On The Move!!
Sienna’s pups are 18 days old now and their eyes are wide open!
And boy are they motoring!!
Now the fun really begins!!
Havanese Haven
One Week Old and Twice as Big!
The beginning of socialization! My daughter in law getting her first wiff of puppy breath and giving Sienna some loving!
Our puppies turned 1 (week) today! They are doing great…even the little one! Everyone has at least doubled their weight which is a good sign.
The first three weeks are always the clinchers. I
don’t want to let Sienna outside because we have tons of deer in our neighborhood. They are beautiful but also disease carriers. While the pups do benefit from Mom’s antibodies in the colostrum and in her milk, I am nervous.
Here are some recent photos!
Grandson Ben loves to hold puppies! This is the same young man featured on the “cover” of this website….10 years ago! He is holding our littlest one, Luxio.
They try to sleep in clumps!
You can’t see them all, but the other 5 are nestled under the whelping pen’s pig rail. A pig rail prevents mom from accidentally crushing one of her babies.
Sienna getting some quality on my bed with Luxio. My way of making sure this pup gets all the milk he needs. Special times.
Sienna, me and Luxio. (I am terrible at selfies!)
Sienna’s Puppies–Day 3
As a first time mom, Sienna was a little bewildered when her puppies began to arrive. But after the fourth pup descended (she has 7!), her instincts kicked in big time.
Fast forward to Day 3 and she has got this!!
In the video below she is seen picking up one of the pups to gently (puppy never made a peep) and place him in the circle of babies so that she could curl her body around all of them for nursing. I think this is just amazing!
Day 2–Everyone is Gaining!
With seven puppies, I expect them to be small. There is, after all, only so much room in mom’s belly! I weigh my newborns twice a day to catch any weight loss that may have to be addressed with supplemental feedings. I was particularly concerned about the little boy who weighed in at just 90 grams (3 ounces) at birth. I was ready to start to feed him, but really wanted him to take full advantage of mom’s colostrom during those critical first days. (A dam’s milk does not usually come in until the 3rd day or so). Colostrom is loaded with nutrients and antibodies for puppies. Nature’s way of getting them off to a good start.
Suffice it to say I was nervous.
It is quite common for puppies (and human babies, as I understand it) to lose a bit of weight their first couple days of life. Imagine my surprise and glee when all the puppies actually gained weight their first 24 hours of life! Even the little guy.
Kudos to Sienna!
Sienna’s puppies, day 2. The little guy is on the left just below the dark brown and white pup that is about twice the size!
If You’re Wondering When to Neuter Your Fur Child
A recent study offers some further insights. The terminology is a bit scientific but the information, once you wade thru it, is cause for caution!
This is the link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5146839