamin supplement and fish oil three times a day).  I truly believe that the problems I was seeing were due to a calcium deficiency caused by an unbalanced diet that was too high in protein prior to her whelping (she had been refusing kibble. 

Katrina Tustin and Cathy Horrocks both came to visit today and both saw a difference in Flame's level of relaxation and rejuvenation now that she's also sleeping better.   Puppies are getting to the fun stage, with eyes almost open.  They are starting to play together, rolling on their backs, wagging their tails.  When Flame enters the whelping box, everyone is up on all four feet, motoring toward the scent of milk, so as Flame wanders around to check on each puppy and do her cleaning duties, the puppy noses go straight up.  Flame has good instincts when it comes to getting the puppies to follow her to one side of the box while she immediately heads to the opposite side to lay down.  I've also added a few toys to the whelping box and the puppies all like to rest their heads on toys while they're sleeping.

I am going to remain conservative, only allowing Flame in the box when I'm present and attentive, but I do believe things are going to go well from here on out.  I'll take more photos and update their weight chart tomorrow.

Friday, September 29, 2006 -- Day 11

               look at the changes!        

The three photos above are from this morning.  Compare the size of the puppies with the photo on the right, taken just a few hours after everyone had been born and settled.  What a difference 11 days makes, in both size and weight.  Birth weights were 14 to 15 ounces and today's average was 2 lbs. 7 oz. (39 ounces).  Everything continues to go very well.  The puppies seem to be enjoying exploring their toys and Flame is doing great.  Eye slits continue to widen and every puppy is getting a little more stable up on all fours.

Saturday, September 30, 2006 -- Day 12

Today's visitors included Daniel Small (above) and his parents, Stephanie and Bob.  Flame was delighted to see all of them, especially Stephanie, and to show off her puppies.  Daniel cuddled each puppy for a few minutes and everyone got to see the feeding frenzy, the wobbly walking and the snoozing after all the activity.  Puppies are growing strong by the day and eyes are open a little further.  I think Green Boy was actually seeing images today.  Orange and Purple Girls have growled at me a couple of times when I picked them up, as did Teal Blue Boy.  They didn't like it when I interrupted their little naps!   Yellow Boy still seems to be the sweetest of the group, with Green Boy close behind.