Update on Lilly.

[Blaze]

Hi,

I just though I'd give an update on Lilly's puppies.

They are all doing very well. They are 2 days old and growing nicely.


They are all very good at eating and sleeping.


I slept the first night on the floor next to them and Lilly but I tried to move back into a bed in the same room the next night. Lilly decided that her and ALL the puppies were also sleeping in the bed. I know it isn't great but I've moved the single bed into the corner and against a wall. I have half the bed and they have the rest and I wake and check on them every 20-30 minutes. I don't get any sleep but at least Lilly and the babies do.


She loved the whelping box before she had the pups but now she's decided she hates it so during the day I have them in a puppy play pen in the living room. It has a warm blanket and heat pad in there plus Lilly's food and water.


I am very tired but I managed to have some lunch today while Lilly was sleeping.

My only problem is that Lilly keeps (accidentally) laying on the babies and being a bit rough. She doesn't mean to and loves them to bits but she just can't get comfortable and rolls over every now and then. Does anyone know how I can stop her? It's gotten a bit better since she's moved into the play-pen.


Lilly's eating, drinking and sleeping well and you can tell she is VERY happy.

[whimzikal]

Brooke (LOL) now you have a community bed too!!!
I know how it is when they HAVE to be with you.
Something tells me IF Sharon actually has babies they will be in bed.
All of my doggies have been in my bed, or Kody's, since the day
they came home. Well, Sharon took a few nights (she was going to
stay at the kennel as breeding stock but I talked her into letting us have her)
I can't wait to watch them grow and develope!
Try to take a nap today and EAT!!!

[Country-Side Br]

I'm glad everyone is doing so well and that the pups are growing nicely! That's always good news! It's amazing how much they change in just a few days, isn't it?! I've found that my pups double their weight the first week.


As for the laying on them issue, you'll need to find something that you can use as a "pig" rail. That's where you can put something up around the edges of her whelping box (you'll have to put her back in the box [and put sides on it so that she can't get out], as hard as it's going to be for you, otherwise she's going to squish them...unfortunately, it's happened to me before). Then put a 2"PVC tube or 1x2" rails of wood up off the ground about 3" so that if the pups are laying there and she happens to get too close to them, she'll lay up against the rail and not on them. Having them in the playpen is way too big for her and so unsafe for the pups...at least for the first few weeks, when they're unable to fend for themselves.

So, after you get that set up, go eat and then GET SOME REST!!!! Trust me, you'll all sleep and feel better once that gets set up.

[Blaze]

As for the laying on them issue, you'll need to find something that you can use as a "pig" rail. That's where you can put something up around the edges of her whelping box (you'll have to put her back in the box [and put sides on it so that she can't get out], as hard as it's going to be for you, otherwise she's going to squish them...unfortunately, it's happened to me before). Then put a 2"PVC tube or 1x2" rails of wood up off the ground about 3" so that if the pups are laying there and she happens to get too close to them, she'll lay up against the rail and not on them. Having them in the playpen is way too big for her and so unsafe for the pups...at least for the first few weeks, when they're unable to fend for themselves.

I got a whelping box that has rails around it but I'm not sure if they are the kind your talking about. I've attached a picture of the whelping box but it looks weird because I'm standing over it. The problem is that when she's feeding them she stands up sometimes and then sits back down on top of them! She doesn't mean to and she stands up again but she's just used to having heaps of room to move. I don't leave her alone with them so I'm always there to get them out but it's just a bit of a worry.......

[Country-Side Br]

Yeah...that is a great whelping box!! Stands up to feed them, huh? Is she trying to get back into shape already? Is she content or does she seem nervous? It sounds like she's being a great mom and that she's getting up right away, but I totally understand in your saying that you're worried about the little guy and gals! Hopefully, she'll figure it out soon that it's easier to feed them while she's resting and laying down.

[Blaze]

She seems content and even wags her tail while she's feeding them sometimes and especially when she's cleaning them! I'll try and make her go back into the whelping box. She doesn't seem to want to take many breaks away from them. Is this normal? And how long is it safe for her to be away from them? I'd like to give her a quick bath at some point. The pups ALWAYS seem to be eating. I keep her food and drink intake up. Do you think it's okay for her to be almost constantly feeding 5 babies??
Thanks for all your help!!

[Country-Side Br]

As much as the babies want to eat is how much they need. During the first few days, they will lose some weight and will need to gain it back. The first 24 hours of eating is the colostrum...nutrients essential for surviving. After the 24 hours, the actual milk comes in and they start getting the extra calories needed for growing. Frequent nursing will also prevent mastitis from setting in. The big thing is to give Lilly very high quality food and to always have her water available because the more water she has access to, the less chance of dehydration from her and the easier it is to make more milk for them. I'm assuming she's going poop and pee ok?

As for leaving them...if she gets nervous when she's apart from them, I wouldn't give her a bath just yet. I know she's not all that pretty to look at, but she's got a huge job to be doing now and anything to make it less stressful is going to be better for her. And a happy mom makes for even happier pups!

On a side note, when I have to take my pups in for their dew claws removed and tails docked, I leave Mom at home. I'm usually gone for 30-45 mins. and they're fine while they're away from mom. Mom is stressed out and attends to the crazily for the rest of the morning or afternoon, but they adjust. If I didn't have to do it, I wouldn't because it is stressful for mom. And, bringing her with would only worsen matters for her.

[Blaze]

Thanks Patty!
I'm giving Lilly high quality kibble and chicken, rice etc. She has milk replacer to drink as well as water. She's going to the toilet fine but she did have a little diarrhea. I was told that was just from the afterbirths. She was also panting quite a bit at first and the vet said that was because she was getting her milk through and that makes dogs hot.
I won't give her a bath yet just wanted to know when it'd be ok.
Last time Lilly had babies I got their dew-claws removed and I was gone for about 20 minutes. Lilly freaked out and got very over-protective with them. I'm not getting these wee ones done though because none of the future owners have requested it.
Lilly has 3 little puppies and 2 big ones so I make sure the little ones get plenty to eat too!
How is Molly going?

[Country-Side Br]

Sounds like she's well on her way with a VERY loving mom! Yeah, that runny/dark stool is beautiful, isn't it?! Are they starting to get fluffy yet? I know it's only been a few days, but I thought maybe they fluffed up a bit.

Molly's getting bigger and bigger! I thought maybe today she was going to deliver because she was very restless when she came up to my bed (we've been keeping her downstairs because she needs to get up at night to go potty and when my husband gets up for work, he always lets Hank, Hunter and Molly out to run around a bit and do their thing and then they all book upstairs to snuggle with me). Anyway, she couldn't get comfortable and was in and out of my bed, which is unusual because usually she flies up the stairs and plops down right on my husband's pillow. She wanted to be under the covers and then on top and was grunting and doing some slight pushing and licking and her belly was pretty hard. But after about an hour of that, she finally settled down and went to sleep. Today is my husband's birthday, and I thought it'd be kind of cool. But, then I remembered, she'd be having them during the day...and that just doesn't happen around here ever! That's ok though, because I still don't have everything set up the way I'd like it yet...and that just gives the pups more time to grow some more. She's laying in the kennel right now.

[Blaze]

Hi Patty,

They aren't very fluffy yet but they do have a lot of fur! I will attach a couple of pictures (they aren't very white at the moment )
I took them to the vets for a check up today and he is very pleased with them and said that they're going to have very good pigmentation. A couple of their noses are just starting to turn black.
It's quite amazing with the size differences. 2 are very big, 2 are quite small and 1 is so tiny.
Do you know if it's possible to wag their tails yet? Because I swear one moves her tail an awful lot when she's drinking! Their tails haven't flipped yet but seem to be starting too.

You must be so excited about Molly's babies. When are your other litters due?
You're going to be so tired! I'm tired enough with 5 little ones. At the moment my friend has 5 week old puppies to look after and she has 2 more litters due in 1 and 3 weeks!

I guess I'm lucky with Lilly because both times she's had the pups they have been early evening and mid morning. Although this time she was in labor all night!

Well I hope that everything goes great with Molly and the babies and that they are all happy and healthy