I'm talking about dew claws on the puppies - should I remove them or should I keep them? Some breeders remove them, some do not. The oldest girl here does not have dew claws, but all the others do. I have not had problems with dew claws here and they really do use them. So, the decision was made to keep them.
Breeding is Messy...
Yep. It is messy! I don't think that was adequately described in any of the books I read, nor do I think anyone really told me how messy it can be. Let's just say that my washing machine hasn't had much rest in 3 weeks, and I've learned the importance of watching where I step around Odessa and the puppies.
Relaxing...
This is best described with a picture.
Puppy Nails...
Today was the second manicure and pedicure for the puppies, and once again everyone was very calm and patient which means no quiks got clipped. It is such a joy to clip nails on calm dogs!
Eyes & Ears...
Their eyes are all opened and it is interesting to watch them explore outside the whelping box. Ears are starting to open which means they will (hopefully) start to respond to sounds.
Exploring and Meeting the Boss...
Since they are now mobile, I give each puppy some time to explore outside the whelping box every day. They can't go far and there is nothing that can hurt them, but I do believe it will help build their confidence. Exploration is part of their one on one time with me, and some days I let them all out of the whelping box together to explore. Today they got a special treat - they got to meet the boss of the house - my 13 year old girl named Freckles. Before today, the resident dogs only got to see the puppies from the other side of baby gates and exercise pens. Today Freckles got to meet them up close and personal. Freckles has been my helper in raising pups that come to live here, and I think she was excited to finally meet the little ones.
They started playing this week and it so much fun to watch! The sounds, the actions...it is just fascinating to watch them learn how to play. (This is actually why there hasn't been a blog post since Wednesday - I've been watching young puppies play.)
And last, but not least...PEE!
Yep. I'm going to talk about dog pee, and I'm even going to show you pictures. When I was searching for this litter's sire, I limited myself to a Dalmatian with a copy of the normal gene. This significantly limited the number of dogs for consideration. Why did I do this? There were many reasons, but it all boils down to believing in science and loving these dogs.
Below are pictures of urine collected from an AKC registered Dalmatian and refrigerated to show how the high levels of uric acid in their urine can cause problems. The picture on the left is freshly collected urine just refrigerated. The middle picture is the same collection of urine after it has been refigerated for a period of one hour. (This is what happens when you refigerate a saturated solution - the salts will start to form crystals). The picture on the right is the same sample of urine that has been refigerated for 8 hours - notice how the crystals have settled to the bottom of the plastic cup? This is what happens when urine sits stagnant. Over time, crystals can grow together to form stones, and stones can lead to blockage.
(Yes, I know the cup is blue, but you can still see the effect on the urine. The store did not have small clear cups.)
Later today I will post updated pictures of each puppy, so standby!
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