Libby's 7 Puppies!!

Libby whelped on Tue evening. She had 7 puppies, which really surprised me!! 5 females and 2 males. The puppies are really small and 1 female had a difficult time. We did surgery to repair the abdominal wall when the cord pulled off and caused a severe umbilical hernia. She was strong and nursed with assistance for the first night. But by yesterday she was getting weaker and soon refused to suck. I pumped colostrum from Libby and syringe fed her and by afternoon I realized I wasn't going to save her. She was just too weak and small, and there may have been some intestinal insult from the cord injury. My vet had never worked on such a tiny puppy and I even wonder if she was premie. Although all the puppies are small and they were 59 days, this puppy had a smooth head and shiny skin. This is how you determine prematurity in humans, so I can only guess that maybe this puppy was fertilized up to 48hrs after the others, which would make her 57 days. She just didn't look quite term.

I know most breeders would have disgarded the puppy at birth, but I couldn't help but think she had a chance. I don't believe in letting an animal suffer, but I think we gave her the best chance possible without prolonging suffering. I feel good knowing I did what I could for her.

Libby's other puppies are small but have gained already and are doing very well. Libby is a good mama and I enjoy just sitting and watching them nurse. Amazing nature......

Just a thought on Nature

Regarding nature and separation from the young. (after the previous blog about puppy development and 8wk old puppies annoying their mother!) Ever wonder why teenagers are so difficult!? Think about nature and the time period that a parent needs to separate from their young. Teenagers are growing up, needing independence and are preparing to step out on their own. Just like 8 week old puppies, weanling foals, etc, Teenagers annoy the heck out of their parents. My father once told me, parents are supposed to be annoyed by their teenagers and teenagers are supposed to be annoyed by their parents. That's how they are prepared for separation and stepping into the world on their own. I didn't quite understand what he meant until I became an adult. Now as I look at these little 8 week old puppies that are jumping in their mother's faces, licking, nipping, pouncing on their mom, no wonder she's ready to say "See Ya!" I hope I'm ready when my teenagers grow into adults and are ready to separate...... My father is a smart man. I hope my kids think that about me some day.

How old should a puppy be before being sold?

Years ago, puppies would be weaned from their mother's and sold at 6 weeks of age. This is no longer acceptable practice. The breeder's code of ethics say a puppy should be 8 weeks of age, before being sold or adopted. There are 15 states which have laws governing the age by which a puppy may be sold or adopted to a new family and in most states it is 8 weeks of age. At Crooked Creek Cairn Terriers, puppies may go home at 8-9 weeks of age if being picked up, and may be shipped at 9-10 weeks of age.

Puppy mills and bad breeders will take puppies from their mothers at 5 weeks of age and sell them. Puppies don't even have all their teeth through their gums at 5 weeks of age. They've only been toddling around since 3 1/2- 4 weeks of age. At 5 weeks, they are toddlers in that they are starting to be playful but are clumsy and they still sleep most of the time. At 6 weeks, they are gaining coordination and are being weaned from their mothers, but most still nurse along with their solid foods. At Crooked Creek Cairn Terriers, we don't wean the puppies from their mothers. We allow the mothers and puppies to decide when to wean based on their instinct and individual needs. Puppies are introduced to solids at 4 1/2- 5 weeks of age, but most aren't eating on their own until closer to 6 weeks of age. Most of our puppies wean on their own by 7 weeks.

By watching puppies and their mother's instinct, you can tell developmentally when weaning and separation should occur. Mother's are so protective the first few days of life that they usually have to be forced to leave the puppies to go potty and eat/drink. It is their instinct to keep the puppies warm, and frequently nurse the puppies to nourish them and maintain the fragile puppies. Pupppies are like infants in that they have difficulty maintaining their temperatures initially. It's being snuggled up to Mom and littermates, that they stay warm. Their blood sugar stays stable by nursing frequently.

By the time the puppies are 1 week of age, the mother's instinct is still strong, but she is more willing to leave them for short periods of time. Watch out if you think you can touch or take them without her noticing though! By 3 weeks she's more relaxed about the human interaction and seems content to let you touch them and hold them. By 4 weeks she may leave the puppies for longer periods of time, just returning to them to nurse them. At 5-6 weeks, she's completely comfortable with the puppies being taken for longer periods of time, but is anxious to see them returned to her. She starts to wean them usually at 6 weeks, but some bitches vary in when they wean their puppies. By 8 weeks, the mother is annoyed by these little bundles of energy and says "See ya!" as the family takes their new puppy home.

My parents raised Siberian Huskies when I was a child and teenager, and as I said, it was common practice to sell the puppies at 6 weeks of age. Our Lobo would howl and cry for days when the puppies were taken from her so early. My father said he quit breeding because he couldn't bare to hear them cry for their puppies. But from what I understand now, if we had weaned them and sold the puppies at 8 weeks vs 6 weeks, their instinct would have been ready to give up the puppies and it wouldn't have been traumitizing.

So as you see, if we understand and listen to nature herself, we would understand why puppies should not be sold until developmentally ready. If a breeder sells puppies before 8 weeks of age, it may be reason for concern about the practices of that breeder.

Puppy Development

Puppies double their birth weight by 1 week of age. They are like infants for the first 3 weeks of life. They nurse and sleep, cuddling together for warmth and comfort. Their eyes open between 2 1/2- 3 weeks of age, and they begin to look around and explore their environment. Their bodies are heavy and big in proportion to their legs, so it's difficult to hold their body's weight up. The attempts at crawling and walking are strengthening their legs and by 3 wks they can sit up for a few seconds at a time. By 4 weeks, they are able to walk but are still clumsy in coordination. They begin to play and make growl and chatter vocalizations. At 5 weeks, they clumsily run, play, and fall over a lot! They interact with each other, with humans, and begin their intake of solid foods while still nursing. Some breeders may start solids earlier, but we don't start solids until 5 weeks of age. Their baby teeth are starting to come in, with the incisors breaking through first. They like to try their sharp teeth on things, and begin teething and chewing. Personality differences in the Cairn breed are not apparent at 5 weeks of age. Some puppies may display a more outgoing or a more reserved personality, but this may change by 8 weeks or adulthood. All of our 5 week old puppies wag their tails, lick you, crawl on your lap, chase a toy, chew, and are happy sweet puppies. At 4-5 weeks of age they start exploring the doggy door as they watch Mom go in and out. They soon figure out how to potty outside, keeping the interior "den" clean according to their instincts. They continue to gain coordination and experiment with rough play at 6 weeks. Adult and peer socialization is important at 6-8 weeks of age, so they learn what is socially appropriate. Puppies who bite too hard, get bitten back. They learn dominance, submission, and appropriate dog interaction. For this reason we do not separate or wean puppies from their mother. Mom weans the puppies at 6-7 weeks of age on her own. They transition slowly from their mother's milk to solid foods, and have enough sharp teeth to easily eat dry food at 7 weeks of age. Puppies are then ready to go home at 8 weeks of age, with their mother's instinct naturally reduced by that time, so that they aren't upset about the puppies being taken away. The puppies approach new situations and their new home with intrigue and vigor. But expect the first few nights alone to be difficult for the puppy. They're used to sleeping with their warm siblings and to be alone is scary and uncomfortable. We recommend taking home plush toys with Mom and sibling's scent on it. The warm puppy cuddle pal is an excellent sibling substitute, particularly with their scent rubbed on it. It's also helpful to place something you've worn in the crate with them, to give them the comfort of your smell after bonding the first day.