Smiling German Shepherds: Two Weeks Old

We have hit the two week milestone today! Maddie and the puppies are doing really well. They continue to grow and are starting to get around a bit more. They are now able to walk, or stumble a bit too, for five or ten feet before they collapse and cry until they fall asleep or I move them back with their siblings.

Maddie continues to do really well. She is eating like a champ and feeding the puppies throughout the day and night. The puppies continue to grow and gain weight at their daily weigh-ins. However, we decided today that it was time to start introducing the puppies to formula, it is a bit sooner than we have introduced a dish in the past but I would like see a few of the puppies gain more than they have in the past few days. I think it is getting harder for Maddie to make enough milk for all eleven puppies now that they are getting bigger and needing to eat more.

girl - spot on the head - post-milk nap

I put warm formula in a small cup and introduced each puppy one at a time to the milk. Most of the puppies knew right away how to lap up the milk but some of the puppies stuck their entire faces in the milk and needed a few moments to figure out how to keep their noses out of the milk while they drank. The puppies all drank a bit of the milk but I think most of them had almost as much on their chins when they finished their portion.

boy - spot on the bum - learning to drink formula

and with a milk mustache

I plan to individually supplement the puppies for a few days and then transition them to a larger dish as they are able to stand with a bit more stability.

more post-dinner naps

As the puppies are learning to walk and be a bit more mobile taking their pictures is getting a bit more challenging, they are either sleeping soundly or walking away from the camera. I tried to move the puppies to the pillow to take their pictures without waking them so I could get good pictures, but you will see that it didn't always work in my favor.