Five Days Old



Maddie and half the puppies

Maddie had a busy day today. Last night she had been a bit antsy, wanting to get up a few times every hour and seemed to not be sleeping as well. We decided that perhaps she would benefit from getting a bit more time away from the puppies to play, go for a longer walk or just move around a bit more so she wouldn't feel as restless when she tried to nurse. So today we put the puppies into three groups and switched them about every hour but gave Maddie about fifteen minutes away from the puppies between each feeding. She played outside and exercised a bit more than in previous days, I think that she is really starting to feel a bit more like her old self. In turn, she was much more willing to just rest when she was feeding the puppies. I think the puppies benefited not only from more sustained time with Maddie but also from nursing in smaller groups as their was less competition for a place to eat.

We determined their groups today based on birth order. While each group was nursing I put them in their birth order and took a few pictures. There are also pictures of each group napping in their box.


Group #1, Puppies 1 through 4
Female - head, Male - head, Male - shoulder, Female - shoulder



Group #2, Puppies 5 through 8
Female - back, Male - back, Female - bum, Female - tail

Group #3, Puppies 9 through 11
Female - hip, Male - bum, Female - Elbow

 Some of these pictures do a better job of showing you the color variations that are already present between the puppies, that I had mentioned in yesterday's post. For example Male spot on the head has a lighter tan while Male spot on the shoulder is much redder and has more color on his face and feet.

Puppies #1-4
Male - head, Male - shoulder, Female - shoulder, Female - head

Puppies #5-8
Female - bum, Female - tail, Male - bum, Female - back

Puppies # 9-11
Female - hip, Male - bum, Female - elbow



This is our nursery at the moment. Maddie has done a great job focusing the
puppies that are nursing but likes to be able to keep an eye on the others as well.

More hungry puppies!