Puppies like gruel; Daddy needs vodka

This morning's feeding, with me by her side.

I guess it was on Monday that Della really began feeling the puppies' new teeth. She was suddenly not interested in nursing them and you really can't blame her. We saw the results on Tuesday's weigh-in, with a few of the pups dropping in weight and only the pushiest of feeders posting any gain. It was obvious that the feeding issue was going to continue on Tuesday. She would feed them, reluctantly, but for only short periods and only if one of us stayed with her and kept her in place.

Play time is a new addition to the routine.
For the first three weeks it was pretty much
just eat and sleep.

Feeding a litter of 12 Great Dane puppies was already pushing her to limit, and now with teeth and less feeding, I really feared that the weight losses would continue. We tried bottle feeding the two lightest ones today, but that wasn't successful and it wasn't really a solution for all 12 of them anyway. So we mixed up puppy gruel, made from milk replacement powder, water, and dry puppy food mixed up in the blender. They were hungry enough that they really went for it and devoured it all. I'll need to figure out quantity and frequency to keeps them satisfied and growing, but we did it twice during the day on Tuesday and will do it once more before bed.

Della isn't out of the picture or completely off the hook by any means, but I hope this will take the pressure off of her. She fed them en mass a couple times today still. A couple other times she laid down in the room but outside the pen, and we put three or four of the smallest pups on her. That's easier on her and it gives them a chance to feed without so much competition.

Della's mastitis seems to be cleared up, just in time for the teething to begin. I hope that the puppy gruel will make it easier on her, and us, to keep the puppies well fed and growing. Now if you'll excuse me, daddy needs vodka.

They had no problem lapping it up and the gruel was a hit.

Della is still the preferred food source.

I added some cottage cheese to the blender for one meal
because Della likes it so much with her food. We are buying
that at Costco now.

The solid food should stick with them longer too.

The new sleeping space is a big hit too.

It's great for playing as well as sleeping.

Clay with Modelo (left) and Guinness (right).

Trooper made an appearance in the doorway
to the puppy room today. He is blowing his
coat and needs a bath and a good brushing.

Della and Serena hang with me when I'm out in the yard.