We have been super busy getting the Holiday litter settled and just spending time with these adorable pups. I had time to upload the photos we took during the whelping and the first two days. Jam had an easy time whelping the pups, which made things less stressful for us and it was a textbook whelping. As soon as the first pup was born, we broke the sack, made sure the pup could breath, dried the pup and then took care of cutting and cleaning the umbilical cord. These pups came out screaming and were so vigorous, there was no need to suction fluid out of them. We then let Jam take over, as she was anxious to do, and the pups began nursing. We would then clean the whelping box and get ready for the next pup.
After each pup was born, Jam was given a bowl of premium vanilla ice cream - she loved that part! It wasn't just a celebratory treat but a needed boost of calcium to help with the contractions and extra nourishment. She licked the bowl clean!
Weim pups are born with stripes which fade within a few days.
We use colored Velcro collars to safely identify each pup. In a few weeks, the pups will get their first set of real collars with a plastic snap release buckle.
Jam spends all her time in the whelping box nursing the pups. We also have a heat lamp and thermometer to ensure that the pups stay warm as at this age, the pups cannot regulate their own body temperature and if get too hot or too cold, can die. The fleece pad also helps to keep them warm and dry plus gives them traction as they crawl around the box.
The white railing around the box are called pig rails and are a safety feature. If the dam rolls onto a pup, the pup will be pushed under the pig rail and protected. Jam is very careful with her pups but you always have to be vigilant to make sure an accident doesn't happen.
The Holiday 6 are a robust bunch and spend lots of time at the milk bar!
The pups are born deaf and blind and with their amazing sense of smell, find their way to the nipples to nurse. They are also unable to defecate on their own and it is Jam's job by licking them to stimulate the pups to urinate and have bowel movements. She also eats their poop which keeps the box clean. This will go on for a few weeks.
And J-C stands for Jam-Chaz pups aka the Holiday Litter!
2 comments:
Beautiful pups!
...and another generation of awesome pups is born!
Thank you for this informative blog! reading about the holiday litter reminded me of reading about Momma Savi's litter being born/raised a few years ago! I was hooked on Weims already, but it sealed the deal for me wanting a Grayhart pup and our started our friendship!
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