5 weeks already

The Little Bears are already 5 weeks old. Wow.

They are getting very busy now, love exploring the world, although just from the safety of our home for now ;) They have entered the stage where they bite a sibling, who then squeals (often loudly) but the biter doesn't realise it's because of them that said sibling is squealing. This is an important part of their education and why you should always keep puppies with their siblings until they are at least 7 weeks old (although we will keep our pups until 10 weeks). It will be nice once they are past this stage though!

We started weaning at four weeks old (and one day, to be exact ;). We had Amber on Millies Wolfheart up until the puppies were about two weeks old, but she wasn't eating it (she has the art of licking tasty toppers off and then spitting the kibble all over the floor down to the ground!). Along with some issues with the other dogs too, we decided to go back to raw. This means the puppies are fed raw too. We started with boneless, ground chicken mince and they tucked straight in;

They are now on four meals a day (50g cubed chicken breast, 30g chicken and beef pre-prepared chubs each meal). Amber still feeds them regularly too. They are all between 4.3 to 4.5 kg now, which means over eight times their birth weights!! Wow again!!!

They have started having little adventures outdoors (my 16th birthday being the first time ;). They scamper about in the grass and chew anything within their reach. They also have their first collars, they look adorable wearing them although are still scratching them a lot as they aren't used to having anything around their necks - we never even used ribbons when they were tiny as we could tell them apart from the start. 

Getting bigger by the day!

The puppies are 4 weeks old today! They are getting very active and playful now. Yesterday we moved them from the whelping box into a bigger puppy playpen, which has bed (including a crate), play and toilet areas. I think they are liking this new arrangement, and it gives them lots more space. They now have a shallow water dish; Dizzy went over to investigate and gave himself a sunrise when he went to sniff it and got covered in water! Sunshine & Chatterbox just go for a paddle ;)

It's amazing how much they've changed since they were born. They are now walking around and hardly toppling over at all. They have (sharp) teeth, which they like to chew everything with! They are barking and have great fun with their toys. They are interacting more with us and come over for cuddles.

They have now entered the Critical Socialization Period, a time which shapes the puppies futures. Therefore we are introducing them to all sorts of different people, dogs, animals, sights, sounds, surfaces, experiences...and making it all really positive.

A few of my favourite cute pictures from the last few days (we will try to do individual four week old pictures tomorrow)

Amber & Gandhi's puppies are here!

We have two girls and one boy <3

Mr Dizzy, Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Chatterbox

25.03.15

Wow, what a maniac two weeks! So it all started off on Monday 23rd at 5 am when Amber began nesting, we knew it wouldn't be long. As well as digging/scratching/ripping her bed and the nesting box she had several massive holes in the garden. Then on Wednesday it all moved up a gear. Her waters went at twelve thirty so we knew the puppies were on their way. After having spent a few hours not doing much we we're trying to make a decision about what to do and then we noticed green discharge..bad sign. So we went to the vets for an emergency c-section. There had indeed been a puppy in distress who wouldn't have made it had we waited much longer. We were there when they were born, the first boy squeaked almost straight away; the girls took a little longer - it's always so wonderful to hear! There were two vets and three nurses there, I'm really glad we got there before they went home as it is safer with more staff. We then brought them home almost straight after, so Amber was quite sleepy and was lifted into the whelping box. All puppies took a few minutes to start feeding but once they did they were flying it. Birth weights, in birth order; Mr Dizzy 560g, Little Miss Sunshine 540g and Little Miss Chatterbox, 560g. We stayed up the first night watching them, by the next morning we were very tired, but of course it was more than worth it!

Since then puppies have been busy feeding, sleeping, growing and being cute :D The vet called out at day three to do dewclaws and give everyone a quick check over. For the first few days Amber didn't leave them at all, as you would expect, so trips outside for toilet breaks entailed putting the pups into a box (with a pre-warmed heat pad and a cosy blanket). Now she goes in to spend time with them but it happy to spend short periods away as long as she is around the house. I will likely start taking her for quick walks in the field tomorrow, once her stitches are out.

Weights this morning are 1780, 1800 & 1960g so they have tripled their birth weights, plus some more! Eyes are nearly totally open, they are starting to try and walk (even if they often end up toppling over) and they are beginning to interact more.

Love them <3