PUPPIES & Questions
I have puppies! Our girl dog got pregnant out of the blue one day. Honestly, we thought she was much younger than 6 months when we got her, but I guess not. Kind of a shame, but we will take this as it comes.
She had five puppies born on 14 January 2014 at 7:15. Well the first one was born at that time. There are two girls and three boys in order: Girl, Boy, girl, boy, boy. The smallest, he is almost a runt, was the cream color one.
We didn't even know she was giving birth. She was really quiet and startled herself. Fortunately, she is a very good mother for her first litter. We only had to help her with one placenta since she was so scared of the first baby.
Fortunately, she didn't reject any of the baby, but she is getting a little aggressive with them when our cats come near. They are outside now to keep her calm. She won't even let papa near his babies. She only allows people and the ferrets. It is really cute when the ferrets go in the whelping box because they want to get smother with kisses and warmth.
I apologise for some of the pictures being blurry, but the babies are still too young for a flash. Their eyes aren't opened yet, but they really love exploring the house when mama takes a nap or climbs on the sofa to watch the telly. She ushers them back to the whelping box when they start going off the carpet though.
I think it is first time jitters, but she leaves them alone a lot and they are attracted to people sounds and smells. They like to cuddle up by our feet or in our shirts for warmth instead of going to mama.
The white one with the spot is a girl. She was first born. We had to break her placenta and help her breathe. The black one has white toe socks. He was fourth born.
This creamy face is a boy. He was the last one born and the only one born with the extra duclaws on his back feet. He is the quietest and laziest of the puppies. We have to wake him up for him to eat and we had to stimulate his breathing when he was born. Mama broke the placenta but left him alone soon after he didn't cry. We thought he wouldn't survive. The one with brown ears is a girl. She was the third born.
This squishy face is a boy and he was second born. He is the biggest and loudest baby. He was the one to alert us that mama was giving birth in the first place. he likes to explore anywhere sound comes from.
The two sisters and their youngest brother.
Second born boy was already rolling over to sleep on his back by himself within the first week.
First, second and fourth baby.
Creamy last born sleeping with his tongue out. He wormed his way over when I put mama's water bowl down. I was ready to fill it until I was this tiny face wanting my attentions.
Third baby. She loves people smells. She will sleep in our discarded jackets that mama pulls on the floor before she will sleep on a blanket that smells like mom.
First born daughter. She has only one tiny spot over her left eye and in front of her left ear and the one above her tail. She is quiet until she is hungry. She is definitely a mama's girl.
Fourth born son. He's only got that white spot on his chest and belly and on each of his tiny toes. He's is quiet like his younger creamy brother, but likes to explore under the blankets. We always have to dig him out the blankets in the morning when we do puppy count, just to make sure he is there in the whelping box and not under the sofa or in a corner somewhere. The only baby that has all that black fur.
Creamy last baby boy. He was the only one with the extra toes like his daddy before him. He's still super pudgy and bloated, so we stimulate his poop cycles to make sure mama isn't forgetting him too often.
Just a picture of the second baby boy climbing into mama's food bowl. He was curious as to what I had put in here that mama was crunching on. :)
Unfortunately, mama dog has a problem with pushing her babies near her food bowl, and she gets aggressive with them. She's not food possessive, but now that she eats a lot more to produce milk, she's having a hard time letting other dogs near her food. She's learning that the puppies can't eat that hard food yet and aren't interested and now is learning to pick them up properly to get them away instead of lashing out like she would at papa dog when he comes to her food bowl.
I'm afraid it might turn into a habit even after her babies are weaned. I don't know if I can keep a food possessive dog when they've all grown up around other animals eating from their bowl. I have one little dog, two cats and two brother ferrets that eat from the same bowl. I don't know if I could feed them separately because if the small animals leave the bowl, she could come to it before they come back and she would snap.
Has anyone had this problem before? Is there anything I could do? The vets tell me it's common but she should not be snapping, just nipping.