Lync x Andi

Whelped on: March 5, 2021

Co-bred with Elizabeth Saunders - Blazingstar Flat-coated Retrievers

Lync and Andi's puppies arrived on March 5th, between 3:30 and 5:45 pm. Though Andi was unsure about her first puppy, she took to mothering quickly when the second puppy arrived. She ate each placenta and cut the cords on her own. 

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While the plum puppy was born on the small side, she is strong and vigorous and has been gaining weight nicely. I expect she will catch up to her littermates in no time.

One Week Portraits

Week One

The puppies have grown and changed in remarkable ways this week. They went from being tiny little things who hung out at the milk bar to more than doubling in size and beginning to explore the whelping box. They are able to make their way back to Andi using their noses.

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We're hearing all kinds of sweet noises from them that range from contented sounds as they suckle to a few little barks. I did order neonate collars earlier this week, so hopefully those will come tomorrow and puppies will be able to be identified in pictures.

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Andi continues to be a great mother to them and is attentive in caring for them. While she spends most of her time with the puppies in the whelping box, she has enjoyed getting out for short walks with Ole and Cricket towards the end of the week.

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We've begun Early Neurological Stimulation as well as Early Scent Introduction on day 3, and will continue on until day 16. The use of ENS and ESI help to stimulate the puppies senses, which has a couple of significant benefits. Firstly, it creates more finely tuned senses into adulthood, and secondly, it contributes to more stable, resilient temperaments when they are adults.

Week Two

The puppies have been busy nursing, sleeping, and growing like weeds. They have almost all quadrupled their birth weight, with the exception of Raspberry, who is very close. ​

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We've continued with ENS and ESI this week. The puppies have had the chance to smell Rosemary, dog fur (from Ole and Cricket), a chicken feather, pine needles, grass, a tennis ball, and a piece of wood this week. The the chicken feather, the wood, and the tennis ball were favourites.

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We're enjoying listening to the puppies make all kinds of noises as they become more vocal. There is whining, sweet growls, barking, and a tiny bit of howling. Their eyes began to crack open in the middle of the week, and were fully open by the end of the week. They are starting to get up onto their feet to move around the whelping box now. 

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We've added a small litter tray to the whelping box this week. While puppies are too young to be using it, introducing it early prevents the puppies from eating the pellets later on. 

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Andi continues to be a great mom and is very attentive to the puppies. She's been starting to spend a bit more time outside of the whelping box, laying on her dog bed nearby. She's also been like a moth to the flame to get underneath our front deck. It seems she's decided it's the ideal place to dig out a den, and I'm sure she would move the puppies there if given the chance.

Two Week Portraits

Three Week Portraits

Week Three

The puppies have begun to walk around on their feet - though they are still very unsteady. Their eyes are open and their ears have now started to open. We've seen a little bit of rough housing between them, including a baby puppy version of bitey-face (a game which I'm sure every Flat-coat knows). Early in the week, Raspberry escaped the whelping box for the first time, so I had to add another board to the entrance.

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We've added more litter trays as puppies have started to pee and poop on their own. It's going to take some time before they start using them consistently, but we've had a few successes already. 

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They were dewormed for the first time on Sunday, and continue to have their nails trimmed every few days. Keeping their nails short reduces the chances of Andi getting mastitis. Towards the end of week 3, Andi was starting to nurse the puppies sitting up, which is good for their development as it presents them with some problem-solving. Andi's been a bit hesitant to feed the puppies at times, which is understandable considering they have started to get teeth.

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Sorry for the delayed update this week! I've been without a computer for a number of days.

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Week Four

The puppies moved into their new pen in our living room early this week. They are now experiencing the sights and sounds of our active household. They ate their first solid food towards the end of the week (raw ground turkey), and loved it. Even though there are still a few wet spots appearing in the pen, there are doing an incredible job of walking over to the litter trays to go to the bathroom. As they become more successful at using the litter trays, I'll be able to decrease the amount of trays in their pen.

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Though the puppies continue to sleep most of the day away, they are having longer periods of awake time. They bark and growl at one another, and are starting to wrestle and play with one another. 

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Andi has begun to feed the puppies standing up. Though it's panful to watch them struggle to eat this way, it's important for their development.

Four Week Portraits

Five Week Portraits

Week Five

It was an exciting week for the puppies as we began to take them outside for play time. Early in the week, a few of the puppies showed some hesitation about being outside, but they quickly decided they love being outside. They're enjoying the opportunity to explore and it's been fun to see them run around.

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The puppies have been receiving solid food 3 times a day, but still enjoy their time nursing more than anything. 

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Towards the end of the week, we started stacking the puppies on a table so they could get used to it. This will make their structural evaluations at approximately 7.5 weeks go much more smoothly, or so I hope. 

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They enjoy playing with each other, and there is plenty of roughhousing, growling, and barking throughout the day. There's also quite a bit of yelping when someone bites a tail or an ear too hard.

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