They are Here!!

The most anticipated post of the year has arrived. The puppies are here! We have 4 boys, and 2 girls noisily demanding the best spot in the sleeping pile, and first dibs on mama when they wake up and want to eat. They are also getting quite good at rolling or crawling the wrong way, and then expressing their very loud displeasure at not finding mama, food, or a sleeping pile at their destination.

They spend most of their time either eating or sleeping. They are still blind and deaf at this point, but their eyes will start opening at 2 weeks, and they'll start being a little more interested in the world around them. They'll also start being able to find mama and nurse much more easily, rather than crawling behind Shisa and being very confused why they can't find anywhere to eat.

Along with this good news, we have some rough news. What we had hoped was a fluke last year, ended up happening again. Shisa's anxiety levels spiked, and while we recognized them and started supplementing the pups with bottles to try to make sure they could keep up their strength, we weren't able to save the entire litter. She was trying so hard to take care of her pups, but she couldn't manage to bring herself to relax enough to let them nurse. Instead, she was trying to bathe them constantly. Because of this, this will be Shisa's last litter. I can't keep putting her, or any puppies, through this again, so will not be breeding her anymore. Our only guess as to the cause of the anxiety is the size of the litter, both last time and this time, and how long it takes her to give birth to all of the pups.

The puppies were born on Monday and Tuesday, February 8th and 9th, which makes them one week old today. Because of the anxiety and the fight to save as many of the pups as we could, I didn't post of the pups arrival sooner. Thankfully, best we can tell, we're past the critical point, and all the pups are gaining weight and are doing well. Shisa's anxiety seems to have vanished as well, no longer needing her medication as of Sunday, and she is being the fantastic mom we are used to.

We moved Shisa and the puppies up to our room again by the second night, since being in close proximity to us seemed to help her settle. We'd again set up her pen in the basement, since for her first two litters that seemed to give her the most peace, since it provided privacy and she didn't need to worry about the cats or Raiju coming over and feeling the need to defend her pups (Raiju and the one cat that might cause trouble don't like the stairs. Of course, that means her pen is much smaller than the one set up in the basement, but it does help keep the pups from roaming as much, which makes it easier for her to take care of them.

Poor Raiju doesn't understand why he is banned from our room during the day, and has to be in his kennel at night currently (which is in our room, but he prefers laying by the side of the bed), but thankfully this will only be for another week or so. Plus, we can get up and help with the pups through the night much easier with them in our room, as opposed to downstairs (every 30-60 minutes now, as opposed to 5-10 minutes the first several nights). And with how many mostly sleepless nights we've had, going up and down stairs while exhausted seemed like something best to be avoided. Having them upstairs is also was helpful because of the cold weather we are currently experiencing, as it is definitely warmer upstairs. If we lose electricity, we'll move them to the living room, near the woodstove.

But yes, we once again have puppies in the house, and I look forward to watching them and playing with them as they grow.