What a Day!

Dreamer started her second day as a mom with a spa treatment to get her cleaned up after the whelping. We normally would have done it yesterday but she is so intense about being with her pups, I figured it could wait a day. There has been a big change in the pups over the last day, as they put on weight and bulk. They are more comfortable at normal household temperatures, rather than the sauna that they needed for the first 24 hours. All of us are grateful for this maturing, but especially Dreamer who was very hot the first 36 hours.

All of us headed to Otterkill Animal Hospital this afternoon so Dr Jim Zgoda could check out the crew. Dreamer had experienced some unusual things just before the pups' birth so I wanted her to be seen before too long. Aside from a little touch of early mastitis, all is well. The pups were healthy and strong. We'll tackle the mastitis with hot packs, puppies and cabbage leaves before resorting to antibiotics.

In the meantime, we are taking pleasure in just watching the pups. It's hard to get enough of them. Although often described as "helpless," newborn puppies really are very capable but in only a few limited ways. They can seek out heat and milk with great accuracy, they can climb over hill and dale or at least brothers and sisters to get to mom, and they can let it be known loudly and clearly when they are unhappy. They also mew when they are content, one of the happiest sounds I know.

Goodnight all, I have puppies to watch! You can check out photos and videos from the day at Gaylan's Webshots page. Enjoy!