Our First Week

These little darlings are just about one week old already. It's amazing the changes that we've already seen.

Our very first picture taken while at the vet clinic and before momma came back for us

When pups are first born and they are breathing and warm, their littles noses are bright pink indicating they are doing well. Their ears are sealed shut and the pups will remain deaf for about 14 days. The pups are also blind as their eyes are sealed closed. Their eyes generally open around 10 to 14 days and are a deep blue until they change to the final color.

4 days old. (Click picture to enlarge)

Look closely at Costa's ear in the above picture and see how tightly sealed it is. Also his pink nose is just starting to show signs of some pigment coming in.

During the first two weeks the pups are unable to regulate their own temperature so we keep a heating pad on low temperature 24/7 and Raine leaves them only long enough to run outside for her potty break. For the first few days we keep a heating lamp on them as well as a cold puppy will rapidly fail.


Raine spends much of her waking time cleaning the pups. She cleans their fur which is the first sensations of being petted. Since the pups are unable to piddle or defecate on their own, they will fuss when uncomfortable. Raine licks them which assists them in go potty. She will do this for several weeks. When the pups are fed and comfortable they quietly sleep. At this age, the pups sleep close to 90% of the time. I must say that Raine is such a fantastic mom as we rarely hear any noises from the pups - a good indication that the pups needs are met.

The pups do have two of their senses which they use very efficiently. They are able to smell and can follow the scent to momma's milk. It's amazing when I handle them and their little noses are busy checking me out. We don't fuss with the pups much though as it upsets Raine.

The pups also use their sense of touch which helps them in locating mom and the food source. The pups crawl around with very limited motion but enough to provide exercise for the muscles to develop. These pups are already climbing all over their mother. If they are cool, they'll crawl to the heating pad or find momma; if they are warm they'll move off the heating pad for a bit.

The pups don't like to be weighed either as it tends to be too cool away from the nest. I heat the facecloth that I lay them on.

Costa being weighed

Lacey being weighed

All their energy is spent on growing and in the first week, their birth weight should double. We use a digital kitchen scale and weigh them a couple of times a day for the first few days. Once we're sure that they're gaining weight well, we'll weigh them once a day - usually in the evenings. Here are their weights for this past week.

Date	Costa			Lacey
	Weight	% of Gain		Weight	% of Gain
birth	257	-		196
Jan-08 10pm	260	1.2%		199	1.5%
Jan-09	283	10.1%		207	5.6%
Jan-10	320	24.5%		239	21.9%
Jan-11	367	42.8%		274	39.8%
Jan-12	415	61.5%		321	63.8%
Jan-13	453	76.3%		376	91.8%
Jan-14	487	89.5%		400	104.1%

Are you surprised that Lacey is gaining better than her brother? We certainly were. These pictures were taken a couple of days ago while weighing the pups.

For the next week the pups will continue sleeping most of the time, eating and growing. I'll continue monitoring them and Raine (who is doing incredibly well by the way). I will also continue with the Neurological Stimulation that we are doing which I'll explain in more detail in another post.