The first of the development stages is The Neonatal Period. This period starts at day one and goes to day 14. At this stage the most important and main influence in the puppies life is their dam. Her health, milk supply, attitude towards the pups and people who come see them influence the behavior development of the litter.
Week 1
Time for my first puppy journal!!! Faith whelped her litter in the early morning hours last Friday. First puppy arrived just before 6:00 am with the last live puppy arriving at 7:00 pm. (a puppy was born at 3:00 am on Saturday morning, however, it did not make it…was in the canal too long). The whelping went very well with Faith birthing a puppy every hour or two. She had time in between each one to clean it, care for it and let it feed before another puppy came.
Faith was very calm throughout the whelping and thankfully each pup came out with ease. This time, only a few pups were breach and she needed little help. I did an x-ray the day she whelped to see how many pups to expect and the count was 11….maybe 12. The vet was right on. Some breeders do x-rays, others do not. I did not x-ray for Faith’s first litter but due to her being SO LARGE this time, I felt I needed to have an idea of how many pups to expect. Her last litter also had one puppy that was SO large it needed to be pulled out by the vet. This time around, Vet said the pups were very uniform in size, she should have no problem whelping them and he could see no ‘dead’ puppies (gas forms around dead pups in the womb).
It is always a relief for me when the whelping is done and the dam settles in to clean, care and feed her litter.
So, the final count is 10 puppies!!!! 8 males and 2 females. The interesting part for me is that we have 9 sable pups and 1 black/red pup. In past litters, the colors have been very ‘even’ (same number for each etc)……so this time around…sable was dominant!!! I LOVE sable German shepherds and these guys are very dark. Right now, their coloring is stunning!! At times it is even hard to distinguish the black/red pup who is very dark with great pigment.
As mentioned earlier, the pups are very uniform in size with one male being a big smaller than the others. However, he finds a nipple to suck and does not get pushed around by the others!
Faith is a bit calmer this litter and does not ‘jump’ up the second she hears any crying or grunting. Last litter, she was meticulous with them. ANY sound and she was there checking it out. Having said that, Faith continues to be VERY clean with her babies! You never see any ‘mess’ in the whelping box!! She spends time cleaning and grooming them and is careful as she finds a spot to lay down for them to nurse.
I never tire of watching the puppies and seeing how ‘nature’ takes over. God knew what he was doing!!!! IF the pups are all spread out and Faith cannot find a place to lay down to nurse them, she puts her front feet in the whelping box, waits for the pups to ‘smell’ her and come to her. She then stands there and cleans them for a bit and when the pups are close together opening up a space for her to lay down….she goes in and spreads out for them.
Another thing that I swear occurs is an accelerated ‘maturity’ with raw fed puppies. I have seen this every litter. These guys are already using their noses to find mom, lets ‘us’ know if they are frustrated and quickly settle in to get the flow of milk going! LOL. We seldom here the pups cry so Faith must have a great milk supply as the pups are very content.
One of the bigger challenges for me is how ‘warm’ to keep the room. You want the room to be warm as the pups cannot regulate their body heat, but…..you also want the dam to be comfortable! I can hardly wait til they are a bit older and I don’t have to worry about that as much! I also LOVE the stages where the pups are more active and interacting with people!
I have started the Neurological Stimulation with the puppies and will continue this until day 16. The puppies are doing a lot of twitching /leg/head movements so we know they are developing neurologically.
I weighed the pups on the third day and they all have gained weight and are looking fantastic! When they drink now you can hear them ‘suck’ (almost a swallowing sound) the milk/nipple and their tails are going back and forth letting us know….they have found the milk!! I will try and video tape them so everyone can ‘hear’ what I am talking about! With 10 puppies and only 8 nipples (and usually a few of them are not the ‘favored’ nipples) I am watching more carefully to make sure all the pups get their ‘time’ eating.
I cannot over emphasize the important role the dam plays in raising her litter!!!! Having a mom that is content, cuddles with her pups, and cleans/cares for them in an appropriate way is crucial!!! I have been blessed with a ‘line’ of dogs where the moms LOVE their role and contributes so positively to the growth and upbringing of their puppies.
Do not Copy © Copyright material: All Text, Graphics designs and Photos, all rights reserved. Tehillah German Shepherds & Pillinger Graphics ~ Please feel free to link to this page.
