Puppy Q&A With Molly Morelli : Week 2
Maxi – How does Olive feel about her new half siblings? Is she too mature now to feel jealousy? Misty and her pups are heaven on earth!
So far the adults only have been able to smell that there are puppies in the house but have not spent any time in the same room as the puppies. I really don’t think that any of my girls would hurt a puppy, but it certainly isn’t worth the risk of that or having Misty stress to allow it to happen. Once the pups are bigger they will interact with the “aunties.”
CherylCannone – Can they ever nurse too much? Seriously, is over eating something that has to be watched?
Puppies can overeat and get a gassy tummy, but that doesn’t happen very often. They are pretty good at self-regulating.
goldenlove – Probably a strange question, but where is Misty’s incision?
The incision for a C-section is the same as for a spay, but larger. Midline on her abdomen. It is a vertical incision (think head to toe) as opposed to a human C-section which is more of a horizontal line.
CherylCannone – Do you have any info that you can/want to share regarding the passing of beloved Ms. Pink and Mr. Black? Are there specific things that you have to be concerned with at each stage of development? Love being able to witness these miracles develop.
We do have preliminary necropsy results from Cornell University. We went to great expense to determine cause of death with these puppies. Once we have final results I will let everyone know.
LDMom – Do you do any early neurological stimulation exercises with the puppies?
We do not do the exact routine that ENS calls for but we do incorporate the exercises into our daily petting sessions.
2rots – Not being critical at all as I have never done this, but diverdown48 brings up an interesting point. Why is it necessary to keep arranging the puppies at Misty’s teets? Would they not go to her naturally? Is it because you feel they are still not out of the woods?
I have always been a very firm believer that pups should find the teat themselves or they will always need your help to get there. Well, that went out the window when nursing puppies was the only indication of health that I had. The only sign that Black and Pink had prior to dying was that they didn’t nurse. In Black’s case I noticed him slowing down nursing but he still would attempt to latch but slip right off. Pink wouldn’t nurse at all for just the 3 hours or so prior to death. Of course, this made me want to see these puppies nursing ALL the time.
LDMom – During some close up shots, it looks like their little eyes are opening some. Is it my imagination? Or maybe I need new eyeglasses?
These guys have tons of pigment like their mama. You are seeing dark eyerims come in, but no eyeball yet. I have not done any official study on this but I really think that pups development (not just whelping date) also seems to be counted from Ovulation in the bitch. I have had bitches carry pups a day or so past “due date” and those pups would have eyes open by like day 12. These pups came roughly 2 days early and they are at day 14 tomorrow and not even a crack in the corners yet.
CherylCannone – Can puppies at this stage gain too much weight too quickly? When will their legs start to lengthen?
No, they really can’t gain that fast. As soon as they start getting up on all fours you will see their legs stretch out.
Slipper – Are your females the only ones that breed for WCC?
I do not have any boys intact for breeding right now. I have two of Rain’s Patriotic Puppies that I am looking at for breeding. They will be collected and have their semen frozen before neutering. I don’t breed often enough to keep them out as stud dogs and they are so amazing they need to be out there working. A young dog that is collected can sometimes get 3 to 4 breedings out of each collection. I could collect and freeze 3 times and have plenty of semen to use in the future.
CherylCannone – Does each pup have a unique smell? How does Misty know that she’s “cleaned” each one?
Well, I can’t smell anything but I bet Misty can.
grlsctldr – How long do the pups usually stay in the box? And will they go straight from the box to the garage? If not, where will they be?
Depending on the size of the litter the pups can usually stay in the whelping box for 3-4 weeks. They will go directly from the whelping box to the new Puppy Enrichment Center. I am trying to avoid the term “garage” because newcomers might really think I am throwing puppies in the garage.
moosemom – When do the pups start pooping? I know from Holly’s pups that the Mom will clean up after her pups due to instinct, but I haven’t see any of that type of activity from Misty yet. Just wondering.
The puppies are already producing poops but Misty cleans up. Actually, due to the antibiotics they already have stinky poops.
goldenlovers – Are the puppies born with their baby teeth or do they develop after birth like human babies? I’ve never been around newborn pups and I wondered? Thanks!
Puppy teeth will start to emerge around 3.5 weeks. I will try to get some photos of them coming in for you to see.
Streak – How much did Misty weigh before pregnancy? During? And will she lose the weight from pregnancy naturally or will you put her on a diet?
Misty is a short and stocky girl. She is very heavy boned and weighs more than you would expect. I keep her around 75lbs. She weighed in at 92 before she gave birth. She had roughly 7lbs of puppy and the rest was fluid and placenta.
BrendaS – Molly, do you have any recent weights?
The pups are all at or close to 4lbs. I will post weights with the 2 week photos.
