Puppy progress

In the morning I wrote:

Lily is so good about waking me up at night when she needs to go out. Last night, after the 4am bathroom break, one of the pups sneezed twice. Today during weigh-in, a different puppy was congested and ‘snorgely’.

I’m keeping a close eye, with the nebulizer at the ready.

Today’s weight gains were not really where I expect them to be. They are all nursing well, and mama is producing enough milk, but the nursing sessions are shorter.

So, I’ll continue to trim their nails daily – that makes things more comfortable for Lily.

And I’ll increase her meals so that her milk production is a little steadier.

And I’ll make sure her water bowl is full. She always has water available, but I’ve noticed that she prefers fresh, cold water, so we’ll change it often.

The puppies didn’t present with any symptoms from the shelter, but sometimes it takes time for those bugs to manifest. And as the pups grow bigger, they need more food. This period from 2-3 weeks old is critical that they continue to nurse. But we’ll supplement if we need to. By 3 weeks old, their guts and intestines are usually sufficiently developed to handle solid food.

It’s also the time when they start to open their eyes, toddle around and hear sounds. We’ll be starting enrichment activities to acclimate to fireworks, waves crashing, sirens (all at low volumes). Once they’re a little steadier on their feet, we introduce surfaces like a bathtub mat, cardboard, crinkly paper, tin foil, a grate, very low hills to ‘climb’.

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7pm update:

I stuck to my plan and look at those plump bellies! No supplementing needed, and even without a nebulizer treatment, no congestion.

Observation is one of the key skills a foster parent needs to have.