The Summer of Puppies, Part I

Della seems to be smiling and proud of what she's done so far,
although she's not even halfway through the whelping process
at this point.

The puppies will be 10 weeks old on Thursday. They will begin going to their new homes this weekend. Ten weeks doesn't sound like such a long time, but it is in the life of a puppy. And we had Della for three weeks before they were born, since May 25th. So this really has been a summer to remember. I'm reminded of those "What I did on my summer vacation" reports that we used to do in elementary school. I'd have a good one this year. 

Twelve puppies was a lot of her to feed and for us to watch
over. We tracked everyone's weight with twice-daily
weigh-ins for the first few weeks.

Here's some pictures looking back over the first five weeks or so. They were tiny, fragile, vulnerable to everything. We fretted over them a lot, sometimes for good reason, sometimes just out of fear and ignorance. In the beginning they were blind and relied on smell to find nipples for nourishment. Some were better at it than others. Some we had to help along, making sure they had an opportunity to nurse and took advantage of it when they had it.

The mastitis scare was just that, scary. Della couldn't nurse and not all the pups would take a bottle. Growth rates slowed or stopped momentarily. When they are so small, they have no reserves, and it wouldn't have been long before some were circling the drain. Even if every pup was equally able to nurse, Della only had spots for 10 at most at one time and her milk supply was not unlimited. 

We learned a lot in this process. We moved them forward as fast as we good, in growth, switching to milk replacement, gruel, mush, and solid food ahead of schedule to make sure everyone had adequate nutrition without depleting Della and jeopardizing her own health. We also started early with handling the pups and it really shows now. They all love to be picked up and snuggled. They will submit to being put on their backs and having their feet handled and nails cut. It's a lot easier to accustom puppies to that than it is to re-condition an adult dog who has never had those things done. 

The first weeks were the most stressful. There's just as much to do later on, but we developed a comfort level and a bit of confidence. Plus, the pups were just more fun when they became mobile and playful and grew to look and act like real dogs. It was also a relief when they were no longer totally dependent on Della for everything. The biggest scares we had were for Della because she is the cornerstone of all this development.

This picture sums up everything about Della as a mother.

Della's health and well-being has been the
primary goal from the beginning.
Everything depended upon her.

This is the site where the Puppy Palace and Garden
would soon be built.

This worked so much better than trying to keep them all in the house as they grew. It also opened
up a new world of fun and educational activities to spur the puppies' development.