worries

In the first week of the puppies' life, there's plenty to worry about.  For the 48 or so hours before they're even born I've already got a low-level niggling concern about everything going ok.  There is so much that can go wrong.

Once they have been born and all are good weights, all are strong and suckling ok and mum is also ok, then the first flush of worry drains away.  Then I'm left with the pressure of getting them all through that first stressful week.  Once the puppies get to a week, then they're usually well away.  And by the time they are 2 weeks I can start weaning them if necessary.

But in the meantime, there are all the things to get right.  First and foremost at this time of year is to make sure the pups are kept consistently warm and free from any chilly drafts.  Puppies this young have no ability to regulate their own temperature and even a brief chill can easily kill a newborn pup.  This is agony for the poor Lapphund mum, of course, who wishes for nothing more than ice and snow.  Especially while she's got all these hot little bodies clustered around her for so much of the time.  I keep the temperature in the room around 20 or 21ºC.  When it starts creeping up to 23, as it often does, then Keksi starts to get very uncomfortable.  It's also obvious that the puppies are plenty warm too because they migrate away from each other in the box rather than cuddling up in a heap. 

Keksi has been brilliant about keeping the puppies warm, and during their second night when we had a hard frost and the temperature in the puppy room dipped to 16ºC, I don't think she left the whelping box at all.  When I checked on them in the small hours and realised how cold it was I put the heating back on for the rest of the night. 

2 days ago - keeping warm between mum's big paws

 

Then there's making sure no contagious bugs come into the house.  This is a tough one in a house with more than one dog, and it seems to be particularly tough in our village where diarrhea bugs and kennel cough just seem to go round and round all the hundreds of dogs who live here.  To keep the possibility of cross-contamination from our dogs to a minimum, no one is allowed to say hello to Keksi during her brief forays downstairs on her way out to do her business. We also take Keksi to a less-used area of grass outside that most neighbourhood dogs in passing don't bother with.  We also make sure that all our gang have up-to-date kennel cough vaccinations before any pregnant ladies like Keksi come to stay.

Whenever any people come into the house, even though they are going nowhere near the puppy room upstairs, we spray their feet and lower legs with a solution of Parvovirucide disinfectant - the same stuff that we use to clean the box and all puppy-related equipment.  And when the puppies have moved downstairs at 4 weeks of age, we add the requirement that everyone who visits is required to clean their hands with antibacterial gel.  

Sometimes the biggest worry is making sure mum gets enough to eat and drink.  This isn't only important for the health of the litter's dam, but it's of paramount importance to the puppies too.  The fuel that Keksi consumes will be converted into milk to feed the puppies.  If she doesn't eat, then there is a danger that her milk will dry up.  That would mean 2-hourly hand-feeding a litter of previously strong and healthy puppies.  Otherwise known as a disaster.

When Neka had her litter of 9, it was a full-time job trying to keep her fed and hydrated.  While she was nursing, the puppies took so much out of her that I was constantly worried she was not getting enough fuel.   Even Keksi, who will by everyone's experience, eat anything and everything in plentiful amounts, is now turning up her nose at the puppy food I want her to eat.  Before the puppies were born, she gobbled up the puppy food no problem.  Now, it's the same old routine trying to find something she will eat without throwing it all over the room.

Last night she chucked her bowl of food around the floor and then ripped up some newspaper to bury it with.  Later on she happily ate it from my hand though. 

I'm sure Daniel & Jim will be thrilled that Keksi now requires hand feeding.  Kidding!  I have no doubt she will be back to her usual greedy self in no time, and long before she goes home.